Method, sources and limits
How OnType works
Who writes the material, which frameworks it draws on, how the free test reaches a result, and what the results can and can't tell you.
Who's behind it
Written by James R.G.
OnType's type pages, books and typing sessions are by James R.G., who holds a Bachelor's in Psychology and has spent the past seven years studying Jungian typology. His book The Code Behind the 16 Types sets out the model the site uses.
The frameworks behind the model
OnType combines several established typology frameworks into one model. Each explains a different layer of a type:
- Cognitive functions and attitudes: Carl Jung
- Eight function positions (Hero, Parent, Child, Aspirational and their shadows): John Beebe
- Temperaments: David Keirsey
- Interaction styles: Linda Berens
- The Four Sides of the Mind: C.S. Joseph, its architect, whom OnType regards as the modern father of analytical psychology
James's own additions, such as how the functions show up in everyday language, are presented as his interpretation within the model.
Nature and nurture
The cognitive-function model is a model of nature: it describes the mental preferences a person tends to lead with, and how those preferences shape the way they take in information and make decisions. It can be combined with models that focus on nurture, such as the Big Five, which look at traits shaped by experience and environment.
Descriptions of functions, positions and pairings are explained within this model. Pages use words like "tend to" and "may" because they describe tendencies, not rules, and practical advice on careers or relationships is offered as ideas to try.
How the free test reaches a result
52 scenarios
Each one sets two functions against each other. 32 compare a function with its opposite, 16 ask which of two functions you lean on more, and 4 ask whether your first move is inward or outward.
A profile across eight functions
Your answers give each function a score on the same scale. Questions are shuffled so no two in a row test the same pair; the order doesn't affect the result.
The closest of sixteen patterns
Each type has an expected profile, strongest in its first function and weaker further down. Your profile is compared with all sixteen, and the closest is your result. The test also records how clear the gap was to the next-closest type.
Your answers are scored in your browser and aren't stored. Sharing your email at the end is optional and never needed to see your result.
How pairings are defined
Compatibility pages label some pairs of types (Golden, Silver and Pedagogue) based on how their function stacks line up position by position. In a Golden pair, for example, each position holds the same function with the opposite attitude, such as INFJ (Ni, Fe, Ti, Se) and ENFP (Ne, Fi, Te, Si).
These labels describe how two types relate within the model. They aren't predictions of whether a relationship will work. No pairing guarantees a good relationship or rules one out.
Reading your result well
- A test result is the best fit to your answers, not a diagnosis. It reflects how you describe yourself, which isn't always how you act.
- Answer as you usually are, not as you'd like to be. Using the middle options where they fit gives the test more to work with.
- A typing session is a structured conversation that looks at your reasoning in more depth. It aims for the type you can explain in your own words, and can still be revisited later.
- Type describes preferences. It doesn't measure ability, intelligence or mental health.
Further reading
- Jung, C. G. (1921). Psychological Types.
- Keirsey, D., & Bates, M. (1978). Please Understand Me: Character and Temperament Types.
- Berens, L. V. (2001). Understanding Yourself and Others: An Introduction to Interaction Styles.
- Beebe, J. (2016). Energies and Patterns in Psychological Type: The Reservoir of Consciousness.
- R.G., J. The Code Behind the 16 Types. OnType.
Find your best-fit type
Take the free test, or book a session to work through it with James.