“Google ‘sixteen personalities’ and click the first link!” is the sentence I’ve said most in my life, and here I am saying it again. You might have taken the Myers Briggs Personality Test in your Grade 10 Careers course or a situation having to do with employment, and this is because it’s a great way to determine how interpersonal relationships will develop between group members in a collaborative setting. Though this test is a great personality assessment tool, it also opens doors to an incredibly deep level of self-reflection and growth. My research on the psychology it’s based on has just been for fun in my own time, but it has truly changed my life. Let’s explore some basics, so you can start your own Myers Briggs journey!
How does it work?
The test assigns each individual one of sixteen archetypes, which have to do with your unique cognitive “stack”, i.e., your eight cognitive functions ordered by most used and inherent preference. Once you complete the fifteen-minute survey, you’ll receive a four-letter code that determines your archetype. Each letter is one of two variables, and the variable you receive denotes your preference. Don’t let the word “variable” scare you (I hate math), it’s not super complicated!
First slot: I (introverted) or E (extroverted). This one is fairly simple: Where do your draw your energy from? Being alone or with others? It’s important to remember that no person is completely introverted or extroverted, and that’s why your results might say something like “75% extrovert, 25% introvert.” This is why these are preferences: we have all the cognitive functions and use them interchangeably, it’s just that we prefer one or the other.
Second slot: S (sensing) or N (intuitive). Sensing individuals are detail-oriented and collect facts before making decisions or coming to conclusions. Intuitives are big picture first, small details second, and see the forest before observing individual trees.
Third slot: F (feeling) or T (thinking). This one is simple again: Do you make decisions with your head or your heart? Are you more likely to rely on what you feel or do you prefer logic and reason?
Fourth Slot: J (judging) or P (prospecting). This one boils down to how much of a planner you are. Judgers are meticulous and like to plan and organize, while prospectors are more likely to go with the flow. Fans of the Big Five Personality Test can note that this variable is related to your level of Conscientiousness!
For example, I am an INFP (introverted, intuitive, feeling, prospecting). These are the basics of the Myers Briggs Test and are a great place to start. Each archetype will come with a super detailed list of results that explains how you might deal with life in terms of friendships, romantic relationships, and workplace settings. What’s really cool, though, is when we use these letters to determine our cognitive stacks. A quick Google search shows that the three top cognitive functions for INFPs are Introverted Feeling (Fi), Extroverted Intuition (Ne) and Introverted Sensing (Si). These cognitive functions will dive into the way you process information and how you can develop weak areas.
Where does it come from?
The Myers Briggs Personality Test was created by Isabel Myers and Katharine Briggs, a mother-daughter duo who interpreted the personality psychology of Carl Jung and made it accessible for non-experts like us. Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist who is recognized as the founder of analytical psychology, and was active in the field during the early to mid 1900s.
Why Take it?
It is important to remember that archetype psychology allows for a high degree of variation: if your results look something like 51% Extroverted and 49% Introverted, there’s a good chance you might have to spend some time thinking and decide for yourself which tendency you prefer. When you take the test, do your best to zoom out of your day-to-day: this is an assessment of your cognitive functions across your entire life. If you’re not happy with your results on Myers Briggs, I usually recommend this test, http://keys2cognition.com/ , where the questions are a bit different and the results are a little more open to interpretation. The high degree of variation and the possibility of change over time is what makes this test effective and valid—it’s not just a type that predetermines your every thought and action. Rather, it’s a tool that identifies the way you come to conclusions and perform actions, allowing for the possibility that this may change over time.
Properly understanding how the test works will help you to understand yourself better, and help you to answer questions about your failures and successes. Maybe there are some people in your life you just can’t get along with—what if this is because they’re of an archetype that you’re fairly incompatible with? Furthermore, what if you can understand this incompatibility and overcome it through personal development? How cool would that be! This branch of Jungian pychology becomes the equivalent of seeing yourself as a malleable puzzle piece in the puzzle of your family, team, and community. Everything is possible in terms of self-growth once you truly understand who you are and why you behave the way that you do.
Further Reading
If you are looking for more, here are a couple of great resources!
The Myers Briggs Personality Test, and the lesser known but better supported by research version.
The Undiscovered Self – an essay by Jung which assesses the relationship between the individual and society.
A list of each type’s cognitive stack.
Compatibility Web creator – a fun site that lets you assess the compatibilities between any number of people based on their type.
Man’s task is to become conscious of the contents that press upward from the unconscious. -Carl Jung
https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/carl-jung-quotes