Personality type

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Personality type refers to the psychological classification of different types of people. Personality types are distinguished from personality traits, which come in different levels or degrees. According to type theories, for example, there are two types of people, introverts and extraverts. According to trait theories, introversion and extraversion are part of a continuous dimension, with many people in the middle. The idea of psychological types originated in the theoretical work of Carl Jung.

Because personality test scores usually fall on a bell curve rather than in distinct categories,^[1] personality type theories have received considerable criticism among psychometric researchers. The developmental psychologist, Jerome Kagan, however, is a prominent, contemporary defender of type theory.

Many trait theorists occasionally use the term type to describe someone who scores exceptionally high or low on a particular personality trait.