Friday, February 13, 2009

personality test

Today, for fun, Tammy and I are re-taking our personality tests and comparing them to our results in college. I took this (or a similar version) as a freshman in college, at age 18. My result at that time described me as "INFJ." Here is a description from http://www.personalitytest.net/types/descriptions/index.htm

INFJ: "Author". Strong drive and enjoyment to help others. Complex personality. 1% of the total population. These are serious students and workers who really want to contribute. They are private and easily hurt. They make good spouses, but tend to be physically reserved. People often think they are psychic. They make good therapists, general practitioners, ministers, and so on.
The agreeable nature and quiet personality of INFJs makes them particularly vulnerable to hurt feelings. Distress within close relationships can shatter the INFJ. Like all NFs under stress, INFJs feel fragmented and lost — as if they are acting out a part rather than simply being themselves. This disassociation can be related to physical symptoms for the INFJ, whether real or imagined. Feeling split off from their physical natures, INFJs may become virtually immobilized by repressed feelings.

Today, I took the test online at the above website (who knows its true validity?) and got a different result: ISFJ.

ISFJ: "Conservator". These people are service and work oriented - very loyal. They may suffer from fatigue and tend to be attracted to troublemakers. They are good nurses, teachers, secretaries, general practitioners, librarians, middle managers, and housekeepers. 6% of the total population.
ISFJs respect established authority and they tend to accept others’ opinions and desires as their own. In work situations, they provide a stable and standardized service. Disorderly situations and constantly changing rules can cause them undue stress. At these times ISFJs need to be more assertive and direct because, owing to their kindheartedness and sensitivity, ISFJs can be taken for granted and even taken advantage of. This can cause them to feel resentment and anger — feelings that the ISFJ has a tendency to deny. If the situation worsens and uncomfortable feelings build up, the ISFJ will begin to feel insecure about their status. Worrying that they are not secure or protected enough, they may become overprotective and excessively nervous about foreboding events. This can cause others to feel resistant or defiant which then contributes to the disorder of the situation.

Interestingly, Tammy was an ISFJ in college. If she is still the same, it probably explains why we get along so well - exact same personality type!

I have a theory about why my personality "changed." I think there were a few questions that asked, essentially, do you trust your experiences more, or do you rely more on theoretical alternatives? I think my answer in college was that I didn't rely much on experience but now that I have almost 40 years of it, I tend to trust it more. The above is pure conjecture - I have not taken the time to delve into the deep meaning of "N" versus "S."

Part of me is sad at no longer testing as the complex "author" type, and only 1% of the population, but I am confident that I know myself much better than I did at 18. C'est la vie!

1 comment:

Tammy said...

Too funny... and we took the SAME online test when there were lots to choose from. Yeah, I'm not surprised that we have the same type.

What is Bryan? Loren is an INTP if I remember correctly. I know he was a strong P and I a strong J, which was cause for some discussion when we had marriage counseling.