ADHD and Personality Types

ADHD and Personality Types

ADHD and Personality Types

Personality Types
Human behavior is not only a complex subject to understand, but it is also cursed with the element of unpredictability. Everyone tries to fathom what the next guy is thinking about or, how he or she will act in a certain environment.
With the advances in the field of psychology and the deeper understanding of the psyche of man, psychologists have come up with personality types A, B, C, and D. People from every walk of life, based on their behavior and personality traits they exhibit, can be grouped under one of the types. However, the world full of people of these types only, will be a very bleak place to live in. In reality, you will be extremely lucky to find a true specimen of each of these types which are described below.
Type A
These individuals are of a highly independent nature. They can best be described as the bulldozers. Their ambition to leave their mark in this world singles them out. They are self-driven and know the importance of goal setting, positive thinking and motivation. If you are interested in studying a specimen of this type, choose one from the ranks of business leadership. They are competitive in nature, in fact they thrive on it as if it is the fuel of their life. They are well-known for their sharpness in getting to the heart of the matter in no-nonsense and blunt terms. Individuals of personality type A are risk takers which characterizes an entrepreneurial spirit. They do have the ability to put on the veil of practicality to solve a problem as and when it is required. The secret of these successful people is that they don't balk under the requirements and necessity of change which eventually makes them what they want to be.
Type B
These individuals can be described as the bombers. These characters are extroverts to the soles of their boots, and think, that life is nothing else but getting under the spotlight and spell binding the rest. Individuals that fall under this category are human magnets that can attract attention of everyone in a gathering without so much of an effort. This makes them special, among the various other personalities. These people have a very engaging personality, and when it comes to conversations they are as sleek as eels and as voluminous as the Niagara Falls. These individuals can sell a fridge to an Eskimo who, after the sale, thanks all his departed ancestors and the snowman for bestowing the honor of buying something from this wonderful man. Because of their ability to get tuned in with the people, others find them to be a fountain of entertainment and charisma. Turn and focus your microscope to sales and marketing fields or to those people in the field of entertainment and you will find them in no time. They thrive on the interactions with the others. Your act of ignoring them or their efforts is as good as you sticking a knife in their back, for them. Not being able to attract your attention or making you sway to their tune, hurts these people.
Type C
The apt term to describe these people, is the Seekers. If you are searching for a promising heir to your microscope to bestow on, you can choose any person of personality type C. These are the introverts interested in details which separates them from the rest of the types. They could turn heaven and hell upside down or inside-out, depending on their mood, to find a fact they are interested in, before taking it to pieces in order to restart the process. These people tend to shrink from social or human interaction. Arranging facts (which include women and their behavior) around them, in a logical order is what drives these people to no end. A person of this type can live with an individual of personality type B, as happily as a meditative ton of matter with an outgoing, bubbling, jesting and noisy ton of antimatter. Big Bang? Yes, type C is as exactly opposite of type B as an electron with the left spin is the antithesis of the one with the right spin. You can find specimens of type C personified in accountants, computer programmers, etc. These people find it difficult to get out of their shell and communicate with other people, but are tigers when it comes to numbers and logic. Reserved nature is the mark of type C, and they are cautious, too. Risk taking is not a very attractive option for these people who tend not to venture into something until, they have gone over all the facts with a fine-toothed comb.
Type D
These gentlemen really believe in inertia which they have no shortage of. These people prefer to stick to the trodden paths and established routines over the uncertainty of change. You will find, (well, don't train your microscope or binoculars on a stage bathed under a flood of spotlight) a true specimen of this type in people engaged as clerks. These are followers of the spent actions and executors of the direct commands. You will find them doing their best not to stretch their neck out when it comes to taking responsibility and risk. With the help of professionals in the field of personality development and through sheer power of self motivation or self-improvement, these people can overcome their handicap to some extent. These individuals, which make 21 percent of the population, are afflicted by negativity such as worry, irritability, gloom, etc., and hardly feel self-assured. To avoid rejection, they avoid to open up and share their negative emotions. This causes them to suffer from enormous amount of stress which makes them prone to heart-related diseases. The studies show that as many as 18 to 53 percent of cardiac patients have type D personality.
In reality, an individual is a mixture of personality traits characterizing all the types described above. Won't you agree with me that this makes men more complex, women more mysterious to understand, and the world more colorful? This is why, you have to work real hard and over a long period to know a person properly. However, one must keep in mind that these types are just broad classifications to follow in order to know a man tentatively. Always remember that we are dealing with 'the man' and not a watch that can be disassembled with a few turns of a screwdriver, to have a look at its innards, to know juxtaposition of its parts and to understand the dependencies that exist among its parts, then, thus fortified, start plotting and calibrating its behavior to fulfill our needs.

Is it ADHD or Creative Personality Type?

Abstract

This article compares the traits of ADHD with the traits of “creative personality types” as described in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator – known as theMBTI.

MBTI Personality Types which havehighscores on both “Intuition” and “Perceiving” personality traits are estimated to occur in only about 12% of the population and 4-6% of women.(Source:”Please Understand Me” by Keirsey and Bates)

Interestingly, ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is thought to occur in 6 – 12% of the population. Estimates of the prevalence of ADHD vary among authors. Whatever the actual percentage may be, the estimates are so similar they beg for closer scrutiny. This article reviews descriptions of “MBTI Personality Traits” and compares them with what the medical model of ADHD (see Wikipedia Page)describes as “symptoms of disorder” in DSM-IV (Diagnostic Manual used by doctors updated in 2013 to DSM-V.) See alsom

I seek to answer the question, why is it that in one person, the same behavioral pattern may be considered a personality quirk and in other person it’s a “symptom” of what’s “wrong” with them? My opinion is that (as with beauty) what you call the trait depends on your personal biases. I present my case in the article below.

SIDE NOTE: This was one of my most popular and most commented on articles when it was first published on my Neat & Simple blog in 2008.

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Many ADHD traits are actually the same as those of people with “creative personality types” as described in the Meyer MBTI.

What does Creative Personality Type mean?

Having a creative personality type doesn’t mean you are an”artist” necessarily, though you may be. It’s broader than that. Creative personality typerefers to people who exhibit thinking styles and preferences such as: tend to

  • prefer exploring new ways of doing things,
  • take more risks than the average person,
  • challenge the status quo,
  • want to try new things,
  • delight in solving problems,
  • prefer to research and continuously learn new things over implementing routines.

They tend to:

  • get bored with anything that is too repetitive or that stays the same for too long.
  • thrive on growth, change and novelty.

After all, growth and change implies novelty. Growth is what separates us from machines, but some people are more driven to grow while others are more motivated by seeking stability. Creative personality types “need” change and growth more than they need “stability” and security. (Being driven to grow and evolve yourself rapidly is called having a “growth mindset” in the book Mindset: The New Psychology of SuccessbyCarol Dweck and havinghigh “Evolutionary Intelligence” in the book“The Gifted Adult”by Mary-Elaine Jacobsen.)

According to theMBTII could be either and ENTP or an INFP. What that means is that I tend to be equally strong in both I and E – introversion and extraversion – depends on the situation. I’m also nearly equally strong in both T and F – I use both thinking and feeling to make decisions – again, depends on the situation. It’s like I’m ambidextrous in both those traits. However, when it comes to Intuition and Perceiving, I score much higher in those traits than in the Sensing or Judging traits.

The “N” or iNtuitive” trait means I have a strong tendency to always looking for the potential in things, seeing patterns, connections and new possibilities, rather than “Sensing” which mean seeing things as they are and in greater detail.

The “P” or “Perceiver” trait means I tend to prefer to open up new options and possibilities rather than “Judge” which in MBTI language means make decisions, conclusions, and close options. In other words, I naturally prefer to not make decisions unless it’s really necessary. I’ve come to think of my MBTI type as “xNxP”.

I wonder how creative personality type and ADHD are connected because when you compare the traits of both, it’s striking how similar they are. The main differences seem to be in the degree, frequency, and impact these “traits” have on our lives. Both ADHD and the Creative Personality Types share many characteristics.

Below is a list of ADD traits that I’ve culled from reading ADD books.

COMMON ADD TRAIT DESCRIPTIONS INCLUDE:

  • High energy and restless / Hyperactivity
  • Impulsivity
  • Takes on, starts too many projects
  • Loses interest easily
  • High impatience
  • May fail to follow through, forget appointments
  • Tendency to hyperfocus and not be able to easily break out of it
  • Tendency to see everything at once, to think “globally” and see many possibilities at once, making it difficult to make certain kinds of decisions
  • Higher than average tolerance for chaos and change
  • Often exhibit high risk-taking, high stimulation seeking behavior
  • Often hyper-reactive and sensitive – Strong reactions to thoughts, noise, people talking, everything in their environment – may notice everything, or tend to shut down and become inattentive to everything, or a combination of both
  • Tend to criticize themselves constantly
  • Tend to always be scanning or hunting – looking around for anything that might be new or different, or out of place, looking to make connections, to see patterns, may not even be aware of this. So they seem not to be listening when actually they are trying to take everything in, though sometimes they really aren’t listening because they can’t focus on just one thing that is coming in through their senses
  • Highly intuitive thinking
  • Inconsistency of attention, mood

Now compare that list with the list below which I made from the descriptions ofMBTI”creative personality types” which have both an “iNtuitive” and a “Perceiving” preference.

Keirsey and Batesidentifiedfour temperamentsor subsets of the MBTI types in their classic book: ”Please Understand Me“

Keirsey simplifies the sixteen MBTI types into four groups, whose archetypes he equates with the classicalfour temperaments: Phlegmatic, Melancholy, Sanguine, and Choleric.

  • NT (INTP, INTJ, ENTP, ENTJ): Rational temperament
  • NF (INFP, INFJ, ENFP, ENFJ): Idealist temperament
  • SP (ISTP, ISFP, ESTP, ESFP): Artisan temperament
  • SJ (ISTJ, ISFJ, ESTJ, ESFJ): Guardian temperament

I have never seen anyone group the “NP” preferences as an archetype or temperament but in my work with hundreds of people, I see a pattern that looks like NP could very well be the “ADD” or even “Idealist/Artisan, Creative – Disorganized / Clutter-prone” temperament.

According to theMBTI, there are 4 personality types with predominantly“iNtuitive”(seeing the world in terms of it’s possibilities) + Perceiving (preferring improvising over planning)traits. They are:

ENTP (5%) INTP (1%) ENFP (5%)INFP(1%)

The percentages indicate what percent of the population has each personality type. As you can see, these types are clearly a minority.Combined they are found in only about 12% of the population and 4-6% of women.(Source:”Please Understand Me” by Keirsey and Bates)

As I mentioned before,, ADD is thought to occur in 6 – 12% of the population.So now, let’s take a look at the list of traits I summarized fromPlease Understand Me” by Keirsey and Bateswith my notes in brackets about how this could impact organizing and/or look like ADHD.

ENTP / ENFP TRAITS

  • Unusually Enthusiastic,[high energy and high enthusiasm is VERY characteristic of ADD)
  • "Apt to express interest in everything"[this makes it very difficult to focus and make choices about how to use your time]
  • Characteristically have an eye out for a better way[leads to constantly changing and not sticking to systems you create to organize yourself]
  • Always on the lookout for new projects, new activities, new procedures[ a clear link to all those unfinished projects ADD is famous for]
  • Always seem to be several jumps ahead[Another hallmark of ADD brains that process informationally globally and often see patterns before others do. Many famous inventors and scientists who made significant discoveries are thought to have had ADD]

The list is stunning, for example, Alexander Graham Bell,Leonardo da Vinci, Sir Issac Newton, Louis Pasteur, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, Galileo and many more.

  • Prefers to “improvise” rather than create a detailed plan[Could look like impulsivity, being uprepared, etc.](I now think of this as being “born to agilize”: )
  • Tends to proceed into action without necessary preparation
  • Can succeed in a variety of occupations as long as the job “does not involve humdrum routine”
  • In a routine job “they become restless. If a project in which they are engaged is no longer challenging, they tend to lose interest and fail to follow through – often to the discomfort of colleagues”
  • “Orderliness in the routines of daily living is not apt to inspire them.”
  • ”Not likely to be interested in the routines of daily maintenance”
  • “Life with ENTPs is likely to be a daring adventure: this could lead families into physical and economic danger”[The book actually says this...could easily come out of a book on ADD]
  • “Apt to react with delight at having an opportunity to improvise a solution to a crisis”
  • “Likely to be inconsistent with their attention”
  • “May show undependable, fickle characteristics, and be easily discouraged”
  • “Always berating themselves for being so conscious of self”
  • “Can become bored rather quickly with situations and people, and resist repeating experiences”
  • “Enjoy the process of creating “but not interested in follow-through”
  • “Can have difficulty picking up on the ideas and projects initiated by others”
  • “Extravagant generosity punctuated with periods of frugality”
  • “Somewhat unpredictable”
  • “Characteristic in their pursuit of novelty”
  • “Outstanding intuitive powers”

INTP / INFP TRAITS

  • “Can concentrate better than any other personality type”[Similar to hyperfocusing]
  • “Once caught up in a thought process, that thought process seems to have a will of its own for INTPS, and they persevere until the issue is comprehended” [More hyperfocus]
  • “Impatient with routine details”[Impacts ability to "maintain" traditional organizing systems]
  • “The INTP must be given an efficient support staff who can capture ideas as they emerge and before the INTP loses interest and turns to other ideas”[How I would LOVE this! and how unrealistic this is. The book is obviously old enough to remember when most managers had their own secretaries. I had my own Exec Assistant when I was a manger at Arthur Andersen's Center for Professional Education...it was AWESOME!!! I miss her!]
  • INTP’s are often forgetful of appointments and the rituals of daily living unless they are reminded.[Need I say more?]

I think the similarities between creative personality types and ADHD are more than clear. And the link between creativity and difficulty “MAINTAINING” organizing systems is also clear. My theory is that helping people learn how to become more organized by designing organizing solutions that fit their personality and brain type, AND that are designed to change easily and often (agile) is the most effective way to heal lifelong disorganization tendencies. I call this cultivating personal agility and self-leadership vs. self-control.

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