Research scientists and personal development gurus have been using personality typing as a tool for evaluation in the areas of growth and development. The belief is that by learning the theories of personality type the individual can have a rewarding experience as a tool for discovery, as opposed to a method for putting people into boxes or making excuses for behavior. When people consider personality types most individuals think first of the Myers Briggs personality indicator types which was originally designed by a mother-daughter team based on the well-known research of psychologist Carl Jung. (1)
Sometimes people distinguish the difference between personality types and personality traits. Personality traits are a small group of behavioral tendencies and types are believed to involve a qualitative difference between people. For instance, having an introverted personality or an extroverted personality are two fundamentally different types of personality.
Another well-known example of personality typing is the work done by researchers which identified \”type A\” personalities that appeared to be more impatient and hostile and also at more risk for heart attacks. Interestingly, this particular theory has not held up using empirical research. (2)
For centuries people have tried to classify individuals into distinct categories. It appears to be the human condition where individuals are more comfortable knowing a specific category in which others fall. Some regard personality types as distinct, others regarded as continuous. However, most do regard personality types as discontinuous, meaning you are either in one group of individuals or another. You are either an introvert or an extrovert but do not necessarily hold the traits of both.
The desire to put individuals into categories has been documented as far back as 2000 B.C., during which the ancient Greeks described for different types of \”humors\” in people. Each type of person was believed to have an excess of one of four different body fluids, all of which corresponded to their external personalities or character. The Greeks believed that individuals were either irritable, depressed, optimistic or calm.
In the 1940s William Sheldon classified personalities of individuals according to body type. His system was called somatotypes and based an individual\’s character on the shape of the body. For instance, he theorized that people who are plump had relaxed and sociable personalities while those who were lean or delicate were quiet, non-assertive and sensitive. (3)
Myers-Briggs indicator types were not developed until World War II when the mother-daughter team attempted to differentiate personality types for women who were reentering the workforce, in order that they find positions which would be best suited to their specific talents. Their work was based on a 1921 publication by Carl Jung which outlines specific personality types based on temperaments. (4)
In 1971 Block identified five different personality types among men in a study, but only three of the five held up in further studies in the 1990s. These personality types included a well-adjusted or resilient person who was adaptable and flexible; an individual who was over controlling and maladjusted, uptight; or an individual who was under controlling and impulsive, risky, delinquent or even had criminal behavior.
In theory, personality typing is useful for corporate agencies, career counselors and government agencies who would like to have a way of predicting the success rate of individuals who take on specific types of jobs. However, it is an incredibly over simplistic view of a multidimensional human behavior which has continuous personality types and traits. These individual differences are usually qualitative and not quantitative, which makes them more difficult to qualify and categorize. It is important therefore, that personality type testing is used for specific purposes and not generalized for use in a person\’s entire life.
(1) Center for applications of Pyschological Type: The Story of Isabel Briggs Myers
http://www.capt.org/mbti-assessment/isabel-myers.htm
(2) Psychology Today: Working With a Type A Personality
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/digital-leaders/201201/working-type-personality
(3) British Journal of Sports Medicine: Anthropometric characteristics, Body Composition and Somatotype of Elite Junior Tennis Players
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17957016
(4) Myers Briggs Foundation
http://MyersBriggs.org