Discovering your personality type can be an enlightening experience, and it may even explain why you're inclined toward certain social or professional prospects. Isabel Briggs-Myers and her mother, Katharine Briggs, developed the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator based on four pairs of dichotomies, or mutually exclusive parts of personality.
Extroversion/Introversion
How you relate to the world determines whether you're an extrovert or an introvert. According to Briggs and Briggs-Meyers, an extrovert tends to "focus on the outer world," while an introvert directs attention to an "inner world." An extrovert tends to draw energy from action. Extroverts thrive among other people; you are lively in social situations and eager to broaden your knowledge in professional settings. Introverts, on the other hand, find energy from within; you contemplate on information before putting anything into action. You spend time alone in thoughtful reflection and prefer to spend your time alone, or in isolated social situations.
Sensing/Intuition
Sensing or intuition refers to the way in which you perceive or process incoming information. Jane Kise, management consultant and faculty member of the Center for Application of Psychological Type, describes the disparity between students who utilize sensing instead of intuition by saying, "students with a preference for sensing like to start with factual information before moving to broader concepts. Students with a preference for Intuition often start with a hunch or a glimpse of how two ideas connect, later searching for facts to support their ideas." If you prefer to sense information, you're more likely to trust the messages that you observe to be valid through the utilization of one of your five senses---seeing, touching, hearing, tasting and smelling. You need to have tangible proof in order to verify the information you have received. Conversely, if your tendencies lie in intuition, you're more likely to trust in the discovery of theoretical or abstract data as a way of gathering information. You value your insight and inner awareness above what you physically sense.
Thinking/Feeling
Thinking or feeling refers to how you judge a situation in order to make a rational decision. Thinkers deliberate by using fact-based reasoning; you tend to follow the rules of thought and logic in order to lead you to decision. You analyze and criticize to prove your objective or reject another standpoint. Kise states that students who prefer thinking often enjoy debating, while feeling personalities don't function well in situations where there's dissonance. Feeling students determine circumstances and derive decisions based on how they are going to influence you and others who are involved. You tend to seek approval from others because you don't like to engage in conflict. You're naturally sensitive to the feelings and needs of others.
Judgment/Perception
How you relate to the outside world is based on either a judgment or perception. Briggs and Briggs-Meyers refer to this as the "structure" dichotomy. They say that judgment refers to a personal sense of urgency in making decisions. If you use perception, on the other hand, you don't rush into decisions and remain open to other options. Traits of a judging individual are detail-oriented and deliberate. You focus on a plan of action and accomplish each step before you can move forward. If you prefer the perceiving lifestyle, you like to multitask; you're comfortable with leaving tasks unfinished as you continue toward another assignment. You prefer to have freedom and flexibility, so you avoid commitments and fixed schedules.
