A NARRATIVE MBTIŽ HISTORY


The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) was developed by Isabel Briggs Myers and her mother, Katharine Cook Briggs, so that C. G. Jung's theory of psychological types could be made practical and useful in people's lives.

C. G. Jung (1875-1963), the Swiss psychoanalyst, developed his theory of psychological types from reflecting on why there were so many different approaches to psychology, in particular the differences between himself and Freud.  Building his ideas on the work of others as well as from his own clinical research, he initially described two psychological types:  extraverts and introverts, in 1913.  He developed the framework further in his book, Psychological Types (1921), by introducing the categories of perception (sensing and intuition) and judgment (thinking and feeling) in mental functioning.  Unlike his other work, Jung never revised his writing on the types, but added to it and spoke on it for some decades.  He always considered it as a cornerstone of this thought, notably in the expression of his theory of opposites.

Katharine Cook Briggs (1875-1968) came from an academic family and attended what later became the University of Michigan.  Through her love of biography, she developed an interest in individual differences.  She constructed her own personality model out of her own research, which she commenced in 1917, after meeting her daughter Isabel's boyfriend Clarence (Chief) Myers, whom she saw as very different from Isabel.  She set aside this research after reading Jung's Psychological Types in 1923, considering his model to be superior.  The respected periodical, New Republic, published two articles of Briggs' on type:  "Meet Yourself - Using the Personality Paint Box" in 1926 and "Up From Barbarism" in 1928, but to no overt response.  She read all of Jung's available works and corresponded with him intermittently, meeting him briefly in 1937, accompanied by her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers.

Isabel Briggs Myers (1896-1980) learned about psychological type through family discussion and observation, testing out Jung's framework over many years.  A graduate of Swarthmore College, Myers had a promising career as an author and playwright, which she gave up to concentrate on being a parent.  Her prize-winning crime novel, Murder Yet to Come, published in 1930, used type concepts in the development of the book's characters.

The Briggs-Myers family validated Jung's typology through their personal observation.  They expected that professionals in the field would quickly put these ideas to practical use, but this did not happen.  Contemporary applied psychology in the U.S. had no space for Jung, and attempts to quantify extraversion and introversion had mixed results.

Acting on her mother's suggestion, Myers began to develop an instrument based on Jung's typology.  In undertaking this task, Myers taught herself the statistics required and constructed questions for testing against a criterion group of about 20 family and friends whose type preferences seemed clear to her and her mother.  Myers' children also took the questions to their school for testing with their peers.

After constructing a draft of what she called the Indicator, Isabel Briggs Myers began conducting her own research with high school and medical students.  The Indicator was funded by the family through Myers' own money and gifts from others.

Myers sent Jung a copy of the Indicator.  He gracefully declined to complete it, while complimenting her on her work.  Jung did not care for mathematics and his science, grounded in the German school of thought, did not value statistics as Americans did.

In 1956, Isabel Briggs Myers was asked to present the Indicator at Educational Testing Service (ETS).  ETS later signed a contract with her to publish the Indicator as a research instrument.  She originally wanted to name the instrument the Briggs Myers Type Indicator in honor of her mother, but decided to name to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.

Although the MBTI itself was critiqued by ETS researchers, Myers proceeded with her research, producing a Manual for MBTI Form F in 1962.  She privately published a booklet called Introduction to Type in 1970.  Her book, Gifts Differing, was published in 1980.

Because the MBTI was not generally available while being published at ETS, it was discovered through word-of-mouth or accident and used primarily for research.  Isabel Briggs Myers negotiated for a Japanese version of the MBTI in the early 1960's.

In the late 1960's, Dr. Mary McCaulley of the University of Florida read about the MBTI in Buros (The Mental Measurements Yearbook), conducted research with it, and subsequently contacted Isabel Briggs Myers.  Their meeting started a collaboration that became the Center for Applications of Psychological Type (CAPT), the centralized organization for MBTI research, in 1975.  CAPT was started in conjunction with the American Medical Student Association (AMSA) and much of the organization's initial research was on medical students and using type to help them in residency selection.

1975 also saw the first conference on the MBTI at Gainesville, Florida, organized through word of mouth and ETS/CAPT mailing lists.  Other conferences followed with the Association for Psychological Type (APT) being established in 1979.

ETS ended its contract with Isabel Briggs Myers in 1975, and Consulting Psychologists Press (CPP) became the new MBTI publisher.  CPP made the MBTI more publicly available for the first time in 1976.

In 1978, David Keirsey and Marilyn Bates wrote Please Understand Me, the first published book using typological ideas.  The "type sorter" contained in this book is often mistakenly called the short version of the MBTI.  A revised MBTI Manual co-authored by Mary McCaulley and Isabel Briggs Myers became available in 1985.

Development of the MBTI has continued since Isabel Briggs Myers' death.  A shorter, self-scoring version - Form AV was proven unreliable. Shorter, self-scoring versions of Form G were later released.
 
Other people have worked on the Indicator itself, predominantly David Saunders, in developing and introducing Forms J and K.  Naomi Quenk and Jean Kummerow have worked on the revised Form K (Expanded Interpretive Report-MBTI Step II) and Allen Hammer on the revised MBTI as well as editing the supplement to the MBTI Manual, MBTI Applications (1996).

The MBTI continues to spread in acceptance and use, resulting in a growing body of literature.  The MBTI Qualifying Workshops instituted by CPP in 1985 serve as a means for professionals to know how to use the MBTI ethically and properly.

The MBTI itself has been translated into over 30 languages, and validated in four.  Some are commercially available.  Otto Kroeger and Janet M. Thuesen's three books, Type Talk, Type Talk at Work, and 16 Ways to Love Your Lover, have been translated into Japanese, Korean, Russian, Polish, Chinese, and Taiwanese.  

The MBTI is also used extensively internationally, with Associations for Psychological Type in Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and elsewhere, which are affiliated with APT.  These associations conduct their own conferences and develop their own databases.  The International Type Users Organization (ITUO) has conducted conferences around the world, and there are regular specialist conferences on topics such as leadership, education, culture, counseling, and temperament.


CURRENT MBTI FORMS


Form F - Developed 1958.  166 Items
* The standard form until 1985.  Now used mainly for research.
Form G - Introduced 1977.  126 Items
* Considered the standard form since 1985.
Form AV - Introduced 1983.  50 Items
* Self-scoring.  First 50 items of Form G.
* Lacked validity.  Replaced in 1987 by Form G (Self-Scoring).
Form G (Self-Scoring) - Introduced 1987.  94 Items
* Includes all the items scored in Form G.
* Revised format introduced in 1993.  Both formats still available.
Form K - Introduced 1990.  131 Items
* Expanded Analysis Report (EAR), offering a breakdown of the four MBTI dichotomies into subscales.  Revised and renamed.
* Expanded Interpretive Report and MBTI Step II in 1996.
Form J - Introduced 1990.  290 Items
* Myers-Briggs Type Differentiation Indicator (TDI).
* Developed by David Saunders using Isabel Briggs Myers' items, providing subscales as in Form K and introducing a fifth dichotomy (Comfort-Discomfort) and subscales.  Available only to therapists.
MMTIC - Introduced 1987.  70 Items
* The Murphy-Meisgeier Type Indicator for Children (grades 2-8).
* Measures same four dichotomies as the MBTI with a "U" band for undifferentiated preferences.

A TIMELINE OF THE MBTI HISTORY

1913
* C. G. Jung introduces the terms introversion and extraversion in a paper on psychological types in Munich.
1917
* Katharine Cook Briggs begins her research into personality.
1921
* C. G. Jung's book, Psychological Types, published in English.
* Katharine Briggs reads Psychological Types, finds that Jung's theory corresponds to and elaborates on her own observations about people.
1921-1941
* The Briggs family tests Jung's typology through observation, discussion.
* Katharine Briggs has two articles describing Jung's theory published in the New Republic in 1926 and 1928.
* Isabel Briggs Myers writes prize-winning mystery novel, Murder Yet to Come, using typological ideas (1929).
* Isabel Briggs Myers and Katharine Briggs meet Jung briefly in 1937.
1942
* U.S. World War II entry prompts creation of the Myers -Briggs Type Indicator.
* Many potential Indicator questions written.  Validated through a criterion group of about 20 relatives, friends of Briggs' and Myers' families.
* J/P Attitude dichotomy developed as an extension of Jung's theory.
* Early forms (A,B, and C) developed and copyrighted (1943).
1944-1956
* Data collection and research continues.
* First thesis on MBTI (Laney, 1944)
* Isabel Briggs Myers corresponds with Jung, sending him the Indicator, which he decides not to complete.
1956
* Isabel Briggs Myers presents the Indicator to Educational Testing Service (ETS).

1956-1962
* ETS then becomes the first publisher of the Indicator (as a research instrument) in 1958.  The instrument is named the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. 
* Development of new forms.
* Isabel Briggs Myers encounters resistance from psychometricians.
1962
* ETS publishes MBTI Manual for Form F.
1963-1969
* Isolated researchers and clinicians discover the MBTI and find it useful.
1969
* Isabel Briggs Myers and Mary McCaulley meet.  Collaboration for research begins.
1971
* Myers and McCaulley form Typology Laboratory at University of Florida, Gainesville and create centralized database.
1975
* Typology Lab becomes Center for Applications of Psychological Type Inc. (CAPT), independent from the University of Florida and in conjunction with the American Medical Student Association (AMSA).
* First MBTI Conference, Gainesville, Fl.
* ETS contract ends; Consulting Psychologists Press (CPP) new publisher.
1976
* MBTI becomes generally available to test user.
1977
* MBTI dichotomies restandardized; Form G published.
* Second MBTI Conference convened in Michigan.

1979
* Third MBTI Conference, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Isabel Briggs Myers' birthday.
* Formation of the Association for Psychological Type (APT).
* Publication of Research In Psychological Type, later the Journal of Psychological Type (JPT), dedicated to MBTI research.
1980
* Isabel Briggs Myers dies; her book, Gifts Differing, published.
1981
* Otto Kroeger Associates commences training programs on the MBTI.
1985
* Revised MBTI Manual published.
* Qualifying Workshops instituted by CPP.  OKA program approved.
* CPP commences publication of range of MBTI related materials.
1988-1994
* Otto Kroeger and Janet M. Thuesen's books, Type Talk, Type Talk at Work, and 16 Ways to Love Your Lover are published.
1996
* CPP institutes a standardized exam for all Qualifying Programs.
* Form K revised as MBTI Step II (Expanded Interpretive Report).
