Preference vs. Ability
and the MBTI
From MBTI® Manual: A Guide to the
Development and Use of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®. CPP:
“Perception involves all the ways of becoming
aware of things, people, happenings, or ideas. Judgment involves all the ways
of coming to conclusions about what has been perceived. If people differ
systematically in what they perceive and in how they reach conclusions, then it
is only reasonable for them to differ correspondingly in their interests,
reactions, values, motivations, and skills.
“The MBTI® instrument
is based on Jung's ideas about perception and judgment, and the attitudes in
which these are used in different types of people. The aim of the MBTI® instrument
is to identify, from self-report of easily recognized reactions, the basic
preferences of people in regard to perception and judgment, so that the effects
of each preference, singly and in combination, can be established by research
and put into practical use…”
The Myers Briggs Type
Indicator (MBTI) focuses on preferences not ability. The difference between preference and ability
is easily shown:
- Write your name on a piece of paper.
- Now write your name again -- using your other
hand! Show this to another person.
Chances are s/he will be
able to decipher it. It probably won’t
look as neat, but it WILL be legible.
You might have felt nervous, given a mental or verbal protest, giggled,
or felt frustration and even anger. You
probably did not enjoy the experience, but you COULD do it. You preferred the first
hand, but your second hand also had the ability (however rudimentary and
unpracticed). You have demonstrated the
primary difference between preference and ability. You PREFER to use one hand but you have the
ABILITY to use both.
If you do not know your MBTI type, there is a 60-second quickie quiz that can give you a guesstimate. (link 2)