FAQ | The Myers-Briggs Company

Some people feel uncomfortable with the idea that something as intangible as 'personality' can be measured with scores and results. The argument in favor of psychometric assessment is that when used for selection or recruitment, it is much fairer than more traditional methods such as interviews, where unconscious bias can determine the fate of a candidate. Instead, a psychometric, or psychological measurement introduces a degree of objectivity based on years of research and development by academics and psychologists working in the field.

A psychometric test is a series of online, written or practical tests that assess a clearly defined sample of human behavior. There are many different types of psychometric assessment that can measure skill, ability, intelligence, personality, motivation and interests. These assessments can play a useful role in individual development and, because they can give objective evidence of the human attributes they measure, have been shown to be one of the best predictors of job performance when used in selection. In practice, psychometric tests are generally used in conjunction with other methods, such as interviews, to give a complete picture

To be psychometrically sound a test must be:

• Objective - the results obtained are not influenced by the administrator's personal characteristics or biases.
• Standardized - the test is administered and scored according to standard procedures, and people's scores are compared to known standards.
• Reliable - the test measures in a consistent way. The potential error is small and is quantifiable.
• Valid - it measures the characteristics it sets out to measure. For example, a test used to select a job applicant should predict job performance.
• Discriminating - the test should show clear differences between individuals on the behavior being tested.

Simply put, because they work. Our assessments are proven to:

• Improve individual and interpersonal effectiveness
• Enhance teamwork and organizational performance
• Improve staff performance, morale and retention
• Support career direction for students and in later life
• Increase objectivity in staff selection and development

When used effectively, they also increase the transparency, speed and quality of line-management decisions about people, ensuring that best practices are more readily transferred from HR processes into action. They contribute to effective talent identification, leadership development, team building and driving organizational change.

Our tools can assess personality style, preferences and overall competence for a particular job or role. Depending on what exactly you want to measure and why, our assessments can be used for development or selection, and are usually accompanied by other types of assessment, such as an interview or a group exercise. In general, a respondent is asked to complete a multiple-choice questionnaire, either online or on paper. A qualified practitioner will often then provide a report to the respondent, and discuss and validate their results during a structured feedback session.

Two factors are absolutely vital in ensuring fairness: accuracy and ethical practice.

All our assessment have been developed on a well-respected theoretical basis, then checked for accuracy via an extensive validation and improvement process. This accuracy is measured by accepted industry standards of reliability and validity. We actively promote the ethical use of all our assessments, based around a set of unshakeable principles:

• Practitioners should be qualified to interpret the results of the assessment.
• A feedback or interpretation session for respondents is always recommended to validate their results.
• Assessments should not be used for the wrong application or for something they cannot measure.
• They do not tell the whole story about a person, and should always be used in conjunction with other measures.

Yes. Depending on the specific requirements of the individual, you can make reasonable adjustments to the assessment process. Our Customer Support team are happy to provide advice for practitioners looking to adapt their assessment. For information, contact us at +1 800 624 1765.

Interest inventories are used to help identify the kinds of work someone would be interested in and potentially suited to. The Strong Interest Inventory^®, compares a person’s preferred working style, interests and aversions with those of people employed in a wide range of occupations, to determine those the individual is most likely to enjoy. Interest inventories are used in career counseling, to inform career decisions, and in career development to stimulate mid-career evaluation and provide an understanding of job satisfaction or dissatisfaction. These tests are not recommended for selection, since having interest in an area does not imply ability.

The following assessments require specialized training:

• Myers-Briggs^® Type Indicator (MBTI^®) instrument
• CPI^® 260 instrument
• FIRO^® instrument
• Strong Interest Inventory^® instrument

To become certified to use one of our instruments, you can attend a certification program run by The Myers-Briggs Company or by one of our authorized partners. Our partners provide us with details on who attends their certification programs so that we are able to confirm their ability to purchase assessments. In addition, all customers wishing to purchase assessments that carry requirements are asked to complete a Purchase Eligibility Form in which you list the certification courses you’ve attended

No, none of our assessments are free. If you are considering taking a free test, it is very unlikely to have any measure of validity or reliability, or to provide any meaningful insight. We do offer the MBTI assessment online for a modest cost, which is designed for individuals looking to develop greater understanding of themselves and others

The Myers Briggs assessment helps you to identify your preferred way of doing things in four key areas. The letters refer to your preferences for:

• Directing and receiving energy—I (Introversion) or E (Extroversion)
• Taking in information—S (Sensing) or N (iNtuition)
• Making decisions—T (Thinking) or F (Feeling)
• Approaching the outside world—J (Judging) or P (Perceiving)

The Myers Briggs assessment is the world’s most trusted and widely used personality assessment. If you’re a student, inquire with your academic advisor or career counselor about taking the assessment. If you’re employed, your HR Manager may be able to offer you the assessment. Or the assessment is available to individuals online.

The MBTI assessment is not a test because there are no right or wrong answers and no best type to be. Thinking that you might want to ‘cheat’ makes no sense as the assessment aims only to identify your personality preferences in order to support self-awareness and personal development. The MBTI assessment is not suitable to be used in any other way, for example in selection, where results may be a more relevant indicator of success.

The MBTI questionnaire is not a test or a quiz. It helps you understand yourself and others, and there are no right or wrong answers or a best type to be. The MBTI assessment provides insight by exploring which four letters most accurately describe your personality: I (Introversion) or E (Extroversion); S (Sensing) or N (iNtuition); T (Thinking) or F (Feeling); J (Judging) or P (Perceiving). These four letters combine to one of 16 possible MBTI types.

The MBTI assessment is available online at MBTIOnline.com

The self-awareness you gain through the MBTI assessment allows you understand yourself and others better, so you can enhance your relationships with others.

The full interpretation process provides numerous insights into the way you think and behave, shedding invaluable light onto how you interact with others at work and in your personal life. Using the MBTI framework, you can consciously flex your natural style to improve communication, manage conflict more effectively, and make better decisions, for example. It also, and very usefully, provides a common language with which to talk about personality difference with other people.

The MBTI questionnaire should never be used in recruitment or selection because it does not measure a person's skills or abilities ̶ just their underlying personality preferences. These preferences are not necessarily reflected in their behavior, because as complex and adaptable human beings, we are able to modify our behavior according to what is most appropriate and useful in any given situation. The MBTI assessment is not constructed using scales that can predict a person's behavior: instead it uses broad categories to describe what motivates us.

The MBTI instrument is not designed to be used as a selection tool. It is a process, not just a questionnaire, and respondents are encouraged to decide which MBTI type best fits them, and then to determine what this means for them. It is simply not appropriate to use in a selection context.

There are many personality assessments on the market that have inbuilt mechanisms to make them ideal for selection, such as the CPI^®.

MBTI Step I is the first and most well known form of the MBTI questionnaire. It sorts you into one of 16 types. You find out your best-fit type via a facilitated session, usually with a qualified MBTI practitioner.

MBTI Step II is a slightly longer version of the questionnaire which goes into greater detail by providing information on five facets linked to each letter of your MBTI type. It complements Step I by giving a more granular view of your personality preferences, motivations and outlook, and can be used to explain things about your personality that might seem inconsistent or confusing. It can also help you to clarify your Step I best-fit type.

Note: it is possible to order Step I reports from a Step II questionnaire – so if you know someone is going to use MBTI Step II at some point, they should complete that questionnaire at the start of their MBTI development journey.

Although there is no set cut off point for using the MBTI tool with younger people, as long as they have the reading capacity to understand the questionnaire, it is generally recommended that the MBTI tool is not be suitable for those younger than 13 years of age. There is the MMTIC (Murphy-Meisgeier Type Indicator for Children), which is available for use with children in grades 2-12 (ages 7-18), but it is aimed mostly for ages 7-12. The MMTIC assessment can help children understand themselves better, and give parents and teachers better tools and insights to reach children with different learning styles. Find out more from People Stripes.

For young adults (16-24), the MBTI tool can be extremely useful for learning styles, self-awareness, working with others and career counseling.

When administering the MBTI assessment to young adults, emphasize that the process is voluntary and confidential, and reinforce the individual's own part in determining the results. This is particularly important as teachers, counselors or professionals who administer the tool will probably be seen as authority figures, so a respondent's answers may not be natural. Peer pressure and social desirability may be strong influences if they think that their results may be shared.

When giving feedback, it is important to make sure the questions asked are relevant to someone who is not in a work environment, so asking about how they work with other students on projects, for example, may be more applicable to them. 

GS Consultants is an authorized provider of an MBTI^® Certification Program that is designed exclusively for Career Counselors and Academic Advisors and is only open to those who qualify as a Career Counselor or Academic Advisor. If you qualify for this course and successfully complete it, you will be considered an MBTI^® Certified Practitioner. GS Consultants’ program is not the same as the one offered by the Myers & Briggs Foundation and The Myers-Briggs Company as it was designed specifically to meet the unique needs of Career Counselors and Academic Advisors.

Pricing is determined by the individual certification program provider.

If you don’t achieve a score of 80% or higher on the course exam to become MBTI^® Certified, a retake exam is available at no extra charge.

One of the many benefits of becoming MBTI certified is receiving Continuing Education (CE) hours for the work you put in. See which organizations award CE hours for Public MBTI Certification. CE hours are also awarded for our In-house and self-guided MBTI Certification program. Learn more.

Specific requirements must be met in order for you to purchase and administer the Myers-Briggs^® (MBTI) assessment. You can meet these requirements either by successfully completing a certification program and receiving the designation Certified Practitioner or by being granted Education Eligibility. Learn more.

• Anyone who has successfully completed an MBTI Certification Program.
• Anyone who successfully completed an MBTI Form M Qualifying Program.

To receive the Master Practitioner credential, individuals must have applied to the credentialing program, completed and documented the required hours of continuing education and assessment application experience, submitted the required documentation and been approved by the MPCP review board. Applications are accepted online at the program website at www.mbtimasterpractitioner.org. To earn the Master Practitioner Credential, applicants must have completed and have documented:

• An approved MBTI^® Form M-based MBTI^® Qualifications Program (prior to Jan. 2009) or an MBTI^® Certification Program (after Jan. 2009).
• 40 hours of continuing education (1CE = 1 hr of training) in approved classes and workshops. Only approved programs completed after acceptance into the MP credential program will be accepted, with the exception of Step II workshops.
• 40 hours of practical application of the instrument in training workshops and individual development engagements

The Master Practitioner program will be highly valued as it will show advanced knowledge of the MBTI assessment. The designation “MBTI Master Practitioner” can be used only by those who have met the requirements of this credential. Also, in the future, only those who have achieved this status will have the ability to participate in The Myers-Briggs Company’s Network Referral program. There will be financial incentives to this status, including periodic discounts and sales only for those who have this designation.

There is not a time limit to complete the above requirements.

Once a workshop has been approved for the program, the organization will be able to advertise as an approved program for the MBTI MPCP. A list of the workshops will be listed online at the MBTI^® Master Practitioner website.

FIRO insights help people recognize where they may be giving out mixed messages and prompts them to adapt their exhibited behaviors to build trust in their relationships. They also reveal ways of improving relationships by showing individuals how they are seen by others, and how this external view may differ from how they see themselves.

As a result of using the FIRO lens, people are empowered to adjust their behavior, enabling them to effectively influence others to achieve high performance.

The FIRO framework is easy-to-understand and gives teams a rich source of information to explore motivations, underlying tensions, inconsistent behaviors and the mixed messages that can lead to mistrust and derailment.

It demonstrates how people may approach teamwork differently, and explains the potential for inefficiencies and delays in delivery. Through the concept of 'behavioral flexibility' it helps defuse cultural stereotypes and streamline cross-cultural teams within organizations.

FIRO accelerates the speed at which trust is built by increasing the team’s understanding of relationships, and provides tactics for developing stronger bonds between individuals

Yes. Pre-work, which can take up to 3 hours to complete, consists of taking the FIRO-B^® and FIRO Business^® assessments online, selecting a volunteer client who will take the FIRO^® assessment online, and completing a mandatory reading assignment.

To successfully complete the FIRO^® Certification Program and attain “FIRO^® Certified Practitioner” status, participants must complete the following requirements within 90 days of program start date:

• Participate fully and attend the entirety of each day of the FIRO^® Certification Program.
• Achieve a score of 80% or higher on a 20-question multiple choice exam administered at the close of day 2.
• Conduct a post-training 1:1 Interpretation and Feedback Session of FIRO® assessment results with a volunteer client.
• Attend a 60-minute post-training session to “debrief” the outcome of their volunteer client 1:1 Interpretation and Feedback session.

We offer Continuing Education (CE) hours from selected organizations for our FIRO^® certification programs. You can learn more about the CE hours we offer here.

The following materials are included in the cost of registration:*

• FIRO-B^® assessment. Two administrations, one for participant and one for participant’s volunteer client. Participant receives two FIRO-B^® Interpretive Report for Organizations reports, one reflecting participant’s assessment results and one reflecting participant’s volunteer client’s results.
• FIRO Business^® assessment. One administration. Participant receives FIRO Business^® Profile report and FIRO Business^® Leadership report reflecting participant’s assessment results.
• FIRO^® Certification Program Participant’s Resource Guide (binder)
• Introduction to the FIRO-B^® Instrument
• FIRO-B^® Technical Guide
• Introduction to the FIRO Business^® Instrument
• FIRO Business^® Technical Guide
• FIRO Business^® Leadership Report User’s Guide
• FIRO^® Feedback Card Set

*Please note: shipping charges and applicable taxes are extra.

Please give us a call at +1 800 624 1765 or email us at contactps@themyersbriggs.com so we can help you find an option that fits your needs.

Please contact us to learn more about our in-house certification program option for groups of five or more.

You have a one-time option to transfer to another certification program of like kind offered by The Myers-Briggs Company up to 14 calendar days before a program start date. Call The Myers-Briggs Company Customer Support at +1 800 6241765 for assistance. Once a transfer has been completed, certification training must be completed within one (1) calendar year of the transfer request.

You can transfer one time at no charge. More than one transfer request, or a transfer request made fewer than 14 calendar days before a program start date, will each incur a transaction charge equal to 10% of the standard registration fee.

Yes. However, registration fees will not be refunded for cancellations made fewer than 14 calendar days before a program start date.

Specific requirements must be met in order for you to purchase and administer the FIRO^® assessment. You can meet these requirements either by successfully completing a certification program and receiving the designation Certified Practitioner or by being granted Education Eligibility. Learn more.

Yes. Pre-work, which can take up to 3.5 hours to complete, consists of taking two Strong assessments – the Strong Interest Inventory^® assessment and the Strong Interest Inventory^® 244 assessment – online and completing a mandatory reading assignment.

To successfully complete the Strong Certification Program and attain “Strong^® Certified Practitioner” status, participants must complete the following requirements within 90 days of program start date:

• Participate and attend the entirety of the 2-day Strong Certification Program.
• Achieve a score of 80% or higher on a 20-question multiple choice exam administered at the close of day 2.

Continuing Education (CE) hours are not available for this program.

The following materials are included in the cost of registration*:

• Strong Interest Inventory^® assessment administration and Profile Report College Edition + Skills Confidence Profile Report + Interpretive Report
• Strong Interest Inventory^® 244 assessment administration and Career Satisfaction Report
• Strong Interest Inventory^® Manual and Supplement
• Strong Interest Inventory^® Users Guide
• Strong Interest Inventory^® College Profile User's Guide
• Where Do I Go Next?
• Program Handouts
• Skills Confidence Inventory Manual(in PDF)

*Please note: shipping charges and applicable taxes are extra.

Please contact us to learn more about our in-house certification program option for groups of 10 or more.

Specific requirements must be met in order for you to purchase and administer the Strong assessment. You can meet these requirements either by successfully completing a certification program and receiving the designation Certified Practitioner or by being granted Education Eligibility. Learn more.

Please give us a call at +1 800 624 1765 or email us at contactps@themyersbriggs.com so we can help you find an option that fits your needs.

Up to 14 calendar days before a program start date, you have a one-time option to transfer to another certification program of like kind offered by The Myers-Briggs Company. Call our Customer Support team at +1 800 6241765 for assistance. Once a transfer has been completed, certification training must be completed within one (1) calendar year of the transfer request. More than one transfer request, or a transfer request made fewer than 14 calendar days before a program start date, will each incur a transaction charge equal to 10% of the standard registration fee. To read the complete terms of our Public Certification Program Transfer and Cancellation Policy, click here.

Yes. However, registration fees will not be refunded for cancellations made fewer than 14 calendar days before a program start date. To read the complete terms of our Public Certification Program Transfer and Cancellation Policy, click here.

Yes. Course pre-work, which can take up to 6 hours to complete, consists of the participant taking the CPI 260^® assessment online, selecting a volunteer client who will also take the CPI 260^® assessment online, and completing a mandatory reading assignment.

Participants who complete the CPI 260^® assessment by the stated deadline, have the option to schedule the required 1:1 Interpretive Feedback Session with a CPI 260 CP faculty member before their program start date, schedules permitting.

To successfully complete the CPI 260^® Certification Program and attain “CPI 260^® Certified Practitioner” status, participants must complete the following requirements within 90 days of program start date:

• Participate fully and attend the entirety of each day of the CPI 260^® Certification Program.
• Achieve a score of 80% or higher on a 20-question multiple choice exam administered at the close of day 3.
• Conduct a post-training 1:1 Interpretation and Feedback Session of CPI 260^® assessment results with a volunteer client.
• Attend a 60-minute post-training session to “debrief” the outcome of their volunteer client 1:1 Interpretation and Feedback session.
• Complete a 1:1 Interpretation and Feedback session of their personal CPI 260^® assessment results with a CPI 260^® faculty member

We offer Continuing Education (CE) hours from selected organizations for our CPI 260^® certification programs. You can learn more about the CE hours we offer here.

The following materials are included in the cost of registration:*

• CPI 260^® assessment. Two administrations, one for participant and one for participant’s volunteer client.
• CPI 260^® Client Feedback Report. Participant receives two reports, one reflecting participant’s assessment results and one reflecting participant’s volunteer client’s results.
• CPI 260^® Coaching Report for Leaders Report. Participant receives two reports, one reflecting participant’s assessment results and one reflecting participant’s volunteer client’s results.
• CPI 260^® Certification Program Participant’s Resource Guide
• CPI 260^® feedback videos
• CPI 260^® Manual
• CPI 260^® Client Feedback Report Guide for Interpretation
• CPI 260^® Coaching Report for Leaders User’s Guide
• CPI 260^® Coaching Report for Leaders Advanced Guide for Interpretation
• CPI™ Manual
• A Practical Guide to CPI^™ Interpretation

* Please note: shipping charges and applicable taxes are extra. 

Please give us a call at +1 800 624 1765 or email us at contactps@themyersbriggs.com so we can help you find an option that fits your needs.

Please contact us to learn more about our in-house certification program option for groups of six or more

You have a one-time option to transfer to another certification program of like kind offered by The Myers-Briggs Company up to 14 calendar days before a program start date. Call The Myers-Briggs Company Customer Support at +1 800 624 1765 for assistance. Once a transfer has been completed, certification training must be completed within one (1) calendar year of the transfer request.

You can transfer one time at no charge. More than one transfer request, or a transfer request made fewer than 14 calendar days before a program start date, will each incur a transaction charge equal to 10% of the standard registration fee.

Yes. However, registration fees will not be refunded for cancellations made fewer than 14 calendar days before a program start date. Review the entirety of The Myers-Briggs Company’s Public Certification Program Transfer and Cancellation Policy for more information.

Specific requirements must be met in order for you to purchase and administer the CPI™ assessment. You can meet these requirements either by successfully completing a certification program and receiving the designation Certified Practitioner or by being granted Education Eligibility. Learn more.

If you live outside the US, please check with one of our authorized international product distributors for qualifying workshops and requirements.