ᵗʰᵉ ᵐʸᵉʳˢ⁻ᵇʳⁱᵍᵍˢ ᵗʰᵉᵒʳʸ ⁽ⁱⁿᵗʳᵒ ᵗᵒ ᵐᵇᵗⁱ⁾

ᵗʰᵉ ʰⁱˢᵗᵒʳʸ

a/n: i'll probably redo this in the future as it's MONTHS old lol

In 1957, Isabel Briggs Myers and her Michigan-born mother Katharine Cook Briggs published their 40 years worth of research on psychological personality types through Educational Testing Service, or ETS.

Briggs' interest in personality types had begun when Myers entered college and met her future husband--stoic and cynical Clarence Myers, an odd match for altruistic Isabel. Briggs was baffled by their relationship. However, instead of rejecting her daughter's suitor, she instead attempted to better understand him. In 1921, her interest was gripped again when Carl Jung published his theory about personality types.

Briggs and Myers were not fully submerged into their work on psychological types until an opportunity to stay home struck during World War II.  Myers could not join the American Red Cross due to the overflow of volunteers in her town.   Amidst World War II, Myers had thrown herself into creating a personality test fitted around her mother and Carl Jung's research of personality types.  It was heavily based off of Socionics--but Myers and Briggs added a new letter, the J/P preference, to further differentiate and define their theory.

Briggs felt that she had not contributed to the MBTI project nearly enough for her name to be put in the title.  Myers insisted that her name still be put in the theory and they compromised by having Myers' name listed first.  

In 1943, the MBTI was first copyrighted.  In 1969, Myers teamed up with psychologist Mary McCaulley and bank HR manager Edward Hay to solidify their findings.  11 years after Myers began publishing her works on psychological personality types, Briggs passed away at 68.  

In 1975, Myers switched her publishing allegiance to Consulting Psychologists Press and released her Gifts Differing five years later before she died of cancer at the age of 82. Her children inherited her company and went on to publish two more manuals to the MBTI.  

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Many say that the Myers-Briggs theory is largely overrated and has yet to be proven.  They are correct.  This theory is, well, just a theory.  Statistics can fluctuate from time to time (but full-on type changes are rare with the exception of extreme trauma or character remodeling), people can be mistyped, and these personalities are not completely accurate nor set in stone.

Having said that, please feel free to take type stereotypes with a grain of salt.  When typing a friend or a fictional character, focus on their functions rather than the fun but often misleading stereotypes provided by the MBTI community.