Myers-Briggs and dancing

[MartinHarper]

So, having done yet another one of these self-diagnosing tests
HumanMetrics - online relationships, personality and entrepreneur tests, personal solution center

(which are odd, because I should spend more time trying to figure out other people's personalities, but at least it's marginally more scientific than the "you are Willow" things)

I came out as inTP - introverted intuitive thinking perceiving. So I got to wondering how this affected everyone's favourite hobby. For example:
Does dancing, as a kind of performance and a social hobby, attract more extraverts than introverts?
Is it useful to be a Sensing type to be a good follower, because you need to pay close attention to your partner, rather than your own thoughts?
Is it useful to be a Thinking type to be a good leader, because you need to plan to fit the dance to the music?
Is it useful to be a Feeling type to really connect well with the music and your partner on an emotional level? Is this why I don't understand when people talk about "connection" in hippyspeak?
Are Judging leaders less comfortable with followers who hijack from time to time? Does this help us deduce DavidJames's personality type?
Do I love following because I finally get to silence the Thinking and Intuiting I do for the rest of my life?

we've discussed this before in general terms, but I'm interested in the dance aspect.

[Andy McGregor]

I did this test years ago. I'm ENTP. Almost the same as MH, which is worrying. Except I'm E and he is I. Although I wonder if anybody who is I could have such a silly haircut - or give so much negative rep?

[Mezzosoprano]

I had my "preferences" assessed at work - ESTJ

[David Bailey]

Are Judging leaders less comfortable with followers who hijack from time to time? Does this help us deduce DavidJames's personality type?

Moi?

Hmmm... I'm ISTJ, 11%, 25%, 12%, and 67% respectively.

Which means I'm (apparently) a:

• slightly expressed introvert
• moderately expressed sensing personality
• slightly expressed thinking personality
• distinctively expressed judging personality

[Andy McGregor]

Moi?

Hmmm... I'm ISTJ, 11%, 25%, 12%, and 67% respectively.

Which means I'm (apparently) a:

• slightly expressed introvert
• moderately expressed sensing personality
• slightly expressed thinking personality
• distinctively expressed judging personality

We have only T in common - thought so...

[David Bailey]

We have only T in common - thought so...

Realistically, I think the percentages are important in this test - there's a hell of a lot of difference between 11% "I" and 67% "J".

So simply expressing a bald "type" is nearly-pointless IMO. But that's probably me being all judgemental and stuff.

[David Franklin]

So simply expressing a bald "type" is nearly-pointless IMO. But that's probably me being all judgemental and stuff.

Not to mention follicly challenged...

[Andy McGregor]

Realistically, I think the percentages are important in this test - there's a hell of a lot of difference between 11% "I" and 67% "J".

So simply expressing a bald "type" is nearly-pointless IMO. But that's probably me being all judgemental and stuff.

I've just done the online test to see what my percentages are. And I've changed into an EIFJ. The strength of the preferences is

Extravert 67%
Intuitive 62%
Feeling 12%
Judgemental 67%

Based on what other people tell me, I'm surprised that my extravert score is so low

The bad news is that I'm now 50% David James The good news is that I'm 0% Martin Harper

[David Bailey]

I've just done the online test to see what my percentages are. And I've changed into an EIFJ.

You've gone from ENTP to EIFJ? What does that say about the reliability of the method?

[Caro]

You've gone from ENTP to EIFJ? What does that say about the reliability of the method?

funny how you question the method... I'd question the recipient


I'm an INTJ btw. Which might explain why I can't help adding my own stuff.

[Andy McGregor]

You've gone from ENTP to EIFJ? What does that say about the reliability of the method?

I took my first test almost 20 years ago. I'm sure the test took a bit longer and, as my employers were paying for me to do the test I may have given the answers I thought they wanted - especially about the tidy desk! In those days my desk and office were completely tidy because I had a PA. So, I might have done a different test and I might have had a different agenda for the answers and I'm now 50 as opposed to being in my early 30s - and maybe I've changed. I think that possibly, just possibly, I'm a bit less extravert

[Freudian Hips]

I'm ENTJ

See - that explains everything!!

Extrovert (I do my thinking and processing of the world externally - dance is a big part of this)
iNtuitive (I see the big picture rather than the detail - I like performing!)
Thinking (I sometimes miss the sensitivities of others because I am just being sensible or stating the obvious!)
Jugemental (Decisive, planned and not good at changing direction quickly!)

[Lynn]

You've gone from ENTP to EIFJ? What does that say about the reliability of the method?

Its actually ENFJ - so two changes (I is for the E-I option, N - S is iNtuitive/Sensing)

And all that indicates is that a quick online test isn't accurate. The full test, with feedback, usually takes up to 1/2 day.

The proper MB test uses several methods - including a multiple choice test and 'self selection' based on descriptions. Plus a one to one feedback session or a small group with some one to one feedback with opportunities to discuss.

I've now had mine done 3 times over 14 years in very different contexts and its always been the same. (I've also done the small test in the book 'Please understand me' and its been the same, so a 'mini' test worked in that instance.) So I would say its one of the more consistent personality tests.

I've found it a useful tool. We did it as a team at work and found it helpful to understand how we relate in meetings for example.

I find the words a bit unhelpful - esp the Extrovert/Introverr as they mean quite different things compared to the normal usage of the word.

[Andy McGregor]

I find the words a bit unhelpful - esp the Extrovert/Introverr as they mean quite different things compared to the normal usage of the word.

I was a bit worried about this too. But the psychologist explained that it means different things to them. They also told me that I'd be much less productive in an open plan office as I'd be constantly distracted - I suppose that the forum is a bit like that open plan office

[bigdjiver]

...I'm an INTJ btw. Which might explain why I can't help adding my own stuff.

Me2

[Beowulf]

I'm
Introverted 67%
Intuitive 12%
Feeling 24%
Perceiving 56%

Which makes me a

• distinctively expressed introvert
• slightly expressed intuitive personality
• moderately expressed feeling personality
• moderately expressed perceiving personality

Me? Introverted? Now who would have thought that

I am an not a confident dancer and worry about what other people think more than my on "faith" in myself .. although I tend to assume other people are thinking the worst so I pigeon hole myself as a bad dancer on no evidence other than my own suspicions.

How does that tally with my Score?

[mikeyr]

I'm an INTJ btw. Which might explain why I can't help adding my own stuff.

Also me What would be the ideal partnership be, I wonder.....?

[ducasi]

I'm ENTJ

See - that explains everything!!

Extrovert (I do my thinking and processing of the world externally - dance is a big part of this)
iNtuitive (I see the big picture rather than the detail - I like performing!)
Thinking (I sometimes miss the sensitivities of others because I am just being sensible or stating the obvious!)
Jugemental (Decisive, planned and not good at changing direction quickly!)

According to the linked test, I'm INTJ, but the T & J are only 1% preference – in other words I'm on the border line for those ones, and could easily be scored as INFP tomorrow if I took the test again. (At least one time I've taken one of these tests, I was an "S", rather than a "N".)

The web site says I am:

• very expressed introvert (78%)
• moderately expressed intuitive personality (38%)
• slightly expressed thinking personality (1%)
• slightly expressed judging personality (1%)

This explains why I am a mass of contradictions.

As far as dancing goes, as an introvert, I am less likely to ask people to dance who I don't know, and I am more likely to concentrate on the internals of the dance, rather than the external appearance.

No idea what the other things tell me as far as dancing goes.

[Twirly]

And I'm

Introverted 11%
Intuitive 62%
Feeling 38%
Judging 65%

slightly expressed introvert

distinctively expressed intuitive personality

moderately expressed feeling personality

moderately expressed judging personality

The above doesn't tell me a lot - reading the profiles did. In summary, it seems I'm highly intuitive - the word "counselor" kept coming up, which is rather appropriate. Suggests that I'm able to have almost ESP-like perception and "uncanny communications with certain individuals at a distance." which has indeed been known.

Now does that high intuitive score make me a good dancer because I'm able to read the lead well, or more likely to anticipate?!

[Lynn]

I'd strongly question the reliablity of that online test. I also came out as ENFJ - like Andy - and like Andy I am ENTP - and I've done the test 3 times with people trained to analyse the data and like I said, with various checks and one to one sessions to confirm.

I could tell that my results would come out different by the nature of some of the questions - some are OK, others aren't - I got the impression that list of questions has been drawn up by someone with limited understanding of the test.

Its also useless to tell people 'you are x% this or that' - its the combination of the characteristics that matters. So pretty much ignore that bit and look at the profiles. Not that those profiles are as helpful as the ones in the proper MBTI material.

The feedback you need is 'You are ISTJ and therefore you prefer to communicate this way'. etc. There are 16 personality types in MBTI - the way its used is to work from the type you match with. The only time its helpful to have any information on individual letter scores (eg T/F) is if your results are borderline, and then you would look at eg both ENFP and ENTP.

If anyone wants to try a more accurate test, I'd recommend the one in 'Please Understand Me' (lent my copy to someone and didn't get it back) - mainly because I've seen it done on several people and it matched the full test results they had/did at a later time.