Each of the four letters of the MBTI gives your personality's preferences.
It's important to realize that no combination is better than the other.
It's like putting your shoes on in the morning. Have you noticed that
people tend to put either their left shoe or their right shoe on first?
There's nothing morally wrong or intellectually inferior in the choice.
We're very capable of putting on the shoes in either order, but we have
a natural inclination to start with a particular shoe.
MBTI personality types are the same, in that there is no wrong type.
We can all work outside our preferences, but it is our proclivity that
is our true MBTI. The MBTI shows your preferences in four areas.
Like the scales of a balance, regardless of how close each side is in
weight, the scales will tip in one or the other direction. Therefore,
for each area, there are two letters to indicate which way the scales
tipped for that personality. This gives 16 possible letter combinations,
or the 16 personality types. Here are the four scales:
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Attention and Energy: the E/I Scale
The Extroversion/Introversion scale describes where you like to focus your attention,
or from where you derive energy. There is an inner world and an outer world, and we
all use both. However, we all have a preference for one world over the other.
"E" people focus on the outer world of people and things, and considered extroverts.
"I" people focus on the inner world of ideas and thoughts, and are considered introverts.
The extrovert will be energized by contact with other people, but a crowd will drain an
introvert of energy.
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Views and Information Gathering: the S/N Scale
The Sensing/Intuition scale describes how you view things and how you acquire information.
"S" people are sensate (using the five senses), and think in concrete terms and are called
sensing. "N" people see the abstract meanings, relationships, and think in terms of
possibilities and are called intuitive. The sensing type will see the trees, but the
intuitive type will see the forest. The sensing type thinks more in terms of here and
now, while the intuitive type is comfortable thinking of the future and abstractions.
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Decisions Style: the T/F Scale
The Thinking/Feeling scale describes how you prefer to make decisions. "T" people prefer
thinking and using logic. "F" people prefer feeling or consider how the decision will
make others feel. The feeling type will make a decision based on their value system and
what they believe is right. The thinker will make a decision based on an impartial and
rational predefined rules. We all use both modes for making decisions, but we tend to
put more trust into one method over the other. Decisions that we find the most difficult
are those where our thinking and feeling are in conflict.
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Outward Orientation: the J/P Scale
The Judgement/Perception scale describes how you relate to the outside world. The "J"
person wants their world to be neat, orderly, and stable. The "P" person prefers a
flexible and spontaneous world. We are judge mode when we make a list of things to
do, schedule something, make an evaluation, or bring an issue to closure. We are
perceiving when we make decisions as we work rather than planning ahead, act
spontaneously, or postpone a decision to see what other options become available.
The "J" preference is both a weakness and a strength: they can come to quick decisions,
but they can be made too quickly before all the information is available. The "P"
preference is also a double-edge sword: They can avoid a hasty decision, but are
often paralyzed by indecision. If J and P types are aware of their differences,
they can complement each other. However, if J and P types do not appreciate or
work with the other type, the conflict can be severe.
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