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Personality Type
A sourcebook on the deeper meaning of C.G. Jung's system of personality type, including a simple-to-take test for determining your own type. Written for the popular audience, this practical book draws on popular trends to help us recognize in ourselves and others four distinct ways of knowing and interacting with the world.
432 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
October 25, 2015
I've read quite a few books on typology lately, and this one is my favorite thus far. They all have something to offer, but this one is particularly great for someone who wants to know more about typology than just how to find a companion or job. It delves into the science of typology and why we prefer certain functions. It also clears up a lot of the misinformation on brain hemispheres. I recommend this if you are at all interested in the why's behind typology.
June 5, 2009
Best, most thorough, most illuminating read about the 16 Jungian Meyers-Briggs types.
December 18, 2019
For those who love classifying people according to Jungian theory.
This is a book that describes the very well-known MBTI method.
It makes its job, but it is also quite heavy and results a boring experience. Probably this is due to the fact that this book is set up as a descriptive synopsis of individual psychological types, based on the combination of the many letters of the alphabet that explain the individual cognitive-behavioral dimensions .
The problem, however, is that the method itself, being based on Jungian theory of personality types, tends to be overly invasive. It claims to carry out personality diagnosis, digging deeply and highlighting profound aspects of the human being. Ambitious expectations, I suppose, which are likely to be rather unrealistic. Like all attempts to evaluate the various "types" described, claiming to predict the contents of thoughts and behavior of people, as well as their professional, sporting, emotional attitudes, etc.
The MBTI method is therefore very convenient for professionals, especially psychologists and psychotherapists, who consider themselves as Jungian and thus find a reference grid on which to base their professional and technical responses. I can understand that a psychologist is expected to provide a deep understanding of his/her patients, not limited to surface-cognitive-behavioral aspects. Aspects that are, though, absolutely essential in explaining human relationships but cannot explain the intimate nature of people. The risk is that without a proper reading and interpretation of a truly competent psychologist, people end up being boxed and framed, so the result of the psychometric test might result in disruptive and misleading conclusions.
This is a book that describes the very well-known MBTI method.
It makes its job, but it is also quite heavy and results a boring experience. Probably this is due to the fact that this book is set up as a descriptive synopsis of individual psychological types, based on the combination of the many letters of the alphabet that explain the individual cognitive-behavioral dimensions .
The problem, however, is that the method itself, being based on Jungian theory of personality types, tends to be overly invasive. It claims to carry out personality diagnosis, digging deeply and highlighting profound aspects of the human being. Ambitious expectations, I suppose, which are likely to be rather unrealistic. Like all attempts to evaluate the various "types" described, claiming to predict the contents of thoughts and behavior of people, as well as their professional, sporting, emotional attitudes, etc.
The MBTI method is therefore very convenient for professionals, especially psychologists and psychotherapists, who consider themselves as Jungian and thus find a reference grid on which to base their professional and technical responses. I can understand that a psychologist is expected to provide a deep understanding of his/her patients, not limited to surface-cognitive-behavioral aspects. Aspects that are, though, absolutely essential in explaining human relationships but cannot explain the intimate nature of people. The risk is that without a proper reading and interpretation of a truly competent psychologist, people end up being boxed and framed, so the result of the psychometric test might result in disruptive and misleading conclusions.
March 27, 2013
I have read most MBTI personality books and this one is by far the best. It's a bit uneven in its coverage of the material, but Lenore has a knack for combining the technical and the anecdotal (her extensive use of pop culture references is particularly amusing). Overall an approachable guide to Jungian functional theory.
June 11, 2014
An excellent book if you ever took the MBTI personality assessment and want to know what all those letters really stand for. Thomson looks at each personality type and analyzes it in a Jungian approach. Since this is a model and not a science, its accuracy is anyone's guess, but I did find my type analysis (INTJ) accurate and useful.
Read
January 2, 2025Maybe a 3.5 among Type books.
Worth a spot on the shelf, but more as a curiosity. Engaging, and it has it's moments but ... eh ...
Picked this one up at a book fair, as with a number of my strays.
So ... it's recognisably Jungian/Myers-Briggs typology, with a good explanation of the basic dichotomies and the eight functions.
It's well written and has the added charm of cartoons and pop-culture references to bring out the contrasts. Trekkies note, in particular, we get a lot of Star Trek comparisons. Which I'm cool with and it's all fun, until she tries to make it about brains.
Then it starts to come apart.
Thompson's argument is that the dichotomies must be reflected more or less physiologically between the right and left hemispheres.
And, look, there's a vague sort of a case for it -- the 'Left brainer', the A-type, the J-type vs. the 'right brainer', the B-type, the P-type.
But this is best understood as an analogy. Functions are concepts, not things for heaven's sake!
But, unfortunately, she tries a bit too hard to make the Types fit this concept, sweeping functions into improbable piles, then re-explaining them to us in a way that makes them fit.
Her concept works okay with the extraverted functions judging on the left, perceiving on the right. But the strain starts to show with the introverted functions: Ti has to be a right-brain function, so we have to soft-pedal the logic and ramp up the model-making and the analogies. I mean, it's not exactly wrong, but it's a bit ... odd.
And in another sense, it IS wrong. If we're going to insist on talking about brains: well, brains don't work that way. There is no neat dichotomy between left and right functions. Not this neat, anyhow.
Dario Nardi has done lots of work ferreting patterns out of types with EEG, and they're whole-brain patterns, not this.
So, brave try.
But, that wasn't all of the oddities. The author has come up with her own version of an eight-function model. It's a bit tangled, even by the standards of an eight-function model and I didn't quite grasp her reasoning. But it's certainly not Jungian. Or at least, certainly not where the Jungian thought has gone on depth typology (if curious, try Carol Shumate's Projection and Personality Development via the Eight-Function Model—it's not as confusing as it sounds).
It's still an interesting and engaging read, with some interesting takes on the functions, attitudes and types, but a bit of a theoretical dead end.
Worth a spot on the shelf, but more as a curiosity. Engaging, and it has it's moments but ... eh ...
Picked this one up at a book fair, as with a number of my strays.
So ... it's recognisably Jungian/Myers-Briggs typology, with a good explanation of the basic dichotomies and the eight functions.
It's well written and has the added charm of cartoons and pop-culture references to bring out the contrasts. Trekkies note, in particular, we get a lot of Star Trek comparisons. Which I'm cool with and it's all fun, until she tries to make it about brains.
Then it starts to come apart.
Thompson's argument is that the dichotomies must be reflected more or less physiologically between the right and left hemispheres.
And, look, there's a vague sort of a case for it -- the 'Left brainer', the A-type, the J-type vs. the 'right brainer', the B-type, the P-type.
But this is best understood as an analogy. Functions are concepts, not things for heaven's sake!
But, unfortunately, she tries a bit too hard to make the Types fit this concept, sweeping functions into improbable piles, then re-explaining them to us in a way that makes them fit.
Her concept works okay with the extraverted functions judging on the left, perceiving on the right. But the strain starts to show with the introverted functions: Ti has to be a right-brain function, so we have to soft-pedal the logic and ramp up the model-making and the analogies. I mean, it's not exactly wrong, but it's a bit ... odd.
And in another sense, it IS wrong. If we're going to insist on talking about brains: well, brains don't work that way. There is no neat dichotomy between left and right functions. Not this neat, anyhow.
Dario Nardi has done lots of work ferreting patterns out of types with EEG, and they're whole-brain patterns, not this.
So, brave try.
But, that wasn't all of the oddities. The author has come up with her own version of an eight-function model. It's a bit tangled, even by the standards of an eight-function model and I didn't quite grasp her reasoning. But it's certainly not Jungian. Or at least, certainly not where the Jungian thought has gone on depth typology (if curious, try Carol Shumate's Projection and Personality Development via the Eight-Function Model—it's not as confusing as it sounds).
It's still an interesting and engaging read, with some interesting takes on the functions, attitudes and types, but a bit of a theoretical dead end.
February 16, 2018
A primer for MBTI - the sixteen basic patterns for approaching the world:
Sensation and Intuition for direct experience (where the form focuses on what's right in front of us and the latter sees other possibilities in our imagination), Thinking and Feeling for organising experience rationally (the former by analyzing impersonally and the latter to evaluate personally), Introverted meaning involving the person we are inside and Extraverted involving our relationship to others.
Some of my favourite quotes:
(An ask on tumblr prompted my re-read, I found it less valuable than the first time I approached the subject, yet complete enough. Although I still don't get the Star Trek references)
Sensation and Intuition for direct experience (where the form focuses on what's right in front of us and the latter sees other possibilities in our imagination), Thinking and Feeling for organising experience rationally (the former by analyzing impersonally and the latter to evaluate personally), Introverted meaning involving the person we are inside and Extraverted involving our relationship to others.
Some of my favourite quotes:
"This book is for those who believe that living can be an art - a project whose outcome is ourselves, the person we are meant to be. But how does this happen? How do we become uniquely 'ourselves'? Is it possible to create a life in which we are acting from our deepest values - doing the best that we know how? How do we figure out what those values are? Where do they come from?"
"The theory of psychological types offers a kind of vocabulary for recognising and talking about the different ways this sort of thing happens to people. It tells us how our personalities take shape, depending on the gifts and strengths we put into play, and what kind of inner possibilities may be trying to get our attention."
"The theory of psychological types is largely concerned with the development of conscious awareness - the sensations, perceptions, moods, and mental formations that interact to compose an everyday understanding of reality. We develop conscious awareness precisely in the struggle to define who we are and who we are not."
"Although types theory has very real neurological correlations, it should be recognised that Jung's was not a strictly scientific enterprise. It was an attempt to invent a vocabulary for unseen dimensions of psychological reality - to capture an experience otherwise difficult to talk about. Type theory, in this respect, is a description of - not a prescription for - human behaviour. "
(An ask on tumblr prompted my re-read, I found it less valuable than the first time I approached the subject, yet complete enough. Although I still don't get the Star Trek references)
August 15, 2024
Great book for understanding the cognive functions in depth without the stereotypes that abound, I understood the real differences between extraverts and introverts. The book was dense for the most part, repetitive but interesting. I liked how there's a description for each type and the behaviors and tendencies they fall into, along with advice. What surprised me the most was realizing that the key for type development is wholistically using your second function, not to force the inferior one.
March 21, 2025
I’ve had this book for years, and it’s my favorite typology book. It goes so in depth into Jung’s cognitive functions. And while the functions are important, so too are the dichotomies, which she explains extremely well and is very in depth. She helped me understand MBTI without focusing on the overly simplistic descriptions. The test can show different results at different periods of your life, but it’s only to be used as a starting point; by reading the rest, you can accurately determine your own type, as well as figure out the types of those around you :) I definitely recommend!
February 8, 2021
Enjoyable ride at the beginning but too much theory especially for someone that are not in psychology study. Very comprehensive though is those book that you will someday open up again to find reference even though you did not enjoyed it
December 21, 2021
Cognitive function in depth.
September 26, 2024
Very much helped my wife and I to understand one another better.
November 20, 2023
I wish Mrs. Thomson was clearer with her citations, as it is always nice to have more information to draw from to help combat the disputed status of the MBTI's scientific credibility, but it's nice that it's here at all. Otherwise, this book helps return the MBTI to its properly Jungian origins, emphasizing its usefulness in personal growth, rather than its dubious application as a corporate tool.
October 24, 2014
The best resource for information on MBTI. As you should know, the test in the front is no substitute for a real evaluation and is only meant to be a precursor to get the ball rolling on your type if you happen to be new to the topic.
Thomson explains in detail the science behind the topic, which is greatly appreciated. She does not stray into pop culture's take on MBTI and thus avoids pigeonholing people in the process. Society seems to have taken MBTI too far and turned it into another social media "personality test" -- those ones that claim to know your destiny -- but the author is methodical in avoiding this. Each word truly feels meticulously written.
The only down side to this book is that it's a quite a heady read. I prefer text that is a bit more clear to read at a glance, but it feels nitpicky to say this considering the wealth of knowledge in this tome. So thick is this book with fresh perspectives, anecdotes and insightful statements that every paragraph has enough in it to spend minutes or even hours processing. I still come back and read it years later to refresh my memory and pick up some things I may have missed or have learned from experience.
Thomson explains in detail the science behind the topic, which is greatly appreciated. She does not stray into pop culture's take on MBTI and thus avoids pigeonholing people in the process. Society seems to have taken MBTI too far and turned it into another social media "personality test" -- those ones that claim to know your destiny -- but the author is methodical in avoiding this. Each word truly feels meticulously written.
The only down side to this book is that it's a quite a heady read. I prefer text that is a bit more clear to read at a glance, but it feels nitpicky to say this considering the wealth of knowledge in this tome. So thick is this book with fresh perspectives, anecdotes and insightful statements that every paragraph has enough in it to spend minutes or even hours processing. I still come back and read it years later to refresh my memory and pick up some things I may have missed or have learned from experience.
April 13, 2016
This one is dense, but it's probably the most thorough and helpful book you'll find on MBTI. It is by far the most detailed in explaining what the functions are and are not. It's also helpful for personal development as Thomson delineates what each type is like at its best and worst.
I wouldn't recommend this as a first read for those just beginning to explore MBTI. Leona Haas' Building Blocks of Personality Type is a better primer. Thomson's guide is for the MBTI devotee who wants to delve deeper into understanding the cognitive functions and how they interact. Though the book requires serious time investment, Thomson uses pop culture references (she seems to love the Cathy comic series and every iteration of Star Trek) to illustrate the various types and their respective functions. Any student of MBTI and Jungian psychology would be remiss to overlook this one.
I wouldn't recommend this as a first read for those just beginning to explore MBTI. Leona Haas' Building Blocks of Personality Type is a better primer. Thomson's guide is for the MBTI devotee who wants to delve deeper into understanding the cognitive functions and how they interact. Though the book requires serious time investment, Thomson uses pop culture references (she seems to love the Cathy comic series and every iteration of Star Trek) to illustrate the various types and their respective functions. Any student of MBTI and Jungian psychology would be remiss to overlook this one.
May 5, 2019
Much better than a lot of the MBTI books I have read; I'm not sure I agree with the 8 functional use stacking per type or the technical jargon, but she does a nice job outlining the basic thought processes and defense mechanisms for the 16 types. I also have to admit, this is the first time I have ever wrapped my head fully around Se (Extroverted Sensing) but I still don't 'get' Ti (and that's not her fault). My only issue is the test. I got the wrong type, as usual -- I just don't think there are reliable MBTI tests.
January 8, 2021
I was surprised to find that some definition I say about specific people is exactly used in the book. The book is pretty good yet it is not so basic specially when you read about each category on a separate and definitions would seems a like. You would need a pen and paper sometimes to track the differences.
I read it and live in my domain of thinking of people while reading trying to match what is in my mind of pattern to the definition specified per type. I am actually enjoying the book.
I read it and live in my domain of thinking of people while reading trying to match what is in my mind of pattern to the definition specified per type. I am actually enjoying the book.
February 4, 2010
I didn't finish this book, but it's a great way to learn more about the Myers-Briggs Personality Assessment and how it affects every day communication between everyone. I intend to read it all the way through at some point.
February 13, 2011
This book contains a more sophisticated analysis of Jungian personality types and the dynamics of how the different elements interact. As a bonus, it is illustrated with witty cartoons! Kidding aside, a very good book if you want to know more than just what the four letters stand for.
March 4, 2012
The N/S categories don't score out right - the questions are misleading and don't take into account outside factors (ex: food allergies) - the statements are too specific. Not much new info in this book, not much I didn't already know from other books.
November 26, 2009
I'm an INFJ. What are you?
May 7, 2015
Lucid and thorough. Provides clear descriptions of the four functions in both attitudes and, even better, relates them to Western society (and pop media examples).
April 16, 2017
'hbjk
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 29, 2017
I was hoping to read more about the cognitive functions and how each function works for each types, as it owns and in combination with other functions as well. How the position of each functions affects each others, etc.
This book pretty much talking about the dichotomies and doesn't really get into the core of the Jungian theory, it's pretty much the surface. This is a good book if you're trying to find out the general description for each MBTI types, and cognitive functions. But it just doesn't cover what I was searching for I guess...
This book pretty much talking about the dichotomies and doesn't really get into the core of the Jungian theory, it's pretty much the surface. This is a good book if you're trying to find out the general description for each MBTI types, and cognitive functions. But it just doesn't cover what I was searching for I guess...
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews