- You probably know someone
who is the same personality type as you,
but in some ways is quite different.
Perhaps you are an ENFP
with an ENFP buddy who is much more systematic than you.
Or maybe you're an INTP, you fit all the INTP descriptions
except you're much more outwardly enthusiastic
and expressive than what seems typical.
After all, while there may be 16 personalities, we all know
that there are more than just 16 types of people out there.
Figuring out a way to explain these variations within a type
is something typology nerds love to obsess over.
And your boy is no different.
It turns out the official Myers Briggs type indicator
has come up with an answer.
An expansion to the original MBTI
called Myers-Briggs step two.
Step two! (laughs)
The MBTI step two explains these personality differences
by splitting each of the four letter dichotomies
into five facets called subtraits.
Of course, by letter dichotomies
we mean I or E, N or S, F or T, J or P.
Each subtrait has a theme and two opposite poles.
You can think of them
as like five mini dichotomies within the four main ones.
This is really abstract, sounds more complicated than it is
but let's look at some subtraits
and you'll see what I mean.
I'll start off with the first letter dichotomy, E versus I.
So as we go through each of these subtraits, you'll see
that each pole lines up with one side of the dichotomy.
So right now the subtraits on this side of the screen
will typically correspond with the E types, the extroverts,
while the subtraits on the other side
will typically correspond with the I types, the introverts.
The first subtrait we'll look at
is initiating versus receiving,
which describes the ways in which we interact with others.
Initiating lines up with extroversion
and receiving lines up with introversion.
So an initiating person is someone
who is comfortable starting or initiating a conversation
or introducing themselves to others,
while a receiving person is reserved
and is either less comfortable starting conversations
or is just not interested.
Then we have expressive versus contained,
which describes how comfortable we are
communicating our emotions and what we think.
Expressive people tend to be energetic and sociable.
You don't really have to guess what they are thinking
or feeling because, well, they express it.
People with a contained preference
on the other hand are typically harder to get to know
and more private with their emotions and thoughts.
Next is gregarious versus intimate.
It sounds a little weird on paper, but it's referring
to the breadth and depth of our relationships.
Gregarious people are named Greg.
- I'm old Greg. - No, it's a joke.
I gotta keep you on your toes.
Gregarious people prefer to socialize
and interact with groups and have a broader social circle
while those who are intimate
prefer more one-on-one interactions
or small social sheddings.
Talking be hard.
Active versus reflective explains the way we prefer
to interact with others, as well as how we learn.
The active person feels energized
speaking and interacting with others,
as well as learning things in person.
The chance to listen and talk with others.
While the reflective person is going to feel best
as an observer, communicating through writing
and learning through reading.
Enthusiastic versus quiet is kind of like a meter
for how excitable we are.
Enthusiastic individuals are full of energy
and typically ready to display that, like blah! (laughs)
While quiet individuals prefer to blend in
with the background and are generally calmer.
This guy here loves blending into the background.
He's literally part of the background.
Introvert confirmed.
So as we went through those first five subtraits
of introvert versus extrovert,
did you find yourself identifying with any
that belonged to the opposite of your overall preference?
For example, let's say you're an introvert
but maybe you lean more towards being expressive
rather than contained.
Or maybe you feel
like you're pretty balanced in a subtrait
such as initiating versus receiving.
You're right in the middle between them.
Well, that is what's cool about subtraits.
You don't have to score
on the stereotypical pole of your preferences.
You could get an out of preference score
with a subtrait on the opposite pole.
You could also get a midzone score
if you are in the mid zone.
You are likely to score in preference for most traits,
but not necessarily.
That's what causes those variations in type.
If you have too many out of preference scores,
like if all of them are out of preference,
well, you might have your type wrong. (laughs)
Just slightly, it's a possibility.
Identifying those mid zone or out of preference scores
can really help identify why two people
of the same type appear to be different.
Now let's move on to the next letter dichotomy,
sensing versus intuition,
which is generally all about how we take in information.
The first subtrait is concrete versus abstract,
which is the one that we typically think about
when we're talking about sensing and intuition.
This subtrait is about
where we typically focus our attention
when looking at new information.
Concrete individuals like facts and data,
while abstract individuals are more comfortable
with the symbolic.
The next subtrait is realistic versus imaginative,
which is how we use the information that we are noticing.
Realistic peeps like sensible, matter of fact solutions.
Like what we know works.
While imaginative people are more experimental,
looking for a new way of doing things.
Practical versus conceptual refers to how we use ideas.
Practical people are pragmatic and wanna apply their ideas
in reality, while conceptual people prefer
to think about things just for thinking's sake
like a philosopher.
Next up, experiential versus theoretical refers
to what information we trust.
An experiential person needs to see it to believe it
while a theoretical person
trusts the theories and the patterns.
The theoretical person probably gets excited
trying to guess the endings to movies
before they have all the pieces,
while the experiential person probably gets more excited
as the evidence is revealed.
The last S versus N subtrait is traditional versus original,
which as it sounds is about how we approach traditions
and traditional ways of thinking.
Do you think that things are the way they are for a reason,
or do you throw tradition
to the wind in favor of something different?
Now at this point, one thing to keep in mind
is that the subtraits are scored differently
than the overall dichotomy scores.
So for sensing versus intuition, for example,
you might score mid zone on all five of those subtraits
but you can't score mid zone with sensing versus intuition.
The subtraits are all on a scale
whereas the letter dichotomies are just one or the other.
Why is this, you might ask? (laughs)
Because I said so!
Anyway, moving on to thinking versus feeling.
Our first set of subtraits is logical versus empathetic,
the trait that focuses on how we would ideally prefer
to make decisions.
Now let me emphasize that, how we would ideally prefer.
The logical person would prefer
to make decisions impersonally and with impartiality,
which might hurt people's feelings.
While the empathetic person will struggle with this more
because they value harmony so much.
Following that up, reasonable versus compassionate
is the subtrait
which refers to how we actually make decisions.
The reasonable people prefer the truth to be spoken
and acted on, even when it will make people unhappy.
Compassionate people on the other hand
are more comfortable skirting around the truth
if it will make the situation easier to navigate.
So with those two subtraits, you could score
out of preference on one and in preference on other,
which is why you might have some feelers
who in an ideal world would love to be logical and rational
but in practice are actually pushovers.
Or more interestingly, you could have a thinker
who is in preference and is logical,
but then is out of preference
and is more compassionate in their actual actions.
The subtraits be bustin' stereotypes, yo.
Next subtrait is questioning versus accommodating.
And that refers
to how we tend to handle differences in ideas and opinions.
People who are highly accommodating
prefer to come to group consensuses quickly,
while the questioning people like to stop
and logically analyze every step along the way,
even if it causes conflict.
They might even enjoy a little bit of conflict.
You know what I'm saying?
Critical versus accepting is how we express our opinions
about disagreements.
Critical people are skeptical
and will criticize differing viewpoints
to see if they hold up,
while accepting people prefer to be tolerant
of differing opinions and try to find win-win situations.
Lastly, we have tough versus tender,
which is how does the steak come out
when you're the one cooking it?
No, I'm kidding. (laughs)
Frank, just stop talking.
So this is the general energy we have
when carrying out decisions.
Tough people (laughs) are firm
and will stand their ground in conversations.
They usually focus on the end goal.
What are we trying to accomplish here people?
While tender people are gentle and focus
on the means rather than the end goal.
For the last of the dichotomies
we have judging and perceiving.
The first subtrait
for this is systematic versus casual,
which is about how we generally prefer
to organize our lives.
The systematic person likes structure
and doesn't like to be distracted.
They especially don't like surprises.
Do not plan their surprise birthday party.
The casual person throws all that to the wind.
It says, it is what it is.
If something doesn't go the way it's supposed to,
a casual person won't care too much.
Next is planful versus open ending.
And that's about our approach to planning.
The planful person is always planning. (laughs)
They're always planning at least a little bit ahead.
They like meetings on the calendar
and planning events ahead of time.
The open ended person,
on the other hand, is present focused and adaptable.
If a plan changes at the last minute, no big deal,
they can roll with it.
Next up, early starting versus pressure prompted
refers to how one prefers to deal with the tasks
that they need to get done.
If the teacher gives you a homework assignment on Monday
and it is due on Friday,
when are you gonna start working on it?
The early starters prefer to get it over with
so they can relax.
They're taking it home and getting it done Monday afternoon.
While the pressure prompted persons, they start off relaxing
and then get surges of energy closer to the deadline.
And as someone who is pressure prompted,
those surges of energy are really just last minute panic.
Next, scheduled versus spontaneous
is about how comfortable we are with schedules and routines.
Or scheduled if you're from England.
The scheduled person typically likes to make lists
that they can cross off.
Maybe they have a routine
and they don't like a ton of variety.
The spontaneous person on the other hand
gets bored quickly when things are too structured
and they might feel suffocated by a strict schedule.
Methodical versus emergent are the ways
in which we approach large tasks or difficult tasks.
The methodical person wants to develop a plan of attack
before approaching a task or a challenge,
while the emergent person wants to just
jump right in and figure things out as they go.
Which subtraits did you identify with the most?
Do you think this addition to the MBTI
is useful or interesting?
What out of preference scores do you think you have?
Let me know in the comments.
Until next time, stay cool and attractive.