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What is the MBTI® ?
A self report questionnaire designed to make Carl Jung's theory of Psychological Type more accessible and understandable in everyday life. Taking the inventory and receiving feedback from a trained practitioner can greatly help individuals understand more about themselves and others. Developing awareness of one's own type and that of others can positively impact on working and personal relationships. We develop greater understanding, improved communication skills, work with each other's strengths and have more awareness of how we might be perceived by others of a different type. If you work with people (and most of us do) then you'll gain invaluable insights from understanding this seminal work of behavioural psychology, particularly as Isabel Myers and Katherine Briggs have brought it to us with the positive intent of recognising and valuing our unique gifts and insights and then learning what individuals of a different type offer also.
Jung concluded that differences in behaviour results from our inborn tendencies to use our minds in different ways. The MBTI tool explores these differences as our 'Preferences' across four 'Dichotomies'.
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THE FOUR DICHOTOMIES
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WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
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(ORIENTATION OF ENERGY)
EXTRAVERSION VS INTROVERSION
(The E -I Dichotomy)
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Where do I prefer to focus my attention?
Do I prefer to focus on the external world or the internal world?
Which focus tends to energise me?
Is outwardly towards people & activities or inwardly towards reflection on memories & thoughts?
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(MENTAL FUNCTION)
SENSING VS INTUITION
(The S- N Dichotomy)
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(My PERCEIVING FUNCTION)
How do I prefer to take in information?
Do I tend to focus on factual information or do I tend to focus on connections between the facts?
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(MENTAL FUNCTION)
THINKING VS FEELING
(The T-F Dichotomy)
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(My JUDGING FUNCTION)
How do I prefer to make decisions?
Do I tend to focus on the logical consequences of a situation or on what is important to me and those involved?
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(ORIENTATION IN THE EXTERNAL WORLD)
JUDGING VS PERCEIVING
(The J-P Dichotomy)
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How do I deal with the outside world?
Do I prefer to live in a planned and organised way, to regulate and manage my life and come to quick decisions or do I prefer to have flexibility, spontaneity and stay open to last minute solutions?
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Combinations of the four dichotomies above, gives rise to 16 Psychological Types. There are no right or wrong preferences or types, each has its unique value and strengths and similarly potential development areas or 'blind spots'.You may have read the brief descriptions above and felt instinctively about your own preferences, or you may have felt certainty over some and confusion with others. (All reactions are valid).Our Psychological type is more than a sum of its constituent parts....there is a dynamic interaction between the preferences and we each have a 'Dominant Function', i.e. the one we trust the most. This dominant function is the one we focus on developing first during childhood. Have you noticed how some young children are enveloped in fantasy or creation, whilst others crave books and knowledge? Some will occupy themselves in a solitary activity and others dislike to be alone? Again, no rights or wrongs, just preferences.
What confuses many is that they have the feeling that they have no preference, they do both. The answer is that we are adaptive, we learn behaviours and ways of being to fit our circumstances; however, we do still have innate preferences that ultimately forge our behaviours. Obviously, our environment, our parents, our external influences all contribute to our overall personalities but that doesn't detract from our original preferences. It can be useful to discover if our current environment is supporting our preferences-or to examine our sources of stress and relate this back to our preferences.
If you'd like to discover your innate strengths, develop flexible communication and leadership skills, then this is a course for you. If you work in Education and would like to flex your style to accommodate all types, then this will give you wonderful insights. If you work in sales or marketing, then understanding other's types is essential. If you work with people and would like to improve your people skills, then do start here.
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