Two Kinds of Awareness - Sensing and Intuition

It's 10 degrees here, and I needed tropical. Kaua'i.

This is Part 3 of my series on personality types (character traits, if you will) based upon the Kiersey Personality Sorter. You can find Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

As a reminder, I'm an EXFJ. I'm an extrovert, a feeler (not with my hands--behave yourself), and a judger. So what does the X stand for? It means I tested dead even between the S(ensing) and iN(tuition). When I read my character descriptions, I look at both the ESFJ and the ENFJ.

So, what do the S and the N mean?

It's about how people perceive things, how they become aware.

Sensing: These folks are very much into what data they receive through their five senses. They're practical, trusting in facts and experience. As you would expect, they're grounded in reality and value what's real, practical, and sensible.

Intuition: These people are more likely to pick up on things less direct and they deal much more on the unconscious level, things that come from the outside. They would consider themselves innovative, trusting in hunches and inspiration. They love possibilities and esteem ingenuity and imagination.

When I read these two descriptions, I completely understand why I'm an X here. I feel equally strong about both of these. I'm very practical and organized. Yet, I've spend most of my life creating dreamworlds in my head. I go a lot by hunches.

In one office where I worked, one of my coworkers test X in three categories. THREE! So, was he just really flexible . . . or a flake?

And what about another coworker who asked me when I gave her the test if she should answer it like she would at home or at work? That really floored me. With me, what you see is what you get. I don't look at the world differently just because I walk in my office door. Obviously, some people do.

Now, remember. There are no right or wrong answers on the Kiersey. It's merely a way to identify people's viewpoints.

So, what about your characters? Are any of them torn between two equally valid views of the world?

Personalities

I've been fascinated for years (all right, decades) with the Kiersey Personality Sorter. It was based on the MMPI, which is a comprehensive test, something like 600 questions. The MMPI is used a lot in dealing with mental illness, but for people trained in what to look for it tells a lot more about the people taking it than they would ever dream.

The Kiersey is much shorter and has many practical uses. They give it to department heads at work. There are no right or wrong answers to the questions, but merely give insight into how the taker views the world.

Here's a real life example from the business world. I used to work as the lead secretary for a department that oversaw physical facilities--buildings, etc. My old boss developed a health issue and retired. He was a detail oriented person when it came to the budget and was very hands on. His replacement, however, was a big picture kind of guy. The finance director commented after the first budget meeting with the new director that he wished he'd known this about the new boss because he'd have prepared his presentation completely differently.

People's personalities change a lot as they mature, but settle in somewhere around twenty-five. So for young people under that age, their results are . . . questionable. Once you reach twenty-five, your scores aren't likely to change much. Now, there can be traumatic things people go through that would impact how they answer the questions, but eventually things settle down again.

Some people also answer the questions differently if they're looking at them as they are at home as opposed to at work. When I had a coworker mention that, it floored me because I am what I am. I'm the same at home or at work. With me, what you see is what you get.

What does this have to do with writing? When you're creating characters, their personality traits are important if you don't want them to be flat. But what characteristics fit which personality types? The Kiersey would be a great tool for that.

So over the next few blog posts, I'm going to be talking about different aspects of the Kiersey and what it has to say about people. It separates people into sixteen different personality types. I'll start with me. 

I'm an EXFJ.

The E means I'm an extrovert. (the other option is introvert, of course)

The X is going to be confusing because it means that I test dead even between the two options: S (sensing--dealing with information from your five sense) and N (intuitive).

The F means I'm a feeler. (the other choice is a thinker--don't even say it!)

The J is for judging. (the other option is perceiving).

If you have the time, I suggest you go and take the test and find out what you are. I'll start with the introvert/extravert topic next week.

Have you ever taken a personality test? If so what kind was it? What did you think of the results?