I believe that typology is fascinating, it was the gateway that lead me to discover my love for psychology. Catagorizing ourselves and forcing a bunch of labels onto ourselves is often limiting and harmful. We are abstract, and complex. However, I think it is a good starting point to learning about ourselves.
My Typology: INTP ILI 9w1 954 R[L]Ua/I/ Mel-Phleg FLEV
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) is a self-report questionnaire and system created by a mother (Katharine Cook Briggs) and her daughter (Isabel Briggs Myers) to fit individuals into 16 categories, or “personalities” based on studies by Carl Jung (pronounced young).
I think it is important to note that MBTI is widely regarded as pseudoscience, meaning there is not enough evidence to back it up as a scientific method. Originally, I wanted the "study" branch of my site to only involve subjects I learned in school, but I decided to include some of my other interests/hyperfixations that I enjoy collecting information about.
There are 4 dimensions or axes in MBTI - introversion/extraversion, intuition/sensation, thinking/feeling, and judging/percieving. You may see this method being used on personality test sites such as 16personalities. This is a simplified model of Carl Jung’s theory.
Introversion:
- An inward function, where focus is primarily directed on their inner "world" - and priority is put upon their subjective perception/values.
- Gathering energy from solitude and time alone in low stimulation environments.
Extraversion:
- An outward function, where focus is primarily directed on the outer world - and priority is put upon focusing on people/external ideas.
- Gathering energy from interacting with the external world in high stimulation environments.
Sensing:
- A percieving/irrational function in which one primarily takes in new information by using their senses -- eg. through interacting with the physical world, or interacting with one's previous experiences.
Intuition:
- A percieving/irrational function in which one primarily takes in new information by making abstract connections and patterns between items in the physical world.
Thinking
- A judging/rational function in which one primarily relies on logical reasoning guided by principles.
Feeling
- A judging/rational function in which one primarily empathizes on emotions and/or morality during reasoning.
Judging
- An individual with a preference for "judging" favors planning and organization. Their appreciation for structure may appear in external actions, or in their internal systems. They tend to keep their options limited - only going in depth in a few areas they deem important. They are often experts in a few fields.
Percieving
- An individual with a preference for "percieving" are spontaneous and flexible. In contrast, they like keeping their options open - and enjoy exploring many different possibilities. They could be described as a jack of all trades.
Conclusion
There are a total of 2⁴ or 16 different combinations or types that could be formed by choosing the option in each axis that aligns the most with you. An example of a type would begin with I/E (shortened forms for introversion/extraversion), followed by S/N (sensing/intuition), and ending with T/F (thinking/feeling). An example of a type in MBTI can be "ISFJ".