A Comparison of DiSC® Classic and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® Research Report
Item Number: O-231
©1996 by Inscape Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright secured in the US and foreign countries.
“DiSC” is a registered trademark of Inscape Publishing, Inc.

A Comparison of DiSC® Classic and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®

Research Summary

Both DiSC® Classic and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® are currently

used in business settings for the purpose of employee development and

team building. Each has its origin in theories developed during the first

decades of the twentieth century. DiSC Classic is based on the theories

of Dr. William Marston while the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is based

on the theories of Dr. Carl Jung.

The purpose of this research report is to compare DiSC Classic and the

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator as instruments used for employee

development and team building. It is written to explain the theoretical

origins of both instruments, to elaborate on how they differ in purpose,

and to suggest the appropriate application of each. It will also address

how the profile obtained from one instrument relates to the profile

obtained from the other.

This report shows that in addition to arising from different theoretical

origins, the instruments measure different things. DiSC Classic

describes behavior based on how people view themselves in their

various environments. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator describes how

people approach the environment intellectually and attitudinally and

how they process information.

The profiles obtained from each instrument can not be expected to be

correlated. They were designed for different purposes and based on

different views of human behavior. Because the two instruments

provide different kinds of information, they might very well augment

each other as separate views of the same individual.

A Comparison of DiSC Classic and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator as

Instruments Used for Employee Development and Team-building

Theoretical Origins

Each of these popular instruments reflects important theoretical

developments which started when psychology was in its infancy, and

theorists were exploring ways to explain human behavior. Each one has

been refined by more contemporary students of the theory. Inscape

Publishing refined and expanded on the theories of William Marston to

create DiSC Classic, originally called Personal Profile System®, and

Katherine Briggs and her daughter Isabel Myers adapted the theories of

Carl Jung to create the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.

An important distinction between the two measures is found in their

theoretical origins. Both original authors sought to find a systematic

way to understand human behavior.

Dr. Marston intended to explain how normal human emotions lead to

behavioral differences among people as well as to changes in a person's

behavior from time to time. His work focused on finding practical

explanations which would help people understand and manage their

experience in the world. He also related his ideas to issues in

interpersonal relationships.

Inscape Publishing used Marston’s theories to develop a measuring tool

using words and phrases in forced-choice, four-item sets. In so doing,

they built on a body of research into the semantic meaning of words.

Unlike most word-choice measures, they focused primarily on positive

words and created a four-dimensional profile which highlights preferred

behavioral strategies for coping with a particular environment (point of

view).

This instrument, DiSC Classic, is a measure of "surface traits" or

characteristic ways of behaving in a particular environment. It is not

designed to describe human characteristics that are not readily observed.

The assumption is that inferences about core personality traits are best

left to someone trained in the clinical use of tests designed for that

purpose.

Dr. Jung intended to explain both the conscious and unconscious forces

affecting behavior and to identify core personality traits that

differentiate among people. As a medical doctor working in the analytic

tradition begun by Freud, he looked for explanations in (a) the "inner

core" of personality that first appears after birth and (b) human history

and literature, particularly myths and symbols that explain how people

through the ages have tried to understand their experience. His theories

were designed to explain how abnormal, as well as normal, behavioral

adjustments occur.

Myers and Briggs added to Jung's three, bi-polar dimensions of

personality a fourth dimension grounded in his theory. These four

dimensions comprise the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® and are scored

in an either-or format depending on an individual's forced-choice

response to pairs of phrases and single words. The scoring format is

based on Jung's belief that while both facets of a bi-polar dimension are

present in personality, one is emphasized more than the other. In fact, an

individual may use one consciously and with deliberate intention, while

the other influences behavior only unconsciously.

The following discussion highlights major similarities and differences

between these theories and the instruments designed to measure them.

Theoretical Basis of the Instruments

DISC® Classic Dr. William Marston, a physiological psychologist writing in the 1920s

and 1930s, explored the meaning of normal human emotions by relating

how a person perceives himself or herself in relation to the environment

and describing how the person is likely to behave in response.

The two dimensions of Marston’s model:

• The environment is perceived as favorable or unfavorable.

• The individual perceives him or herself as more or less powerful

than the environment.

In response to the environment, the individual either acts on or

accommodates to that environment which is seen as either favorable or

unfavorable.

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®

Dr. Carl Jung, a psychiatrist originally affiliated with Sigmund Freud,

developed during the 1920s and 1930s a typology for explaining human

behavior — both normal and abnormal. The essential ingredients of

Jung's model are:

• Individuals are predisposed to pay more attention to either (a) the

external world of objects or (b) the inner world of ideas and

feelings. Thus, they exhibit either extraversion or introversion.

• Individuals naturally prefer to use one of two "functions" for

gathering information — either sensing what the objective facts are

or intuiting relationships and possibilities. One is grounded in

reality, the other in imagination.

• How individuals process and evaluate information depends on their

preference for the thinking versus feeling "function." The first

approach is based on logic and objectivity, and the second is based

on subjectivity and personal values.

Myers and Briggs added to Jung's three dimensions a judgingperceiving

scale, which is designed to measure one's attitude toward the

"outer world" — i.e., how people manage their lives.

Theorist's Purpose

Marston sought to explain how people adjust to varying environments,

by starting with their emotional response to it and relating this response

to behavior.

Jung sought to explain why people differ from one another by

identifying fundamental personality traits or preferences rooted in

biology.

Appropriate Applications

Because Marston focused on the individual in relation to his or her

environment, it is appropriate to use this instrument to help people

understand individual behavior — their own and others in a particular

situation. Such information may be used by the respondent to determine

how he or she may want to adjust behavior to work more effectively with

others or better adapt to a situation. However, neither DiSC® Classic nor

the theory behind it evaluates one kind of behavior as preferable to

another.

Because Jung focused on trying to explain individual differences,

including a range of normal and abnormal behavior, it is appropriate to

use this instrument to help people determine whether their behavior

should change to become more effective.

Many individuals use this instrument to further understand themselves

and others. However, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® and the theory

on which it is based can also be used to identify underdeveloped

behavioral strategies that can be developed to enhance interpersonal

effectiveness. The assumption is that more mature persons bring

unconscious elements of their nature into conscious use and try to

employ the little-used parts of their profile more and more as life goes

on.

Practical Uses

DiSC Classic is primarily suited for increasing self-awareness in a

setting where the individual can decide how to use the information in

his or her relations with others.

DiSC Classic is self-scored and self-interpreted, and respondents using

the paper or Web-based version may keep their information private if

they choose.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is primarily suited to increase selfawareness

for the purpose of getting along with others more effectively.

It is also used to identify the source of problems in relationships with

the help of a skilled counselor and to prepare a therapeutic plan for

growth or change.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® is available in a self-scored form.

However, greater use is made of forms that must be sent to the publisher

to be scored.

From the forms, the publisher is able to develop norms for determining

how normal or abnormal a particular response pattern is, in relation to a

reference group.

Ease of Interpretation

Sufficient information is provided in the DiSC® Classic instrument itself

to aid the respondent in interpretation. The trainer or facilitator adds to

participant understanding through (a) a broader knowledge of the theory

behind the instrument, (b) illustrative examples, and (c) facilitated

discussion of individual results.

With the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, little information is provided in

the instrument itself to aid the respondent in interpretation.

Most forms of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator are sent in for scoring;

thus the instrument itself is a response form. Individuals receive a

computer-generated profile and narrative report once the instrument is

scored. It includes a description of the person's type and descriptions of

how indicated preferences relate to the work setting, communication

style and problem-solving style. Group- or organization-level

applications are also available.

User Qualifications

In addition to a three-volume facilitator’s kit for DiSC Classic, a oneday

training program is offered to those who wish to expand their

information on the use of the instrument as a trainer, counselor, or

consultant. The respondents are considered the experts on themselves

and the instrument is self-scored and self-interpreted. No other

educational requirements are made.

Purchasers of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator are required to submit

evidence of one or more college courses in behavioral measurement and

complete a three-day training program on the Myers-Briggs Type

Indicator.

Additional Resources for Interpretation

Periodic conferences on DiSC Classic offer additional learning

opportunities to attendees. Books and articles written by users are

available to explain and illustrate a variety of applications. The

facilitator's manual and occasional white papers offered by the publisher

are available to justify claims made for the instrument.

A variety of books and manuals are available to persons using the

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® in training, team development, and

counseling. In addition, a number of academic research studies are

available, and presentations and conferences are offered throughout the

year.

Comparing Results

Users sometimes ask how a profile obtained from one instrument relates

to the profile obtained from the other. The following discussion

addresses this question.

There are significant difficulties encountered in trying to infer one

profile from the other, because they clearly measure different things. At

the start, they are designed for different purposes.

DiSC® Classic

DiSC® Classic addresses behavioral responses based on the individual's

emotional reaction to a particular environment. This model is not

designed to support inferences about what an individual is like at the

core of his or her personality or to predict how she or he will behave in

the future. Further, it does not attempt to determine how effective the

person's behaviors are. If behavioral consistencies are evident over time,

it is either because

• people develop a predominant view of the world and themselves that

becomes rather fixed;

• or, people are able to create or locate themselves in environments

that have similar characteristics.

We can suppose the pull toward similar environments is based on stable

characteristics of a person that make them prefer certain environments

over others. These characteristics, however, are not measured by DiSC

Classic. Nor is it appropriate to suppose one can match a person to an

"ideal" environment and count on the match to remain intact. Learning

how to adapt is a more functional approach, given the dynamic

character of the environment.

This instrument helps individuals recognize the environmental cues to

which they are reacting and the strategies they are using to adjust to

their environment. It helps respondents determine whether another

environment or strategy may be more effective and to become more

skillful in adapting to circumstances in which they find themselves.

Versions of DiSC Classic are available in paper, software, and Webbased

forms; in word or phrase input formats; and for youth and adults

separately.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® addresses both thinking and

behavior responses based on acquired habits of viewing and responding

to the world in general. Preferences are categorized into types, with a

belief that certain habits predominate. The assumption is that people

will act on their preferences regardless of the situation. However, it is

also assumed that as people mature they can learn to use more of the

neglected approaches in an effort to increase their capacity for being

successful in a variety of situations.

This instrument offers a prescription for increasing interpersonal

effectiveness and individual problem-solving ability when present

strategies prove less than optimal. It is available in a variety of group

and individual forms.

Specific Comparisons

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator starts with an assumption that some

individuals preoccupy themselves from birth with looking outward at

the world, including people, around them (extraversion or outer focus of

attention); while others come into the world paying more attention to

what they are thinking and feeling inside (introversion or inner focus of

attention). An argument can be made that this dichotomy is unrelated to

D, i, S, and C because individuals scoring high on these DiSC® Classic

scales can theoretically score either high or low on the EI scales of the

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. The rationale is as follows:

• Those persons who feel they are in a vulnerable or subordinate

position in the environment may either (E) focus more on the outer

world to recognize objects and cues that will inform them how they

should respond to it or (I) focus more on self-directed activities to

satisfy themselves when they're unsure of the rewards available from

the environment.

• Those persons who feel they are in a comfortable or superordinate

position in the environment may either (E) engage the outer world to

enjoy the rewards of membership or (I) retreat from it, satisfied there

is nothing there with which to concern themselves.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator measures two dichotomous functions

for receiving and evaluating information from the environment:

• The Sensing/Intuiting scale identifies an individual's preference for

receiving information from tangible objects and facts (S) versus

imagined possibilities and perceived interrelationships (N).

• The Thinking/Feeling scale identifies a preference for evaluating

information based on impersonal analysis and logic (T), as opposed

to personal values and group goals (F).

The instrument also measures people's attitude toward the world in

which they live: The Perceiving/Judging scale distinguishes people who

are typically more open, curious, interested, and ultimately adaptable

(P) from those who are organized, purposeful, logical, and decisive (J).

The last three scales are theoretically more closely aligned with the

Team Dimensions Profile, published Inscape Publishing, than DiSC®

Classic — primarily because they measure both thinking and behaving.

The Spontaneous-Methodical approaches on the Team Dimensions

Profile contrast people who approach problem-solving with a certain

openness, curiosity, and spontaneity (P) with those who prefer a more

organized, purposeful, and logical approach (J).

The Conceptual-Normative approaches contrast people who take an

impersonal, logical approach (T) with those who identify solutions

based on tradition and values (F). Based on this comparison, it is worth

examining the relationship between Creator and TP, Advancer and FP,

Refiner and TJ, and Executor and FJ.

As with the attitudes of Extraversion/Introversion, the Judging/

Perceiving attitudes are expected to bear no systematic relationship with

DiSC Classic scales. The JP scale measures an orientation toward the

environment, not a reaction to how the environment is affecting the

individual emotionally.

Because of the cognitive elements at work in planning, analyzing,

deciding (J), and in adapting and "going with the flow" (P), little

correlation with the DiSC behavior measures is expected.

Some observers have hypothesized about how the 16 types in the

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® output relate to the 15 Classical Patterns.

If the fundamental scales measure different things, there is no basis for

generating valid assumptions about the relationship among profiles

from each instrument. However, research should explore whether any

empirical correlations exist, and the study should include Team

Dimensions Profile in the comparison.

©1996 by Inscape Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.