Personality Types for Library Organizations: Part 1- Background/Assessment

post by Dan Chaney, Humanities and Social Sciences Division

Let me start by saying I am not a licensed psychologist, but I’ve been known to play one in the Library.

One of the topics I talk to student groups about is understanding their personality, recognizing the strengths of their personality type as well as being aware of their shortcomings. The more I talked to my students about personality types, the more interesting it became to me. Perhaps it is because I am the psychology liaison and this is just a little osmosis in action, perhaps it is just because the more I came to understand personality types, the better I came to understand my own interpersonal and professional interactions.

My Reference colleagues have heard me speak on personalities at least twice over the last few years, and I have presented conference sessions on personality types in libraries on several occasions. I am convinced that by understanding personality types we can begin to understand what motivates us as well as what drives those we work with, our strengths and how we work together.

This piece on personalities can be divided into 5 parts:

1.       Background/the Assessment

2.       Introvert/Extravert

3.       Sensing/Intuition

4.       Thinking/Feeling

5.       Perceiving/Judging

Some background on personality studies: Carl Jung was a psychologist, a rather big name at that. In 1921, Jung suggested that human behavior is not random, that it follows patterns, and these patterns are caused by differences in the way people use their minds. By 1942, Isabel Myers-Briggs and her mother Katherine Briggs put Jung’s work into practice by developing the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Today, the MBTI is the most widely used instrument for studying personality.

When I talk about personality types, it is in the framework of the MBTI. There are other personality assessments such as Colors and the Five Factor Model. I prefer the Myers-Briggs framework because it is a very positive personality model – that is, there is nothing negative in any personality type, they all have their merits. I’m not going to have you take the MBTI to see what your personality type is (the MBTI costs $$$ - if you are a student at OSU, you can take it for $10 at OSU Career Services, 308 Student Union). If you’re not an OSU student and you want to know what your personality type is, I have that covered. I am including here a copy of the Personality Assessment Profile (PAP), which is by Dr. Robert Sherfield and is the assessment I give my freshman. (I talked to Dr. Sherfield and got his permission to use his measurement for sessions I do at conference and in settings like this J)

What the PAP does is give you a sense of what your personality type is. If you have taken the MBTI, you can compare results to what you discover taking the PAP.  I’ll warn you of a weakness in the PAP – it’s not the same as the MBTI. The MBTI is 126 questions, which goes far more in depth in assessing your personality type. The PAP is about 30 questions. It’s going to give you a basic score in four personality dimensions, but because it’s so brief, it can’t be exact. Some of you will take the PAP and after scoring it discover in one dimension, your scores are tied. That is going to happen. But, it should give you some basic framework to understand your personality.

One more thing: as you fill the assessment out, be honest. Realize, personality assessments only work for us if we answer questions honestly, without concern for how others would feel about us if they knew how we are answering.

The Personality Assessment Profile                                                            

© Robert M. Sherfield, Ph.D., 1999, 2002, 2005                              

Directions: Read each statement carefully and thoroughly. After reading the statement, rate your response using the scale below. There are no right or wrong answers. This is not a timed

survey. The PAP is based, in part, on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator^® (MBTI) by Katharine Briggs and Isabel Briggs-Myers.

3 = Often Applies

2 = Sometimes Applies

1 = Never or Almost Never Applies

___ 1a. I am a very talkative person.

___ 1b. I am a more reflective person than a verbal person.

___ 2a. I am a very factual and literal person.

___ 2b. I look to the future and can see possibilities.

___ 3a. I value truth and justice over tact and emotion.

___ 3b. I find it easy to empathize with other people.

___ 4a. I am very ordered and efficient.

___ 4b. I enjoy having freedom and control.

___ 5a. I am a very friendly and social person.

___ 5b. I enjoy listening to others more than talking.

___ 6a. I enjoy being around and working with people who have a             great deal of common sense.

___ 6b. I enjoy being around and working with people who are dreamers and have a great deal

            of imagination.

___ 7a. One of my motivating forces is to do a job very well.

___ 7b. I like to be recognized for, and I am motivated by, my accomplishments and awards.

___ 8a. I like to plan out my day before I go to bed.

___ 8b. When I get up on a non-work day, I just like to let the day “plan itself.”

___ 9a. I like to express my feelings and thoughts.

___ 9b. I enjoy a great deal of tranquility and quiet time to myself.

___ 10a. I am a very pragmatic and realistic person.

___ 10b. I like to create new ideas, methods, or ways of doing things.

___ 11a. I make decisions with my brain.

___ 11b. I make decisions with my heart.

___ 12a. I am a very disciplined and orderly person.

___ 12b. I don’t make a lot of plans.

___ 13a. I like to work with a group of people.

___ 13b. I would rather work independently.

___ 14a. I learn best if I can see it, touch it, smell it, taste it, or hear it.

___ 14b. I learn best by relying on my gut feelings or intuition.

___ 15a. I am quick to criticize others.

___ 15b. I complement others very easily and quickly.

___ 16a. My life is systematic and orderly.

___ 16b. I don’t really pay attention to deadlines.

___ 17a. I can be myself when I am around others.

___ 17b. I can be myself when I am alone.

___ 18a. I live in the here and now, in the present.

___ 18b. I live in the future, planning and dreaming.

___ 19a. I think that if someone breaks the rules, the person should be punished.

___ 19b. I think that if someone breaks the rules, we should look at the person who broke the

            rules, examine the rules, and             look at the situation at hand before a decision is made.

___ 20a. I do my work, then I play.

___ 20b. I play, then do my work.

Refer to your score on each individual question. Place that score beside the appropriate question number below. Then tally each line at the side.

                                                                    TOTAL

SCORE____________________________ ACROSS__CODE____

1a ___ 5a ___  9a ___  13a ___ 17a ___    _____     E Extrovert

1b ___ 5b ___  9b ___  13b ___ 17b ___    _____     I Introvert

2a ___ 6a ___ 10a ___ 14a ___ 18a ___    _____     S Sensing

2b ___ 6b ___ 10b ___ 14b ___ 18b ___    _____     N INtuition

3a ___ 7a ___ 11a ___ 15a ___ 19a ___    _____     T Thinking

3b ___ 7b ___ 11b ___ 15b ___ 19b ___    _____     F Feeling

4a ___ 8a ___ 12a ___ 16a ___ 20a ___    _____     J Judging

4b ___ 8b ___ 12b ___ 16b ___ 20b ___    _____     P Perceiving

Personality indicator

Look at the scores on your PAP. Is your score higher in the E or I line? Is your score higher in the S or N line? Is your score higher in the T or F line? Is your score higher in the J or P line? Write the code to the side of each section below.

Is your higher score E or I       Code ______

Is your higher score S or N     Code ______

Is your higher score T or F      Code ______

Is your higher score J or P      Code ______