The Myers Briggs Type Indicator gives you a “personality type” based on four dichotomies. I’ve taken it several times, and usually come out with the result of ENFP. You can read a short summary of an ENFP personality here or find your own type here.
David Keirsey expanded on the MBTI types and developed his Four Temperaments. Each type fits into one of the four and they have general characteristics shared by all of those in that temperament, and then each personality type fits into a specific category of the temperament, as well, that is specific to their type. The temperaments combine two styles of communication (concrete versus abstract) and two styles of action (utilitarian versus cooperative).
The Four Temperaments are Guardian, Rational, Artisan, and Idealist. My type, ENFP, is an idealist, which is where all of the NFs (Intuition and Feeling) are. Idealists are Abstract Cooperators. I’ve highlighted in bold those things that I feel strongly apply to myself.
All Idealists (NFs) share the following core characteristics:
- Idealists are enthusiastic, they trust their intuition, yearn for romance, seek their true self, prize meaningful relationships, and dream of attaining wisdom.
- Idealists pride themselves on being loving, kindhearted, and authentic.
- Idealists tend to be giving, trusting, spiritual, and they are focused on personal journeys and human potentials.
- Idealists make intense mates, nurturing parents, and inspirational leaders.
Idealists, as a temperament, are passionately concerned with personal growth and development. Idealists strive to discover who they are and how they can become their best possible self — always this quest for self-knowledge and self-improvement drives their imagination. And they want to help others make the journey. Idealists are naturally drawn to working with people, and whether in education or counseling, in social services or personnel work, in journalism or the ministry, they are gifted at helping others find their way in life, often inspiring them to grow as individuals and to fulfill their potentials.
Idealists are sure that friendly cooperation is the best way for people to achieve their goals. Conflict and confrontation upset them because they seem to put up angry barriers between people. Idealists dream of creating harmonious, even caring personal relations, and they have a unique talent for helping people get along with each other and work together for the good of all. Such interpersonal harmony might be a romantic ideal, but then Idealists are incurable romantics who prefer to focus on what might be, rather than what is. The real, practical world is only a starting place for Idealists; they believe that life is filled with possibilities waiting to be realized, rich with meanings calling out to be understood. This idea of a mystical or spiritual dimension to life, the “not visible” or the “not yet” that can only be known through intuition or by a leap of faith, is far more important to Idealists than the world of material things.Highly ethical in their actions, Idealists hold themselves to a strict standard of personal integrity. They must be true to themselves and to others, and they can be quite hard on themselves when they are dishonest, or when they are false or insincere. More often, however, Idealists are the very soul of kindness. Particularly in their personal relationships, Idealists are without question filled with love and good will. They believe in giving of themselves to help others; they cherish a few warm, sensitive friendships; they strive for a special rapport with their children; and in marriage they wish to find a “soulmate,” someone with whom they can bond emotionally and spiritually, sharing their deepest feelings and their complex inner worlds.
Idealists are relatively rare, making up no more than 15 to 20 percent of the population. But their ability to inspire people with their enthusiasm and their idealism has given them influence far beyond their numbers.Princess Diana, Joan Baez, Albert Schweitzer, Bill Moyers, Eleanor Roosevelt, Mohandas Gandhi, Mikhael Gorbachev, and Oprah Winfrey are examples of Idealists.
The four types of Idealists are:
Champion | Counselor | Healer | Teacher
My Idealist type is the Champion, which is specific to ENFPs (Extroversion, Intuition, Feeling, Perceiving).
Idealist Portrait of the Champion (ENFP):
Like the other Idealists, Champions are rather rare, say two or three percent of the population, but even more than the others they consider intense emotional experiences as being vital to a full life. Champions have a wide range and variety of emotions, and a great passion for novelty. They see life as an exciting drama, pregnant with possibilities for both good and evil, and they want to experience all the meaningful events and fascinating people in the world. The most outgoing of the Idealists, Champions often can’t wait to tell others of their extraordinary experiences. Champions can be tireless in talking with others, like fountains that bubble and splash, spilling over their own words to get it all out. And usually this is not simple storytelling; Champions often speak (or write) in the hope of revealing some truth about human experience, or of motivating others with their powerful convictions. Their strong drive to speak out on issues and events, along with their boundless enthusiasm and natural talent with language, makes them the most vivacious and inspiring of all the types.
Fiercely individualistic, Champions strive toward a kind of personal authenticity, and this intention always to be themselves is usually quite attractive to others. At the same time, Champions have outstanding intuitive powers and can tell what is going on inside of others, reading hidden emotions and giving special significance to words or actions. In fact, Champions are constantly scanning the social environment, and no intriguing character or silent motive is likely to escape their attention. Far more than the other Idealists, Champions are keen and probing observers of the people around them, and are capable of intense concentration on another individual. Their attention is rarely passive or casual. On the contrary, Champions tend to be extra sensitive and alert, always ready for emergencies, always on the lookout for what’s possible.
Champions are good with people and usually have a wide range of personal relationships. They are warm and full of energy with their friends. They are likable and at ease with colleagues, and handle their employees or students with great skill. They are good in public and on the telephone, and are so spontaneous and dramatic that others love to be in their company. Champions are positive, exuberant people, and often their confidence in the goodness of life and of human nature makes good things happen.
Joan Baez, Phil Donahue, Paul Robeson, Bill Moyer, Elizibeth Cady Stanton, Joeseph Campbell, Edith Wharton, Sargent Shriver, Charles Dickens, and Upton Sinclair are examples of Idealist Champions.
I then went to see what kinds of careers would be the best fit for someone that was an Idealist Champion.
People naturally confide in the Champion (ENFP). That’s why they make such good mediators, counselors, teachers, consultants, and reporters. Any position that outreaches to others can fit the Champion. They can be columnists, journalists, publicists, copy writers, advertising account executives. In the arts they can be character actors, cartoonists, art educators. If they choose jobs such as restaurateur, be sure that their business sites will be unique and designed for a particular type of customer. Don’t be surprised to see them as an inventor. This type of personality wants to experience the whole of life and may change careers more often than many other types. Says Charles, “I’ve had a number of jobs and when there is nothing left to create, I move to something new. I want my life to be spiced with newness, love, and joy.”
For the most part, it’s pretty accurate. The part that is the least accurate is that which talks about spirituality. I’m fascinated by personality typing, astrology, or anything of the sort. I find it interesting, which is probably why I’m in the field that I am. If you want to find your own temperament, you can go here to determine your MBTI type and here to read about Keirsey’s Four Temperaments and find which one you are. And feel free to post your type and temperament in the comments. I’m always fascinated to see where people fit and whether or not they think it’s accurate!
I'm Britni, a snarky bitch and generally awesome person. I write about sex, love, and bullshit. If sex-positivity, discussions about BDSM and kink, queer issues, and topics that are completely inappropriate by society's standards make you uncomfortable, then this blog is not for you.
Good Vibes 
11 Comments
I'm an ENT/FP (T/F are almost equal and vary based on my mood when testing). Lots of familiar notes in this redux. Cheers!
Oh jesus, I'm a rational mastermind.
Well, that does seem pretty logical.
Actually, Rationalist fits me strikingly well. I'm not surprised by that at all.
Huh, INFP. Yeah, I can see that.
This is fascinating. I will have to check it out.
I've never gotten into Myers Briggs. But I love enneeagrams. Like I wrote about here: (OMG That BlowJoy's Shamless Plug!)
http://yourenotthebossofme-jsn.blogspot.com/2009/05/this-town-needs-enneagram.html
My result was ENFP champion too. The word "champion" isn't really something I identify with, but that's probably because of low self esteem
I was hoping they said I was an artist (or artisan, as they put it) but apparently my brain isn't focused enough on the here and now/materialistic stuff. I knew that, but I wish it wasn't so. After all, I'm convinced that I'm supposed to be creating stuff.
I turned out to be an idealist in the temperament-thingy too.
I don't do really well on personality tests, because I don't lean too far in one direction. A lot of times my results are split 50/50 (which is what happened this time with my Sensing/Intuitive and my Feeling/Thinking was very close).
I got the same results as you if I go with Intuitive instead of Sensing (Champion fits me much better than Performer). While I don't agree with all of it, some of it definitely matches. Authenticity is definitely something I'm always striving for.
I am a Rational Mastermind. Not surprised at all really given what I do for a living.
I have taken a different type of personality test for work called the DiSC (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DISC_assessment) That one was extremely accurate as well, but focuses more on styles and preferences in an environment or situation. They used it as a way of teaching the employees how to communicate by looking at who you are communicating with.
And how does this fit in with your submissive tendencies? Now that's an essay I'd like to read!
Riva
I'm ESFJ (although the J was just about tied with P and the F wasn't too far from T. The E and S were far from the I and N) and I'm the Artisan type. Thanks for sharing this stuff. It's fun taking them.
river: I'm not surprised at all of how Britni scored in the test. And I don't see how it's a weird match with being a sub. Just reading her entire blog would probably explain that. Sub/dom is a game. And Britni tells us about it like an idealistic mentor