Using the MBTI® with other cultures

When studying the development of individuals, it is important to recognize the need to consider both their type and the culture in which they have developed their type.Type and Culture: Using the MBTI^® Instrument in International Applications provides a beginning guide for MBTI practitioners who are using or want to use the instrument and psychological type in cultures other than their own or with multinational and cross-cultural groups.Culture is likely to influence training with the MBTI instrument and the theory of psychological type in the following ways:

• How people respond to completing a personality inventory
• How people react to the notion of individual differences
• How the professional explains the preferences and how the audience understands the explanations
• The design and delivery of the training program

If you plan to conduct a training session in a culture different from your own, you should gather information and think through the following three influences:

• Your type
• The normal training styles in your culture
• Information about the country and culture with which you will be working

It appears that every culture has preferred types or type preferences that are different for males and females.  Below are creative ways to explain the MBTI® preferences when you are working in a culture very different from your own:

• State explicitly that your definitions and examples have been developed with your culture.
• Use them briefly, limiting idioms and jargon.
• Ask participants to identify examples of the preferences in there culture.

Learning about cultural norms, being sensitive to the effect these norms may have on MBTI training, and modifying one’s natural style are central to effective cross-cultural training.  When you begin training in cultures different from your own, you will be afforded a truly humbling and enlightening experience.   Let us not be blind to our differences-but let us also direct attention to our common interests and the means by which those differences can be resolved. – John Fitzgerald KennedyType and Culture is available through www.cpp.com.