What your Myers-Briggs personality type says about you

In The Know
Updated ·6 min read

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a self-reported test that is designed to identify people’s personalities, preferences, strengths and weaknesses. The questionnaire was developed by Isabel Myers and Katherine Briggs who built off of Carl Jung’s theory of personality types.

The test essentially sorts users into one of 16 distinct personality types. The goal is to ultimately understand yourself and those around you better. MBTI is one of the most widely used psychological tests in the world.

Each of the 16 types are categorized by four-letter codes that are based on four different scales: Extroversion (E) versus Introversion (I), Sensing (S) versus Intuition (I), Thinking (T) versus Feeling (F) and Judging (J) versus Perceiving (P).

One type is not “better” nor “worse” than another, they are all just reflective of how you feel about social interactions, how you gather information, how you make decisions and how you deal with the outside world.

Here are two options for free online tests you can take to see what you are.

ISTJ

Introversion, sensing, thinking, judgment

ISTJs are on the reserved side. They think practically and are typically quiet — although they’re always listening. They enjoy organization in all aspects of their lives. ISTJs value loyalty and love traditions.

ISTP

Introversion, sensing, thinking, perceiving

ISTPs are very, very independent and need time to think alone. They’re hands-on with activities and enjoy new experiences as long as they can work at their own pace. They prioritize practicality over abstract ideas, and get easily bored with routines.

ISFJ

Introversion, sensing, feeling, judgment

ISFJs are very common. They enjoy structure and strive to maintain structure and order in all aspects of their lives. They are very observant and focused on other people — a key defining feature is how good they are at remembering details about other people. While they’re in tune with the emotions and feelings of others, they have trouble expressing themselves.

ISFP

Introversion, sensing, feeling, perceiving

ISFP is another common personality. Although not extroverts, ISFPs are still kind and friendly, although they need time alone after spending time with others. They typically prefer to hang out with a small group of close friends they know very well or family members. They’re super easy-going and detail-oriented.

INFJ

Introversion, intuition, feeling, judgment

INFJs are one of the rarest personality types. They are creative, gentle and highly sensitive to how others feel. They have high moral standards and focus on the future. INFJs love to talk about deep topics about abstract topics like the meaning of life.

INFP

Introversion, intuition, feeling, perceiving

INFPs are mediators and are driven by high values. A lot of INFPs want to work towards making the world a better place so they’re preoccupied with figuring out how they fit into the world and how they can best be helpful to serve humanity. They are incredibly big picture focused.

INTJ

Introversion, intuition, thinking, judgment

INTJs are highly creative and analytical and pretty rare. They like to work alone and don’t really think about concrete details — like INFPs, they’re all about the big picture. They prefer making decisions based in logic rather than emotions.

INTP

Introversion, intuition, thinking, perceiving

INTPs are described as quiet and analytical. They have a very strong inner world and as a result, do not typically have a large social circle — although that doesn’t mean they don’t have friends, they’re just very selective. They enjoy being alone and coming up with solutions to problems.

ESTP

Extroversion, sensing, thinking, perceiving

ESTPs are one of the more common personalities. They’re outgoing and action-oriented and love spending time with their wide circle of friends. They focus on the present and on details rather than the bigger picture. When it comes to decisions, they factor in their personal feelings more than logic.

ESTJ

Extroversion, sensing, thinking, judgment

ESTJ is the take-charge personality. They are really assertive and preoccupied with making sure everything works and fits within set rules. They work within the confines of standards and laws and expect others to uphold similar principles. ESTJs work to maintain the status quo.

ESFP

Extroversion, sensing, feeling, perceiving

ESFPs are often described as being spontaneous and outgoing. They love being the center of attention and typically gravitate towards jobs in entertainment. They’re the quintessential “class clown” — although that’s not to suggest they can’t take anything seriously. They’re very in tune with the emotions and people around them and like to make people feel good.

ESFJ

Extroversion, sensing, feeling, judgment

ESFJs are very tender-hearted and love interacting with other people. They are recognized for their efforts to encourage other people and having a hard time believing anything bad about people they’re close with. But they’re not pushovers, they’re genuinely good friends and are a magnet for people because of their people-pleasing tendencies.

ENFP

Extroversion, intuition, feeling, perceiving

ENFPs are very enthusiastic and charismatic people. They excel creatively and thrive in situations where they are independent. They are great with people and hate routine. They are highly adaptable to change, although it may concern personalities like ISTJs because ENFPs are prone to procrastination and disorganization.

ENFJ

Extroversion, intuition, feeling, judgment

ENFJs are warm, outgoing, loyal and sensitive. Out of all the personality types, ENFJs are considered the strongest “people person” type. They can build friendships with any of the types and have a strong value system that factors into their desire to help other people be the best they can be.

ENTP

Extroversion, intuition, thinking, perceiving

ENTPs are idea-oriented and love coming up with new theories. They’re less interested in the here-and-now details and do tend to move on before executing plans to make their ideas happen. ENTPs are also great conversationalists and love having debates — but that doesn’t mean they just love to argue or play devil’s advocate. ENTPs enjoy debating for the sake of exploring topics and learning what other people believe and how other people think.

ENTJ

Extroversion, intuition, thinking, judgment

Assertive, confident and outspoken, ENTJs love interacting with others. They’re also big planners and spend more time thinking about the future than the present. Planning out events or schedules gives them a sense of control and security. ENTJs are natural leaders because of their comfort with taking charge and solving problems.

If you enjoyed reading this article, you might also like this theory that determines whether you’re actually a good person.

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