Monday, August 4, 2008

Sparkling Personalities?

Last night there was a group of friends at my home for our weekly Sunday night cookies get together. My friend Elisa makes the cookies and a bunch of us just sit around hanging out and talking. While we were sitting around it was brought up that someone had brought a personality test to our little party. We ended up gathering about 10 of us around our tiny kitchen table to take this personality test. I went outside right after the test questions and didn't get a chance to evaluate what kind of personality I was. Someone ended up checking it out for me. I came back into the house was told that I'm an ISTJ personality. You're thinking, okay good, what does that mean. Well I'm not really sure. I was given the book to read about what that means, but I had little interest as the new conversation totally caught my attention.
So I decided this morning to look up what an ISTJ personality is and if I really fit into the category. Looking online I found this statement about ISTJ's.

Introverted Sensing Thinking Judging (ISTJ)

ISTJs are often called inspectors. They have a keen sense of right and wrong, especially in their area of interest and/or responsibility. They are noted for devotion to duty. Punctuality is a watchword of the ISTJ. The secretary, clerk, or business(wo)man by whom others set their clocks is likely to be an ISTJ.

As do other Introverted Thinkers, ISTJs often give the initial impression of being aloof and perhaps somewhat cold. Effusive expression of emotional warmth is not something that ISTJs do without considerable energy loss.

ISTJs are most at home with "just the facts, Ma'am." They seem to perform at highest efficiency when employing a step-by-step approach. Once a new procedure has proven itself (i.e., has been shown "to work,") the ISTJ can be depended upon to carry it through, even at the expense of their own health.

ISTJs are easily frustrated by the inconsistencies of others, especially when the second parties don't keep their commitments. But they usually keep their feelings to themselves unless they are asked. And when asked, they don't mince words. Truth wins out over tact. The grim determination of the ISTJ vindicates itself in officiation of sports events, judiciary functions, or an other situation which requires making tough calls and sticking to them.

His SJ orientation draws the ISTJ into the service of established institutions. Home, social clubs, government, schools, the military, churches -- these are the bastions of the SJ. "We've always done it this way" is often reason enough for many ISTJs. Threats to time-honored traditions or established organizations (e.g., a "run" on the bank) are the undoing of SJs, and are to be fought at all costs.

Is this really the type of person that I am? I do see some aspects of myself in this description, but do I fit it to a tee? Am I a text book ISTJ? What do you think? What kind of personality are you? You can take a personality test here. It's not the same one that I took last night. But I did take it and it also said that I am an ISTJ.

3 comments:

atypicalsmiths said...

http://keirsey.com/handler.aspx?s=keirsey&f=fourtemps&tab=5&c=mastermind

Apparently I'm a mastermind, but I think I've always known that about myself. What do you think? :P

atypicalsmiths said...

http://typelogic.com/intj.html this is the other one. What do you think?

Sandy Brunson said...

I am an ISFJ...same as you only I have feelings. :)