Meet the Women Who Invented Your Personality: The Untold Story of Katharine Briggs and Isabel Myers

From Homemakers to World-Changers: The Real Faces Behind the MBTI

Most people have heard of the Myers-Briggs test, but few know the remarkable women behind it. Katharine Briggs and her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers were not professional psychologists—they were homemakers, writers, and relentless experimenters. Merve Emre’s The Personality Brokers brings their story to life, showing how they transformed a family obsession into a cultural institution.

Their journey began with Katharine’s fascination with child-rearing and personality. She meticulously observed Isabel, developing elaborate systems to track her development. Inspired by Carl Jung’s theories, Katharine reached out to Jung himself, exchanging letters that helped shape her thinking. Isabel, meanwhile, used fiction writing as a laboratory for personality, crafting characters whose traits would later inform the MBTI’s categories.

Despite facing skepticism and the constraints of their era, the duo persisted. They distributed their early questionnaires to friends and neighbors, refining their ideas through trial and error. When Isabel’s detective novel won a national prize, it gave her the confidence to pursue the MBTI full-time. Their work was a blend of science, intuition, and storytelling—a testament to the power of women’s creativity in shaping the modern world.

Today, their legacy is everywhere—from HR departments to online quizzes. But as Emre shows, their greatest achievement may be the way they opened up new possibilities for understanding ourselves and each other, proving that innovation can come from the most unexpected places.

References: NY Times, Slate, The Personality Brokers