This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UCD chapter.
According to themyersbriggs.com, The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is an introspective self report questionnaire indicating differential psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions. I had taken the questionnaire multiple times in the past. The results were always the same, ESTJ. ESTJ stands for extraversion, sensing, thinking, and judging and is categorized in the sentinel category as an executive personality; they are excellent administrators and unsurpassed at managing things or people.
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Recently, as I’ve grown and become more aware of my personality traits, I decided to take the test again. After all, it is a self report questionnaire. The results hadn’t changed too much, but there was one change that drastically differed. My MBTI result had changed to an ENTJ. Although three letters were the same, this new type indicated me as commander in the analyst category. They are bold, imaginative, strong-willed leaders who are always finding a way to achieve their goal, or making a new way to do so. This change shocked me, but I was not surprised. I could see myself identifying with both types, and the only difference was between sensing and intuition.
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So what had changed? The sensing attribute is described to be better at paying attention to physical reality and what is tangible, current, and real. It deals with the practical use of things and learning best when one can see what they are learning. Experience speaks louder than words. On the other hand, intuition, denoted by N, is when one pays the most attention to impressions, or the meanings and patterns of the information one gets. They are more interested in learning new things, and what might be possible, so they think more of the future than the past. This change in psychological preference shocked me as I wasn’t aware that I was doing one or the other. The more I read about the situations, the more I understood.
Although my psychological preference has changed, ENTJ and ESTJs share a number of similar traits. They are both ambitious, outspoken, and power hungry. While it may differ in perception of those in power and the methods to achieve status, I’m glad to know that I am able to realize the difference in preference. I think if I were to take the tests a hundred times over I could get the two personality types interchangeably every time. Maybe I don’t fit into just one category (even though I am a certain way in some attributes). I encourage everyone to try taking their type indicators again – you never know what you might get.
Sandra is a senior at UC Davis who enjoys dancing, cooking, and vlogging. She is currently a statistics and communications double major with a minor in economics. She used to be a writer for the Junior Writer's program at Korea Daily Newspaper, a local Koreatown newspaper in Los Angeles. She has high ambitions with big dreams. You can find her everyday life vlogs and creativity on her Youtube channel, sysandyl and sysandylife.
