| This research seeks to analyze, through the use of Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), how Presidents made decisions during eight distinct foreign policy crises: the decision to enter the Korean War, the Yalu River Crisis, the Taiwan Straits Crises, the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, and the response to the Tet Offensive.; The research uses the work of twenty-one scholars and practitioners who typed the Presidents using the MBTI. Additionally, 802 Presidential statements made during 85 top secret meetings were systematically coded and analyzed to see if the personality traits posited by the scholars were exhibited during the crises. The research found that the MBTI demonstrates with validity and reliability Presidential personality type in all four MBTI preferences of Introvert/Extrovert, Sensing/Intuitive, Thinking/Feeling, and Judging/Perceiving. It showed that Truman exhibited the traits of an ISTJ; Eisenhower, those of an ESTJ; Kennedy, those of an INTP; and Johnson, those of an ESTJ.; Though MBTI traits, in themselves, lead neither to good nor bad decisions, they predict a consistency in a President's decision making style that contributes to the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of Presidential decisions.; The dissertation argues that Truman's ISTJ traits of reflection, honor, and resolve had him well prepared to quickly resist aggression at the start of the Korean War, but his biases for quick meetings, deadlines, and facts (ISTJ traits) contributed to his making a hasty decision at Wake Island.; Eisenhower combined his own traits of ESTJ with the Perceiving traits of patience, which increased his decision making effectiveness.; During the failed Bay of Pigs operation, Kennedy was not able to take advantage of his INTP traits of reflection, inventing options, and delaying decisions because military necessity demanded quick decisions. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, the same traits contributed to Kennedy's crafting a diplomatic solution, thus avoiding nuclear war.; Johnson's ESTJ tendencies for an overloaded schedule and self-imposed deadlines contributed to his rushed announcement of the Tonkin Gulf retaliation attacks. After Tet, Johnson's decisions were more characteristic of his type and he made a more responsible decision not to escalate the war without clear objectives. |
