Myers-Briggs Type:

Judging-and-Perceiving 

(This is the final article of the series Right, Left and Center: through a different lens. To put this into context, you may want to read the previous five articles in this series.)

It is fitting that the final article on Myers-Briggs Type would deal with the functions that describe how we prefer to conclude things. In Myers-Briggs typology these are named judging and perceiving. This index describes different ways of orienting to the world.

People who prefer judging like to make judgments; they enjoy making decisions, concluding and finishing. Because they are anxious until things are brought to closure, judgers take decisive stands on issues. They hasten decisions and become uncomfortable when things are left hanging. They are the people on your committee who move to decide on proposed issues, resting only when the completion is achieved.

This preference affects a person’s orientation to time. judgers are punctual, insisting on arriving on time if not early.  Deadlines are sacred and honored. List making is an essential activity for them. Not only is the list an effective management tool, it offers the judger the exquisite pleasure of crossing items off when they have been completed. I have known people who wrote things on the list that they had already done simply to enjoy the pleasure of marking through it!

The gifts of the judging function are obvious. Efficiency, decisiveness, and timeliness keep individuals, families, and organizations operating in a functional and orderly fashion. The downside, however, of an overzealous judging function is the rush to judgment. Sometimes allowing the tea to steep a bit longer can provide a finer brew.

Perceivers excel in steeping. Because they prefer to perceive rather to make judgments, perceivers like to linger longer in the gathering phase. They love staying open to new information and believe that the best decisions are made by accruing the most data possible. They will, therefore, move to research decisions as long as possible. They do so largely because they thrive on ingesting the material and partly due to their discomfort in bringing things to closure. Since they are wired to take things in, perceivers get anxious when it is time to wrap things up. The act of concluding for the perceiver is tantamount to death of possibilities and options. The decisions that are paramount to judgers often feel like “Sophie’s Choice” to perceivers; the choice for one child spells the demise of the other.

You might imagine the influence this function has on orientation to time. Perceivers are not naturally aware of time. Whereas judgers are the divas of deadlines, perceivers simply enjoy the swooshing sound they make as they pass by.  Time is truly relative and, when left to their own proclivities, tardiness can be a fact of life for perceivers.

Adaptability, open mindedness and flexibility are the gifts that a perceiver brings to life and relationships.  Sometimes, these are the qualities that mitigate against premature choices and enrich the process of decision making by generating a variety of options.

As is true of all of the dichotomies in Myers-Briggs Typology, no preference is right or wrong. They are just different. Each offers its particular combination of gifts and challenges. Perhaps the perfect blend of these two functions would be to remain thoughtful about the destination, and flexible about how we get there.

In conclusion of this series on Myers-Briggs Type, it seems appropriate to quote the pioneering prophet herself, Isabel Briggs Myers, who says:

“We can consider ourselves wrong and be depressed;

We can consider the other person wrong and be indignant;

Or, we can recognize that we are interestingly different and be amused.”

Here’s to the laughing!