Myers-Briggs
Personality Indicator

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Type descriptions

SJ Guardian ESTJ Supervisor ISTJ Inspector ESFJ Provider ISFJ Protector
SP Artisan ESTP Promoter ISTP Crafter ESFP Performer ISFP Composer
NF Idealist ENFJ Teacher INFJ Counselor ENFP Champion INFP Healer
NT Rational ENTJ Fieldmarshal INTJ Mastermind ENTP Inventor INTP Architect

SJ: Guardian

Guardians, being concrete in communicating and cooperativein implementing goals, can become highly skilled in logistics. Thus their most practiced and developed intelligent operations are often supervising and inspecting (SJT adminstering), or supplying and protecting (SJF conserving). And they would if they could be magistrates watching over these forms of social facilitation. They are proud of themselves in the degree they are reliable in action, respect themselves in the degree they do good deeds, and feel confident of themselves in the degree they are respectable. In search of security as they are the "Security Seeking Personality"—trusting in legitimacy and hungering for membership. They are usually stoical about the present, pessimistic about the future, fatalistic about the past, and their preferred time and place is the past and the gateway. Educationally they go for commerce, avocationally for regulations, and vocationally for materiel work. They tend to be enculturating as parents, helpmates as spouses, and conformity oriented as children. There are even more Guardians than Artisans around, at least 40% and as many as 45% of the population.

eStJ: Supervisor

Supervisor Guardians are squarely on the side of rules and procedures, and they can be quite serious about seeing to it that others toe the mark—or else face the consequences. They do not hesitate to give their stamp of approval, nor do they withhold their directions or suggestions for improvement. Like seasoned, stalwart umpires, Supervisors will set their jaw and make the call on anyone who steps up to bat. They even feel obligated to do so, and they’re sometimes surprised when others don’t seem grateful for being set straight.

Comprising at least ten percent of the population, Supervisors go by experience and that is what counts, not speculation and experimentation, and certainly not fantasy. They keep their feet firmly on the ground and make sure that those under their supervision do the same, whether employee, subordinate, offspring, or spouse. If others wish to fool around and daydream, fine, as long as they do it on their own time—which means after the job is done. But if they fritter away their time while on duty, they should not be surprised when the Supervisor calls them on the carpet. The top sergeant will not put up with such nonsense.

Supervisors are gregarious and civic-minded, and are usually key players of their community. They are generous with their time and energy, and very often belong to a variety of groups, supporting them through steady attendance, but also taking a vocal leadership role. Indeed, membership groups of all kinds attract ESTJs like magnets, perhaps because membership satisfies in some degree their need to maintain the stability of social institutions. Like all the Guardians, ESTJs worry a good deal about society falling apart, morality decaying, standards being undermined, traditions being lost, and they do all they can to preserve and to extend the institutions that embody social order. Supervisors are so in tune with the established institutions and ways of behaving within those institutions, that they have a hard time understanding those who might wish to abandon or radically change them.

Famous Supervisors: Colin Powell, Elizabeth I

iStJ: Inspector

Inspector Guardians look carefully and thoroughly at the people and institutions around them. Making up perhaps as much as ten percent of the general population, Inspectors are characterized by decisiveness in practical affairs, are the guardians of institutions, and if only one adjective could be selected, “superdependable” would best describe them. Whether at home or at work, Inspectors are nothing if not dependable, particularly when it comes to examining the people and products they are responsible for—quietly seeing to it that uniform quality is maintained, and that those around them uphold certain standards of attitude and conduct.

These quiet, no-nonsense Guardians have a distaste for and distrust of fanciness in speech, dress, and living space. Their words tend to be simple and down-to-earth, not showy or high-flown; their clothes are often homespun and conservative rather than of the latest fashion; and their home and work environments are usually neat, orderly, and traditional, rather than up-to-date or luxurious. In their choice of personal property (cars, furnishings, jewelry, and so on) price and durability are just as important as comfort or appearance. Classics, antiques, and heirlooms are especially valued, having achieved a certain time-honored status—Inspectors prefer the old-fashioned to the newfangled every time. Even on vacation, Inspectors tend not to be attracted by exotic foods, beverages, or locales.

Their thoroughness and orderliness, combined with their interest in legality and standardization, leads Inspectors to a number of occupations that call for the careful administration of goods and services. ISTJs feel right at home with difficult, detailed forms and columns of figures, and thus they make excellent bank examiners, auditors, accountants, and tax attorneys. Managing investments in securities is likely to interest this type, particularly investments in municipal bonds and blue-chip securities. Inspectors are not likely to take chances either with their own or others’ money, and the thought of a bankrupt nation, state, institution, or family gives them more than a little uneasiness. The idea of dishonoring a contract also bothers an ISTJ—their word is their bond—and they naturally communicate a message of trustworthiness and stability, which can make them successful in business. With their eye for detail, ISTJs make good librarians, dentists, optometrists, legal secretaries, and law researchers. High school and college teachers of business administration, home economics, physical education, civics, and history tend to be ISTJs, as do quartermaster officers in the military.

Famous Inspectors: Harry Truman, Elizabeth II

eSfJ: Provider

Provider Guardians take it upon themselves to arrange for 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 established institutions such as schools, businesses, churches, social clubs, and civic groups. Wherever they go, Providers take up the role of social contributor, happily giving their time and energy to make sure that the needs of others are met, that traditions are supported and developed, and that social functions are a success.

Providers are very likely more than ten percent of the population, and this is very fortunate for the rest of us, because friendly social service is a key to their nature. 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 social events. They are without peer as masters of ceremonies, able to approach others with ease and confidence, and seemingly aware of what everyone’s been doing. And they are outstanding hosts or hostesses, able to remember people’s names, usually after one introduction, and always concerned about the needs of their guests, wanting to insure that all are involved and provided for.

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 rather self-conscious, that is, highly sensitive to what others think of them. Because of this ESFJs can be crushed by personal criticism, and will work most effectively when given ample appreciation both for themselves personally and for the service they give to others. This is not to say that Providers are afraid to express their own emotional reactions. They are quick to like and dislike—and don’t mind saying so—tending to put on a pedestal whatever or whoever they admire, and to come down hard on those people and issues they don’t care for.

In their choice of careers, Providers may lean toward sales and service occupations. They have such pleasant, outgoing personalities that they are far and away the best sales reps, not only regularly winning sales contests, but earning seniority in any sales group within an organization. Observing ESFJs at work in a sales transaction reveals clearly how this type personalizes the sale. They are visibly—and honestly—concerned with their customer’s welfare, and thus the customer is not simply buying the product, but is buying personally from the Provider. This same characteristic causes them to be good in many people-to-people jobs, as teachers, clergy, coaches, social workers, office receptionists, and so on. Providers seldom become a source of irritation in the workplace; on the contrary, they are unflagging in their devotion to their company, and show such personal loyalty to their immediate superiors that they make invaluable personal secretaries.

Famous Providers: George Washington, Dolley Madison

iSfJ: Protector

The primary desire of the Protector Guardian is to be of service to others, but here “service” means not so much furnishing others with the necessities of life (the ESFJ Provider’s concern), as guarding others against life’s pitfalls and perils, that is, seeing to their safety and security. There is a large proportion of Protectors in the population, perhaps as much as ten percent. And a good thing, because they are steadfast in their protecting, and seem fulfilled in the degree they can insure the safekeeping of those in their family, their circle of friends, or their place of business.

Protectors find great satisfaction in assisting the downtrodden and can deal with disability and neediness in others better than any other type. They go about their task of caretaking modestly, unassumingly, and because of this their efforts are not sometimes fully appreciated. They are not as outgoing and talkative as the Providers [ESFJs], except with close friends and relatives. With these they can chat tirelessly about the ups and downs in their lives, moving (like all the Guardians) from topic to topic as they talk over their everyday concerns. However, their shyness with strangers is often misjudged as stiffness, even coldness, when in truth these Protectors are warm-hearted and sympathetic, giving happily of themselves to those in need.

Their quietness ought really to be seen as an expression, not of coldness, but of their sincerity and seriousness of purpose. Like all the Guardians, ISFJs have a highly developed puritan work ethic, which tells them that work is good, and that play must be earned-if indulged in at all. The least hedonic of all types, Protectors are willing to work long, long hours doing all the thankless jobs the other types seem content to ignore. Thoroughness and frugality are also virtues for Protectors. When they undertake a task, they will complete it if at all humanly possible; and they know the value of material resources and abhor the squandering or misuse of these resources. Protectors are quite content to work alone; indeed, they may experience some discomfort when placed in positions of authority, and may try to do everything themselves rather than insist that others do their jobs.

With their extraordinary commitment to security, and with their unusual talent for executing routines, Protectors do well in many careers that have to do with conservation: curators, private secretaries, librarians, middle-managers, police officers, and especially general medical practitioners. To be sure, the hospital is a natural haven for them; it is home to the family doctor, preserver of life and limb, and to the registered nurse, or licensed practical nurse, truly the angels of mercy. The insurance industry is also a good fit for ISFJs. To save, to put something aside against an unpredictable future, to prepare for emergencies—these are important actions to Protectors, who as insurance agents want to see their clients in good hands, sheltered and protected.

Famous Protectors: Jimmy Stewart, Mother Teresa

SP: Artisan

Artisans, being concrete in communicating and utilitarian in implementing goals, can become highly skilled in tactical variation. Thus their most practiced and developed intelligent operations are usually promoting and operating (SPT expediting), or displaying and composing (SPF improvizing). And they would if they could be virtuosos of one of these forms artistic operation. Artisans are proud of themselves in the degree they are graceful in action, respect themselves in the degree they are daring, and feel confident of themselves in the degree they are adaptable. This is the "Sensation Seeking Personality"—trusting in spontaniety and hungering for impact on others. They are usually hedonic about the present, optimistic about the future, cynical about the past, and their preferred time and place is the here and now. Educationally they go for arts and crafts, avocationally for techniques, and vocationally for operations work. They tend to be permissive as parents, playmates as spouses, and play oriented as children. There are many Artisans to be found in many places where the action is, at least 35% and as many as 40% of the population.

eStP: Promoter

The Artisans called Promoters are not only concrete in speech and utilitarian in achieving their goals, they are also directive and expressive in their social interactions. They have no hesitation at all in approaching strangers and persuading them to do something. And others do their bidding, even on slight acquaintence.

Promoters are men and women of action. When someone of this personality is present, things begin to happen: the lights come on, the music plays, the game begins. And a game it is for the eStP, the entrepreneur, the troubleshooter, the negotiator. Promoting is the art of winning others to your position, giving them confidence to go along with what you propose, and eStP's seem especially able to maneuver others in the direction they want them to go. In a sense, they are able to handle people with much the same skill as iStP's handle tools, operate machines, or play musical intruments. You might say that people are instruments in the eStPs' hands, and that they "play" them with great artistry. eStP make up approximately ten per cent of the general population, and if only one adjective could be used to describe them, "resourceful" would be an apt choice.

Life is never dull around Promoters. Witty, clever, and fun, eStP live life with a theatrical flourish which makes even the most routine events seem exciting. Not that they waste much time on routine events. Promoters have a knack for knowing where the action is. They always seem to have tickets to the "hot" show or "big" game (or can get them when others can't), and they usually know the best restaurants, where the headwaiters are likely to call them by name. To be sure, eStPs have a hearty appetite for the finer things of life, the best food, the best wine, expensive cars, and fashionable clothes. And they are extremely attentive to others and smooth in social circles, knowing many, many people by name, and knowing how to say just the right thing to most everyone they meet. None are as socially sophisticated as eStPs, none as suave and polished-and none such master manipulators of the people around them.

Famous Promoters: Franklin Roosevelt, Madonna, Winston Churchill

iStP: Crafter

The Crafter Artisans are not only concrete in speech and utilitarian in getting things done, they are also directive and attentive in their social roles. Though directive like their Promoter counterparts, their directiveness is leavened by a good deal of attentiveness and seclusiveness. They do not approach strangers readily, but once in contact do not hesitate to tell them what to do. And they can be quite forceful in this, such that others tend to do their bidding.

Like the other Artisans, Crafters live a life is artful action, but their particular nature is most easily seen in their mastery of tools of any and all kinds, from microscopic drill to supersonic jet, from potter's wheel to grand piano. A tool is any implement that extends or varies our human powers-vehicles, musical instruments, cutting devices, and weapons are just four of the many categories of the tools that surround us. Most of us use tools in some capacity, of course, but iStPs (only ten per cent of the general population) are the true virtuosos of tool work, with a natural ability to command tools, to bend them to their wishes, and to become adept at all the crafts requiring tool skills. Even from an early age iStPs are drawn to tools as to a magnet; tools fall into their hands demanding use, and they must manipulate them. Indeed, if a given tool, whether scalpel or earthmover, is operated with a precision that defies belief, that operator is likely an iStP.

Famous Crafters: Clint Eastwood, Amelia Earhart, Bruce Lee, Woody Allen, Chuck Jeager, Michael Douglas

eSfP: Performer

Besides being concrete in speech and utilitarian in reaching their goals, the Performer Artisans are informative and expressive in their social interactions. Thus, while Performers are usually extreme in their expressiveness and sociability, observably the most expressive of all the types, they are not comfortable telling others what to do, preferring to offer information rather than to issue orders.

Demonstrating or performing is putting on a show to entertain others, and eSfPs, whether on the job, with friends, or in their families, are the natural performers among the types, people for whom it can truly be said "all the world's a stage." Playful and fun-loving, the eSfPs' primary social interest lies in stimulating those around them, arousing their senses and their pleasureful emotions-charming them, in a sense, to cast off their concerns and "lighten up." Representing about ten per cent of the general population, eSPfs radiate warmth and optimism, and are able to lift others' spirits with their contagious laughter and their irrepressible joy of living.

It is well that ESFPs are plentiful, something over ten per cent of the population, because they bring joy to so many of us. They love the excitement of playing to an audience, and they try to generate a sense of "showtime" wherever they are. ESFPs are not comfortable being alone, and seek the company of others whenever possible—which they usually find, for they make wonderful playmates. Lively, witty conversationalists, ESFPs always seem to know the latest jokes and stories, and are quick with wisecracks and wordplay—nothing is so serious or sacred that it can't be made fun of. Performers also like to live in the fast lane of society, and seem up on latest fads of dress, food, drink, and entertainment, the chic new fashion, the "in" nightclub, the "hot" new musical group. Energetic and uninhibited, ESFPs create a mood of "eat, drink, and be merry" wherever they go, and life around them can have a continual party-like atmosphere.

Famous Performers: Elvis Presley, Elizabeth Taylor

iSfP: Composer

Besides being concrete in speech and utilitarian in getting what they want, the Composer Artisans are informative and attentive in their social roles. Composers are just as reluctant to direct others' behavior as are Performers, though they appear even more so, since they are more attentive.

While all the Artisans are artistic in nature, Composers (perhaps ten per cent of the population) seem to excel in the "fine arts," having not only a natural grace of movement, but also an innate sense what fits and what doesn't fit in artistic compositions. Of course, composing must not be thought of as only writing music, but as bringing into harmonious form any aspect of the world of the five senses, and so when an especially gifted painter, sculptor, choreographer, film maker, songwriter, chef, decorator, or fashion designer shows up, he or she is likely to be an iSfP.

Composers, like the other Artisans, have a special talent for "tactical" variation, and such talent differs radically from that possessed by Idealists, Rationals, and Guardians (who have their own unique and inherent abilities). As the word "tactical" implies, Artisans keep closely in "touch" with the physical world, their senses keenly tuned to reality. But, while the Crafter is attuned to the tool and its uses, the Composer is attuned to sensory variation in color, line, texture, aroma, flavor, tone-seeing, touching, smelling, tasting, and hearing in harmony. This extreme concreteness and sensuality seems to come naturally to the iSfPs, as if embedded "in the warp and woof" of their make.

Famous Composers: Johnny Carson, Barbara Streisand, Mel Brookes, Wolfgang Mozart

NF: Idealist

Idealists, being abstract in communicating and cooperative in implementing goals, can become highly skilled in diplomatic integration. Thus their most practiced and developed intelligent operations are usually teaching and counseling (NFJ mentoring), or conferring and tutoring (NFP advocating). And they would if they could be sages in one of these forms of social development. The Idealist temperament have an instinct for interpersonal integration, learn ethics with ever increasing zeal, sometimes become diplomatic leaders, and often speak interpretively and metaphorically of the abstract world of their imagination.

They are proud of themselves in the degree they are empathic in action, respect themselves in the degree they are benevolent, and feel confident of themselves in the degree they are authentic. Idealist types search for their unique identity, hunger for deep and meaningful relationships, wish for a little romance each day, trust their intuitive feelings implicitly, aspire for profundity. This is the "Identity Seeking Personality"—credulous about the future, mystical about the past, and their preferred time and place are the future and the pathway. Educationally they go for the humanities, avocationally for ethics, and vocationally for personnel work.

Social relationships: In their family interactions they strive for mutuality, provide spiritual intimacy for the mates, opportunity for fantasy for their children, and for themselves continuous self-renewal. Idealists do not abound, being as few as 8% and nor more than 10% of the population.

eNFj: Teacher

The Idealists called Teachers are abstract in their thought and speech, cooperative in their style of achieving goals, and directive and extraverted in their interpersonal relations. Learning in the young has to be beckoned forth, teased out from its hiding place, or, as suggested by the word "education," it has to be "educed." by an individual with educative capabilities. Such a one is the eNFj, thus rightly called the educative mentor or Teacher for short. The Teacher is especially capable of educing or calling forth those inner potentials each learner possesses. Even as children the eNFjs may attract a gathering of other children ready to follow their lead in play or work. And they lead without seeming to do so.

Teachers expect the very best of those around them, and this expectation, usually expressed as enthusiastic encouragement, motivates action in others and the desire to live up to their expectations. Teachers have the charming characteristic of taking for granted that their expectations will be met, their implicit commands obeyed, never doubting that people will want to do what they suggest. And, more often than not, people do, because this type has extraordinary charisma.

The Teachers are found in no more than 2 or 3 percent of the population. They like to have things settled and arranged. They prefer to plan both work and social engagements ahead of time and tend to be absolutely reliable in honoring these commitments. At the same time, eNFjs are very much at home in complex situations which require the juggling of much data with little pre-planning. An experienced eNFj group leader can dream up, effortlessly, and almost endlessly, activities for groups to engage in, and stimulating roles for members of the group to play. In some Teachers, inspired by the responsiveness of their students or followers, this can amount to genius which other types find hard to emulate. Such ability to preside without planning reminds us somewhat of an ESFJ, but the latter acts more as a master of ceremonies than as a leader of groups. ESFJs are natural hosts and hostesses, making sure that each guest is well looked after at social gatherings, or that the right things are expressed on traditional occasions, such as weddings, funerals, graduations, and the like. In much the same way, Teachers value harmonious human relations about all else, can handle people with charm and concern, and are usually popular wherever they are. But Teachers are not so much social as educational leaders, interested primarily in the personal growth and development of others, and less in attending to their social needs.

Famous Teachers: Mikhail Gorbachev, Margaret Mead, Oprah Winfrey, Billy Graham

iNFj: Counselor

The Counselor Idealists are abstract thought and speech, cooperative in reaching their goals, and directive and introverted in their interpersonal roles. Counselors focus on human potentials, think in terms of ethical values, and come easily to decisions. The small number of this type (little more than 2 percent) is regrettable, since Counselors have an unusually strong desire to contribute to the welfare of others and genuinely enjoy helping their companions. Although Counsleors tend to be private, sensitive people, and are not generally visible leaders, they nevertheless work quite intensely with those close to them, quietly exerting their influence behind the scenes with their families, friends, and colleagues. This type has great depth of personality; they are themselves complicated, and can understand and deal with complex issues and people.

Counselors can be hard to get to know. They have an unusually rich inner life, but they are reserved and tend not to share their reactions except with those they trust. With their loved ones, certainly, Counselors are not reluctant to express their feelings, their face lighting up with the positive emotions, but darkening like a thunderhead with the negative. Indeed, because of their strong ability to take into themselves the feelings of others, Counselors can be hurt rather easily by those around them, which, perhaps, is one reason why they tend to be private people, mutely withdrawing from human contact. At the same time, friends who have known an Counselor for years may find sides emerging which come as a surprise. Not that they are inconsistent; Counselors value their integrity a great deal, but they have intricately woven, mysterious personalities which sometimes puzzle even them.

Counselors have strong empathic abilities and can become aware of another's emotions or intentions-good or evil-even before that person is conscious of them. This "mind-reading" can take the form of feeling the hidden distress or illnesses of others to an extent which is difficult for other types to comprehend. Even Counselors can seldom tell how they came to penetrate others' feelings so keenly. Furthermore, the Counselor is most likely of all the types to demonstrate an ability to understand psychic phenomena and to have visions of human events, past, present, or future. What is known as ESP may well be exceptional intuitive ability-in both its forms, projection and introjection. Such supernormal intuition is found frequently in the Counselor, and can extend to people, things, and often events, taking the form of visions, episodes of foreknowledge, premonitions, auditory and visual images of things to come, as well as uncanny communications with certain individuals at a distance.

Famous Counselors: Eleanor Roosevelt

eNFp: Champion

The Champion Idealists are abstract in thought and speech, cooperative in accomplishing their aims, and informative and extraverted when relating with others. For Champions, nothing occurs which does not have some deep ethical significance, and this, coupled with their uncanny sense of the motivations of others, gives them a talent for seeing life as an exciting drama, pregnant with possibilities for both good and evil. This type is found in only about 3 percent of the general population, but they have great influence because of their extraordinary impact on others. Champions are inclined to go everywhere and look into everything that has to do with the advance of good and the retreat of evil in the world. They can't bear to miss out on what is going on around them; they must experience, first hand, all the significant social events that affect our lives. And then they are eager to relate the stories they've uncovered, hoping to disclose the "truth" of people and issues, and to advocate causes. This strong drive to unveil current events can make them tireless in conversing with others, like fountains that bubble and splash, spilling over their own words to get it all out.

Champions consider intense emotional experiences as being vital to a full life, although they can never quite shake the feeling that a part of themselves is split off, uninvolved in the experience. Thus, while they strive for emotional congruency, they often see themselves in some danger of losing touch with their real feelings, which eNFps possess in a wide range and variety. In the same vein, eNFps strive toward a kind of spontaneous personal authenticity, and this intention always to "be themselves" is usually communicated nonverbally to others, who find it quite attractive. All too often, however, eNFps fall short in their efforts to be authentic, and they tend to heap coals of fire on themselves, berating themselves for the slightest self-conscious role-playing.

Famous Champions: Carl Rogers, Molly Brown

iNFp: Healer

Healer Idealists are abstract in thought and speech, cooperative in striving for their ends, and informative and introverted in their interpersonal relations. Healer present a seemingly tranquil, and noticiably pleasant face to the world, and though to all appearances they might seem reserved, and even shy, on the inside they are anything but reserved, having a capacity for caring not always found in other types. They care deeply-indeed, passionately-about a few special persons or a favorite cause, and their fervent aim is to bring peace and integrity to their loved ones and the world.

Healers have a profound sense of idealism derived from a strong personal morality, and they conceive of the world as an ethical, honorable place. Indeed, to understand iNFps, we must understand their idealism as almost boundless and selfless, inspiring them to make extraordinary sacrifices for someone or something they believe in. The iNFp is the Prince or Princess of fairytale, the King's Champion or Defender of the Faith, like Sir Galahad or Joan of Arc. Healers are found in only 1 percent of the general population, although, at times, their idealism leaves them feeling even more isolated from the rest of humanity.

Healers seek unity in their lives, unity of body and mind, emotions and intellect, perhaps because they are likely to have a sense of inner division threaded through their lives, which comes from their often unhappy childhood. Healers live a fantasy-filled childhood, which, unfortunately, is discouraged or even punished by many parents. In a practical-minded family, required by their parents to be sociable and industrious in concrete ways, and also given down-to-earth siblings who conform to these parental expectations, iNFps come to see themselves as ugly ducklings. Other types usually shrug off parental expectations that do not fit them, but not the iNFps. Wishing to please their parents and siblings, but not knowing quite how to do it, they try to hide their differences, believing they are bad to be so fanciful, so unlike their more solid brothers and sisters. They wonder, some of them for the rest of their lives, whether they are OK. They are quite OK, just different from the rest of their family-swans reared in a family of ducks. Even so, to realize and really believe this is not easy for them. Deeply committed to the positive and the good, yet taught to believe there is evil in them, iNFps can come to develop a certain fascination with the problem of good and evil, sacred and profane. Tutors are drawn toward purity, but can become engrossed with the profane, continuously on the lookout for the wickedness that lurks within them. Then, when iNFps believe thay have yielded to an impure temptation, they may be given to acts of self-sacrifice in atonement. Others seldom detect this inner turmoil, however, for the struggle between good and evil is within the iNFp, who does not feel compelled to make the issue public.

Famous Healers: Albert Schweizer, Anne Lindbergh

NT: Rational

Rationals, being abstract in communicating and utilitarian in implementing goals, can become highly skilled in strategic analysis. Thus their most practiced and developed intelligent operations tend to be marshalling and planning (NTJ organizing), or inventing and configuring (NTP engineering). And they would if they could be wizards in one of these forms of rational operation. They are proud of themselves in the degree they are competent in action, respect themselves in the degree they are autonomous, and feel confident of themselves in the degree they are strong willed. Ever in search of knowledge, this is the "Knowledge Seeking Personality"—trusting in reason and hungering for achievement. They are usually pragmatic about the present, skeptical about the future, solipsistic about the past, and their preferred time and place are the interval and the intersection. Educationally they go for the sciences, avocationally for technology, and vocationally for systems work. Rationals tend to be individualizing as parents, mindmates as spouses, and learning oriented as children. Rationals are very infrequent, comprising as few as 5% and no more than 7% of the population.

eNTj: Fieldmarshal

Of the four aspects of strategic analysis and definition it is marshalling or situational organizing role that reaches the highest development in eNTjs. As this kind of role is practiced some contingency organizing is necessary, so that the second suit of the eNTj's intellect is devising contingency plans. Structural and functional engineering, though practiced in some degree in the course of organizational operations, tend to be not nearly as well developed and are soon outstripped by the rapidly growing skills in organizing. But it must be said that any kind of strategic exercize tends to bring added strength to engineering as well as organizing skills.

As the organizing capabilities the eNTjs increase so does their desire to let others know about whatever has come of their organizational efforts. So they tend to take up a directive role in their social exchanges. On the other hand they have less and less desire, if they ever had any, to inform others.

Hardly more than two percent of the total population, the eNTjs are bound to lead others, and from an early age they can be observed taking command of groups. In some cases, eNTjs simply find themselves in charge of groups, and are mystified as to how this happened. But the reason is that eNTjs have a strong natural urge to give structure and direction wherever they are-to harness people in the field and to direct them to achieve distant goals. They resemble ESTJs in their tendency to establish plans for a task, enterprise, or organization, but eNTjs search more for policy and goals than for regulations and procedures. They cannot not build organizations, and cannot not push to implement their goals. When in charge of an organization, whether in the military, business, education, or government, eNTjs more than any other type desire (and generally have the ability) to visualize where the organization is going, and they seem able to communicate that vision to others. Their organizational and coordinating skills tends to be highly developed, which means that they are likely to be good at systematizing, ordering priorities, generalizing, summarizing, at marshalling evidence, and at demonstrating their ideas. Their ability to organize, however, may be more highly developed than their ability to analyze, and the eNTj leader may need to turn to an eNTp or iNTp to provide this kind of input.

eNTjs will usually rise to positions of responsibility and enjoy being executives. They are tireless in their devotion to their jobs and can easily block out other areas of life for the sake of their work. Superb administrators in any field-medicine, law, business, education, government, the military-eNTjs organize their units into smooth-functioning systems, planning in advance, keeping both short-term and long-range objectives well in mind. For the eNTj, there must always be a goal-directed reason for doing anything, and people's feelings usually are not sufficient reason. They prefer decisions to be based on impersonal data, want to work from well thought-out plans, like to use engineered operations-and they expect others to follow suit. They are ever intent on reducing bureaucratic red tape, task redundancy, and aimless confusion in the workplace, and they are willing to dismiss employees who cannot get with the program and increase their efficiency. Although eNTjs are tolerant of established procedures, they can and will abandon any procedure when it can be shown to be ineffective in accomplishing its goal. eNTjs root out and reject ineffectiveness and inefficiency, and are impatient with repetition of error.

Famous Fieldmarshals: George Bernard Shaw, Napoleon Bonaparte, Carl Sagan, Bill Gates, Margaret Thatcher

iNTj: Mastermind

Of the four aspects of strategic analysis and definition it is the contingency planning or entailment organizing role that reaches the highest development in INTJs. Entailing or contingency planning is not an informative activity, rather it is a directive one in which the planner tells others what to do and in what order to do it. As the organizing capabilities the INTJs increase so does their inclination to take charge of whatever is going on.

It is in their abilities that INTJs differ from the other NTs, while in most of their attitudes they are just like the others. However there is one attitude that sets them apart from other NTs: they tend to be much more self-confident than the rest, having, for obscure reasons, developed a very strong will. They are rather rare, comprising no more than, say, one percent of the population. Being very judicious, decisions come naturally to them; indeed, they can hardly rest until they have things settled, decided, and set. They are the people who are able to formulate coherent and comprehensive contingency plans, hence contingency organizers or "entailers."

INTJs will adopt ideas only if they are useful, which is to say if they work efficiently toward accomplishing the INTJ's well-defined goals. Natural leaders, INTJs are not at all eager to take command of projects or groups, preferring to stay in the background until others demonstrate their inability to lead. Once in charge, however, INTJs are the supreme pragmatists, seeing reality as a crucible for refining their strategies for goal-directed action. In a sense, INTJs approach reality as they would a giant chess board, always seeking strategies that have a high payoff, and always devising contingency plans in case of error or adversity. To the INTJ, organizational structure and operational procedures are never arbitrary, never set in concrete, but are quite malleable and can be changed, improved, streamlined. In their drive for efficient action, INTJs are the most open-minded of all the types. No idea is too far-fetched to be entertained-if it is useful. INTJs are natural brainstormers, always open to new concepts and, in fact, aggressively seeking them. They are also alert to the consequences of applying new ideas or positions. Theories which cannot be made to work are quickly discarded by the INTJs. On the other hand, INTJs can be quite ruthless in implementing effective ideas, seldom counting personal cost in terms of time and energy.

Famous Masterminds: Sir Isaac Newton, Peter I of Russia, Friedrich Nietzsche, Neils Bohr, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ayn Rand

eNTp: Inventor

Of the four aspects of strategic analysis and definition it is the functional engineering or inventive role that reaches the highest development in eNTps. It is so natural for these individuals to practice devising gadgets and mechanisms, that they start doing it even as young children. And they get such a kick out of it that they really never stop exercising their inventive bent. Of course as this kind of activity is practiced some structural engineering inevitably happens, so that the next kind of skill to develop in the ENTP is that of designing. Now planning contingencies and marshalling forces, though practiced in some degree in the course of engineering activity, develop more slowly and are soon left behind by the burgeoning of talent in engineering. However, any kind of strategic exercise tends to bring added strength to both engineering and organizing skills.

As the eNTps' engineering capabilities increase so does their desire to let others know about whatever has come of their engineering efforts. So they tend to take up an informative role in their social exchanges. On the other hand they have less and less desire, if they ever had any, to direct the activities of others, doing so only when forced to by circumstances. As engineers of function eNTps wish to exercise their competence in the world of people and things, and thus they deal imaginatively with social systems as well as physical and technological systems. They are very alert to what is apt to occur next-under certain conditions, if certain criteria are met-and they are always sensitive to possibilities. Found in two percent (at most) of the population, Inventors are good at functional analysis, and have both a tolerance for and enjoyment of complex problems.

Outgoing and intensely curious, eNTps are apt to express interest in finding out about everything they come into contact with, and this can be a source of inspiration to others, who find themselves admiring the eNTp's insatiable hunger for knowledge. eNTps are also endlessly inventive, and are the most reluctant of all the types to do things in a particular manner just because that is the way things have always been done. They characteristically have an eye out for a better way, always on the lookout for new projects, new activities, new procedures. eNTps are confident in the value of their interests and display a charming capacity to ignore the standard, the traditional, and the authoritative. As a result of this innovative attitude, they often bring fresh, new approaches to their work and their lives.

Famous Inventors: Walt Disney, Nicola Tesla, Thomas Edison, Richard Feynman, Steve Jobs, Catherine the Great

iNTp: Architect

Of the four aspects of strategic analysis and definition it is the structural engineering role—architechtonics—that reaches the highest development in INTPs, and it is for this reason they are aptly called the "architects." Their major interest is in figuring out structure, build, configuration—the spatiality of things.

As the engineering capabilities the INTPs increase so does their desire to let others know about whatever has come of their engineering efforts. So they tend to take up an informative role in their social exchanges. On the other hand they have less and less desire, if they ever had any, to direct the activities of others. Only when forced to by circumstance do they allow themselves to take charge of activities, and they exit the role as soon as they can without injuring the enterprise.

The INTPs' distant goal is always to rearrange the environment somehow, to shape, to construct, to devise, whether it be buildings, institutions, enterprises, or theories. They look upon the world—natural and civil—as little more than raw material to be reshaped according to their design, as a formless stone for their hammer and chisel. Ayn Rand, master of the Rational character, describes this characteristic in the architect Howard Roark, her protagonist in The Fountainhead:

He was looking at the granite. He did not laugh as his eyes stopped in awareness of the earth around him. His face was like a law of nature—a thing one could not question, alter or implore. It had high cheekbones over gaunt, hollow cheeks; gray eyes, cold and steady; a contemptuous mouth, shut tight, the mouth of an executioner or a saint. He looked at the granite. To be cut, he thought, and made into walls. He looked at a tree. To be split and made into rafters. He looked at a streak of rust on the stone and thought of iron ore under the ground. To be melted and to emerge as girders against the sky. These rocks, he thought, are here for me; waiting for the drill, the dynamite and my voice; waiting to be split, ripped, pounded, reborn, waiting for the shape my hands will give to them. [The Fountainhead, pp 15-16]
Many regard this attitude as arrogant, and INTPs are likely, especially in their later years, after finding out that most others are faking an understanding of the laws of nature, to think of themselves as the prime movers who must pit themselves against nature and society in an endless struggle to define ends clearly and adopt whatever means that promise success. If this is arrogance, then at least it is not vanity, and without question it has driven the design engineers to take the lead in molding the structure of civilization.

Famous Architects: Albert Einstein, Adam Smith, Charles Darwin, Ludwig Boltzmann, Marie Curie

Questionnaire

Answer spontaneously: do not try to second-guess the intention of the question. In questions which ask about your behaviour, answer according to how you would like to behave, not according to how life constrains you to behave.

Are you usually
a "good mixer", or
rather quiet and reserved?
If you were a teacher, would you rather teach
fact courses, or
courses involving theory?
Do you more often let
your heart rule your head, or
your head rule your heart?
When you go somewhere for the day, would you rather
plan what you will do and when, or
just go?
When you are with a group of people, would you usually rather
join in the talk of the group, or
talk with one person at a time?
Do you usually get along better with
imaginative people, or
realistic people?
Is it a higher compliment to be called
a person of real feeling, or
a consistently reasonable person?
Do you prefer to
arrange dates, parties, etc., well in advance, or
be free to do whatever looks like fun when the time comes?
In a large group, do you more often
introduce others, or
get introduced?
Would you rather be considered
a practical person, or
an ingenious person?
Do you usually
value sentiment more than logic, or
value logic more than sentiment?
Are you more successful
at dealing with the unexpected and seeing quickly what should be done, or
at following a carefully worked out plan?
Do you tend to have
deep friendships with a very few people, or
broad friendships with many different people?
Do you admire more the people who are
conventional enough never to make themselves conspicuous, or
too original and individual to care whether they are conspicuous or not?
Do you feel it is a worse fault to be
unsympathetic, or
unreasonable?
Does following a schedule
appeal to you, or
cramp you?
Among your friends, are you
one of the last to hear what is going on, or
full of news about everybody?
Would you rather have as a friend
someone who is always coming up with new ideas, or
someone who has both feet on the ground?
Would you rather work under someone who is
always kind, or
always fair?
Does the idea of making a list of what you should get done over the weekend
appeal to you, or
leave you cold, or
positively depress you?
Do you
talk easily to almost anyone for as long as you have to, or
find a lot to say only to certain people or under certain conditions?
In reading for pleasure, do you
enjoy odd or original ways of saying things, or
like writers to say exactly what they mean?
Do you feel it is a worse fault
to show too much warmth, or
not to have warmth enough?
In your daily work, do you
rather enjoy an emergency that makes you work against time, or
hate to work under pressure, or
usually plan your work so you won't need to work under pressure?
Can the new people you meet tell what you are interested in
right away, or
only after they have really got to know you?
In doing something that many other people do, does it appeal to you more to
do it in the accepted way, or
invent a way of your own?
Are you more careful about
people's feelings, or
their rights?
When you have a special job to do, do you like to
organize it carefully before you start, or
find out what is necessary as you go along?
Do you usually
show your feelings freely, or
keep your feelings to yourself?
In your way of living, do you prefer to be
original, or
conventional?
Which word appeals to you most?
gentle
firm
When it is settled well in advance that you will do a certain thing at a certain time, do you find it
nice to be able to plan accordingly, or
a little unpleasant to be tied down?
Would you say you
get more enthusuiastic about things than the average person, or
get less excited about things than the average person?
Is it higher praise to say someone has
vision, or
common sense?
Which word appeals to you most?
thinking
feeling
Do you
rather prefer to do things at the last minute, or
find doing things at the last minute hard on the nerves?
At parties, do you
sometimes get bored, or
always have fun?
Do you think it more important to be able
to see the possibilities in a situation, or
to adjust to facts as they are?
Which word appeals to you most?
convincing
touching
Do you think that having a daily routine is
a comfortable way to get things done, or
painful even when necessary?
When something new starts to be the fashion, are you usually
one of the first to try it, or
not much interested?
Would you rather
support the established methods of doing good, or
analyze what is still wrong and attack unsolved problems?
Which word appeals to you most?
analyze
sympathize
When you think of some little thing that you should do or buy, do you
often forget it till much later, or
usually get it down on paper to remind yourself, or
always carry through on it without reminders?
Are you
easy to get to know, or
hard to get to know?
Which word appeals to you most?
facts
ideas
Which word appeals to you most?
justice
mercy
Is it harder for you to adapt to
routine, or
constant change?
When you are in an embarassing spot, do you usually
change the subject, or
turn it into a joke, or
days later, think of what you should have said?
Which word appeals to you most?
statement
concept
Which word appeals to you most?
compassion
foresight
When you start a big project that is due in a week, do you
take time to list the separate things to be done and the order of doing them, or
plunge in?
Do you think the people close to you know how you feel
about most things, or
only when you have had some special reason to tell them?
Which word appeals to you most?
theory
certainty
Which word appeals to you most?
benefits
blessings
In getting a job done, do you depend on
starting early, so as to finsih with time to spare, or
the extra speed you develop at the last minute?
When you are at a party, do you like to
help get things going, or
let the others have fun in their own way?
Which word appeals to you most?
literal
figurative
Which word appeals to you most?
determined
devoted
If you were asked on Saturday morning what you were going to do that day, would you
be able to tell pretty well, or
list twice too many things, or
have to wait and see?
Which word appeals to you most?
hearty
quiet
Which word appeals to you most?
imaginative
matter-of-fact
Which word appeals to you most?
firm-minded
warm-hearted
Do you find the more routine parts of your day
restful, or
boring?
Which word appeals to you most?
reserved
talkative
Which word appeals to you most?
make
create
Which word appeals to you most?
peacemaker
judge
Which word appeals to you most?
scheduled
unplanned
Which word appeals to you most?
calm
lively
Which word appeals to you most?
sensible
fascinating
Which word appeals to you most?
soft
hard
Which word appeals to you most?
systematic
spontaneous
Which word appeals to you most?
speak
write
Which word appeals to you most?
production
design
Which word appeals to you most?
forgive
tolerate
Which word appeals to you most?
systematic
casual
Which word appeals to you most?
sociable
detached
Which word appeals to you most?
concrete
abstract
Which word appeals to you most?
who
what
Which word appeals to you most?
impulse
decision
Which word appeals to you most?
party
theatre
Which word appeals to you most?
build
invent
Which word appeals to you most?
uncritical
critical
Which word appeals to you most?
punctual
leisurely
Which word appeals to you most?
foundation
spire
Which word appeals to you most?
wary
trustful
Which word appeals to you most?
changing
permanent
Which word appeals to you most?
theory
experience
Which word appeals to you most?
agree
discuss
Which word appeals to you most?
orderly
easygoing
Which word appeals to you most?
sign
symbol
Which word appeals to you most?
quick
careful
Which word appeals to you most?
accept
change
Which word appeals to you most?
known
unknown
I am
male
female

Your type: XXXX

Introvert 50%
  
50% Extravert
iNtuitive 50%
  
50% Sensate
Thinking 50%
  
50% Feeling
Judgemental 50%
  
50% Perceptive