Guide to the Isabel Briggs Myers Papers
1885-1992 [Bulk dates: 1940-1980]
Ms. Group 64
79.5 ln/ft. (123 boxes)

Scope and Content
The development of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator required the imagination and drive of two very gifted women, Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers. The original concept for the Type Indicator evolved from Katharine Cook Briggs's extensive studies of contemporary children's educational and social developmental theories. She combined these with the theories of the prominent psychologist Carl Jung to develop a testing method to help determine the best vocation for a child, what she saw as a key to their future happiness and well being. She was joined in this effort by her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers in the late 1920's and early 1930's as she began raising a family of her own. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator [MBTI] began life as the Briggs-Myers Type Indicator Test, which Katharine and Isabel constantly worked on further refining with the assistance of Edward Laney (a manager at The Pennsylvania Company who was the first to utilize and apply the MBTI concept to personnel management) under the auspices of Briggs-Myers Type Research, Inc. The name changed was to 'Myers-Briggs Type Indicator' in the late 1940's when Isabel took over the majority of the work, Katharine semi-retiring along with her husband. From there it grew in several stages: in association with Educational Testing Service during the late 1950's and into the early 1960's, later publication through the Consulting Psychologist Press, establishment of the Typology Lab at the University of Florida in conjunction with Dr. Mary H. McCaulley, and the Center for Applications of Psychological Type (CAPT) in Gainesville, FL.

The collection is very extensive, with materials ranging from letters and correspondence by both women concerning the Type Indicator and its development, note books and data from projects (nursing schools, military personnel, high school and college students, stress and personality type, etc.), correspondence with a wide range of their professional associates (including several from Dr. Jung), and materials from the Type Indicator itself (answer sheets, type cards, test forms, etc.). Additionally, the collection contains a wide range of materials from their personal lives: family letters, memorabilia, diaries, and the early writing of both women (both professional and fictional works).

The collection is a gift of Isabel Briggs Myers's granddaughter Katharine Hughes and the Myers family.

Biographical Note

1897		Born October 18 to Lyman J. Briggs and Katharine Cook Briggs and spent her childhood and was home-schooled by her mother in Washington, D.C., where Lyman Briggs worked as a physicist.
1918		Married Clarence "Chief" Myers and settled in Swarthmore, a suburb of Philadelphia.
1919		Graduated from Swarthmore College with a B.A. degree in political science.
1926		Birth of son, Peter Briggs Myers.
1927		Birth of daughter, Ann Myers.
ca. 1939		Began developing a type indicator during World War II with her mother, Katherine Cook Briggs.
1943		Publication of Test Form A and Form B.
1944		Publication of Briggs Myers Type Indicator Handbook. Conducted study project at Radio Corp. of America. Publication of Test Form C.
1947		George Washington Medical School project. Publication of Test Form C3.
1948		Occupational groups in corporations project commences.
1953		Report: "Assessment of Medical Students as to Judgment and Perception by the BMTI".
1955		Medical Schools testing project Report: "Effect of Type in Medical Schools and Proposed Use of BMTI for Admissions".
1956		Pennsylvania High Schools project commences Publication of Test Form D.
1957		High Schools project using Test Form D Publication of Test Forms D1, D2, D(EEx3).
1958		Publication of Some Findings with Regard to Type Rhodes Scholar project commences. College Student project commences
1962		Publication of Manual for the Myers Briggs Type Indicator Publication of Test Form F by the Educational Testing Service.
1963		Report: "Relation of the Jungian Types to Higher Education: A Six-year Follow-up of a High School Population."
1964		Nursing project commences.
1968		Nippon Recruit Center project. Death of Katherine Cook Briggs
1970		IBM and Dr. Mary H. McCaulley establish the Typology Laboratory at the University of Florida, Gainesville. Publication of Introduction to Type.
1974		Ann Myers Hughes dies unexpectedly after minor surgery.
1974		UF Freshman project.
1975		First national conference series on the MBTI held at UF. Consulting Psychologists Press assumes publication of the MBTI. Center for Applications of Psychological Type (CAPT) established as a field office of the American Medical Students Association. Publication of Test Forms G, GJ.
1976		Publication of Test Form GK.
1977		Publication of Test Form H.
1979		Association of Psychological Type established.
1980		Publication of Gifts Differing. Death of Isabel Briggs Myers.

Access Restrictions
Due to the private nature of the materials, access to the Isabel Briggs Myers Papers is restricted. The collection is restricted because a majority of the files contain private information about test participants: answer sheets, breakdown cards, psychological profiles, and biographical data. This restriction of access is indicated at the beginning of each series description in the guide to the collection.

Access to restricted collections requires permission from Department Staff, and will be determined on a case by case basis.

Description of Materials:

Series 1: Publications - Manuscript and published materials by IBM and others, including "Introduction to Type," journal articles, book chapters, Gifts Differing, and Scattered Seeds.

Series 2: Projects - Notes, correspondence, answer sheets, scoring keys, test scores, data analyses, rosters, type tables, etc.

Series 3: Audio Recordings - Interviews pertaining to IBM and the MBTI, miscellaneous recordings of IBM.

Series 4: Typology Laboratory - Dr. Mary H. McCaulley and the Center for Applications of Psychological Type (CAPT), correspondence, data analysis, miscellaneous/notes, projects, publications, scoring, data reports, etc.

Series 5: Correspondence, Professional Papers & Legal Documents - Related to the MBTI and Briggs-Myers Research, Inc., including contracts, the Educational Testing Service, publishers, etc.

Series 6: Educational Testing Service (ETS) Archive Materials - Research notes, annual reports, and materials from the archives of ETS.

Series 7: Manuals - Handbooks, pamphlets, booklets, technical manuals, "Manual for Myers-Briggs Type Indicator", The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, etc.

Series 8: Test Forms Versions of test forms, scoring keys, unidentified forms, and superseded test forms.

Series 9: Notebooks - Various projects, data analyses, scoring, publications, high school ledgers, medical/nursing students, the Typology Lab, etc.

Series 10: Miscellaneous Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Materials - Development of the Type Indicator, type descriptions, typescripts, newsletters, conference materials, and writings on the Type Indicator.

Series 11: Biographical Material - Isabel Briggs Myers and members of her family, including Lyman Briggs and Clarence Gates Myers, as well as research conducted by Frances W. Saunders.

Series 12: Diaries, Notebooks and Miscellaneous Writings by Isabel Briggs Myers - Diaries, school notebooks, compositions, poems, fiction, senior thesis, and other writings by IBM as a child and young woman.

Series 13: Katherine Cook Briggs Papers - Articles, notebooks, correspondence, manuscripts, diaries, fiction, pamphlets, household budgets, notes, research material, religious writings, etc., by KCB.

Series 14: Family Correspondence - By and between members of the Briggs and Myers families: IBM, KCB, Clarence G. Myers, Lyman J. Briggs, John Gates, Ella G. Myers, and Albert J. Mary Baldwin Cook, etc.

Series 15: Family Memorabilia, Photos, Records, and Legal Material - Created or collected by the Briggs and Myers families including postcards, speeches, various writings, diaries, clippings, publications, birth records, marriage licenses, wills, school transcripts, family records, etc.

Series 16: Answer Sheets - Divinity and seminary schools, higher education, high schools, married couples, miscellaneous projects, and nursing.

Series 17: Breakdown Cards - Used to interpret the test results and assign types to participants from various projects: Bell Telephone, Grade Schools, High Schools, Higher Education, Medical Students, Pennsylvania Company, Washington Gas Light Company, Corporate/Business, etc.

Series 18: Printing Masters, Type Plates, Glass Slides - Negative/positive printing masters, type plates, glass slides corresponding to versions of test forms, scoring cards, answer sheets, and breakdown cards.

For further information, please contact: Special Collections Access Services.

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