DISC vs. MBTI: Comprehensive Comparison of Two Tests

In the intricate tapestry of personality, DISC and MBTI serve as lenses to view our unique patterns. Which one will reveal the threads of your individuality?

There are hundreds of online personality tests out there, but the DISC and MBTI are two of the most popular, and for good reasons. They have helped millions of people discover what makes them unique.

It can be hard to choose between DISC vs. MBTI in your quest to find the best personality test.

To make this search a little easier, we have created the following article discussing the pros and cons of each test, how they work, and why you should take them.

Contrasting DISC and MBTI

Both the DISC and MBTI are highly popular online personality assessments. You might think they are very similar at first glance, but this is not truly the case.

Understanding the differences between these assessments is key to finding which is right for you. To help you make this decision, below are a few key differences between DISC and MBTI:

Assessment Methodology

One of the key differences between these two assessments is their methodologies.

The MBTI categorizes individuals into one of 16 potential personality types. Each type has flaws, strengths, fears, motivations, and other qualities associated with it. These results are based on how you react to certain scenarios presented in the test.

The DISC Instruments test, on the other hand, quantifies your personality by assessing 4 main traits. Each person has some combination of these traits, and your unique combination is what makes your personality different from anyone else’s.

Interpretation and Implementation

Another primary difference between the MBTI and DISC test is how your results can be applied to the real world.

The MBTI will give you details on your top skills and flaws. This helps you become self-aware. For instance, you can begin choosing tasks that align more with your skills to boost productivity. And, you will be more aware of some flaws that might hurt your relationships.

The DISC test focuses on very specific elements of your personality. You will learn more about your leadership style, how you identify as well as solve problems, and strategies you use for communicating with others.

In essence, the DISC gives more specific but limited information about your personality, while the MBTI gives more general information but covers many aspects of your personality.

Delving into DISC

The DISC assessment offers many distinct benefits, ranging from giving you a deep understanding of your personality to helping you choose a career.

Below is a general overview of DISC and its history.

Brief Overview

The DISC assessment is an online personality test that aims to quantify your use of 4 key personality qualities: drive, influence, support, and clarity.

The developers of this assessment believed that our interactions are driven by these 4 qualities, and a person’s personality depends on how they use each of these qualities.

The idea for this test was developed by William Moulton Marston, a psychologist. Years later, an industrial psychologist named Walter Clarke expanded on his idea.

He created a test that can be easily accessed by the public based on Marston’s research. That test is now known as the DISC.

Core Concepts

This assessment breaks a person’s personality into 4 categories (drive, influence, support, and clarity). By taking this assessment, you will find out how you use each of these traits.

The test will also show you which one of these qualities dominates your internal thinking style as well as your leadership approach.

You will not just learn about your personality, though. You will also understand how your behavioral traits influence your everyday life, relationships, and decision-making.

Compared to HIGH5

The DiSC personality assessment is focused around an individual’s interactions with others. It offers immense insights into how you lead, communicate, and engage others. 

The HIGH5 test covers many more of your strengths, including your inner strengths (ones that may not directly deal with how you interact with others). For instance, your motivation, passion, critical thinking, and empathy are discussed in far more detail on the HIGH5.

In addition to this, the structures of the tests differ dramatically. DiSC tests you for 4 qualities: dominance, influence, steadiness, and conscientiousness. They do not discuss strengths. HIGH5, on the other hand, tests you for 20 distinct strengths.

Unraveling MBTI

The MBTI is perhaps the most famous online personality test in the world. Millions of people have taken it, and it is trusted by executives from across all industries.

If you are interested in taking this test, here is an overview of MBTI methodology:

Brief Overview

The foundation of the Myers-Briggs assessment can be traced back to the collaborative research efforts of psychologists Katharine Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers.

Drawing inspiration from the pioneering psychological theories of Carl Jung, they sought to expand upon his existing personality framework.

They found that people can generally be divided into 16 distinct personalities based on their behaviors and preferences.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator has become so successful, that many consider it to be among the most influential and famous personality tests of the century.

Core Concepts

The MBTI focuses on answering the question: which qualities make up the bulk of your personality? The test will give you an overview of both your positive and negative qualities, as well as other facts like your extroversion level, how you work with others, and more.

In addition to this, though, you will also learn about how you use your personality in the real world. The test helps you understand how you perceive the world around you and how you react to these perceptions.

As a result, you get a clearer picture of how you interact with the world around you.

Compared to HIGH5

The Myers-Briggs test covers numerous topics not featured in the HIGH5. They include factors such as weaknesses and interactions with others. However, these results are less detailed than the HIGH5 test’s report.

If you are looking for strengths-specific insights, HIGH5 is the test for you. The test is solely focused on strengths and covers virtually every element of how your strengths apply to the real world, from your relationships to your job.

Another difference between the assessments is their structure. The MBTI has 16 personality types. The developers of the test believed 4 categories account for an individual’s personality (extroversion vs introversion, intuition vs sensing, thinking vs feeling, and perceiving vs judging). The HIGH5 test categorizes your responses into how well they suit certain strengths, not personalities.

Pros and Cons of DISC

No test can be perfect, unfortunately. To get a realistic idea of what the DISC assessment offers you, be aware of both the test’s pros and cons.

To help you get a better understanding of this assessment, here are some of the top advantages and disadvantages of DISC:

Pros

• Easy to understand reports.
• Learn about your behavior in numerous settings.
• Focused and specific results; not overwhelming.
• Discover your communication style, leadership methods, and more.
• Boosts your confidence in existing skills.
• Simple test questions.
• Free testing is available.
• Quick testing time (10-15 minutes).
• Helps you with future problem-solving.
• Allows you to learn about your stress responses.

Cons

• Lacks the practical insights other tests have.
• May oversimplify your personality.
• Accuracy could be limited due to the test’s short length.
• Lack of focus on strengths.
• Some psychology experts doubt its validity.
• Lack of personalization.

Pros and Cons of MBTI

Although the MBTI is one of the most famous personality tests in the world, it is also not perfect. It has a unique list of benefits and drawbacks accompanying it.

Some of the main advantages and disadvantages of MBTI are:

Pros

• Trusted by millions of people, including Fortune 500 executives.
• Straightforward questions.
• Gives you a boost of confidence.
• Helps you understand how your personality is applied to the real world.
• Covers many aspects of your personality.
• Fantastic user interaction and web design.
• Can boost your existing skills.
• Backed by decades of world-class scientific research.
• Great for team testing.
• Assists with future planning and choosing a career.

Cons

• Not very personalized.
• Putting people into boxes that can lead to stereotypes.
• Costly (the official test is $49).
• The methodology has not been updated much since its inception.
• Could lead to you becoming overly confident.
• Not much information on values or what drives your behavior.

Practical Applications and Implications of DISC and MBTI

Taking personality tests can be fun and insightful, but most of their benefits come from how you use what you learn. If you just take the test and never apply what you learned to the real world, they will not benefit you much.

The practical applications of DISC and MBTI include the following:

In Personal Development

You can kickstart a potentially lifelong self-improvement journey by taking the MBTI or DISC personality tests. Such personality tests increase your self-awareness, and often your confidence as well.

As a result, you are better equipped to make decisions, take calculated risks, and acquire a boost in performance. This leads to greater productivity and achieving more goals.

In addition, such tests can also help you in your personal life. They help you stay aware of how others may perceive you, and some potential negative qualities you should watch out for.

In Organizational Development

Personality tests can be fantastic for individuals, but they have applications beyond that, too. Many top organizations use tests like the MBTI and DISC to evaluate employees and potential candidates.

Why would a company have its employees take such tests? Many organizations do this because it helps them evaluate whether a candidate fits well with their team.

In addition to this, personality tests are useful for tracking employee development and team-building purposes (such as creating groups based on personality).

Compared to HIGH5

The HIGH5 test is a highly versatile assessment. It can provide detailed analytics on any individual’s strengths, as well as how team strengths interact.

You will not acquire this big picture overview with the DiSC test. This test solely focuses on an individual’s levels of 4 key traits, not necessarily how they use those traits in organizational settings. 

Similarly, although the MBTI covers a broad range of topics, it does not cover how strengths interact on a team-wide basis. This is a benefit you can only truly acquire with HIGH5.

How Accurate is the DISC Profile Assessment?

The DISC personality inventory is quite accurate. Millions of people have taken the assessment, and many have posted positive reviews.

In addition to this, the test does have scientific backing. The research began decades ago with psychologist Dr. Marston’s work, which was later added upon by other licensed psychology professionals.

Many more recent studies also confirm that the DISC model accurately describes people’s personalities. For instance, survey analysis from Selinus University repeatedly showed the test was an accurate way to evaluate personality (1).

As a result, if you take the test seriously and answer honestly, you will get quite accurate insights into your personality.

How Accurate is the Myers-Briggs (MBTI) Assessment?

The MBTI is one of the most scientifically supported personality tests available online. The test stems from decades of research done by Carl Jung, Isabel Briggs Myers, and Katharine Cook Briggs.

This test has been shown to accurately judge human behavior and is trusted by millions of people across the world, just like the DISC test. Even Fortune 500 executives utilize this test to evaluate their potential future employees.

Additionally, several studies have shown the MBTI to be quite effective in evaluating personality. One such study, a meta-analysis by Dr. Ken Randall and his team, showed the MBTI is both an effective and consistently accurate test (2). Still, not all experts agree with him (3).

In the end, if you want to make the most out of a test like the MBTI, you need to be honest. Think clearly about each question, and ensure you take your time on the test. If you do this, you can expect the MBTI to be quite accurate.

Compared to the HIGH5

When compared to the HIGH5, both the DiSC test and the MBTI are slightly less scientifically valid. Although research does support these assessments, the majority of psychologists agree a strengths-based approach is key to self-improvement.

The only test that utilizes a strengths-based approach is the HIGH5. The test is both highly reliable and consistent (4). The HIGH5 is also trusted by large organizations, such as Amazon, Disney, and Salesforce.

Conclusion

All in all, both the MBTI and the DISC personality tests can offer you tremendous benefits. They can boost your confidence, increase productivity, and even help you with finding a career.

The MBTI is generally more useful as a broad overview of your entire personality. The DISC test can provide some great specifics on certain elements of your personality, like how you work with others and respond to problems.

For the 20-30 minute time investment, these tests are truly worth it.

References and case studies:

Disclaimer: HIGH5 does not intend to replicate or to substitute the DISC or MBTI tests as both tests follow different methodologies, yet bring value in similar ways. Both tests help test takers be more aware of their own talents, strengths and personalities. HIGH5 does not dispute or diminish the value of these tests and encourages test takers to go through both assessments. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach us at hello(at)high5test.com

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