as someone who majored in psychology in undergrad, then went on to study counseling psychology in grad school, i have taken more personality assessments than i care to count.  some of them seemed like total bullshit – this includes ones that painted me in a “perfect” type of way.  one that has always seemed reliable (including shifting my results when i as a person shifted) was the myers briggs assessment.

there are 16 different personality types that are different combinations of the following letters: e or i (extrovert or introvert), n or s (intuitive or sensing), f or t (feeling or thinking) and j or p (judging or perceiving).

in administering this assessment to people who have worked for me, clients, friends, family and peers, the most common surprise is that first letter – e or i – extroversion or introversion. this seems to stem from the warped definition people have about these words.  for whatever reason, introversion gets a bad rap.  people seem to view introversion as being synonymous with being anti-social, closed off or even rude.  in reality, the true difference between extroverts and introverts is where people in each category get their energy from.  an extrovert recharges around others – that is what makes them feel alive.  an introvert recharges (best) alone – that is what makes them thrive in situations around others; it does not mean they do not enjoy socialization.  i would highly suggest giving this to people you work with if you find that you are having trouble communicating with one another or just as a fun team building exercise.  it has definitely been useful in helping me understand my friends and family members in a better way.

there are thought to be four categories that hold the different types of personalities:

1. analysts (intj, intp, entj, entp)
2. diplomats (infj, infp, enfj, enfp)
3. explorers (istp, isfp, estp, esfp)
4. sentinels (istj, isfj, estj, esfj)

i have taken the test on several different sites and just with pen + paper but my favorite place to take it (that offers the most thorough explanations of each type) is here.  this particular site offers a breakdown of each personality type in the following categories:  an introduction, strengths & weaknesses, emotions, romantic relationships, friendships, parenthood, career paths, workplace habits and a sweet little conclusion to wrap it all up.

if you couldn’t tell by how thoroughly i explained how misunderstood the people who are introverts can be, my personality type is intj – that falls under the analyst category and is often described as the architect of the bunch; us intjs are strategic and have a plan for absolutely everything.  anyone on here that knows me personally can vouch for me when i say i absolutely love planning, organization, color coding and anything that can streamline a process.  intj is the most rare personality type (only 2% of the population and only 0.8% of women).

there are wonderful things about this personality type that ring true for me and there are also areas i am constantly trying to work on about this personality type that could not be more accurate.  some of those wonderful things include: confidence, ability and willingness to question everything, hard working and a person who can wear multiple hats with ease.  some of the not so wonderful things are: being overly analytical (sometimes, to my detriment), passing judgment (outside of my role as a therapist) and my strong disdain for overly (or unnecessarily, in my opinion) structured environments with no room for movement and/or improvement.  some public figures you may know who share my personality type are: elon musk, michelle obama, friedrich nietzsche, gandalf (from lord of the rings – we can discuss my obsession with this at a later time).

to read more about my complex personality, click here.

i would love to hear what you think about the assessment and your results! share them with me in the comments section.

xoxo,

k.tap