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Psychological Type - ESFJ
Having always considered myself an
introvert of sorts, I was quite surprised by the results of my Meyers-Briggs
psychological type test. It declared firmly, even after a devious retake, that
I was an extrovert. Still unconvinced, I compared the learning and thinking
styles of introverts against those of extroverts. I found myself falling
somewhere in between the two, identifying strongly with some aspects of one
side, but also seeing myself in characteristics of the other. I compared the
rest of my psychological characteristics in the same way and, when comparing the
judging and perceptive types, I fell again into an ambiguous middle ground. When comparing sensing to intuition and thinking to feeling,
however, I identified much more strongly with one side than the other.
From these comparisons, I was able to draw a more complete and concrete image of
myself as a learner.
In the first categorization of
extrovert or introvert, I immediately recognized myself in the extrovert, with
her need to discuss the topic when confronted with writer’s block. I use this
technique every time I write a long paper. However, like the introvert, I also
follow the “prewriting-writing-rewriting pattern” (Course Packet 137): I always
furiously brainstorm and plan out the structure of my writing before I start.
From my results on the Meyers-Briggs test I was ranked as a “slightly expressed
extrovert,” so my extrovert tendencies are not particularly strong. Perhaps I
utilize the techniques of the extrovert for overcoming writer’s block while
maintaining the underlying organizational methods of an introvert. My learning styles contrasted much
more strongly between sensing and intuitive, falling heavily on the sensing
side. From the packet’s definition of sensing, I was able to pull several
characteristics that I felt applied to my style of writing. For example, I like
receiving specific directions for writing assignments and feel much more
comfortable when I have a clearer idea of what is expected of me. Also, when
explaining abstract ideas, it’s easier for me to understand them in “concrete
terms” (CP 133). However, I do see a little bit of myself in the intuitive
individual’s habit of writing first with generalities before rewriting using
more concrete examples.
Of the four categories, I felt most
strongly aligned to a side in the feeling/thinking distinction. I recognized
myself nearly completely in the feeling type and hardly at all in the thinking
type. The only aspect of the feeling type that I disagreed with was the lack of
a clear organizational structure in writing. I outline repeatedly for papers
and often spend more time creating a structure for my work than in writing it.
However, many of the other characteristics of feeling, such as the unfortunate
habit of taking criticism more personally than I should and preferring to write
about “topics that [I] can care about” (CP 141), resonate with me.
Finally, the
distinction between perceiving and judging was another with aspects of myself on both sides. Though I was categorized as judging,
which I can understand because of my emphasis of planning, organizing, and
goal-setting in my writing, I can also empathize with the perceiver’s tendency
to start brainstorming with very general ideas and gradually narrow the topic
down. Additionally, the perceiver’s habit of “paus[ing] frequently to consider numerous alternatives and to
ponder over organizational or stylistic decisions” (CP 143) surprised me; it
was something I do frequently but that I had never consciously realized. Overall, I feel I
am closely aligned to the sensing and feeling aspects of my psychological type,
but much ambivalent when considering extrovert and judging.
Qualitative analysis of your type formula
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