Wow… Sounds far more important than I’m sure it is. Formspring seems to have taken off with some of my friends and a question of “what personality type are you” has come up.
I’m a sucker for taking these kinds of quizzes. I love reviewing my horoscope, both Western and Eastern including Indian & Chinese - Capricorn, Makara and the Boar respectively - and I’ve even gone as far as looking up my Celtic Tree Type and apparently its Birch.
The Japanese are fascinated with the blood type (it’s nearly as common there to be asked “what’s your type” as it is here to be asked “what’s your sign”) and sadly, since I don’t know my blood type I can only speculate and I’d hate to guess… “Well, Doctor, my ketsueki-gata is AB… so while I’m in this really important surgery I’m sure I can receive any donor blood…” yeeeah… I don’t look that one up.
But now I’ve had something new and fun to play with: a link to a Jung Briggs Myers test. Naturally I took it and lo! I’m ESFJ. Apparently I’m a Provider… but I’ve been told that before from a much longer, much more tedious test (the eharmony 29 Levels of Compatibility test is something like 43 pages. I lost count once I hit the 30s).
Naturally, since I’ve found my result for the test I’ve been poking around the internet and this is what I’ve found:
- E – Extraversion preferred to Introversion: ESFJs often feel motivated by their interaction with people. They tend to enjoy a wide circle of acquaintances, and they gain energy in social situations (whereas introverts expend energy).
- S – Sensing preferred to iNtuition: ESFJs tend to be more concrete than abstract. They focus their attention on the details rather than the big picture, and on immediate realities rather than future possibilities.
- F – Feeling preferred to Thinking: ESFJs tend to value personal considerations above objective criteria. When making decisions, they often give more weight to social implications than to logic.
- J – Judgment preferred to Perception: ESFJs tend to plan their activities and make decisions early. They derive a sense of control through predictability.
Providers take it upon themselves to insure the health and welfare of those in their care, but they are also the most sociable of all the Guardians, and thus are the great nurturers of social institutions such as schools, churches, social clubs, and civic groups. Providers are very likely more than ten percent of the population, and this is fortunate for the rest of us, because friendly social service is a key to their nature. Wherever they go, Providers happily give their time and energy to make sure that the needs of others are met, and that social functions are a success.
Highly cooperative themselves, Providers are skilled in maintaining teamwork among their helpers, and are also tireless in their attention to the details of furnishing goods and services. They make excellent chairpersons in charge of dances, banquets, class reunions, charity fund-raisers, and the like. They are without peer as masters of ceremonies, able to speak publicly with ease and confidence. And they are outstanding hosts or hostesses, knowing everyone by name, and seemingly aware of what everyone’s been doing. Providers love to entertain, and are always concerned about the needs of their guests, wanting to make sure that all are involved and provided for.
Friendly, outgoing, neighborly - in a word, Providers are gregarious, so much so that they can become restless when isolated from people. They love to talk with others, and will often strike up a conversation with strangers and chat pleasantly about any topic that comes to mind. Friendships matter a great deal to Providers, and their conversations with friends often touch on good times from years past. Family traditions are also sacred to them, and they carefully observe birthdays and anniversaries. In addition, Providers show a delightful fascination with news of their friends and neighbors. If we wish to know what’s been going on in the local community, school, or church, they’re happy to fill us in on all the details.
Providers are extremely sensitive to the feelings of others, which makes them perhaps the most sympathetic of all the types, but which also leaves them somewhat self-conscious, that is, highly sensitive to what others think of them. Loving and affectionate themselves, they need to be loved in return. In fact, Providers can be crushed by personal criticism, and are happiest when given ample appreciation both for themselves personally and for the tireless service they give to others. As expert people readers, ESFJs often adapt their manner to meet the expectations of others. However, they may have difficulty recognizing the shortcomings of loved ones.
ESFJs tend to be vocal in expressing their sense of right and wrong. Their value system derives from the external standards defined by their community, as opposed to a personal set of ethics. (This is one of the traits that distinguishes them from their ENFJ counterparts.) ESFJs raised in an environment of high ethical standards tend to display true generosity and kindness.
I also learned that later on personality researchers added additional functions to the hierarchy calling them “Shadow Functions”. These are functions with I’m not normally inclined to feel or do but typically can emerge under stress:
- Introverted feeling (Fi): Fi filters information based on interpretations of worth, forming judgments according to criteria that are often intangible. Fi constantly balances an internal set of values such as harmony and authenticity. Attuned to subtle distinctions, Fi innately senses what is true and what is false in a situation.
- Extraverted sensing (Se): Se focuses on the experiences and sensations of the immediate, physical world. With an acute awareness of the present surroundings, it brings relevant facts and details to the forefront and may lead to spontaneous action.
- Introverted intuition (Ni): Attracted to symbolic actions or devices, Ni synthesizes seeming paradoxes to create the previously unimagined. These realizations come with a certainty that demands action to fulfill a new vision of the future, solutions that may include complex systems or universal truths.
- Extraverted thinking (Te): Te organizes and schedules ideas and the environment to ensure the efficient, productive pursuit of objectives. Te seeks logical explanations for actions, events, and conclusions, looking for faulty reasoning and lapses in sequence.
William Howard Taft, Barbara Walters, J C Penney, Ray Kroc, Louis B. Mayer, Sam Walton, Dolley Madison, and Dave Thomas, Mary Tyler Moore and Sally Field are examples of Provider Guardians.
Well then, wasn’t that fun :)
