I find
personality tests to be very intriguing.
Although I find most tests only illuminate someone’s personality in
part, they have increased my self-understanding as well as my understanding of
others. They also help me truly
appreciate and honor the variety of ways people think, act, and interact with
the world. Particularly when looking at
the non-pathological aspects of personality, the inventories can be helpful in
recognizing that there is no optimum personality. Each has its strengths and potential
weaknesses. Some may be more well suited
for certain situations while others will thrive more in other
circumstances.
I have
taken the Myers Briggs several times. I
took it with professionals before the advent of the Internet. And now I have taken the shorter version
online. I always come out the same:
ENTJ. By in large I have found this to
be an accurate assessment for me. And it
is amazing how often referring to it has become woven into my days either by my
family members or me as we gain insight into to how I might handle a particular
situation. All my family members have
enjoyed taking the online versions of this test. And I think it has been helpful for us to
understand each other and appreciate the different ways that each of us
interacts with the world and processes situations.
My family
and I have also utilized the online version of the enneagram. And this has also increased our insight into
one another. Some of my daughters have
actually felt this was a better reflection of them than the Myers Briggs. Of course no personality assessment seems to
take in the totality of who each of us is.
Nor is it a box that defines us completely. However our family has found that it has given
us a deeper insight into the workings of each other. And it has made us more understanding of each
other.
On a final
note, I also have had the experience of using projective drawings when I worked
with children who were staying in a shelter for abused women. The children had all witnessed abuse, and
many had also been abused themselves. This
would have been during the late 80’s to early 90’s, which was when projective
drawing was more commonplace. I found it to be extremely helpful when working
with the children. Their drawings were
fascinating and often gave clues as to what they had experienced or were
feeling. Although I know this technique
may lack some empirical evidence of validity, it seemed to have been an
effective tool with children who were less likely to verbalize their stories.
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