MBTI exams

Keri S.

March 8, 2010 - 12:45 AM

This week for Alpha Kappa Psi, our chapter advisor Chuck came in to talk to us about the MBTI. The MBTI is the Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator, and is a quick 60 question exam to identify different types of personality and learning preferences. Through this exam, I learned that I am an "ENFJ". Each letter stands for a different identification within a category. Briefly, here is what each letter means:

E: For this dichotomy, the MBTI identified me as an extravert. This shows how I focus my attention. As an extraversion, I tend to focus my attention on the outer world of people and things. The opposite type, introverts, tends to focus attention on the inner world of ideas and impressions. This does not surprise me, because I enjoy working and being surrounded by people. I also work best in a team.

N: For this dichotomy, the MBTI identified me as "intuition". This category shows how I take in information. The overall test can be demonstrated very quickly by looking at this picture. What do you see?

It is simple: either you see a forest or you see trees. Personally, I see the forest, which means I focus on the whole picture and focus on future possibilities and take in information from patterns. The saying goes "I can't see the forest through the trees"-this is the motto of the sensors and those who are very detailed oriented and take in information through the five senses.

F: For this dichotomy, the MTBI identified me as "feeling". This category shows how I make decisions. Based on my results, I tend to make decisions based primarily on values and on subjective evaluation of person-centered concerns. I agree with this, because I often find put myself in others shoes before making a decision, and make sure to consider how my actions impact others. The opposite point of view is the "thinking", where people make decisions based on logic and objective analysis of cause and effect.

J: For this dichotomy, the MTBI identified me as "judging". This shows how I deal with the outside world. As a "judger", I tend to like a planned and organized approach to life and prefer to have things settled. Anyone who has ever seen my obsession with my planner knows this to be true. The activity we did to demonstrate this is to describe our closet. People who are judgers, like me, are extremely organized. Personally, my clothes are organized by color, and then by tank top, short sleeve, and long sleeve within each color. My shoes are also organized by sneakers, flip flops, heals, and flats. Some say it is an obsession, but when my room is not organized I cannot focus. Those who are the opposite of me, perceivers, described their closet as messy and clothes on the floor.

At the end when we were given our results, we were given a few sentences about ourselves. Here is what mine said as an "ENFJ":

"Warm, empathetic, responsive, and responsible. Highly attuned to the emotions, needs, and motivations of others. Find potential in everyone, want to help others fulfill their potential. May act as catalysts for individuals and group growth. Loyal, responsive to praise and criticism. Sociable, facilitate others in a group, and provide inspiring leadership."

I think this is a fairly accurate description of myself. My friends say it is dead on! For those of you who have the opportunity, I encourage you to take this test. I learned a lot about myself and about my peers. I also learned a lot about how to use this information to work with people who are similar to me and also who are different from me.