The MBTI Personality Test

So, I really like personality tests. I just think they are fun but also I think they are a great reminder that we are all different and that is ok. This world is awesome because it is filled with differences. Every year my student staff takes the following personality test and then we discuss it. I thought I would share with you what I teach and discuss with them.

First: Take the test here: MBTI - Myers Briggs Test
The outcome of the test can sometimes be different if you take it multiple times, that's ok. Sometimes your results are different when you take the test at work and then at home or it changes over the years as you change and grow. I have been ENFJ, ENTJ, ISFJ and INFJ over a span of 8 years and taking the test four times. The older I get the more introvert I become.

p.s. If you get "J" for Judging, that is not a bad thing. The first time I took the test as a student and I got "judging," I was mortified and kept trying to retake the test to get a different answer but I kept getting "J." I'll explain what it means below.

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What do each of the letters mean:

E and I: Extraverts and Introverts
E - Sociable, Energized through interactions with others, Need to express their thoughts, and turn their attention outward. Extraverts are interactors and "on the fly" thinkers. Their motto is: Ready. Fire. Aim.
I - Prefer privacy, more likely to listen to others, may only tell trusted people what they really think or feel. Introverts can be sociable but need quiet to recharge their batteries. Introverts want to understand the world and tend to be concentrators and reflective thinkers.

 

S and N: Sensors and iNtuitive
S - Practical, Detail Oriented, Realistic
Sensors tend to rely on their five senses. They are detailed oriented, want facts and trust them. They are practical (being grounded is what is natural), like details (there is satisfaction from taking care of all the little things) and are realistic (they are in tune with the reality of the situation they find themselves in).
N - Innovative, Big Picture, Imaginative
Intuitives like to seek out patterns and relationships among the facts they have gathered. They trust hunches and their intuition and look for the "big picture." Because they are focused on the "Big Picture" details are often missed or ignored. Ns more commonly can't remember where they parked their car because they were too busy thinking of their "mission." If Ns are asked to describe a picture shown to them, they will tell you a little about the subject but then they will use their imagination to tell you what might have happened next or something imagined about the relationships of the people in the picture.

Fun Fact: Albert Einstein was a "N." He had a fanciful thought process with his experiments; he could see patterns where others saw randomness and chaos.

F and T: Feeling and Thinker
F - Personable, Value Harmony, Energized through appreciation and encouragement.
Feelers focus on human values and needs as they make decisions. They tend to be good at persuasion and facilitating difference among group members. Fs are more likely to wear their heart on their sleeve, however, if they are an introvert they will not open up with sharing their feelings with just anyone.
T - Value Fairness, logical, not likely to show emotions.
Thinkers like to make decisions based on analysis, logic and principle. Thinkers value fairness. In school, thinkers like clear course and topic objectives. Thinkers of course feel emotion but do no like to show it, it can even be embarrassing when emotion comes out.

J and P: Judging and Perceptive
J - Planners, goal oriented, likes deadlines, tend to literally know what time it is.
Judgers are decisive, planners and self regimented. They focus on the task and only want to know the essentials and take action quickly. Deadlines are sacred. If a teacher at school extended a due date for a project on the day it was originally due, Js are typically annoyed by this action.
P - Curious, Adaptable, Spontaneous, Laid Back
Perceivers usually start many tasks, want to know everything about the task, and often find it difficult to complete a task. Deadlines are meant to be stretched. Percievers often postpone doing an assignment until the very last minute. They are not lazy, quite the contrary; they seek information to the very last minute.

Teaching it to my student workers:

Observing a Picture with Ss and Ns:
I split the room in half and had the Ss sit on one side and Ns on the other. I then showed them this image for 30 seconds and asked them only to observe it. Once the 30 seconds was over I then had them take another 30 seconds to write down what they saw and then we shared our findings with the class.
Ss listed the following things found: butterfly, drain pipe, bee/insect thing, etc.
Ns listed the following things found: summer day, red butterfly, bee flying off to go get pollen or something.

J and P planning a trip to Disneyland
This exercise is by far my most favorite of the entire discussion because their personalities come bursting out and it truly shows the difference between the two groups. I split the class up into Js and Ps and then have each of those groups split up into sub groups of 4-7. My student staff is usually dominated by Js every year and so usually I have one, maybe two, groups of Ps and then about 7 groups of Js. I then give them 5 minutes to plan a trip to Disneyland. I have to keep myself from laughing while I observe these 5 minutes because its so "typical." The Ps just sit casually and look as if they are just lounging and having a casual conversation and then the Js are talking quickly and excitedly to get in all they have to say before the time is up and they usually have a pen and paper out taking notes as they discuss.

When the time is up I ask each group to share the trip they have planned. The Ps are very vague in their details and usually share things like, "go to Disneyland, stay at a hotel, ride the rides we want to ride, maybe go to the beach one day," etc. The Js have the trip planned out to a T; they know exactly how they will get to Disneyland, where they will be staying, what exact days they'll go to the park, which rides they will ride first, which rides they'll get fast passes to, which days they'll take a break and go to the beach, and sometimes even which parades or shows they will attend and what foods they'll have to make time to eat.

This year one of my P groups plan was to take a train from Salt Lake to San Francisco, because it sounded like fun, and then they would just figure out how to get to Anaheim from there. I thought my Js were all going to have a heart attack.

The discussion:

The discussion is usually just about 4-5 questions I have for them but it usually last about 45 minutes, at least, as they all share their thoughts and opinions. I start out by asking them, "why do we take personality test," and they spend a lot of time talking about how it is important to recognizing the difference in others, to not let it upset you when someone works differently than you, and to see them as strengths, etc.

I take some time to talk to the about not using their "personality traits" as an excuse. For example, just because you are P, it doesn't mean it is ok to disregard deadlines and let others down. Or just because you are an I it doesn't mean you don't know how to public speak. We can all work on our traits and still use them to our advantage.

We also talk about how we can use this information to better work as a team and to better serve the new students we help throughout the summer. The great thing is, they do all the talking and do an amazing job at teaching each other.

All of my information has been found from Common Careers for Personality Types, Wilson's Newer Views of Learning, Master Teacher Program: Learning Personalities and the book Just Your Type by Paul D. Tieger and Barbara Barron-Tieger.