MBTI vs DISC

MBTI and DISC are two psychometric instruments that allow the prediction and evaluation of an individual. Both tests are used in many organizations and institutions all over the world.

The older of the two is the MBTI or Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. It is a standard instrument to determine and profile a person’s personality type, perception, thinking process, and viewpoint. It was developed by a mother-and-daughter team, Katharine Cook Briggs and daughter Isabel Briggs Myers in 1943. It has been a standard instrument in its field. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is based on the work of Carl Jung.

The instrument uses four pairs of patterns: perception vs. judgment (dealing with the outer world), extraversion vs. introversion (orientation to the world), thinking vs. feeling (decision making) and sensing vs. intuitive (ways of gathering information).

Perception vs. judgment deals with one’s attitude; sensing vs. intuitive and thinking vs. feeling are associated with function. The last pair, extraversion vs. introversion, is linked to lifestyle.

The results are in the form of a variation of letters with 16 possible letter combinations.
They are often used for personal or academic purposes. Myers-Briggs is a lengthy and complex questionnaire form with over 100 questions.

On the other hand, DISC is an instrument that measures a person’s behavior and behavioral process. DISC is the abbreviation of its patterns; “D” for “Dominance,” “I” for “Influence,” “S” for “Steadiness,” and “C” for “Compliance.” In DISC, the approach or response of the individual is given emphasis. Dominance measures the individuals’ approach to problems; Influence is a person’s approach to people; Steadiness places an importance on the approach to the pace of work, and Compliance measures the approach to procedures.

The Dominance and Influence factors reveal the extrovert characteristic of the person. Meanwhile, the introvert traits are the Steadiness and Compliance factors of the same individual. DISC will yield two letters as the results. The first letter represents the dominant trait while the second letter stands for the main secondary trait.

DISC is designed for the workplace. It is simpler and shorter compared to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. It only comprises 24 questions. An individual’s behavior can be determined among 284 behavioral traits. DISC is developed from the work of William Moulton Marston.

Summary:

1.Both psychometric instruments are in questionnaire form. Both tests can be conducted with each other. The aim of both tests is to provide a profile or assessment of an individual.
2.“MBTI” stands for “Myers-Briggs Type Indicator” while “DISC” represents the four approaches of the test. The letters are stand for Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Compliance. The first test is named after its developers while the second one is named after four patterns used in the tests.
3.Myers-Briggs is based on the work of Carl Jung while William Marston’s work gave way to DISC.
4.The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator uses four pairs of trait patterns which are each other’s opposite. On the other hand, DISC also has four points of approach.
5.The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is longer and a more complex test. It has over 100 questions. Meanwhile, DISC only has 24 questions. It is characterized as simpler.
6.The focus of DISC is on a person’s behavior inside the workplace while Myers-Briggs is centered on the individual’s personality type.
7.The result of DISC is represented by two letters while the Myers-Briggs’ result is expressed in a variation of letters. 8.DISC results are easier to remember compared to the results of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.
9.DISC is a model designed for the workplace environment. The same locale is also applicable to using Myers-Briggs in addition to personal or academic purposes.

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