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MBTI® Step II Research

Gender differences
MBTI users
Differences by educational level
Differences by language
Internal consistency reliability
Further research information

Gender differences

Thirteen of the twenty facets showed statistically significant gender differences. The largest differences were on four of the T-F facet scales, with females being, on average, more Empathetic, Compassionate, Accepting and Tender, and males being, on average, more Logical, Reasonable, Critical and Tough.

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MBTI users

The trial sample for Step II included a group of 453 MBTI Step I users. How do these MBTI users differ from the general UK population?

In Step I terms, MBTI users are much more likely to be Intuitive. 75% saw themselves as Intuitive, compared with only 23% for the general population. They were also more likely to have Thinking, Perceiving and to some extent Extraverted preferences than the general population:

SSR (self selection ratio) shows the extent to which each type is over-represented (SSR greater than 1) or under-represented (SSR less than 1) compared to the UK general population. All Intuitive types are over-represented, and all Sensing types are under-represented.

These Step I results tell part of the story, but Step II can provide further information. In the Step II trialling, an additional UK sample of 205 people, broadly representative of the general population, took the questionnaire. The table below shows how MBTI users differ from this group in terms of their Step II results

Mean difference: difference in means between the MBTI users group and the representative sample.
Positive value indicates that MBTI users are nearer the left-hand pole of the facet; negative value indicates that MBTI users are nearer the right-hand pole.
* difference statistically significant at the 5% level. ** significant at the 1% level.

On average, the MBTI users are significantly nearer the Intuitive pole on all five S-N facets.

For E-I, they are more Expressive, Active and Enthusiastic, with no significant difference on the other two facets. Even those MBTI users whose preference is for Introversion may be more likely to exhibit Extraverted behaviours than other Introverts.

On T-F, MBTI users tend to be more Logical and Questioning, but also more Accepting, than the general population. Such a mix of results is not uncommon amongst those who work in human resources or people-focused consultancy. Those with a preference for Feeling often need to present some T behaviours in a business context; those with a preference for Thinking do, by the nature of their work, need to attend to people factors.

For J-P, they are more likely to be Pressure-Prompted, with almost zero differences on the other four facets. Although MBTI users are overall evenly split between Judging and Perceiving types, they are as a group more likely to do their best work under time pressure.

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Differences by educational level

As education systems across Europe differ greatly, the age at which people left full-time education was used as an indicator of educational level. The sample group was split into three categories, which it was felt would be broadly representative of people who left full-time education either:

• During or at the end of secondary education (ages 15-18 years)
  
  
• During or at the end of further education (ages 19-22 years)
  
  
• During or at the end of postgraduate education (ages 23 years or older)

No significant differences were found amongst any of the facets in the E-I preference block. However, significant differences were found for almost all of the other facets (with the exception of Tough-Tender and Methodical-Emergent).

Age at which people left full-time education appears to show no relationship with any of the facets in the E-I preference block.

People who left full-time education at a later stage in life tended, on average, to achieve scores further towards the N poles of all the S-N facets than those who left education at an earlier age.

People who left full-time education at a later stage in life tended, on average, to achieve scores further towards the T poles of most of the T-F facets than those who left education at an earlier age.

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Differences by language

The Step II questionnaire was trialled in 9 different languages. The list below shows how those taking the questionnaire in each language differed from the group as a whole. A range of different sampling methods was used, and not all of the groups were representative of the general population of that country.

Danish
Mean facet scores amongst the Danish-speaking sample tended more towards the E pole on three facets (Expressive-Contained, Active-Reflective and Enthusiastic-Quiet), more towards the N pole on three facets (Concrete-Abstract, Experiential-Theoretical and Traditional-Original), and more towards the P pole on two facets (Early starting-Pressure prompted and Scheduled-Spontaneous).

Dutch
Amongst the Dutch-speaking sample there was a relatively consistent pattern across the facets within the S-N preference block, with mean scores tending towards the S pole on four of the facet scales (Concrete-Abstract, Realistic-Imaginative, Practical-Inferential and Experiential-Theoretical). In addition, mean scores tended toward the F pole on one facet (Questioning-Accommodating).

English
Amongst the UK sample there were very few deviations from the overall sample means. Scores tended more towards the N pole on one facet (Experiential-Theoretical) and toward the F pole on one facet (Critical-Accepting).

French
Amongst the French-speaking sample, mean facet scores showed fewer deviations from the overall sample means. Scores tended more towards the I pole on one facet (Expressive-Contained), more towards the T pole on two facets (Questioning-Accommodating and Critical-Accepting), and more towards the F pole on another facet (Logical-Empathetic).

German
Amongst the German-speaking sample, there were relatively few deviations from the overall sample means. Scores tended more towards the S pole on one facet (Practical-Inferential), more towards the T pole on one facet (Critical-Accepting), and more towards the J pole on another facet (Systematic-Casual).

Italian
Amongst the Italian-speaking sample, there were four noticeable deviations from the overall sample means. Scores tended more towards the I pole on one facet (Participative-Reflective), more towards the N pole on one facet (Experiential-Theoretical), and more towards the T pole on two facets (Reasonable-Compassionate and Critical-Accepting).

Norwegian
Amongst the Norwegian-speaking sample there was a consistent pattern across the facets within the E-I preference block, with mean scores tending towards the E pole on all five of the facet scales (Initiating-Receiving, Expressive-Contained, Gregarious-Intimate, Active-Reflective and Enthusiastic-Quiet). In addition, mean scores tended toward the F pole on one facet (Tough-Tender), and towards the J pole on one facet (Systematic-Casual). This pattern is almost identical to the Swedish-speaking sample.

Spanish
Amongst the Spanish-speaking sample, there were five noticeable deviations from the overall sample means. Scores tended more towards the S pole on two facets (Concrete-Abstract and Experiential-Theoretical), more towards the T pole on one facet (Reasonable-Compassionate) and more towards the J pole on two facets (Systematic-Casual and Early starting-Pressure prompted).

Swedish
Amongst the Swedish-speaking sample there was a consistent pattern across the facets within the E-I preference block, with mean scores tending towards the E pole on all five of the facet scales (Initiating-Receiving, Expressive-Contained, Gregarious-Intimate, Active-Reflective and Enthusiastic-Quiet). In addition, mean scores tended toward the N pole on one facet (Experiential-Theoretical), toward the F pole on one facet (Tough-Tender), and towards the J pole on one facet (Systematic-Casual). This pattern is almost identical to the Norwegian-speaking sample.

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Internal consistency reliability

The new European edition has much improved internal consistency reliability (compared with Form K), as shown in the table below:

Test-retest reliability is also good, with coefficients ranging from 0.66 to 0.92 with a median of 0.84.

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Further research information

The results above give a taste of the more extensive research findings in the MBTI® Step II Manual: European edition. The research section of the manual contains more details on:

• The development of the new questionnaire
  
  
• Properties of the Step II facet scales
  
  
• The relationship of Step I to Step II, and between different versions of Step II
  
  
• Reliability of the Step II facet scales
  
  
• Reliability of Step II interpretative categories
  
  
• Construct validity and factor analysis
  
  
• Correlation with other instruments
  
  
• Validity against behavioural descriptions
  
  
• Studies providing evidence for the application of Step II results
  
  
• Use of the Step II facet scales to test Type theory
  
  
• Group differences by gender, age, ethnic origin, education level, occupational level and occupational sector.

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