myers-briggs: i thought ENFP was an all-sports cable network

i recently took a myers-briggs personality test as part of a minnversity leadership program. completing the assessment, i wondered about test-retest reliability, response biases, and whether carl jung was looking over my shoulder.

i get nervous about any psychological test (well, professor uggen, we don't usually recommend immediate hospitalization, but in your case...), but i tried to answer the questions honestly. my results classified me as enfp, which indicates: extraversion (rather than introversion); intuition (rather than sensing); feeling (rather than thinking) [ouch.]; and, perceiving (rather than judging).

i think of myself as data-driven and logical, so this classification was surprising. the ENFP descriptions seem pleasant enough and reasonable, but so do my horoscopes on most days. it was useful, however, to read materials that applied the personality characteristics to communication style, decision making, and dealing with change and conflict. for example, we ENFPs should be aware that people may think you have no real opinions or that you're hiding your real views with regard to communication. we're also urged to recognize that there are real costs involved in pursuing novelty and to monitor the timing of when you give up on consensus and push to action.

points taken. while i don't necessarily buy the whole jungian/myers-briggs scheme, the test was useful for self-examination. plus, i learned that mark twain, alicia silverstone, will rogers, andy kaufman, jack black, and tina fey are also ENFPs. maybe i should consider a career as a cantankerous curmudgeon or sketch comedian. fictional ENFPs include ariel from the little mermaid and steve urkel (not the actor who played urkel, mind you, but urkel).

if you'd like to take the test yourself, there are a few freebies of unknown quality out there. i'm going to keep taking the test until i can generate a higher score on thinking.