My Myers-Briggs Score

I have always been interested in psychology--specifically personality testing. It's actually strange, because I'm usually not into the theoretical, and I have little interest in areas like philosophy, etc. But I am fascinated by this aspect of psychology.

I took the Myers-Briggs personality test for the first time when I was in high school, back in 1989. It's interesting to note that my results are basically the same as they were back then. I am of the belief that people's basic personality types do not change. However, a person can learn to become more like their opposite characteristic, if the situation calls for it.

The developers of this test stated that there are basically 16 types of people in this world. Some of the personality types are quite rare, while others are quite prevalent. Anyway, they theorized that each personality type would handle situations in life in a different way, and by knowing their type, a person could become more self-aware.

I am an ISFJ or ISFP...it really depends on my mood when I take the test. I am going to go letter-by-letter and explain what those letters mean.

A person can either be an "I" (introvert)or an "E" (extrovert). I am actually a pretty strong introvert. That means that I tend to be shy, quiet, and I don't mind being by myself. But, the strange thing is I have a job as a teacher. When I get in front of my class, I am confident, outgoing, and in control. I am also that way when it comes to public speaking. I would have absolutely no problem giving a speech to room full of 500 people.

But with all that being said, I am still a very shy person, and I SOMETIMES have a problem with small talk. So even though that element of my personality is somewhat adaptable, I still tend be more comfortable with the quiet side of my personality.

The next letter combo is either and S or and N. An "S" person is a Senser. They tend to prefer facts. This is definitely where I lie. This is one of the reasons why I am fairly good at trivia. I tend to remember facts about people, events, etc. I do enjoy reading fiction, but prefer non-fiction...if it is about a subject that interests me.

A person who is an "N" is an iNtuitive. Intuitive people prefer theories and ideas. They like to get into deep philosophical discussions about politics, religion, etc. I'm glad that there are people like that in this world, but that's just not me.

The next pair of letters deals with how a person makes their decisions. A person can either be an "F" (feeler) or "T" for (thinker). I am a pretty strong F.

I tend to make a lot of my decisions based on what my emotions tell me about the situation. Although I am a pretty analytical person, I usually let my heart control my head.

A person who is a thinker will make their decisions based on what their brain is telling them. They tend to be more decisive people because they just leave their feelings out of the decision-making process.

This F/T component is perhaps the most divisive. The people who are strong Thinkers tend to look at the Feelers as being weak and overly compassionate. The Feelers tend to look at the Feelers as being cold and callous.

In all actuality, a person should have both sides of his/her personality come up fairly equally on this test. It isn't good for someone to be a high percentage of any of the personality types. This is why I am happy to say that my last letter is either a "P" or a "J". I tend to use both parts of my personality almost equally.

A "J" is a judger. A judger prefers structure, order, and they like schedules. They are the list-makers and planners of the world. They tend to use their PDAs to keep track of their hectic schedule, and they can be quite obsessive about maintaining order in their busy lives.

A "P" is a perceiver. A perceiver is someone who is spontaneous. They don't believe in doing a lot of planning, and they tend to take things as they come. They look at the judgers as being overly rigid. While the judgers look at them as being unorganized and haphazard.

Thankfully I possess elements of both. I am not really a listmaker, but I always know where I need to be and when. I'm rarely late. In fact, I'm usually early.

But with that being said, I tend to go with the flow a lot. I always know what I want to accomplish in my lessons everyday at school, but my lessons are always changing. So by the time a lesson makes it to the end of the day, it may look very different than when it did during 1st hour.

Sometimes this trait can cause some problems with coworkers. I had a department chairperson many years ago who would criticize my lesson plans. She wanted me to basically script out everything that I was going to say.

For example, if I was doing a lesson on profit, she wanted me to have on my plan that "profit was revenue-expenses." She was a judger. I told her that I already knew the definition for profit, and that I really didn't need to write it into my lesson plans. She had a hard time understanding that I could still know everything I needed to know for my lesson, without writing it down.

There are a lot of places online that will allow you to take this test. Just do a google search for Myers-Briggs or Keirsey Temperament Sorter. I personally believe that this test will help you get a handle on people in your life. You'll be able to understand what makes them tick and why they do the things they do.