DISC Personality Tests vs. MBTI Personality Tests

The Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and the DISC test are both commonly used to determine personality types in psychological assessment. While these tests are similar in some ways, they are significantly different in others.

Myers Briggs Format

• Myers and Briggs, a mother-daughter pair, worked together to develop a psychological test based on Carl Jung’s theory that there are four main areas of personality. These include introversion/extroversion, sensing/intuiting, thinking/feeling and judging/perceiving.

Myers Briggs Results

• The results of the test place test takers into one of sixteen personality categories. Each category comes with a detailed description of the personality, strong points and weak points which are characteristic of that type.

DISC Format

• The DISC test was developed by Dr. William Martson. It categorizes an individual’s behavior into the categories of dominance, influence, steadiness and conscientiousness.

DISC Results

• Each person who takes the DISC test receives two letters--one that indicates the dominant trait and one that indicates the main secondary trait.

Differences Between the Two

• The main difference between the MBTI and the DISC is that the MBTI indicates personality, while the DISC test focuses mainly on behavior. In addition, the DISC test is shorter, less expensive to take and simpler to understand. However, the Myers Briggs is more successful in measuring deeper, more personal aspects of the psyche.