People and personalities
Introduction
Since the cradle of mankind, the human race has always
had the desire to classify themselves. This notion started as a
transformational implement that was vital in bringing together a wide range of
facts and ideologies into a common concept. However, contemporary society views
this differently. The human race is interested in creating cohorts that have
led to personalities that identify them.
Through the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), people
can be matched with their respective personalities. These personalities are
categorized into four main classes. The participants of the tests can either
fall into the introverted or extraverted class, intuitive or sensory group,
perceiving or judging set, and feeling or thinking cohort. From these four
categories, sixteen possible personalities can be arrived at. Also, these
categories can identify and categorize introverts as individuals who engage
personal thoughts and activities by focusing their energies inwards. Another
possible personality can be those that are intuitive. These individuals are
critical thinkers who prefer to look for solutions to problems. Feelers belong
to those who prefer to use their values and emotions to consider the feelings
of others. Lastly, judgers are those who prefer planning before undertaking a
task. The purpose of this report is to ascertain whether the MBTI test
accurately identifies personality traits that are useful in my profession. The
report will also show various aspects of learning that are useful to a student.
Further, the report will give possible careers that I might be suited as well
as communication strategies that are essential to a student and a growing
professional. The ethical use of this MBTI is to identify individuals using
traits that describe their personalities. However, this tool can have
inconsistencies as a result of influence from third-parties during tests.
Hypothesis
From all the sixteen possible results, I predicted that I
would fall under the INFJ or Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling Judger. This was
owed to the fact that I focus much on personal activities and thoughts as well
as have a preference of having a critical perception of issues. I also become
emotional when dealing with issues that affect other people and prefer having a
plan before solving daily problems. In an ideal educational perspective, I
would prefer falling under the ENFJ or Extraverted, Intuitive, Feeling and
Judging personality trait. This would be helpful to my education and career
path because it resonates with protagonists who have the desire and urge to
help others using their strong ideas and values. People who fall in this
category tend to have creativity and vigor to achieve their goals. Previously,
I have undertaken personality tests twice. My first test identified me as an
ENFJ while the second one labeled me an INFJ. This shows that people are
capable of undergoing personality transformations.
Methods
Before experimenting, I did a background study on the
MBTI personality test. My research was limited to the basics of the test
because I did not want to influence my responses to the test questions. I later
accessed a free website that provided an unpaid test tool. The questions needed
four types of responses that included “YES”, “yes”, “tentative”, “NO” and “no”.
The responses in the capital and small letters represented strong answers and
week responses respectively. Tentative represented neutral answers. For
instance, “YES” was for a strong agreement while “no” represented a weak
disagreement. The test took approximately fifteen minutes upon which I was
given results based on my responses.
Results
The overall outcome of the test identified me as an
Introvert, Intuitive, Feeling and Judging (INFJ) person. From the results in
each category, I came out as a person with a minor preference of introversion
(15%), a reasonable inclination for intuition (36%), an average preference of
feeling (46%) and a very small inclination for judging (10%). Usual INFJ traits
include cynicism, individuality, self-confidence, compassion and
insightfulness. This personality type is also associated with people who can
quickly read and create a rapport with others. The personality type tends to be
common in careers such as humanitarians, health workers, teachers and
psychiatrists.
Discussion
Initially, the outcomes of the tests seemed to match my
anticipation. Nevertheless, I assumed that I would have a preference for all
the traits that I had imagined. Ideally, this was not the case. For instance,
there was a distinction between judging and having a perception. In my initial
test as a kid, I was not good at expressing myself. However, the second test
proved that I had developed a talent for language and was quite good at
expressing myself. I also realized that I had a vivid inner life, but was also
hesitant to share it with others with an exception of close individuals. The most
recent test also proved that I am sensitive and can become a good leader in my
field of specialization.
Conclusion
Before getting involved in this assignment, I did not
expect to learn much on personality traits. From my initial test, I was also
not expecting the transformation of my [personality. However, I learned a lot
about myself as a result of comparisons made with the previous test. I also
noted that personality tests are supposed to be given a leisureliness. We are
not supposed to be serious and curious about ourselves and categories we might
fall under. If taken seriously, there might arise some form of bias that may
lead to unwanted consequences.