Read through the following descriptions of each characteristic and see which sounds more like your
preference.
| The first major way in which people differ is in how they
gather and spend energy: |
E=Extraverts (75%)
- Gather and spend
energy in the outside
world of other people
and activities.
- Act first, think later
- Breadth of interests
- Easy to get to know.
|
I=Introverts (25%)
- Gather and spend energy
in their own inner world
of ideas and feelings.
- Think first, act later
- Depth of interests
- Hard to get to know.
|
| The second major area of difference is the kinds of
information people consider important: |
S=Sensors (75%)
- Detail oriented
- Trust the here and now.
- Listen to their senses.
- "If it ain't broke, don't fix
it"
|
N=Intuiters (25%)
- "Big Picture" oriented.
- Interested in the
possibilities.
- Listen to hunches.
- "Anything can be
improved"
|
| The third way people differ is in how they make
decisions: |
T=Thinkers (50%)
- Concerned with justice,
fairness, and right/wrong
- Stick with objective.
- Bottom line oriented.
|
F=Feelers (50%)
- Concerned with caring,
compassion, and
empathy.
- Open to subjective.
- Human cost oriented.
|
| The last area of difference measured by the MBTI is in
how people like to live their life: |
J=Judgers (50%)
- Being decided feels
comfortable.
- New opportunities lost
to plan.
- Reliable, constant,
routine.
|
P=Perceivers (50%)
- Being decided feels
constricting.
- Plan lost to new
opportunities.
- Flexible, spontaneous,
fickle.
|
| In addition, these preferences can be combined to point out differences among smaller groups of people. One pairing
involves your preferences for handling energy and attention. |
| If you are an introverted sensor (IS), you are likely to view
knowledge as important for establishing the truth-which
could lead to an interest in compliance (19%). |
If you are an introverted intuiter (IN), you probably view
knowledge as important for its own sake-which might
suggest an interest in academics (6%). |
| If you are an extroverted sensor (ES), you might see
knowledge as most important for practical use-suggesting
an interest in pragmatic areas (56%). |
If you are an extroverted intuiter (EN), you could see
knowledge as important for changing things-possibly
leading to an interest in innovation (19%). |
| Another combination that it might be helpful to explore involves how you take in information and use it to make decisions. |
| If you are a sensing thinker (ST), you are probably viewed as
practical and matter of fact. You might want to explore
careers in business, technical, practical, skeptical, and
down-to-earth areas (37.5%). |
If you are a sensing feeler (SF), you are probably viewed
as sociable and friendly. You might want to explore
careers that allow you to focus on people and social
activities (37.5%). |
| If you are an intuiting thinker (NT), you are probably viewed
as intellectual and ingenious. You might want to explore
careers that are theoretical, intellectual, or scientific (12.5%). |
If you are an intuiting feeler (NF), you are probably
viewed as enthusiastic and insightful. You might enjoy
areas that call for communication, creativity,
imagination, subjectivity, and humane actions (12.5%). |
