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
______
