What Type Am I?

I got What Type Am I? Discover Who You Really Are by Renee Baron out of the library before I went on vacation and read it at the beach. I love personality theories; they're fascinating to me. Baron's book is an easy-to-access version of David Keirsey's Please Understand Me II, which was based on the classic Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator. Please Understand Me II was my first introduction to personality types when I borrowed it off of my dad's bookshelf when I was in junior high. It is a fascinating book, but long and dense at points. Baron's What Type Am I? is much lighter and easier to read, complete with silly but helpful comics to explain the different personality types. Baron also includes a sorter to help the reader identify his/her type.

Meyers-Briggs believed that "people are born with preferences ... ways in which we naturally 'prefer' to do certain things." Their indicator lists four pairs of opposite preferences (from Baron's book):

Extroverting (E) and Introverting (I)

This pair refers to where we prefer to focus our attention and what energizes us. People who prefer Extroverting get their energy from the outer world of people, activities, and things. People who prefer Introverting get their energy from their inner world of ideas, impressions and thoughts. 

Sensing (S) and iNtuiting (N)

This pair refers to how we prefer to take in information. People who prefer Sensing pay attention to information taken in directly through their five senses and focus on what is or what was. People who prefer iNtuiting pay attention to their sixth sense, to hunches and insights, and they focus on what might be.

Thinking (T) and Feeling (F)

This pair refers to how we evaluate information to make decisions. People who prefer Thinking make decisions in a logical, objective way. Those who prefer Feeling make decisions in a personal, values-oriented way.

Judging (J) and Perceiving (P)

This pair refers to our lifestyle orientation. People who prefer Judging tend to live in an organized, planned way. People who prefer Perceiving tend to live in a spontaneous, flexible way.

I think that the words they chose can be misunderstood today. If you prefer Judging, it does not mean that you are judgmental, and contrary to common opinion, extroversion is not synonymous with being outgoing, nor is introversion synonymous with being shy. It is also important to remember that everyone uses all of these options, but most people simply feel more comfortable in one option or the other.

Baron pointed out something that is very interesting to me: some people do not feel comfortable with their natural preferences because they go against cultural conditioning. In the US, "women are often socialized to behave like Feelers and men are often socialized to behave like Thinkers," which could lead to men and woman who prefer their non-culturally conditioned option to feel as though something is wrong with them. This can also happen if one child has a different preference from the rest of his/her family.

I know that some people feel that personality sorters try to put them into a box, but, to quote Elizabeth Bennet at the end of Pride and Prejudice, "my feelings are quite the opposite." Learning that I am an ENFJ has helped me to learn so much about myself. It has helped me to understand my motivations, which have helped me to improve my life and my relationships with others.

To learn more, read the book or even check out What's Your Personality Type? on Blogthings. It is actually quite accurate... and lots of fun!