Personalities and My personality

 

  1. Introduction
  2. Why different personalities are important
  3. My interpretation of the different personalities and their characteristics
  4. My strengths and weaknesses (still under construction)
  5. Disclaimer


Introduction

Personalities define the way we interact and the way we are. All personalities are important, and all are equal. It is important that we understand the personalities of ourselves and others as it helps us understand why we do things and how we appear to others. It also helps us interact with other people in being able to understand how they see it.

While studying year 12 at Prescott College in 1998 I did the Myers-Briggs type indicator. My score was:

I

25

Introvert

S

1

Sensing

T

35

Thinking

J

29

Judging

The options:

There are four main areas in the Myers-Briggs type indicator. Here is an overview of the possibilities:

Category

Options

Where attention is focused

Extroversion

Introversion

The way you look at things

Sensing

Intuition

Deciding

Thinking

Feeling

Dealing with the world

Judging

Perceiving

Under the Myers-Briggs type indicator a numeric scale is used. Most people do not perfectly match a certain characteristic, they have preferences. A preference may appear stronger in certain environments when a person is feeling comfortable. Things such as pressure and stress can cause people to exhibit different behaviours that are not according to their preference.

 The scale shows how strong a preference is. The higher the number, the stronger the preference.

 
Why personalities are important

If a number of people with similar personalities were placed in a room life would also be dull as everyone would be thinking and acting the same way. People could clash on their strong points, causing life to be unbearable. Life would be fairly predictable, as everyone would deal with situations in a similar way.

Different personalities provide variety as well as different viewpoints. People who have opposite personalities may find that their strengths and weaknesses compliment each other, creating a sharing relationship where both parties help each other by providing different viewpoints and understandings. This does not mean that life will be easy. Friction could occur due to misunderstanding of personalities.

I think that it is much easier to resolve problems involving opposite personalities (if both parties are willing) than identical personalities. Relationships involving different personalities can become good educational tools, as both parties can learn more about their strengths and weaknesses. Theses sorts of relationships also enable more rational decisions as the complimenting personalities enable both sides of a situation to be seen.


My interpretation of the personality types

The different types:

Category

Options

Where attention is focused

Extroversion

Introversion

The way you look at things

Sensing

Intuition

Deciding

Thinking

Feeling

Dealing with the world

Judging

Perceiving

Where the attention is focused:

This personality characteristic is the one I notice first. The key to this category is that extroverts are "people people", and like to be socialising. Being around people helps extroverts 'recharge' when they are emotionally tired. Although introverts may enjoy socialising, they need time by themselves to emotionally 'recharge'. I spend a lot of this time thinking.

I have heard other people express their connection of introverts with unsociability and hermitism. This stereotype is not true. An introvert may be a sociable person, but will need time by themselves, unlike an extrovert who constantly needs people.

They way you look at things

Since my score is fairly neuteral in this area, I cannot clearly see and understand this category. I need to try to observe this characteristic in other people.

Sensing people rely on factual information. They seem to look at how things are. I enjoy physics, which has a lot of solid, facutal information. I think these people may be more science-minded.

Intuititive people seem to prefer to look at how things could be. They may be more inclined to be artistic and imaginitive. They look for patterns in things, and for possibilites. I think they may enjoy looking at chance.

Deciding

The deciding charecteristic determines how a person chooses. The options are thinking or feeling. A thinking person (like me) will appear to be a rather logical person. If I make a decision, I think about it a lot. I have a number of good reasons when I make a decision. I also choose by facts, laws and experience. This means that sometimes I obey the road rules to the 'letter of the law', while most people prefer to obey the 'spirit of the law'. A thinking person would be suited to jobs such involving law, red tape (although they could make it worse) and certain management jobs.

A feeling person will tend to make decisions based upon the effect it will have on other people and on personal values. This sort of person might be easily convinced by salespeople, and may appear to be of a compassionate, self-sacrificing nature. They may bend rules to help others. This sort of person would be more suited to a compassion job.

Dealing with the world

At first I didn't have much understanding of this characteristic, but recently I realised my preference and could then understand it.

I am a judging person. I like to have things planned, although I also like the idea of being flexible and spontaneous, it puts pressure on me. I am an organiser, any of my friends will notice this. I own two filing cabinets, and I frequently organise the hard drives on the computers. I enjoy planning for events, even events that may not happen. Once I have planned the major details, I then get to the minor details, which (naturally) annoys the perceiving people.

Perceiving people like to be flexible and spontaneous. They are the sort that would enjoy being able to give a speech with two minutes notice. The sort that can handle emergency situations. People who have a preference towards percieving may prefer to have open options, compared to a judging person who may like to have a fixed, well defined goal.

 


My personality and weaknesses

This part is under construction: I still have to add more information. This may appear sketchy at the moment, as it is mostly personal notes on what I should write.

An important thing is that although I have a strong preference towards introversion, I am not a hermit, and I have no desire to be one. It is normal for people to enjoy things of the opposite preference, however they will get emotionally tired after a while. So this means that I enjoy socialising to a certain degree. I need to have people around me, but I need to have breaks, where I can sit and think or do something by myself. If I am by myself for too long, I will get rather unstable. 

My weaknesses in each area:

My thinking:
My thinking characteristing of decision making may appear harsh to others. It can provide benifits to myself, but I have to consider others in my decisions.


Disclaimer

The information provided on this page is my interpretation and understanding of personalities. I am not responsible for any misleading information, errors or omissions. However, I endeavour to maintain accurate information on this page. For accurate information, personality testing and advice, see a professional.

References:

Myers, P. & Myers K., Report Form for the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, Consulting Psychologists Press, Inc, 1991, Palo Alto