Personality Part II

By Jonathan Hodge

Welcome back! Hopefully that last post was enough to whet your appetite and get you excited to learn more. I’m guessing that you’ll soon find that studying personality is actually quite exciting, and is well worth your time(otherwise you wouldn’t be reading part II of something that didn’t interest you in part I, right?). So where to begin this time? Let’s start bynoting that (according to the Myers-Briggs understanding) there are 4 distinct elements of personality:

  1. Extroversion and Introversion
  2. Sensing and Intuition
  3. Thinking and Feeling
  4. Judging and Perceiving

For this particular post we will be focusing solely on the first two categories – extroversion and introversion, and sensing and intuition.

The first category is all about the way we are energized. You are able to discern this by asking a simple question – Which is my most natural energy orientation? Everybody has two “faces” – one directed towards the OUTER world of activities, excitements, people and things(extroversion). The other is directed inward to the INNER world of thoughts, interests, ideas, and imagination (introversion).

These are two different but complementary sides of our nature. Everyone has both and is both. However, almost all people have an innate preference towards being energized from one of these over the other. Therefore, one of these faces takes the lead in personality. Which one is more like you?

Typical Extroverted Characteristics

  • May act first and then think/reflect later;
  • Feels deprived when cutoff from interaction with the outside world;
  • Usually open to and motivated by the outside world of people and things;
  • Enjoys wide variety in people and relationships;
  • Enjoys variety in the work setting, and not overly bothered by change (especially when necessary).

Typical Introverted Characteristics

  • Think/reflect first, then act;
  • Regularly requires an amount of alone time to recharge;
  • Often internally motivated by what’s going on inside their own mind;
  • Prefers small groups or one-on-one communication;
  • Can be frustrated by change – especially if not given an adequate amount of time to transition.

The second category is about the way that we take in information and use it in decision making. The way we discern this is through the following question – Which way of understanding is most “automatic” or naturalfor me?

The sensing side of our brain notices sights, sounds, smells, and all the sensory DETAILS of the PRESENT. It categorizes, organizes, records and stores the specifics from the here and now. It is REALITY based and drives specific details and recollections in our memory. It is concrete and detail oriented

The intuitive side of our brain seeks to understand, interpret, and form OVERALL PATTERNS of all the information that is collected and records these patterns and relationships. It speculates about POSSIBILITIES for the future. It is imaginative and conceptual.

While both kinds of understanding are necessary and used by all people,each of us instinctively tends to favor one over the other.

Typical Sensory Characteristics

  • Mentally lives in the now, attending to present opportunities;
  • Likes common sense solutions to most problems;
  • Memory recall is often rich in detail of facts and past events;
  • Improvises best when referring to past experience;
  • Likes clear and concrete information – dislike “educated guessing” when facts may be “fuzzy”.

Typical Intuitive Characteristics

  • Often thinks about the future or future possibilities as much or more than the present;
  • Uses imagination to create or invent new possibilities and answers to problems;
  • Memory recall is more based on general patterns, contexts, connections, and themes;
  • Improvises best when given the opportunity to try something new;
  • Often comfortable with educated guessing.

Now that the first two bases are covered, you can begin to watch and notice how this plays out around you. Look at your own life – what patterns are most commonly true of you? Look at your loved ones and observe – it’s amazing what you can learn about them from watching or asking a few questions. Remember, the more you learn, the better you can communicate in a meaningful way with those around you, but more on this later. As always, post and ask questions – I’ll be happy to answer them!

Next up: Part III of this series which discusses the last two elements of personality.