# Your Personality??



## Jenna (Aug 15, 2011)

I know many of you will already know your Myers Briggs type by heart, I know I am _INFJ_ (sometimes _INTJ_). I wonder if you would mind sharing yours?  I am interested to know  

http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/mmdi/questionnaire/  (there are lots of tests around)
http://keirsey.com/4temps/overview_temperaments.asp  (one of many places that attempts to explain the variant types)

Do you think these tests are accurate?  Do they reflect our need to understand ourselves in simple pigeonholed terms?  

Do these categorisations change as our lives evolve?


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## Sukerkin (Aug 15, 2011)

Well, according to the survey, I am ISTJ or ISFJ.  Apparently, I am a goal-oriented leader .


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## Sukerkin (Aug 15, 2011)

The write-ups do read a bit like horoscopes I have to say but they're quite nice:

"If your personality type is ISTJ then you are interested in clarity and knowledge. You like to observe and listen, and have a particular interest in facts and information which help you to develop as clear a knowledge as possible. You like to know where you stand, e.g.: having clear goals to which you are working, and to know that what you are expected to do is achievable. You value your experience, which serves as a strong guide to your decisions.

If your personality type is ISFJ then you are interested in knowledge and experience, particularly in relation to family, friends and colleagues. You are a quiet, serious observer of people, listening intently and getting to know a great deal about them. You pay attention to their emotions and feelings, and are keenly aware of the state of relationships between them and you take your responsibilities to them very seriously."


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## Carol (Aug 15, 2011)

I usually test ENTJ or INTJ.  With this test, I tested INTP.   

I dunno...I think there are a tool with some uses but I don't know about accuracy.  For example, whether I test I or E depends on my mood :lol:


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## Jenna (Aug 15, 2011)

Sukerkin said:


> The write-ups do read a bit like horoscopes I have to say but they're quite nice



ISTJ or ISFJ, they are pinning you Suke as a "guardian" type, and rhetorically at least, I wonder would that ring true at all in your life?  And but absolutely yes, plainly our personalities are more complex than a simple classification would suggest.  I wonder how would you feel about these being used by others to categorise you, for example, an employer to ascertain your fitness for a job role?  Is it accurate enough do you think?




Carol said:


> I usually test ENTJ or INTJ. With this test, I tested INTP.
> 
> I dunno...I think there are a tool with some uses but I don't know about accuracy. For example, whether I test I or E depends on my mood


You are an enigma in other words Carol!   It is interesting that though different, these classifications of yours all fall under the "rational" subheading.  I guess then that perhaps one of your underlying personality traits.  Having said that, not too many of us would regard ourselves as irrational I think?

I agree regarding introvert or extrovert, I would have felt that would have been an immutable factor.  Yet according to these tests, often it is not.  I think personally I would be one or the other depending upon the situation.  I think perhaps most people are the same in that respect?


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## Rich Parsons (Aug 15, 2011)

Jenna said:


> I know many of you will already know your Myers Briggs type by heart, I know I am _INFJ_ (sometimes _INTJ_). I wonder if you would mind sharing yours? I am interested to know
> 
> http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/mmdi/questionnaire/ (there are lots of tests around)
> http://keirsey.com/4temps/overview_temperaments.asp (one of many places that attempts to explain the variant types)
> ...



When I was much younger I was an ENTJ, as I grew older I was a border between ENTJ/P and now I am pretty much ENTP


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## Jenna (Aug 15, 2011)

Well that is interesting, while you three Suke, Carol and Rich vary between classifications, nevertheless, your classifications appear to remain within the same subheading.  Sorry, I am not for a second attempting to be scientific, rather I find it interesting to know if our personalities can change fundamentally rather than superficially to suit a certain context or in keeping with a certain time of our lives.  I wonder can our personality types change fundamentally from one type to an almost opposing type?


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## Sukerkin (Aug 15, 2011)

In my experience, being over half way through my life now, I certainly think that your personality changes quite a bit as you accumulate experience.  

For me, there was a huge shift in personality after my bike accident; it took a while for my friends to adjust to the 'new' me ... or indeed to decide if they still liked the emotional and outspoken Mark they now had compared to the quiet and controlled one they had before.  Of course, brain injuries are not really what you were talking about but it is tangentially relevant as, in order to contain this 'unruly' new me, I had to learn to put guards in place and check what I was going to say before I said it etc.  That sort of personality modification is something that I think many of us go through as we grow up anyway - I just had to do it twice :lol:.


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## Carol (Aug 15, 2011)

Jenna said:


> You are an enigma in other words Carol!   It is interesting that though different, these classifications of yours all fall under the "rational" subheading.  I guess then that perhaps one of your underlying personality traits.  Having said that, not too many of us would regard ourselves as irrational I think?
> 
> I agree regarding introvert or extrovert, I would have felt that would have been an immutable factor.  Yet according to these tests, often it is not.  I think personally I would be one or the other depending upon the situation.  I think perhaps most people are the same in that respect?



I think of it as being more logical to the point of being Vulcan.    I am up front and blunt when dealing with people, and not always good with tact or empathy.  Its not that I don't care about people, but it is that I see the logic first.  I think people to the opposite of me are more in touch with human beings.


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## Jenna (Aug 15, 2011)

Sukerkin said:


> In my experience, being over half way through my life now


No, you cannot say you are half way through anything!! No!!  Have absolute faith in your longevity and not in statistics!  Do not let conventional medical "wisdom" or statistics dictate duration.  Sorry, that is a digression



Sukerkin said:


> For me, there was a huge shift in personality after my bike accident; it took a while for my friends to adjust to the 'new' me ... or indeed to decide if they still liked the emotional and outspoken Mark they now had compared to the quiet and controlled one they had before. Of course, brain injuries are not really what you were talking about but it is tangentially relevant as, in order to contain this 'unruly' new me, I had to learn to put guards in place and check what I was going to say before I said it etc. That sort of personality modification is something that I think many of us go through as we grow up anyway - I just had to do it twice .


I understand how major incidents affect our personalities yes, and yours sounds like a quite deep change.  Would you say your change in personality was a fundamental one or a different external manifestation of what remains the same underlying personality type?  I mean, I wonder at what point these things are set in stone as it were.  Are we born having inherited personality types?  Or do they fix themselves at adulthood?  Your experiences with personality are interesting Suke, thank you. 



Carol said:


> I think of it as being more logical to the point of being Vulcan. I am up front and blunt when dealing with people, and not always good with tact or empathy. Its not that I don't care about people, but it is that I see the logic first. I think people to the opposite of me are more in touch with human beings.


Is that characteristic of your reliance upon strict logic rigidly fixed in you Carol would you say?  

Can we assimilate other, perhaps opposing personality traits into our subconscious personality I wonder?  Or can opposing traits only be superficially added on a conscious level so we are say extroverted at an interview for example?  Can we fundamentally change do you think?

Oh, live long and prosper, btw!


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## Steve (Aug 15, 2011)

I'm ENTJ.  I've taken several of these over the years and always end up the same.


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## Ken Morgan (Aug 15, 2011)

Intp


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## Rich Parsons (Aug 15, 2011)

Jenna said:


> Well that is interesting, while you three Suke, Carol and Rich vary between classifications, nevertheless, your classifications appear to remain within the same subheading. Sorry, I am not for a second attempting to be scientific, rather I find it interesting to know if our personalities can change fundamentally rather than superficially to suit a certain context or in keeping with a certain time of our lives. I wonder can our personality types change fundamentally from one type to an almost opposing type?



Jenna,

As Carol stated it depends upon her mood. Ask the questions about work and you will be one way. Ask them about dating or relationships with partners and it will or could be different, and the same goes when you put kids into the mix. More people are "F" in relationship to kids even if they always tested "T" for all other conditions. 

I know for me, it was that I had an idea and it should be like this. I then realized that life is not exact and it happens and is messy and so I could be frustrated and unhappy or I could adjust or Adapt and learn. I did. I still have enough data points in J that come through to show I like to be on time etcetera, but that I also understand that I can be late for things that are out of my control. 

Thanks


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## Blindside (Aug 15, 2011)

I am either ESTJ or ISTJ, I am pretty borderline on the Extraversion/Introversion and it is heavily dependent on my mood.  I think it is fairly accurate, I have seen the various descriptions focus on managers/administrators and being heavily involved in organizations and that very true for me.


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## Jenna (Aug 15, 2011)

stevebjj said:


> I'm ENTJ. I've taken several of these over the years and always end up the same.


Steve, do you find that in any way reassuring?  Do you think your dominant personality type is now hardwired in you?



Ken Morgan said:


> Intp


Am I right in thinking Ken that this is a personality typing result that you would agree with?  Are these things static and unchangeable do you think?




Rich Parsons said:


> Jenna,
> 
> As Carol stated it depends upon her mood. Ask the questions about work and you will be one way. Ask them about dating or relationships with partners and it will or could be different, and the same goes when you put kids into the mix. More people are "F" in relationship to kids even if they always tested "T" for all other conditions.
> 
> ...


Wow you have a good handle on your personal profiling Rich.  I am impressed.  I wonder though Rich to what extent mood only veils the actual underlying personality?  Do you think there is a way to alter personality at a deep level?




Blindside said:


> I am either ESTJ or ISTJ, I am pretty borderline on the Extraversion/Introversion and it is heavily dependent on my mood. I think it is fairly accurate, I have seen the various descriptions focus on managers/administrators and being heavily involved in organizations and that very true for me.


Yes I think that is one of those personality facets that superficially seem polar opposites.  I guess it is a question of dominance at any particular time. I think if nothing else, varying between E and I types shows a certain ability to alter type at a deeper level.  Do you think this is right?


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## Blindside (Aug 15, 2011)

Jenna said:


> Yes I think that is one of those personality facets that superficially seem polar opposites.  I guess it is a question of dominance at any particular time. I think if nothing else, varying between E and I types shows a certain ability to alter type at a deeper level.  Do you think this is right?



I think it is simply a matter of the various personality types being artificial groupings to provide explanatory value, the map is not the territory.  I answer two questions one way and I am an I, I answer two questions another and I am an E, answering the questions doesn't change who I am only the classification.


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## Rich Parsons (Aug 15, 2011)

Jenna said:


> Wow you have a good handle on your personal profiling Rich. I am impressed. I wonder though Rich to what extent mood only veils the actual underlying personality? Do you think there is a way to alter personality at a deep level?



Yes. 

1) Brain injury
2) Brain Tumour
3) Drugs that make a permanent change in chemical 
4) Drastic changes in your life
a) Death in the family
b) Birth in the family
c) a marriage to someone who makes you want to change your life
d) you decide that what you are doing is not working and you change the habits, and you think about it all the time. When you catch yourself not thinking about it you think about the change you want. Positive thinking sort of.


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## Buka (Aug 15, 2011)

It said I was ISFJ or perhaps IFSP. Who knew? I thought I was just old.


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