16 personalities

The 16 personality types

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Only 10 minutes to get a “freakishly accurate” description of who you are and why you do things the way you do.

In our free type descriptions you’ll learn what really drives, inspires, and worries different personality types,

helping you build more meaningful relationships.

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Explore our in-depth descriptions of each of the 16 personality types to learn more about yourself and your loved ones.

Or, if you're not sure which personality type fits you, take our free personality test .

The 16 personality types were created by Isabel Myers and Katharine Briggs, developers of the assessment.

Myers and Briggs created their personality typology to help people discover their own strengths and gain

a better understanding of how people are different.

When you discover your own personality type, you'll understand more clearly why you do the things you do.

You will gain confidence in your strengths and be better able to make decisions that suit your true nature.

About the 16 Personality Types

Personality typing is a system of categorizing people according to their tendencies to think and act in particular ways.

Personality typing attempts to find the broadest, most important ways in which people are different,

and make sense of these differences by sorting people into meaningful groups.

What is personality typing?

The personality types described here were created by Isabel Briggs Myers and her mother, Katharine Briggs,

in the 1960's. Their theories were based on the work of psychologist Carl Jung,

although they extended his ideas to create a more complete framework of personality typing.

Myers and Briggs proposed that there were four key dimensions that could be used to categorize people:

Introversion vs. Extraversion

Sensing vs. Intuition

Thinking vs. Feeling

Judging vs. Perceiving

Each of the four dimensions was described as a dichotomy, or an either/or choice between two styles of being.

Myers and Briggs described this as a "preference" and proposed that any individual should be able to identify

a preferred style on each of the four dimensions. The sum of a person's four preferred styles becomes

their personality type.

Myers and Briggs theorized that our preferences on each of the four dimensions would combine to create

predictable patterns in thought and behavior, so that people with the same four preferences would share many

commonalities in the way they approach their lives, from the hobbies they choose to the work that might suit them.

What is the meaning of the four letters in a personality type?

Each of the four letters in a personality type code stands for a preference in your style of thinking or behaving.

I/E: INTROVERSION OR EXTRAVERSION

The Introversion/Extraversion dimension describes how a person manages their energy.

Introverts are energized by spending quiet time alone or with a small group.

They tend to be more reserved and thoughtful.

Extraverts are energized by spending time with people and in busy, active surroundings.

They tend to be more expressive and outspoken.