Theory Of Personality Types example essay topic

Type Talk: The 16 Personality Types That Determine How We Live, Love, and Work by Otto Kroeger and Janet M. ThuesenDell Publishing, October, 1989 Type Talk is a primer on personality preference typing centered on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator ("MBTI"). The MBTI is a widely-used "test" that helps a person begin to understand why people perceive situations differently, communicate different from others, and opt for different activities. The book's authors, Otto Kroeger and Janet Thuesen, husband and wife, have long been in the forefront of adapting the MBTI for use in everyday life and coined the phrase "Typewatching" as a descriptor for their work. Kroeger and Thuesen open the book with a chapter on "name-calling". They use this phrase, not in the derogatory sense as is often the case, but to show that name-calling is used by everyone as a means of "cataloging people" based on their unique, identifying characteristics. If we " re to do this inevitable "name-calling" the authors believe it should be done in an objective and constructive manner and when elevated to this higher level it becomes "Typewatching " In the early 1920's the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung developed a theory of personality types where he said behavioral differences were "a result of preferences related to the basic functions our personalities perform throughout life" (p. 8).

Jung's theory was published in his book titled Personality Types in 1923. Meanwhile, earlier in the century, Katherine Briggs was researching human behavior and through her observations had developed a way to describe it - that due to different life styles, people approach life differently. When Briggs read Jung's work she found it to be very similar to her own work and set hers aside to focus on Jung's. Shortly thereafter, Briggs' daughter, Isabel Briggs Myers became involved and the mother-daughter team sought to assimilate their work with that of Jung. In the 1940's Myers created an inventory based on her mother's observations and Jung's theory. The two women theorized that, with the offensive of the Second World War so near, if people were more aware of their psychological type they could be assigned to wartime roles that best fit their preferences.

The MBTI was slow to gain acceptance by the psychological community. Few psychologists signed on to Jung's obscure theories and even Jung himself felt his theories couldn't be quantified. Combining the resistance to Jung's theories with a testing tool developed by two women - in a predominantly male professional environment - neither of which was a psychologist meant the MBTI might never get off the ground. In 1956, the MBTI was published by Educational Testing Service of Princeton, NJ, publishers of the venerable Scholastic Aptitude Test. Word of the instrument began to spread, but only for use as a research tool.

In 1969, Isabel Myers teamed up with Mary McCauley at the University of Florida and the two began a typology laboratory at the school that emerged as the center for all MBTI-related activity. Three years later, the laboratory became the Center for the Application of Psychological Type and remains the principal facility for Typewatching. According to the CAPT web site, approximately 2,000,000 people per year take the MBTI instrument (web). Type Talk begins its presentation of preference alternatives by introducing them in pairs: Extraversion / Introversion, Sensing / Intuition, Thinking / Feeling, and Judging / Perceiving. These are immediately followed by a detailed examination of the basics of Typewatching from Jungian theory. These basic functions are described as "information-gathering" and "decision-making".

If we gather information in an exact, sequential manner our preference is toward "S"ending or if we gather in a figurative, intuitive manner our preference is to be iNtuitive. (pp. 23-25). Our decision making is either detached, analytical and objective, marking us as a "T"hinder or if done on an interpersonal, subjective level, our preference is to be a "F"eel er. (pp. 28-29). Extraversion and introversion are presented next as the two energy sources that fuel our information gathering and decision making and lastly, the judging / perceiving preference illustrates how we relate to the outer world - either as a decision-maker ("J") or as an information-gatherer ("P") (pp. 32-38). After completing the introductory and explanatory material the authors take us to practical applications of Typewatching - in the workplace, and in interpersonal relationships such as friendship, dating and commitment, and family life between parents and children. The chapter on workplace Typewatching, titled "Typewatching From 9 to 5", is the lengthiest chapter and the interest in workplace Typewatching no doubt influenced Kroeger and Thuesen to devote a second book, Type Talk at Work, solely to Typewatching's influence on workplace dynamics. The authors continue their discourse on Typewatching with a chapter titled "Typewatching Everywhere".

Here they briefly discuss Typewatching in educational environments as practiced by teachers and learners and move to Typewatching's applications in social settings, one's approach to personal finance, weight gain or loss, humor, sports, religion, and politics. In the off chance the reader had missed the authors' message before this point, Typewatching abounds and one need not look very far to see it in use. While most of the writing is very upbeat and intended to extol the benefits of Typewatching, a few cautionary words are presented about taking it to extremes and how it should not be used to justify inappropriate behavior. Lastly, Kroeger and Thuesen conclude with portraits of each of the sixteen MBTI profiles, devoting two or three pages to describing characteristics and traits of each personality type.

Again, they present advisory words to warn of the inherent dangers of creating a nice, neat set of rigid and inflexible characteristics for each profile. If viewed in this manner the profiles become more restrictive than liberating and ultimately negate the purpose of Typewatching which, at its heart allows for people to "be themselves" (p. 214). The authors believe the profiles offer more positives than negatives but do not offer the "one size fits all" broadness. Kroeger and Thuesen created a book that is approachable, easy to read, and devoid of "psychobabble". I would estimate that coverage of Jungian theory takes no more than a few pages scattered throughout the book. Every topic is richly enhanced by experiences and stories that add substance and real-life meaning to the models.

Another benefit from the style of this book is that it prompts us to laugh at ourselves as I did when I read the traits of a (P) who is "easily distracted and can get 'lost' between the front door and the car" (p. 21). The foreword to the book comes from Dr. Charles Seashore, a faculty member at Santa Barbara's Fielding Institute. In his foreword he presents what I feel is a major premise of this book where he says "impossible conflicts, unreconcilable differences, and personality conflicts are amenable to new types of solutions when seen through the lens of Typewatching. Our hopeless dilemmas are turned to the light in such a way that vivid colors soon replace dull and draining grays. The differences that block us can be translated into differences that empower us".

I find the views expressed in Type Talk offer a perfect complement to the humanistic perspective on personality where the humanists emphasize free will and the innate goodness of humankind. Typewatching seeks to move us beyond the simplistic good / bad, right / wrong approach to behavior by leading us toward an appreciation of the gifts and strengths of ourselves and others and a celebration of our differences..