Journal of Psychological Type® (JPT) > Vol 81, 2021

From the Editor

Each year as we publish the Journal of Psychological Type—Research Digest (JPT-RD), we invariably find studies grouped in similar topics from around the world. This year, the studies highlighted represent a varied range of topics and methodologies on the surface yet link back to studies discussed in previous years.

The linguistic analyses of MBTI^® personality type in large online datasets has been popular for years. In the last two editions of the JPT-RD we highlighted studies on discourse analysis of MBTI Reddit communities to analyze themes and predict personality. The current edition includes a machine learning study that produced an algorithm to predict personality, building on these past studies.

A Finnish study investigated preferences among entrepreneurial people and found a prevalence of extraversion and intuition, mirroring results from a phenomenological study in 2017 on the influence of personality on innovation. Another study carries a thread from past studies highlighted in the JPT-RD: a graduate thesis explores the relationship between personality type and the learning strategies used by foreign language learners. The 2016 JPT-RD presented a group of studies focused on learning strategies and type, including one on the impact of type on writing ability in second language learners of English and two other studies on learning and type defined more broadly.

An experimental study in South Korea produced statistically significant results in increasing self-esteem and lowering depression and anger in nursing students using an MBTI relationship building program. Along clinical lines, a Brazilian correlational study presented the typological distribution of women in treatment for obesity or post-gastric bypass surgery.

Finally, we highlight an exceptional theoretical, depth psychological analysis of dominant introverted intuition and Jung's individuation process through the inferior function. Though this paper was not published in an academic journal—a criterion for this publication—the quality of thought and writing compelled us to include it. The JPT-RD has presented theoretical papers in the past, notably an analysis of the inferior function in the work of Russian poet Baratynskij and Steve Myers's analysis of Myers-Briggs type and individuation.

This is the sixth edition, and year, of the JPT-RD. It is rewarding to be able to track themes and results of studies through the years and to highlight the work of graduate students, the next generation of type researchers. As always, we invite and look forward to your thoughts, comments, and questions on the studies in this edition of the JPT-RD.

Kesstan Blandin PhD
Vice President, Research and Development
CAPT

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Machine Learning Approach to Personality Type Prediction.

Amirhosseini, M. H. and Kazemian, H. (2020). Machine learning approach to personality type prediction based on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®. Multimodal Technologies and Interactions, 4(9). https://doi.org/10.3390/mti4010009

This study developed new machine learning methods for automating personality prediction with a goal to assist Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) practitioners and psychologists. NLP develops personality in individuals by working with metaprogrammes: implicit cognitive strategies people use to sort information and make decisions leading to specific behaviors. This study aims to create a new algorithm to predict personality using a Myers-Briggs personality dataset from Kaggle, an online environment where users find and publish large datasets. The dataset has two columns: one indicates the Myers-Briggs type of the individual and the other contains 50 posts on social media from that same user.

The authors' algorithm produced accurate prediction rates of 67% to 86% for individual type preferences–a similar achievement to a linguistic analysis of a MBTI^® Reddit community conducted by Gjurkorić, M. and Šnajder, J. (2018). In that study (highlighted in the 2019 JPT-RD) personality prediction was accurate 67% to 82% for individual preferences and 82% accuracy was achieved for three or more preferences of whole type.

Both personality prediction studies relied on datasets where the users already knew their MBTI type. Valuable future research would predict personality type from datasets of people who did not know their type when the dataset was produced.

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ARTICLE PERMALINK:

https://www.capt.org/journal-psychological-type/machine-learning-approach-to-personality-type-prediction/

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Entrepreneurial Tendencies by Different Personalities.

Brandt, T. & Helander, N. (2020) Entrepreneurial tendencies by different personalities. Journal of Finnish Studies, 23(2), 104–116

This study focuses on entrepreneurial aspects of different personality types to increase understanding of entrepreneurial mindsets in Finland. Fostering entrepreneurship in Finland is important because of the need for new businesses. Better able to recognize those students with an entrepreneurial mindset, universities could offer tailored education to enhance entrepreneurship growth.

An entrepreneurial mindset orients behavior toward entrepreneurial activities and outcomes–a concept that lacks empirical support because of methodological difficulties in discovering how entrepreneurs think. This study focuses on entrepreneurial attitudes of the different personality types and preferences to increase understanding of entrepreneurial mindsets.

Data was gathered from 889 research participants who took the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator^®(MBTI^®) instrument and a five-item survey measuring entrepreneurial attitude that emphasized risk-taking and growth-orientation capacity. The type with the highest means on entrepreneurial attitude was ENTJ, followed by ENTP. The lowest means on entrepreneurial attitude were with ISFJ, ISFP, and INFJ. Extraversion (E) and Intuition (N) were the preferences that scored highest on entrepreneurial attitude. Earlier studies confirm that the Intuition (N) preference is strongly connected to entrepreneurship, substantiating current findings. Previous studies have indicated that the Perceiving (P) preference was correlated with entrepreneurship, but in this study, there were no differences between Judging (J) and Perceiving (P) preferences on entrepreneurial attitude.

Research has identified higher education as a functional place for supporting entrepreneurship, yet there remains a lack of understanding about how to educate students effectively to choose an entrepreneurship route.

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ARTICLE PERMALINK:

https://www.capt.org/journal-psychological-type/entrepreneurial-tendencies-by-different-personalities/

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Personality Type, Eating Behavior, and Suicide Risk.

de Figueiredo, M. D., Nasser, S. N., Franco, C.B. et al. (2021). Personality type, eating behaviour and suicide risk in women in treatment for obesity. Eat and Weight Disorders, 26, 547–554. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-020-00877-9

This study aimed to determine the personality types of women in treatment for obesity and the associations among their personality characteristics, eating behavior, and suicide risk. Participants were recruited from two groups: a clinical group of 60 women in pharmacological treatment for obesity and a surgical group of 60 women who were post-bariatric gastric bypass surgery. The participants completed a semi-structured interview and were given three assessments: the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator^® (MBTI^®) instrument, a Binge Eating Scale (BES), and the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) which measures suicidal ideation and behavior.

Results demonstrated that ISFJ and ESFJ were the most prevalent types in both the clinical and surgical groups. In the surgical group, 32% of members were ISFJ and 18.3% were ESFJ. In the clinical group, 33% had preferences for ISFJ and 25% for ESFJ. Participants with a preference for Introversion had a higher prevalence of severe binging, suicidal thoughts throughout life, and recent suicidal thoughts than participants who preferred Extraversion. Body mass index (BMI) was associated with higher suicidal thoughts throughout life in the clinical group, whereas BMI was associated with higher recent suicidal thoughts in the surgery group.

Fifty percent (50%) of the surgical group and 58% of the clinical group had preferences for Sensing, Feeling, and Judging. These preferences reflect a focus on the body and in particular, feelings about the body. A preference for Judging can contribute a desire for control of the body and/or feelings for the body. The results of this study show an alarming mental health reality amongst an obesity treatment population, as more than 50% of the subjects showed suicidal thoughts throughout life. A larger sample, with both genders, would benefit future work.

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ARTICLE PERMALINK:

https://www.capt.org/journal-psychological-type/personality-type-eating-behavior-and-suicide-risk/

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The Effects of MBTI^® Applied Peer-to-Peer Relationship Improvement Training.

Jung, H. and Han, S. (2020). The effects of MBTI applied peer-to-peer relationship improvement training programs on self-esteem, depression, and anger of Korean female students at nursing vocational high schools. Indian Journal of Public Health Research & Development, 11(6), 1290-1296

This experimental study investigated the impact of learning and applying one's MBTI^® type in relationship building groups of female students in Nursing Vocational High Schools in South Korea. Specifically, the research analyzed measures of self-esteem, depression, and anger before and after an 8-week group counseling MBTI program.

The study had 21 experimental groups and 18 control groups of approximately 17 people each. The relationship training programs were created and run by MBTI-certified instructors (the researchers). They administered the MBTI assessment in the first session and then educated participants on their type and the type of others. Weeks 2-3 covered "This is Me," weeks 4-6 "Opening the Windows between You and Me", and weeks 7-8 "Looking Outside the Window Together."

Goals of the program were to increase autonomy and self-awareness as well as awareness of others and to increase self-esteem while lowering depression and anger. The researchers achieved statistically significant movement in all three measures. This study clearly demonstrates the impact of the constructive use of differences inherent in the Myers-Briggs theory and system. Unlike other personality systems, the MBTI theory involves actively appreciating the differences that all personalities hold without judgment.

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https://www.capt.org/journal-psychological-type/the-effects-of-mbti-applied-peer-to-peer-relationship-improvement-training/

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Personality Type and Language Learning Strategies.

Milne, E. W. (2020). Personality type and language learning strategy use by university students: Where the MBTI and SILL intersect [Unpublished master's thesis]. University of Waterloo and Universität Mannheim, UWSpace. http://hdl.handle.net/10012/16075

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine the relationship between personality type and learning strategies for students engaged in undergraduate foreign language courses at the University of Waterloo.

Utilizing the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator^® (MBTI^®) to assess personality type, and the R. L. Oxford^© Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) designed for English speakers learning a new language, data from the instruments was cross tabulated and analyzed. The analysis did not find any significant correlations between personality type and student learning strategies. Data was analyzed to test the hypothesis that certain personality types would be more interested in taking adult second language courses. No correlation was found. There were no particular types, in this study, more likely to enroll in second language acquisition classes, nor were any preferred learning strategies of specific types identified.

For the qualitative portion of this study, an exploratory research approach was taken to ascertain if the language used in answering open-ended questions, through keywords and common phrases, could forecast personality type preferences. Analysis showed favorable results; however, the researcher acknowledges that the initial survey was not designed for this type of inquiry and larger writing samples would be necessary to properly address the data. Not all researchers using the MBTI are certified in type and this can sometimes impact interpretations and analyses. The researcher of this study is a certified MBTI practitioner, which showed in her impressive articulation of the meaning behind the preference clarity categories (PCC) and preference clarity indexes (PCI) – nuanced expressions of MBTI scores – and lucidity in explaining type and trait differences. Previous studies have demonstrated a link between personality type and learning strategies, though in this case the specific criteria of the SILL were not met. Predicting personality type through language analysis also has a history in type research, covered in this edition of the Digest, and this study adds to the knowledge base that personality type is expressed implicitly in language and can be identified.

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https://www.capt.org/journal-psychological-type/personality-type-and-language-learning-strategies/

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Sex, Madness, and Spirituality.

Cremen, S. (2020). Sex, madness, and spirituality: The introverted intuitive and individuating with the inferior function. Personality Type in Depth, (42). https://typeindepth.com/2020/12/sex-madness-and-spirituality/

Although not published in a peer-reviewed academic journal, a criterion for inclusion in the Research Digest summaries, this paper is worthy of note. Not only is the topic of sex intriguing on its own, but when connected to personality type, the author describes a path to individuation. With a clear grasp of personality type theory, Cremen articulates eloquently her encounter with extraverted Sensation in the inferior function position and how it has influenced her individuation journey. Writing from the perspective of someone with INFJ preferences, the paper explores the relationship between the dominant function of introverted Intuition (Ni) with inferior extraverted Sensation (Se) through spirituality and sex. Interwoven with cinema, biography, the contrasexual archetypes of anima/animus, and the mythological expression of Dionysiac madness and ecstasy, the essay presents type and archetype as forming a bridge to the unconscious, potentially healing the split between sexuality and spirituality not only for people who prefer INFJ or INTJ, but as a model for unifying the psyche in all types.

Diving deep into the inferior function, Cremen explores how Se as the inferior function seems to cause a supercharged sexual experience, positive or negative. The author articulates a novel insight: the dominant function of future-oriented Ni, which is naturally connected to the archetypal world of the unconscious, comes face to face with the inferior function of Se, a doorway to the unconscious, which is grounded in the present through the tangible world of body and matter. Vision (Ni) and experience (Se) unite through sexuality revealing not only personal shadow, but collective as well. In conclusion, Cremen writes: "Perhaps nothing spins us about so much as sex. It entails the dissolution of boundaries physically and psychically, propelling us into a union with Otherness" (p. 8). This essay demonstrates the depth of richness and novelty that can be revealed when psychological type is analyzed through Jung's structure of the psyche.

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ARTICLE PERMALINK:

https://www.capt.org/journal-psychological-type/sex-madness-and-spirituality/

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The Journal of Psychological Type^® - Research Digest (JPT-RD) is made available through the Center for Applications of Psychological Type, Inc., CAPT, 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@capt.org.

CAPT is a not-for-profit organization with a 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 one of a suite of CAPT publications that highlight research and ideas in the field of psychological type, the MBTI instrument, and Jungian thought. ^©2022 Center for Applications of Psychological Type, Inc., publisher. Contact the JPT-RD Editorial Team at research@capt.org.