Do ACoNs have similarities in their MBTIs? Or are we as diverse as the population at large?
I'm actually quite interested in having this question answered, assuming enough folks know what their MBTI or "type" is! In my line of work, I've taken the quiz half a dozen times or so, so I'm guessing others will be familiar with it.
Based on Jungian psychology, some clever folks decided to shoe-horn the whole of the human population into sixteen 'personality types' (not 'personality disorders', mind you! We all know that's a very different thing!).
Now normally, being a skeptic, I roll my eyes at this sort of thing. But time and time again, this particular 'system' has actually proven itself to be quite accurate. And I honestly think there's some value in knowing your 'type', even if you feel it's high on the hogwash meter, because if you haven't come across MBTIs yet, you probably will (I can save you taking a 45 minute test through your company if you memorize 4 letters!).
Here are the relevant links if you don't know what I'm talking about, or you haven't figured out your type:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers-Briggs_Type_Indicator
http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/
Rather than paying to take the full assessment (or perhaps your company would wish to foot the bill? Many do!), you can search for a "free Myers Briggs test". There are a few sites out there, and I recently took a quick and dirty 20-question only test and it generated the same result as the fully licensed assessment did earlier.
The test runs like a dichotomous key (this or that, this or that, etc.). It ultimately determines if you are Introverted or Extroverted, Sensing or Intuitive, Thinking or Feeling, Judging or Perceiving.
I recently re-did the test with a group of people and my type, which apparently is represented by an estimated 6-8% of the population, was grossly over-represented (40% or so?! Small group, so the confidence interval isn't good, but...!). And it got me to thinking - do ACoNs follow the distribution of the population at large? Or are we skewed towards one or more 'types'?
I'm an ENFP - what are you?
ENFP
Warmly enthusiastic and imaginative. See life as full of possibilities. Make connections between events and information very quickly, and confidently proceed based on the patterns they see. Want a lot of affirmation from others, and readily give appreciation and support. Spontaneous and flexible, often rely on their ability to improvise and their verbal fluency.
(from MyersBriggs.org: http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/the-16-mbti-types.asp)
Sound like me? I think so! AFFIRM ME, ha ha! "Confidently proceed based on the patterns I see"? Hmm. Perhaps in all aspects of my life with the exception of my NParents. Then I just shake in my boots and come here looking for affirmation from all of you!
Please participate if you know your MBTI! Feel free to post/email anonymously if you prefer: acon(DOT)anon(AT)gmail(DOT)com
I wonder if I've changed since I started digging through my childhood, past, etc. I tested ENTP - but I used to have very few feelings before.
ReplyDeleteI think I'll go retest. Many personality tests have now changed for me, I find.
Hi PA,
DeleteYes, it can change. Particularly if you took the tests prior to puberty/in your teens (lots of personality development going on then!). :-) Then again, I first took this test young (14 or so?) and it didn't change for me . . . perhaps I suffer from arrested development. ;-) Wouldn't be surprised! OR, as an ACoN, I had to grow up quickly, so my personality was already set in stone early on.
Did yours change?
ENFP does really sound like you :)
ReplyDeleteMy result was ENTP
Quick, ingenious, stimulating, alert, and outspoken. Resourceful in solving new and challenging problems. Adept at generating conceptual possibilities and then analyzing them strategically. Good at reading other people. Bored by routine, will seldom do the same thing the same way, apt to turn to one new interest after another.
Do you think it sounds like me? ;)
Ha ha, yes it does! I'm actually scoring close to ENTP too.
DeleteSo that's TWO ENTP's and one ENFP!
Interesting! Of course I have to point out that we really are sampling the ACoNs who blog and seek out the support/opinions of others, so we're probably skewed towards to the more social E's than the I's. But very interesting that of the three of us, we're actually virtually the same (I score tightly between T and F). :-)
I took Myers Briggs in my late teens or early twenty's and came up as INFP: Introverted iNtuitive Feeling Perceiving. So, similar to you, but introverted instead of extroverted. I am surprised that you and the responses you've received so far have been extroverted. As an ACON, I learned early to keep my thoughts and feeling to myself. I don't know, maybe my introverted-ness is learned, rather than inherent. Then again, I really do like holing up somewhere, drawing or otherwise creating something by myself. :)
ReplyDeleteWow! I'm not 'strongly' extroverted (anymore), either, and teeter to the introverted side as well.
DeleteI once heard one of the certified test-givers say that the real difference between extroversion and introversion is "what gives you energy versus what drains it". For example, if you're introverted, you are exhausted after having company over. Whereas if you're extroverted, you are energized by social visits.
Based on THAT explanation, I ought to be INTROVERTED! :-) But when I answer the questions, I typically land an "E".
What I think is most interesting is that so far, we're REALLY similar:
INFP
ENFP
ENTP
ENTP
All N's and all P's.
For those interested, here's what the description for INFP is:
INFP
Idealistic, loyal to their values and to people who are important to them. Want an external life that is congruent with their values. Curious, quick to see possibilities, can be catalysts for implementing ideas. Seek to understand people and to help them fulfill their potential. Adaptable, flexible, and accepting unless a value is threatened.
"Adaptable, flexible, and accepting unless a value is threatened"! YEAH! Maintain those boundaries! Woot woot! :-)
DeleteINTJ.
ReplyDeleteLike you I am a sceptic of personality quizzes. So I was skimming a book about Myers-Briggs as 'yet another' and was simply bowled over by the accuracy of its description of me.
My mother is a mild narcissist rather than a severe one, so my vote probably doesn't count for the survey.
I found Myers-Briggs 20 years ago and it has stayed with me. It is a great way for getting an overall portrait of someone's approach to life I think. My appreciation of it has only grown over the years.
Thanks Evan! Well, you're clearly an important member of the online ACoN society, then! :-) (I never finish projects, but apparently you always do! Ha ha!).
DeleteFor the benefit of other readers:
INTJ
Have original minds and great drive for implementing their ideas and achieving their goals. Quickly see patterns in external events and develop long-range explanatory perspectives. When committed, organize a job and carry it through. Skeptical and independent, have high standards of competence and performance – for themselves and others.
A Myers-Briggs person told me that at a Myers-Brigss conference they attended, out of hundreds present, there was one Sensate (count them, ONE) all the rest iNtuitives!
ReplyDeleteOh wow, interesting! So there you have it! I can probably expect skews in our community as well! Thanks for sharing that, Evan!
DeleteI'm an INTJ. I've taken the test a ton of times, always thinking it'll come out differently. (Mostly based on the way i feel answering the questions) But no.
ReplyDeleteBut it really, really fits me. It also makes me a bit of an anomaly because it is the least frequent type for women. I guess I'll just fly my freak flag high -- in private since I'm an introvert. Lol.
Hey VR! I'm kind of envious of your "freakishness". It's good to be original! ;-)
DeleteHere's the summary:
INTJ (x2)
INFP
ENFP
ENTP (x2)
Very interesting!
More analysis:
DeleteWe're half introverts, half extroverts.
We're all inituitives (no sensates), which suggests to me that we're all used to reading patterns into seemingly random events (hardly surprising - if we were sensate, we'd never see the common thread that our NParent's behaviour is repetitive and illogical. We'd just have a string of bizarre events that didn't seem to match the circumstances?!).
Holy shit about the intuitive N. I guess that's hypervigilence at work.
ReplyDeleteINTJ here :-). J.
ReplyDeleteI am an INTJ as well. I suspect all personality types can exhibit traits of narcassism in some form or another as any behavior taken to an extreme is unhealthy. Like many things in life, balance is the key.
ReplyDelete