Name: Elayna Sams
Grad year: 2017
Major: Physics
What is the Myers Briggs personality typing/How does it work?
Personality typing is a way to understand people and help people understand themselves. It is based on the way that people are naturally inclined in how they perceive the world around them and make decisions, and therefore typing can be used in many areas of life. There’s a whole field of study dedicated to it called typology. The basics are that there are four letters with two options for each, giving a total of 16 combinations for the different types. The first letter is where your energy comes from: outside yourself (extroversion [E]) or inside yourself (introversion [I]). Next is how you take in information: through observation of details (sensing [S]) or through noticing patterns (intuition [N]). The third letter has to do with decision-making: subjectively with personal or other’s well being taking precedence (feeling [F]) objectively, using facts and principles (thinking [T]). The last one has to do with how structured you like your environment. If you like structure and plans, you have a J (judging), if being open to new options and going with the flow is for you, you have a P (perceiving). Don’t take too much from just the names though, they are deceptive and can lead to inaccurate interpretations. Being feeling doesn’t mean every decision you make is based on your personal feelings, and just because the last letter in your type is a J does not mean you’re a judgmental person!
What type are you and what does that mean?
My type is ENTP, often titled “the Inventor” or “Mad Scientist”. Reading the letters gives a combination describing the basics of how I think and act: I am extroverted, look at the world intuitively, make decisions through thinking, and am “perceiving” in that I am easy going and bad at detailed planning. But that’s not the whole story. Personality types have been fleshed out by the compiling of data and research done over many years and there are whole profiles on each type to be read. My favorite description of my own type comes from 16personalities.com, the first sentence states that my type is “the ultimate devil’s advocate”. And it’s true! I love seeing all sides of a situation and being objective about things (thinking) and I can use my ability to notice patterns (intuitive) to find the best argument for something. The pieces of who I am come together and show themselves in my traits of being enthusiastic about learning a wide variety of subjects, being able to absorb information quickly and efficiently, as well as becoming bored easily.
How accurate are the types and would you say you identify yourself closely with the results of the test?
When I first took the test a few years ago, I thought it was ridiculous and thought that I couldn’t be typed. I then came back to it later with the mindset that it is simply a way to categorize the way people think and respond in situations. Of course it is never 100% accurate because individuals all have unique life experiences that can and will influence how they act. This is why types are considered similar to left and right-handedness: there are strong natural preferences, but the different ways of thinking can be cultivated over time. I now use my knowledge of my type to be able to learn more about myself in terms of weaknesses and strengths. The profiles are always great resources for adjectives about myself to use in resumes too!
Are there clear truths and trends?
The patterns are undeniable when you start to identify types in people you interact with on a daily basis. People who think a certain way often end up in a certain position: the combination of N and T tends to show up in the scientific field because of the natural inclination to view things objectively and find patterns in life. People who have an ability to make and follow of rules and are skilled at management, and are hence can be found in positions of leadership in business, can often be typed as having the SJ pairing. What is truly fascinating to me is when you find a person who seemingly breaks these trends by doing something, that at first glance doesn’t sound like it would match what they type as. However, there is always an underlying motivation for that person’s passion that is driven by the way they think.
How do you use this knowledge within relationships?
Knowing my friends types really helps me be able to understand them in a new way. Sometimes I find that I can help them through their problems better because I have an idea of how they might be thinking about a situation. Learning about my own type in relation to others helps me be able to see where problems could arise from viewing the world differently. My argumentative nature can be especially abrasive to people who may tend to take things at face value and would think I was being rude, and realizing that lets me be able to bring new ideas to the table in a way that they can relate to and not be hurt by.
Why should people take the test/know their personality type?
The most convincing reason I can think of is for fun. Sometimes I read my personality profile just to be reminded of what my strengths are and how good I am at some things. It’s pure narcissism, really. For someone wanting to learn about how others see them or how they can be better understood, type profiles are an easy way to get that information. I love being able to have people “describe themselves” in just four letters. How efficient!
How has it applied in real life experiences?
I ask people all the time what their type is. I use what I may know about their type to be able to tell better jokes, to be honest. I love to try and refine my humor for the people I’m with at the time, and it’s fun to try out a joke of a particular topic that may align with the person’s interests. There are also whole websites dedicated to personality-themed jokes. Here’s one for INTJ’s, renowned for being notorious planners and always being right: Why did the INTJ cross the road? It’s all a part of the plan.
Something unique/people often don’t know about it?
Personality typing is not the same as horoscopes. You can’t use it to determine who you should marry or what you will do today, but it can provide useful information about people and their motivations.
Anything else you’d like to add?
I love my type and I really think I’ve gotten to know myself better after learning more about Myers-Briggs test and the different types. I would recommend this test for anyone wanting to know his or her type.