It is designed for use in a wide range of applications including selection, career development, assessment and team building. In the latter it is an ideal companion to Myers' MTR-i, which is also available on this web site

The PTI has its foundations in the theory of Carl Jung as a measure of personality type, but goes further by differentiating between personality type as described by Jung and behavior, as described by Lewin's Field Theory which he published in his book "A dynamic theory of Personality" (1935). Lewin postulated that behavior can be best understood by understanding the influence of a person's environment on their innate and stable personality.

The unique way in which the PTI scoring system is designed, provides the key to seeing personality type in the context of the way personality can be influenced by environment. Conditions that fall outside our natural preference boundaries will be less preferred and consequently are more likely to be avoided e.g. an individual with a naturally strong preference for introversion may find they can cope with one to one interpersonal contact but expresses anxiety about group social setting and this is clearly highlighted by the way in which the PTI displays its results.