Which Personality Type Are You?

[starise]

I'll be the first to say that I don't like to categorize everything and everyone into some kind of box mainly because I don't always think the shoe fits everyone.

 

Is there something to be said for trying to determine personality types? 

 

What I've found is that there seems to be some truth to it, but only if we can combine certain types as hybrids. 

 

Here's the classifications according to the Myers Briggs. It seems creative types tend to fall into only a handful of these types.

 

Which one do you think you are?  I seem to have many of the traits associated with INFJ. 

 

http://www.truity.com/view/types

 

[MonoStone]

I took the free test and got this - 

 

YOU MAY BE AN EXTRAVERT OR AN INTROVERT

YOU ARE AN INTUITIVE

YOU MAY BE A FEELER OR A THINKER

YOU MAY BE A JUDGER OR A PERCEIVER

 

YOUR POSSIBLE PERSONALITY TYPES: ENFJ: The Teacher, ENFP: The Champion, ENTJ: The Commander, ENTP: The Visionary, INFJ: The Counselor, INFP: The Healer, INTJ: The Mastermind, INTP: The Architect.

 

[Rudi]

Some of the questions place attributes as polar opposites. I question the logic of this. It might be a bit of fun but the questions are really rather stupid IMO.

Anyway I got this.......

 

You are Introvert

You Are an Intuitive

You May Be a Feeler or a Thinker

You Are a Perceiver

 

 

INFP: The Healer    or .....   INTP: The Architect

 

[starise]

I had taken another test awhile back. I haven't taken this one yet. Seems like it might be a little sloppy. 

In the one I took, it had different 

levels and not a could be this or that. I'll see if I can locate a better

one. 

Interesting results but not very conclusive. 

The actual Myers Briggs test is usually a paid test. Might find it free though.... or something close.

 

[Rudi]

10 hours ago, starise said:

The actual Myers Briggs test is usually a paid test.

 

 

I'll do it cheaper for you bud.

[starise]

5 hours ago, Rudi said:

I'll do it cheaper for you bud.

 Oh you wud woodn't u. :0)

 

I think some of it was fairly accurate from what I know, but what I know might only be .00002 of what I need to know. It's fairly easy to have a result that says you could be this or that and they're opposites. Like the weatherman saying I sorta kinda might think that maybe it could rain....or maybe not.

 

I think I have you both narrowed though:)

 

 

 

[Rudi]

I looked at this one.

 

http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp

 

Its clearly related to the one already posted. I found this one just as crazy.

[starise]

I think this one is better than the one I posted. Seems more accurate, but I had to take it twice to make sure.

 

Mine according to this test is INFJ

 

Introvert(88%)  iNtuitive(31%)  Feeling(12%)  Judging(22%)

• You have strong preference of Introversion over Extraversion (88%)
• You have moderate preference of Intuition over Sensing (31%)
• You have slight preference of Feeling over Thinking (12%)
• You have slight preference of Judging over Perceiving (22%)

[Rudi]

INTJ

Introvert(9%)  iNtuitive(7%)  Thinking(31%)  Judging(6%)

• You have slight preference of Introversion over Extraversion (9%)
• You have slight preference of Intuition over Sensing (7%)
• You have moderate preference of Thinking over Feeling (31%)
• You have slight preference of Judging over Perceiving (6%)

 

Judgemental? Me?

[Mahesh]

And I got this

 

INFP

Introvert(31%)  iNtuitive(19%)  Feeling(3%)  Perceiving(25%)

• You have moderate preference of Introversion over Extraversion (31%)
• You have slight preference of Intuition over Sensing (19%)
• You have marginal or no preference of Feeling over Thinking (3%)
• You have moderate preference of Perceiving over Judging (25%)

[starise]

Rudy- The INTJ shoe seems to fit fairly well from what I know about you. Would you agree? I haven't seen a lot of judgment. More simply opinion.

 

And Mahesh- That lines right up with the optimistic positive way I've seen you operate.

[Rudi]

2 minutes ago, starise said:

Rudy- The INTJ shoe seems to fit fairly well from what I know about you. Would you agree? I haven't seen a lot of judgment. More simply opinion.

 

Man, you have an unerring skill for shooting yourself in the foot . The INTJ says that I am judgemental. Get some toe-tectors today!

 

However, I personally agree that I am more opinion centered than judgemental. To me 'judgemental' is not a virtue nor an admirable quality in any way, shape or form. So thank you for that vindication.

[Rudi]

Rob's one seems closest.

 

I learned more from this test.

http://www.zimbio.com/quiz/Ukldm8Pi5Ub/Star+Wars+Character

 

I was R2D2

[Alistair]

'Judging' in the Myers Briggs type indicator does not mean 'judgemental' in terms of attributing moralistic decisions as it does in everyday language. The Judging /Perceiving dichotomy of personality preference in the MBTI refers to how you structure your lifestyle. If you have a judging preference it means you prefer structure, planning, certainty and punctuality. You are likely to value rules. If you have a Perceiving preference it means you are more likely to take life on the fly, be spontaneous, leave things to the last minute, see what happens etc.

 

Beware of free online Myers Briggs tests. They are not sufficient to determine personality type, they are just a starting point (hence Type Indicator) not an absolute truth. People identify their own type through discussion with a trained Myers Briggs practitioner (like me) and the indicator can help that.

 

People tend to kick against being labelled. So it's important to remember that MBTI helps to identify personality preferences, not absolutes. We can all be extrovert or introvert at times but, on balance, we probably prefer to practice one over the other and that's all its telling you. If you know your preference you can decide when it's a strength and when you might need to use the other approach.

 

I'm ENTJ by the way.

[starise]

Good point Alistair. I was just cutting and pasting the explanation as I seen this. I might as well go ahead and paste it anyhow.

 

Judging/Perceiving[edit]

The fourth continuum reflects how a person regards complexity. Judging types will thrive when information is organized and structured, and they will be motivated to complete assignments in order to gain closure. Perceiving types will flourish in a flexible learning environment in which they are stimulated by new and exciting ideas. Judging types like to be on time, while perceiving types may be late and/or procrastinate.

 

In this respect I would say Rudi seems to be more structured than not structured....the word "seems" gets me out of a lot of trouble.  

 

FWIW the test Rudi linked to lined up well with other tests I've taken.

[Alistair]

43 minutes ago, starise said:

Good point Alistair. I was just cutting and pasting the explanation as I seen this. I might as well go ahead and paste it anyhow.

 

Judging/Perceiving[edit]

The fourth continuum reflects how a person regards complexity. Judging types will thrive when information is organized and structured, and they will be motivated to complete assignments in order to gain closure. Perceiving types will flourish in a flexible learning environment in which they are stimulated by new and exciting ideas. Judging types like to be on time, while perceiving types may be late and/or procrastinate.

 

In this respect I would say Rudi seems to be more structured than not structured....the word "seems" gets me out of a lot of trouble.  

 

FWIW the test Rudi linked to lined up well with other tests I've taken.

 

Myers Briggs is useful for raising self-awareness and recognising behaviours in others that  may point to their preferences - which can be validated by asking them.

 

What the type indicator is actually measuring is your degree of certainty that e.g. judging or perceiving or extraversion/intraversion etc is your preference not how extravert or intravert you are.  

 

'Seems' will definitely get you out of jail when Rudi does something entirely random but which will reinforce his personality type which is founded on the recognition that we can display all the personality preferences but lean more to some than others.

 

To answer your original question whether there is value in trying to determine personality, my view is yes but it depends why. If you wish to develop your ability to work with different people then personality type (like Myers Briggs) is useful.The point is that you can adapt how you behave to accommodate their preferences or vice versa.

 

If you are trying to predict behaviour, say in recruitment, then a trait based test which highlights innate behaviours is more reliable. MBTI wouldn't help you here.

 

 

So there are many different ways of measuring personality.

[Rudi]

See? All we had to do was ask Al

 

If the descriptions (ie: judgement) need interpretation, then surely they need revision. Otherwise this is just another sort of theology  

[Alistair]

44 minutes ago, Rudi said:

See? All we had to do was ask Al

 

If the descriptions (ie: judgement) need interpretation, then surely they need revision. Otherwise this is just another sort of theology  

 You could have been waiting a long time! I just happened to look in. Now you've got me started.

 

The descriptions might need revision but the full Myers Briggs Type Indicator (not the cheap pop psychology version) is entirely about exploring what the terms actually mean and the degree to which a person feels they might be their preference. This is done through questioning by a facilitator (e.g. me). So, for example, one question to determine whether someone has an introversion or an extraversion preference  (which is about where you draw your energy from) is "When you come out of a meeting, do you more often wish you hadn't said something or that you had?" or "What kind of things do you like to do to relax?" Extraversion: go out with friends, talk to family on the phone. Intraversion: read a book, stay up to the early hours posting on Songstuff). Gradually this enables the individual to recognise how their typical behaviour points towards one of the preferences more than the other.

 

Of all the choices to be made in Myers Briggs, the Extraversion /Intraversion preference is the one people generally struggle most to identify. There is a good reason for this. Generally, there is a more negative perception of introversion than extraversion so some are reluctant to consider it is their preference. In fact, in the scoring mechanism which underpins the full MBTI questionnaire those who lean towards Extraversion have a point knocked off to counter the greater social acceptability of extraversion.

 

There are some good ones to test the Judging/Perceiving preference e.g "If you have to assemble some flat pack furniture, how do you go about it?" Generally those with a judging  preference will check all the parts off against the instructions, lay out all the pieces on the floor and follow the instructions to the letter (assuming they make sense. When they don't make sense they will get very frustrated as that is not in the plan). Those with a perceiving preference will probably just start and maybe check the instructions if they get stuck. Half way through they will probably go down the pub. They will probably complete the task in the middle of the night while matching a movie.

 

And before you suggest that we write a song about all the different personality types. I am sure there is already a Myers Briggs song. It hasn't been a hit yet.

 

As for theology, there are over 60 years  of research and validation studies underpinning this. It's based on Carl Jung's research into personality. I realise that doesn't make it fool proof but I figure that quoting some vaguely famous thinker at you without specific references might nuke your objections!

 

 

 

 

[starise]

1 hour ago, Alistair said:

To answer your original question whether there is value in trying to determine personality, my view is yes but it depends why. If you wish to develop your ability to work with different people then personality type (like Myers Briggs) is useful.The point is that you can adapt how you behave to accommodate their preferences or vice versa.

 

If you are trying to predict behaviour, say in recruitment, then a trait based test which highlights innate behaviours is more reliable. MBTI wouldn't help you here.

 

 

So there are many different ways of measuring personality.

 

In this case I find the subject interesting and my interest would line up with my type. I think if anything it seems to confirm intuition. We can adapt to an opposite outcome from our types, but I don't think we would be comfortable being in that state for long since it really isn't us.

 

I was interviewed for a management position and they asked my how I would deal with a worker who was drinking, late for work or lazy. I found I'm lenient up to a breaking point and then I deal with it. I try to be the friendly supervisor first, but if I sense I'm being played shame on you. Admittedly people will try to play a person who they perceive as easy. I WANT to make friends first, but the job comes first in that case. I think they wanted a tougher approach, they weren't looking for a friendly boss. I have a job that both manages data and people right now...I guess I'm more of a passive aggressive in the workforce. In the end my style can be just as bad as the tough boss, or it can be good depending. I try to put myself in the persons shoes.

I guess these tests are primarily given by employers to determine a management style. I don't really know. I think it can be helpful to know these things. Most of us will know  if the determination looks to be accurate about us because we know ourselves. It can be tough to look in the mirror though and admit it. 

Doesn't really matter because others already see it anyways.

 

I liked your comments about adapting. It's uncomfortable but fully possible to exist outside of our preferred strength. I HATE social situations, but I'm told I adapt to it well and even look comfortable in it...yet nothing could be further from the truth.

[Rudi]

1 hour ago, Alistair said:

. It's based on Carl Jung's research into personality. I realise that doesn't make it fool proof but I figure that quoting some vaguely famous thinker at you without specific references might nuke your objections!

 

 

 

 

 

yes I found Jung's association when I checked out the 1st alternative I posted.

 

That must reveal something about my personality. Half a$$ed research, disregarding Carl J, and impatient when it didn't turn out the way I think it should. In my experience this indicates leadership traits.

 

Oddly enough my workmate Danny explained to me today that his wife (who is a psychologist) uses pictures, simplified words and minimal structure to help those with learning difficulties. He compared it to making a presentation to managers. Its right! Bullet points, pictures (of cartoon simplicity), and keeping it short.