Nameless Rumia's Wiki

I'm tired of the internet!

User Tools

Site Tools

myers-briggs_type_indicator

Table of Contents

Myers–Briggs Type Indicator

“kind of a garbage personality type that doesn't really fit into the world.”
– Nameless Rumia

The Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a Jungian self-report questionnaire, authored by Katharine Briggs and Isabel Myers in 1944,1) and published under “The Myers–Briggs Company” since 1975. It is regarded as a pseudoscience2)3) with discriminatory potential.4)

Despite the concerns and warnings, it has remained an influential tool amongst institutions.5)6)7) The tool had also seen a brief popularity surge in East Asian countries, like China8)9) and South Korea,10)11) to a point where it even became a so-called 'dating tool'.12)13)14) Before we proceed, please note that types can change, despite what the organization says,15) and don't let yourself be a victim to labeling theory.16)

Summary

In short, the indicator utilizes four binary dichotomies to categorize people into sixteen personality types that use a four-letter initialism of said dichotomies, as shown below. In addition, each personality type has four cognitive functions in a supposed order, but nobody knows what the hell that means, and people do get mad if you say you 'fall between two types' but don't know which one.17)

  • Extroversion (E) or Introversion (I)
    The 'attitude' function, which assesses how you typically exert and gather energy.
  • Sensing (S) or Intuition (N)
    The 'information gathering' function, which assesses how you interpret new information.
  • Thinking (T) or Feeling (F)
    The 'decision making' function, which assessing what you do with that information.
  • Judging (J) or Perceiving (P)
    The 'lifestyle' function, which is more complex since it's mostly for further categorization.

The 16 personality types

Below is a grid of the 16 personality types with their top 2 cognitive functions. For fun, some people like when their MBTI type is reduced to a 'one-word descriptor' as if it were an RPG class, so I have also thrown in the descriptor from 16Personalities (NERIS Analytics Limited), animals from 16TEST (Aldra), and whatever the equivalent from the Keirsey Temperament Sorter and Socionics would've been.

ISTJ (SiTe)

  • Logistician
  • Hippo
  • Inspector
  • Logical Sensory Introvert (LSI)

ISFJ (SiFe)

  • Defender
  • Deer
  • Protector
  • Ethical Sensory Introvert (ESI)

INFJ (NiFe)

  • Advocate
  • Giraffe
  • Counselor
  • Ethical Intuitive Introvert (EII)

INTJ (NiTe)

  • Architect
  • Tiger
  • Mastermind
  • Logical Intuitive Introvert (LII)

ISTP (TiSe)

  • Virtuoso
  • Cat
  • Crafter
  • Sensory Logical Introvert (SLI)

ISFP (FiSe)

  • Adventurer
  • Sheep
  • Composer
  • Sensory Ethical Introvert (SEI)

INFP (FiNe)

  • Mediator
  • Rabbit
  • Healer
  • Intuitive Ethical Introvert (IEI)

INTP (TiNe)

  • Logician
  • Owl
  • Architect
  • Intuitive Logical Introvert (ILI)

ESTP (SeTi)

  • Entrepreneur
  • Zebra
  • Promoter
  • Sensory Logical Extravert (SLE)

ESFP (SeFi)

  • Entertainer
  • Cow
  • Performer
  • Sensory Ethical Extravert (SEE)

ENFP (NeFi)

  • Campaigner
  • Elephant
  • Champion
  • Intuitive Ethical Extravert (IEE)

ENTP (NeTi)

  • Debater
  • Parrot
  • Inventor
  • Intuitive Logical Extravert (ILE)

ESTJ (TeSi)

  • Executive
  • Bear
  • Supervisor
  • Logical Sensory Extravert (LSE)

ESFJ (FeSi)

  • Consul
  • Horse
  • Provider
  • Ethical Sensory Extravert (ESE)

ENFJ (FeNi)

  • Protagonist
  • Dog
  • Teacher
  • Ethical Intuitive Extravert (EIE)

ENTJ (TeNi)

  • Commander
  • Lion
  • Fieldmarshal
  • Logical Intuitive Extravert (LIE)

Type distribution

The distribution of the 16 personality types are quite strange. One would expect that all 16 personality types would equally float around 6.25% across the board, yet this isn't the case at all. The following chart has the official distribution percentages according to the organization, but I've also included external field studies since these 'rare' personality types can feel more common than it seems.

Type 'Official' studies Field studies
2002 2023 Bsky
All ♂️ ♀️ 2025
ISTJ (SiTe) 11.6% 15.9% 18.9% 13.3% 2.8%
ISFJ (SiFe) 13.8% 8.4% 4.9% 11.3% 3.4%
INFJ (NiFe) 1.5% 2.3% 1.4% 3.1% 12.3%
INTJ (NiTe) 2.1% 2.6% 3.0% 2.2% 9.0%
ISTP (TiSe) 5.4% 9.8% 13.3% 6.8% 4.0%
ISFP (FiSe) 8.8% 6.6% 5.5% 7.5% 7.1%
INFP (FiNe) 4.4% 6.4% 4.6% 8.0% 26.9%
INTP (TiNe) 3.3% 4.8% 5.8% 4.0% 15.7%
ESTP (SeTi) 4.3% 6.1% 7.8% 4.7% 0.6%
ESFP (SeFi) 8.5% 6.0% 5.1% 6.7% 0.6%
ENFP (NeFi) 8.1% 8.2% 5.8% 10.2% 6.8%
ENTP (NeTi) 3.2% 4.3% 5.1% 3.6% 5.6%
ESTJ (TeSi) 8.7% 9.0% 11.3% 7.0% 0.0%
ESFJ (FeSi) 12.3% 5.7% 3.5% 7.5% 0.6%
ENFJ (FeNi) 2.5% 2.2% 1.4% 2.8% 2.2%
ENTJ (TeNi) 1.8% 1.8% 2.3% 1.5% 2.5%

Finding a personality type

While the 'official' method of finding a personality type involves reading through the materials or finishing their paid questionnaire at MBTI Online, you could probably imagine that most people don't actually use these options. Instead, most people end up taking one of several 'MBTI-inspired' tests online, listed below, that kinda dodges the copyright that surrounds the instrument in some way. Do your own research.

Notes

  • As usual, its use of the Barnum–Forer effect and confirmation bias should be noted.
  • Despite being controversial within the MBTI community, there's actually fan art of the 16Personalities.
  • For those curious, the curator used to fall under INTP–INTJ, but has since grown into an INFP.
1)
The first MBTI handbook was released in 1944 as the Briggs Myers Type Indicator Handbook, before it was renamed to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator in 1956. The first MBTI manual was released in 1962.
2)
"Why the Myers-Briggs test is totally meaningless" (July 15, 2014). Vox.
3)
"Personality Assessments: Separating Science From Nonsense" (November 18, 2022). Psychology Today.
4)
"To Promote Inclusivity, Stay Away from Personality Assessments" (August 22, 2023). The New York Times.
5)
"How The Myers-Briggs Personality Test Began In A Mother's Living Room Lab" (September 22, 2018). NPR.
6)
"Overlooked No More: Katharine Briggs and Isabel Myers, Creators of a Personality Test" (October 14, 2022). The New York Times.
7)
"The Persistent Appeal of the Myers-Briggs Personality Test" (December 11, 2023). Psychology Today.
8)
"Personality tests playing larger role in China’s job market" (April 6, 2022). The Global Times.
9)
"Navigating 2023 through 12 neologisms" (January 3, 2024). China Daily.
10)
"The man behind Korea’s MBTI craze 👀" (July 15, 2022). YouTube.
11)
"Personality tests become hugely popular among young Koreans" (August 30, 2022). The Korea Times.
12)
"The MBTI is trending in Korea, but using the personality test to date is a ‘terrible idea,’ says relationships psychologist" (July 29, 2022). CNBC.
13)
"Personality tests for finding love match?" (September 6, 2022). The Korea Herald.
14)
"Young Chinese Obsess Over Myers–Briggs Type Indicator, the 60s American Personality Test" (July 31, 2023). Sixth Tone.
15)
"Are personalities permanent? Can your personality type change?" (November 23, 2022). The Myers-Briggs Company.
16)
Do not let your personality type completely define who you are. I mean, some of the MBTI-related content will pair certain personality types with the worst career or job choices, like, fuck that shit.
17)
I've seen people say something like “No! That's not possible! These types have different cognitive functions! There's no way you're 50-50 on a dichotomy and don't know which type!” and it's like… what the fuck?
18)
16Personalities is a bit controversial in the MBTI community as it combines MBTI with the Big Five, so some people argue that it's more of a Big Five test with MBTI as an afterthought.
myers-briggs_type_indicator.txt · Last modified: by namelessrumia