Building Blocks of Personality Type: A Guide to Using the Eight-Process Model of Personality Type

'fOLOGy/ SELF- H ELP

'ake the next stepiii understanding iung's mental processes! Iuildlng Blocks of Personality Type provides

a simple and direct route into the hea!t of

i ersonality type. Authors Leona Haas and Mark

1mziker bring to life a simple and practical

understanding of the underlying theay of the

lel"sonality type code-first brooght to life by Isabel

Vl yers with the creation of the Myers-Briggs Type

Indicator® instrument-the eight Jungian mental

'Jrocesses. Whether yoo are explOringpersonality type for the firsttime orare interested in taking personality type tothenext level,BuildingBlocks of Personality Type is theessential element yoo need toget there.

Highli.ghts...

TV eona Haas Hunziker

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• Complete introduction topersonality type ~ ;2:~I ·,#l;~·fr~· "'"?'·;.

• Dedicated chapter for each mental process • Glossary of terms for greaterclarity

Beyond the basicswithapplications to. .. • Managing Conflict

* *

Making Decisions

• Improving Communication Managing change andtransition

Parenting and erJuca tion

• Career Development

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BUSINESS PRESS UNI T E aUNITE division of Telos Publications SliSIN t'.\ .\ 1'1\ 1."

P.O. Box 4457. Huntington Honch. Cnlifornia 92605·4457 w w w.tnlosPllhlications.com fiook/CoVL'f dosiqrr Visibility Designs

Forewords by th arln~,. .D. Myers, Coauthor of Introduction to Type@Dynamics and Development ···t < _ . . ~ . ., ~ ._ ~. . and

John Beebe, Jungian Analyst and Author of Integrity in Depth

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This book is dedicated by Leona and Mark to Carl G. Jung, for his relentless courage in

exploring the daunting mysteries of the psyche.

Isabel Briggs Myers, for hertireless and loving

dedication to helping humankind.

'"

Katharine D. Myers, for her grace, caring,

and quiet devotion to Isabel and the purpose of the MBW'.

Daryl Sharp, for his profound

understanding and clarity.

Copyright ©2006Leona Haasand Mark Hunziker

John Beebe, for his powerful insights and

remarkablepatience in sharing them.

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All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in anyfonn or by any means; including electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of thepublisher, except in the caseof brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to thepublisher,addressed "Attention: Permission Coordinator," at

Mary Thompson, for herwise counsel.

byLeona to

the address below.

Stanislaus and Agnes Nowicki, for all their

sacrifices and the gift of life.

UniteBusitess Press, A Divisionof TelosPublications . P.O. Box 4457, HuntingtonBeach, California 92605-4457 TollFree 1-866-416-8973 1Phone 1-714-965-7696 / Fax1-714-965-7697 http://www.telospublications.com

Richard Haas, for hisunconditional

love and belief in me.

Dawn Haas Bowders, for her ideas, technical

expertise, and continuous help.

Understanding YOlUSelj andOthers, Interstrength. MajorsnI, Knowdell,NotJustA Paycheck; 16types.com,

and The CommunicotionZoneareeither registered trademarks or trademarks of Unite Media Group, Inc.,

Fountain Valley, California. Myers-Briggs 1}peIndicator, MB11, andMyers-Briggs are trademarks orregistered

trademarks of theMyers-Briggs Type Indicator Trust inthe United Stales aod other countries.

Dana Balaz, my ENFP daughter, for helping me

understand and value opposing personalities.

Cheyenne and Alexandra Balaz, for their hugs

and kisses when I reallyneed them.

Printed in the United States ofAmerica Libraryof Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Haas, Leona.

Building blocksof personality type : a guide to using the eight-process modelofpersonality type:

lung's mental processes 1 Leona Haas, Mark Hunziker» I st ed. p.c m. Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0-97 19326-2-X

I. Myers-BriggsType Indicator. 2. Typology (psychology) 3. lung, C. G. (Carl Gustav),1875-1961. 1. Hunziker, Mark. 11.Title. BF698.8.M94H33 200!> 155.2'(,4--dc22

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Margaret and Gary Hartzler, for their true dedication, caring, and sharing of knowledge. All my workshop and Qualifying Program participants, for their honest sharing of themselves to make this book happen. Ii:

2005037324

Anthony Harley Nowicki, for teachi ng me to see type through the eyes of a child.

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and by Mark to Robert J. Hunziker, for his love and often underappreciated wisdom.

Copyediting and proofrcading by PeopleSpeak.

Cover and InteriorDesign: Visibility Designs.

Indexer: Rachel Rice

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, Foreword by Kotharine D. Myers ForewordbyJohn Beebe Preface Acknowledgments

xi

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PART ONE AN INTRODUCTION TOTHE EIGHT-PROCESS MODEL OF TYPE Chapter 1: Terms and 'Concepts MBTI ~ Personolity·lnventory The Eight.Process Model ProcessWatching Miscelloneous Terms Literory License·

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4

6

7

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Chapter 2 : Type Theory in Brief What Is Process. Preference~ Our Two MostPreferred Processes ASequence of Preferences Thelmporlanceof Understanding Our Preferences

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Chapter 3: From Four Dichotomies to Eight Mental Processes to Sixteen Types WhyEightProcesses? HowType Code Interpretation Works

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PARTTVVO THE EIGHT JUNGIAN MENTAL PROCESSES Chapter 4 : Extra ve rted Sensing (Se) Key Features What's Going On? From the Outside, looking In Contributions From the Inside Vignettes Gifts

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40

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Chapter 5 : Introverted Sensing (Si) Key Features What's Going On~ From the Outside, looking In Contributions From the Inside Vigneltes Gifts

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'JG BLOCKS or /' I/ ' .';ONAIII Y TYI"

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Table of Contents

Ch apter 6 :

Chapter 7 :

Extraverted Intuiting (Ne) Key Features What's Going On? From the Outside, Looking In Contributions Fromthe Inside Vignettes Gifts Introverted Intu iting (Ni) Key Features

What's Going On ? From the Outside , Looking In Contributions From the Inside Vignettes Gifts Chapter 8 :

Extraverted Thinking (Te)

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54

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55

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61

63

64

64

66

68

68

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What's Going On? From the Outside, Looking In Contribut ions From the Inside Vignettes Gifts

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76

78

78

80

81

Introverted Thinking (Ti) Key Features What's Going On? From the Outside, Looking In Contributions From the Inside Vignettes Gifts

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90

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C ha pte r 10: Extra verted Fe e ling (Fe) Key Features What's Going On ? From the Outside, Looking In Contribut ions From the Inside Vignettes Gifts

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95

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100

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Cha pte r 1 1: Introve rted Feeling (Fi) Key Features What 's Going On ? From the Outside, Looking In Contributions From th e Inside Vignettes Gifts

103

104

104

105

107

108

110

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Key Features

• Chapter 9 :

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PART THREE BEYOND PROCESS WATCHING Chapter 12 : The Eight-Process Model of Type Chapter 13: Important Facets and Factors in Eight-Process Type The Cast of Cha roders Balance Consciousness and Unconsciousness The Sequence of the Eight Process Preferences Appropriateness Energy Flow Summary of the Facets and Fadors

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119

119

120

120

121

122

123

124

Chapter 14 : Beyond the Basics Conflict Management Decision Making Communicat ion Managing Change and Transition Parent ing and Education Career Development

127

127

133

141

155

160

165

Afterword

171

APPENDICES A: Jung's Model of the Psyche B: John Beebe's Archetypal Understanding of Psychological Types C: Two Important Contributions from Harold Grant 0 : Brief Descriptions Based on the Two Preferred Processes E: The Circle of Eight-Process Type F: Comparison of Jung ian Mental Processes G:Process/Archetype Cha rt fo r the Sixte e n Types H:Decisio n-Making Che cklist I: Time- Focus of the Perce iving Processes Notes

Glossary

Bibliography

Index

About the Authors

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185

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197

19 9

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DETERMINE WHICH OF THE

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PREFERRED

FUNCTIONS Is THE DOMINANT PROCESS

Step 3 focuses on the first letter of the type code to identify the most preferred, or dominant, mental proc ess. Steps 1 and 2 identi fy the most

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F/om l o ur Di r.ho l omies 10 Eight Mental Processes to Sixtee n Types

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preferr ed Extraverted func tion and the mo st prefer red Int roverted function. T he first letter of the code indicates which one of these is our dom ina nt process. N ot e that in th e typ e code or w hen they stand alone, the letters E and I are trad itionally capitalized . When th ey are co mbined w ith a letter representing a funct ion (such as T for Think­ ing) to indic ate a me ntal process (such as Introverted T hinking), the y are lowercase (Ti) . In our first example, ESFJ, the E indicates that the Extraverted function (which has already been determined to be Feelin g) is the most preferred. I T hus , for ESFJ, Extraverted Feeling is the dominant process. In,the second example, the I shows that Introverted Feelin g is the dom inant mental process for ISFP.

e 1'.1ESFJ: The E1iraverted function is Feeling (Fl, so the dominant processis Extroverted Feeling (Fe).

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a Perceiving fun ction in the "trusted adviser" role and th e domin ant

orientation to Ext raverting balanced by Introverting. Similarly, in th e

seco nd example, th e dom inant Int roverted Judging fun ction needs the

balance of an Extr averted Perceiving function.

' Step 4:

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Thefi r~t 1~t1~r of thefbur.l~lte~ tYp~·code .. indicates whichoLthe tW~ previously· identified processesis dominant: the Ex­ traverted.one or the Introverted one. 0-. IfyoJrfiist letteri~ ~ for ~~avertirig , your dominantprocess will Extraverted; If your first letter is I for Introve'rting;'yOur dominant proc~sS De I~troverted . '

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InISFP: The auxiliory process is Extraverted Sensing (Se),

Extraverting wlth i~f;'6~~rting and Judging with Pereeivi~9? '

As we have shown, the interpretation of the type code ide nt ifies not

on ly what our two preferred processes are but also wh ich one we prefer

m ost (our domi nant) and which is second (our auxiliary). The need for

balance applies to all eight of the mental proc esses, creating sixteen pos­

sib le type sequences in which the processes are arranged by preference.

Thus, we have a total of sixteen possible personality types.

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What w~uld . bal~nce

InESFJ: The auxiliary processis Introverted Sensing (Si).

In ISFP: The Introverted function is Feeling (F), so the dominant process is Introverted Feeling (Fi).

Eight very differ ent type codes con tain a J as the last letter .

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Two PROCESSES

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IS THE AUXILIARY PROCESS

Step 4 Identifies our second-most preferred, or auxiliary, process. Thi s is sim ply the process we ident ified earlier that is not the dominant one. For ESrj , Introverted Sensing is the aux iliary process. For ISFP, Ext raverted Sensing IS the aux iliary process. Step 4 is a great illustration of how Myers created a practical ap­ plication from J un g's theory. Jung observed that the psyche has a need to balance the purpose and orientation of the do minant process. In th e first exam ple, the dominan t J udging function needs to be balanced by

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MENTAL PROCESSES,.

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In thi s chapter, we seek to present a picture of the "pure" Extraverted Sensing that we would see if we could carefully remove it from its natural state where it is influenced and colored by all the other elements of per­ sonality. T ho ugh no process actually exists separated from the rest of the person ality, the portrait that follows reflects core characte ristics that are in play whenever Extraverted Sensing is engaged at a conscious level. Extraverted Sensing most clearly resembles the descriptions in the following pages when it is in the dominant (first) position. In fact, these descriptions are based on input from people for whom the process is dominant (ESTP and ESFP). But even with Extraverted Sensing in the first position, what you observe will vary noticeably depend ing on other facto rs-particularly whether it is paired up with Introverted Thinking or Intr overted Feeling in the auxiliary (second) position. In orde r to draw a compl ete picture of the "essence" ofExtraverted Sensing, one must use bits and pieces that cannot individually demo n­ strate "pure" Se. Like the splashes of color in an impressionist paint­ ing, however , the bullets in this chapter, when taken all together, reveal a vivid portrait that will enable you to recognize Extraverted Sensing whe n you see it. Knowin g what the process wo uld look like if it could be separated from other influences is the foundation of process watch­ ing, the practice that will quickly take you as far as you want to go in un derstanding persona lity. Extraverted Sensing is an information-gathe ring process. It focuses on the curre nt objec tive, external world to fully experience the details of th e environment th rough the five senses. Se dr aws ene rgy and enjoy­ ment directly from people, objects, and events.

Dominant for ESTP and ESFP

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Auxiliary for ISTP and ISFP

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Extraverted Sensing (Se)

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KEY FEATURES

A level ofattention is sustained that would quickly put others on "data overload." 'ill They do not want to miss anything. ~ They value practical, hands-on experiences above all. :~ Memories from the past and possibilities for the future are not very important. 't'! T hey are acutelyaware of what is. Q Their perceptions are verifiable. i:l Everything is a new experience. No two moments or situations are exactlythe same. Anything that is tangible is interesting. U Immediate sensory experience iswhat life is all about. It defines one's existence. f!) Lifeisone continual sensual experience. ,,;; T hey are enjoying life to the fullest, living for today. ;) T he current experience itself has intensity.

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Extraverted Sensing

Has an outer focus on acquiring information through the five senses. ) Is the only perception process that is not influenced by associations from the past, present, or future. Is aware of and connected to the current external environment. Quicklynotices objectivefacts with all the details. Relies heavily on unusually accurate visual perception: seeing is believing. Values the object itself, not one's personal reaction or relationship to it. 'J Seeksthefull sensory experience ofthe environment in the moment.

WHAT'S GOING ON? Extraverted Sensing J L

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I view competence as being extremely important. I strive for com pe­

ten ce in all th at I do.

-, It's frustrating when I can see the logical orde r of thin gs and others

refuse to see it or discuss it.

>!:j The ideas of weighted data and of sliding scales conflict with my need

for an even- handed application of the standards and rules.

" M y fondn ess for debate makes some see me as angry or confronta­

tion al.

., I believe there is always an orde r, law, ru le, or regul ation to be followed,

though som etimes it may not be obvious to othe rs.

'1 I highly value compe tence in others and in myself. It's something I

always look for. I am really attracted to com petent, results-orient ed

peop le.

• I may not know a lot about a topic, but I have an opinion. I'll know more about w hat it is after I start talking.

~ I know that I can come across as being cold and imperson al.

'@ I say, "Be prepared!" I always have a co ntingency plan. In fac t, I have

contingency plans for my contingency plans. i9 I always arrive at meetings prepared, with an agend a, and on time.

Picture several file cabinets, each labeled accord ing to a system. Each

file cabinet has labeled drawers, which contain clearly labeled dividers,

w hich in tum hold clearly labeled folders. I organize by means of an

external system, one th at others can quickly and clearly understand.

o I automatically prepare outlines for everything. It is my way of structur­

ing a problem so I know how to tackleit. In schoo l I started all my papers

by making an outline, whether it was requ ired or not.

.~ Creating and improving struc ture in my job is exciting.

.; Everything can be redu ced to cause and effect.

j I have the entire year planne d in advance .

If I don't know exactly how and when I'm going to accomplish

tasks, I get worried th at I won't be able to get everythi ng done .

There's a place for everything and everything has its place.

I have a lot of difficul ty with th e concept of paradox. T he idea that

two seemingly cont radictory explanations can both be true blows

my m ind. It has to be either o ne or th e other.

79 :L'i

DING B LOCKS OF PERSONALITY TYPE

I:xlrov" ,I" d I hillkillH ( I,,)

) I need to "discuss" my ideaswith my partner. Even if I' rh not really listening to what he says, I need him as a sounding board. I am really mostly listening to myself to find out what I think. 'J I need externa l structure. I'm sure that's why I made a career in the military . M I enjoy balancing my checkboo k and organizing my possessions and .

a decision, when the inform ation provided was not sufficient for creating good criteria. T he lack of data, combined with th e drive to complete the task, created a situation that was very stressful.

GIFTS Unique strengths of Extraverted Thinking

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'~ Organizing ideas, objects, information, and so on in the external

a I organizeand orchestra te everything.Even my vacations are planned

world to help ot hers und erstand and use them

down to the last detail. My fam ily insists that th ere has to be some sporitaneity, so I put times for that in the schedule too. ?i I enjoy plann ing vacations. I enjoy the planni ng mor e than the ac­ tual vacation. When we drive, I always have several backup plans: a best ro ute, a best alternate rou te, and so on. I) In my garage, I've traced the outline of each tool on th e wall in the place where it belongs so there can be no mistake abou t what goes where . '" t'hen I proofr ead this manuscript, I knew imm ediately when a sen­ tence was not structured correc tly.

Contingency plannin g

(!) Reliability in co mpleting a task

Equal treatment of all

f!J Objectivity

VIGNETIES Scenes from the world of Extraverted Thinking

In a "type-alike" group exercise, our gro up had to identi fy the pr i­ orities first. What is m ost important?Wh at's less important? H alf of our time was used in creating structure in this way and in identify­ ing the desired end resu lt. After that, we could quickly proceed with accomplishing the task itself. Inten ding to say that she "thinks by talking," a wo rkshop participant instead stated th at she "talks by thinking." It was an unders tandable slip. To her, talking an d thinki n g are essentially synonymo us. In task-focused workshop exercises, the members of th is type-alike group almost always m ap out how they will approach the task before doing anything else. They either create a timeline or they outl ine the steps to follow to reach the goal. In a wo rksho p exercise, this type-alike group found it extremely uncomfortable to be asked to determine criteria to use in making

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INTROVERTED THINKING (Ti)

In this chapter, we seek to present a picture of the "pure" Introverted Thinking that we would seeif we couldcarefully removeit from its natu­ ralstate where it is influenced and colored byallthe other elements of per­ sonality. Though no process actuallyexists separated from the rest of the personality, the portrait that follows reflects core characteristics that are in play whenever Introverted Thinking is engaged at a conscious level.

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Dominantfor ISTP and INTP Auxiliary for ESTP and ENTP

Introverted Thinking most clearly resembles the descriptions in the following pages when it is in the dominant (first) position. In fact, these descriptions are based on input from people for whom the process is dominant (ISTP and INTP). But even with Introverted Th inking in the first position, what you observe will vary noticeably depending on other factors- particularly whether it is paired up with Extraverted Sensing or Extraverted Intuiting in the auxiliary (second) position. In order to draw a complete picture of the "essence" ofIntroverted Thinking, one must use bits and pieces that cannot individually demon­ strate "pure" T i. Like the splashes of color in an impressionist painting, however, the bullets in this chapter, when taken all together, reveal a vivid portrait that will enable you to recognize Introverted Th inking when you see it. Knowing what the process would look like if it could be separated from other influences is the foundation of process watch- .~ ing, the practice that will quickly take you as far as you want to go in understanding personality. Introverted Thinking is a decision-making process. It focuses on the subjective, internalworld of underlying principles and truths by creating original systems and categories and assigning all information to a place within the appropriate framework,based upon logicalanalysis.Ti wants to attain internal precision through logical evaluation and decision making.

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KEY FEATURES

~ They use external ideas in unique, subjective ways. The ideas found

Introverted Thinking

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in the environment are rarely adopted in their original form. They are more often used as raw material for designing and building unique internal systems.

focus on logical analysis.

W :ll lls to make decisions based on an inner framework of principles

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.u ul truths.

( .rcatcs a precise and refined gridlike system of categorization for sort­

Illg informationin order to make decisions.

Builds a subjective internal framework to structure and guide its

analysis.

Focuses upon how tasks getaccomplished.

, Seeks, internal precision. Is driven to understand systems in terms oflogical relationships: if A, thenB.

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Introterted Thinking

o Buildsa logicalframework that contains precise categories. o Uses categories that arecreated by and areunique to the individual. :~ Uses principles that contain logical relationships. Unlike values, they can be debated and defendedlogicallyand revised as necessary. ill Depends upon principles as the foundation for analytical decision makingin the same waythat beliefs are the foundation for values-based decision making. , Employs systems and categories to attain internal order and precision. ,:) Lendsitself well to understanding work processes.

They will revise an internal frameworkto integrate new information. For example, they may have to deal with a new computer system that worksvery differently from their old one. It may not fit with their ex­ isting internal logic. In this case, their entire internal frameworkmust be recreated to incorporate the new information and new procedures. e Determining the place of everything in the system and its position in

relation to everything else is how they make senseof the world.

They find creating, refining, and re-refining organizing systems to be

an energizing outlet for their creativityandoriginality.

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Introverted Thinkin g (Ti)

VIGNETIES

GIFTS

Scenesfrom the world of Introverted Thinking

Uniq ue stre ngths of Introverted Thinking

In report ing after an exercise, the individu al member s of'this "type­ alike" gro u p usually elaborate on what was written on the flip chart. They want to ensure that their own unique perspective is under. sto od. They do not feel a need to come to cons ensu s about w hat is presented o n the flip chart ; just to ensure that all th e different ideas . •. are presented. M y Wife gets upset with me because of my need to categorize before ( " act . We live in a rural area th at has a lot of bu gs. When she sees a bug, on 'the wall or ceiling, she tells me to get up and kill it. I first need"-" to determi ne how it got inside, what kind of bug it is, how to kill it, ,:u;,' w hether it will make a mess on the wall, and how I will dispose of it. She expects me to immediately react, but I can't until I havecompl eted , ' my analysis. ~ A man who had always questioned his abilities as a writer finally '

learned that his internal, very precise style ofwritin gjust takes longer

an d uses a different process than th e approach he was taught in col­

lege. On ce he decid ed to just do it his own w ay, he turned out to be

a very competent writer.

... In an exercise in group decision m aking, the time constraints were

very challenging for our "type-alike" group . T he short time frame '

did not allow for our internal logic process and the group interaction

that was required. Anticipatin g this, we chose to give up on the task

and turne d the assignment into a game in which we advocated several

different positions.

" T he search for precision can lead to confusion for others. In a work­

shop, a participant provided th e phase "maxim ize the takeaway" as his

conclusion at the end of an exercise. He had wor ked long and hard in

his mind to come up with this perfect expression of the thought, but I no one else knew w hat he m eant. In fact, some participants thought

he was trying to show off his intelligence by phrasing his conclusion

in a way th at they could no t understand. The more precisely crafted

the wordin g, the bett er it may express a unique idea th at will not be completely understood by anyone else. It may need to be "translated"

into more general, shared terminology for others to under stand.

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Seeing the underlying framework ofassum ptions and the logical con­ sequences

~ Evaluation and planning of organizational process flow d

A knack for thinking outside the box: unconvention al perspectives and insights

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Detecting the illogic in conventio nal wisdom and the dysfuncti on in comm only accepted behavior

(} A capacity for presenting new explanations or conclu sions without ego involvem ent 'Ii' C utting through denial