MBTI personality types

[DWx]

Warning! Long post!

MBTI, or the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, is a personality test individuals can take to indicate personality preferences. It is based on the theory that that there are four principal psychological functions by which humans experience the world – sensation, intuition, feeling, and thinking – and that one of these four functions is dominant for a person most of the time. (Wikipedia article)

Favorite world: Do you prefer to focus on the outer world or on your own inner world? This is called Extraversion (E) or Introversion (I).

Information: Do you prefer to focus on the basic information you take in or do you prefer to interpret and add meaning? This is called Sensing (S) or Intuition (N).

Decisions: When making decisions, do you prefer to first look at logic and consistency or first look at the people and special circumstances? This is called Thinking (T) or Feeling (F).

Structure: In dealing with the outside world, do you prefer to get things decided or do you prefer to stay open to new information and options? This is called Judging (J) or Perceiving (P).

http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/

On answering a series of questions, the MBTI test produces a 4 letter code which provides an indication of the individuals preferences and personality. See the 16 personality types here

Admittedly this is probably sounding a little bit academic right now, but the reason I started this topic is to talk about MBTI types and how they may relate to our students. Now I'm not saying we should give all our students a questionnaire to fill-in but I do think having a general idea of preferences can be useful as we can adapt our teaching styles to suit individual needs.

For example introverted (I) students will benefit from solo study and working things through on their own. Introverts may also seem less willing to engage in a group setting and may not readily ask for help so instructors should be aware that they may need to monitor them more closely to know when they are struggling. Extroverts (E) on the other hand will more likely be asking questions and will benefit more from group or partnered exercises though they can tend to take over an instructor's attention.

Those students with sensing (S) preferences tend to prefer to rely heavily on their senses and the facts in front of them. They might need to be guided through practice or shown what the expected outcome is and tend to benefit from a highly structured environment with step by step activities. Students who lean towards sensing will benefit from hands-on activities, especially when they are clear about the end goal. Intuitive (N) students on the other hand will see the bigger picture more easily and will more likely prefer to discover things by themselves by trusting their feelings on how to proceed. They are more likely to benefit from open mat time and self study and the little details are less important.

Thinkers (T) prefer to stop and analyse before making a decision. They tend to be more logical and like to have a plan before acting. Thinkers benefit from concrete and direct feedback and appreciate consistency. Feelers (F) on the other hand are more emotional and their decisions and actions are guided by how they might affect others. When correcting feelers it's important to offer positives also and avoid being too critical or confrontational.

Judgers (J) are typically goal orientated and like to have plans. They like to know what is expected, value routine and can be uncomfortable with spontaneity or indecision. It's important that assessments (like gradings) for judgers have clear criteria that are known ahead of time. Perceivers (P) are more laid back and tend to be less stressed in chaotic situations. They also typically delay making a decision and can put things off meaning that they can require some flexibility.

By having a general idea of the personality types of our students we can use this to help direct their learning and to structure classes to try to accommodate them. I think the traditional approach in martial arts has been one of an instructor standing at the front of the room leading the class in fundamentals and kata. Now this approach does work for some students (sensing preference?) however maybe other approaches would yield better results for some students. Maybe a group exercise would be better with students figuring out the answers themselves? Or a group discussion with an instructor simply demonstrating and answering questions etc.

However I also think it's important to know our own types and preferences to see how this may or may not align with others in the training hall.

So with that said, does anyone fancy taking a test and sharing what personality type they are?

https://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-tests

[RJCKarate]

Hi DWx,

Interesting topic. I think these personality tests are always fun to look at, and coming from a marketing background, it's an introduction to looking at your audience mix.

I got: Commander (ENTJ-a). I'd say looking at things overall, this is fairly accurate (and what I've got before): https://www.16personalities.com/entj-personality

Alternatively, I've also come up as ENTP & ESTJ.

[Lupin1]

I love MBTI theory! It's been a hobby of mine for awhile.

I've taken so many tests and read so many articles, books, and forum posts about MBTI that I didn't take this test (sorry), but at this point I'm fairly certain I'm an INTP: The Logician (or, as I prefer to think of it, The Absent Minded Professor) https://www.16personalities.com/intp-personality

For awhile I went back and forth between that and ENTP due my extraverted intuition taking a front seat much of the time, and me getting incredibly hyped up and energized by positive social interaction, but I really think in the end I'm more of an introvert.

[DWx]

I love MBTI theory! It's been a hobby of mine for awhile.

I've taken so many tests and read so many articles, books, and forum posts about MBTI that I didn't take this test (sorry), but at this point I'm fairly certain I'm an INTP: The Logician (or, as I prefer to think of it, The Absent Minded Professor) https://www.16personalities.com/intp-personality

For awhile I went back and forth between that and ENTP due my extraverted intuition taking a front seat much of the time, and me getting incredibly hyped up and energized by positive social interaction, but I really think in the end I'm more of an introvert.

I usually come out as INTP too But depending on the test sometimes it says INTJ as the J/P part of me seems to be more or less 50:50 which would make me an Architect in this test https://www.16personalities.com/intj-personality

In this particular test though I did get INTP. My actual results were:

Introvert: 62%

Intuitive: 65%

Thinking: 82%

Prospecting: 51%

I do find it quite interesting as I actually work in sales and more often than not the people who do well in this type of job are extroverts with sensing tendencies and I'm the opposite of that. I seem to do OK though

[mazzybear]

I got ISFP: The Adventurer.

https://www.16personalities.com/isfp-personality

Introvert 61%

Observant 53%

Feeling 69%

Prospecting 63%

Assertive 60%

Me to a tee, I think. Very interesting.

Mo.

[Lupin1]

I usually come out as INTP too But depending on the test sometimes it says INTJ as the J/P part of me seems to be more or less 50:50 which would make me an Architect in this test https://www.16personalities.com/intj-personality

In this particular test though I did get INTP. My actual results were:

Introvert: 62%

Intuitive: 65%

Thinking: 82%

Prospecting: 51%

I do find it quite interesting as I actually work in sales and more often than not the people who do well in this type of job are extroverts with sensing tendencies and I'm the opposite of that. I seem to do OK though

My J/P is actually the strongest. I am a very strong perceiver.

I took the quiz so I could get my percentages.

Introvert: 74%

Intuitive: 77%

Thinking: 61%

Perceiving: 91%

Right now I'm leaning a lot more toward the introverted side because I'm not in a position where I'm interacting a ton. When I'm in a position where I interact with people a lot, I tend to test more toward the middle of the introvert/extrovert spectrum.