I have long been a proponent of the Myers-Briggs Type IndicatorŪ (MBTIŪ), a personality-typing inventory ("temperaments") by the mother-daughter team of Katharine [Cook] Briggs and Isabel Briggs-Myers. I encountered the Myers-Briggs inventory during graduate work with Gordon Lawrence at the University of Florida in 1970. Isabel Briggs-Myers was a frequent visitor to campus and worked directly with us.

The Myers-Briggs Type IndicatorŪ (1942) is closely-based on the work of Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung (1875-1961). Jung's seminal work is Psychological Types (1921).

You probably found this file by way of my file on learning and teaching styles. I direct you there for further detail.

This article is a discussion of two well-known personality inventories based on the Myers-Briggs Type IndicatorŪ, those by David Keirsey and by Roger Birkman, and how their results relate to one another. Links to on-line test sources are at the bottom of this file.

Birkman's Colors

Birkman notes some general characteristics of people in each quadrant, however, the questionnaire results do not reveal a personality type, but, rather, how someone is most likely to approach a group task because of the personality traits each member of the group possesses. Everyone's strengths and weaknesses will influence the process and the outcome.

It's important not only to be aware of one's own preferences and methods, but to understand exactly how they mesh with others' when a collaborative effort is to be undertaken. And, ultimately, how all of them interact, with the goal of a completed task.

Since Birkman's questionnaire is based in Myers-Briggs, knowing your Myers-Briggs personality type will increase the value of your Birkman quadrant placement.

Keirsey's Colors

Each of these are subdivided into four, thus yielding the 16 types, as described by Myers and Briggs.

Each of the four subgroups of a color is described by a Myers-Briggs four-letter type. For example, Keirsey's "Guardians" [yellow] are "inspector" [ISTJ] - "protector" [ISFJ] - "provider" [ESFJ] - "supervisor" [ESTJ]).

Notice that each of these yellow subgroups has an S and a J. Similarly, the four green subgroups have N and F. Reds have S and P. Blues have N and T.

These subtypes align exactly with Birkman's quadrants. In particular:

• If you are a Birkman yellow, you like order and closure (Myers-Briggs J), and you like to work with facts, not theories (Myers-Briggs S).
  
• If you are a Birkman red, you are not bothered by unfinished projects (Myers-Briggs P), but you still like to work with facts, not theories (Myers-Briggs S).
  
• If you are a Birkman green, you are logical and like to see possibilities (Myers-Briggs N), and you are sensitive to people's emotions (Myers-Briggs F).
  
• If you are a Birkman blue, you are logical and like to see possibilities (Myers-Briggs N), but you don't have much interest in people's emotions (Myers-Briggs T).

Note: There is a difference between Myers-Briggs types and Keirsey/Birkman colors that bears mention. Myers-Briggs focuses on how people think and how they feel. Keirsey (and, therefore, Birkman) focuses on how people behave. Of course, how people think/feel dictates how they behave, so it devolves ultimately to Myers-Briggs.

The three dovetail neatly, as you would expect, since the Myers-Briggs Type IndicatorŪ is the Grandmama of Them All.

Correlations Between the Three

• The four Keirsey subgroups are architect (design), field marshal (mobilize), inventor (devise), and mastermind (imagine).
• This is how tasks are imagined (Birkman).
• These kinds of people are interested in possibilities and decide impersonally. (Myers-Briggs NT).

Keirsey's yellow "guardians" are Birkman's yellow "procedure-centered" people.

• Keirsey's four subgroups are inspector (certify), protector (secure), provider (supply), and supervisor (enforce).
• Clearly, these are the guidelines for how tasks are done (Birkman).
• These kinds of people are good working with facts and like order. (Myers-Briggs SJ)

Keirsey's red "Artisans" are Birkman's red "production-centered" people.

• The four Keirsey subgroups are composer (synthesize), crafter (implement), performer (demonstrate), and promoter (persuade).
• This is how an idea is transformed into something concrete (Birkman).
• These kinds of people are good working with facts and adapt easily. (Myers-Briggs SP)

Keirsey's green "Idealists" are Birkman's green "people-centered" people.

• The four Keirsey subgroups are champion (motivate), counselor (guide), healer (conciliate), and teacher (educate).
• This is how to bring all types into agreement so the goal may be accomplished (Birkman).
• These kinds of people are interested in possibilities and enjoy harmony. (Myers-Briggs NF)

Online Assessments

See also the MBTI center at the University of Florida. Navigate from the pane on the left.

The problem with Keirsey's free quiz, apart from its cropped nature, is that there is little interpretive material to go with your personality type result. The problem with the on-line version is that you receive e-mail interpretations.

Any personality inventory/psychological test will be more valuable if you have it interpreted by a professional, sitting down with you personally (not an e-mail consult) to help you deal with your reactions. It often is, "Finally I understand myself. It's safe to be who I really am."

Places you might be able to take the inventory and receive a professional, face-to-face interpretation of the results are at university psychology departments, public school district offices, employment services, job counselors, private-practice psychologists and psychiatrists, high school guidance counselors, and so on. You probably will have to pay a fee to take the test and have it interpreted with you.

Note: When you take the inventory, your type descriptors will be something such as: "extraverted intuition with feeling." Ignore this and jot down the four letters of your "type." That's all you need.

copyright 2008, Martha Beth Lewis, Ph.D.
Contact me about reprint permission.