What we’re about
Hello everyone! My name is Sam and I'd like to welcome you to the Myers Briggs (MBTI) Group.
To find out which type you are go to:
https://www.16personalities.com
The purpose of this group is to meet up regularly where we talk about all things Myers Briggs. Activities will include walks, cycling, stargazing, paddleboarding and pubs.
THE COST OF THIS MEETUP GROUP
You are not obliged to pay anything but I would certainly appreciate a contribution towards my Meetup fees by donating £1.
A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO MYERS BRIGGS
Here is an explanation of Myers Briggs that I've recently cobbled together. It isn't perfect by any means but it's probably okay for beginners.
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a system which provides a very interesting way of understanding different kinds of people. The system divides the human race into 16 broad groups or overall personality types.
Rather than grouping people by age, race, gender, occupation or their favourite TV shows, the Myers-Briggs system focuses on special psychological preferences that play an important role in how each personality is formed during childhood.
These key preferences are about how we experience life and especially how we process our experiences so they are known as processing traits.
THE 4 PREFERENCES >
According to Myers-Briggs, we are all shaped by four important preferences when it comes to how to process our experiences. These preferences make each of us more or less:
1. Introverts or Extroverts (I-E)
2. Sensors or iNtuitives (S-N)
3. Thinkers or Feelers (T-F)
4. Judgers or Perceivers (J-P)
These are the four pairs of processing traits in the Myers Briggs system. For each pair, we tend to lean more towards one processing approach than the other. Here is what each of those pairs describes:
1. Introversion-Extraversion > this is about WHAT WE GET OUR ENERGY FROM: either the EXTERNAL world of people and events or the internal world of reflection, processing and experiential recovery. Extroverts often prefer to experience more of something before understanding it whereas introverts often prefer to understand something before experiencing more of it...
2. Sensing-iNtuiting > this is about HOW WE TEND TO PERCEIVE THINGS, either by SENSING what there is OR by INTUITING possibilities that may exist beyond appearances, beneath the surface or between the lines. Sensors tend to be down-to-earth and more interested in what they can experience directly whereas iNtuitives are more interested in interpretations and hunches about reality including those which emanate from the symbolic, linguistic and unconscious realm. The majority of people are sensors and many of them may come across to iNtuitives as rather superficial since they are stuck in the somewhat mundane confines of what is whereas iNtuitives are fascinated by what could be, sometimes to the extent of dangerously confusing it with reality...
3. Thinking-Feeling > this is about HOW WE TEND TO JUDGE THINGS, i.e. either by THINKING of an impersonal conclusion that is logical, factual, consistent and concerned with objective considerations of cause and effect OR by subjectively finding our way to a conclusion which expresses what we FEEL strongly about. Compared to feelers, thinkers will sometimes lack emotional intelligence such as the understanding of important social signals about thoughts and needs which are often communicated through feelings. Compared to thinkers, feelers tend to be more emotional and will not always critically consider whether an opposing way of seeing things might be true. As a result of their feeling approach, they could be more agreeable and care more about the feelings of others or they could be more self-absorbed and concerned more with their own feelings and sense of "emotional certainty" over the needs and valid opinions of others...
4. Judging-Perceiving > this is about WHETHER WE ARE MORE LIKELY TO DRAW ORGANISING CONCLUSIONS ABOUT EXPERIENCES OR REMAIN CURIOUS, SPONTANEOUS AND OPEN-MINDED while continuing to perceive. Judging types like to have things understood, settled and decided relatively early whereas perceiving types like to keep their options open to change, creativity and chance...
HOW THE 4 PREFERENCES ARE USED IN MYERS-BRIGGS >
It's important to state that every human being will exhibit ALL of the above processing traits, focusing on BOTH the Inner and External world at different times, perceiving through both Sensing and iNtuition, being capable of both Thinking and Feeling as well as Judging and Perceiving on different occasions. However, the leaning towards one or another processing trait within each pair is developmentally significant.
You may have noticed that iNtuition is represented with an "N" rather than an "I". This is because "I" already represents "Introversion", hence the capitalisation of the "N" in "iNtuiting", "iNtuition" and "iNtuitive".
The four preferences are described using letters and dashes as follows:
I-E > Introversion or Extraversion
S-N > Sensing or iNtuition
T-F > Thinking or Feeling
J-P > Judging or Perceiving
They are then placed together side-by-side to describe a personality type as follows:
[I-E] [S-N] [T-F] [J-P]
Examples of a personality type include "INFP" or "ESTJ".
Altogether, there are 16 personality types based on every combination of the 4 major processing preferences.
THE PERCEPTIVE AND JUDGING PROCESSES >
An important point worth noting at this stage is that the second category [S-N] is referred to as the perceptive process or perceptive preference while the third category [T-F] is referred to as the judging process or judging preference.
The last category [J-P] also plays a special role because it tells us whether a personality's particular perceptive process [S or N] or particular judging process [T or F] is their most dominant processing preference.
After all, not all of our processing preferences play an equal role in shaping our personality. For example, there are two types of personality starting with INF: INFJ and INFP. They are similar personality types in some ways but INFJs put iNtuition over Feeling whereas INFPs put Feeling over iNtuition and that makes a big difference.
COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS >
Cognitive functions are the real core of Myers Briggs. They describe what happens to processing traits when they are applied more to the inner or the outer world. Each function has its own two-letter code as follows:
Extroverted iNtuition (Ne)
Introverted iNtuition (Ni)
Extroverted Sensing (Se)
Introverted Sensing (Si)
Introverted Feeling (Fi)
Extroverted Feeling (Fe)
Extroverted Thinking (Te)
Introverted Thinking (Ti)
Every Myers Briggs personality has two main cognitive functions (a dominant function and an auxiliary or secondary function). For example, an INFJ's main two functions are introverted iNtuition (Ni) followed by Extroverted Feeling (Fe) whereas an INFP's top functions are introverted Feeling (Fi) followed by Extroverted iNtuition (Ne). Here is a rough description of each cognitive function:
Introverted Intuition (Ni) - sees possibilities based on flashes, notions or visions largely emanating from the unconscious, often gradually weaving these into a consistent idea or framework
Extraverted Intuition (Ne) - sees possibilities based on flashes, notions or visions largely based on the external world but also inspired by inputs from the unconscious
Introverted Feeling (Fi) - seeks harmony of action and thoughts with personal values. May not always articulate those values.
Extraverted Feeling (Fe) - seeks harmony with and between people in the outside world. Interpersonal and cultural values are important.
Introverted Thinking (Ti) - seeks internal consistency and logic of ideas. Trusts his or her internal framework, which may be difficult to explain to others.
Extraverted Thinking (Te) - seeks logic and consistency in the outside world. Concern for external laws and rules.
Introverted Sensing (Si) - compares present facts and experiences to past experience. Trusts the past. Stores sensory data for future use.
Extraverted Sensing (Se) - acts on concrete data from here and now. Trusts the present, then lets it go.
Each personality type has a "function stack" consisting of the main two (primary and auxiliary) functions and then a tertiary and fourth (inferior) function. The last two are more basic but can be developed later in life.
I hope you have found this information useful :-)
