In the first post in this series, we looked at the stereotypes that cloud the perception of people with preferences for either Introversion or Extraversion when they are looking at, evaluating and relating to one another. This was followed by the second post in which we looked at those with preferences for either Sensing or Intuition, and the third in which we examined Thinking and Feeling. We have finally come to the fourth and last post in this series, dealing with the stereotypical ways in which those who prefer either Judging or Perceiving often view one another.
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Murphy, Elizabeth. The Chemistry of Personality: A Guide to Teacher - Student Interaction in the Classroom. Gainesville: Center for Applications of Psychological Type, 2008.
Judging from the traffic on my previous post dealing with the Murphy - Meisgeier Type Indicator for Children(R) assessment tool, there is a lot of interest throughout the world in using knowledge of personality type to improve the lives and educational outcomes of children. So I am happy to share another great book by school psychologist and former teacher Dr. Elizabeth Murphy who, together with Dr. Charles Meisgeier, is the co - author of the assessment which bears their names. Murphy, Elizabeth, Ed. D. The Developing Child: Using Jungian Type to Understand Children. Palo Alto: Consulting Psychologists Press, 1992. 2014 started off with an unexpected bang for me with my acceptance on January 2 into the new Murphy - Meisgeier Type Indicator for Children(R) (MMTIC (R)) Online Certification Program. The MMTIC is the children's version of the Myers - Briggs Type Indicator(R), in which I've been certified since 1998. It is used with children in grades 2 - 12, as well as their parents and teachers, to explore the approaches to learning which would be the most successful fit for their personality types. As someone who has worked in the educational assessment field for nearly 18 1/2 years, I have always been interested in the MMTIC, which has been used in various forms since 1987. Now for the first time (and thus my use of the word unexpected in my first sentence!) certification in the MMTIC is not only available but accessible and affordable! On February 1 I completed the first MMTIC training module, which consists entirely of Dr. Elizabeth Murphy's outstanding book, The Developing Child: Using Jungian Type to Understand Children. Dr. Murphy, who was born in 1949, is a licensed specialist in school psychology and one of the authors of the MMTIC, together with Dr. Charles Meisgeier. She is considered an expert in using psychological type with children. In The Developing Child Dr. Murphy defines all terms and makes them easy to understand for those new to psychological type concepts. The book has 13 chapters, including "Jungian Type and Child Development," "Psychological Type and Type Development," "Interacting with the World: Extraversion and Introversion," "Taking In the World: Sensing and Intuition," "Making Decisions: Thinking and Feeling," and "Observable Behaviors: Judging and Perceiving." Other chapters cover the crucial question of how knowing whether a child prefers Introversion or Extraversion, Sensing or Intuition, etc., can help adults to build positive relationships with him or her. There are also chapters on "Applications of Type to Parenting," Applications of Type to Teaching," and "Suggestions for Improving Relationships With Children of All Types." A "Resources and References" page at the end of the book lists several general books on psychological type as well as several about the use of psychological type with students. While reading this book I had many jaw - dropping WOW! moments! Even though the Myers - Briggs Type Indicator tool has been part of my life for about 25 years, I learned a LOT from this book. It is amazing how much improvement can be made at home and school when adults are willing to make simple changes to honor a child's personality preferences, no matter how different they are from the adults' own. Here is just a tiny sampling of Dr. Murphy's insights which I find breathtaking. She points out that Introverts can be mislabeled as stubborn when they don't answer questions immediately, when in fact they are thinking internally...Extraverts need to play before doing homework, and they learn better if allowed to discuss information after they learn it...Sensing and Intuitive children have different approaches to creativity and different reading styles and habits...Communication conflicts can result from the differences between Thinking and Feeling children...A Judging parent can experience much conflict over a Perceiving child's need to work and play at the same time...Judging and Perceiving children have different writing styles..., and many, many more, each with a corresponding suggestion. The book contains some really amazing success stories, too lengthy to include here, of improved relationships and test scores when children are allowed to be who they are. Unfortunately The Developing Child does contain some repetition. Occasionally while reading I had the feeling, usually correct, that I had just read the same thing a few pages ago. Also sadly, The Developing Child is out of print. However, I have identified a number of places where it is still available. Among these is the San Antonio Public Library, and I am sure that many other libraries carry it as well. It is also available for sale on www.amazon.com in both print and Kindle formats. The print edition is published by Nicholas Brealey Publishing and is the 168 page first edition from January 19, 1992. A used copy can be bought from Amazon for only $0.01! Be sure to read the four very helpful reviews of this book on Amazon. Also please be aware that there is another book titled The Developing Child which is by Helen L. Bee, so when searching online it is important to type in the entire title. Amazon's Kindle edition sells for $9.99. www.barnesandnoble.com sells The Developing Child as a NOOK book for $9.99 and their description of the book contains a nice biography of Dr. Murphy. They also have it in the paperback format starting at $1.99. Whether borrowed or bought, I feel strongly that all parents, teachers and others who have relationships with children (and wouldn't that be just about all of us?) should read this book, and will be extremely glad we did. I appreciate the Center for Applications of Psychological Type (CAPT) for making The Developing Child: Using Jungian Type to Understand Children a required part of our MMTIC Certification Program, and am thankful that Dr. Murphy has made it available to us. The Developing Child is too good and can bring about too much good in children's lives to sit on a shelf! Update: On 10/28/15 I discovered this book is back in print in a second, 2013 edition published by CAPT. Click here for ordering information, and ENJOY!!!! The morning I got the idea for this blog post, I was listening to one of my favorite radio programs on our local jazz station while getting ready to attend a Christmas event at a craft mall. I planned to attend a huge arts and crafts show, probably the biggest in town, later in the day. Christmas was on my mind, and John Lennon's hit "Imagine" was playing on the radio. Somehow everything came together and I started thinking about what I want for Christmas from the standpoint of my work with and passion for personality type. Even if you don't yet know your personality preferences, I hope that as you read my Christmas wish list you'll think about what kind of world would be most agreeable and comfortable for your personality. Relax and let yourself "Imagine"..... For Christmas I dream of seeing our society transformed from one in which ESTJ (Extravert, Sensing, Thinking, Judging) is the four - letter type code most favored and considered most successful, the one people should strive to be, to one in which people of all type codes, even the minority type codes such as mine (INFJ), would feel perfectly at home. No one would feel like he or she must change to fit in and avoid being considered weird, because the unique talents and contributions of all would be respected and appreciated. No one would ever be considered weird or inferior because of their healthy personality preferences. For Christmas I want Santa to show me more and more people looking beyond tangible results of self - improvement, such as the immediate rewards of developing a skill, losing weight, earning more money, etc. It would be a wonderful surprise to be able to attend a huge craft show and find among the hundreds of booths at least one offering information on the MBTI(R) personality assessment. It would be like spotting a mound of diamonds to see hundreds of people flocking to that booth, eager to learn about something which could give them riches far beyond the immediate benefits provided by most goods and services showcased at such craft fairs. I'd rather see them realize the value of the insights they could gain from taking the MBTI tool than find 100 presents under my tree! The insights they could gain about their own type preferences and those of their loved ones might not put more food on their tables, but nonetheless have a tremendous amount to offer. The changes resulting from learning about personality type might not be immediately visible, but then again they just might be! The time invested in learning to use this tool for understanding ourselves and others would certainly never be wasted. For Christmas I want San Antonio, TX, where I live, to have an active, organized type community. A type community is a network of people ranging from beginners to professionals interested in the MBTI personality assessment, who meet occasionally for discussion, training, and to share ideas, etc. Online MBTI discussion groups such as those on Facebook and LinkedIn are great, but can't take the place of friends to trade ideas with face - to - face. I'd like to wake up on Christmas morning 2013 to see more people understanding that the MBTI tool is not a test since everything it measures is good and healthy, and that it is worth more than any knockoff. Near the top of my wish list is my desire not to have to spend anymore time putting out the fires of misinformation about it on the Internet, because the letters MBTI would be a household acronym known and understood by all. I also hope to see Santa and his elves nudging more people toward becoming MBTI certified practitioners. As Christmas approaches I imagine a world where schools and colleges will take the personality preferences and learning styles of their students into account, and use them to the students' advantage. For example, in this world students with a preference for extraversion would be allowed to learn mostly in groups and those with a preference for introversion would be allowed to learn mostly independently, instead of being forced to learn in ways which drain them of energy, make them miserable, and limit their chances for academic success. As someone who is employed in the field of educational assessments, I dream of the improvement we will see in test results as more and more students will be allowed to learn in ways which harness the strengths of their personality preferences. A special gift I hope to see Santa pull out of his pack this Christmas is that of fewer people asking what four - letter type code they should seek in a spouse. This question would not be necessary because more people would understand that the key to a successful marriage is their own ability and willingness to respect the style and needs of another person's type code, rather than what that person's type code actually is. Many couples have shown that any two types can have a happy, successful marriage. Isabel Briggs Myers herself, who had preferences for INFP, was happily married to Chief, who had preferences for ISTJ, from 1918 until her death in 1980! Since I am a stamp collector, another treasure I hope to find under my tree someday is the much - deserved news that Isabel Briggs Myers would be honored on a postage stamp. But by far the best gift of all would be to see her vision of world peace fulfilled through the teaching we find in the MBTI tool that healthy differences in personality preferences are just that - healthy! How can our different approaches to energizing ourselves, taking in information, making decisions and orienting ourselves to the outside world possibly be worth fighting over? That's my Christmas 2013 wish list so far. How does it compare with yours?? Please take a moment to tell us what's on your list! MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE! |
Gayle Weinraub is a resident of San Antonio, Texas who has been passionate about
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