Friday, August 13, 2010

Personality Test

I've been thinking a lot about personalities lately. I am a fan of the Myers-Briggs Test and anyone who know the MBTI Test and me will tell you that I am a classic ENTJ.  If you have no clue what I'm talking about, never fear, I'll fill you in.

From: http://www.personalitypathways.com/type_inventory.html

Q1. Which is your most natural energy orientation?
Every person has two faces. One is directed towards the OUTER world of activities, excitements, people, and things. The other is directed inward to the INNER world of thoughts, interests, ideas, and imagination.

While these are two different but complementary sides of our nature, most people have an innate preference towards energy from either the OUTER or the INNER world. Thus one of their faces, either the Extraverted (E) or Introverted (I), takes the lead in their personality development and plays a more dominant role in their behavior.


 Extraverted Characteristics




  • Act first, think/reflect later




  • Feel deprived when cutoff from interaction with the outside world




  • Usually open to and motivated by outside world of people and things




  • Enjoy wide variety and change in people relationships
Introverted Characteristics




  • Think/reflect first, then Act




  • Regularly require an amount of "private time" to recharge batteries




  • Motivated internally, mind is sometimes so active it is "closed" to outside world




  • Prefer one-to-one communication and relationships


Q2. Which way of Perceiving or understanding is most "automatic" or natural?
The Sensing (S) side of our brain notices the sights, sounds, smells and all the sensory details of the PRESENT. It categorizes, organizes, records and stores the specifics from the here and now. It is REALITY based, dealing with "what is." It also provides the specific details of memory & recollections from PAST events.
The Intuitive (N) side of our brain seeks to understand, interpret and form OVERALL patterns of all the information that is collected and records these patterns and relationships. It speculates on POSSIBILITIES, including looking into and forecasting the FUTURE. It is imaginative and conceptual.
While both kinds of perceiving are necessary and used by all people, each of us instinctively tends to favor one over the other.
 Sensing Characteristics




  • Mentally live in the Now, attending to present opportunities




  • Using common sense and creating practical solutions is automatic-instinctual




  • Memory recall is rich in detail of facts and past events




  • Best improvise from past experience




  • Like clear and concrete information; dislike guessing when facts are "fuzzy"
Intuitive Characteristics




  • Mentally live in the Future, attending to future possibilities




  • Using imagination and creating/inventing new possibilities is automatic-instinctual




  • Memory recall emphasizes patterns, contexts, and connections




  • Best improvise from theoretical understanding




  • Comfortable with ambiguous, fuzzy data and with guessing its meaning.
Q3. Which way of forming Judgments and making choices is most natural?
The Thinking (T) side of our brain analyzes information in a DETACHED, objective fashion. It operates from factual principles, deduces and forms conclusions systematically. It is our logical nature.
The Feeling (F) side of our brain forms conclusions in an ATTACHED and somewhat global manner, based on likes/dislikes, impact on others, and human and aesthetic values. It is our subjective nature.
While everyone uses both means of forming conclusions, each person has a natural bias towards one over the other so that when they give us conflicting directions - one side is the natural trump card or tiebreaker.
 Thinking Characteristics




  • Instinctively search for facts and logic in a decision situation.




  • Naturally notices tasks and work to be accomplished.




  • Easily able to provide an objective and critical analysis.




  • Accept conflict as a natural, normal part of relationships with people.
Feeling Characteristics




  • Instinctively employ personal feelings and impact on people in decision situations




  • Naturally sensitive to people needs and reactions.




  • Naturally seek consensus and popular opinions.




  • Unsettled by conflict; have almost a toxic reaction to disharmony.
Q4. What is your "action orientation" towards the outside world?
All people use both judging (thinking and feeling) and perceiving (sensing and intuition) processes to store information, organize our thoughts, make decisions, take actions and manage our lives. Yet one of these processes (Judging or Perceiving) tends to take the lead in our relationship with the outside world . . . while the other governs our inner world.
A Judging (J) style approaches the outside world WITH A PLAN and is oriented towards organizing one's surroundings, being prepared, making decisions and reaching closure and completion.

A Perceiving (P) style takes the outside world AS IT COMES and is adopting and adapting, flexible, open-ended and receptive to new opportunities and changing game plans.

 Judging Characteristics




  • Plan many of the details in advance before moving into action.




  • Focus on task-related action; complete meaningful segments before moving on.




  • Work best and avoid stress when able to keep ahead of deadlines.




  • Naturally use targets, dates and standard routines to manage life.
Perceiving Characteristics
  • Comfortable moving into action without a plan; plan on-the-go.




  • Like to multitask, have variety, mix work and play.




  • Naturally tolerant of time pressure; work best close to the deadlines.




  • Instinctively avoid commitments which interfere with flexibility, freedom and http://draft.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=6466919952770662283variety


I am a classic ENTJ.  What does this mean?  Who are others in my category?  Well, I am glad that you asked.

I person designated as ENTJ is often described as an "Executive" or "The Chief" with a natural tendency to marshall and direct.  "ENTJs are strategic, organized and possess natural leadership qualities. They are master coordinators that can effectively give direction to groups. They are able to understand complicated organizational situations and quick to develop intelligent solutions. ENTJs are outspoken and will not hesitate to speak of their plans for improvement. They are decisive and value knowledge, efficiency and competence."

I'm in good company:
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Richard M. Nixon
Lamar Alexander (US Senator)
Les Aspen, former U.S. Secretary of Defense
Candace Bergen
Jim Carrey
Rahm Emanuel, White House Chief of Staff
Harrison Ford
Bill Gates
Newt Gingrich
Al Gore (U.S Vice President, 1993-2001)
Steve Jobs
Dave Letterman
Steve Martin
General Norman Schwarzkopf
Margaret Thatcher


Are you curious as to what you may be?  Take this quick exam and report back.
http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp

Here is another one with completely different questions and still the same results.  I am a classic case.  Did they match up? http://kisa.ca/personality/

2 comments:

Princess Park said...

i am an ISTJ. I took the long version in a career counseling class in grad school (they were training us to give it and dispense advice afterward). My favorite part was when it told me i was best suited for a job in the government ....2 weeks after i started one. last week i took a short internet version again to see if it had changed at all. I was under extreme grad school stress (i know you understand) when i took it the first time. i thought that the stress would bring out both my I and J sides more (cuz clearly you have to plan more when you have less free time). Turns out I am still an ISTJ but i scored 50% I and 50% E and my J score was 80% this time as opposed to 100% the first time. i (and the prof that taught the class) think its most healthy if you're not at an extreme on any of the 8 orientations so I'm happy to know I'm slightly more "mentally healthy" now. only took graduating haha.....

CW said...

ISTP...

It's not obvious to everyone, (especially when people meet me after I've had a few,) but I'm not the most outgoing person in the world. I guess that's why social media is so easy for me because it sure as hell beats talking.