Conceptual and empirical analysis of some assumptions of an explicitly typological theory.

Argues that the 1st of the 2 criteria for single-variable typologies, multimodality, offered by G. A. Mendelsohn et al (see record 1983-00168-001) is a weak one for psychological data and that only the 2nd criterion, discontinuity against an external variable, is telling. The present author agrees that the requirement of Mendelsohn et al that multiple-variable typologies combine interactively to predict external variables is a mandatory one, although it is not one that is diagnostic of typology. These issues are illustrated by a multiple-variable, explicitly typological system specified by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). 104 rural public school employees (mean age 37.4 yrs) were administered the MBTI to determine bookishness and to give the typological theory a fair hearing. Results show no predictor bimodality, although the distribution displayed platykurosis, the index of which is maximized with bimodal distributions. A review of relevant MBTI research, coupled with these findings, challenges pessimism about the verifiability of all typological systems. (50 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)