Written by Elif Gulce Batgi
Do you often question your identity or try to comprehend your personality by taking your behaviors into account? As a result of the current period, teenagers question everything including their personalities. You can think that in the history of neurobiology or psychology, there would be a small number of experiments and research conducted. However, the path that ends with modern psychology and neurology contains different ideas and ideologies suggested by philosophers. Turning to the main question, you are in the right place, because there is a way to find out.
The way used for the identification of personality is called Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). You may have heard of some group of people saying weird and meaningless letters such as INTP, ENFJ, ESFP, etc. The question that prompted them to dwell on the “personality issue” is: why are people different from each other (1)? Katherine Briggs and her daughter Isabel Myers created the MBTI test, the original one, in 1919 as a reflection of this question which developed based on their work with Carl Jung’s theory of personality types (1, 3). This test aims to identify someone’s personality type, strengths, and preferences (3). It could seem like it is noncomplex but it is even more than you can imagine (2). Apart from the basic four-letter structure, eight cognitive functions reveal how your mind works and how you connect to the world (2). Carl Jung identified them as sensation, intuition, thinking, feeling, introverted, and extraverted. (2, 4). These functions are identified by the letters S, N, T, F, I, and E (4). Finally, it is time to break down the eight total MBTI cognitive functions (4).
(Image credit: https://personalityjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/8-functions-min-2.png.)
Extraverted Sensing (SE): It uses touch, smell, taste, movement, and sight to embrace information from the physical world (4). They can observe and notice changes that usually don't get noticed by others in society and opportunities for actions.
Introverted Sensing (SI): People have this function related to past events and present circumstances (2). Sensory inputs implement taking these inputs as a reference and help build ideas about how the world works or what for (2).
Extraverted Thinking (TE): This function is the cruelest one in all of the functions because of thinking analytically, logically and reasoning (2). Instead of emotions, the judgments are more effective in the decisions that they make (2). They love convincing people of their thoughts, and implementing them (4).
Introverted Thinking (TI): It seeks to understand personal ideas using a specified framework (4). They continuously question their thoughts to transform them into more rational and reasonable ones (4). Trust in their ideas and ideologies can be difficult to comprehend others (5).
Extraverted Intuition (NE): They are good at noticing the connections between patterns and reality (2). They can see possibilities in the external world (5). They constantly talk about the things they want but do not follow them because they think that this is a part of the process of finding the best idea (4).
Introverted Intuition (NI): It can be described as a function that provides an individual to know things but does not know how or we can say they understand something but can't explain how they did (4). They do not have a clarified answer to these questions (4).
Extraverted Feeling (FE): They are great at understanding others' ideas and replacing their places with them, emphasize (4). They are social, good at gathering people together and caring (4). Considering and caring about others, meeting their needs, and honoring their values. Opinions of other people are effective on their own emotional choices and preferences.
Introverted Feeling (FI): This function is related to individualism, authenticity, and values (4). They would try to feel the pain or any other emotion of others (2). They have a strong sense f self, and they love to help others if it is needed (4).
All of these functions have been founded as an answer to the people’s want to understand, identify, and define themselves as an individual. Numerous tests contain such questions that determine the type of your personality due to your answers to the questions. However, there is still no exact way to identify people’s personalities.
References:
Cowart, G. (n.d.). The MBTI theory: What are the “16 personalities”? The Sage. https://thesagenews.com/19471/lifestyle/the-mbti-theory-what-are-the-16-personalities/.
Beginners guide to understanding the cognitive functions. (2022, July 23). Truity. https://www.truity.com/blog/beginners-guide-understanding-mbti-cognitive-functions.
How the Myers-Briggs type indicator works. (2011, June 20). Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/the-myers-briggs-type-indicator-2795583.
The 8 Myers-Briggs (MBTI) cognitive functions: Your personality, explained. (2022, November 9). Well+Good. https://www.wellandgood.com/what-are-mbti-functions/.
The Myers & Briggs Foundation - The eight function attitudes. (n.d.). The Myers & Briggs Foundation. https://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/understanding-mbti-type-dynamics/the-eight-function-attitudes.htm.
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