You've just taken a short form of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator called the Keirsey Temperament Sorter. This is an adaptation of the longer tool developed by Myers and Briggs many years ago. From it you have identified your own personality type, denoted by four letters.

The Myers-Briggs model is based on the concept that all conscious mental activity can be classified into four mental processes. Two of these are perceptual processes, that is, they have to do with what sorts of things you notice and how they come into your consciousness. Most people rely more heavily on one or the other of these two perceptual processes. They are sensing and intuition. We'll discuss the implications of these two processes later; for now, recognize that the second letter in your type, the S (for sensing) or the N (for intuition), denotes your preferred perceptual process.

The other two of these mental processes are judgment processes, that is, the way you use your perceptions and your basis for making choices. Most people rely more heavily on one or the other of these two processes as well. They are thinking and feeling. Once again, we'll discuss these further in a bit. Your preferred judgment process is denoted by the third letter in your type, the T (for thinking) or the F (for feeling).

It is important to realize a couple of things about your Myers-Briggs type. One is that the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is intended for use on people who are mentally healthy. It does not, nor is it intended to, diagnose mental illness or instability. So, all of the types we'll discuss are healthy "normal" ways to be; they are simply different ways of functioning.

Another important thing to keep in mind is that all types are valuable in society and can operate productively in human relationships and at work. There is a real temptation, as you learn about your own type, to come to view it as the best type, as the only way to be. You must resist this temptation. Every type has its strengths and weaknesses. A work group or a world composed solely of one type of people would fail quickly; our strength in groups lies in the collective strengths of the individuals comprising the group.

One of the most valuable realizations that results from learning about type is the recognition that, when other people do things that drive us crazy, they're not trying to annoy us and they're not just being inconsiderate. They're often simply acting according to type, doing what works best for them. And they probably have been thinking you're doing the things you do just to annoy them too! It is very helpful to recognize behaviors that result from type preferences and to appreciate how these reflect skills and strengths the other person has which complement and support your own skills and strengths.

People have preferences for particular kinds of mental processes which appear to be fairly built-in. I haven't seen research that indicates whether the preferences are genetic and unalterable or acquired during life. We do know that there doesn't appear to be any particular hereditary pattern regarding type in families; children often have types very different from their parents. We also know that type develops as the individual's thinking abilities mature. Most experts suggest that children can't be reliably typed until about the age of 14.

Preferences come in varying degrees of strength; the S/N difference, for example, may be much more pronounced in one individual than in another. While it is unusual (or perhaps unheard of) for an individual's type to change radically during life, preferences may shift somewhat with growth and maturational processes. So, even throughout adulthood, you may see some change in the strength of one or more of your preferences.

We also want to be careful not to confuse preferences with abilities. Someone with a strong preference may find that the preference doesn't fit the demands of his or her life. It is quite possible for such an individual to operate contrary to type, perhaps at work or in a particular activity; it may require more energy and commitment than operating according to type, but it can be done.

So type is not a choice you make; it is a way you are. We’re not entirely sure how you got to be that way, but we're fairly sure it wasn't under your conscious control. And type is about preferences--the ways you operate best, but it is possible to draw on characteristics that don't fit your preference when you really need and want to do so.

As we've already discussed, you have identified the four letters that make up your type. What do these mean? Let's take a look.

Your first letter in your type is either an E or an I. The E stands for Extraversion; the I stands for Intraversion. If you've studied psychology and learned about extroverts and introverts, please note the differences in spelling; this is not about who's outgoing and friendly as opposed to who's shy and retiring, although there's some similarity here to the concepts you learned in psychology. The E/I preference is related to where your primary interest lies.

About three-quarters of the world has the E preference; if you're an E, you like action and variety. You most likely do your mental work by talking to people; you might go through several stages in deciding how you feel about something, most likely by talking it through aloud. You probably act quickly, sometimes without time for reflection about what you're about to do. When you encounter a new kind of task, you like to see how other people do the job first; and you like to see the results of your work. You want to know what others expect of you.

Only about one-fourth of us have the I preference; if you're an I, you like quiet and time to consider things. You most likely do your mental work privately and without talking. You'll come to a decision and then open your mouth--not before. You might be slow to try something new; you prefer to understand it first. When you encounter a new task, you like to understand the idea of the job; and you prefer to work alone or with just a few people. You're not so interested in what others expect of you; you prefer to set your own standards.

Extraversion means turning outward; and so the E individual's interest turns outward to the world of people, action, and things. Intraversion means turning inward; and so the I individual's interest turns inward to the world of ideas and private things.

Extraverts are energized by other people--crowds are a source of energy; but the E is drained by long periods of solitude. An E who works all day on a project alone in an office will come home eager to go out where there are lots of people. Intraverts may enjoy interacting with others, but they find it very tiring. They are quite territorial and need to stake out some private space of their own. After spending a day at work interacting with others, the I needs to come home and sit in a quiet corner without pressure to talk and socialize. An I can feel lonely in a crowd.

Now, no one is entirely E or entirely I; the preference exists to varying degrees in each of us. People who have a strong E preference are quite capable of working alone; they will simply need to recharge their batteries by interacting with other people. People who have a strong I preference are very capable of working with others; but they will need to recharge their batteries by taking some time alone. So don't start to think of the I as a socially awkward nerd or as the E as a gregarious salesman type; both types can operate successfully with others or alone.

As we discussed above, the second letter in your type is either S or N. These stand for sensing and intuition, and denote your perceptual preference--your way of thinking about things.

About 75% of people are sensing types; they direct their perception to the observable by way of their senses. Sensing types are most attracted to experience as it is. If you are an S, you probably like to use your eyes and ears and your other senses to find out what's happening around you. You most likely dislike new problems unless you have a standard way to solve them. You enjoy using old skills more than you enjoy learning new ones. You are patient with details, but get impatient when the details become complicated.

About one-fourth of people are intuitives; they direct their perception to meanings, relationships, and possibilities by way of their insight. Intuitives are most attracted to the meanings of facts and to figuring out how those facts fit together. If you are an N, you probably like to use your imagination to come up with new ways to do things and new possibilities. You most likely like solving new problems, but dislike doing the same thing over and over. You like learning new skills much more than you like practicing old ones. You are impatient with details, but don't mind complicated situations.

The S gives his/her attention to facts that come from personal experience and easily sees the details. This is the person who "can't see the forest for the trees." The N gives his/her attention to the meaning behind the facts and easily sees the big picture, but frequently misses the details. The N is so busy contemplating the forest that she may never notice it is made up of trees.

S individuals want facts (Think of Joe Friday on the old Dragnet episodes: "Just the facts, ma'am."), value experience, are reality-based, notice the actual. They are often referred to as no-nonsense people. They observe details accurately. N individuals value creativity, imagination, possibilities, and the hypothetical. They ignore details they don't see as important at the moment. They use imagery and metaphor, daydream and are given to poetry, fiction, and fantasy. The N is more subject to factual error than the S, is interested in the future, and tends to skip around, leaving things unfinished. The S looks plodding and slow to see the possibilities in a situation to the N. The N looks flighty, impractical, and unrealistic to the S.

The S values soundness, accuracy, and common sense. These individuals have acute powers of observation and a memory for facts and details. They have a well-developed capacity for realism--seeing the world as it really is. They rely on experience rather than theory, trust the conventional or customary way to do things, and exhibit a preference for beginning with what is known and real before moving step-by-step to tie new facts to past experience. The N values insight and flashes of imagination and creativity. These individuals exhibit insight into complex situations, but are rotten with details. They have the ability to see abstract, symbolic, and theoretical relationships and the capacity to see future possibilities, often creative ones. They prefer to rely on inspiration rather than past experience, are interested in the new and untried, and prefer learning new material through an intuitive grasp of its meaning and relationships to other information.

S people are attracted to careers where skillful application of well-learned knowledge is more important than developing new solutions, where working with tangibles is more important than using theory and insight, and where dealing with immediate situations and using conventional wisdom is more important than making bold new breakthroughs. They are often described as practical, sensible, and down-to-earth.

N people are attracted to careers where it is more important to find a pattern in a complex system than to deal with practical details, where creating new knowledge is more important than applying existing knowledge, where working with theory and imagination is more important than dealing with tangibles, and where intellectual challenge is more important than enjoyment of the pleasures of everyday events. They are often described as ingenious, imaginative, and fascinating.

What we've discussed here are characteristics of extreme S and N types. Your preferences may not be as strong as those described here, so you may exhibit characteristic behaviors to a lesser degree.

The third letter in your type is your judgment preference. This constitutes your basis for choice. This is the only preference which shows a gender difference, although gender differences are slight. Overall, people seem to be about half thinkers and half feelers, but the males are slightly more likely to exhibit the T preference (about 60% to 40% of women) and females are slightly more likely to exhibit the F preference (about 60% to 400% for men). Be sure not to confuse this preference with emotional sensitivity. As you study the preferences here, don't decide that T people are uncaring louts and F people are mushy and dumb. That's not what we're looking at here.

The T individual prefers a logical decision-making process aimed at an impersonal finding. If you are a T, you probably like to decide things logically. You want to be treated with justice and fair play. You may find you neglect and hurt others' feelings without even being aware of it. You have a tendency to give your attention first to ideas or things rather than to human relationships; and you can likely operate in a situation where there isn't harmony in a group of people. If you are an F, you probably engage in a process of appreciation, making judgments in terms of a system of subjective personal values. You like praise and like to please other people, even in unimportant things. You are likely very aware of others' feelings and can predict how others will feel. You probably get upset by arguments and conflicts and value harmony highly.

T people make decisions by examining the data, staying cool, and remaining impersonal and objective. They are likely to use objective criteria as a basis for decision and in attempts to persuade others to their way of thinking. They are often seen by the F as cold, unemotional, heartless, and remote; some of this is because they hide their emotional reactions, finding emotional displays embarrassing. F people make decisions by paying attention to personal values and feelings. They're put off by rule-governed choice and will try to persuade via appeals to emotions and personal impact. They are often seen by the T person as warm, but soft, fuzzy, and emotional; some of this is because their emotional reactions are more visible. The F enjoys displays of emotion.

Words important to the T include principle, policy, law, criteria, firmness, justice, and analysis. The T has well-developed powers of analysis and the ability to weigh facts objectively, including the consequences of an action, both intended and unintended. Words important to the F include extenuating circumstances, humane, harmony, good/bad, appreciation, sympathy, and devotion. The F has well-developed values and standards and a knowledge of what matters most to self and to others.

The T values objectivity, impartiality, and a sense of fairness and justice. T people are attracted to areas where tough-mindedness and technical skills are needed. The F values harmony, empathy, and compassion. F people are attracted to areas where understanding and communication with people are needed and find interpersonal skills more interesting than technical skills.

Now the T isn't really hard-hearted and cold; it's just that the T prefers to make decisions based on objective criteria. A T can feel bad about the results of such a decision, but just doesn't believe that there is a better basis for making such choices. And the F isn't incapable of logic and analysis; it's just that the F prefers to consider values and feelings in making decisions. An F can see the logic in a T's decision, but just doesn't see logic as a valid basis for making such choices.

Once again, these preferences are a matter of degree. Some people have stronger preferences than others, so the types described here may be modified somewhat in particular individuals.

The fourth letter of your type has to do with whether you rely most strongly on your perceptual process or your judgment process in the actual process of making decisions. A J who's making a decision relies more strongly on the T or F preference than on the S or N preference. A P who's making decisions relies more strongly on the S or N preference than on the T or F preference. The world is split fairly evenly between J and P individuals.

A J likes to have a plan--likes to have things settled and decided ahead of time. If you're a J, you probably try to make things come out the way they "ought to." You most likely like to finish one project before you begin with another. You usually have your mind made up, and, in fact, may want things settled so much that you decide too quickly before you have sufficient information on which to base a decision. You want to be right. You probably live by standards and schedules that are not so easily changed. A P likes to stay flexible and avoid fixed plans. If you're a P, you probably deal easily with unplanned and unexpected events. You most likely have many projects, but have trouble finishing them all. You usually are looking for more information, and may wait so long to make a decision that events overtake you, leaving you with no decision at all. You don't like to miss anything. You probably live by making changes to deal with problems as they come along.

J individuals feel a sense of urgency until a decision is make, then they rest. They establish deadlines and take them seriously; they communicate their deadlines and expect them to be met. The J works before play and do what's necessary in a situation. They are outcome-oriented and see the P as indecisive, procrastinating, foot-dragging, aimless, and blocking decisions. P individuals are perfectly comfortable waiting for more data before deciding; they feel uneasy after the decision is made. They view deadlines as suggested times to get going on a project; because of this tendency, they will give others a deadline earlier than the real one to allow for this. The P is more playful and feels no need to finish work before having fun. P people prefer the instrumental aspects of work--that is, the process itself--and see the J as impatient, jumping to conclusions, too hasty, driven, pressuring, rigid, inflexible, and arbitrary.

The J's favorite words and phrases include settled, decided, plan, wrap it up, and get this show on the road. The P's favorite words and phrases include pending, let life happen, open-ended, something will turn up, there's plenty of time, wait and see, and what deadline?

If we return to the original Jungian types referred to at the very beginning of this discussion, we can begin to see how various preferences interact in an individual. June described four basic types, which can be defined in terms of Myers-Briggs preferences. They follow:

SP: The SP (approximately 38% of the population) is the best type to have around in a crisis. That's because the S can sum up a situation in an instant and make a fast sound decision about what needs to be done. SP individuals enjoy tools and enjoy using good ones. They don't care to tie down, plan, or prepare. It will not excite an SP youngster to tell him that what he's learning will someday be important to know; the child will reply with, "Well, then I'll learn it someday when it's important." These children have trouble in school and less frequently than any other type go on to college and graduate school. They're plenty bright enough; they just don't share with their teachers the belief that it makes sense to prepare for an uncertain future. SPs prefer to deal with the future when it shows up. SPs like action, so they're also often the children in the classroom stirring some action up. In fact, when things get boring and routine, the SP is likely to make trouble just to keep things interesting, even as an adult. On the other hand, the SP is the best guest at every party, spontaneous, witty, charming, and optimistic.

SP individuals tend to choose careers that fit these preferences, including the fields of banking; the military; trouble-shooting of various kinds; and action occupations like athlete, performer, and adventurer. SPs are likely to turn up as race car drivers, gamblers, ambulance drivers, detectives, and pilots.

You might wonder how a child who doesn't want to learn something that might be useful later could have the discipline to develop specialized skills. A large majority of singers, musicians, dancers, and athletes are SPs, a group you might have difficulty seeing engaged in the hours of practice needed to develop high-level skills in these fields. Understand that the SP child isn't spending years at the piano or the free-throw line just on the promise that someday the skills learned will be useful. The SP child will practice many times longer than others to perfect skills, not because she wants someday to be great, but because practicing is so darned much fun.

SPs live in the moment more easily than any other type. I would always arrange to have an SP on hand whenever things go wrong.

SJ: The SJ (also about 38% of the population) couldn't be more different from her SP counterpart. The SJ feels a strong sense of duty and obligation. This is the person who will spend a lot of time attending to what "ought to" be done. The SJ is a caretaker and a little parental with others. The Boy Scout motto, "Be prepared," must have been written by an SJ. These are natural pessimists, who are convinced that we must be ready for whatever will go wrong--and something surely will. SJs are the guardians of tradition, rules, and laws. They are disapproving of wrong-doers. They are often described as pillars of the community.

SJs tend to choose occupations that reflect the care-taking role and their interest in protecting tradition and convention. They are rule people. Some professions that particularly attract SJs include historian, business, service occupations, secretarial work, banking, middle management, accounting, dentistry, barber, civil service, librarian, educational administration, and nursing. SJs who attend medical school frequently choose family practice as a specialty.

NT: NTs (about 12 % of the population) value intelligence and strive for competence and understanding in all of their endeavors. They are highly self-critical and judge themselves ruthlessly. NTs are driven by a striving to improve; they question everything. They tend to be good students and attend college and graduate school in higher numbers than any other type. Consequently, a high proportion of college professors are NT types. NTs schedule their play, then work hard at being good. An NT won't play tennis badly just for fun; if the NT takes up tennis, there will be lessons, a rigorous practice schedule, and endless striving for perfection in the game. NTs are also very good with high levels of complication.

Occupational fields that appeal to NTs include science, mathematics, philosophy, engineering, technology, logic, design, research and development, upper-level management, manufacturing, criminology, and securities analysis.

NF: The NF (also about 12 % of the population) is most interested in seeking meaning. This is the self-actualizer with a sense of mission. The NF is very self-expressive and often seeks to share self-knowledge with others. NFs are also very persuasive and tend to involve themselves in various causes. Many missionaries, leaders of social justice movements, and other leaders of causes in society are NFs. The encounter groups of the 60s were mostly attended and supported by NF individuals. The NF has little interest in commercialism and may choose to pursue a poorly paid career if it carries the sense of mission so important to the NF.

Typical NF occupations include writer, novelist, dramatist, playwright, journalist, poet, psychiatrist, counselor, social worker, minister, teacher (especially in the social sciences or humanities), missionary, Peace Corps volunteer, and interpretive artist.

Let's return for a moment to the four basic mental processes with which we started this discussion: sensing, intuition, thinking, and feeling. I'm sure it has occurred to you that individuals who differ greatly in type may have a fair amount of difficulty getting along. What follows is some advice to those with a preference for each one of these four mental processes that might help you to achieve coorientation with others.

Advice for the Intuitive: Because you are often perceived as flighty and vague, there are things you can do to help you interact with those hard-headed S people you run into. Often you must take others through the steps you skipped over in achieving your outcomes.

1) Say explicitly what you mean; don't ask others to make the leaps you do.

2) Finish sentences; don't assume everyone will know what you mean.

3) Give notice when you are about to change the subject.

4) Finish each point, then move on explicitly to the next.

Advice for the Sensing Individual: Because you are often perceived as very sure of yourself, even too much so, you must be sensitive to the way other individuals see the same situation.

1) Give ideas as contributions, not as refutation of others' opinions.

2) Don't dismiss the N as foolish, even though he ignores facts.

Advice for the Thinker: Remember that not everyone makes decisions as objectively as you do AND that they do not see this as a fault. It is easy to make F people feel attacked, especially by the T because T people don't pay much attention to feelings. Remember that not everyone operates in the same way as you do and that this is normal and even a good thing. Also remember that it's important for colleagues, friends, and loved ones to feel accepting of decisions made jointly.

1) Make use of feeling in persuasion to help the F to agree with you.

2) Remember that the F would rather agree with you; make it easy to do so.

3) When criticizing, mention points of agreement before disagreement.

4) Pay careful attention to signals about how the other person is feeling.

Advice for the Feeler: Remember that the T doesn't know how you feel unless you spell it out. Remember that facts and rational analysis are important for helping others to understand and accept your viewpoint.

1) Be as logical and orderly as possible.

2) Be careful not to ignore facts and reasons given.

3) Describe your reaction to suggestions and criticisms made.

Each of the preferences influences what an individual is looking for in a solution to a problem. Here, in a nutshell, is what you'll see each of the preferences valuing most in decision-making:

The S wants a workable solution.

The N wants the door left open for improving on the solution chosen.

The T wants a systematic solution.

The F wants a solution that is humanly agreeable.

Summary: Understanding your type is of value to communication in many settings. Probably the most important of these is that understanding others reduces the value of differences. Getting to acceptance of another's right to differ is an important outcome of understanding type. I find that understanding a little bit of what's in someone's mind lessens friction, increases the probability that relationships can improve, and helps you to persuade others when it is important to do so.

To Learn More About Personality Type try these links:

NASA's Type Page

Type Logic

The Personality Page