Empowering career search and enrichment

Written by Patrick L. Kerwin, MBTI^® Master Practitioner

There’s no avoiding it: We all occasionally get really stressed out. It’s a normal, typical, unavoidable part of life because we all have times when the situation at hand exceeds our resources—physical, mental, or emotional—for dealing with it.

Have you ever noticed, when you’re really stressed out, that you’re just not yourself—in fact, you’re almost the opposite of yourself? There’s a good reason for that. It’s because, when we’re under great stress, our personality type turns itself inside out and “flips” into our opposite type (i.e., the four letters not in our four-letter type code)—but usually not in the greatest way. If you prefer Introversion and get really stressed out, you may flip into Extraversion—but in an exaggerated way, like blurting something out. Or, if you prefer Extraversion, you may flip into Introversion—but in an exaggerated way, like completely withdrawing.

Below are descriptions of the 16 types when they’re really stressed out. If you find yourself sounding like the “flip side” description for your type, then you know you’re right in the thick of being stressed out.

INTJ and INFJ:
Under stress, become “The Indulger,” overindulging in anything sensory, like eating, cleaning, or exercising. Flip Side Motto: “I need MORE!”

ISTP and INTP:
Under stress, become “The Emoter,” being overly sensitive and overly emotional with people they’re close to. Flip Side Motto: “I need to express my FEELINGS!”

ISFP and INFP:
Under stress, become “The Criticizer,” being negative about others and self. Flip Side Motto: “Everyone’s an IDIOT, including me!”

ESFP and ESTP:
Under stress, become “The Exaggerator,” worrying about doom-and-gloom scenarios. Flip Side Motto: “Everything is going to go WRONG!”

ENFP and ENTP:
Under stress, become “The Obsessor,” obsessing about facts and details. Flip Side Motto: “This ONE thing is absolutely important!”

ESTJ and ENTJ:
Under stress, become “The Martyr,” feeling unloved and unappreciated. Flip Side Motto: “No one APPRECIATES me!”

ESFJ and ENFJ:
Under stress, become “The Condemner,” being extremely critical and condemning of others and self. Flip Side Motto: “I am SO done with you!”
   
Join us Thursday, November 15th, 2012 for a free Ask an Expert webinar: MBTI® Type and Stress.
   


    

Written by Karen Gonzalez

If you are familiar with the Ask an Expert webinar series, you probably know that we began offering these in late 2009. We started with 19 registrations and after our last webinar in April 2012, have grown to over 1,080 registrations!

If you are not yet familiar, we offer these webinars as a way to give you application tips, interpretation advice, and to help you learn about different techniques in using the MBTI® and Strong Interest Inventory® assessments.  The point of these is to help you further develop your skills, while you in turn, help your students on their own road to success. This is also your chance to ask our experts questions about the material. And the best part is that they are free.

Here is just a snapshot of our new 2012-2013 schedule (Full schedule with descriptions can be found here). Click on each link to learn more and to register: 

9/27/12 - Using the iStartStrong™ Report in Academic Advising
10/18/12 - MBTI® Type, Learning Style, and Student Retention
11/15/12 - MBTI® Type and Stress
2/7/13 - MBTI® Type Dynamics and Relationships
3/14/13 - New MBTI® & Strong Products for Enhanced Interpretation Sessions
4/25/13 - Is Professional Networking Just for Extraverts?
5/23/13 - Finding the Best-Fit MBTI® Type

View our on-demand webinars as well. We hope you join us for this series!

Written by Catherine Rains

Ok, I have to admit that I have used this phrase once or twice in my lifetime, before I knew better!  This phrase can be an accurate way to describe observed behavior; however it is inaccurate when describing someone’s preference for type.  This phrase is often used when someone gets their MBTI® results and their PCI is in the “Very Clear” range, which means they have a long bar in the Extroverted (or toward any of the preferences) direction, or are almost “off the chart”.  This type of person will very often agree with their reported type for Extroversion, and sometimes will describe themselves as an “off the chart Extrovert”.  Although they might exhibit a lot of extroverted behaviors, this is an inaccurate interpretation of their PCI. A high PCI, or long bar, describes clarity or consistency of preference, not how much a person exhibits the behaviors associated with a preference. A very clear PCI (preference clarity index) simply says that this person consistently answered the questions in the direction of Extroversion, and as a result, will more than likely agree with their results (but not always). Although someone may indeed exhibit a lot of extroverted behaviors with a high PCI, the MBTI is not measuring how much they have of this preference, or of behaviors associated with Extroversion.  It simply measures how consistently they answered in one direction over the other.   There are assessments that measure how much extroverted behaviors someone exhibits, but the MBTI assessment is NOT one of them. Other ways to say “off the chart Extrovert” include “I am a strong extrovert” or “he is a huge extrovert” – all  inaccurate in terms of describing MBTI results.  Any other ways you have heard people describe a preference that infers how much someone has of a preference?

Ever heard people describe the characteristics for a preference with a phrase that begins with “People who prefer Sensing are good with details and specifics”? We’ll tackle this fun topic next week!

Written by Catherine Rains

For the next three weeks, we’re going to look at ways to bring our type language into the 21st century. Let’s start with the phrases “I am a Thinker”, or “He is Perceiver” to describe someone’s type preference. I have to admit I am guilty of using these phrases myself, particularly before I become a MBTI® Certification trainer, or even now when I’m talking very fast and just forget the new rules for talking type.

Sometimes it just seems natural to use these phrases to describe someone’s preference for a particular dichotomy; however it is now considered outdated. Try this instead – “I have a preference for Thinking”, or “He prefers Thinking”. Why are these phrases considered best practice when describing someone’s preference? When I describe myself as a Perceiver, it implies that this is all I am, putting me in a type box. With type, we always have a choice to flex to the other side, and have skills to use both sides of a preference pair. So I’m not JUST a Perceiver. I prefer Perceiving, and easily and effortlessly exhibit behaviors associated with this preference, but this is not all that I am. I often use behaviors associated with Judging when the situation calls for these skills, and am actually quite talented at doing so. So to describe myself as a Perceiver just isn’t accurate and it implies that this is the totality of who I am. Although hard to get used to at first, this newer phraseology better reflects the philosophy and intent behind using type to improve our everyday interactions.

Ever heard the phrases “I am an off the chart Extrovert” or “he is a huge Judger” to describe someone’s preference? Stay tuned for this topic next week as we continue our discussion around cleaning up type language.