[IxDA Discuss] What's your Personality Type? (Related to: NowHiring Leonardo DaVinci?)

[Dana Smith]

Hi Christopher,

> I also am surprised by the number of I's. Again, is an introverted 
> person
> ideally suited to empathy-based thinking? Or are they more likely to 
> seek
> working styles where they are able to focus on a solution by 
> themselves.
>
> I'm not saying that being an I or a J makes a person a bad information
> architect. I'm just saying that a lot of IAs approach their job from a
> perspective where putting themselves in another person's shoes and 
> listening
> to other people's opinions isn't as influential as we might think it 
> would
> be. Sometimes an IA's value is in their ability to hunker down by
> themselves, consider all of the possibilities where a design can go 
> right
> and wrong, think of all the potential uses of an interface, map them 
> all
> out, and to think of new ideas in that context. A lot of IA work can 
> be done
> intuitively, which would explain why there are so many N's in this 
> report.

Perhaps it's worth diving a little deeper into the I / E distinction, 
as it's somewhat different than the typical use of the words.

"Extroverted or Introverted
This category deals with how we prefer to interact with the world and 
how we prefer to get our energy and stimulation.
Extraverts are energized by other people and action. They are talkers, 
often thinking out loud, interrupting people at meetings, or bursting 
into a co-worker's office to ask an opinion, and then not really 
listening to it. Extraverts become drained when they have to spend too 
much time alone; they need other people to function.
Introverts, on the other hand, get their energy from their own thoughts 
and ideas, rather than heated discussions. Introverts rarely speak up 
at large meetings, preferring listening to talking. Introverts need 
alone time, especially after spending a few hours with people."
(http://www.personalitytest.net/types/definitions.htm#extravert)

I think an I or E tendency is a wholly separate thing from a person's 
level of empathy. "Introverts ... preferring listening to talking." 
That says to me that they are in fact paying More attention to the 
other person's thoughts and actions than others might, a key element of 
empathy.

Dana