An attitude is an approach to something, how we believe something should be done. Introversion, Extroversion, Judging and Perceiving reflect four general attitudes. Introverts believe things should be done from a distance, and with caution.
Extroverts believe things should be done in the world around us, focusing on action and surrounding information. Some believe people should be more balanced, a mix of everything. I believe we should embrace our attitudes and let ourselves be who we really are.
The Four Attitudes
We may all hold the same core values and we can all with distance from ourselves recognise the validity of each individual persons beliefs and values as long as they do not conflict or get in the way of our own. But we hold different attitudes to how to enforce and see through these values and we can easily become narrow minded. Locked on our own approach. How do we reach beyond that and how do we set aside our own attitudes and learn to become more open to others?
I have dedicated a long time to researching the different temperaments and differences between introverts, extroverts, judging, and perceiving types. The key difference between the types, I have found, have nothing to do with what values they have, but rather, what talents they hold.
Because certain types are better at certain things than other types, they tend to look down on one another. Our own insecurities with our lack or inability to do a certain thing makes us assume it is less valuable. What other people choose to do may be seen as a time sink, while we believe we have found the approach or recipe to life.
What is your attitude to life?
I’ve discovered four key attitudes that I want you to take a look at while you learn more about the different personality types and temperaments.
- The Adaptor (EP) who seeks to gather and spread and implement emerging information and beliefs
- The Creator (IJ) who seeks to bring about and create and remake the world in their image
- The Editor (IP) who seeks to adjust the world to fit with its values and ideas
- The Organiser (EJ) who seeks to organise and arrange the world so that it fits with its beliefs and ideas
Adaptors (EP) are people that keep an open approach to the external world, gathering information and finding ways to use the information they have in the moment. They are extroverted and perceiving types. In their most unhealthy form, these types are obstacles and people that constantly get in the way of or block others from getting forward. They may bring up problems and obstacles in the world and shut down new ideas for being overly complicated.
Creators (IJ) are people that seek to focus on their inner world and how they can bring this inner world to life in the world around them. They are introverted and Judging archetypes. On the most unhealthy end, they will seek to control everyone and everything. They are here wanting the world around them to be exactly like they have planned and foreseen in their own mind.
Organisers (EJ) are people that focus on how the world aligns with their goals and how they can make the world function accordingly. At their most unhealthy, these types are critics, that always take issue with everyone and every idea they hear. They will give the impression that nothing can stop them, and that there is no room for changes and adjustments.
Editors (IP), finally, focus on how to improve and make the world connect better to their inner system of ideas and values. At their most unhealthy, they make terrible leaders. Perfectionistic managers that seek to enforce their selfish personal views as a collective truth. The world must fit with my ideas, or it is not my world.
The Introverted and Extroverted Type
The introverted type always starts with the inner world. They have a strong inner image. A voice that will guide them and inform them about what they want and what they believe. They believe information is best found inside. The Extroverted personality type believes information is best found from outer sources. This includes focusing on media, news, and information channels that they can gather around them.
They are naturally good learners and show high attention or curiosity to their surroundings. Where the introverted type seeks inside, asking questions and hoping to find answers on their own… The extrovert compares and contrasts their experiences with other people. Using statistics and data sources from the world around them.
The introverted type is a thinker or watcher, someone that observes the world from a distance. They focus on how details in the world add up to and connect with the theories or maps and data charts they have memorised internally.
The Judging and Perceiving Type
What I’ve discovered when studying judging types is most of them have strong goals or a proactive drive to create or make or shape or develop something. The world is supposed to be arranged, organised, structured. Ideas need to be given a form, a concept, boundaries, a shape. The Creator and the Organiser are both types that seek to bring order in chaos by making the world behave according to certain rules and methodology.
The Perceiving type represents instead the ideals of potential, chaos, novelty, change. Things are open ended and adaptive. Ideas adjust to a circumstance or context. Rules are at best guidelines and anything is possible. The Perceiving type tries to open up and adapt and adjust the world to be prepared for anything.
Through staying open and keeping your hands ready for anything. Through multitasking and holding multiple things as true at the same time, we can maximise our potential and respond better to changes. The world is a place to change. There is constantly potential flying above our heads that is waiting to be brought out. There is hidden potential in everyone, so what is it you can do?
What Temperament Do You Have?
Your temperament is best defined by what your overall strengths are. The Creators (IJ) are excellent at bringing out the inner world in the world around them, slowly and carefully developing and programming and building upon a project. They will be using rules and systems and principles to shape and form something until it is perfect. Thanks to the Creators, we see new inventions, new systems, new belief models.
Things may take time, but it is worth the effort if you can reap the rewards later. We can plant a seed and wait for it to grow, and if we nurture the flame it will become a great tree bearing fruits for all of us to enjoy. What the Creator excels at is patience in their own projects and ideas and the time and discipline to work long and hard at something.
Other types like the Adaptor (EP) excels at brainstorming, multitasking, idea generation, and openness to learn. They seek novelty and see the world as a place where Something. Is. Always. Happening. They can improvise and adjust well to change and keep wheels in motion. They struggle to sit alone and develop an idea or design a concept by themselves, but love to gather input on ideas and borrow from their environment. Without the adaptors, nothing would ever happen.
Order or chaos?
The Organiser (EJ) is excellent for building strong teams and making people work alongside one another towards a goal. They see the world as one that can be pushed and driven in the right direction through effort and energy. They talk and argue and do their best to make the world around them a reflection of their values and interests. Compare them to the Editors and you see one that tries to focus on the general functions of their surroundings. Without the Organisers, the world would be pure chaos.
The world needs to align with the extroverted judging types goals and rules. The Introverted Perceiving Editor believes rather in fine-tuning or improving and fixing and fine-tuning within the system, testing out rules and seeing how well they work. They beta-test the system that the Organiser has constructed. They are the taste-testers of the world. Their attitude helps us become more aware of flaws and issues in the world, and they tend to bring about new ideas and options. They challenge rules we otherwise take for granted.
