Types Versus Traits

Types Versus Traits

Reviewed by Faisal Zaidi

Two ways of describing personality: sorting people into separate kinds, or placing them at a point on continuous dimensions.

What it is

A type approach sorts people into separate kinds; a trait approach places each person at a point on continuous dimensions. McCrae and Costa found that the Myers-Briggs scales behave as four relatively independent dimensions and found no support for distinct types. Stein and Swan evaluate the theory behind the types against agreement with data, testability and internal consistency.

In effect

In the article on the accuracy of the Myers-Briggs test, it separates the four scale scores from the four-letter label.

What it does not say

It concerns how scores are described. It does not rate how useful any test is in a given setting.

Sources

  1. McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T. (1989). Reinterpreting the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator from the perspective of the five-factor model of personality. Journal of Personality, 57(1), 17-40.
  2. Stein, R., & Swan, A. B. (2019). Evaluating the validity of Myers-Briggs Type Indicator theory: A teaching tool and window into intuitive psychology. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 13(2), e12434.