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Personality Type Instruments

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These instruments look at one’s preferences in terms of: lifestyle, source of energy, and decision making style. The combination of these preferences makes up specific personalities and gives information about one’s work style preferences. There are also implications for leadership/management style, etc. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) MBTI is the most commonly used personality-based assessment instrument. It was developed based on the Swiss psychologist, Carl Jung’s theory of preferences and type development. The instrument itself addresses an individual’s preference for four personality traits. Preferred source of energy. Indicates how the individual views the world around him/her and whether they are energized by others and their outer surroundings or prefer to address the inner world of ideas and concepts. Preferred way of taking in information. Indicates how the individual takes in data or information. This can be either through the concrete method of sensing or the more abstract method of intuition. Differences between individuals in this area can create significant problems regarding how reality is viewed and consequently how individuals view each other. Preferred way of making decisions. It indicates how information is used by the individual in making decisions. The more logical and objective method is referred to as the thinking function and is preferred by 60% of males. The more value related and subjective method is referred to as feeling and is preferred by 60% of women. These differences can create significant communication difficulties at home and work. Preferred way of operating in the outside world. The judging/perceiving attitudes indicate how an individual organizes and operates in the outside world. This is usually the easiest one to spot if you are type watching. The judging type will be systematic and decisive, while the perceiving type will be random and open-ended. Differences in the way we conduct our outer lives can be quite annoying to those of the opposite attitude and need to be understood These preferences make up a theme of behaviors or patterns, otherwise known as "personality". NOTE: In order to take this instrument, you would need to contact a career counselor or career center. Other Personality Type Instruments Below are some personality type instruments available on-line. Note: Please realize that these shorter version of the instrument may give an incomplete description of your type. You may contact a career center, or a college/university career center in order to take the MBTI and have it interpreted for you. Personalitytype.com http://www.personalitytype.com This belongs to authors Paul Tieger and Barbara Barron-Tieger, who wrote: Do What You Are and The Art of Speedreading People: How to Size People Up and Speak Their Language The Keirsey Character Sorter/The Keirsey Temperament Sorter http://www.keirsey.com Kirsey has a more extensive but also more complicated site. It has explanations of Personality Type, and lengthy descriptions of the various temperaments. It has two interactive tests/sorters: the Keirsey Character Sorter (which is newer and more complete), and the Keirsey Temperament Sorter (which is online in several languages – English, Spanish, Portuguese and German, currently). The site is interactive, and once you've answered its questions, it gives its results to you in Myers-Briggs Personality Type language ("you are an ENFP")