What’s so exciting about personality typing? Why do we get up in the middle of the night and do random personality tests? I believe everyone is infatuated with the idea of knowing more about not only themselves, but the person sitting across the room. When it comes to personality typing, you have Attitude, Orientation, and Function. Sensing and Intuition are labeled as a Function.

Last time we talked about introversion and extroversion, which happens to be the first two out of eight personality characteristics and are labeled as Attitude on the Myers-Briggs table. Just like in Innies & Outies, we will talk about the characteristics and the difference between an intuitive and a sensor.  

Sensing

 “George Carlin once said “Some people see things that are and ask, ‘Why?’ Some people dream of things that never were and ask, ‘Why not?’ Some people have to go to work and don’t have time for all that.” It is said that people who prefer sensing over intuition often like to stay in touch with reality; they’re  known for being grounded people.

• Sensors prefer the tangible things in life.
• They live by their five senses (See, Taste, Touch, Hear, Smell).
• They are described as realists. They focus on the present more than the past or the future. Sensors ask, “What’s going on with today?” Essentially, they live for today and hope for tomorrow.
• Sensors tend to pay attention to every small detail of what happened in the past or in the present and miss out on what could happen next. These people adapt quite well to any situation and they tend to do it very quickly.
• They are detailed driven people who love precision. The must have  instructions in a step-by-step process. Sensors want a foundation to build off of. A foundation that’s stable and concrete.

Intuition

“You can see things and say ‘Why?’ but I see things that never were and say ‘Why not?’ Words spoken by George Bernard Shaw.” People who prefer intuition over sensing tend to be wholly or imaginative.  Randy Marcoz mentions in his blog post, Using Intuition in the Intelligent Communication Model, that intuition is key to the analysis step.

• Intuitive’s tend to tune out everything that is relevant to sensory and focus on the logical stand point of the situation. Intuitive’s prefer speculation and depth of insight. They are data processors who like knowing the concept behind things. They want to see the overall big picture, and then find out the details.
• They’re said to be open minded people who like to explore and try new and unusual things.
• It is said that they are future-focused people who  focus on what could be happening rather than what happened in the past.
• Intuitive’s tend to fall in love with the possibilities that anything or any idea can exists. They trust their sixth sense also known as their gut feeling. They tend to read between the lines and sum up all of the information they’ve learned and come to their own conclusion.
• Intuitive’s are known for being logical and theoretical people who like the use of abstract theories and symbols.

Tell me what you see.

For example,  I ask you to write down a word. Let’s say the word is Beach. A sensor, who is observant and has a factual, precise, state of mind will notice anything their five senses will give them. A sensors list would look something like this:

BEACH

• Water
• Sand
• Seashells
• Sunset
• Salt
• Bathing Suits

If you give an intuitive the same exact word, they’ll start off with the simple big picture and they’ll gradually roam to different things that are outside of the box but are also relevant. An intuitive’s list will look something like:

BEACH

• Summer
• Boat trips
• Pirates
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• The Black Pearl
• Davey Jones Locker

Communication Matters

Knowing about your personality in depth is beneficial in many ways. Yes, personality tests divides us and puts us into a category, but also this is another great skill for people who do profiling and specialize in psychology. In one way you get to learn more about yourself and grow into the person you want to be. You also feel some relief at the thought of knowing “It’s not JUST me.”

Another benefit is you get to pick up on other things with your peers, you come to understand their behavior: What their strong suits are, and their weak spots. Overall you communicate more sufficiently. Approximately 2% of the U.S population communicates formally.

In today’s society, communication skills are what jobs are longing for.  The ability to communicate effectively and efficiently will open so many doors not with just jobs, but the significant others, and career paths.