Exploring Personality Type (updated and links checked on 29 Nov 2023)

OUR OWN PERSONALITY TYPE

Exploring our own personality type allows us to better understand:
* Our natural talents
* Careers we are most naturally suited for.
* Personality types we get along with well.
* Personal growth and development modalities we’re naturally suited to.


THE HISTORY OF PERSONALITY TYPE

* Developed by Carl Jung in early 1900s
* Jung observed that our minds have two functions: gathering information (Perceiving) & making decisions (Judging)
* He believed that a mature adult has a well-developed Perceiving function: Sensing or iNtuition, and a well-developed Judging function: Thinking or Feeling
* He also identified the energizing aspect of personality type: Extraversion/Introversion
* Jung’s work was expanded by Isabel Myers and Katherine Briggs to include a 4th aspect, lifestyle. We either prefer a planned, scheduled lifestyle (Judging) or an unplanned go with the flow lifestyle (Perceiving).
* Further work done by many other researchers like David Keirsey.
* Current personality type tests available from many sources and on the web.


FOUR PERSONALITY TYPE PREFERENCES

* Our preference for energizing ourselves, recharging our batteries when we’re exhausted. [Extraversion/Introversion].
* Our preference for gathering information, Perceiving the world. [Sensing/iNtuition].
* Our preference for making decisions, for Judging. [Thinking/Feeling].
* Our lifestyle preference – more structure [Judging] or less structure [Perceiving].

Four Personality Type Preference Scales

Four Personality Type Preferences

(1) Our preference for energizing ourselves, recharging our batteries when we're exhausted. [Extraversion/Introversion].

(2) Our preference for gathering information, Perceiving the world. [Sensing/iNtuition].

(3) Our preference for making decisions, for Judging. [Thinking/Feeling].

(4) Our lifestyle preference – more structure [Judging] or less structure [Perceiving].


Extraversion / Introversion

The E/I scale tells us where we prefer to focus our attention and get our energy:
E: We prefer to focus on the outer world of people, things and experiences.
I: We prefer to focus on the inner world of ideas, memories, dreams and reflections.


Sensing / iNtuition

The S/N scale tells us how we prefer to look at things, how we gather information:
S: We prefer to focus on the present and the past, and on the concrete information we gain through our five senses.
N: We prefer to focus on the future, relying on our intuition or sixth sense, with an interest in patterns, symbols and possibilities.


Thinking / Feeling

The T/F scale tells us how we prefer to go about making decisions:
T: We prefer to make cool, impersonal, principle-based decisions, using logic and objective analysis of cause and effect. Justice and fairness are important.
F: We prefer to make warm, personal, value-based decisions, using subjective evaluation of person-centered concerns. Kindness and mercy are important.


Judging / Perceiving

The J/P scale is a lifestyle scale; it tells us how we deal with the outer world:
J: We prefer a planned, organized approach to life. We like structure, schedules and orderliness. We are happiest after the decision is made.
P: We prefer a spontaneous, flexible approach to life. We like to go with the flow and keep our options open. We are happiest before the decision is made.

Personality Type Tests

Understanding your own personality type allows you to learn more about yourself. This includes how you prefer to energize yourself, (how you recharge your batteries when you're exhausted), how you interact with those around you, how you perceive the world, gather information and make decisions, how much structure you prefer in your life, which careers you would be naturally suited for, which personality types you get along well with, and which modalities for personal growth and development you're naturally suited to.

Here is a link to PersonalityPage.com that includes a personality type test.

Here is a link to an easy-to-use online personality type test. It has only 72 questions and you can complete it in only a few minutes. In addition it is self-scoring.

Personality Type Test from HumanMetrics.com

When you answer the questions, imagine that you are at home, in a comfortable place, with your shoes off. Answer the questions from the perspective of what feels real for you, not how you think you should behave, or how someone else might expect you to behave.

For each question there are two choices. Choose the one that is most appropriate, most comfortable to you, either (a) or (b). There are no correct or wrong answers. About half of the population will agree with whatever choice you make.

Here is a link to another personality type test. It will take about ten minutes, and is also self scoring. I just completed it and the results were the same as the test above, and as the official 125+ question Myers-Briggs Type Inventory (MBTI).

Personality Type Test from 16Personalities.com

Don't forget that no personality type test is perfect, and even the official MBTI will report an incorrect result on one of the four scales (E/I, S/N, T/F, J/P) about 25% of the time. This is why it is important to read a complete type description to be sure it describes you.

Here is a link to a third personality test. It contains 76 questions, is self-scoring and will take about ten minutes. I took it on January 5, 2020 and the results were the same as the MBTI. NOTE: If you just want the personality type test, be sure to UN-check the other three options.

Personality Type Test from PersonalityMax

Personality Type Descriptions, Careers

Here are links to the sixteen (16) unique personality types as described by Myers-Briggs. Also note that each type description page includes information on talents and careers, relationships and personal growth. These pages may load slowly. If the link has been broken, simply google the 4-letter type, or go to Wikipedia. At the bottom of each of these pages are links to pages for careers, relationships and personal growth:

ISTJ - Duty Fulfiller
ESTJ - Guardian
ISFJ - Nurturer
ESFJ - Caregiver
ISTP - Mechanic
ESTP - Doer
ESFP - Performer
ISFP - Artist
ENTJ - Executive
INTJ - Scientist
ENTP - Visionary
INTP - Thinker
ENFJ - Giver
INFJ - Protector
ENFP - Inspirer
INFP - Idealist

How frequently does my type occur?

Personality Type and Temperament

Recent research in the field of personality type includes the work of David Keirsey, who created the theory of temperament associated with type. Keirsey observed that similarities among different personality types allowed him to distill or aggregate the sixteen types into four distinct temperaments. Each of the sixteen personality types falls within a single temperament. The names of the temperaments, as well as the individual personality types found within each temperament, are Keirsey's own descriptions.

David Keirsey's website

Overview of the four temperaments

The Guardian temperament

The Artisan temperament

The Idealist temperament

The Rational temperament

Temperament and Higher Education

In my humble opinion, our greatest educational failure is not supporting the 20% of us (1 in 5) with the Artisan personality temperament. They are NOT college material, and desperately need a vocationally-oriented education. Artisans thrive in high school because of classes like sports, dance, music, auto shop, theater arts, cullinary arts, arts & crafts, etc.