Brain types

Brain typing is a system developed by Jonathan P. Niednagel that applies elements from neuroscience, physiology, and psychology to estimate athletic ability. It is based on the psychological typology of Carl Jung and the later work of Katharine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers. Currently, no controlled experiments have been done to assess the effectiveness of Brain Typing (though there are anecdotal reports of both successes and failures, along with a pilot study on blood samples conducted in conjunction with Divyen H. Patel of Genome Explorations), and as a result the American Psychological Association considers Brain Typing a pseudoscience. Brain typing is a system developed by Jonathan P. Niednagel that applies elements from neuroscience, physiology, and psychology to estimate athletic ability. It is based on the psychological typology of Carl Jung and the later work of Katharine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers. Currently, no controlled experiments have been done to assess the effectiveness of Brain Typing (though there are anecdotal reports of both successes and failures, along with a pilot study on blood samples conducted in conjunction with Divyen H. Patel of Genome Explorations), and as a result the American Psychological Association considers Brain Typing a pseudoscience. What separates Brain typing from Jungian typology and its offshoots, such as the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and Socionics, is its emphasis on motor skills. Each of the sixteen brain types is said to specialize in certain regions of the brain responsible for varying degrees of mental and motor skills. Niednagel believes the types are inherited, possessing a genetic basis. The brain types website and books also explain how it differs from the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator in that it believes the ENTP/FCIR type is by far the most common of the sixteen types, whereas some other types presumed as common in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, such as the ISTJ/BEIL, are actually only about 3% of the populace according to their estimates. Brain types have been criticized by the American Psychological Association as not valid and built for commercial purposes only. Niednagel began to develop Brain Typing in the late 1970s and 1980s while coaching youth soccer, basketball, and Little League baseball. He observed that children with similar personalities also tended to have similar motor skills. Niednagel began to receive more attention for his work in the 1990s, particularly in the arena of professional sports. An event related to brain typing was Niednagel's prediction in 1998 that Peyton Manning would become a star quarterback in the National Football League (NFL), and that the similarly hyped Ryan Leaf would perform poorly in the league. His prediction came true as Peyton Manning has become one of football's best quarterbacks while Ryan Leaf is remembered as one of the worst busts in football draft history. Not all of Niednagel's predictions have been as clear cut, as he is careful to qualify his projections. His success rate has gained him a following, and allowed him to apply his work in professional sports for nearly 20 years.