MBTI® - Background
Theoretical background
The MBTI® originates from the typological theory developed by Carl Gustav Jung which shows basic typological patterns in the following psychological processes:
- how we assimilate information;
- how we make decisions.
In 1962, based on this concept, the American psychologist Isabel Briggs Myers developed an extensive questionnaire for identifying personality preferences.
The MBTI® theory basically comprises the following 3 assertions:
- Human behaviour is not accidental, even though it sometimes appears to be.
- Human behaviour can be classified and, to some degree, predicted: It can be described how individuals prefer to assimilate information and then make decisions. Conscious mental activity can be classified into two perception processes (sensing and intuition) and two judgment processes (thinking and feeling).
- Human behaviour is different because there are different attitudes and preferences: to a high degree, our preferences dictate our behaviour and, among other things, they significantly influence our preferred leadership style, how we deal with problems, how we communicate, which conflict management strategy we use and how we act in teams.
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