Big Five vs MBTI, what is the difference?

What does the MBTI actually measure?

The four MBTI pairs largely line up with four of the five Big Five traits. A classic study that put the two side by side showed this decades ago ^[1]. Extraverted versus introverted goes with Extraversion. Intuitive versus sensing goes with Openness. Feeling versus thinking goes with Agreeableness. Judging versus perceiving goes with Conscientiousness.

One trait is missing: how calm you stay under pressure and how strongly tension and moods affect you. In the Big Five that is Emotional stability. The MBTI has no scale of its own for it ^[1].

The same study also found no support for the idea that the MBTI measures true either-or preferences or clearly distinct types. According to the researchers, its four scales measure four fairly independent traits, in other words continuous differences ^[1]. Put simply: underneath the four letters are ordinary scores, which are cut in two when the result is reported.

Why do researchers use the Big Five?

Researchers use the Big Five because the model keeps turning up, however it is measured. It appears in the everyday words people use to describe each other, in questionnaires, in ratings by other people and across cultures ^[2].

Research on the Big Five also holds up well when repeated. In one large project, 78 previously published links between the five traits and life outcomes were tested again with large samples. In 87 percent of cases the link was found again, although on average it was somewhat weaker than in the original study ^[3]. Such links describe groups of people and are usually small. They do not predict anything with certainty about one person.

Researchers are more critical of the theory behind the MBTI. That theory assumes everyone has a "true type" across four either-or splits. A 2019 review concludes that the theory does not fit well with known findings, is hard to test and contains internal contradictions ^[4].

What does the MBTI do well?

The MBTI gives people a language for talking about differences. Words like "introvert" and "extravert" have become everyday vocabulary, and that helps. If you can tell a colleague "I prefer to think on my own for a bit before I respond", you avoid a misunderstanding.

A type is also easy to remember and to share. In a team it can open a useful conversation about how you work together, why one person wants a plan and another prefers to keep options open. The descriptions are written kindly, too: every type has its strengths.

It goes wrong when the type starts working as a label. Sorting people into boxes drops the middle and suggests sharp boundaries that are not there. Use the MBTI to start a conversation rather than to pin people down, and you get the most out of it.

Can you convert an MBTI type into Big Five scores?

Only very roughly. An I points to a lower Extraversion score, an N to higher Openness, an F to higher Agreeableness and a J to higher Conscientiousness.

But a letter does not tell you how far from the middle you are. An I could belong to a score of 45 or of 5. And your type says nothing about Emotional stability. If you want to know your Big Five profile, it is better to measure it directly.

It does not work well the other way round either. Say your Big Five result is Extraversion 55, Openness 80, Agreeableness 50 and Conscientiousness 30 (a made-up example). Openness and Conscientiousness show a clear side, but Extraversion and Agreeableness are so close to the middle that the letter could just as easily have been the other one. A four-letter type makes such a profile sound more definite than it is.

Is a DepthFive Depth Pattern a type?

No. Alongside your five scores, DepthFive shows a Depth Pattern: one of 16 patterns, each with its own name. A Depth Pattern is a recognisable summary of your profile, not a type. Your five scores stay in the lead.

The difference lies in how you use it. A type says "this is what you are". A pattern gives a handy name to a combination of scores, and you always read the scores alongside it. If a score is close to 50, you are just above or just below the middle, and a new measurement could flip the pattern even though you answered almost the same. That is why you look at the numbers first.

The free test of 20 questions gives you five percentiles, two comparisons and your Depth Pattern, with no email address or account. For a one-off €25 ($25, or £22 in the UK) you answer the remaining 100 questions and get a personal report based on all 120.