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According to Carl G. Jung's theory of psychological types, human consciousness is characterized by its preference of the general attitude:
- Extraverted (E) vs. Introverted (I)
It is also characterized by its preferences within the two pairs of its mental functions:
- Sensing (S) - Intuition (N)
- Thinking (T) - Feeling (F)
The three parameters introduced by Jung are dichotomies (i.e. bipolar dimensions where each pole represents an opposite preference). Jung proposed that
in a person one of the mental functions is dominant.
Isabel Briggs Myers proposed that a fourth dichotomy, with the opposite poles of judging and perceiving,
also influences the characteristics of personality type:
- Judging (J) – Perceiving (P)
All possible permutations of the 4 criteria above yield 16 different combinations representing which of the opposite poles in each of the four dichotomies dominates in a person, thus defining 16 different personality types.
The 16 personality types can be assigned a combination of 4 letters (an acronym) corresponding to the opposite poles in each of the four dichotomies.
The first letter in a personality type name corresponds to the first letter of the attitude preference (“E” for extraversion and “I” for introversion).
The second letter in a personality type name corresponds to the preference within sensing-intuition pair: “S” stands for sensing and “N” stands for intuition (to distinguish from “I” for introverted attitude).
The third letter in a personality type name corresponds to preference within the thinking-feeling pair: “T” stands for thinking and “F” stands for feeling.
The forth letter in a personality type name corresponds to a person’s preference within the judging-perceiving pair: “J” for judging and “P” for perception.
For example:
- ISTJ stands for an Introvert, Sensing, Thinking, Judging
- ENFP stands for an Extravert, iNtuitive, Feeling, Perceiving
And so on.
What do the percentages next to the personality type letters mean?
Humanmetrics Jung Typology Test™ (JTT™) and Jung Typology Profiler for Workplace™
(JTPW™) instrument determine the expressiveness of each of the four personality type
dimensions (Extraversion vs. Introversion, Sensing vs. Intuition, Thinking vs. Feeling,
and Judging vs. Perceiving.
In JTT™ and JTPW™, the scales of these four dimensions represent a continuum between two opposite poles, from 100 at one pole to 100 at another pole. I.e. Extravert-Introvert dimension is a continuum from 100 on Extraversion (i.e. a respondent is a 100% extravert) to 100 on Introversion (i.e. a respondent is a 100% introvert). In other words the scale is 200 units long:
Extravert [100% - - - 0% - - - 100%] Introvert
People may reveal features of both poles but typically have a preference of one way over the other. The letter indicates the preference and the percentage indicates the extent of it.
The E-I score of 0% means the respondent is at the borderline between being an extravert and an introvert. Having Extraversion score of greater than 0 - e.g. 20% - means being 20% more slanted toward Extraversion over Introversion. Having Introversion score of greater than 0 - e.g. 20% - means being 20% more slanted toward Introversion over Extraversion.
The same pertains to the S-N, T-F, and J-P dichotomies.
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The Basics of Jung's Typology
 The famous Swiss psychologist Carl Jung (1875-1961) introduced two mental bipolar dimensions (dichotomies) in his approach to personality. These are Sensing-Intuition (SN) and Thinking-Feeling (TF).
The first dichotomy, SN (S stands for Sensing and N - for iNtuition), represents the way in which an individual receives information. To people who fall into the Sensing category, information they receive through their senses directly is most important. People falling into the Intuition category mostly rely upon their conception about things, based on their perception of the world.
The second dichotomy, TF (T stands for Thinking and F - for Feeling), refers to how an individual processes the information. Thinking means the individual is less affected by emotions and makes decisions based on an unbiased reasoning. Feeling means that the individual's base for decisions is mainly feelings and emotions.
Jung also introduced the notion about the extraverted or introverted direction of each of the mental functions [Jung, 1971]. The direction points to the source of energy that feeds the dominant mental function. An Extravert's source of energy is mainly found in the outside world, whereas an Introvert's source of energy is mainly found in his or her inner world.
Jung introduced the idea of hierarchy of mental functions. According to Jung, in each individual one of the poles of the two dichotomies predominates over the rest of the poles. This pole defines the dominant function. One of the poles of the other dichotomy defines the auxiliary function.
Jung called sensing and intuition functions "irrational" (or perceiving) and thinking and feeling functions "rational" (or judging) [Jung, 1971].
A "rational" functions according to Jung, is typical for mental activity that results in thinking, feelings, response and behaviour that consciously operates in line with some rules, principles or norms. People with predominantly "rational" function perceive the world as an ordered structure that follows a set of rules.
An "irrational" function, according to Jung, is typical for mental and perceptual activity that predominantly (and, for the most part, unconsciously) operates with opportunities, i.e. various possible outcomes and sensations result from some premises and sensations, mostly driven by unconscious processes. People with predominantly "irrational" thinking see the world as a structure that can take various forms and outcomes.
It is possible to determine – either by observation or asking certain questions - whether the organization of an individual's nervous system results in thinking, feelings, response and behaviour that is predominantly "rational" or "irrational". Jung called the mental activity characterized by predominantly rational function judging, and the mental and perceptual activity characterized by predominantly irrational function perceiving.
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