Sunday, April 28, 2013

Myers-Briggs Chart

This is a very good high level chart to describe MBTIs.  For each color, most people tend to favor the left or right side.  This doesn't replace an MBTI test but it can help.

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Cognitive Functions

This topic is actually very important once you have discovered what your MBTI is.  I will use, surprise surprise, my INTJ personality type as an example for this article but please look up your own information to learn more about yourself.  We've covered what each of the letters means and how it shapes your thinking about the world already.  Now, let's discuss the default behavioral pattern hierarchy derived from the MBTI.

There is an order of behavioral preference or default role in which a person will be most comfortable based on personality type.  The order is defined (from most comfortable to least):
  • Dominant - the dominant information gathering function (Sensing or iNtuition)
  • Auxiliary - the decision making function (Thinking or Feeling)
  • Tertiary - usually develops more with age
  • Inferior - the least developed function, often viewed as the most problematic personality trait
Note: I will leave shadow functions for another discussion.

The INTJ cognitive functions are:
OrderFunctionRoleDescription
DominantIntroverted iNtuition (Ni)LeadingGreat at synthesizing complex data, foreseeing implications, attracted to symbolic actions or devices
AuxiliaryExtraverted Thinking (Te)SupportingEfficient, organized, productive, seeks logical explanations for events, searches for faulty reasoning, good at breaking down a complex task into smaller/manageable pieces
TertiaryIntroverted Feeling (Fi)ReliefValues such as harmony and authenticity, senses what is true vs. false, used to judge worth based on sometimes intangible criteria
InferiorExtraverted Sensing (Se)AspirationalFocuses on immediate and physical world experiences and sensations. Awareness of present surroundings. May lead to spontaneous action.

As can be extrapolated from above, INTJs tend to love big, complex problems to solve and like breaking down the problem to be solved in an efficient manner.  Nothing makes me more happy at work than to have to sit down for days or weeks to solve such a problem in an uninterrupted manner.  Luckily, many work places value this drive to solve hard problems and need to see the solution to fruition if the right position for the INTJ can be found.  I would likely be fired from a sales or marketing job (sensing and feeling oriented jobs) but engineering and science is very natural to me.

Each personality type has a cognitive function breakdown.  I encourage you to look yours up and understand yet another piece of your own needs, drive and goals.

This article is actually quite good in describing INTJ cognitive functions even though it is a comparison with another type:
http://psyphics.wordpress.com/2012/10/13/infj-vs-intj-part-1/