The Theory of Personality Type

(File Last Modified Fri, Apr 11, 2003.)


Introduction to Type

For people who are trying to figure out who we are and what we need to do in life, or recognizing that deeper meaning lies beyond what we've already accomplished, knowing your personality type was essential to understanding yourself. It helps you to become aware of your greatest strengths, your opportunities to live them out, and your ability to make the most of your unique potential.

Our personality are inborn

Each one of us has a distinct personality, like an innate blueprint that stays with us for life. We are born with a personality type, we go through life with that type, and when we are laid to rest, it is with the same type. It is perfectly normal that people change behavior in certain situations, but the situation doesn't influence one's personality type.

Do we change our behavior in certain situations? Certainly! We act differently at work than we do at home, and it makes a difference whether we're with strangers, close friends, at a ball park, or at a funeral. In fact, we couldn't function very successfully if we didn't have a tremendous repertoire of behaviors available. Although environmental factors are extremely important, people don't change their basic personalities with every new door they walk through.

A brief history of type

The concept of Type owes its existence to the work of Swiss psychologist Carl Jung and two American women, Katharine Briggs and her daughter, Isabel Briggs Myers. During the 1950s, Katharine Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers used Jung's work as a foundation for their own research. Their collaboration with carer counselors and college placement officers resulted in a personality inventory now administered annually to two million people, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).

The MBTI establishes criteria for what are sixteen different psychological types--sixteen basic patterns for approaching the world. All deal with normal psychological behavior. Type does not determine intelligence or predict success, nor does it indicate how well-adjusted anyone will be. It shows how the various mental processes we have as human beings combine to make up different ways of understanding reality. Therefore it helps us discover what best motivates and energizes each of us as individuals.

How to determine your personality type

One way to determine your personality type is to take the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) assessment and have the results interpreted by a trained professional. However, one can not do this outside of a professional counselling relationship. Alternatively, you can discover your type by reading through the following pages.

The four dimensions of personality type

The type system of personality has four basic dimensions, each of which is classified into two categories:

    Dimension 1: (E) Extraversion -- (I) Introversion

This dimension concerns how we interact with the world and where we direct our energy. Extraversion relates more easily to the world of people and things outside us. Introversion relates more easily to ideas and concepts in our mind.

    Dimension 2: (S) Sensing      -- (N) iNtuition

This dimension concerns the kind of information we naturally notice. Sensing uses five senses to show what exists in the present; intuition uses imagination to see new possibilities and insights.

    Dimension 3: (T) Thinking     -- (F) Feeling

This dimension concerns the way in which we make decisions and come to conclusions. Thinking bases decisions on impersonal analysis and logic; feeling bases decisions on personal feelings and values.

    Dimension 4: (J) Judging      -- (P) Perceiving

This dimension concerns whether we prefer to live in a more structured way (making decisions) or in a more spontaneous way (taking in information). Judging likes to have things decided, planned, and orderly; perceiving likes to be spontaneous, flexible, open to all possibilities.

Build 30. Apr 12, 2003


  *  Home
  *  Introduction

Discover your personality type
  *  EI preference
  *  SN preference
  *  TF preference
  *  JP preference

  *  Type Description

More about type theory
  *  Function
  *  Evolution
  *  Scrutiny


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The Theory of Personality Type