What follows is a very simplified and unofficial self-scoring tool for finding your likely Myers-Briggs personality type. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is a sophisticated diagnostic tool that can only be administered by trained professionals.
When you answer the following questions, try to think about yourself in general terms. Think of your tendencies, not what you do in single instances. Nobody will fit neatly into just one of these categories. Each of us uses all of the skills that this personality matrix aims to measure, but each of us also has a preference, however slight.
These questions are similar to questions about your left- or right-handedness. You can use either hand, but most people are more comfortable using either the left or the right. A few people will be almost equally comfortable using both hands.
First, are you more interested in the outward world of action and people? Or are you more comfortable with the inner world of thoughts and private time? Does being alone recharge you, or engaging with people and the outside world? Do social events energize you, or drain you?
Please note that these questions are not concerned with whether you are shy or outgoing. They are meant to determine whether you feel antsy after too much time alone or drained after too much time in the company of others. Also note that we all must operate in both worlds--the key is to ask yourself which you find more comfortable.
I feel more comfortable with
Social events
When working in groups, I prefer
I tend to
When doing mental work, I prefer
I am the type of person who
I tend to
When I am in a group, I
Next, think about how you go about gathering information. What kinds of things do you notice first? Do you observe sensory details (such as sights, sounds, smells, and tactile information) in your immediate surroundings, or do you look for patterns on a larger scale? Do you tend to notice individual characteristics, or do you tend to miss these details and instead notice trends and concepts? Again, everyone does a bit of both. But which do you prefer?
I prefer
I would rather rather work with
When I gather information, I usually notice:
I tend to have more
I pay more attention to
I would rather spend time in
Now, think about how you make decisions. Are you more likely to seek out facts and objective data to make an impartial decision, or pay attention to how your decisions affect people? Are your decisions based on logic, applying the standards to everyone equally, or on ethics, taking individual circumstances into account? In other words, do you fit the people to the policy, or the policy to the people?
When I make decisions, I mostly consider what is:
I prefer to decide things using
When I engage with others, I
I give more attention to
I have more of a tendency to
In terms of other people, I am
In very difficult situations, I am very likely to be
I would rather
I see myself as
Finally, think about how you relate to the outside world. Do you prefer to have a firm plan in place before moving forward, or do you prefer to move forward first and keep your plans open-ended? Are you comfortable with uncertainty and fuzziness, or do you prefer orderliness and reaching conclusions, even if you need to revise them later? Are you drawn to routines and performing tasks one at a time, or are you drawn to flexibility and variety? Remember that you may react differently to different tasks, and you may behave differently on the job than you do on your own time. Ask yourself, how do I prefer moving through the world?
My approach to the outside world is
I prefer to
I am more drawn to
When I go about making plans, I
I tend to
I decide things
I would rather
I feel better when
When I wake in the morning I feel more comfortable