What's your personality type?

Apologies to my numerous readers for not typing anything yesterday. I had to endure a GP Registrar Training Day at a posh conference centre in Chesham on Tuesday and then had a day off to recover yesterday (actually, it was because I was up late reading aamals for Shab-e-Qadr). The training day has all the usual touchy-feely, I love being a GP stuff in the morning and then the rather important discussion about the various assessments I'll be having during the next year, including a clinical skills exam. The day included a posh 3-course lunch, but I was fasting - good-timing as always.

Part of the day was spent talking about personalities of GPs. We were made to take the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator assessment. A psychometric questionnaire designed to measure psychological preferences in how people percieve the world and make decisions. If that sounds confusing, it's because it is.

The questionnaire was a series of silly psychological questions about what you prefer in certain situations - are you outgoing or introverted, are you easy to get to know or difficult, are you the life of the party or just there to make up the numbers, etc, etc. The aim of the questionnaire is to define four contrasting traits to come up with a full definition of your personal character. The four types divided into Extraversion vs. Introversion, Sensing vs. iNtuition, Thinking vs. Feeling and Judging vs. Perceiving.

The questionnaire would give a result of four letters, one from each type, to describe what are the dominant traits in an individual. It doesn't mean that you display none of the opposing type, but just that the opposing type is less dominant. It means that the particular trait is what one goes to without thinking, whereas the opposing trait requires effort and thought. Putting it practically, fold your arms right now... now fold them the other way and notice how you need to put some thought and effort into it and also how uncomfortable it feels. The same logic applies to these personality types.

For those of you who know me, guess what four letter combination I had. I'll give you a clue - according to my four-letter combination I am "a hands-on learners who lives in the moment, seeking the best in life, wanting to share it with my friends. I am open to situations, able to improvise to bring about desired results. We are active people who want to solve their problems rather than simply discuss them." Anyone agree? Anyone know the four-letter combination? Answers in the comment section please.

What is the point of all this? Actually I don't know. I didn't learn anything new about myself. If I had been told what the four types were, before doing the questionnaire and then before being led through a detailed description of each, I probably would have picked the same four letter combination that my questionnaire revealed. Before I finish, a quick description of the four types:

• Extraversion describes people who draw energy from action: they tend to act, then reflect, then act further. For Introversion, it is the opposite, they become less energised as they act: they prefer to reflect, then act, then reflect again. Extraverts are action-orientated, whereas introverts are thought-orientated.
• Sensing and iNtution are information gathering functions. Those who prefer Sensing, trust information that is tangible and concrete, they distrust hunches or "gut instincts." Those who prefer iNtuition, trust information that is more abstract or theoretical, they trust their "gut instincts."
• Thinking and Feeling are decision making functions, used to make rational decisions, based on the data received from the information gathering functions (see above). Those who prefer Feeling, base their decisions by associating or empathising with the situation, weighing the situation and considering the needs of the people involved. Thinkers decide things from a more detached setpoint: measured by what seems rational, logical and consistent.
• The last pair identifies people who have a preference for using either the Judging function (Thinking or Feeling) or the Percieving function (Sensing or iNtuition) when related to the outside world. To avoid the growing confusion, putting this as simply as possible, if you are a Judging person, then your Thinking or Feeling is dominant and if you are a Percieving person, then your Sensing or iNtuition is more dominant. If you are a TJ the world appears more logical, if you are a FJ, you are more empathetic. If you are a SP, the world appears concrete and for NP, the world is more abstract. Judging types prefer to have matters settled, whereas Percieving types prefer to keep decisions open.

The four letter combine to describe your dominant functions. The dominant function (E or I) is supported by the secondary (auxillary) function (S or N) and then the tertiary function (opposite to the auxillary function). The least conscious function is always the opposite of the dominant function. For example, if you are an ESTJ, it means Extraverted function is dominant, and is also a Judging function (because of the J preference). The dominant function is ET (extraverted thinking) and the auxillary funcion is Sensing, which is also a Perceiving function. The tertiary funcition is opposite to the auxillary function, therefore iNtuition. Lastly, the least conscious function is the opposite preference and attitude to the dominant, IF (introverted feeling)

So, after spending enough time confusing you, it is time for deciding which four-letter combination you think you are. Once you have the four letter combo (starting with E or I, then S or N, then T or F and lastly J, or P) have a look here to see what personality type you are and whether you agree and then have a look here to see which celebrity is the same as you. If you're still interested, please let me know your types in the comments section.

Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?