You’ve probably heard a lot about personalities. You probably think about your own all the time. But have you ever considered digging deeper into the theories surrounding personality type?
Personality types are ways to describe how our brains process material. We all have different ways of taking in information and deciding what to do with it. You can think of personality like you think of a lens. Different lenses give us different images. Different personalities give people different perspectives.
So many factors go into forming us as individuals that it is nearly impossible to accurately sort the human population into personality categories. However, using various personality theories, we can increase our understanding of ourselves and the people around us. It’s a lot easier to get along when we have some common ground to refer to.
There are three main systems that attempt to simplify personalities types. The “Big Five” sorts people into numbered categories and is the vaguest of the systems. The system I have the most familiarity with is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, or MBTI.
Isabel Briggs Myers and Katharine Briggs were a mother-daughter research team that developed an application of the theories of Carl Jung, a psychologist that founded “modern depth psychology” (according to CJJungpage.org). Jung first proposed that every person has four main components of personality: a way to take in data, a way to make decisions, a way to energize, and a way to structure life. I’ll get into Carl Jung’s theories in my next article.
Myers and Briggs used Jung’s ideas to develop a system that would be more accessible to the general public—those of us who didn’t understand the complexities of his theory. They did so by making the MBTI. (You can take free versions of the test at HumanMetrics or 16Personalities)
The test involves answering questions that get to the bottom of one’s personality. In the more accurate tests, the participant will be able to rate their response from “Largely Agree” to “Largely Disagree” with several more severities in the middle. At the end of the test, the participant will be awarded a 4 letter description of his or her personality. In some cases, a last letter—A for assertive or T for turbulent—will be assigned to describe how far the participant’s personality has matured.
The main letters are as follows:
I for Introvert. An introvert is energized by being alone. It is not a trait that determines how social a person is, but rather an understanding of the individual’s need for alone time to “recharge”. An introvert will feel drained after spending too much time in public or with peers.
E for Extrovert. An extrovert is energized by other people. Being an extrovert does not mean being a social butterfly or the biggest hit at parties, but means an extrovert needs to be around people more often than an introvert does. When an extrovert spends too much time alone, he or she can feel depressed, sluggish, and even sick or stressed.
N for Intuitive. Intuitives take in the big picture rather than the little details. An intuitive will be more interesting in talking hypotheticals and making connections than in exploring concrete details. Intuitives like interacting with the world in an almost philosophical way.
S for Sensor. Sensors are pretty much what they sound like. They take in the world around them using their senses instead of taking things in less determinate means like the intuitive. Sensors like interacting with the world in a physical way.
T for Thinking. Thinkers resort to facts before opinions, objectivity before emotion. Thinkers enjoy exploring new ideas. They believe the most compelling argument is logic or objective analysis.
F for Feeling. Feelers take things on an individual basis. They are more adept at handling emotional situations, and prefer them to objective ones. They believe the most compelling argument is passion or personal experience.
P for Perceiving. Perceivers do not need a well-defined structure in their lives. They prefer open-ended situations and allowing room for error and variability. Most could do without a To-Do list and they often aren’t afraid to break up their daily routines. This trait is often the least defined and the easiest changing one. Many participants of the MBTI report a change from P to J as they grow older.
J for Judging. Judgers prefer to understand what’s coming next. They’d like a schedule for the meeting, a detailed plan of attack, and an organized understanding of the task at hand. Again, along with P, this is one of the more commonly changing traits. Some people will change from J to P, as well.
It’s important to understand that the MBTI—and personality sorting in general—is not an exact science, nor does it attempt to be. Personalities change as we develop and other variables effect how we develop in the first place. One ESTP will look different from another. Another important note is that some disorders and diseases will skew personality test results. People suffering from Depression will often think of themselves as Introverted, for example, when they are really extroverted and need to be around friends to help them heal.
