What are Personality Preferences?

IDMyPlan programs identify and build on the foundation of students knowing their basic personality preferences.  These personality preferences are part of our DNA and can be considered a genetic imprint. 

It is important to know preferences because they are clues to our uniqueness and can lead us in identifying our strengths.  When we work more within our preferences, our chances of being motivated and energized increase dramatically.

The answers to the following four questions are considered dichotomies and represent the basic personality preferences. It is rare for a person to be completely one sided in a preference but individuals MORE OFTEN prefer one over the other. 

1. Where do you like to focus your attention? You will more often prefer to focus either on people and things or focus on concepts and impressions.
2. How do you like to process information? You will more often prefer to gather and process information from either a “here and now, present opportunity” perspective or from a “big picture, future possibility” perspective.
3. How do you like to make decisions? You will more often prefer to make decisions by first asking yourself either which alternative would be logical and rational, or by asking yourself how it would impact others and their emotions.
4. How do you like to approach the outside world? You will more often prefer either to plan and organize or prefer to stay flexible and spontaneous.

Carl Jung started the original research in this area identifying the first 3 dichotomies and Isabel Myers developed the 4^th. Later, Isabel Myers and Katherine Briggs created the most popular assessment instrument for identifying preferences, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator ®.