Myers Briggs Type Indicator

Sometimes I forget that I was a psychology major. Partially this is because I switched majors so many times in college (whoops) and partially because, in my heart, I am an English lit major. My lit classes were those I enjoyed most. Even the most mundane busy work wasn't so bad because I got to read and write, which I love to do. Psychology suits other aspects of my personality, I guess. One thing that reminds me of my affinity for psychology is the MBTI, or Myers Briggs Type Indicator.

For those who might not know what it is, the MBTI is a personality test that assigns you one of 16 different types based on four major categories: Introverted or Extroverted, Sensing or Intuitive, Thinking or Feeling, and Perceiving or Judging.  I first took this test during mandated therapy sessions at Harding (another story for another time). It was hilariously Harding -  instead of discussing suitable careers  or explaining my past behavior based on my MBTI type, the counselor explained what mates I would be most attracted to! David & I had just begun dating then, and I shared the paperwork with him so we could write silly notes and drawings all over it. In 2008, Harding therapy told me my ideal mating type was the Intuitive Feeler (empathist). David is an INTJ. So close, babe. So close. 

This is a version of the MBTI that I found online and for free. According to it, I am very strongly Introverted, very weakly Sensing or Intuitive (last week I got Intuitive, this week I got Sensing, which probably means that the online assessment doesn't have high reliability - my results should be pretty much the same no matter how many times I take it), moderately Feeling, and strongly Judging. According to the internet, David and I are pretty well suited for each other, though I tend to drive him a little crazy with so much blather about my feelings and he seems too rational and detached to me because he is an automaton.

The MBTI reminds me of when David and I read Helen Fischer's Why Him? Why Her?, which comes complete with its own personality test. Fischer's test also assigns a dominant and auxiliary type and recommends which types are best suited romantically for each other. I'm having deja vu after taking the MBTI because, like with Fischer's book, I want everyone else I know to take it so I can neatly categorize them & research how I should be interacting with them. And so I can definitively prove that my relationship is better than theirs. Obviously.

The part of me that identifies as an English lit major does so because I have a lifelong passion for words and using them to understand others' experiences. The part of me that identifies as a psychology major is nosy and wants to judge everybody.

Damn. What a shame. Clearly I should've stayed a Lit major.