Sometimes it seems like tests dictate your life. Almost every big decision seems to involve
a test; will I get my permit, or will I be taking the bus? Will my scores get me into
an Ivy league school or will I be heading to my safety school? Today, we're going
to tell you about a test that'll help you far more than good grades or great parallel
parking skills. It won't dictate your life, but it'll help you understand yourself,
and others, better.
Welcome to WellCast: Today we're taking a suggestion from our coworker Danny, and
our loyal viewer 8MissGreeny8. We'll be looking at the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator,
a personality test that actually started as a way to get women into the workforce. Now
it's taken by 2.5 million American men, women and children each year. We'll show
you how this test can help you become more aware of your personal traits, and then teach
you how to use this awareness to get more out of yourself at school. Ready?
The Myers-Briggs test was first developed in the 1940s by Isabel Myers and her daughter-in-law,
Katherine Cook Briggs, two amateur psychologists who were huge fans of a Swiss psychiatrist
named Carl Jung, and his theory on personality types.
When the U.S. entered World War II, many women entered the workforce for the first time.
Myers saw a very specific need in the market for a personality test—one that would help
women figure out what sort of jobs they'd be well-suited for. Thus, the Meyers-Briggs
test was born.
Today's exercise will give you an introduction to the different personality types, so you
can start to think about which categories you fall into.
Pause and print this WellCast worksheet. Next to each category, tick off the box that you
think applies most to you.
One: Are you an extrovert or an introvert? Are you a Fluttershy or a Rainbow Dash? This
category deals with what stimulates people—are you the kind of person who gets pumped up
in busy, social situations, or are you more fulfilled when reading a book? Extroverts
respond to external stimuli—being around a large group of people, for example—whereas
introverts are stimulated internally—by reflection, toying around with ideas and analyzing
an interesting train of thought.
Two: Do you sense or do you intuit? This category deals with how you gather information and
learn. Some people rely mainly on the information at hand—they look for facts, concrete details,
tangible data. They're mainly focused on minutiae and want to get to the bottom of
things quickly. Much like Joe Friday, they want "the facts, ma'am." Others prefer
to look for connections between ideas rather than nailing down facts, and are more interested
in the bigger picture than the nitty-gritty details. These fall under intuition category.
Three: Would you consider yourself more a thinker or a feeler?
This one is the classic Spock vs. Kirk dilemma. How do you make decisions? Do you analyze
all the data at hand exhaustively, write out pro and con lists, think logically through
a problem? Or do you go with your gut, let your emotions be your compass for a situation?
Four: Are you perceiving or judging? An easy way to look at this one is to ask yourself
how you respond to deadlines. If you plan your work out far in advance and manage to
get everything done on time, you're probably "judging." On the other hand, if you see
deadlines as more of a suggestion than that hard-and-fast rule, and are constantly changing
your work up until the last minute, you're a perceiver.
At the bottom of the worksheet, put it all together. What did you come up with? ESFP?
INTJ?
Annoyingly, taking the official test costs money—but there are several fairly good,
free knock-offs available on the Internet. (Click here, here and here.) Try taking one
of these tests now, and see how your answers stack up.
Let's recap: Today we went over the four main personality categories of the Myers-Briggs
personality test, an indicator developed in the 40s by amateur psychologists. Your personality
is a series of four letters: E (extrovert) or I (introvert), S (sensing) or N (intuitive),
F (feeling) or T (thinking), and P (perceiving) or J (judging). We also explained how knowing
your four letters can help you get more out of life.
Next week, we're going to show you eight great methods for improving your productivity
based on your personality type—how to accentuate your strengths and combat your weaknesses
when it comes to finishing a paper or getting through a difficult week at school.