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PERSONALITY TYPE INVENTORIES AND ME
Jul. 15th, 2024 09:15 am According to the personality-type inventory that I took first, I was Extroverted (E), Intuitive (N), Feeling (F), and Judging (J). (Note 1) The assessment listed the ENFJ personality as “the teacher.” They are enthusiastic goal-oriented people who strive to motivate others to achieve their goals. This personality type falls within the Group of Diplomats (Note 2) which includes Advocate, Mediator, Protagonist, and Campaigner. Diplomats are intuitive and feeling personality types, who dabble in writing and art. Furthermore, Diplomats usually seek the deeper meanings of life.
Does this make sense to me? No, it seemed way off. Therefore, I looked deeper. I found that although, I had strong Intuitive and Judging preferences, I was about even on the Extravert and Feeling preferences. As a former statistician, I realized that the sample is only as good as the questions. How the questions are phrased impacts the answer, and therefore the sample. Hence, I went to various sites that used MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) (Note 3) and took their tests. I discovered a bias of assuming Thinking (T) for males and Feeling (F) for females.
The first test of personality-type inventory, that I took, was the Heumanmetrics Jung-typology Test, based on the Humanmetric’s interpretation of Carl Jung’s theory of personalities. In researching Jung’s original theory, I discovered that my answers were very close in all of the four categories. Jung theorized that everyone had a dominant function of their personality and an auxiliary function to balance the dominant. Extraversion (E) and Introversion (I) represent “preferred direction of energy and attention.” With the dominant function being the core, Jung delineated eight functions (Ni, Ne, Si, Se, Ti, Te, Fi, and Fe). Added later by Myers-Briggs, Judging (J) and Perceiving (P) were originally a part of the other functions. Thinking and Feeling are Judging functions, while Sensing and Intuition are Perceiving functions.
My problems with the various tests determining personality inventory first laid with hereditary versus environment. I was raised in an environment where extraversion was discouraged, and the inner life focused on. Meanwhile, a person’s maturity will balance out the four categories. Over time, my teenage personality was smoothed out by my maturing. Moreover, my brain injury limited my natural proclivity to be extraverted.
In my research, I was directed to explore my past childhood patterns such as roaming the neighborhood talking to everyone I met. Ask perceptive family members and friends who noted my bluntness. Read the various personality types and decide which one I am the least like. Which of the Functions do I use the least. (That was Perceiving.) And finally, how does the tug-of-war between dominant and inferior functions resolve itself. (Note 4). Finally, what type aligns with who I am.
I finally found the category that made sense – ENTJ (the Commander), which is about two percent of people (with one percent of women). It falls in the Analyst category of Intuitive (N) and Thinking (T) personality types. The Commander is blunt, direct, and structured. The most dominant function of this type is Extraverted thinking (Te). This presents the ENTJ as strong, courageous, and abrasive. With the Introverted intuition (Ni), they can be adept visionaries. The two functions of Te and Ni balance each other out – perceiving both the big picture and specifics.
Those test results do match my interests of divination and lore. Divination involves leadership and vision. To divine is to tell others what their future may or not be. Lore fits with my creative self and love of writing. Even with my TBI, I write daily. Both keep my fertile mind occupied within a structure.
Notes:
Note 1. The pairs are Extraversion (E): Introversion (I), Sensing (S): Intuition (N), Thinking (T): Feeling (F), and Judging (J): Perceiving (P).
Note 2. The other groups are Analysists (Architects, Logician, Commander, and Debater), Sentinel (Logistician, Defender, Executive, Consul), and Explorer (Virtuoso, Adventurer, Entrepreneur, and Entertainer).
Note 3. Simply Psychology (https://www.simplypsychology.org/the-myers-briggs-type-indicator.html) states the following describing the MBTI: “MBTI, short for Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, is a widely used personality assessment tool based on Carl Jung’s theories. It categorizes individuals into one of 16 personality types, providing insights into their preferences in four dimensions: extraversion/introversion, sensing/intuition, thinking/feeling, and judging/perceiving. According to the MBTI theory, you combine your preferences to determine your personality type. The 16 types are referred to by an abbreviation of the initial letters of each of the four type preferences of each cognitive function.”
Note 4. Jung defined this struggle of psychic opposites as “enantiodromia.” In my case, I wrestled with Feeling and Thinking since I am female, and therefore expected to be sensitive to people’s emotions.
Works Used:
Cox, Barbara, Eds, “Your Secret Self.” Gainsville (FL): Windhorse Books. 2016.
Dreth, A.J.,Dr, “My True Type – Clarifying Your Personality Type, Preferences and Functions.” Middleton (DE): Inquire Books. 2013.
—, “The 16 Personality Types: Profile, Theory, & Type Development.” Middleton (DE): Inquire Books. 2014.
Education Planner.org, Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, 2011. Web. http://www.educationplanner.org/students/self-assessments/learning-styles-quiz.shtml.
Gregg, Michelle, “The Easy Myers-Brigg Personality Type Book.” Columbia (SC): Independently Published. 2023.
Human Metrics, Humanmetrics, Inc. 2024. Web. https://www.humanmetrics.com/.
Mcleod, Saul, Phd, “Carl Jung’s Theory Of Personality: Archetypes & Collective Unconscious,” Simply Psychology, 24 January 2024. Web. https://www.simplypsychology.org/carl-jung.html.
