5.3

JPT Research Digest

MBTI and aberrant personality traits: Dark-side trait correlates of the Myers Briggs Type Inventory.


Furnham, A. (2022).
MBTI and aberrant personality traits: Dark-side trait correlates of the Myers Briggs Type Inventory.
Psychology, 13(5), 805-815.

Because the MBTI® instrument measures normal and healthy personality preferences, it is not typically used with pathological or clinical populations. The current study correlated MBTI preferences with aberrant traits, which are defined as subclinical traits that impair daily functioning.

The study utilized a large database (n = 8,330) from a consulting firm in the UK, where respondents took the MBTI Form G and the NEO-PI-R (which can calculate results for 10 personality disorders based on aberrant personality dimensions). Broad results indicated that a preference for Extraversion was associated with Histrionic, Paranoid, Narcissistic, Schizotypal, and Obsessive-Compulsive disorders, whereas a preference for Introversion was correlated with Schizoid and Avoidant disorders. In a regression analysis, aberrant personality dimensions accounted for a minimal amount of the variance on the preferences except for the Thinking-Feeling scale, where aberrant traits accounted for 23% of the variance in results, indicating that this preference dichotomy, and in particular the Feeling preference, was most associated with personality disorders.

The authors detail where the results of this study differ from similar studies in the past. In our review, we wondered about aberrant personality dimensions being associated with an exaggerated dominant function or with the inferior functions. That is, if we look at aberrant traits and personality disorders from a Jungian perspective as signs of lopsided, overcompensated, or shadow expressions of type, would they be more associated with an over-use of the dominant preference or an eruption of the inferior preference? Fascinating future research!


ARTICLE PERMALINK: https://www.myersbriggs.org/research-and-library/journal-psychological-type/mbti-and-aberrant-personality-traits/

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Journal of Psychological Type® Research Digest (JPT-RD) is made available through Myers & Briggs Foundation, worldwide publisher. The editorial team includes Kesstan Blandin, PhD, Yvonne Nelson-Reid, PhD, Logan Abbitt, MLIS, and Purnima Sims.

For inquiries about accessing original articles, contact library@myersbriggs.org.

Myers & Briggs Foundation carries the legacy of Isabel Briggs Myers and the MBTI® instrument through our mission to educate the public about psychological type—including its ethical, meaningful, and practical applications—and to conduct research on psychological type and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI) instrument. The JPT-RD, published annually, is a publication that highlights research and ideas in the field of psychological type, the MBTI Instrument, and Jungian thought.

©2023 Myers & Briggs Foundation, Inc., publisher.

Contact the JPT-RD Editorial Team at research@myersbriggs.org.