Who am I, Who are you?

A couple of decades ago, I remember taking a myers-briggs personality test, as part of a psychology class I was taking at the time at CU. The reason I remembered this recently is that one techinique used in character construction while writing is to run that test for your major characters, getting an idea of how and why that character may act. Out of curiousity, I did some web searches, and came up with a whole host of useful sites for character development through personality testing.

That also got me thinking. I remember when I took that M-B test, I scored as an INFP. (One good description of an INFP is found at http://www.geocities.com/lifexplore/infp.htm .) FOr those who don't know about it, Myers briggs breaks personality into 4 axis, scoring you along the axis in each area. That pigeonholes you into one of 16 categories, as defined by the 4 letter type.

In a nutshell, the first letter refers to energy orientation, where you turn your mental energy, inwardly or outwardly. I vs E

Those who prefer Introversion draw their primary energy from the inner world of information, thoughts, ideas, and other reflections. Tose preferring Introversion find the need to retreat to a more private setting as if to recharge their drained batteries. In contrast, those who prefer Extraversion are drawn to the outside world as their elemental source of energy. They must engage the things, people, places and activities going on in the outside world for their life force.

Letter 2 refers to how one perceives, or takes in information. S or N


Those who prefer Sensing Perception favor clear, tangible data and information that fits in well with their direct here-and-now experience. In contrast, those who prefer Intuition Perception are drawn to information that is more abstract, conceptual, big-picture, and represents imaginative possibilities for the future.

Letter 3 refers to how one forms judgements or makes decisions. T or F

Those who prefer Thinking Judgment have a natural preference for making decisions in an objective, logical, and analytical manner with an emphasis on tasks and results to be accomplished. Those whose preference is for Feeling Judgment make their decisions in a somewhat global, visceral, harmony and value-oriented way, paying particular attention to the impact of decisions and actions on other people.

The last letter refers to how one deals with the outside world J or P

Those who prefer Judging rely upon either their T or F preference to manage their outer life. This typically leads to a style oriented towards closure, organization, planning, or in some fashion managing the things and or people found in the external environment. The drive is to order the outside world. While some people employ an assertive manner, others "ordering touch" - with respect to people - may be light. Those who prefer Perceiving rely upon either their S or N preference to run their outer life. This typically results in an open, adaptable, flexible style of relating to the things and people found in the outside world. The drive is to experience the outside world rather than order it; in general lack of closure is easily tolerated.

So. 25 years ago, I was Labled as (I)ntroverted, i(N)tuitive, (F)eeling, (P)erceptive. Out of curiousity, I took one of the online tests again to see if I've changed.

Nope. Still INFP. Still a "Healer", or "dreamer:.

If you'd like to learn more, one web site that seems to have a lot of info is http://www.personalitypathways.com/type_inventory.html . You can see where you fit, follow links to learn more about your type, and generally fiddle with the fiddlybits to your hearts content. For a more detailed, psych type test, try http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes1.htm .

Oh, two sites that describe INFP's (me) are http://www.personalitypage.com/INFP.html or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/INFP .

So, who are you. Feel free to comment (I"ve opened comments to anyone, don't need to be a member at all, so go ahead. Be anonymous if you wish......

Now, to apply this to writing.....

Clear skies,
Jim