Thursday, April 3, 2014

So that's what's wrong with you!


*If you are interested at all in psychology, then read ahead. If not, I am sorry for boring you.*

Craig and I attend a couple's Bible study class on Wednesday nights. We were first introduced to it by some friends of ours and we have learned so much from it in just the last few weeks. We love that it is centered around our marriage, which as we have learned, should be our priority - second only to our relationship with God.

Last week we were asked to complete a Myers-Briggs personality test to determine how to communicate effectively with our spouses. Craig and I were pretty confident that we knew each other, but thought it would be fun to participate and we are glad we did. It turns out we really did know each other really well, but the results were a good reminder as to each others' strengths and weaknesses. We also prove the point that Ms. Abdul made all those years ago.


So basically there are 8 different characteristics that help to define your personality. Though we all have a bit of each one in us, there are 4 of the 8 that we each prefer. They are as follows, in short {source of information}.

Favorite world : Do you get your energy from other people or do you recharge alone? 
This is called Extraversion (E) or Introversion (I).
Information : Do you prefer to get the details in basic form or would you rather find your own meanings and interpretations? 
This is called Sensing (S) or Intuition (N).
Decisions : Do you follow strict logic and historical consistency or do you consider each specific circumstance or situation? 
This is called Thinking (T) or Feeling (F).
Structure : Do you prefer to have a strict schedule and have all decisions made ahead of time or would you rather go with the flow and be open to new suggestions and information? 
This is called Judging (J) or Perceiving (P).

So what are we?


Well, Craig is an ENFJ. Basically that means he is :
  • Warm, compassionate, and supportive
  • Loyal and trustworthy
  • Highly attuned to others; their empathy enables them to quickly understand emotional needs, motivations, and concerns
  • Guided by personal values in decision making
  • Likely to value harmony and cooperation; tend to look for the best in others
  • Curious about new ideas and stimulated by possibilities for contributing to the good of humanity
  • Usually seen by others as sociable, personable, gracious, expressive, responsive, and persuasive



And I am an INFP, which means :

  • Sensitive, concerned, and caring
  • Loyal to people or a cause
  • Guided by an inner core of values in decision making
  • Focused on contributing to their own and others' inner development and growth
  • Committed to a strong personal belief system
  • Likely to enjoy reading, discussing, and reflecting on possibilities for positive change
  • Usually seen by others as sensitive, introspective, and complex

Ok, so we aren't complete opposites, but how we deal with the outside world and how we recharge ourselves is completely different. Basically, while he recharges around people I need my alone time. While he is a stickler for schedules and plans, I prefer to fly by the seat of my pants and just see what happens. These differences make for some interesting interactions between the two of us. Ok, fine. Sometimes they cause us to fight, but the purpose of taking this test was to remind us how to talk to each other in the midst of these "interesting interactions".

We thoroughly enjoyed this study of each other, and I thought you may enjoy it also. So if psychology interests you at all then go check it out at http://online.cpp.com, and take this fun little test for yourself.







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