type, love, and neurotransmitters
posted by Mike Shur
Working with MBTI(r) type every day I get to geek out on the intricacies of personality type. Is the teritiary function extraverted or intraverted? Always? Is it different for intraverts and extraverts? When is Step III going to come out? What’s the modal type for U.S. managers?
As much as I do enjoy getting into the nitty and gritty of type as operational tool, I also love to see how type manifests in the “real world”. Hearing stories about personal revelations (”a-ha!” moments), about team break-throughs, and improved interpersonal communications really goose my day and give me an extra shot in the arm. Imagine then how high on Cloud 9 I was when I read about MBTI(r) functions being used by a major online people matching offering and having it further connected with four core chemicals in the brain. DING!!
The article that blissed me out into type Nirvana was passed along by a colleague here at CPP and was featured in The Atlantic (March 2006). The quote that really made me situp and take notice is from Dr. Helen Fisher, anthropologist at Rutger’s University, who is the consulting psychologist for Chemistry.com (Match.com’s site meant to compete with eHarmony.com):
For Chemistry.com’s matching system, Fisher translated her work with neurotransmitters and hormones into discrete personality types. “I’ve always been extremely impressed with Myers-Briggs,” she said, referring to the personality assessment tool that classifies people according to four pairs of traits: Introversion versus Extroversion, Sensing versus Intuition, Thinking versus Feeling, and Judging versus Perceiving. “They had me pinned to the wall when I took the test, and my sister, too. So when Chemistry.com approached me, I said to myself, ‘I’m an anthropologist who studies brain chemistry, what do I know about personality?’?”
Turns out she knew quite a bit: Genes for the activity of dopamine are associated with motivation, curiosity, anxiety, and optimism. Genes for the metabolism of serotonin, another neurotransmitter, tend to modulate one’s degree of calm, stability, popularity, and religiosity. Testosterone is associated with being rational, analytical, exacting, independent, logical, rank-oriented, competitive, irreverent, and narcissistic. And the hormone estrogen is associated with being imaginative, creative, insightful, humane, sympathetic, agreeable, flexible, and verbal.
“So I had these four sheets of paper,” Fisher continued. “And I decided to give each a name. Serotonin became the Builder. Dopamine, the Explorer. Testosterone, the Director. And estrogen—I wish I’d called it the Ambassador or Diplomat, but I called it the Negotiator.” Myers-Briggs, she says, “clearly knew the four types but didn’t know the chemicals behind them.”
So the four function: Sensing, Intuition, Thinking, and Feeling can be associated to four vital neurotransmitters: Serotonin, Dopamine, Testosterone, and Estrogen, respectively. Wow.
After that stunned feeling wore off I went looking for more studies relating MBTI(r) usage to brain states and chemicals and sure enough I found them. I even came across a conversation about the validity and meaning of the studies. There’s lots of interesting interpretation here to tease out the meaning of the studies.
Does anyone besides a “type geek” also find this information interesting and eye-opening?
bpotter
May 14th, 2008 at 11:21 am
I just wanted to say thank you for filling the rest of my day with “type geek” reading! I clicked on the link to additional studies relating the MBTI to brain states and chemicals and am fascinated!
This may be my new response to mis-quided individuals who say the MBTI is nothing more than a horoscope (blasphemy, I know!)!
Now, since I am not versed in brain chemistry theories, I wonder which came first- the chemicals or the preferences. I know that actions we take can affect body chemistry. For example, laughing reduces cortisol which is a stress hormone and increases endorphins.
So, does the Sensing preference increase levels of Serotonin, or do a body’s naturally high amount of Serotonin make the individual have preferences for Sensing?
Let the debate begin…
DaniellePoirier
July 17th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Okay, you’ve got me hooked.
Just back from Switzerland where I met with Philippe Beuret, a physiotherapist who works with athletes and is working with researchers at the University of Applied Sciences of the Swiss Federal Office of Sports in Magglingen (Macolin). They have very interesting results with athletes (even world champions and olympic levels) by coaching them according to a predisposed physical type based on several measurements (equilibrium being one I remember). These measurements are correlated to brain research and the latest attempt has been to superimpose the eight preferences onto their findings.
They seem to have sufficiently compelling results to pursue their research. I will definitely let them know about this thread! Perhaps some connections can be made.
As to bpotter’s chicken or egg question…Could it be “both/and” rather than “either/or”? A naturally higher amount of seratonin might provoke a preference for sensing which, when practiced, increase the levels in the brain?
Hopefully this thread resuscitates… I am intrigued.
bpotter
July 18th, 2008 at 9:00 am
Danielle,
You just blew my mind with the idea that the issue of brain chemistry and personality type could be cyclical. What a great insight! Why wouldn’t they constantly reinforce/stimulate each other. Fantastic!
Breanne
agammy
March 18th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
Re: the chemical connection to type, I think its interesting that Testosterone is linked to “Thinking” and Estrogen is linked to “Feeling” - that seems to buy into the stereotypical ideas about gender that say women need to be warm and fuzzy, and men need to be stoic intellectuals . . . . this is the exact reason why 2/3 of women identify with F and 2/3 of men identify with T (in my opinion.)