What is it like writing about the Myers-Briggs personality test?

This past week, I have been asked by a fellow blogger what it is like to write  a blog about the Myers-Briggs personality test (and other random psychology facts)

The question took me by surprise, and as I did not have an immediate answer,  I used a avoidance/evasive  technique,   I redirected the question back at my fellow blogger: "What is it like blogging about  selfies?" I asked. Naturally the conversation that followed was not about me

During the day, I thought about the question, and decided to answer   this peculiar question by dedicating this week`s post to it

First, I want to state writing in general is something of a hobby for me. I  prefer writing non fiction above fiction, and reflective pieces and academic essays are two of my favorite genres. Naturally, this means that I also like reading, doing research and learning about new things.

As I have mentioned in my previous posts, psychology and specifically, personality tests are something of a pet peeve of mine.

This means that I admit I enjoy writing this blog, and  am  even thinking about continuing it. (Naturally only after I have completed the rest of my academic workload for this year)

I have enjoyed writing about the Myers-Briggs test as I think I have introduced the test to the rest (okay, more like some) of my classmates. After all, they are my main audience, for the time being, at least :)

We are in the process of doing a lot of self reflection and personal improvements as part of our curriculum, so I hope that my blog was helpful for some.

Researching some random psychological facts and doing more in-depth research about the test (and having a clearly defined purpose for doing it) was particularly interesting, as I have learned more about the test. I have discovered there are various articles written about Myers-Briggs types that are both funny and insightful. My favorite is a collection of articels on a website called thought catalog Articels include, What each type does at a party, defintion of hell for each type etc. http://thoughtcatalog.com/tag/myers-briggs/ 

Designing my blog was also a very fun part for me. I wanted a blog that is visually stimulating, so that it attracts more people and is ecstatically pleasing. Playing around with digital art is also something I enjoy doing.

To be honest, I think I spent more time on the layout and colour design, than I think is psychologically sound, but hey, it is for a good cause.

So this is by no means my last post
Until next time
Personality Girl

What is the Myers-Briggs personality type indicator? Part two

By now, I hope that you have a very clear understanding about the Myerss-Briggs personality test. You know what it means, and what the four dichotomies are.

(If you want a recap, look at the picture that accompanies this post)

I will now, try to explain what each dichotonomies mean, and what each preference is like.  

Introvert-Extrovert

The terms Introvert and Extravert (sometimes spelled 'extrovert') are sometimes referred to as attitudes. An introvert is more interested in the inner world of ideas; an extravert prefers the outer world of people and things.

Sensing-Intuition

Sensing and Intuition are the perceiving functions. Jung called them the irrational functions (as a technical term, not as a pejorative), as a person does not necessarily have control over receiving data, but only how to process it once they have it. 

Sensing people tend to focus on the present and on concrete information gained from their senses. Sensing prefers to receive data primarily from the five senses. Intuitives tend to focus on the future, with a view toward patterns and possibilities. 

These people prefer to receive data from the subconscious, or seeing relationships via insights.

Thinking-Feeling

Thinking and Feeling are the decision making (judging) calculus functions. They both strive to make rational choices, using the data received from their perceiving functions, above. 

Thinking people tend to base their decisions on logic "true or false, if-then" connections and on objective analysis of cause and effect. Feeling people tend to base their decisions primarily on values and on subjective evaluation of person centered concerns. Feelings use "more or less, better-worse" evaluations. 

It could be said that thinkers decide with their heads, while feelers decide with their hearts.

When Thinking or Feeling is extraverted, decisions tend to rely on external sources and the generally accepted rules and procedures. When introverted, Thinking and Feeling decisions tend to be subjective, relying on internally generated ideas for logical organization and evaluation.

Judging-Perceiving

The terminology may be misleading for some—the term "Judging" does not necessarily imply "judgmental", and "Perceiving" does not necessarily imply "perceptive" in the usual sense of the word

Judging and perceiving refer to the S/N and T/F dichotomies just described. J or P records which of the two dichotomies is used for dealing with the external world. J types tend to like a planned and organized approach to life and prefer to have things settled. P types tend to like a flexible and spontaneous approach to life and prefer to keep their options open

This concludes the educational piece regarding the Myers-Briggs personality type indicator. If you want to know what your Myerss-Briggs personality profile is, please do this test : http://www.truity.com/test/type-finder-research-edition

Until next time!

Sincerely 

Personality girl

What is the Myers-Briggs personality type indicator? Part one

A personality test is a type of questionnaire that is designed to reveal certain aspects regarding your personality. This means it can reveal how you behave, how you tend to think about things and other aspects regarding your “psychological makeup” 

Now, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is an example of a   personality test. It is designed to assist a person in identifying some significant personal preferences. 

Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter Isabel Briggs-Myers developed the Indicator during World War II, and its criteria are influenced by psychologist Carl Jung's theory of Psychological Types. (A very Fascinating theory, but something for another day) 

The Indicator is frequently used in the areas of pedagogy, group dynamics, employee training, leadership training, marriage counselling, and personal development.

The indicator differs from standardized tests and others measuring traits, such as intelligence or, instead classifying people have preferred types.

Traits are durable characteristics of a person, such as intelligent, independent or patience.  

Types are collections of traits that are said to occur together in some individuals. For example, we might define the macho type as a person who tries to be tough, independent, courageous, or whatever the person perceives as masculine behaviour.

According to Myers-Briggs Theory, while types and traits are both inborn, traits can be improved akin to skills, whereas types, if supported by a healthy environment, naturally differentiate over time

The types the MBTI measures are known as dichotomies,. The first type (or dichotomies) is either extraversion or introversion, the second type is either sensing  or intuition. Thinking or feeling is the third type, and   judging or perceiving is the last type.  

The test is composed of closed questions. This means there are only two options, and your answers will indicate what your preference is in each of the four types.

Mathematically speaking, this means that you can be one of sixteen different personality types. 

Each of these sixteen types is referred to by a four-letter abbreviation, such as ESTJ or INFP, indicating your  preference in each dichotomy (“polar opposites”).

For example, I prefer Extroversion over Introversion, Intuition over Sensing, Thinking over Feeling and Judgement over Perceiving. That is why I am known as an ENTJ.

I hope that you as the reader now have a better understanding regarding the Myers-Briggs personality test.

Keep on reading to find out more about each different dichotomy!

Sincerely 

Personality Girl 

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What is the Myers-Briggs Personality type indicator? A brief summary of my educational piece

Greetings fellow humans

It has been brought to my attention that I have failed to explain exactly what the Myers-Briggs personality test is, and what aspects regarding one`s personality it measures. (Oops.. my bad!)

So this week I have decided to write an educational piece, addressing some of these issues. This piece will be split into two parts. 

In the first part I will try to explain what a personality test is,and give a brief history and explanation of Myers-Briggs Type indicator.

In the second part, I will describe each  of the four dichotomies (“polar opposites") that the test measures.

So please keep on reading!

(the first part will soon follow!) 

Sincerely,

Personality girl  

Narrative essay: The first time I took the MBTI-test

In the previous post, I mentioned what my Myers-Briggs type(s) are. I would now like to share what it is like taking the MBTI test. (If you haven’t already taken the test, please do so at http://www.truity.com/test/type-finder-facets) 

The first time I took the test was in high school. It was part of an aptitude test package, I took because I was yet to know what I wanted in regards to my future career prospective.   

It was a very educational experience for me, because the MBTI test forces you to do a bit introspection and think about the way you think (In Psychology, this process is known as metacognition)

From the get go the questions of the test made me feel very unsettled, because I realized that my behavior is not as consistent as I would like it to be.  I remember coming to the realization that I have a tendency to adjust my behavior and thought pattern according to the situation.

In my paranoia, I thought I suffered from some undiagnosed form of Multiple Personality Disorder (now called Dissociative Identity Disorder), you know, that personality disorder that features in almost EVERY horror/thriller movie ever made? (In retrospect I am quite certain I don`t have actually have that disorder, I hope :) )

The test administrator told me that I should rely on my gut feeling when answering the questions, and that was quite helpful , because I found that if I  lingered  on  one question for more than three seconds, I started to second guess myself and the paranoia would set in.  

If you have taken the MBTI, I am sure you had a similar experience of discomfort. 

What did you learned about your own metacognition during the process?

Do you think you that we tend to act in the same manner regardless of the situation, or do we have a natural tendency to adapt to circumstances?

Let me know!

Sincerely

Personality girl 

Descriptive essay on my personality, according to MBTI

There are many parts that add up to the sum of a person`s personality. Physical attractiveness, childhood experiences, cultural or religious values, and  of course, genetics, are just some of the factors that play a part in the creation of one`s personality.

We are told to believe that because of the above mentioned factors, that we are all unique human beings. Different. We are all "special" in some way.  

According to the Myers-briggs personality type indicator (MBTI) that may just be wishful thinking on our part. 

If you do not know what your personality type is, please find out at 

http://www.truity.com/test/type-finder-research-edition  and judge for yourself how accurate the above mentioned statement is. 

I will hereby attempt to convey my personality according to the MBTI. I have taken the MBTI -test quite a few times by now, during various developmental phases, and the two types that are most consistent is the INTJ and/or the ENTJ. 

INTJ

For INTJs (like myself) the dominant force in my life is my  attention to the inner world of possibilities, symbols, abstractions, images, and thoughts. Insight in conjunction with logical analysis is the essence of my  approach to the world. 

Ideas are the substance of life for people like me and I have a driving need to understand, to know, and to demonstrate competence in my  areas of interest. I inherently trust my own  insights, and because I am  task-orientation will work intensely to turn my visions into reality. 

ENTJ

For ENTJs (like myself) the driving force in my  life is the  need to analyse and bring into logical order the outer world of events, people, and things. ENTJs are natural leaders who build conceptual models that serve as plans for strategic action. Intuition orients their thinking to the future, and gives their thinking an abstract quality.

I will actively pursue and direct others in the pursuit of my ( I mean our) goals , and I prefer a world that is structured and organised.. 

I can write a novel about my ambivalent thoughts about my personality type(s), and I will share it another time. 

But for now, I hope all is well 

Sincerely,

Personality girl. 

Introduction:

Greetings fellow humans!

My name is Helena, and I am a third year Education student at CPUT and I have decided to create a blog about  one of my favorite subjects, Psychology, with a special focus on the Myers-Briggs personality test.

Before we get started, I am sure you would like to know why I have chosen to write about Psychology, instead of you know,  the hotness that is  Damon Salvatore, or the clothes that the Kardashians wear when they go  to the store to buy milk.(BTW someone really needs to tell Kim that her Dolce and Gabbana dress is like, SO last season)

The truth is....

Psychology has always fascinated me. mainly because I find the human psyche to be utterly unpredictable

Science has managed to find (or will find) logical explanations to almost everything that exists in our (known) universe. The physical and biological world has a patterns that can be unlocked and this can be used to anticipate future events.

However, as we all know, this is most certainly not the case with human behavior. Human behavior is influenced by a complex set of factors that is erratic at best. and pointless at worst. Psychology attempts to make sense of this,

And one of the methods that is used to achieve this, is through personality tests. Now I know that no test on Earth is going to be 100% accurate regarding one`s personality, but  the Myers-Briggs test comes pretty damn close.

Now, what exactly is  this mysterious Myers-Briggs personality test, you ask?
Well, follow my blog  to find out! (and learn  more  random Psychology facts)  

(For your convenience I have placed a Wikipedia widget on my blog, so if you need more information or clarification, Wikipedia is a good starting point)

Sincerely
Personality Girl