RDB Psychological Types

The Meyers-Briggs Personality Type Test really taught me a lot about myself. By completing this test, I realized that I am an ESFJ or a “Provider Guardian”. I am a slightly expressed extravert, a slightly expressed sensing personality, a moderately expressed feeling personality, and slightly expressed judging personality. The descriptions of all of these character traits seemed to describe me exactly, and point out things about myself that I already knew but never really considered. While, I have know that I am an extravert for quite sometime now, I was not always so. I grew up in an extremely extraverted family and always felt out of place being an introvert. In grade school and middle school, I enjoyed quiet activities and loved keeping to myself while everyone else in my family was constantly demanding to be the center of attention at all times. Though the Oxford personality has definitely emerged over the years, I feel like my time spent as an introvert gave me experience in understanding the mindset that introverted people live in. All parts of my personality combine like this puzzle to make me uniquely who I am.

Although I sometimes retreat to my extremely introverted self, I enjoy being my extraverted self on a daily basis. I think it is the combination of these two selves that make me who I am and allow my other characteristics to shine through. My extraverted trait seems to act without reason. Just like the description says, I tend to “think out loud” and have a very “short attention span” (396). As for learning, I tend to prefer by Plan II classes over my Natural Sciences classes. While I never understood why this was before, when I heard that extraverted people “prefer brainstorming” and “active exercises-just lecture can bore”, it all made sense (396). ). In regards to my writing, my writing style followed right along with the description of the process that an extravert follows. “Free writing is a good method of developing ideas, for extraverts will think better when writing quickly, impulsively, and uncritically. They usually pause when blocked, and the blocks are best overcome by activity” (398). When writing a paper, my writing tends to flow better if I do not think about it as much. Also, I gain inspiration through outside interactions and sources when I cannot thin of anything else to write about. Also, many of the characteristics of a Sensing individual seem to be present in my persona. The fact that Sensing people “want the practical… in concrete terms” seems to be very true in my studies (394). I do not enjoy math or logic, and do not enjoy solving a problem for an answer that I can already have. I “like to use skills (I have) already learned” and tend to be very “present oriented” in the application of all things I have learned (394). I pay very close attention to details and often find it very “hard to take notes because (I) feel like everything is important”(394).
Being able to “cut, paste, (and) fingerpaint” was listed in the description of a Sensing person, and my creative attributes are actually something I take great pride in. I love doing anything and everything creative whenever I get the chance. While the previous characteristics were already things that I was aware of, the Feeling and Judging qualities of my self were actually pretty hard for me to absorb. The Feeling person was described as someone who “need(s) praise, approval, and support; some one who is “motivated by others… and takes criticism personally” (395). While I know that these characteristics exist in everyone, I was surprised to see that they were so prevalent in my personality. I have always prided myself on being independent and realizing that I am actually someone who depends on others a lot more than I thought was a very strange experience. Though it may seem like Feelings oriented people are weak and vulnerable, it was gratifying to me to see that they actually help make others stronger as well. Feelings people are “more supportive than critical” which I think is a very strong attribute to possess (395). While they do need encouragement, Feelings people encourage and support others who so graciously support them. On the Judging side, I had only a 1% strength of preference. Despite the fact that this is a very low percentage, I was able to identify with a few of the characteristics of this type. Judging people “prefer a plan” and their schedule(s) (are very) important” to them (393). I hate wasting time and try to maximize the amount of things I can do in the certain amount of time available each day. I am also the event coordinator amongst my group of friends and plan our outings because I get frustrated when we cannot make decisions as a group. I also “get pleasure from finishing” any task that I am working on and love crossing things off my list when I they are complete (395). These Judging features appear in only small amounts, but still exist all the same. Recognizing my various character traits has allowed me to further grasp the expanse of my personality. While the test says I am an ESFJ, I am not going to limit myself to or abide by these definitions or analyzes, but plan to take their consideration into further understanding who I am as a person. For now, I am who I am. I am Danielle Oxford. I am me.



Your Type is:
ESFJ
Extraverted Sensing Feeling Judging
Strength of the preferences %
11 12 50 1



Qualitative analysis of your type formula
You are:
Provider Guardians take it upon themselves to arrange for the health and welfare of those in their care, but they are also the most sociable of all the Guardians, and thus are the great nurturers of established institutions such as schools, businesses, churches, social clubs, and civic groups. Wherever they go, Providers take up the role of social contributor, happily giving their time and energy to make sure that the needs of others are met, that traditions are supported and developed, and that social functions are a success.

Providers are very likely more than ten percent of the population, and this is very fortunate for the rest of us, because friendly social service is a key to their nature. Highly cooperative themselves, Providers are skilled in maintaining teamwork among their helpers, and are also tireless in their attention to the details of furnishing goods and services. They make excellent chairpersons in charge of social events. They are without peer as masters of ceremonies, able to approach others with ease and confidence, and seemingly aware of what everyone's been doing. And they are outstanding hosts or hostesses, able to remember people's names, usually after one introduction, and always concerned about the needs of their guests, wanting to insure that all are involved and provided for.

Providers are extremely sensitive to the feelings of others, which makes them perhaps the most sympathetic of all the types, but which also leaves them rather self-conscious, that is, highly sensitive to what others think of them. Because of this Providers can be crushed by personal criticism, and will work most effectively when given ample appreciation both for themselves personally and for the service they give to others. This is not to say that Providers are afraid to express their own emotional reactions. They are quick to like and dislike-and don't mind saying so-tending to put on a pedestal whatever or whoever they admire, and to come down hard on those people and issues they don't care for.
In their choice of careers, Providers may lean toward sales and service occupations. They have such pleasant, outgoing personalities that they are far and away the best sales reps, not only regularly winning sales contests, but earning seniority in any sales group within an organization. Observing Providers at work in a sales transaction reveals clearly how this type personalizes the sale. They are visibly-and honestly-concerned with their customer's welfare, and thus the customer is not simply buying the product, but is buying personally from the Provider. This same characteristic causes them to be good in many people-to-people jobs, as teachers, clergy, coaches, social workers, office receptionists, and so on. Providers seldom become a source of irritation in the workplace; on the contrary, they are unflagging in their devotion to their company, and show such personal loyalty to their immediate superiors that they make invaluable personal secretaries.
William Howard Taft, Barbara Walters, J C Penney, Ray Kroc, Louis B. Mayer, Sam Walton, Dolley Madison, and Dave Thomas are examples of Provider Guardians.