FT Careers Blog » Psychology

Tips for Taking the Myers-Briggs Personality Test

Guest Blogger — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Guest post by Lindsey Webster - The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) assessment is psychometric questionnaire designed to measure how people perceive the world and make decisions.

It is often used in the areas of career counseling, team building, group dynamics, professional development, marketing, leadership training, executive coaching, life coaching, personal development, and workers' compensation claims.

The test uses four indicators that, when viewed together, create 16 different personality types. It is said that individual personality types prefer or exceed at specific careers. For this reason, the Myers-Briggs Test is often used in career counseling as a way to narrow down what type of work or career a person may find interesting or fulfilling.

Just like any other test, there are a few tips for taking the Myers-Briggs test. Although there are no “wrong answers” on this test, there is a “right” and a “wrong” way to approach it. Listed below are five tips for taking the Myers-Briggs Test.

The Psychology of Confidence

Guest Blogger — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 15:00:48 +0000

Guest post by Melanie Slaugh - Confidence is important in business and in life. But what is it? What does it do? How do you get it? Is it something that you’re born with, or do you learn confidence?

Confidence is trust or faith in something or someone. Confidence is knowing that you’ve made the right choice, or at least the best possible choice. Confidence is security.

As Donna Flagg says,

In the absence of confidence (and I mean real, true, authentic confidence, not ego-induced bravado and swagger) we have deep-seated insecurity driving people to find ways they can convince themselves they are not exactly what they fear. Weak.Powerless.Vulnerable.In a word, insecure. In the workplace we see insecurity take the form of defensiveness, irresponsibility and deception. In personal relationships it rears its ugly head through paranoia, distortion and fear.

Understanding Multitasking: Pitfalls and How to Do it Effectively

Fernando — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 17:36:25 +0000

The term "multitasking" is not very old, it originated in the computer engineering industry. It refers to the ability of a microprocessor to apparently process several tasks simultaneously. Computer multitasking in single core microprocessors actually involves time-sharing the processor; only one task can actually be active at a time, but tasks are rotated through many times a second. With multi-core computers, each core can perform a separate task simultaneously. This is real multitasking. Humans only have one microprocessor, so multitasking per se is impossible. So how do we do it when our job requires it?

Is Your Job Breaking You Down? Knowing When Time Has Come To See A Therapist

Ioana — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 11:00:05 +0000

Our job, occupation or profession is an area of our lives where we can feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment and purpose. However, as stress and dissatisfaction creeps in, it sheds away the positive out-view and replaces it with lingering symptoms – mental health symptoms. Mental health “off-spells” or breakdowns are common [...]

Speeches and Presentations: Overcome Stage Fright

Fernando — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 20:44:28 +0000

When I was 7 my second grade class was given the mission of playing "The Discovery of America". We had to dress like aborigines, Spaniards and the main character, Christopher Columbus. I remember energetically refusing to participate in the play firstly because I did not like to disguise -which could be very well related to my former fear of clowns- and secondly because I would've had to step up to the stage and play a character in front of hundreds of people, including my parents. I ended up being the narrator of the story, from a very convenient position below the stage and away from all those "menacing" gazes. For a long time I thought that what made me reject a role in the play was the feeling that it was embarrassing to be in a costume. Today I know that it was just the opposite: I was afraid to be embarrassed in front of the crowd.

How To Deal With Stress at Work

Fernando — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 03:14:48 +0000

Is your boss stressing you out? Don't you get along with your co-workers? Is your desk overflowing with stacked paperwork? Do you hate your job? Recognizing if what's stressing you out is transitory or permanent is the first step to cope with stress. The second one, is reading what comes next.

5 Ways to Deal with Stress at Work

Guest Blogger — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 06:08:45 +0000

Guest post by Katrina Robinson- We all deal with stress in our work lives. Maybe your boss has been a little tough on you lately or you're struggling to get a grasp on some new responsibilities that have come your way. Or perhaps you're unhappy with the people you work with or the role that you're assumed with the company. Whatever the reason for your stress, there are many ways to help to deal with it. Here are our top five:

Scientists Discover a Protein That Erases Painful Memories

Fernando — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 08:18:16 +0000

A protein was found, that just as a pencil eraser, is able to forever delete traumatic events from our minds. It was discovered by scientists from John Hopkins University through experiments with rats. The results promise to one day fight PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) caused by war, rape and other traumatic events. The study was published by Science Express, which publishes brealthroughs before they reach their print version in Science Magazine. In order to verify the validity of the discovery, researchers scared rats with a loud noise and after eliminating the afforementioned protein the rats no longer associated the noise to fear. The rats had forgotten the terror that the sound initially generated. The protein is located in the amygdala -a group of neural nuclei located in the depth of the temporal lobes of the brain-, an area responsible, among other things, for conditioning to fear both in humans and animals. The study proved that these proteins can be removed from the nerve cells. The idea is to delete this proteins and weaken the connections with the trauma, erasing the memory itself. This study opens the possiblility of one day manipulating memories with drugs destined to improve cognitive therapies for these type of ailments. This discovery opens more than a few interrogants and concerns.

Achieving Your Potential: The Devils Within

Fernando — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 16:33:08 +0000

There’s something special about doing what you like most. Energy never fades away when you enjoy what you are doing while you experience a limitless desire to constantly know and learn more. Freddie Mercury and Jimmy Hendrix were bonded to music; Einstein was devoted to physics and cosmology; Hemingway to [...]

Shy People Have a More Intense Brain Activity

Fernando — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 15:23:57 +0000

Shy people perceive the world in a different manner and display a more intense cerebral activity when faced to certain stimuli. It appears that this lets them analyze information in a more profound way. Introvert individuals are also more attentive to detail, which differentiates them from extroverts. Scientists from Stony Brook [...]

Depression: One Pill Does Not Fix All

rcain — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 10:00:07 +0000

By Robin Cain – Depression and anxiety are personal things, yet the medical community often treats them with a “one size fits all” approach. Those suffering often learn the hard way that there are different approaches and different schools of thought regarding same. I’m sharing my story in an attempt [...]

Alzheimer's Disease: When Memories are Gone, Emotions Still Linger

Fernando — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 14:47:42 +0000

People with Alzheimer’s disease often have trouble remembering recent events but are able to recall distant memories. This is due to the damage produced to the hippocampus, a seahorse shaped structure located in the core of the brain. This area is usually the first to be affected by Alzheimer, which [...]

Moral Judgments can be Changed Almost Instantly by Delivering a magnetic pulse to an Area of the Brain

Fernando — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 12:26:31 +0000

I was listening to NPR (National Public Radio) on my way to work yesterday and heard a story that caught my attention. Did you ever think that magnets and morality could be related? According to a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences a person’s moral [...]

Only 1 in 40 People Can Drive and Talk on the Phone Without Impairment

Fernando — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 17:56:03 +0000

While for many of us driving and talking on a cell phone may seem second nature and appear not to carry any associated effort or loss of concentration, research from psychologists of the University of Utah has concluded that 97.5% of us are wrong. The experiment, conducted on 200 test subjects [...]

Men and Women Have Different Nightmares

Fernando — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 15:37:33 +0000

From Physorg.com – Almost everyone has nightmares at some time in their lives, while a few have nightmares almost every night, but no one is quite certain what they mean. Now scientists in Germany carrying out one of the largest ever studies on nightmares have found there are clear differences [...]

How to De-Escalate Oppositional and Defiant Teenagers

Fernando — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 08:19:23 +0000

Every teenager will become oppositional from time to time. It’s normal; and particularly when they feel upset or stressed. Oppositional behaviors can become a matter of concern if they start interfering with their social, academic or family life. The article goal is to give some basic bearings to parents, coaches, educators [...]

Mother's Sensitivity May Help Language Development in Children With Autism

Fernando — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 08:36:05 +0000

A study from the University of Miami suggests that maternal sensitivity, understood as a combo of affection, responsiveness to the child’s needs, structuring support and education, and the ability to manage presence-absence to foster independency; may influence the development and acquisition of language among children with autism or potentially at [...]

New Trends in Mental Health Care

Fernando — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 02:45:24 +0000

I’ve been writing about the hurdles that the mental health care system has been facing since the recession struck the country. What I haven’t written about is where this whole thing is going and which trends are surfacing. The trend these days is to shift from “monster units” that house 20 [...]

Understanding Your Job – Chapter Two

Fernando — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 08:30:48 +0000

We all occupy roles in our lives. We are fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters. We grow up performing these roles. You are born a son, you build relationships with peers, maybe you’ll have children to then become a grandfather or grandmother. And so, these roles get hard-wired into our [...]

Understanding your job. Chapter One

Fernando — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 12:14:05 +0000

I wanted to write a series of posts that you could apply to your job. Something you can relate to wether you are a salesman, doctor, telemarketer or a store manager. Do any of those professions have anything in common with each other? Yes, no. Doesn’t matter. My goal is [...]

How to Find Motivation When it’s Gone on Vacations

Fernando — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 14:52:34 +0000

Ever felt at work that you are stuck in first or second gear or you are on those days when your motivation is idling. Well, it’s normal. No one can sustain 290 (give or take) days a year at full throttle. If you can you are either alien, on crack [...]

The state of the Mental Health Care System in the US – Part 2

Fernando — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 02:04:49 +0000

Last December I wrote an article summarizing some of the consequences that the economic recession has brought to the Mental Health Care System and how the inadequacy of some policies and practices have surfaced along with it. Today I’d like to expand on that topic mostly centering in the challenges [...]

The state of the Mental Health Care System in the US

Fernando — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 00:56:28 +0000

The crisis has spread to everywhere and even when signs of recovery are spotted here and there we are not out of the storm yet. Actually, we may have to wait for one or two more years to be back to “normal”. The Mental Health Care System is no exception to [...]

It’s OK for kids to dress up evil for Halloween

Fernando — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 21:36:20 +0000

A recent article in the New York Times (“Drop the Halloween Mask! It Might Scare Someone“) reported how, “in some classrooms across the country, the interpretation of what is too scary – or offensive, gross or saddening – is now also leading to an abundance of caution and some prohibitions” [...]

If Bipolar Disorder Is Over-diagnosed, What Are The Actual Diagnoses?

Fernando — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 01:07:15 +0000

ScienceDaily (July 29, 2009) — A year ago, a study by Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University researchers reported that fewer than half the patients previously diagnosed with bipolar disorder received an actual diagnosis of bipolar disorder after using a comprehensive, psychiatric diagnostic interview tool –the Structured Clinical Interview for [...]

Preventing Burnout: Signs, Symptoms, Causes, and Coping Strategies

Fernando — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 07:09:39 +0000

You are not a lazy person. You work hard. You give your very best every day; and still, every time the alarm clock wakes you up you wish you had a mace to smash it and keep sleeping. And you know what’s the weirdest part? Some time ago you didn’t [...]

Behavioral Support Systems in mental health residential units

Fernando — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 00:13:22 +0000

In mental health residential environments one of the most difficult things is keeping the clients engaged with the programming and their challenging behaviors to a minimum. Every unit of every organization has a behavioral support system in place (along with structured activities) to achieve this objective. The efficiency and effectiveness [...]

A bilingual environment affects infant development, changes personality

Fernando — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 07:37:43 +0000

Have you ever wondered if there was any difference in human brain development or a change in personality when a person has grown up in a bilingual household or environment? Researchers from Baruch College and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, studied how bilingual people’s personality is unconsciously affected when switching languages, according [...]

OCD: Fact or Fiction? (PsychCentral) and why it misses the point.

Fernando — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 07:00:48 +0000

I was surfing my stream on Twitter. I stopped at @DrKCBugg . I usually check him out. Kyle had tweeted a link to PsychCentral blogs. Browsing it, I found a post, “OCD: Fact or Fiction“. Don’t be fooled by the title. It’s nothing extreme like “OCD does not exist, it’s [...]

When Cognitive Psychology Does Not Work

Fernando — Sat, 30 May 2009 23:30:27 +0000

A couple of months ago I wrote an article which included a mention to a client with anger management issues. Weeks ago, that client that had made notorious improvements was involved in an incident with one of his staff. After a not very significant event, he went berserk and stabbed him [...]