Personality type

People act in different ways. Some people are called extraverts. They look to the world around them. They like to be with people and things.

Other people are called introverts. They look inside themselves. They like to think about their own ideas. They use their own inner world for energy.

Some thinkers say people fit into groups. They call these groups types. One group is called Type A. These people may be very busy. They like to get things done fast.

Another group is called Type B. These people are more relaxed. They are easy-going. They do not rush as much.

Scientists use these ideas to learn about us. It helps them see how we act. It is fun to learn about how we are all different.

Do people fit into groups? Some thinkers say yes. They call these groups personality types. A type is a way to group people by how they act.

One famous thinker was Carl Jung. He thought people use different tools in their minds. He called these tools functions. There are four main functions. Two are for gathering facts. These are sensation and intuition. Sensation looks at real, physical details. Intuition looks at hidden possibilities. Two more are for making choices. These are thinking and feeling. Thinking uses logic to decide. Feeling looks at what is pleasant or harmonious.

Jung also spoke about two attitudes. These are extraversion and introversion. Extraverts look at the outer world for power. Introverts look at their inner world of ideas.

Many scientists today do not use types. They prefer trait models. Traits are not groups. Instead, they are parts of a scale. Most people fall in the middle of the scale. This is why many researchers think types are not the best way to study us.

Psychologists use different ways to group how people act. One way is called personality type. This idea says people fit into specific categories. For example, some think people are either introverts or extraverts. These are seen as two different kinds of people. Other thinkers prefer trait theories. Traits are seen as a scale or a line. On a trait scale, most people fall in the middle. This is a big debate in the study of the mind.

Carl Jung helped create many famous ideas about these types. He wrote a book called Psychological Types in 1921. He lived and worked in Zurich. Jung believed our minds use different tools called functions. He divided these into two pairs. One pair is for gathering information. These are called sensation and intuition. Sensation looks at real and concrete details. Intuition looks at hidden possibilities and patterns.

The second pair of functions is for making choices. Jung called these the rational or judging functions. They are thinking and feeling. Thinking uses logic and causes to make a choice. Feeling looks at what is pleasant or harmonious. Jung also spoke about two main attitudes. Extraversion means turning your energy toward the outer world. Introversion means turning your energy toward your inner world of ideas.

There are many different systems of types in history. Long ago, Galen used a system called the Four Temperaments. This was based on the ideas of Hippocrates. In 1958, someone published a system with five temperaments. Another famous idea is Type A and Type B personality. Type A people are often impatient and want to achieve much. Type B people are more relaxed and easy-going. One study suggested Type A people might face different risks than Type B.

Today, many researchers do not use type theories much. They find that personality scores usually fall on a bell curve. This means most people are in the middle of a scale. Because of this, many scientists prefer trait models. One common version is the five-factor model. A study by Furnham and Crump in 2005 compared two tools. They found a trait tool was better at predicting certain disorders. This shows how science keeps changing its mind.

In the field of psychology, personality type refers to the classification of individuals into specific categories. This concept suggests that people possess qualitative differences that place them into distinct groups. This is often contrasted with personality trait theories. Trait theories suggest that personality is made of quantitative differences. This means traits exist on a continuous dimension or scale. Most people fall somewhere in the middle of these scales. Because of this, the existence of personality types remains a highly controversial topic in science.

To understand how these systems work, one must look at the distinction between types and traits. Type theories attempt to group people into discrete, separate categories. For example, type theory might label someone as either an introvert or an extravert. In contrast, trait theory views these as parts of a spectrum. Psychometric researchers often criticize type theories because personality test scores usually follow a bell curve. This curve shows most people clustering in the center rather than at the extremes. Consequently, many modern researchers prefer trait models, such as the five-factor model, to explain human diversity.

One of the most influential figures in typology was Carl Jung. He published his work, *Psychologische Typen*, in Zurich in 1921. Jung developed his theory to reconcile the different views of Sigmund Freud and Alfred Adler. He believed that different psychological attitudes caused the disagreements between these thinkers. Jung proposed that the human psyche uses different functions to adapt to the world. He identified four basic functions of consciousness. These functions are divided into two pairs: the rational functions and the irrational functions.

The first pair consists of the irrational or perceiving functions. These are sensation and intuition, which are used to gather information. Sensation is the perception of immediate, visible relationships between a subject and an object. People who prefer sensation trust real, concrete, and actual details. The second function, intuition, is the perception of processes in the background. Intuition focuses on unconscious drives, motivations, or hypothetical possibilities. While sensation looks at what is, intuition looks at what could be.

The second pair consists of the rational or judging functions. These are thinking and feeling, which are used to make decisions. Thinking is the function of intellectual cognition and forming logical conclusions. Those who prefer thinking use a detached standpoint to measure what is logical or functional. Feeling is the function of subjective estimation and value-oriented thinking. People using the feeling function decide the worth of a situation based on what is pleasant or harmonious. Jung noted that these are different ways of being rational, not differences in ability.

Jung also introduced the concept of attitudes to describe how these functions are expressed. He used the terms extraversion and introversion. Extraversion, or being "outward-turning," means drawing energy toward objective, external data. These individuals seek to base judgments on the outer world of people and things. Introversion, or being "inward-turning," means drawing energy toward subjective, internal data. These individuals focus on the internal world of ideas and reflection. The degree of introversion or extraversion can vary for each of the four functions.

History shows many different attempts to classify human temperament. An early system was the Four Temperaments, used by Galen and based on Hippocrates. Later, a five-temperaments system was published in 1958. Another example is the Type A and Type B personality theory. Type A individuals are described as impatient and achievement-oriented. Type B individuals are described as easy-going and relaxed. While it was once suggested Type A people faced higher heart disease risks, empirical research has not supported this. However, one study suggested Type A people might be more likely to develop personality disorders.

Today, the study of personality is divided between psychology and psychiatry. Psychologists study normal temperament and personality through classification systems. Psychiatrists focus on personality disorders, which are disease-oriented. These disorders are classified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) by the American Psychiatric Association. Research continues to compare different methods of measurement. For instance, a 2005 study by Furnham and Crump compared a type instrument (MBTI) to a trait instrument (NEO PI). They found that the trait measure was a better predictor of personality disorders. This highlights the ongoing shift toward trait-based science.