What Type Am I? Discover Who You Really Are

Softcover

ISBN 10: 014026941X ISBN 13: 9780140269413

Publisher: Penguin Books, 1998

Do you enjoy being the center of attention? Are you more interested in facts and figures than in theories? Do you make to-do lists? Would you rather be truthful or tactful? Do you have a few close friends rather than a wide range of acquaintances? Are you more empathetic and compassionate than logical and rational?

These are just a few of the questions about yourself that you can answer with What Type Am I? Based on the classic personality test taken by millions annually, this book will help you to assess your individual preferences in four basic areas: how you relate to the world, take in information, make decisions, and manage your life. Now a family therapist explains this fascinating system in a way that is entertaining and easy to absorb. Renee Baron takes on the complexity of the sixteen personality types and makes them accessible, so you can comprehend them, find your own type, and use the knowledge to enrich your own life. Here is information about individual strengths and weaknesses along with suggestions for personal growth and awareness. Whether you are a duty seeker or an action seeker, a knowledge seeker or an ideal seeker, What Type Am I is insightful, helpful, encouraging, and an eminently useful step in helping you appreciate your strengths and apply them to work, love, and life.

Review:

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator temperament test is given annually to millions of people, mainly business students and job applicants. But what good does it do, short of giving you a catchy-sounding, four-letter abbreviation (ENTJ, ISFP) that you can sometimes use to break the ice at cocktail parties? The aim of this book is to help you apply your knowledge to the benefit of both your work and love life--and to teach you how to prevent personality clashes by slightly adjusting your behavior around others, once you ascertain which "type" they fall under.

The four areas covered by Myers-Briggs are how you relate to the world (Extraverting or Introverting); how you take in information (Sensing or iNtuiting); how you make decisions (Thinking or Feeling); and how you manage your life (by Judging or Perceiving). If you don't already know your profile, take the fun and quick 20-question quizzes for each of the four categories. (Do you dislike routine and repetition? Do you prefer to finish one project before starting another, or does that not matter to you? Do people seek you out for warmth and nurturing?) You're then given tons of tips for getting along in this world. ESFPs are warned that they should not get involved in too many activities, lest they forget their responsibilities. INTJs need to learn to be more flexible, and are sometimes best off working for themselves. If you're dating someone who's an NF, "give them cards, gifts, compliments, hugs, adoration, and other forms of loving attention"; they enjoy romance and need this kind of doting.

There's also fascinating information about which functions are dominant in each of the 16 types, and how they're broken out by percentages, population-wide.

About the Author:

Renee Baron has taught the MBTI to thousands of students through seminars and workshops at various colleges and adult-education centers throughout California. She lives in Berkeley, California.