Testing the bipolarity of the Jungian functions

Area of Science:

• Psychological Assessment
• Personality Theory

Background:

• Recent studies question the bipolarity of Jungian functions measured by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).
• Failure to observe negative correlations between opposite functions in Likert-format instruments suggests potential issues.
• Acquiescence response set is hypothesized as a contributing factor to these findings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To offer an alternative explanation for the lack of observed negative correlations in MBTI function research.
• To investigate the role of acquiescence response set in measuring Jungian function bipolarity.
• To construct and validate a new instrument to assess Jungian function bipolarity.

Main Methods:

• A new instrument using agree-disagree items was developed to measure Jungian functions.
• Participants were ranked by endorsement frequency to control for acquiescence response set.
• Analysis focused on the middle third of participants to mitigate response bias.

Main Results:

• Initial analysis with the new instrument did not reveal negative correlations between opposite functions.
• After controlling for acquiescence response set, significant negative correlations (–.67 and –.69) were observed.
• These results indicate strong support for the bipolarity of theoretically opposite Jungian functions.

Conclusions:

• The findings largely refute criticisms questioning the bipolarity assumption of Jungian functions.
• Controlling for acquiescence response set is crucial for accurately measuring function bipolarity.
• Further development of measures not reliant on the bipolarity assumption is still warranted.