The Myers-Briggs Company Blog Central

SUNNYVALE, Calif., September 17, 2015 — CPP, Inc. (CPP.com), the exclusive publisher of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator^® (MBTI^®) assessment, today announced initial findings from a global research study on the connection between psychological type and interpersonal influence. The study illustrates that personality type may play a much larger role in influence than many would suspect, and has broad implications for both the workplace, and people’s personal lives. The study revealed that, in fact, influencing will fail 90% of the time when strategies are used that do not compliment the influencee’s individual preferences.

Study co-author Damian Killen discusses the study’s implications: “What many people fail to realize is that preferences around the methods of influencing and beliefs about influencing vary quite widely. What may seem an effective and natural tactic to one person may come across as abrasive and ineffective to another. We’ve found that many of these differences are specific to personality type, and education in these type-specific differences will help people navigate influence better at work, at home, and in all social situations.”

Over 18 months, the research team assembled a combination of quantitative and qualitative data from over 3,500 people examining the connection between psychological type as articulated by the theory behind the Myers-Briggs assessment, and how individuals prefer to influence and be influenced by others.

Findings
The findings of the study ranged from insights into self-concepts about effectiveness at influencing to a complete typology of influence strategies. The researchers found:

• Influencing will fail 90% of the time when strategies are used that do not compliment the influencee’s individual preferences
• Influencing preferences can be grouped into four personality type-linked categories that focus on real logic, personal example, authentic values and convincing outcome
• Individuals who are naturally oriented to a concrete and logical perspective believe they are the most effective at influencing others

2015 Users Conference
The study’s findings will be released in full at the 2015 MBTI Users Conference, which will be held in San Francisco from September 28th through the 30th. The conference will include sessions with study authors that will offer attendees an opportunity to develop practical applications of the study’s findings.

About CPP – The people development people

At CPP, our only job is to help you be a better people development professional and, in turn, help every employee flourish. While we’re best known for our products like the Myers-Briggs assessment, CPP is also a group of people who can offer you the information, guidance, and support you need. We offer solutions to help you improve organizational performance and address whatever challenges you face – from team building, leadership and coaching, and conflict management to career development, selection, and retention. Perhaps that’s why millions of individuals in more than 170 countries use our products each year. They include people at Fortune 500 companies and businesses of all sizes, as well as educators, government agencies, and training and development consultants. CPP's world-renowned brands include the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator^® (MBTI^®), Strong Interest Inventory^®, Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI), FIRO^®, CPI 260^®, and California Psychological Inventory^™ (CPI^™) instruments. Let’s make a difference together. Talk to us today to see how: 800 624 1765, www.cpp.com, The Myers-Briggs^® experts.
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