The Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator, or MBTI in short, is a universal Muggle personality assessment tool applicable to Muggles, witches, and wizards alike. It was developed by a Muggle mother-daughter duo, Katharine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers, an autodidact in the field of psychology, from the United States, and first published in 1962, post-World War II. It was highly influenced by the war and aimed at helping people understand each other better to promote working together and reduce conflict in the Muggle world. However, its fundamental principles are equally relevant to any human being, whether magical or Muggle. It took 20 years of research and validation to bring this personality assessment tool forward in its current form.

For a quick briefing, every human being is imbued with multiple psychological and behavioral traits, e.g., creativity, conscientiousness, curiosity, loyalty, compassion, generosity, confidence, the tendency to get angry quickly, etc. These are not to be confused with a person's immediate responses or reactions to daily-life situations; for example, an annoying occurrence such as being stuck in traffic during peak hours is bound to cause the calmest and most patient person to feel some crankiness and minor irritation, or act impatient. Rather, a trait is an innate characteristic possessed by a human being that he or she, more commonly or more often than other people, displays in society, irrespective of the nature of the trigger. In other words, when a person repeatedly responds the same way to a certain genre of stimuli, no matter how much more or less intense, or behaves in the same manner on varied occasions and under different circumstances, i.e., when a person can be said to be inclined to respond or behave in a certain way, that particular response or behaviour is called a trait of the person. Personality refers to a collection of traits that make up the individual as a whole. While everyone is born with an inherent personality type, which is quite often genetically influenced, one's personality can change over a lifetime due to adapting to situations faced throughout life for the purpose of survival. This is why being exposed to do-or-die challenges, or to the outer world, as they say, changes the personality of an individual, or, in other words, molds a person into being better suited for survivability in his or her immediate environment.

If you are Muggle-born, you are more likely than not to have already heard about the MBTI personality assessment tool. It is quite popular among Muggles for various purposes. The MBTI is largely based on Carl Jung's all-encompassing theory of psychological types, published in 1921. According to Carl Jung's theory, certain domains within the spectrum of personality traits affect people universally, and the two opposite extremes on the scale based on opposing ways of interacting with one's environment in these specific domains can be used as universal indicators to determine any individual's personality type. He called the two opposing extremes two types of "attitudes" or "functions". The MBTI tool involves only four such domains. It uses a set of questions to weigh an individual's personality traits in these four domains, determine which opposing extreme or "attitude"-type or "function"-type the individual's overall personality traits appear closer to, and formulate a personality type for the individual from a combination of his or her "attitude" type in each of the four domains. All in all, the MBTI works by measuring the prominence of certain human psychological and behavioral traits, grouped into four main domains, in an individual and using the acquired data to sort human beings into 16 distinct personality types. Irrespective of blood line, every human being, whether Muggle or magical, can be placed into one of these 16 different molds developed by Isabel Briggs Myers and her mother, Katharine Cook Briggs. The MBTI personality type attributed to an individual can change over his or her lifetime, owing to the reasons I described above. The original version of the MBTI tool comprises a questionnaire with 93 questions involving personality traits, making choices, and choosing reactions to given situations, to be answered within no particular time limit. Many more modified versions with wide variations have been developed in recent years. However, the original version, provided by the Myers & Briggs Foundation, titled "Official MBTI Assessment: The official MBTI assessment", is regarded as the most accurate, exhaustive, and reliable.

The four main domains into which the MBTI tool classifies personality traits are: -

Extroversion - This domain includes personality traits related to an individual's social energy, talkativeness, assertiveness, outgoingness, ease of interaction with others, and eagerness to be seen in society.

The two opposing "attitude"-types in this domain are Introversion (I) and Extroversion (E).

Awareness - This domain includes personality traits that determine how we as individuals tend to become aware of our surroundings, mainly whether we tend to rely more on our intuition (perception of inside images, i.e., perceiving on the basis of gut feeling) or on the input we receive via our senses (perception of outside images, i.e., perceiving on the basis of what we see, hear, taste, touch, and/or smell).

The two opposing "attitude"-types in this domain are Sensation (S) and Intuition (N).

Logicality - This domain is based on the classic principle of logic vs. emotion. It consists of personality traits that determine how rationally we take decisions, i.e., whether we would rather follow our brain and logic or our heart and emotions.

The two opposing "attitude" types in this domain are Thinking (T) and Feeling (F).

Approach (or Openness) - This domain focuses on how we, as individuals, tend to interpret a situation that we face or a person, place, or event that we are exposed to. It contains traits related to our perception of the stimuli we are exposed to, whether we tend to regard a stimulus judgmentally with a pre-biased notion or perceive it free of bias with an open mind.

The two opposing "attitude" types in this domain are Judging (J) and Perceiving (P).

Using permutations and combinations, the eight "attitude"-types from the above four domains make up the following 16 different personality types, which are: -

ISTJ (The Inspector)

INTJ (The Architect)

ISFJ (The Protector)

INFJ (The Advocate)

ISTP (The Crafter)

INTP (The Thinker)

ISFP (The Artist)

INFP (The Mediator)

ESTJ (The Director)

ENTJ (The Commander)

ESFJ (The Caregiver)

ENFJ (The Giver)

ESTP (The Persuader)

ENTP (The Debater)

ESFP (The Performer)

ENFP (The Champion)

Enough rambling on psychology. In this article, I have attempted to use the MBTI tool to help you determine which subject at Hogwarts you are most likely to enjoy studying, on the basis of your dominant personality traits, to motivate you to kickstart your wizarding world education or career. If we don't enjoy what we study in class, we tend to lose interest over time. If we love what we are doing, whether studying, working, or playing, we tend to excel at it. Therefore, if you want to find out which subject is likely going to hold your interest for a long time and thus provide you with a viable career option, follow me on my journey through this article.

To take the MBTI test for yourself, go here. (This is the most popular modified version of the MBTI tool, available for free. If you don't mind paying for the original version instead, go ahead and check out the official tool here). When you come back equipped with knowledge of your MBTI-based personality type, read on to know which Hogwarts subject is potentially liked most by which of the MBTI types. There's one for each type, so don't panic.

ISTJ (The Inspector) - Introverted, Sensing, Thinking, Judging - These people make the most of their senses and their brains and are statistical and impeccably organized in their approach. They appreciate stability and prefer facts and data rather than hypotheses. They would truly enjoy Potions, Transfiguration, and Astronomy.

INTJ (The Architect) - Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking, Judging - These individuals are intuitive but rely on logic and a systematic approach. They strive for meaning in what they do and prefer work that involves planning and strategizing. They are often exceptional Aurors and duelists. Defense Against the Dark Arts would be their favorite subject, but they would excel in Potions and Alchemy as well.

ISFJ (The Protector) - Introverted, Sensing, Feeling, Judging - These human beings are kind, meticulous, and reliable, and they tend to draw immense satisfaction from the work they do. They would be great healers in the community. Their favorite subjects would likely be Herbology owing to their caring nature and eye for detail, Potions, and Alchemy.

INFJ (The Advocate) - Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Judging - These people are emotional yet structured and orderly, having the "Judging" component similar to INTJ's, and find it difficult to pick just one specialty to focus on. They are multi-talented and usually enjoy subjects with multiple affiliations that combine the satisfaction of several fields into one. The subjects they like most would be History of Magic, Ancient Studies, and Ancient Runes, owing to the diversity provided by all these subjects.

ISTP (The Crafter) - Introverted, Sensing, Thinking, Perceiving - These people are open-minded yet logical and observational, and thus tend to be talented mavericks. They are most likely to be inventors and scientists. They enjoy adrenaline-pumping pursuits and would be good at Dragonology. Their favorite subjects are likely to be Care of Magical Creatures and Defense Against the Dark Arts.

INTP (The Thinker) - Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking, Perceiving - As you can make out, these humans would think and rely on logic rather than feel, despite being open-minded and having great intuiting abilities. They are insightful, intelligent, creative, and often good at analyzing and finding patterns. These traits make them efficient problem-solvers. They are most likely to enjoy the precise and exact branch of magic - Transfiguration, and would find Arithmancy and Ancient Runes very pleasing.

ISFP (The Artist) - Introverted, Sensing, Feeling, Perceiving - These individuals are friendly, observant, and spontaneous in nature. They tend to live in the moment. Their favorite Hogwarts subjects would be Flying, Magical Arts, and Care of Magical Creatures, as they would bond well with creatures.

INFP (The Mediator) - Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Perceiving - These individuals are very kind, empathetic, and people-pleasers. They love putting others' interests above their own. Though their need to please makes them a great fit for any role, they usually choose creative fields to express their sentimental passions. These individuals would be perfect healers, but they would most enjoy Magical Arts, Muggle Studies, Mythology, Divination, Alchemy, Herbology, and Ancient Studies.

ESTJ (The Director) - Extroverted, Sensing, Thinking, Judging - Being rational, practical, opinionated, and highly observational, these people are often chosen for high positions and progress quickly in their careers. Their precision and consistency make them well-suited to being in charge and leading a group to success. Such people choose careers in law, business, and accounting and would make either great businessmen or great Ministry of Magic officials. Like Hermione Granger, these individuals would be all-rounders, taking a deep interest in and excelling in every subject. They would naturally be the class-toppers. The best among the list would be Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Transfiguration, Arithmancy, Astronomy, and Ancient Runes.

ENTJ (The Commander) - Extroverted, Intuitive, Thinking, Judging - Being logical and highly intuitive with a lot of social energy, these individuals are exceptional commanders and do well in leading positions. They are confident natural leaders and concise communicators with a strong sense of responsibility. They do not hold back on their strong opinions, and they can be trusted to get the job done right. Usually, such people are Muggle lawyers, officials in the Ministry of Magic, debaters, politicians, business administrators, or entrepreneurs. They are likely to enjoy studying whatever subject suits their career goals but would otherwise like Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Transfiguration.

ESFJ (The Caregiver) - Extroverted, Sensing, Feeling, Judging - These people enjoy helping others and are orderly and dependable. They avoid monotonous work environments and require emotional feedback for satisfaction. They thrive as nurses, caretakers, and healers. Their favorite subjects would most likely be Charms, with a special focus on healing charms, Muggle Studies, and Alchemy.

ENFJ (The Giver) - Extroverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Judging - These human beings can easily read others and are quick to give advice. They have high emotional intelligence and strong social skills, and they always keep improving themselves. Their favorite subjects would be History of Magic, Alchemy, Muggle Studies, and Ancient Studies.

ESTP (The Persuader) - Extroverted, Sensing, Thinking, Perceiving - These human beings are incredibly active, love new challenges, and like to have control. They get bored with repetitive work. They have an entrepreneurial mindset. The subjects they like most would be Flying, Charms, Transfiguration, and some aspects of Defense Against the Dark Arts.

ENTP (The Debater) - Extroverted, Intuitive, Thinking, Perceiving - These human beings have excellent communication skills and a creative mind. They keep looking to exercise their intellectual power by following pursuits that require a high level of thinking and problem-solving. They would enjoy Arithmancy, Transfiguration, Charms, and Ancient Runes.

ESFP (The Performer) - Extroverted, Sensing, Feeling, Perceiving - These human beings, true to their name, are entertainers. They have a strong passion for putting up a show in the spotlight. They also like showing off their creativity and aesthetic sense. Their favorite subjects would be Flying (along with being a passionate Quidditch team member), Charms, and Magical Arts.

ENFP (The Champion) - Extroverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Perceiving - These people value their freedom and embrace creativity. They hate feeling restrained and are willing to try new things and mingle with different types of people. The Hogwarts subjects they would be most fond of are Muggle Studies, History of Magic, Care of Magical Creatures, Alchemy, Ancient Studies, and Mythology.

I hope you found your subject and will soon be able to find your true calling. Delve into the innermost depths of your mind and manifest your true personality through what you do best.

Sources: - https://eu.themyersbriggs.com/en/tools/MBTI/Myers-Briggs-history

https://afterschool.my/students-life/your-course-and-career-options-based-on-your-mbti-personality-type-extroverts

https://afterschool.my/students-life/your-course-and-career-options-based-on-your-mbti-personality-type-introverts

- Hiya Debnath, Journalist, Compiler, Publisher, Editor, Hogwarts Monthly Magazine.