What's Your Personality, Sensing or Intuition?

The definition of a dichotomy is a difference between two completely opposite ideas or things. Your personality type is made up of four preferences, chosen from the four dichotomies of extraversion or introversion, sensing or intuition, thinking or feeling, and judging or perceiving. You have a natural, in-born preference for one or the other options of the four dichotomies. So, let's explore these preferences, and while you're watching, see if you can figure out which one fits you best.

What do we mean when we say "sensing" and "intuition"? Here is a brief description. And by the way, in your four-letter personality type code, the letter for sensing is "S," but for intuition, we use "N" instead of "I" because "I" represents introversion in the first dichotomy. Sensing and intuition are two different ways to take in information. Sensors prefer to get their information through what they can observe with their five senses. So, they like to take in data that is factual, practical, and concrete, information from past experience or from authorities that relate to what is happening in the present. Intuitive people prefer to take in information through their sixth sense.

They focus more on connections between ideas, imaginative concepts that bring up new possibilities for the future. Sensors like facts and details that can be verified. They are usually pretty attentive to what is happening in the real world around them and have good memories for specifics of situations. Intuitives like the big picture. They want the context and theory behind information and are good at reading between the lines, looking for meanings and patterns in what they are taking in. When in a learning situation, sensors want real-world, practical examples that are tried and true, and they prefer a linear process to follow.

They also like feedback to know that they are following the steps correctly, usually according to an established procedure. They want to know, "What do I do and how should I do it?" Intuitives, on the other hand, often like to have metaphors and symbols to understand concepts. And rather than having a linear process to follow, they like to play around with the information, figuring it out for themselves. Remember that all of use both our sensing and our intuitive processes, but which one is most comfortable for you? Which do you tend to use first? Try taking a look at this painting for a few seconds and thinking about what you see. Did you focus on the details first? The objects, the colors, the tangible items that are clearly there? Or did you think about what was happening in the picture? Were you trying to figure out the meaning of the interaction between the two people?

If you homed in on the details first, you may be a sensor. But if you took your initial broad impression of the painting and used it as a jumping off point to look for what the artist was trying to convey, you may be an intuitive. So, are you a sensor? Let's recap. Sensors are detail oriented. They focus on practical realities of situations. They learn through past experience and real-world examples. And they master skills through repetition and feedback. Or are you an intuitive? Intuitives prefer seeing the big picture first. They use imagination and creativity to discover new ways of doing things. They learn through using metaphors and finding patterns. And they explore theories through making connections between seemingly disparate ideas. So, whether you are a sensor or an intuitive, you have unique strengths and blind spots. One is not better than the other. They are both valid ways of seeing the world.

These other preferences are extraversion or introversion, thinking or feeling, and judging or perceiving. And remember, the best way to discover your personality type is to take the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator with a certified practitioner to go over your results.