Self-identification

[andrewducker]

I was intrigued by how few people identified as "an introvert" on the previous poll. Looking down the list, it seems to me that the majority of people on my friends list are reasonably introverted - insofar as they get energy from time away fom people, and feel drained by prolonged periods around others, however it seems that they don't feel the same.

So, I'm intrigued how people come out on the Myers-Briggs personality types.

If you've never taken this before then take the test here (takes about five minutes) and report back...

[Poll #1446310]

Comments

[andrewducker]

I'm an INTP, of course - the classic geek :->

[star-tourmaline.livejournal.com]

The J-P preference isn't really about whether people prefer to judge or perceive. We all do both, and there are social weightings attached to the words that make this a sub-optimal frame.

It's really about whether people prefer to be in the S-N data gathering mode (perceivers) or the T-F decision-making mode (judgers). Put another way, Js make decisions as early as possible in a process and Ps as late as possible.

Sorry to be picky but it's easy to mess up typing because people don't want to be labelled judgmental or lacking in perception. (Obviously the naming conventions for the other dimensions have just as many problems.)

[http://users.livejournal.com/la_marquise_de_/]

INFJ

[johncoxon.livejournal.com]

introvert (noun) a shy, reticent, and typically self-centered person.

I think you need to reconsider your definition, because what you're claiming to mark someone as introverted doesn't necessarily match up with people who are, according to the definition of the word, introverted. I'm not shy, reticent or self-centred, but by your definition I'm introverted. Yes, I find social occasions draining - that's because I put energy into them, and nothing to do with being introverted.

And that test fails, because it isn't fannish enough. There's no way I'm going to tell it I feel involved with "TV soaps" but Battlestar Galactica and Heroes both got me very deeply involved... :P

[johnbobshaun.livejournal.com]

INTJ. Which looks about right.

[ladysisyphus.livejournal.com]

ENFP, baby!

For a part of my adolescence, I definitely tended toward the more introverted, and I still get tetchy if I'm around people too long, but I remember I once went to a therapist and told her that I'd originally perceived myself as being an introvert, and she laughed (politely) in my face. I guess I'm stuck being a people person!

[andrewducker]

I'm an introverted people person too. I _love_ people, but I can't cope with many of them for long. Going on family holidays generally drives me to hide in my room for long periods, as does anything else with lots of people there. I think it's great that all those people are there, I just get drained after a few hours.

[endless-psych.livejournal.com]

ENFJ (Although just barely F and J BTW. That could change tommorrow were I to take the test again...).

Why Jungian typology? I feel dirty now...

[andrewducker]

Not my definition. One that I've seen in use all over the place. On the introversion/extroversion scale, it's generally described as extroverts get energy from being around people and introverts use energy up being around people. I know extroverts who put a lot of energy into social occasions - and they come out with _more_ than they went in with...

[andrewducker]

Myers Briggs is the one test that seems to actually work, descriptively, in my experience. Ok, The Big Five personality test works too, but it doesn't have the same flavour - whereas MBTI descriptions seem to actually grab people's imaginations.

[endless-psych.livejournal.com]

The Big five personality tests are pretty robust. Myers-Briggs I'm not so sure about.

[johncoxon.livejournal.com]

It may be a definition that is commonly used, but it conflicts with what the word actually means. Introverted people are shy people, people who don't like engaging with other people, people who tend to look inside themselves. If you're comfortable to plunge into new social situations and go "hey, I'm John!", then I'd argue that you're not really introverted no matter how much energy you find it could take up.

By the way, I am, apparently, ENFJ, although that could change to ESFP if I answered slightly differently, I think, given how slight the N and J are. Some of the questions were badly worded, I felt.

[likeneontubing.livejournal.com]

I love Myers Briggs

[likeneontubing.livejournal.com]

Introverted and extroverted are not in the 'normal' definition within these tests.
It's about looking at the world, ie the whole perspective/big picture or the details.

It's a lot more complicated than that obviously

[andrewducker]

Oh, it definitely has problems. It's not perfect, and people change more than they'd have you believe. Still probably my favourite of the categorising tests.

[johncoxon.livejournal.com]

Perhaps in those tests, but I have a feeling that people who responded to Andy's previous polls were probably judging whether they were introverted or not by the definition of the word, rather than in the test's context, which would be why so many people that Andy would define as introverted would come out as being extroverted – if you use a definition that isn't the dictionary one without making that clear, then you're going to find there are discrepancies between what you think things should look like and what they actually look like.

[andrewducker]

The bits on Wikipedia for Reliability and Validity are particularly interesting:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers-Briggs_Type_Indicator#Validity

"Within each dichotomy scale, as measured on Form G, about 83% of categorizations remain the same when individuals are retested within nine months, and around 75% when individuals are retested after nine months."

And apparently the dichotomies work pretty well - but people who are near the centre can turn up as being in either camp depending on the context of the test. I've been known to show up as either INFP or ENTP on rare occasion, but mostly I'm a solid INTP.

[andrewducker]

Which is a very good point!

[johncoxon.livejournal.com]

Why thanks! :D

[erindubitably.livejournal.com]

I'm kind of the opposite - I always come out as extroverted in the Myers-Briggs tests but would call myself introverted by the classical definition. I absolutely love being around people and don't mind crowds/big groups, but I can also be pretty quiet within said groups, unless I have a reason to be otherwise. I can be shy around new people and take a while to 'come out of my shell', but I don't find people draining and indeed find that being around them can help soothe me when I'm feeling ruffled or otherwise 'off'. So I guess it helps to clarify which definition you're talking about in order to make sure everyone's on the same page, otherwise you might get mixed results.

[fjm.livejournal.com]

INTJs most of the way. Now there's a surprise (not). In quick and dirty poll I did for The Inter-Galactic Playground, NTJ dominated, with NTP not far behind.

And I'm an INTJ although usually pretty close on the N/S axis.

[fjm.livejournal.com]

My extrovert friends who put huge energy into large gatherings, leave them bouncing with energy.

And this is why I, who do just fine at social gatherings and put a lot of energy into them, am an I on M-B, because after that, I go to sleep.

[likeneontubing.livejournal.com]

True dat :)

[the-magician.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure where I get energy, but I know there's a boundary that requires energy to get over from "time by myself" to "time with others" that I often don't feel the energy to climb.

"Your" test [1] gives ENFJ for me today, but J with a "1%". (though retaking the test, with some different answers [2], I get ENFJ again but with a stronger J!)


[1] There are many of these tests online, this is the one you chose.
[2] I retook the test reading the questions like "You prefer to act immediately rather than speculate about various options" in a different way. First time I read that I felt it unfair as I like to do both, and answered "yes" as I like to act immediately otherwise things don't get done ... but I also like to speculate about the various options, so the second time I said "no" as I don't prefer one to the other, I like both.

[fjm.livejournal.com]

I don't find people draining and indeed find that being around them can help soothe me when I'm feeling ruffled or otherwise 'off'.

Thats the MB definition of an extrovert. It's not about being quiet or loud. I am loud, but score extreme I. My partner who is quiet is nearer the middle.