The JP preference

(File Last Modified Fri, Oct 25, 2002.)


The fourth type dimension: (J)Judging / (P)Perceiving

Two attitudes toward living

People with a judging attitude tend to live in an orderly way and are happiest when their lives are structured and matters are settled. They seek to regulate and control life, and like to have issues resolved. People with a perceiving attitude like to live in a spontaneous way and are happiest when their lives are flexible. They like to stay open to all kinds of possibilities and seek to understand life rather than control it.

Example 1: the issue of closure

An important distinction between Judgers and Perceivers is the issue of closure. Judgers experience tension until closure is reached and are constantly drawn toward making a decision. Perceivers, on the other hand, experience tension when they are forced to make a decision; they avoid closure and prefer to keep their options open.

Let's say a Judger and a Perceiver both receive a brochure announcing an upcoming conference that is to take place in four months. The Judger is likely to do one of the following: 1) Throw the brochure away because she went last year or already has a prior commitment; 2) Fill out the application, write out the check to cover the registration fee, and send them in; or 3) Pass the brochure along to someone else who might be interested. The Judger makes a decision and gets the brochure off her desk.

The Perceiver is the same situation is likely to behave differently. First of all, four months into the future is a long time from now. Recognizing that a lot could happen between now and then, the Perceiver believes it's too soon to make a decision. She files the brochure into her stack of papers. The brochure is apt to get lost in the pile, only to be discovered after the deadline. The Perceiver doesn't make a decision, so the brochure hangs around on her desk until the time for decision making has passed.

Example 2: get things done or leave options open

Jeff and Amy decided it was time to finally get in shape, so they went together to the sporting goods store to buy a bicycle. Jeff, a Perceiver, found a salesman, and over the next half hour asked him about a hundred questions. He wasn't sure which bike was best for him, and he was troubled by the store's return policy (you could only return for store credit). Jeff finally left, saying he'd have to think over. On the way home, he stopped at two other stores to ``get a little more information''.

Amy, a Judger, looked over all the bikes on display for a few minutes, then found a salesman and asked, ``Which bike do you recommend?'' When the salesman showed her the store's top selling bike, she said, ``Fine, I'll take it''.

Example 3: the attitude toward time constraint

Irene and Suzanne were assigned to co-train a one-day management development program. Each of them had conducted this program individually many times before, but this was the first time they had worked together. They divided up the program into two parts: Irene, a Perceiver, was to start the program at 8:00 and conduct a 30-minute introduction; then Suzanne, a Judger, would present the first section until the morning break at 10:00.

At 8:00, 7 of the 25 participants had not arrived. Suzanne wanted to get started anyway, but Irene opted to wait until all were present, which took 15 minutes. During Irene's introduction, several people had questions. Suzanne diplomatically tried to interject that many questions would be answered as the day progressed, but Irene decided it was important to address them at that moment. By the time Irene finished, it was 9:00, which meant Suzanne had only one hour for her 90-minute presentation. She raced through her presentation, barely covering all the necessary information, and ended the segment feeling disorganized and very stressed.

Suzanne accused Irene of having poor time-management skills and said she'd acted irresponsibly. She felt that it had been ridiculous to make 18 people who had come on time wait for 7 who hadn't, and that rushing through her notes had make her look ridiculous. She resented the fact that all of her careful planning had been ruined for no good reason.

Irene felt that Suzanne was overreacting and was being too rigid. She thought it was entirely appropriate to wait for the missing third. Moreover, she regarded interruptions as a typical and often necessary part of the program. Irene didn't appreciate the fact that Suzanne had tried to cut her answers short, and said she felt that Suzanne had undercut her authority in front of the group.

the JP preference summary

Everyone uses both Judging and Perceiving in daily life, no one behaves strictly one way or the other. It's good to seek a balance of Judging and Perceiving, since Judgers run the risk of becoming rigid, dogmatic, and inflexible, and Perceivers run the risk of leaving things open-ended to the point that they procrastinate their lives away.

Judging types:

    * Are happiest after decisions have been make
    * Have a "work ethic": 
      work first, play later
    * Set goals and work toward achieving them on time
    * Prefer knowing what they are getting into
    * Are product oriented 
      (emphasis is on completing the task)
    * Derive satisfaction from finishing projects.
    * See time as a finite resource 
      and take deadline seriously

Perceiving types:

    * Are happiest leaving their options open
    * Have a "play ethic": play first, 
      finish the job later
    * Changing goals as new information becomes available
    * Like adapting to new situations
    * Are process oriented 
      (emphasis is on how the task is completed)
    * Derive satisfaction from starting projects.
    * See time as a renewable resource and 
      see deadlines as elastic

Build 30. Apr 12, 2003


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The JP preference