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MBTI, formally knowns as, The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator depicts the type of personality a person has, his or her strengths, and preferences. This questionnaire indicating the personality types was established by Isabel Myers and Katherine Briggs. This questionnaire was founded on their work with theory of personality styles developed by Carl Jung.
This mother-daughter duo was very much captivated by Carl Jung’s theory of numerous personality styles. They believed that this concept must have a real-life application. So, they started researching and collecting various indicators that can explain personality differences among individuals.
The first draft was created during the 1940s. Soon after that, both the women started applying it to their family and peers around. The development in the tool took place gradually over time. The full version took around two decades and was gone through various revisions.
Overview of the Test
Every individual falls in one of the 16 personality types based on the answers provided in the questionnaire. The purpose of MBTI is to allow people to discover their personalities and their traits. It allows them to know about their pleasures, displeasures, strengths, weaknesses, preferences in career and people. It also highlights the compatibility an individual has with other people.
The questionnaire has four scales that differ from one another. These four scales are as follows:
Extraversion (E) vs Introversion (I)
This scale explains the way an individual interacts with the ones around him or her. Extroverts are those who are more action-oriented, they love to socialize with the world around them, they like spending time with people, and feel energized in various social gatherings.
Introverts, on the other hand, are more thought-oriented. They like their own company. They do not like the socializing activities much. They enjoy having deep and meaningful conversations. They feel recharged when they spend time unaccompanied.
Sensing (S) vs Intuition (N)
This scale includes looking at how people collect data regarding the things around them. People use sense and institution to understand whatever the situation they face.
People who prefer sensing over intuiting are more reality-based in nature. They rely on real information, particularly what they gather using their own senses. They focus on factual information and pay attention to every single detail. Hand-on experience carries prime importance for them. While those who favor intuition pay attention to forms and procedures in order to understand a thing. They like to imagine about future and like to enjoy the possibilities they may have.
Thinking (T) vs Feeling (F)
This scale depicts the way people take decisions using the evidence they have collected from using senses or intuition. Those who choose thinking always look for factual information. They prefer objective data as compared to subjective information. They always go for factual and consistent information and become highly impersonal while taking any decision.
Those people who prefer feelings give more weightage to feelings, emotions, and people around them. The conclusions that they make are highly influenced by what they feel and how they react emotionally.
Judging (J) vs Perceiving (P)
This scale shows the way people react to the world around them. Those people who choose judging always go for structures and stable decisions. While those who prefer perceiving are more adaptable towards change. They are more flexible in nature. They always remain open to changing their approaches when required.
Relationship of Personality (MBTI) and Intelligence
Researchers have identified that personality and intelligence have few features in common. They both follow a stable pattern throughout one’s life. They both can somehow be determined genetically. Both personality and intelligence predict various outcomes of people’s lives. For instance, educational achievement, job performance, health and
Historically, psychologists claimed that there are differences between the two. Some psychologists have also drawn a hard difference between personality and intelligence by stating that intelligence is cognitive in nature while personality is a non-cognitive trait.
With the advancements in research, psychologists have found out that intelligence and personality traits are intertwined. Personality traits are related to some cognitive patterns. For instance, agreeableness is a personality trait that is related to attention to other people’s mental states.
The direct relationship between intelligence and personality is still under consideration is also due to the fact that both of these are measured in different ways, intelligence is usually measured using various IQ tests. High scores in the test ensure high intelligence. While personality is determined while using questionnaires such as MBTI.
It is possible to measure personality and its traits using intelligence tests. For instance, conscientiousness can be calculated through the tests measuring self-control. Some research studies have also claimed that few personality dimensions are positively related to the IQ such as emotional stability, toughness, provocativeness, and happiness.
IQ also has negative relation with few personality dimensions such as morality, sociability, tenderness, and nurturance. Both of these positive and negative correlations were much smaller but they are strong enough to become a base for future research.
Concluding Thoughts
Historically, intelligence and personality were considered separate dimensions. But with the passage of time psychologists found out that both are intertwined and linked. Many personality traits are positively linked to intelligence and can also boost the IQ of an individual.
Generally, both the Intelligence and personality are measured using different tools. Intelligence is measured using various IQ tests. These tests are mostly licensed and are required to be purchased. Personality, on the other hand, is determined by questionnaires such as MBTI.
It is possible to measure personality dimensions using IQ test. This is the research gap that needs to be filled by measuring different personality traits using IQ tests. It will not only highlight the facts about various personality traits but can also serve as an intervention to find the relationship between personality and IQ.
Research over the last three decades holds prime importance in this regard. It has been established that IQ is related to personality traits. They are not distinct domains of human functioning and most of their dimensions overlap with one another.