THE INCOME EFFECT OF PERSONALITY TYPE - A RESEARCH REPORT BY TRUiTY - SPRING 2019

Sep 17, 2026

Uploaded by Theodore

Income varies across individuals, and this report evaluates how personality type correlates with earnings using data from 72,331 respondents who completed the TypeFinder® assessment in late 2018 to early 2019. The analysis estimates average income by Myers-Briggs dimensions and identifies which types are more likely to reach very high earnings, including findings that Extraverted and Thinking preferences often rank highest. Additional sections discuss why some types earn less, income trends over time, and links to traits and the gender pay gap.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

How Does Your Personality Type Affect Your Income?

Methods

Findings

Why Some Personality Types Earn Less

Income Over Time

The Traits That Predict High Earnings

Personality and the Gender Pay Gap

In Conclusion

WWW . TR UI TY C OM PAG E 1 OF 16 THE IN C OME EFFECT OF PERSONALITY TYPE A RESEARC H REPORT BY TR UI TY SPRIN G 20 1 9 How Does Your Personality Type Affect Your Income? ..................................3 Methods .........................................................................................................4 Findings ..........................................................................................................4 Why Some Personality Types Earn Less.......................................................................5 Income Over Time .....................................................................................................6 The Traits That Predict High Earnings ..........................................................................7 Personality and the Gender Pay Gap .........................................................................9 In Conclusion................................................................................................. 11 Data Tables................................................................................................... 13 WWW . TR UI TY . C OM PAG E 2 OF 16 HOW DOES YOUR PERSONALITY TY P E A F F E CT YO U R I N C O M E? How much we earn depends on many factors, most of them fairly obvious. We all know that pursuing higher education, gaining on-the-job experience, and demonstrating leadership skills can boost our paychecks. But did you know that how much you earn may also depend on your personality type? Multiple studies have demonstrated a link between income and personality traits such as extraversion, goal orientation, and the willingness to put one’s own interests ahead of the interests of others. In this report, we will outline the results of our research on income and personality type, as described by the theories of Isabel Myers and Katharine Briggs. Although Myers and Briggs’ theory is not widely used in academic research, it is the personality theory most familiar to the general population, and so allows us to describe the associations between personality and earning potential in a way that is easily understood. For those unfamiliar with the theory, Myers and Briggs proposed four major dimensions of personality, each of which is described in terms of two ends of a spectrum: • Extraversion vs. Introversion describes how a person gains and manages their energy: through interacting with others, or by being solitary and quiet. • Sensing vs. Intuition describes how a person processes information: with a concrete and matter-of-fact style, or through imagination and inference. • Thinking vs. Feeling describes how a person makes decisions: based on logic, or based on moral and personal concerns . •Judging vs. Perceiving describes how a person organizes their life: in a structured, orderly manner, or a looser, more spontaneous manner. A person’s scores on each dimension are combined to create 16 distinct personality types, each coded by the initials ofthe four preferences. Thus, a person who prefers Introversion, Intuition, Feeling, and Judging would be called an INFJ. Thanks to previous research investigating similar personality factors, we can expect that Myers and Briggs’ four dimensions of personality will have a clear impact on income. For instance, academic research has shown that higher earners tend to be more focused on longterm goals, a trait that Myers and Briggs would classify as part of a Judging preference. In WWW . TR UI TY . C OM PAG E 3 OF 16 interpreting these eﬀects through Myers and Briggs’ popular theory, we hope that our analysis can provide individuals with an accessible and actionable understanding of how their personality traits may be impacting their earning potential. METHODS We conducted this research using data provided by 72,331 respondents to our online TypeFinder® personality assessment from late 2018 to early 2019. The TypeFinder personality assessment is a mea

FAQs

What personality framework does the report use to study income?

The report is based on Isabel Myers and Katharine Briggs’ personality theory, using four major dimensions to derive 16 personality types.

How was the data for the study collected?

The research uses data from 72,331 respondents who completed the TypeFinder® online assessment from late 2018 to early 2019.

Which personality types tend to earn the most, according to the findings?

Extraverted and Thinking types are shown to dominate the top of the earnings charts, with ENTJs earning the highest salaries of all. The Extraverted Thinking types also lead among very high earners.

Sep 17, 2026

Uploaded by Theodore