MMDI™ 'Basic Report'

'Whole Type' Differences

Another way to help decide between two (or more) personality types is to look at the descriptions of each one.

As an analogy, you can't always tell which country someone comes from by listening to the words they use. If they use French words when speaking, they might be from France or Belgium or Canada or many other countries. To work out where someone comes from you have to listen to the whole person: the language, the accent, the behaviour, etc..

In a similar way, sometimes you cannot tell someone's personality type by looking at individual behaviours. You need to look at the whole person. You can then work out your type by comparison with some descriptions of the personality types.

Final Notes

Carl Jung said: 'every individual is an exception to the rule'.

You are a unique individual. The personality types can help you to orient yourself as you find your way around your personality. They also provide a language (a label) that helps you explore your identity.

However, personality types are not meant to put you in a box. Some people misuse the concept of personality type by saying that if you are ABC type, then you must be good at doing XYZ. Some people also make judgements about others on the basis of their personality type, e.g.: in recruitment. Such judgements are mistakes, made through ignorance.

MMDI Type Dynamics Report

Basic Report Results INFP - 94% INFJ - 82% ENFP - 79% INTP - 75% ISFP - 74% INTJ - 73% ENTP - 70% ISTP - 55% ENFJ - 53% ISFJ - 38% ESFP - 35% ENTJ - 34% ESFJ - 33% ISTJ - 29% ESTP - 26% ESTJ - 14%

Type Dynamics Results Fi - 30 Ni - 28 Ne - 25 Ti - 22 Fe - 13 Si - 10 Se - 7 Te - 5

Report using MMDI code: fcra

This is an advanced report on type dynamics. It is a computer-generated report based on your responses to the MMDI questionnaire. As with all such reports, please note the caveat that personality reports are never 100% accurate. You therefore need to make a judgement about the accuracy and relevance of these results for you.

This report is based on your type being INFP. If you wish to use a different type, please enter a new type code in the box, otherwise just carry on reading down the page:

Type Dynamics

The term 'Type Dynamics' can refer to a number of things. In this report it refers to the order in which you prefer the eight function-attitudes. For an introduction to the topic, see our article on the dynamic model.

In the MMDI Basic Report, patterns of response to the MMDI questionnaire are matched against each of the personality types. The percentage scores reflect how close your responses are to the pattern for each type. Your results are listed, above right.

However, this Type Dynamics report takes a slightly different approach. Rather than pattern-matching, it just looks at the individual scores achieved for each of the function-attitudes.

These two approaches can produce different results if there are some Out-Of-Pattern Scores (OOPS). Your pattern of responses might match one personality type in the Basic Report. But 'OOPS', this report might come up with a different result! This is because, although both use the same information, it is being looked at in two different ways. This shouldn't be regarded as a problem: people are far more complicated than just one four letter code.

Whether the results from the two reports are the same or different, type dynamics can provide useful information. It can help, for example, in better self-understanding or improving relationships with others.

Comparison with MMDI Basic Report

In the MMDI Basic Report your pattern most closely matched that of INFP. The dominant function-attitude of an INFP is Fi, and the auxiliary function-attitude is Ne. In the Type Dynamics analysis, your highest scoring function-attitude was Fi and the second-highest was Ni (see full table, above right).

So, comparing the two sets of results, we see that the top-scoring function-attitude reported in the MMDI Type Dynamics analysis is as expected in an INFP, but the second one is different.

Your dominant function is reported as Fi, Feeling oriented towards the inner world. This means you give importance to particular thoughts, ideas, or beliefs. You are value driven, and you often bring a sense of priority that is derived from your strong convictions. You seize upon and emphasise ideas or thoughts that have the greatest import, bringing them to the fore and stressing their significance. You assess the inherent value or importance of new ideas and beliefs, focusing on those about which you feel most strongly.

Your auxiliary function is reported as being Ni, introverted Intution. You use your imagination to try and create new and different ideas. You consider things from different perspectives and employ lateral thinking.

Characteristics of the Hierarchy

There are some important differences between function-attitudes that appear at the top of the list and those that appear further down.

The first is consciousness. This isn't talking about whether you are asleep. Rather it refers to the degree of awareness of how parts of your own psyche are operating. The function-attitudes at the top tend to be conscious and the ones at the bottom unconscious.

The second is how active the function-attitude is. Those at the top tend to be active and creative, producing something. Those at the bottom tend to be passive, simplying noticing what is happening rather than making things happen. Perhaps, right at the bottom, they don't even notice things.

The third is how differentiated the function-attitude is. This refers to the extent to which that function-attitude has been separated from other functions and can be used separately. This is associated with the function-attitude being used in an 'abstract' way. This refers to the ability to consciously draw out - abstract - certain types of information from a situation that are relevant to that function and that function alone. Eg: Feeling abstracts things that are of value, Thinking abstracts the logical principles, etc..

In your type dynamics hiearchy, extraverted Intuition is moderately high on the list. You can see hidden potential in people or situations and sometimes introduce change to see if it can be developed. This function-attitude is still relatively conscious and active, it is somewhat differentiated so you have some control over it and can be creative with it.

The same is also true to some degree of introverted Thinking. You like to have the logic behind things explained to you.

You may also tend to notice, though not do a great deal about, relationships and harmony between people, as well as information, facts, and relevant experience and knowledge. (This is because extraverted Feeling and introverted Sensing are in the middle area, between your conscious realm and the unconscious.)

The Unconscious

We now start moving into the shadow parts of your personality. These are the parts that are difficult to see in yourself, though others may see them in you.

A function-attitude that is relatively unconscious for you is extraverted Sensing. This means that you may not pay enough attention to immediate needs - that is: what needs to be done immediately or in the short term. As a result, there may be some short term outcomes that you may be overlooking. Also relatively unconscious is extraverted Thinking. You may also not be paying enough attention to processes and organisation. As a result, your work may be be poorly structured and your time spent inefficiently.

Final Points

There are some more caveats that should be placed on the above report.

As has already been stated, no personality questionnaire is 100% accurate, so the results of any report can be wrong. The value of the information above is in asking the question rather than giving an answer. Could this be true for you? Are there parts of it that act as a mirror to your personality?

Also, people are complex and individual. Sometimes generalised questionnaires like the MMDI work and are useful, other times they don't and the results should be discarded (using the horses for courses principle).

And there are lots of hidden assumptions in this report that may not hold true for you. For example, the assumption is made (above) that your preferred functions are more conscious and your non-preferred functions are unconscious. But we should note the words of Carl Jung, who produced the theory on which the Myers Briggs model of personality is based. He said, when talking about levels of self-awareness, that many people were unconscious and others have a high degree of consciousness. If you are one of those people, then the above report may not fit you very well, as it assumes an average position: that some parts of your personality are conscious and others unconsciousness.

INFP Personality Types

INFPs direct their energy towards the inner world of thoughts and emotions. They give importance to particular ideas or beliefs, focusing on those things that they belief in most strongly. They prefer dealing with patterns and possibilities, especially for people. They prefer to undertake work that has a meaningful purpose.

What makes an INFP tick?

The Dominant function is the judging one of Feeling.  Characteristics associated with this function include:

·        Makes decisions on the basis of personal values

·        Is appreciative and accepting of people - enjoying company and seeking harmony

·        Assesses the impact of decisions on others, being sympathetic or compassionate

·        Takes a personal approach

 

The judging Feeling function is introverted. That is, Feeling is used primarily to govern the inner world of thoughts and emotions. The INFP will therefore:

·        develop an inner emotional life that is often unseen to others, but is experienced as intense

·        retain a strong sense of values, which are often not expressed

·        emotionally accept or reject various aspects of life - for example, deciding whether praise or criticism received is valid and, at extreme, ignoring whatever is unacceptable

·        feel appreciation towards others, but not express it

 

The Feeling function is primarily supported by extraverted iNtuitive perception, That is, iNtuitive perception is used primarily to manage the outer world of actions and spoken words. This will modify the way that the Feeling is directed, by:

·        focusing the (inner world) Feeling on ideas and possibilities for people

·        looking for meaningful relationships

·        deciding on friendships through insight into their personality and motivation

 

The classic temperament of an INFP is Apollonian, or Choleric, for whom a basic driving force is the search for meaning or purpose.

Contributions to the team of an INFP

In a team environment, the INFP can contribute by:

·        promoting insight and common understanding amongst the team

·        contributing well thought out and innovative ideas

·        generating team spirit though sensitive listening and a quiet enthusiasm

·        focusing on areas of agreement and building on others' proposals

·        where there are areas of disagreement, exploring a wide range of options to see if a point of agreement can be found

 

The potential ways in which an INFP can irritate others include:

·        being idealistic

·        appearing out of touch, perhaps not fully recognising current realities, and disregarding those they find unacceptable

·        being stubborn over issues the group did not anticipate being a problem

·        spending too much time thinking

·        avoiding conflict and not giving forthright criticism when it is needed

·        focusing so much on interpersonal issues that cost and other impersonal considerations are not adequately discussed

 

Personal Growth

As with all types, the INFP can achieve personal growth by developing all functions that are not fully developed, through actions such as:

·        being prepared to declare the INFP's personal values

·        investigating and recognising the facts before interpreting what they mean

·        listing options and undertaking a formal process of evaluation against criteria, including a cost benefit analysis

·        undertaking a critical appraisal of a situation or person, and expressing disagreement or criticism when it could be of value to the recipient

·        focusing on impersonal details during discussions and when making decisions

·        listing options and undertaking a formal process of evaluation against criteria, including a cost benefit analysis

·        establishing a long term goal, preparing a detailed implementation plan, and sticking to it

 

Recognizing Stress

As stress increases, 'learned behaviour' tends to give way to the natural style, so the INFP will behave more according to type when under greater stress. For example, in a crisis, the INFP might:

·        concentrate only on what the INFP sees as important

·        work alone if possible

·        contribute creative ideas, but overlook current realities

·        fail to consider the cost implications

 

Under extreme stress, fatigue or illness, the INFP's shadow may appear - a negative form of ESTJ. Example characteristics are:

·        being very critical and find fault with almost everything

·        doing things to excess - e.g.: eating, drinking or exercising

·        becoming bossy or domineering and ignoring others' feelings

·        being pedantic about unimportant details

 

The shadow is part of the unconscious that is often visible to others, onto whom the shadow is projected. The INFP may therefore readily see these faults in others without recognising it in him/her self.