The long-standing APTi ethical standard for interpreting the MBTI Instrument and other psychological type instruments has been face-to-face contact between the professional and the client or respondent. This type of direct contact allows the client to interact with both the information and professional to understand a context for results based on the theory of Carl Jung, to ask questions, to validate his or her own type preferences, and to discuss appropriate applications of the results. It also allows the professional to read the client's face and body language to help insure questions and concerns are raised and discussed. Unless the client is able to understand at least some of the richness of Carl Jung's theory of type and how his or her results relate to actual behavior and meaningful applications in his or her life, the interpretation has not been adequate. The standard of face-to-face contact has been one way of trying to insure a quality experience for clients receiving an interpretation of a type psychological instrument.
For several years APTi members, the APTi Board, the APTi faculty and other users of type have been aware of the significant impact of the Internet on how the MBTI inventory and other psychological instruments are available and used. Many of our members who receive requests to use the MBTI instrument with individuals at remote sites and various countries around the world wonder how they might do so in an expedient and yet ethical way.
The short answer is that the same rules of care and ethics of interpretation still apply, whatever the means of administering the psychological type instrument. These are set out in the guidelines listed below.