But the Myers-Briggs test had an essential thematic quality that no other test had. Most existing tests concluded that each personality her category has positives and negatives. For example, extroverts are good people and introverts are bad people. But Myers felt that each personality type had strengths and weaknesses. , described one’s personality types in terms of strengths and “talents” and how they can clarify whether they are suitable for a job, a career, or even socializing. I found it to be positive and supportive and gave people the language to express their best selves.
“We sometimes say that Isabel was the first positive psychologist,” Elizabeth Styron, president of the MBTI Research Center, a non-profit psychological type application center, said in a telephone interview. , referring to a branch of psychology that began in the 1980s. “It’s not what’s wrong with people, it’s what’s right about them.”
The mother-daughter team has also become a creative sales force. Myers tweaked and promoted her own products while searching for her guinea pigs. Her son’s high school class, as well as George her students entering the University of Washington’s medical school, were tested. Soon, dozens of medical schools across the country were added to her list. She wrote all the questions (e.g., “a) do you like to eat to live or b) do you like to live to eat”) and hand-scored all the tests.
All the while, she was against skepticism and sexism. Critics noted that neither Briggs nor Myers had a background or advanced degrees in psychology. They were just amateur “housewives” with unusual hobbies. And critics said their personality metric has no scientific basis, and no peer-reviewed studies to validate it. There was
Myers nevertheless continued, and in 1956 she began issuing the MBTI in collaboration with Henry Chauncey, president of Princeton’s Educational Examination Service. .
The first dimension is whether the individual is introverted (I) or extroverted (E). The second is how a person perceives the world through ‘sense’ (S) or ‘intuition’ (N). The third focuses on how individuals make decisions, either by way of ‘thinking’ (T) or ‘feeling’ (F). The final dimension is either ‘judgment’ (J) or ‘perception’ (P) and is based on how a person treats the outside world. Judgment is a structured and organized approach, whereas perception means that someone has an adaptable, flexible, and spontaneous relationship with the outside world.
Myers herself is a proud INFP, which she described as someone who is “very loyal to her duties and obligations” and does not judge others. Her mother was an INFJ