GIFTS
DIFFERING: Understanding Personality Types
Isabel Briggs Myers/Peter B. Myers
According to Myers (a Jungian), much seemingly chance
variation in human behaviour is not due to chance; it is in fact the logical
result of a few basic, observable differences in mental functioning. These differences concern the way people
prefer to use their minds - the way they perceive and the way they make
judgments.
There are two ways of perceiving: 1) becoming aware of things thru our
five senses - sensing, and 2)
indirect perception by way of the subconscious - intuition.
And there are two ways of judging: 1) thinking, a logical process
aimed at an impersonal finding; and 2)
feeling, bestowing on things a personal, subjective value.
Either
kind of judgment can team up with either kind of perception but one process
must be dominant and the other acts as the auxiliary. This determines whether decisions are predominately made thru
perception or judgment. E.g. - if sensing (a perceptive use) is dominant and
thinking (a judging use) is auxiliary, then the person will use a perceptive
attitude in making decisions most of the time.
So there are 4 basic combinations of traits that we use to make our
decisions:
ST - Sensing
plus thinking
SF - Sensing
plus feeling
NF -
Intuition plus feeling
NT -
Intuition plus thinking
ST
people rely primarily on sensing for purposes of perception and thinking for
purposes of judgment. Thus, their main interest focuses upon facts they can
sense and thinking their way thru step-by-step logical processes of reasoning.
SF
people rely on sensing for purposes of perception but they prefer feeling for
purposes of judgment. They are more
interested in facts about people than facts about things and approach their
decisions with personal warmth because their feeling weighs how much things
matter to themselves and others.
NF
people possess the same personal warmth as SF people because they both use
feeling for purposes of judgment, but because NFs prefer intuition to sensing
they centre their attention on possibilities instead of the concrete situation.
NT
people, using intuition for perception, focus on a possibility but they
approach it with impersonal analysis, often subordinating the human element.
Everyone
has probably met all four kinds of people:
ST -
practical and matter-of-fact; SF -
sympathetic and friendly; NF -
enthusiastic and insightful; NT - logical
and ingenious.
Some
people dislike the idea of a dominant process and like to think of themselves
as using all four equally. Jung,
however, holds that such impartiality keeps all the processes undeveloped and
leads to a "primitive mentality" because opposite ways of doing the
same thing interfere with each other if neither has priority. One process - sensing, intuition, feeling or
thinking - must be developed if a person is to be really effective.
Along
with the dominant process, there must be an adequate (but by no means equal)
auxiliary process for a person to be balanced.
If a person has no useful development of an auxiliary process, the
absence is likely to be obvious. An
extreme perceptive with no judgment is all sail and no rudder. An extreme judging type with no perception
is all form and no content.
Although
people must use both perception and judgment, they cannot be used at the same
moment and there is a shift back and forth, with people having a preference of
one over the other. In order to come to
a conclusion, people use the judging attitude and have to shut off perception
for the time being. All the evidence is in and anything more is irrelevant and
immaterial. In the perceptive attitude,
judgment is shut off, awaiting new developments. It is too soon to do anything irrevocable. This preference makes the difference between
the judging people who order their lives, and the perceptive people, who just
live. Either makes a satisfying way of
life, if a person can switch to the opposite attitude when
necessary.
Another
basic difference in people's use of perception and judgment arises from their
interest in their inner and outer worlds - introversion (focus is on
concepts and ideas) and extroversion (focus is on people and things).
For
extroverts, the dominant process is concerned with the outer
world of people and things, and the auxiliary process has to look after their
inner lives, without which the extroverts would appear superficial.
The
success of introverts' contacts with the outer world
depends upon the effectiveness of their auxiliary. If it is not adequately developed, their outer lives will be very
awkward, accidental and uncomfortable.
Thus there is a more obvious penalty upon introverts who fail to develop
a useful auxiliary than upon the extroverts with a like deficiency. The introverts' dominant process does not
show on the JP preference because introverts prefer not to use it in dealing
with the outer world. The J or P
therefore reflects the auxiliary process. For example, if an introvert's type ends in J, the dominant
process is a perceptive one, S or N. If the type ends in P, the dominant
process is a judging one, T or F.
Western
civilization is dominated by the extrovert viewpoint because this is how we are
trained - to look at the outer is considered more desirable. The extroverts are more vocal than
introverts, they are more numerous (in the ratio of 3 to 1), and they are
accessible and understandable, whereas the introverts are not readily
understandable, even to each other, and are likely to be thoroughly
incomprehensible to the extroverts.
The
conduct of extroverts is based on the outer situation. If they are thinkers, they tend to criticize
or analyze or organize it; feeling types may champion it, protest against it,
or try to mitigate it; sensing types may enjoy it, use it, or good naturedly
put up with it; and intuitives tend to try to change it.
The
introvert starts with the inner ideas, the mental concepts. When an outer situation encountered by
introverts corresponds to a familiar idea or concept, they meet the situation
with a sense of recognition, of something long known. However, if it doesn't correspond
to familiar concepts, it may seem accidental, irrelevant, and unimportant, and
the introverts are very likely to mishandle it.
Introverts
have an inherent continuity. Outer
conditions and stimuli continually vary, but inner stimuli are far more
constant. They can work for long uninterrupted
stretches, their activity gains in depth and their labour has lasting value,
without the need for outer encouragement.
Extroverts
tend to broaden the sphere of their work, present their products early (and
often) to the world, need reassurance from others, and multiply relationships
and activities.
Although
extroverts have more worldly wisdom and a better sense of expediency,
introverts have a corresponding advantage in unworldly wisdom. They are closest
to the eternal truths.
Whatever
comes from the five senses is part of the sensing type's own experience and is
therefore trustworthy to them. Words from others, whether spoken or written,
are less trustworthy and therefore carry less conviction than their own
experience
.
The
intuitives are comparatively uninterested in sensory reports of things as they
are. Instead, intuitives listen for the
intuitions that come up from their unconscious with enticing visions of
possibilities of original ideas, projects, inventions, creative art, religious
inspiration and scientific discovery.
The
intuitive's technique is a lightning referral of a problem to the unconscious,
which works very rapidly, and an immediate pounce upon the answer. Their native language is the word, the
metaphor, the symbol, spoken by the unconscious, while the sensing type's
native language is the reality spoken by the senses. There is more translating to do and translating takes time. They do not trust an answer that suddenly
appears and do not think it prudent to pounce.
They need a sure and solid agreement of conclusions with facts - thus,
until all facts have been examined, they hesitate to conclude anything.
Thinking
is essentially impersonal. Its goal is
objective truth, independent of the personality and wishes of the thinker or
anyone else. So long as the problems
are impersonal, like those of building a bridge, proposed solutions can and
should be judged from the standpoint "true-false", and thinking is
the better instrument.
But
the moment the subject is people instead of things - and some voluntary
cooperation from those people is needed - the impersonal approach is less
successful. In the sympathetic handling
of people where personal values are important, feeling is the
more effective instrument.
To
thinkers, the idea of evaluating by means of feeling sounds flighty,
unreliable, and uncontrolled, but thinkers are no judges of feeling. They naturally judge all feeling by their
own, and theirs is relatively undeveloped and unreliable. When feeling is well developed, it is a
stable instrument for discriminating the worth of personal values. When feeling is extroverted and directed upon
other people, it not only recognizes their personal values but manages to
convey its own.
Thinkers
often contradict each other, each one claiming, "This is the
truth." The feeling type need only
say, "This is valuable to me."
The
judging types believe that life should be willed and decided, while the
perceptive types regard life as something to be experienced and
understood. Judgment really likes
to dispose of things, even without the spur of necessity - and frequently
settle not only what they are to do themselves, but what others are to do as
well. If they lack an adequately developed perceptive process, they will be
narrow, rigid, and not see any view except their own. It takes perception, (either sensing or intuitive) to supply
understanding, open-mindedness and to keep judgment itself from being blind.
The
perceptive types do not come to conclusions until they must - and sometimes not
even then. Realizing how many factors
are involved and how much is still unknown, they do not jump to decide a
matter. They want to solve the problem
by understanding it better and they usually do; the solution was latent in the
situation and they have eventually "seen" what was the thing to
do. However, they still need judgment
(either thinking or feeling) to give continuity of purpose and supply a
standard by which to criticize and govern one's own actions.
Extroverted Thinking Types (ESTJ and ENTJ):
1.
Are analytical and impersonal
2.
May be executive, legal, technical or interested in reform
3.
Organize the facts - and everything else within reach
4.
Are decisive, logical, strong in reasoning power
5.
Aim to govern their own conduct and other people's in accordance with
thought-out conclusions
6.
Value truth in the form of fact, formula and method
7.
Have an emotional life that is accidental
8.
Have a social life that is incidental
Introverted Thinking Types (ISTP and INTP):
1.
Are analytical and impersonal
2.
Are interested primarily in the underlying principles
3. Are organized in relation to concepts and ideas (if INTP) or facts
(if ISTP) - but not people or situations, unless of necessity.
4.
Are perceptive, not dominating, as the decisiveness of the thinking usually
shows only in intellectual matters
5.
Are outwardly quiet, reserved, detached, perhaps even aloof except with
intimates
6.
Are inwardly absorbed in the current analysis or problem
7. Are inclined toward shyness, especially when young, as the chief interests of introverted thinking are little help in small talk or social contacts
Extroverted Feeling Types (ESFJ and ENFJ):
1.
Value, above all, harmonious human contacts
2.
Are best at jobs dealing with people and in situations where needed cooperation
can be won by good will
3.
Are friendly, tactful, sympathetic, and almost always able to express the
feelings appropriate to the moment
4.
Are sensitive to praise and criticism, and anxious to conform to all legitimate
expectations
5.
Possess outwardly directed judgment, which likes to have things decided and
settled
6.
Are persevering, conscientious, orderly even in small matters, and inclined to
insist that others be the same
7.
Are idealistic and loyal, capable of great devotion to a loved person or cause
8. May use thinking judgment occasionally to help in appreciating and adapting to points make by a thinker, but thinking is never permitted to oppose feeling aims
Introverted Feeling Types (ISFP and INFP):
1.
Value, above all, harmony in the inner life of feeling
2.
Are best at individual work involving personal values - in art, literature,
science, psychology, or the perception of needs
3. Have feelings that are deep but seldom expressed, because inner tenderness and passionate conviction are both masked by reserve and repose
4.
Maintain independence from the judgment of others, being bound by inner moral
law
5.
Direct judgment inwardly toward keeping all lesser values subordinate to the
greater
6.
Have a strong sense of duty and faithfulness to obligations, but no desire to
impress or influence others
7.
Are idealistic, loyal, capable of great devotion to a loved person, purpose or
cause
8. May use thinking judgment
occasionally to help in winning a thinker's support of feeling aims, but is never
permitted to oppose those aims
Extroverted Sensing Types (ESTP and ESFP):
1.
Are realistic
2.
Are matter-of-fact and practical
3.
Are adaptable, usually easygoing, very much at home in the world, tolerant of
others and of themselves
4.
Are endowed with a great capacity for enjoying life and a zest for experience
of all kinds
5.
Are fond of concrete facts and good at details
6.
Are apt to learn most and best from experience, making a better showing in life
than in school
7.
Are usually conservative, valuing custom and convention and liking things as
they are
8.
Are able to absorb an immense number of facts, like them, remember them and
profit by them
Introverted Sensing Types (ISTJ and ISFJ):
1.
Are systematic, painstaking and thorough
2.
Carry responsibility well, but ISTJ likes it better than ISFJ
3.
Are very hard working; the most practical of the introverts
4.
Are outwardly matter-of-fact, inwardly entertained by extremely individual
reactions to their sense impressions
5.
Are conspicuous for patient and willing application to detail
6.
Make an excellent adaptation to routine
7.
Absorb and enjoy using an immense number of facts
Extroverted Intuitive Types (ENTP and ENFP):
1.
Are alert to all the possibilities
2.
Are original, individual, independent, but also extremely perceptive of the
views of others
3.
Are strong in initiative and creative impulse, but not so strong in completing
projects
4.
Have lives that are likely to be a succession of projects
5.
Are stimulated by difficulties and ingenious in solving them
6.
Operate by impulsive energy rather than concentrated willpower
7.
Are tireless at what interests them, but find it hard to get other things done
8.
Hate routine
9. Value inspiration above all else and follow it confidently into all manner of opportunities, ventures, explorations researches, mechanical inventions and projects
10.Are
versatile, often startlingly clever, enthusiastic, easy with people, and full
of ideas about everything
11.At
their best, are gifted with insight amounting to wisdom and with the power to
inspire
Introverted Intuitive Types (INTJ and INFJ):
1.
Are driven by their inner vision of the possibilities
2.
Are determined to the point of stubbornness
3. Are intensely individualistic, though this shows less in INFJs, who take more pains to harmonize their individualism with their environment
4.
Are stimulated by difficulties, and ingenious in solving them
5.
Are willing to concede that the impossible takes longer, but not by much
6.
Are more interested in pioneering a new road than anything found along the
beaten path
7. Are motivated by inspiration (valued above everything else) and use it confidently for their best achievements in any field chosen - science, invention, political or empire-building, teaching, writing, psychology, religion
8.
Are deeply discontented in a routine job that offers no scope for inspiration
9.
Are gifted, at their best, with a fine insight into the deeper meanings of
things and with a great deal of drive
No
type has everything. The introverts and thinkers, though likely to arrive at
the most profound decisions, may have the most difficulty in getting their
conclusions accepted. The opposite
types are best at communicating, but not as adept at determining the truths to
be communicated.
For
maximum effectiveness, all types must add to their natural endowment the
appropriate use of the opposites, either by using them in others or by
developing a controlled use of them themselves.
For
example, an appropriate and brief crossover by the thinker to the use of the
opposite process, feeling, can be tolerated by thinking because the feeling
process is being used in the service of thinking; feeling helps win acceptance
of the thinker's ideas and purposes.
Although
crossovers are very useful, the clearest vision of the future comes only from
an intuitive, the most realistic practicality only from a sensing type, the
most incisive analysis only from a thinker and the most skilful handling of
people only from a feeling type.
The
strengths of each type materialize only when the type development is
adequate. Otherwise, people are likely
to have the characteristic weakness of their type, but not much else.
Good
type development demands two conditions: first, adequate but by no means equal
development of a judging process and a perceptive process, one of which
predominates; and, second, adequate but by no means equal facility in using
both the extroverted and introverted attitudes, with one predominating.
When
both conditions are met, the person's type development is well-balanced, which
means superior skill in one, supplemented by a helpful but not competitive
skill in the other.
The
need for such supplementing is obvious.
Perception without judgment is spineless; judgment without perception is
blind. Introversion lacking any
extroversion is impractical; extroversion with no introversion is superficial.
The
first step for people examining their choices and use of the chosen processes
is to see for themselves the difference between each pair of opposites and to
discover which serve their deepest needs and interests and thus are
fundamentally right for them.
The
next step is to see the difference between the appropriate and inappropriate
use of each process:
Sensing - Appropriate use is for seeing and
facing the facts.
- Inappropriate
use is running away from a problem to a trivial amusement.
Intuition - Appropriate use is seeing a possibility
and bringing it to fruition.
- Inappropriate use is dreaming up impossibilities that would provide an effortless solution.
Thinking - Appropriate use is analyzing the probable consequences of a
proposed action and deciding accordingly.
- Inappropriate
use is yielding to thinking judgment by criticizing anyone who has an opposite
view of a problem.
Feeling - Best for considering what matters most to oneself and
others.
- Wrong use would be indulging
feeling judgment by rehearsing how right and blameless one has been all along.
(Feeling should not be confused with emotions; in fact, Jung
calls it a rational process.)
Western
civilization has inclined men toward thinking, women toward feeling, and both
sexes toward extroversion and the judging attitude, thus the less-frequent
types (introverts and intuitives) will find it more difficult to enhance their
development.
For as we
have many members in one body,
and
all members have not the same office:
So we, being
many, are one body...
and
every one members of another.
Having then
gifts differing...
whether prophecy, let us prophesy...
Or ministry,
let us wait on our ministering:
or he that teacheth, on teaching;
Or he that
exhorteth, on exhortation...
Romans 12:4-8
7/98
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