Now I am going to pursue these set of psychological character assessments which seem to have become so ingrained in our western culture. The first one I set out to tackle was constructed by none other than Carl Jung. A man seemingly at the front of Psychological jargon and evaluations and a man who has become so heavily associated with the field of study its hard not to look into the trains of thought which others have adopted so easily.
It seemed that his ideas were based around our consciousness being separated into two distinct categories. That being functions and attitudes. The first, functions, seemed to be ways in which the consciousness comes to understand “reality”. He separated this into another four categories. Those are Sensation, Intuition, Thinking and Feeling.
Sensation – to the initial interaction with our reality without any interference via context, imagined realities, etc. Its the base response to the perceived external environment.
Intuition – Refers to an innate perception and reflection of reality that is based around reading and understanding the feeling or movement of a situation rather than relying on an objective understanding. It also adds an immense amount of imagination to the situation which pure objectiveness doesn’t provide.
Thinking – Is all about trying to understand the truth of the situation, whatever that may mean or be. Its trying to remove all the false analysis that is being brought to the surface and based on a purely intellectualized understanding of reality.
Feeling – This is all about the decisions one makes in regards to ones preference of any given topic or subject purely on the emotional response one has. Either disliking or liking something based upon the emotions stimulated by the topic or subject in question.
Mr Jung separates these four into a two distinct pairs which are perceiving and judging -or non-rational and rational functions. The non-rational are Sensation and Intuition while the rational functions are Thinking and Feeling. This continues to be broken down into several different categories until we arrive at a point where several personality types are introduced. It seems there are two types of functioning humans in this world, they introverts and extroverts. These two are extended with the four categories mentioned above a myriad of identities is born. Now I’ve done a bit of searching and found several test which I can take that will declare my own personality. according to this scale of measurement and therefore place me amongst the masses. I am going to take several of these test, upload the results and see what connections between the identifications and symbols I can make in my own art. What form of characters will manifest through this process but also I am going to ask other people to do this test on my behalf to see if my perception of self is an accurate reflection of others experience. That is the one thing that I’ve been pursuing for a long time. As long as I can remember and I strive so hard to see the truth in this reality. If my own understanding is a direct reflection of peoples experience of myself and therefor a truer understanding of who I am or if I’ve constructed these monsters, devils and enemy images out of my own anxiety in response to others responses to me. If the person I beleve I am is just a fabrication of anxiety due to my own misinterpretations of others and what comes after I’ve discovered the answer. Where does this leave me and whom shall I believe in.
The first test I am going to take is one called the 16 personality test which is based around Mr Jung’s reasoning. This test is broken down into a series of questions where you answer either agree or disagree. There are seven answer you can give with the central one being neutral and either end being the high end of agree of disagree. Here I go.
I just completed the first test and I have to say some of the questions are rather vague on their wording and (personally) don’t allow for much of an answer to come forth. They also try and get you to place yourself in one category or another, such as calling yourself productive or unproductive, if you worry about such and such, if you find yourself doing this or that but how can I truly say if I am this or that if I don’t have any clear sample to compare myself with and even when I come up with a clear sample, how do I know this is an accurate or truthful examination. Maybe if I changed the scope or the individuals which I am comparing myself to then I would arrive at a different conclusion. Once that is done, which one of the conclusions I’ve arrived at in regards to my personality or my behaviors is an accurate reflection of this experience. Anyway I’ve taken that test and here are the results. https://www.16personalities.com/infp-personality
The personality type which I’ve been labelled under is the mediator (INFP, -A/-T). The test results are broken down into several categories. They are introduction, strength and weakness, romantic relationships, friendship, parenthood, career paths, workplace habits and conclusions.
This introduction gives a brief overview into my personality type.
I am not entirely too sure how to respond to this first section. I feel a bit unease by it all as I feel it places me into categories that aren’t an accurate reflection of my personality as well as separating me (arbitrarily) from people who do not fit into those groupings. Some what as an us and them attitude to the human psychology. I think I will continue exploring the understandings these test are indicating. I also found it interesting that they gave a list of famous individuals whom they believe sit in this category. Here are just some of them.
- William Shakespeare
- Joanne Rowling
- Johnny Depp
- Fox Mulder (x-files)
- Lance Sweets (Bones)
The first section is the strength and weakness. The strengths of a Mediator are idealistic (their optimism will brighten the lives of those around them and win over their admiration while also showing that they see all humans as inherently good but they are just simply misunderstood. This helps them face hardship and hard times), seek and value harmony (believe dominating and powering over others is obsolete and seek to have all voices and perspectives heard by all people), open minded and flexible (a live-and-let-live attitude comes naturally to them and the refuse to be determined by rules. As long as their own preferences aren’t question or challenged they seek to help all live as authentically as they can), very creative (through the combination of their visionary nature and open mindedness they are able to see the world through unconventional perspectives, allowing them to construct single themes from far-flung ideas), passionate and energetic (when the mediators mind is captured by those around them and connect to their beliefs they go all in and dedicate everything to the project. Although the shy away from the spotlight they are the ones who are always first to commit to the task at hand), dedicated and hard-working (due to their far-reaching vision they are able to follow through even when times are tough. This is especially so when they are working towards a goal that is enriched with meaning and purpose).
Now we’ve seen where they flourish, what downfalls reside within these people. Here they are in order, too idealistic (they take their idealism too far and forget that those around them aren’t perfect. Setting them up for many moments of self-disappointment), too altruistic (they see a selfish individual before them due to their need to provide more than they are capable of. This can lead them to committing to a single cause or purpose and ignoring those around them, especially themselves), impractical (when their imaginations are capture they often ignore the everyday activities that enable existence to continue. Once their minds are set on a goal they can, at times, become so ingrained in the activity at hand that they forget to do simple acts, such as eating), dislike dealing with data (due to Mediators being in tune with their emotions and morality, any data that contradicts these can ultimately create a large portion of turmoil in their lives), take things personally (they have a high chance of interpreting the words of others as criticism and challenges which means they will go to extreme lengths in order to satisfy everybody through aligning all opinions into a happy middle ground), difficult to get to know (they are private, reserved and self-conscious. This apparently makes it difficult for others to connect with them on a meaningful level as well as stimulating a great deal of guilt in the Mediator for feeling they haven’t contributed enough).
Next up I am going to combine two categories into one because they seem to align nicely with one another. These two are romantic relationships and friendships. The first thing I am getting from this is the continuation that the Mediator is a dreamer. One who is lost within their own ideals of reality and this, in romantic relationships, can create a tear as no one can fill this position. They believe they must come to terms with peoples imperfections and the discord with their imagined realities. Although these fantasies can hinder the growth of longer term relationships, it seems that when the opportunity comes forth they enter these interactions wholeheartedly with dedication and trust.
They aren’t ones to rush into commitments as they need to reassure themselves that they are compatible with the person(s) before them. One issue that can arise early on is their need to compare the person standing before them to those that exist within their ideal reality. People can become so overwhelmed with their apparent rich imagination and moral standards that a rift can be established early on leading to a swift demise of the relationship and a place where the Mediator sees that no other results could have possibly unfolded. Issue can also manifest through the constant bombardments of request that can come across as demands and criticism. That the Mediator is trying to guide the other to exist as their ideal. Although, for the Mediator, this would be them trying to help the other to grow and improve. You may also find them to be passionate, hopelessly romantic but still respecting the others need for independence. The worst to come from this personality type, in regard to these categories, is their need to push issues aside until the very last moment where nothing can help find a solution to calm the waters. For less intimate relationships, they can find establishing these rather difficult. This could be due to their need for personal connection but struggle within social gatherings. Although they find it relatively easy to read the feelings and motivations of others their inability to lower their guards and prove insight into themselves creates a bridge that the other cannot cross with ease. Sending them in the opposite direction. It seems in order for one to feel a connection with a Mediator, they need to move beyond the guard that is set before them. Once this is accomplished, the true personality is able to be seen and a connection can flourish. Although this sense of isolation and removal will never truly vanish and they will always need a place to retreat from the chaos of social interactions, where they can calm their mind to the buzzing of existence.
The next category, which isn’t significant for myself at the moment, is parenthood. The Mediator is apparently a warm, loving and supportive individual when it comes to the task of guiding children and become lost within the joys of the child’s new found sense of exploration and play. They are able to give their children the room and space to establish their own grounds of play and understanding while also allowing for the guidance that they have obtained through their experiences.
The downfall to their personality type is if the child cannot fit the ideal mold of their perfect reality then this becomes a tremendous burden upon themselves. One that will also effect the child’s connection with the parent. Apparently the ability of the Mediator to cloak their underlying emotions from the external other helps them to not only portray themselves as a good role model on the outside and therefore shielding their loved ones from their negative emotions but also indicate to the child what moral standards they seek to instill in them but also keeping a harmonious household. One of the biggest challenges faced by the Mediator, especially those swimming in a sea of self-doubt, is having the ability to maintain their ability to articulate their own values of honesty while fitting this within the confines of the day-to-day activities that come with parenting. It’s advised that they are paired with someone who has a stronger grasp on administrating the daily life tasks.
The next section, career paths, is especially hard to establish for the Mediator as they find the daily routine of many jobs to be numbing to their mental capacity. They seem to need to find a place where their passion comes first and extend this further with education that can expand upon their “skills”. Although it seems many find themselves succumbing to the need to continue this existence through monotonous and soul depleting occupations, if they Mediator can stick through with something they are truly passionate about then they are able to find that which is truly rewarding and authentically enriching. This leads nicely onto the next section which is workplace habits. It seems they need to be placed in an environment where they truly find value in the task at hand otherwise they will find no interest in completing the goals before them. What they seek are a harmonious work environment, need to be able to connect morally and emotionally to their work and loathe the tedious bureaucratic tasks. There is more to be said about this category but I grow tired of this examination and its never ending stream of information so I shall jump right into the conclusion before declaring my own. That will contain far more exciting information because not only will it be about my interpretations of the information presented but also possible ways I can represent these ideas in drawing forms and characters.
I’ve decided to be lazy and paste the information on the site directly here for all you to see what they say.
Now that is over with we can get to the really interesting section, me and my thoughts about it. Now if I am to condense the information down into narrow points, it seems that the Mediator is highly intelligent, creative and well read at reading others motivations and emotions while being highly guarded about revealing what is truly alive within themselves. They are able to enrich the lives of all those around them by simply giving a sense they are present with the other person. That they are aware of what is happening inside the other but can create distance because they themselves can not give the same in return. They are reserved and shy but always will to lend an ear. Now what can I take from this personality type and what characters can manifest through these particular articulations of human psychology. I am not entirely sure at the moment and I think I shall return to this once I’ve completed some more test in my next post. I hope I can find something which will allow for something of value and richness to spring forth.
SIR King Tim Fox 