A little Psychological Experiment - The Results - Plus Subscriber Discount

An unscientific look at you the audience

Photo by Bret Kavanaugh on Unsplash

Thanks to everyone who completed the poll! Before I take a look at the results, as a thank you for taking part, there is a 20% discount on paid subscriptions for the next 24 hours. Don’t miss out on getting your daily news for less than the price of a cup of coffee once a month!

So back to the unscientific look at personality types which I know a lot of you don’t like! In total 1,448 people entered their personality type. This is compared with 955 people last year but with many of these just clicking an answer to see the result (something I changed in this year’s poll to avoid this).

Firstly in order of personality types by numbers (percentages in brackets).

1. INFJ - Advocate - 192 (13%)

2. INTJ - Architect - 166 (11%)

3. INFP - Mediator - 142 (10%)

4. INTP - Logician - 135 (9%)

5. ISFP - Adventurer - 123 (8%)

6. ISTJ - Logistician - 115 (8%)

7. ISFJ - Defender - 110 (8%)

8. ENTP - Debater - 74 (5%)

9. ENFJ - Protagonist - 68 (5%)

10. ISTP - Virtuoso - 64 (4%)

11. ENTJ - Commander - 61 (4%)

12. ESTP - Entrepreneur - 54 (4%)

13. ENFP - Campaigner - 49 (3%)

14. ESTJ - Executive - 37 (3%)

15. ESFJ - Consul - 31 (2%)

16. ESFP - Entertainer - 27 (2%)

Clearly I attract my own personality type with INFJs supposedly being one of the rarest types in the world but actually the most popular type here!

How does this compare with average percentages? I’ve looked at both the results from 16 personalities and personalitymax.com which each have millions and millions of results from which they produce their figures.

A number over 1 in the Difference column means there is a higher percentage in my poll than the other polls. A number under 1 means there is a lower percentage in my poll.

So the biggest differences (using the 16 Personalities results) were that there were more INFJs (6.6 x more) and INTJs (5.7 x more) than average. Moreover, there were fewer ESFPs (4.8 x less) and ESFJs (5.6 x less) than average.

So there were more introverted groups and fewer extroverted groups. In the general population, on average, there is an even split between introverts and extroverts. However, subscribers here are much more likely to be introverted with 72.3% being introverts. Only 27.7% were extroverted.

Almost 44% of readers were introverted and used intuition over sensing (INs). In total, only 38.7% of readers were sensing and 61.3% were intuitive. (This compares with almost the exact opposite in the general population - 73.3% sensing and 26.7% intuition).

The explanations below are from Truity.com

Sensing Types

Sensors pay attention to their most immediate impressions; the "raw data" that they can see, hear and touch. They create meaning out of concrete information and rely heavily on past experiences to guide their future behavior. People with this preference are practical and active. They like to live in the here and now.

Sensors like concrete tasks and tend to pursue things in a linear sequence. At work, they will make an effort to understand expectations and like to use their proven skills to solve immediate problems. Sensors like to work on something with a clear result or product, and experience dissatisfaction with open-ended or overly abstract tasks.

People with a Sensing preference work well with details, and are happy to dig into the nitty-gritty of a situation. They follow and communicate information in a step-by-step fashion, and they appreciate the value of realism and common sense.

Intuitive Types

Intuitives pay attention to their intuition, instinct, and ability to draw meaning from seemingly disconnected facts. They are good at reading between the lines and recognizing connections between random groups of facts. People with this preference are abstract and theoretical. They worry about the future more than the present, and plan to change the world rather than simply live in it.

Intuitives are interested in everything that is unusual and new and chafe at routine. Ideas inspire them, and they are more likely to focus on the theory than the practice of a project. They enjoy learning over doing and may get bored with repetitive projects that do not engage their creativity. Intuitives take a high-level view and may experience dissatisfaction when attention to detail is required.

People with an Intuition preference doubt and test everything. They value innovation and imagination, and present information in a roundabout way through leaps of association and figures of speech.

It was relatively even between thinkers and feelers (44.5% & 55.5%) which is not too dissimilar to the general population (40.2% & 59.8%). However, clearly there were more thinkers than average.

Thinking Types

Thinkers make decisions rationally based on facts and objective criteria, and use logical analysis to solve problems. They like to have very clear rules about what is right and what is wrong and dislike fuzziness. They value the truth, justice and fairness above all. Work environments that are not meritocracies can be very challenging for them.

People with this preference are motivated by achievement and the accomplishment of specific tasks. They like work that requires order, critical analysis, or finding inconsistencies in a system. They are often frustrated by the “people” part of life, self-selecting into work areas and situations that place emphasis on rules and logic over people and feelings.

Interactions with a Thinker tend to blunt and businesslike. They step back from emotional problems in favor of offering an impersonal analysis—truth over tact, logic over feelings. Once a decision is made, it is made, and the Thinker will not dwell on emotions about it. They can come across as rather cold and unemotional in their approach.

Feeling Types

Feelers make decisions based on their personal value system and social considerations. They pay attention to their own moral compass and the feelings of others to determine right from wrong, and are less interested in the cold, hard facts. Connections and relationships are incredibly important to them.

People with this preference are motivated by the desire to understand and help people. They choose work based on what or who is important to them, and they like to support others. They tend to be amiable, empathetic and harmonious. They are often frustrated by the impersonal and adversarial parts of life and find conflict situations very challenging.

Interacting with a Feeler tends to be personal and tactful. They step back from the facts of a situation in favor of someone’s experience of it—tact over truth, feelings over logic. Feelers consider the effect of their actions on other people, and feel unappreciated in settings that do not provide positive reinforcement.

And finally, almost 50% of you had judging personalities (54%) versus perceiving (46%). In every day life, this almost exactly the same with 54.1% judging and 45.9% perceiving.

Judging Types

Judgers approach life in a structured, organized and carefully calibrated way, creating short- and long-term plans to help them achieve their goals. Schedules and “to-do” lists are comforting to them. They prefer knowing what they are getting into and feel frustrated in situations of ambiguity and change.

People with this preference gain a sense of control by taking charge of their environment. They are self-disciplined and decisive, going for closure at the earliest possible opportunity to avoid stress. Judgers have a “work first-play later” mindset and struggle with open-ended plans. They would rather come up with three different contingencies than deal with problems as and when they arise.

At work and in life, Judgers take their responsibilities and deadlines very seriously. They are very specific about what they need to get done, and they expect others to do as they say. They can come across as domineering and inflexible, but it’s all driven be a need to operate in a structured setting.

Perceiving Types

Perceivers approach life and a freewheeling, spontaneous way, preferring to keep their options open than make a clear plan of action. They perceive structure as limiting and seek flexibility in their lives. They like adapting to new situations and feel frustrated by the daily grind of routines.

People with this preference gain a sense of control by making choices only when they are necessary. They view deadlines as elastic, and often put off decision making until the last possible moment so they can spend as much time as possible exploring new options. They would rather start a new project than close down an old one, as making a decision requires them to commit to something that may well turn out to be the inferior choice.

At work and in life, Perceivers are relaxed and adaptable. They enjoy life now and work later, and are always scanning the horizon for new options and opportunities. They can come across as unreliable and flaky, but it’s all driven by a need to keep their options open.

So, to summarise, once again there were far more introverts than normal and far fewer extroverts. Readers here are more likely to be intuitive and therefore be more likely to spot patterns, read between the lines and are abstract and theoretical. There are an almost equal amount of thinkers (who are logical and like facts) and feeling types (who use their moral compass to make decisions). When it comes to how a person organises their world, there was an almost even split between judging and perceiving personalities. These are people who want to take control of their environment, as opposed to flexible, spontaneous individuals.

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