My husband (I have his permission to tell this story) dislikes malls. He feels over-stimulated and disoriented whenever he goes into one, especially during holiday seasons when they are full of flashing lights, decorations, scents, and noise.

In fact, he can easily get turned around, and not be sure where we came into the mall, where certain stores are, or where our car is. I become the navigator. It’s hard to believe, because Paul can bushwhack through boreal forests, has done for decades, and never seems to lose his sense of direction, when he’s in a natural environment.

Research has shown that brains are wired differently. He has preferences for Introversion and studies show brains of Introverts are more easily stimulated than brains of Extraverts. He experiences this in the mall.

Of course, he doesn’t like shopping anyway and is opposed to consumerism, so some of this could be a values conflict. He also dislikes any large or noisy gathering of people.

Thankfully my ENFP daughter loves noise and stimulation, so when she was living with us, she and I happily attended many concerts and left Paul contently relaxing at home.

How are you affected by external stimulation? Do you like being in crowds or not? What arrangements have you made with your partner or friends when it comes to attending shopping, concerts, or other large noisy events?

If you are interested in reading more about whole type interactions, see my Getting Along post and my Introduction to Type and Communication booklet.

If you live in the USA, Introduction to Type and Communication is now available on Kindle.

In my MBTI® Certification workshops participants respond to the instruction -“Describe your type using words, phrases, or pictures.” I find these visual representations of type preferences help illustrate individual differences.

Here is a photo of a response from an individual who has ISTJ personality type preferences. The poster is well organized in a bulleted list. Words chosen to describe the type preferences, such as organized, responsible, dependable, and straightforward, highlight the orderly approach often taken by people who prefer ISTJ.

This is the third ISTJ poster in the Illustrations of Type series. There are two other ISTJ posters in this series.

You may also want to look at the first ISTJ illustration and the second ISTJ illustration to see how other individuals who prefer ISTJ respond to this exercise.

What’s Your Type?

Learn about your personal approach on our What’s Your Type? page where we’ll introduce you to personality type and the 8 Ways of Working.

Introduction to Type and Communication describes in detail how personality preferences influence communications.

If you live in the USA, Introduction to Type and Communication is now available on Kindle.

Communication is complex and it is, of course, impossible to describe all of the dynamics and complexities of relationships or interactions in a short post.

What this post will do is describe some general positive characteristics and potential challenges that may occur when two people with preferences for Thinking interact.

I hope you can use this information as a starting point for a better understanding of your relationships with others.

Enjoy the conversation

• A focus on logical, objective communication helps to clearly identify and solve problems requiring analysis.

• Rousing debates and deliberations can stimulate intellectual discussion and thought.

• A preference for using clear, precise feedback helps determine what needs to be improved and/or corrected.

• Can often avoid spending time dealing with emotional issues and validation of feelings.

• Clear agreement on solutions and decisions once acceptable criteria have been established.

But watch out for

• Focusing on critical analysis at the expense of encouragement and acceptance.

• Dismissing personal or emotional needs in self and others; missing or minimizing the importance of personal values and needs when making decisions.

• Becoming frustrated with views that do not align to your way of thinking.

• Becoming ‘super’ logical and inflexible in conflict; see things as black or white.

• Butting heads when a disagreement occurs.

For more information on this topic, take a look at my previous Thinking/Feeling post, What’s Your Preference? Thinking or Feeling?

Of course, personality type preferences are only part of how you communicate and a discussion of one personality type preference pair doesn’t adequately describe personality type dynamics.

If you are interested in reading more about whole type interactions, see my Getting Along post and my Introduction to Type and Communication booklet.

If you live in the USA, Introduction to Type and Communication is now available on Kindle.

Vacations are a time for people to relax and enjoy a break from their day-to-day lives and pressures. However, people may prefer to vacation in different ways, which can create more stress than relaxation.

Go with the flow

For my husband and I (both having NP preferences) our ideal time off has little or no structure. In fact, we have started booking “flex days” into our schedule; days where nothing is planned and we are free to do whatever appeals to us in the moment.

When our kids were very young, we had a chance to spend a day away from home without our children. These days did not come often so we decided to travel to a neighboring city. Our first stop was meeting friends for lunch. During lunch our friends asked us what we had planned for our day off.

The only commitment we had made for the day was to get there in time for lunch, then after lunch, the day would unfold. They were very surprised that we did not have anything planned.

Know where you are going

A lot of the enjoyment for our friends, (TJ and FJ preferences), was anticipating the planned event. For them, the most fun was researching the events happening in the city. They would have come to the city with tickets, arrangements, and a schedule for the day, maximizing their day off by being organized. Our friends thought we wouldn’t have a good experience since we might miss something we could have planned.

My husband and I looked at each other and laughed. For us, the enjoyment was not having any structure to follow. Our fun was getting there and being free to do whatever interested us at the time.

We knew that planning something would make us feel hemmed in. We have had other travel experiences, going places with people who had structured agendas, and generally found those experiences quite stressful.

How do you like to vacation? Do the personality preferences of the people you travel with create tension? What compromises or arrangements have worked for you?

If you are interested in reading more about whole type interactions, see my Getting Along post and my Introduction to Type and Communication booklet.

If you live in the USA, Introduction to Type and Communication is now available on Kindle.

In my MBTI® Certification workshops participants respond to the instruction -“Describe your type using words, phrases, or pictures.” I find these visual representations of type preferences help illustrate individual differences.

Here is a photo of a response from an individual with INTP preferences.

The person creating this poster has taken a casual approach to the exercise. He used a process of examination and evaluation to describe himself, as we might expect from someone with preferences for INTP.

Notice his last comment “Skeptical of everything”. This phrase links to the depth, analysis, and objectivity often associated with a Ti (Introverted thinking) approach.

This is the fourth INTP poster in the Illustrations of Type series. You may also want to look at the first INTP illustration, second INTP illustration, and third INTP illustration.

What’s Your Type?

Learn about your personal approach on our What’s Your Type? page where we’ll introduce you to personality type and the 8 Ways of Working.

Introduction to Type and Communication describes in detail how personality preferences influence communications.

If you live in the USA, Introduction to Type and Communication is now available on Kindle.

Communication is complex and it is, of course, impossible to describe all of the dynamics and complexities of relationships or interactions in a short post.

What this post will do is describe some general positive characteristics and potential challenges that may occur when a person with preferences for Thinking interacts with a person who prefers Feeling.

I hope you can use this information as a starting point for a better understanding of your relationships with others.

Enjoy the conversation

• A blend of considerations when deciding as T’s focus on logic and the bottom line while F’s focus on how people may be affected.

• As a result, decisions may be well rounded when both these subjective and objective perspectives are incorporated.

• F’s help T’s see the importance of support and encouragement and the value of checking in to see if people are OK with what is happening.

• T’s emphasize the importance of critical analysis and help F’s ensure their perspective is logically defensible.

• Together, T’s and F’s can learn to provide both positive and constructive feedback; using this combination can be very effective.

But watch out for

• Using different kinds of criteria and priorities when making decisions can create conflict.

• T’s and F’s may seek different outcomes. F’s may be seeking cooperation and harmony while T’s look for efficiency and clarity.

• T’s may not validate the F’s feelings or give them the support they need; F’s may feel threatened or attacked by corrective feedback.

• F’s may not give T’s direct, corrective feedback; T’s may interpret F’s support and suggestions as meaning no improvement is necessary.

For more information on this topic, take a look at some of my previous Thinking/Feeling posts:

What’s Your Preference? Thinking or Feeling?

Direct vs. Indirect Requests

Working with your T/F Preferences

Of course, personality type preferences are only part of how you communicate and a discussion of one personality type preference pair doesn’t adequately describe personality type dynamics.

If you are interested in reading more about whole type interactions, see my Getting Along post and my Introduction to Type and Communication booklet.

If you live in the USA, Introduction to Type and Communication is now available on Kindle.

Are you a reader?

My son (ISTJ preferences) proudly acknowledges that he has only voluntarily read one or two books in his life. He doesn’t like to read fiction and is not interested in analyzing stories. Textbooks and manuals are not his favorite information tools.

You may think this would result in my son being uninformed. Quite the opposite is true. My son is a walking, talking, repository of data and ideas.

Where does his information come from? It is all on-line. He watches Nova, Ted Talks, YouTube videos, and gathers data from several other educational sources such as news and magazine sites. He often starts a conversation with us (his parents) about complex topics such as man’s evolutionary path or quantum physics and usually knows more than we do about these topics.

In fact, his depth of knowledge can be overwhelming to us as he explains, in detail, theories and research.

In contrast, people who prefer Intuition have told me they enjoy reading books. In fact, many of them admit to having two or three books on the go at one time. Several INTJs and INFJs have told me they have an insatiable craving to read and learn.

Reading requires interpretation of symbolic language, something that people who prefer iNtuition tend to do easily.

How do different personality types gather data?

I, (ENFP preferences), enjoy curling up in a chair and reading a good novel. Perhaps this reflects my love of a good story and my interest in reading for relaxation. I usually do my research on web or book pages filled with words, so I can scan and quickly pull out the pieces of data I am looking for. I will watch an interesting video, but usually I like it to be short.

Learning theory tells us that engaging multiple senses helps us take in and retain information. Learning style theory tells us that there are variations in how people like to learn. In some ways, I think the digital age has made it much easier for people to find the information they need in the form they prefer.

Some things I wonder are:

Do information-gathering preferences reflect generational rather than (or as well as) personality type differences?

Do Ns still like reading words or are they looking for new platforms that integrate words and images?

Do people still like to read paper books or do they prefer electronic readers? Are paper books heading the way of the dodo?

Do those who prefer E find it more difficult to learn when information processing is mainly done independently on-line? Do they access forums or other interactive platforms to help them learn?

How do your type preferences influence how you gather your information?

Any thoughts on these questions would be appreciated.

If you are interested in reading more about personality type and learning, check out these posts:

Personality Type and Learning: ISFP

Personality Type and Learning: ESFJ

Personality Type and Learning: ISTJ

Personality Type and Learning: ENTJ

Personality Type and Learning: INTJ

Personality Type and Learning: ENFP

Personality Type and Learning: INTP

Personality Type and Learning: ESFP

Personality Type and Learning: INFP

Personality Type and Learning: ENFJ

Personality Type and Learning: ISTP

Personality Type and Learning: ESTJ

Personality Type and Learning: INFJ

Personality Type and Learning: ENTP

Personality Type and Learning: ISFJ

Personality Type and Learning: ESTP

In my MBTI® Certification workshops participants respond to the instruction -“Describe your type using words, phrases, or pictures.” I find these visual representations of type preferences help illustrate individual differences.

Here is a photo of a response from a group with ENFP preferences. They use Maria from the Sound of Music as an example of their creative and caring approach.

As is typical for ENFPs, this group uses color and images to express themselves. The overall feel of the poster is positive and energetic.

This is the eighth ENFP poster in the Illustrations of Type series. As you look through the other illustrations you can see the creative, unstructured approach people who prefer these preferences tend to take when they approach a task.

You may also want to look at the first ENFP illustration, second ENFP illustration, third ENFP illustration, fourth ENFP illustration, fifth ENFP, sixth ENFP, and seventh ENFP illustration in this series.

What’s Your Type?

Learn about your personal approach on our What’s Your Type? page where we’ll introduce you to personality type and the 8 Ways of Working.

Introduction to Type and Communication describes in detail how personality preferences influence communications.

If you live in the USA, Introduction to Type and Communication is now available on Kindle.

Communication is complex and it is, of course, impossible for me to describe all of the dynamics and complexities of relationships or interactions in a short post.

What this post will do is describe some general positive characteristics and potential challenges when two people with preferences for iNtuition interact.

I hope you can use this information as a starting point for a better understanding of your relationships with others.

Enjoy the conversation

• Both are open to thinking about and creating ideas

• Together, find opportunities to explore possibilities (especially NPs)

• Usually both are comfortable with change and innovation

• Have a shared work style with bursts of creative energy

• Both value looking to the future; can see past road blocks and challenges

But watch out for

• Both may miss significant facts and information key to a decision

• May distract each other (especially NPs) and not complete projects or tasks

• Considering multiple possibilities can become overwhelming and inefficient

• May get lost in ideas and miss opportunities to enjoy the present

• Over-estimating what they can do and underestimating how long things take can lead to over-commitment and stress

Of course, personality type preferences are only part of how you communicate and a discussion of one personality type preference pair doesn’t adequately describe personality type dynamics.

If you are interested in reading more about whole type interactions, see my Getting Along post and my Introduction to Type and Communication booklet.

If you live in the USA, Introduction to Type and Communication is now available on Kindle.

Theoretically, there are no good or bad preferences and no good or bad personality type combinations. That’s why Isabel Myers called her book Gifts Differing.

Just to restate the obvious, personality type is about our preferences. We need to use all of the preferences some of the time to adapt and cope with our daily lives. We can’t use personality type as an excuse, to blame, to avoid tasks, and so on.

If you are interested in reading more on this, see my post on Misuses of Personality Type.

However, sometimes personal frustration, social desirability, or pressures from work or home can lead to situations where people tend to defend or dismiss one side of a preference pair or various combinations of preferences.

Is Introversion Better than Extraversion?

E/I differences are currently being discussed a lot on-line. There are some wonderful pieces out there expressing and championing the Introverted approach. These pieces build understanding and provide thought-provoking critiques of how we set up our workspaces and personal lives. However, when arguing the Introverted perspective, advocates sometimes also implicitly dismiss and minimize the importance of the Extraverted perspective. Extraversion is not better or worse than Introversion, it is simply different.

Is Intuition Better than Sensing?

The personality type community is primarily composed of people with Intuitive preferences. In the 25 years I have been working with type, I have seen cases where Intuitives have conceptual snobbery. It’s like they think Sensors are not able to be intellectual or abstract. Sensors are not stupid or unable to think conceptually, they simply start with the facts and realities and build their concepts from the ground up.

In a similar way, SJs aren’t resistant to change, as many change agents who prefer Intuition complain. They simply look at change differently and want to see practical reasons for the change and the structure and details behind it.

Is any Preference or Combination Better?

I can offer lots of other examples I have heard over the years, using just about any type preference and combination. In my opinion, too many people are aware of type differences and too few people work to understand, appreciate, and leverage these differences to build effective work and community environments.

There are no better or worse preferences or combinations, just differences.

Enough ranting. I normally write and speak about type differences in a more positive, appreciative way. Today though, I challenge you to identify preferences and types that you tend to dismiss or belittle. Then look again even more carefully to find and appreciate their gifts and contributions.