[Growing Up, Going Up] Help Me, BuzzFeed! The Myers Briggs Personality Test & You!

Last week, we started our new workshop series called “Growing Up, Going Up”, which is designed to prepare our young people for their journey into responsible adulthood. In our first workshop, The Myers Briggs Personality Test & You, we discussed our personality types and how knowing them could help us when we think about interacting with others.

There are many personality tests out there, but one of the most common is the Myers Briggs personality test. This test is a questionnaire based off of four theorized components of our personalities:

• Extraversion/Introversion: These two indicate where you get your energy from. Extroverts draw energy from action and social interaction, while introverts draw energy from reflection and quiet alone time.

• Sensing/Intuition (Sensing function): These two indicate how you perceive, gather, and interpret information. Those who are sensing prefer when information is based off of something concrete, detailed, or factual. Those who prefer intuition like when information is abstract and theoretical.

• Thinking/Feeling (Judging function): These two indicate how you make rational decisions. People who are thinking types decide things using reason, logic, rules, and past experiences. People who are feeling types make decisions based on empathy, balance, and consensus.

• Judging/Perception: These two indicate how people express either their Sensing function or their Judging function. Someone who is categorized as Judging likes things to be settled and complete, while someone who is categorized as Perceptive likes to leave things open.

All of these combinations create 16 distinct personality types.

Although these are theoretical, knowing your personality type can be helpful in learning about your preferred working style, the career path that would suit your personality best, and how you work with others. These personality types are also not set in stone, meaning that being classified as feeling doesn’t mean you don’t have moments where you are not classified as thinking. Use these as a guide to learning for about yourself.

 

To learn more about the Myers Brigg test, and about each personality, check out these links:

• Take the Myers Briggs Test: http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp
• Each personality type defined: http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/the-16-mbti-types.htm or http://www.16personalities.com/personality-types
• Your personality type and your career choice: http://www.businessinsider.com/best-careers-for-every-personality-type-2015-1