The Research Digest highlights five studies from 2025 published across the globe. Rather than the traditional systematic review often seen in academic journals, two studies offer different types of research reviews. Erford conducted a synthesis of 25 years of studies on the psychometric properties and performance of the MBTI^® Form M, calculating internal consistency, convergent validity across six personality instruments, and comparing type distribution in the aggregated sample against the normative sample in the MBTI Manual. The second study by H. Li presents a visual mapping analysis of research trends with the MBTI instrument from 1998–2018. The trajectory of research development with the MBTI instrument was identified in four stages: theory interpretation, model explanation, type performance, and type application.

For the last decade, the JPT-RD has always included at least one study on LLMs or artificial intelligence, and we anticipate this trend will only grow. This year, we summarize Kim’s research with LLMs and the MBTI personality system that has done something novel: it attempts to address the challenges of AI “hallucinations” by integrating psychoanalysis and the 16 MBTI personality type’s characteristics into constructing consciousness and personality modules.

The final two studies are deep dives into specific audiences and situations. First, Cybulko analyzes the impact of lawyers’ personality type on conflict resolution and mediation. This is an excellent analysis for anyone who finds value in a great example of applying a personality type lens in an analysis of a profession.

Last year, the JPT-RD included a special editorial on the explosion of the MBTI phenomenon in Asia with a review of several studies. J. Li’s study continues in this vein by bringing a cultural perspective to the interaction of personality types, emotional needs, and romantic relationship stability in Chinese college students. The results underscore the importance of considering both personality and cultural context in relationship counseling.

Later this year, look for announcements of the official launch of our Research Grant Program designed to support and fund academic research with the MBTI instruments. Our aim is to add to the significant history of research with the Myers-Briggs^® system by building a body of rigorous research. One day soon, this Research Digest will include summaries of academic research from the Research Grant Program.

As always, we encourage and enjoy your responses to the research highlighted here and welcome suggestions for future inclusions.

This paper examines the MBTI^® personality type predispositions of law students in Poland through a comprehensive analysis comparing the Polish sample to U.S. samples of lawyers. The authors note that in published American samples of type distribution of attorneys, the four types most highly represented are: ISTJ, ESTJ, INTJ, and ENTP. In the study sample of 121 Polish law students, 60% of the sample were represented by five types: ISTJ, INTJ, ESTJ, ENTP, and INTP. The analysis then takes a deep dive into comparisons of type distribution across Poland and the U.S. including gender analyses and contrasts with other professions.

A preponderance of a preference for Thinking in the legal profession aligns with the leading skills attorneys use, such as a focus on facts, objective analysis, theoretical orientations, and trust in logic and reason. The authors note, however, that the growing use of methods in mediation emphasize cooperation, empathy, understanding the broader interests of the parties, and interpersonal relationships. They then ask, “to what extent do ‘legal personalities’ pose a challenge to, or complement, the competencies required for effective dispute resolution?”

This is an excellent analysis to read for people in or interested in the legal profession and for anyone who finds value in a great example of a personality type analysis of a profession.

Most research using MBTI^® instruments is either applied or correlational designs and does not analyze psychometric properties. This paper analyzed research results from 193 studies using MBTI Form M from 1999 to 2024. An aggregated n of 57,170 participants was compared to the normative proportions (n = 3009) published in the MBTI Manual (1998/2009, 3rd ed.).

Studies included in review were: 10 articles providing evidence of internal consistency, 6 articles providing evidence of convergent validity, 13 articles providing evidence of sample means and standard deviations, 13 articles providing evidence of intra-scale correlations, and 178 articles providing evidence of typological proportions in samples.

The synthesis calculated internal consistency, convergent validity across six personality instruments, and compared type distribution in the aggregated sample against the normative sample in the MBTI Manual. The psychometric synthesis found internal consistency was 0.845–0.921 across subscales and total scores. Convergent evidence with similar constructs was robust across six personality instruments.

The authors indicate that studies reporting structural validity and test-retest designs were absent from the 25-year literature sampling (outside of the MBTI Manual). As for test-retest studies, several were published in the early 2000s; unfortunately, they did not make it into this analysis. The distribution of type across study samples differed in some types from the national representative sample (NRS) in the MBTI Manual. There are likely several reasons for this, including different versions of the MBTI instrument being used in studies through the years, the limits of the NRS mentioned in the 1998 manual, and varied sampling techniques across research.

Research with LLMs and the MBTI^® personality system has been increasing in the last several years; some studies presented previously in the Research Digest. Many of these studies use the MBTI personality model to train LLMs on prediction. This study is included because it has done something novel: it attempts to address the challenges of AI “hallucinations” by integrating psychoanalysis and the MBTI theory into constructing consciousness and personality modules. The authors developed three artificial consciousnesses (self-awareness, unconsciousness, and preconsciousness) based on the principles of psychoanalysis.

They then designed 16 characters with different personalities representing the 16 MBTI types, and added attributes such as needs, status, and memories. Ten distinct situations considering seven attributes such as emotional understanding and logical thinking were created to test if the model’s artificial consciousness exhibited human-like cognition.

Three types of evaluation were done: surveys, three-tier classification via ChatGPT, and qualitative review. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses indicated a high likelihood of well-simulated consciousness, although the difference in response between different characters and consciousnesses was not very significant. These results imply that the models incorporating elements of psychoanalysis and MBTI personality theory can lead to building a more intuitive and adaptable AI system with humanoid consciousness.

Research with the MBTI^® instrument has a long and wide history in various fields, counseling, management, and education among them. This analysis did something we have not seen before: it used the visual analysis software CiteSpace to analyze 468 MBTI-related publications from the Web of Science database (1990–2018). Study aims were to clarify the development and research trends of the MBTI system.

The authors found that research began in the United States, of course, but has spread across the globe. The trajectory of research development with the MBTI instrument was identified in four stages: theory interpretation, model explanation, type performance, and type application.

Between 1990 and 2018, the authors identify five shifts in the international research on the MBTI instrument: 1) the shift from theory to application; 2) single-discipline research shifts to interdisciplinary research; 3) from the study of personality type theory to the use of personality type strategies; 4) a transition in the scope of application from the field of education to the application of multiple fields; and 5) a move from the study of personality theories to the factors influencing them.

This study investigates the relationship between MBTI® personality types, emotional needs, and relationship stability among college students (n = 110) from a university in Northwest China. This study utilized a quantitative research design to explore the relationship between MBTI personality type preferences and emotional dynamics in romantic relationships, focusing on emotional needs, conflict resolution, and communication styles.

The findings reveal significant differences in emotional needs across the MBTI types than we might predict, such as NT types in this sample demonstrate a greater focus on intellectual connection, while NF types prioritize emotional intimacy and psychological support. Not as obvious, however, is the impact of cultural context on personality type expression in relationships, which the authors analyze and discuss at length.

The authors note that in Western contexts, there is a strong emphasis on personal self-actualization within romantic relationships. They noted that the expression of these needs in China is often channeled through culturally sanctioned pathways rather than direct personal disclosure, reflecting the influence of collectivist values.

A great example offered is emotional expression of NT types in romantic relationships. Western NT types are typically characterized by high emotional stability, attributed to their rational, analytical approach to relationship challenges, yet the current research results indicated that Chinese NT types exhibited lower emotional stability in romantic relationships. The authors suggest this discrepancy may be explained in part by the cultural context to maintain relational harmony and “face” in Chinese society which may cause tension in NT types. In addition, the need to suppress direct confrontation and emotional expression may undermine the emotional resilience typically observed in Western NTs, highlighting the moderating effect of cultural norms.