A look at the relationships between MBTI psychological types and mode conflict styles

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between psychological type as measured by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and conflict style as determined by the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict MODE Instrument (MODE). Comparing individual scores on these measures may provide information that can be beneficial to anyone who wishes to have a clearer understanding of self and others, to reduce misunderstandings between people which are based on preferences in approach to conflict and create greater choice in how to deal with such conflicts. Previous research findings indicate a positive correlation between specific MBTI psychological types and a preference for specific conflict styles (Johnson, 1997; Marion, 1995; Percival, Smitheram & Kelly, 1992). This study along with a review of previous research is described in this paper in accordance with the guidelines set by the American Psychological Association (APA) Publication Manual. A sample of 66 subjects consisting of 34 undergraduate students taking a course directed at career exploration, 22 graduate students in the field of business and 10 persons employed by a manufacturing company in January/February, 2001 completed the MBTI and the MODE instruments. The MBTI measures preferences on the scales of extraversion/introversion, intuition/sensing, thinking/feeling and judging/perceiving. The raw scores determine a four letter psychological type. This “type” and the raw preference scores for the conflict-handling styles of competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding and accommodating measured by the MODE were submitted for Pearson chi-square analysis. The statistical analysis examined the relationship between the actual and the expected counts of each individual scale and of every two-scale combination of the MBTI with the five conflict-handling styles of the MODE. In this study a relationship was shown to exist between psychological type and conflict style. Statistically significant relationships were found between those preferring thinking or feeling and the preference for the conflict styles of competing and avoiding, respectively. Those who prefer thinking were found to significantly favor competing more than those who prefer feeling. Those that prefer feeling were shown to favor avoiding while those who prefer thinking were shown to have a statistically significant low preference for avoiding. The study also showed tendencies (p = .05 <. 1) for those who prefer introversion to favor avoiding and for those who prefer judging to favor competing. The relationship between the preference for thinking or feeling and the preference for competing as well as the tendency for those preferring introversion to favor avoiding support previous findings (Johnson, 1997; Percival et al., 1992). The findings between the preference for thinking or feeling and the preference for avoiding as well as the tendency of those who prefer judging to favor competing appear to be new findings that could be further studied and analyzed.