The 16 MBTI Personality Types and How You Prefer to Learn and Make Decisions

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What is the MBTI – Myers-Briggs Type Indicator?

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) was developed by the mother-daughter partnership of Katharine Briggs and Isabel Briggs-Myers as an adaptation of Carl Jung’s Psychological Types Theory to make Jung’s work more accessible and valuable in everyone’s daily lives.

The MBTI Personality Typing System is extremely popular but, unfortunately, is also often misunderstood and misused.

The MBTI is about how people prefer to learn and make decisions, based on an individual’s Cognitive Preferences, not Cognitive Capabilities.

This is a crucial distinction and is often why so many people mistype themselves or think they want to be a different type. The other misunderstanding is the meaning or purpose of the Cognitive Functions as defined and intended, leading to mistyping or wanting to be a different type.

There is no one Personality Type better than the others.

Everyone has the same Cognitive Functions, but when learning, making decisions, and communicating with others, we like to use the functions in a preferred way.

Each Function has an internal versus external orientation, and with function pairing, which we will get into later in this article, there are 16 ways of organizing the functions into Personality Types.

There are four Cognitive Functions:

• Thinking – A Judging Function about your Reasons.
• Feeling – A Judging Function about your Core Values.
• Sensing – A Perceiving Function about Facts and Details.
• Intuition – A Perceiving Function about Thinking in Abstract Concepts and Ideas.

Of course, people don’t fit perfectly into only 16 types, but the MBTI is a tool to help you better understand how you prefer to learn and make decisions using four Cognitive Functions.

This is why you need to be honest with yourself. The MBTI is not a competition. It’s intended to help you understand yourself and others better by explaining how people prefer to communicate.

Extraversion versus Introversion

Often, people refer to Extraversion and Introversion as their energy source, meaning they are externally energized or motivated by the world outside themself or internally energized or motivated from within themselves.

The Extraversion Trait, as defined by the Big Five Personality Traits model, measures Extraversion on a scale where High Extraversion is what you expect; a person is outgoing and People-Oriented. In comparison, a person who scores Low in Extraversions is an Introvert.

​However, Extraversion and Introversion within the context of the MBTI have little to do with outgoingness, sociability, or social confidence. It’s not a Personality Trait within the context of the MBTI but rather more an orientation for each of the Cognitive Functions.

It’s helpful to interpret Introverted to mean Subjective and Extraverted to mean Objective within the context of the Thinking and Feeling Judging Cognitive Functions.

For instance, consider Introverted Thinking as your Subjective/Personal Reasons and Introverted Feeling as your Subjective Values. Conversely, interpret Extraverted Thinking as your Objective Reasons and Extraverted Feeling as your Objective Values.

Within the Sensing Perceiving Cognitive Function context, it helps to interpret Introverted as Organizing and Extraverted as Gathering. For instance, Introverted Sensing is Organizing the Facts and Details, whereas Extraverted Sensing is Gathering the Facts and Details.

Within the Intuition Perceiving Cognitive Function context, interpreting Introverted Intuition as Abstract Concepts and Ideas is more beneficial than Extraverted Intuition as more Concreate and Proven Ideas.

Sensing and Intuition Perceiving Functions

Consider the situations below and reflect on whether you prefer Sensing or Intuition when considering your cognitive preference.

What kind of instructions works well for you?

Do you prefer step-by-step, practical instructions that are clear and accurate (S), or do you like to be given the overall purpose and work it out for yourself (N)?

Imagine you assembling something…

Do you follow the instructions (S) or give it a go (N)?

How do you approach learning something new?

Do you like to try things out and experience, focusing on learning with a practical application (S), or instead, explore how learning fits other ideas and imaginatively (N)?

What information do you need when buying something?

The facts, specifications, and details to see if it will meet your needs (S) or an overview and imagine how the product will work for you, a vision of the future, and how you will use it (N)?

The Sensing (S) Function

Sensing refers to processing data through the five senses.

Characteristics:

• You want to know the facts.
• You look at specifics.
• You collect observations about the world.

Extraverted Sensing (Se)

Extraverted Sensing is about gathering data and a strong awareness of the physical world.

You experience the sights, sounds, and smells of the world around you to your fullest extent and act on your experiences immediately.

Characteristics:

• Experiences and notices all the concrete details in the outer world in real time.
• It is highly attuned to environmental changes and scans for visible reactions and relevant data.
• Adapts and changes with the existing environment and tunes into the moment to maximize the experience and respond.
• It focuses on facts and is highly realistic.

Introverted Sensing (Si)

Introverted Sensing is storing and organizing the data and then comparing that data with previous experiences.

For example, when you see a movie that reminds you of another similar movie or when you see someone who reminds you of someone else.

You also use past experiences to learn how to handle similar current situations.

Characteristics:

• Review experience to compare and contrast what is to what has been.
• Clarifies and accumulates detailed information and systematically completes projects.
• Preserves vivid sense impressions, remembering exactly how something once was and its appearance upon oneself.
• Notices changing patterns and is attentive to alterations and modifications.
• Very practical and detail-oriented.

The Intuition (N) Function

Intuition refers to how people process data, looking for meaning and patterns behind the information.

Characteristics:

• Seek out new ideas.
• Ensure things work in theory.
• Use conceptual frameworks.

Extraverted Intuition (Ne)

Extraverted Intuiting involves seeing all possibilities of a subject.

You can juggle many ideas simultaneously and enjoy brainstorming.

Characteristics:

• Sees numerous theoretical possibilities, connections, and relationships between things in the outer world.
• Reads between the lines and explores potential possibilities.
• Has an ever-shifting pattern of ideas and insights triggered by recent experience.
• Sees everything in the context of how it relates to everything else. Nothing stands alone or is disconnected.

Introverted Intuition (Ni)

This Function allows a person to gain a sense of the future by processing data through impressions and meanings.

You discover how the future will be by signs, trends, and patterns.

You will find relationships between many ideas and find ideas similar to those to look for a central concept made up of these smaller ideas.

Characteristics:

• Foresees implications, conceptualizes new ways of seeing things, and gets an image or sense of the future or profound hidden meaning.
• It has a sense of certainty about what will happen. It is energized by transformational visions of how something will develop.
• Receives “flashes” of insight and is tapped into universal symbols.

Thinking and Feeling Judging Functions

Just because someone has a Thinking preference doesn’t mean they don’t have Feelings! And just because someone has a Feeling preference doesn’t mean they don’t Think about things!

Thinking and Feeling are Judging Functions used primarily when making decisions, while the Sensing and Intuition Perceiving Functions. Generally, those who prefer to gather information are Perceiving, while those who like making decisions are Judging.

The Thinking (T) Function

Thinking refers to how people make decisions based on reasons. Introverted Thinking people base their decisions on personal grounds. On the other hand, extroverted thinking people base their decisions on considering objective reasons.

Characteristics:

• Apply logical reasoning.
• Use cause-and-effect analysis.
• Focus on tasks.

Extraverted Thinking (Te)

Extraverted Thinking helps to create order out of chaos and organizes the environment through charts, graphs, outlines, etc.

It allows you to determine what is necessary and determine the most efficient way to complete an objective.

You love a challenge because it attests to your skills, and you will almost always follow through with a project.

Characteristics:

• Applies logic, order, and efficiency to the outer world.
• Quickly notices inefficiency or flaws in a system or plan and is skilled at streamlining processes.
• Expresses thoughts directly and is skilled at critiquing, directing, and organizing.
• Takes decisive action and focuses on objective logic and data to make decisions and create plans.
• Appreciates empirical evidence and dislikes paradoxes.

Introverted Thinking (Ti)

Introverted Thinkers find ways to express an idea that is to the point and concise.

• You analyze, categorize, and evaluate to determine whether something fits into the larger framework.
• You figure out the specific problem of an idea or concept and then work to fix it.
• You often check for inconsistencies worldwide and take things apart to understand how it works.
• You use models to see how things should be and look at both sides of issues to determine inconsistencies.

Characteristics:

• Analyzes, categorizes, and organizes internal principles and truths to determine how the world works.
• It notices the fine distinctions between things and creates categories and sub-categories to classify everything accurately and precisely.
• It looks at many sides of an issue to find inconsistencies, always searching for the most extreme form of truth or accuracy.
• Likes to learn for the sake of learning.

The Feeling (F) Function

The Feeling function guides how people make decisions based on values. Introverted Feeling people have more subjective values. You found your decisions on principles and personal matters. At the same time, Extraverted Feeling people are more objective and base their decisions on considering other people’s feelings and socially acceptable values.

Characteristics:

• Apply values.
• Seek harmony.
• Focus on relationships.

Extraverted Feeling (Fe)

Extraverted Feeling involves considering other people’s feelings to a great level. You decide whether something is worth standing up for based on its truth and significance to objective values.

• You often try to help everyone get along. For example, you may disclose your feelings and take on others as your own.
• You like to determine what will work best for the group to honor and consider everyone’s values and feelings.
• You accommodate yourself and others by deciding what is appropriate and acceptable in that setting.
• You often use social graces by being polite, considerate, and appropriate.
• You often respond to people’s expressed or unexpressed wants or desires.

Characteristics:

• Connects and empathizes with others while responding to their values and feelings.
• Monitors the environment for morale or disharmony and creates an environment where people feel happy and welcome.
• Discloses personal details to establish rapport. Is usually very aware of social niceties, good manners, and expectations of others.
• “Absorbs” other people’s emotions in real-time to sense their feelings.

Introverted Feeling (Fi)

Introverted Feeling involves considering the worth of something based on the truth on which it is based. You decide whether something is worth standing up for based on its validity and significance to your subjective values.

You often have feelings about a person’s essence, which helps you determine if something is fake or genuine.

Introverted Feeling is often expressed through actions and feelings rather than words.

Characteristics:

• Considers what is essential and what one’s subjective values are.
• It notices inconsistencies between actions and espoused values and, as a result, is very attuned to what is authentic or inauthentic.
• Highly aware of what feels right or wrong to oneself and strives to live by that.
• It continually weighs the situational worth or importance of everything. It expresses values through action rather than words most of the time.

Are you a Judger or Perceiver?

Judging does not mean you are “judgmental,” and Perceiving does not mean you are “perceptive.”

Thinking and Feeling are Judging functions, while Sensing and Intuition are Perceiving functions.

The topmost Extraverted Function, which may be the first Dominant Function or the second Auxiliary Function; whichever is the top Extraverted Function, determines if you are a Judger or a Perceiver type of person.

If our highest Extraverted Function is a decision-making function, we prefer Judging. If our highest Extraverted Function is an information-gathering function, we like Perceiving.

For extraverts, our highest Extraverted Function is always the Dominant Function, whereas, for introverts, our secondary Auxiliary Function will always be the highest Extraverted Function.

This is the last letter in the MBTI code. If the last letter is a J, you have Thinking or Feeling as your Dominant or Auxillary as your preferred Function. If the last letter is a P, you have either Sensing or Intuition as your select Function.

TJs use their Thinking function — rather than Feeling, Intuition, or Sensing — in dealing with the external world. In other words, TJs prefer to extravert their Thinking. Similarly, FJs tend to extravert their Feeling. Together, the TJs and FJs are the eight types who like to extravert their Judging function.

J is a handy abbreviation for Extraverted Judging — TJ stands for Extraverted Thinking and FJ for Extraverted Feeling.

The TPs and FPs, on the other hand, are the eight types that prefer to extravert their Perceiving function. That’s what P stands for Extraverted Perception.

P types prefer to use Sensing or iNtuition when dealing with the world. But as a result, their Judging function tends to be introverted.

In particular, TPs tend to introvert their Thinking, and FPs to introvert their Feeling. Thus, P also stands for introverted Judging, TP for introverted Thinking, and FP for introverted Feeling.

The Judging (J) Personality Types

Characteristics:

• Like structure.
• Like to make plans.
• Like to come to a closure.

FJs, who extravert Feelings, are the most empathetic types. More than the other types, they tend to project inwardly into themselves other people’s values, standards, and concerns.

They experience those values, etc., as though they were their own, and they judge their actions and character based on those internalized values. 

ENFJ and ESFJ-type people are Judgers because Extraverted Feeling is their Dominant Function.

INFJ and ISFJ-type people are Judgers because Feeling is their top Extraverted Function.

TJs, with Extraverted Thinking, are the most directive types. More than the other types, they tend to project their values, standards, and concerns outwardly into others.

They experience those values as though they belong to other people, and they judge the actions and character of others based on their own externalized values.

ENTJ and ESTJ-type people are Judgers because Extraverted Thinking is their Dominant Function.

INTJ and ISTJ-type people are Judgers because Thinking is their top Extraverted Function.

The Perceiving (P) Personality Types

Characteristics:

• Are more Process-oriented.
• Like to be spontaneous.
• Remain flexible.

ESFP and ESTP-type people are Perceivers because Extraverted Sensing is their Dominant Function.

ISFP and ISTP-type people are Perceivers because Sensing is their top Extraverted Function.

ENFP and ENTP-type people are Perceivers because Extraverted Intuition is their Dominant Function.

INFP and INTP-type people are Perceivers because Intuition is their top Extraverted Function.

TPs with Introverted Thinking will tell you their opinions and ideas. They tend to do so, however, in a less emotional way.

Emotions are usually the last thing TPs will share with you. When they do, it tends to be more explosive and after a period of stuffing or gunny-sacking their feelings.

TPs are the type most unlike FJs in this respect. Myers and McCaulley recognize this fundamental difference when they refer to TPs as “impersonal” and FJs as “expressive.”

While TJs are most likely to be directive and control-minded and FPs least likely so, most FJs and TPs are likely to be somewhere in the middle.

Similarly, FPs with Introverted Feelings will talk about values and concerns, but they tend to do so more indirectly and less logically or critically than others. They tend to stuff their criticisms and are the type most unlike TJs in this respect.

Again, Myers and McCaulley allude to this fundamental difference in calling FPs “gentle” and TJs “tough-minded.” And while FJs are most likely to be empathetic and ethical-minded and TPs least likely so, most TJs and FPs are probably somewhere in between.

Decoding the MBTI Four Letters

​The four-letter Myers-Briggs Type indicators are mnemonic codes or dichotomies for the 16 Personality Types. Each of the four letters has a specific meaning, as shown below:

You can imagine Perceiving and Judging functions as points on a compass.

Where the Judging values of Thinking and Feeling are the North and South poles (the Judging axis), and the Perceiving values of Intuition and Sensing (Sensation) are the East and West poles (the Perceiving axis).

Each axis works as opposite pairs, so when one value is Introverted, the other must be Extraverted.

For example, if Intuition on the Perceiving axis is Introverted, then Sensing must be Extraverted and vice-versa.

Similarly, for the Judging pair (the Judging axis), if Thinking is Introverted, then Feeling must be Extraverted and vice-versa.

Also, if the Perceiving value is Introverted, Judging must be Extraverted and vice-versa.

The following will show you how to decode the MBTI four-letter code.

1. First, let’s review the second and third letters:

• The second letter is the Perceiving value, either S (Sensing) or N (iNtuition).
• The third letter is the Judging value: T (Thinking) or F (Feeling).

2. The fourth letter is either P if the Perceiving Function is Extraverted; otherwise, it is a J if the Judging Function is Extraverted:

• So, in other words, if the second letter is Ne (Extraverted Intuition) or Se (Extraverted Sensing), the fourth letter will be P because the Perceiving axis is Extraverted.
• Otherwise, if the third letter is Te (Extraverted Thinking) or Fe (Extraverted Feeling), the fourth letter will be J because the Judging axis is Extraverted.

3. The first letter is either E (Extraversion) or I (Introversion) and indicates which of either the Perceiving of Judging Function is the Dominate (top) Function:

• This is independent of the last letter that indicates which Perceiving or Judging value is Extravterd. Thus, the other will be Introverted (the polar opposite).
• The first letter will indicate which of the Perceinig of Judging values is the top Dominate function.

For example, here are the steps for decoding the INFJ Type:

• Step 1 – The fourth letter J means that the Judging value (the third letter) is Extraverted, indicating the F (Feeling) is Extraverted, thus Fe.
• Step 2 – If the third letter is Extraverted, the second letter must be Introverted (and vice-versa). The second letter (the Perceiving) is N (Intuition) i, thus Ni.
• Step 3 – The first letter is an I (Introverted), so the Ni must be the Dominate (top) Function.

So the INFJ decoded means:

• The Dominant (first/top) function is Introverted Intuition (Ni)
• The Auxiliary (second) Function is Extraverted Feeling (Fe)
• The Tertiary (third) Function is Introverted Thinking  (Ti), the opposite pole of Feeling.
• The Inferior (fourth/bottom) function is Extraverted Sensing  (Se), the opposite pole to Intuition.