Comfortable and Effective?
The very fabulous Trailer Park Refugee left a comment the other day reminding me of the Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator. According to Wikipedia, the MBTI was developed during WWII to help women entering the workforce for the first time. The test was to help them identify where they would be "most comfortable and effective."
The MBTI is based on Jung's theory of "pshychological type" (published in 1921) and two dichotomous pairs of cognitive functions which are expressed in either an introverted or extraverted form.
- the "rational" (judging) functions): Thinking and Feeling; and
- the "irrational" (perceiving) functions: Sensing and Intuition.
Meyers-Briggs took it a step further and ended up with 16 different types based on these four dichotomies:
Extraversion | IntroversionSensing | iNtuitionThinking | FeelingJudging | Perceiving
The theory has been expanded into all sorts of new theories (Keirsey Temperaments, the Five Factor Theory) and has received loads of praise and criticism over the years. I wonder if those women in WWII ended up feeling either comfortable or effective ...
It's been years since I originally took the test. Can this leopard can change its spots? Do I perceive the world and make decisions any differently than I did fifteen years ago? Am I still an INFP? (I'm slightly horrified to realize that this must be the worst combination for an accountant ...)
I'm not curious enough to shell out $59.95 to take the test again, but I will shell out a few minutes to answer 72 questions.
So, dear readers, care to share? What's your diagnosis and are you surprised?
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16 comments:
interesting - i took the test 3 times, at 5 year intervals. rolled from an INTJ when i was 25, to an ENTJ at 35. And am now settled into an ENFP -- despite the fact that the "theory says" there is an innate personality preference... it may have been in how i answered the questions...
There are some pretty good descriptions of the types out there... types if you answer the questions based on how you really feel, you end up with a sense of "wow. has someone been following me around?" when you read these...
Thanks for the ping - i've "typed" my children, and discussed it to help us communicate more effectively. And am wondering if my "gentleman du jour" has ever taken the test... :-)
I took the test and it said I am "uncomfortable and inneffective."
Or maybe I am misreading the results...
Update! Got distracted from work and managed to answer 72 questions, and ... I've actually changed. INFJ - how did that happen?!? I blame all those years with my nose stuck in statistical analysis and GAAP ...
Daisyfae, what's cool is how N has always been your constant. Thanks for the link, in my case they're incredibly accurate (Penfold nodding from across the desk right now ...) Gentleman du Jour would be wise to take the test, unless he's already passed the Mr. Pickles test ;-)
Sleepy, is that uncomfortably ineffective or ineffectively uncomfortable ... ?
My type is "ENTJ."
Apparently I am:
- distinctively expressed extravert
- distinctively expressed intuitive personality
- moderately expressed thinking personality
* slightly expressed judging personality
Hmmm....that sounds fairly accurate. I shan't raise objection.
I'm also INFJ as was Mother Teresa apparently ...... bless you .... tissue?
Welcome Reverend! The results do seem spookily accurate, apart DaddyP being akin to Mother Theresa ...
DaddyP, another INFJ! Makes me wonder where TG lands on the grid ... x
I got halfway through the test and it told me to piss off.
M.Woppit, you broke the MBTI ?!?
the "i" when i was young was an artifact of "insecurity" rather than "introvert"... i've always been on the bubble between T/F, but have come down more conclusively as an F as i've mellowed (or got tired of thinking). i can "J" like a sonofabitch when i need to, but am most comfortable as a "P". And "N". Off the charts, 'don't bring me down with details' N.
love the MBTI game... and will play it with Gentleman du Jour once we're done playing other games :-)
and DP = MT? right...
I am always INFJ, which rather good for my career choice :)
But I do think you can change outwardly, so even though I more likely to do things now, I picked the options of what I would prefer to do in a situation.
Daisyfae, games that involve chocolate syrup?? Sounds smooshing! :-)
Claire, I think we all dip our toes into parts of the quadrant ... now I need to dip into some paint for a smoosheriffic doodle!
interesting ... not done any of this stuff since Uni...the results are affectedby age/environmental factors/life experiences etc.
I so wish I could find what I was when I set off from Uni before I took the harsh confrontational career path I stumbled on later.
Currently I am ENFJ.. the 'E' is slightly, the 'NFJ' = moderate
Like the description from daisyfaes link-
Popular and sensitive, with outstanding people skills. Externally focused, with real concern for how others think and feel. Usually dislike being alone. They see everything from the human angle, and dislike impersonal analysis. Very effective at managing people issues, and leading group discussions. Interested in serving others, and probably place the needs of others over their own needs.
70s, hardly a surprise to find out that you are popular with outstanding people skills with a bent for leading group discussions. Almost like Mother Teresa ... ;-)
70's is bent!!!!!?! I knew it ....
INFJ. If he's going to be Mother Theresa, I think I'll be Nelson Mandela....
DaddyP, do I have to stop the car?
TG, another INFJ! although 27 years in prison seems a bit unfair ...
PS: Penfold refuses to play!
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