KEIRSEY PERSONALITY PREFERENCES
Each Scale Below Measures Individual Aspects of Personality
ExtraversionIntroversion
75% of population25% of population
Sociability______Territoriality
Interaction______Concentration
External______Internal
Breadth______Depth
Extensive______Intensive
Multiplicity of relationships______Limited relationships
Expenditure of energies______Conservation of energies
Interest in external events______Interest in internal reaction
SensationiNtuition
75% of population25% of population
Experience______Hunches
Past______Future
Realistic______Speculative
Effort______Inspiration
Actual______Possible
Down-to-earth______Head-in-clouds
Utility______Fantasy
Fact______Fiction
Practicality______Ingenuity
Sensible______Imaginative
Focus on details______Focus on big picture
ThinkingFeeling
50% of population50% of population
Objective______Subjective
Principles______Values
Policy______Social values
Laws______Extenuating circumstances
Criterion______Intimacy
Firmness______Persuasion
Impersonal______Personal
Justice______Humane
Categories______Harmony
Standards______Good or bad
Critique______Appreciate
Allocation______Devotion
JudgingPerceiving
50% of population50% of population
Settled______Pending
Decided______Gather more data
Fixed______Flexible
Plan ahead______Adapt as you go
Run one's life______Let life happen
Closure______Open options
Decision-making______Treasure hunting
Planned______Open ended
Wrap it up______Something will turn up
Information adapted from Please Understand Me: Character and Temperament Types by David Keirsey and Marilyn Bates
KEIRSEY'S TEMPERAMENT TYPES
Information adapted from Please Understand Me: Character and Temperament Types by David Keirsey and Marilyn Bates
Motivational Forces: Duty and Responsibility
Tendencies
- Duty! If I don't, who will?
- Operate best with clear instructions
- Rule follower, maker, enforcer
- Medicine, Business, Education, Government
- Conservative and organized
- Support or Leadership Managers
- Traditional pillars of society
Motivational Forces: Action and Play
Tendencies
- Work is essentially play
- Hands-on occupations
- Good in crisis
- Enjoy today--dislike setting goals
- Sports, Performance, Sales, Emergency Personnel
- Risk-takers
- Excellent negotiators
Motivational Forces: Strategy and Analysis
Tendencies
- Always students, love to learn!
- Career driven
- Skills, knowledge, and competence are essential
- Independent by nature
- Science, Law, Computers, Upper Management
- Focus on future, theory, and abstract concepts
- Architects of complex systems
Motivational Forces: Meaning and Relationships
Tendencies
- Interested in meaningful careers
- Bring out best in others
- Unity and integrity are important
- Communicators (writing and/or speaking)
- Teaching, Consulting, Counseling, Arts
- People, interaction, relationships
- Seek true identity and self-actualization
Information adapted from Please Understand Me: Character and Temperament Types by David Keirsey and Marilyn Bates