Personas aren’t the only kid on the block when it comes to using archetypes to understand how people think and feel. The Meyers-Briggs Type Inventory (MBTI) is also based on archetypes, and is the most widely used personality assessment in use today. The MBTI defines sixteen distinct personality types based on four dimensions, describing a range of ways that people relate to and engage with the world. Based on the work of Carl Jung, the MBTI has been subjected to decades of rigorous academic study and practical evaluation.
The Meyers-Briggs compliments the context and insights that come from primary research, and is a powerful lens through which interaction designers may more clearly understand users’ needs, motivations, and experiences. This talk will provide an overview of the Meyers-Briggs, highlight research and thought leadership relating personality types to technology usage, examine controversies and limitations of the MBTI and share ways to use personality types to support and communicate design, including a brief case study.
Josh Cothran is a User Experience Designer at Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), a Local Leader of IxDA Atlanta, and an active member of Atlanta’s chapters of CHI and UX Book Club. At GTRI, he conducts research and designs tools to inform and empower users; recent projects have included research into providers’ use of health IT, an interactive visualization of healthcare spending, and an online tool for vaccination scheduling.
When he’s not doing UX, you can find Josh taking photos, listening to and playing music, biking, and exploring the outdoors. He holds a BS in Computer Science and MS in Human-Computer Interaction from Georgia Tech.
Josh is an INTJ (Introverted iNtuitive Thinking Judging).
