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Frequently Asked Questions

 

What's the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®?

Who came up with the idea?

What does it measure?

Will the MBTI® reveal my deep, dark, personal secrets?

Why is it so important that it's a self-reporting instrument?

Can I lie and cheat on my answers?

What are the scales?

What do the scales mean?

Does the MBTI measure skills and abilities?

How many types are there?

Are some types better than others?

Can knowing about type lead to prejudice?

Will knowing about psychological type help me at work?

My boss wants me to take the MBTI, but I don't want to. What should I do?

I know my personality type. Now I want to know my spouse's, but he or she refuses to take the MBTI. What can I do?

What's the difference between the MBTI and all the other personality "tests" out there?

Why do the questionnaires cost so much? There are lots of free ones!

What's the FIRO-B™?

What's the Strong Interest Inventory®?

How is the Strong different from the Myers-Briggs®?

I took the Strong in high school or college. Should I take it again?

Which Strong is the best? There are so many versions.

The Strong doesn't list the job I'm interested in. Why are there so few professions listed on the report?

What is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator?

The MBTI is a self-reporting personality inventory, designed to help individuals understand themselves. It helps people comprehend their natural preferences, motivations, and potential areas for growth. It aids in understanding others, particularly those with different types. It is commonly used for career counseling, personal development, team building, and many other areas.
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Who came up with the idea?

The MBTI was developed by the mother/daughter team of Katherine Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers over many years, starting in the 1940s. The theory is based on the work of Carl Jung, who wrote a book called "Psychological Types" in 1923. Jung came up with the first three scales, while the women came up with the fourth.
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What does it measure?

Nothing. It's a sorter, and sorts people into 16 types based on how they fall on four scales. It's important to note that the Myers-Briggs does NOT measure quantity. You score on a scale does NOT show how much introversion you have, for example. The MBTI shows preferences, like being right- or left-handed, but not ability nor predictions about performance.
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Will the MBTI reveal my deep, dark, personal secrets?

No, nothing of the sort. The MBTI asks you how you act in everyday situations. It's a sorter, not a psychological test aimed at revealing your innermost thoughts. Basically, it shows how you take in information and make decisions.
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Why is it so important that it's a self-reporting instrument?

Because you decide if the results fit you. No one knows you better. If you disagree with your results, you are correct and the sorter is wrong. That's not what happens on an IQ test, for example. There's one correct answer. On this sorter, all answers are correct. The purpose is to uncover your preferences.
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Can I lie and cheat on my answers?

Well, you can certainly lie, but there's no way to cheat, because there's no score to reach. The only thing you'd accomplish is to get invalid results for yourself. There is the risk that people will answer the questions the way they WANT to be or think they SHOULD be, versus how they really are. Again, that will only make your results appear like someone other than you.
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What are the scales?

The four scales are Extraversion/Introversion, Sensing/Intuition, Thinking/Feeling, and Judging/Perceiving. The sorter indicates which side of the four scales you prefer, leading to your four letter type.
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What do the scales mean?

The Extraversion/Introversion scale describes how people get their energy, the Sensing/Intuition scale shows how people take in information about the world around them, the Thinking/Feeling scale indicates how people make decisions, and the Judging/Perceiving scale describes the lifestyle preferences people have.
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Does the MBTI measure skills and abilities?

No. It indicates preferences and reveals nothing about skills or abilities. The classic example is signing your name. Each of us has a preferred hand for writing. We can use the other hand, but it feels odd, awkward, and uncomfortable. The same is true on the four scales. We prefer one end of each scale over the other. Like our hands, we use both sides every day. Yet one hand is our dominant hand. The MBTI helps us discover more about our dominant preferences.
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How many types are there?

In the basic form, there are 16 types. However, each of the four scales has five subscales, resulting in over a million possible combinations. You need to take the MBTI Step II to see your subscale results.
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Are some types better than others?

Absolutely not. There are no good or bad types. Each has its strengths and potential weaknesses. Each type will react differently to stress, work, love, and life in general. In some situations, certain types will have an advantage. In others situations, those same types could be a liability. Put another way, almost any strength taken too far can become a weakness. For example, the ability to concentrate can be quite useful. However, if you can concentrate too well, you might end up ignoring important people or information in your environment.
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Can knowing about type lead to prejudice?

Yes, it's a real danger. As people learn about type, there is the risk they will pigeonhole people into boxes. People are complex. Type is a good starting point for learning about folks who are different from you. After a while, one could start to believe those with different types are incapable of acting differently. Type is not a law. People have free will and can choose to act differently at any time. Some people fall into the trap of believing their type is the best, and that other types are inferior. If a person were to believe this, he or she could treat others in a prejudicial manner.
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Will knowing about psychological type help me at work?

Absolutely, especially if you use it to understand those people most different from yourself. It can make teamwork and conflict avoidance much easier. Again, I will warn you about stereotyping people on the basis of their results. If used to improve understanding, personality type can be a real shortcut. One of the best ways to use this knowledge is contained in the Communication Style report.
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My boss wants me to take the MBTI, but I don't want to. What should I do?

This is an unethical use of the MBTI. One of the basic tenets is that anyone taking the sorter must do so voluntarily, without coercion. You also have the right to see your results. I'd refuse to take it in your position. Check with your Human Resources person, if you have one. If not, see a labor lawyer.
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I know my personality type. Now I want to know my spouse's, but he or she refuses to take the MBTI. What can I do?

Get over it. No one should be forced into taking the instrument. It's unethical to coerce someone into taking the MBTI. If you really learn a lot about psychological type, you can likely figure out your spouse without forcing him or her to take the questionnaire.
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What's the difference between the MBTI and all the other personality "tests" out there?

The biggest difference is the amount of research that has gone into the questions and scoring the results. That gives the MBTI great reliability and scientific validity. Others have created instruments that are supposed to reveal the same information. Yet serious researchers will use either the MBTI or the NEO-PI. Anyone can use the same four letter type categories. The MBTI has been researched and refined for over 70 years, in thousands of studies. You can get useful results from other instruments. For those who are not sure about where they fall on a scale, the MBTI Step II gives the clearest indication of your preferences.
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Why do the questionnaires cost so much? There are lots of free ones!

That's true, there are free personality "tests." The MBTI is a licensed product you must buy from the publisher. Despite what you might read on the Internet, there are no free Myers-Briggs tests anywhere. So if you see "free Myers-Briggs," it's an imitation someone created, and possibly a copyright infringement. The second factor is the feedback session you'll receive. If you believe you have enough information to help yourself, then take the free ones. I've tried many of them myself. I've yet to see one that gives the in-depth and accurate information that the Step II provides. You also get what you pay for. This site is for those who want to be able to ask questions and get advice about their results, rather than merely getting a printout of some fun stuff.
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What's the FIRO-B?

The title stands for Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation--Behavior. That's quite a mouthful, so the acronym makes more sense. The FIRO-B is used to uncover the ways you behave towards others & how you want them to behave towards you. There are three scales: Inclusion, or how much contact you like and want from others, Control, which is how much power or dominance you want and expect, and Affection, which is the amount of closeness, warmth and sensitivity you want and prefer. Each of the three scales has two parts: the expressed behavior, which is what you do, and the wanted behavior, which is what you want others to do to you. The FIRO-B is frequently used for team building, management development, and couples counseling. The questionnaire has 54 items and takes about 15 minutes to complete. It's particularly effective for leadership development in combination with the MBTI.
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What's the Strong Interest Inventory?

The Strong is an interest inventory that compares your likes and dislikes with people who are working in various professions. The Strong began in the 1920s as an attempt to match military recruits with jobs that fit their interests. The idea was, you're likely to be a better cook if you like cooking. Rather than interviewing everyone, people could take the test and make the process much faster and more efficient. The same method is used today - matching people and jobs. The idea is you will likely enjoy work where your interests are similar to people already working in various fields. The people who were surveyed to create the Strong have been working in their careers at least 3 years, are satisfied with their work, and do work that is typical of that profession.
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How is the Strong different from the Myers-Briggs?

The Strong compares your interests to people who are working in various professions. The Myers-Briggs sorts your preferences for decision making, taking in energy, gathering information, and lifestyle to show how you prefer to live your life. While they are based on different theories, there is some correlation between the two sorters. For example, many people who prefer Judging also score high on Conventional on the Strong, while Intuitives tend to prefer Artistic pursuits. Be sure to read sample reports of both types to see the differences more clearly. Back To The Top

I took the Strong in high school or college. Should I take it again?

Absolutely. Your interests are likely to continue changing throughout your lifetime. Even people who are approaching retirement can benefit from uncovering interests they can use in their next life phase. Your interests could be quite different at 40 than at 20. The Strong can often verify what you suspected all along - that there are things you're interested in professionally that you hadn't considered in previous years. You can take the Strong any time you've made a major change in your life, such as marriage, divorce, new family members, job loss, midlife "transition," retirement, etc. The insights you gain can make your changes much easier to understand and even to enjoy them.
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Which Strong is the best? There are so many versions.

There are only two Strong tests: the 1994 version and the 2004 version. Most reports on this site are based on the 2004 test. My favorite is the combined Strong/MBTI Career Report. Basically, you take the Strong Interest Inventory, then your results are adjusted for your Myers-Briggs type. In my view, it combines the best of both tests to give you a more accurate, personal picture of where your career interests lie. The Strong Professional is good for people who are only interested in careers that require a college degree or higher. The Entrepreneur report is a must for anyone who is considering starting his or her own business. You could save yourself a lot of aggravation, time, energy, and money if you were to discover it's really not for you before you start. Likewise, you might uncover areas of self-employment that don't interest you. In such cases, you could find a partner to fill in those areas where you are weakest. Knowing all this before you get started will surely make the job easier. The College report is designed for those who are sure they are going to college and are would like to find out which majors people with the same interests commonly choose. The High School report has the same basic information, but includes options other than going to college after high school.
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The Strong doesn't list the job I'm interested in. Why are there so few professions listed on the report?

That's correct, the number of professions is limited. Obviously, a report could include hundreds of jobs. There are a few challenges with that approach. First, some jobs are rather infrequent. Second, as the number of listings increases, the amount of confusion generated grows along with it. Third, the Strong shows you patterns of interests according to Holland's theory of occupational codes. Using that information, you could look up additional jobs that match your two or three letter code. In short, you'll have many possible job paths to select from, using the information from your Strong. You'll notice each Strong report concludes with a listing of books for more information. You can read up and get a great deal more information about your career options. Finally, it's very hard to develop statistically valid scales for a profession. You need enough people in your sample and you must find enough statistically different values to warrant creating a new job or category. In other words, there might not be enough difference between surgeon and physician to create two categories.
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