# Cognitive Function Questionnaire Brainstorm



## Spades (Aug 31, 2011)

It has come to my attention that while the current "Type Me Form" is reasonable for determining some overall personality patterns, it doesn't do a great job of fishing out the Cognitive Functions. I'm working together with @Flatlander to create a new Questionnaire which will hopefully further help those looking to find their Type. This won't replace the old one, it will simply be an alternate choice or supplement.

*I'd like the questionnaire to have 10 questions max, and of high quality. Not too obvious but not too vague.*

This thread is for the purpose of brainstorming such questions, so that we can build a *more effective*, more accurate, and easier to complete survey.

*Please Thank posts which contain useful questions, and please fine tune and improve the wording of any question as you see fit.*


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## Spades (Aug 31, 2011)

Some *rough* brainstorming ideas:

1. What is your (relationship with) / (interpretation of) your: a) Past, b) Present, c) Future?

2. How do you decide what to base your beliefs on / What are the bases of evidence?

3. What a) Internal, b) External, activities/thoughts most energize you?

4. What a) Internal, b) External, activities/thoughts most drain you?

5. What are your current favourite hobbies? What is your idea of "fun"? Optional: Choose one and explain why you enjoy it.

6. When you are working, what type of environment is ideal? What type of project is ideal?

7. Click on "Random Photo" in Flickr (_do they still have this?_). Choose the first photo that comes up, post it, and describe what you see.

8. What are some of your most important values? How did you come about determining this?


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## Agent Blackout (Mar 1, 2012)

1. What is your (relationship with) / (interpretation of) your: a) Past, b) Present, c) Future?

2. How do you decide what to base your beliefs on? What are the bases of evidence?

3. What a) Internal, b) External, activities/thoughts most energize you?

4. What a) Internal, b) External, activities/thoughts most drain you?

5. What are your current favourite hobbies? What is your idea of "fun"? Optional: Choose one and explain why you enjoy it.

6. When you are working, what type of environments are ideal? What type of projects are ideal?

7. Click on "Random Photo" in Flickr (_do they still have this?_). Choose the first photo that comes up, post it, and describe what you see.

8. What are some of your most important values? How did you come about determining this?

====================

9. Do you tend to learn things as you go, or do you learn better from reviewing past experiences?

10. When trying to focus, is it easier for you to "get lost in action" or to "get lost in thought"? Also, how easy is it for you to get lost in either? (I feel this could be worded better. Feel free to rewrite this one.)

It'd be best to find a way to blend these two questions together, as they focus on the senses...


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## Ayia (Feb 27, 2012)

the problem with some of the new questions so far is that they are a bit like the tests. if you have read a bit about the functions, you know what you should answer to be a certain type. I prefer questions where you don't know which cognitive functions they relate to.


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## Spades (Aug 31, 2011)

Agent Blackout said:


> 10. When trying to focus, is it easier for you to "get lost in action" or to "get lost in thought"? Also, how easy is it for you to get lost in either? (I feel this could be worded better. Feel free to rewrite this one.)
> 
> It'd be best to find a way to blend these two questions together, as they focus on the senses...


Thanks for the input! The problem I see here is that getting lost in thought is a universal human quality. I don't think it's more applicable to particular types. Getting lost in action can apply to anyone too, though not everyone realizes it.



Runa said:


> the problem with some of the new questions so far is that they are a bit like the tests. if you have read a bit about the functions, you know what you should answer to be a certain type. I prefer questions where you don't know which cognitive functions they relate to.


Well that's the hard part of it. If the questions are too obvious, people can easily manipulate/bias their answers. However, if the questions are too vague, the answers might not be of any help at all (the issue with some of the questions in the first one). Furthermore, the ones I suggested were preliminary and by no means the proposed final ones. I expect others to contribute.


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## Kito (Jan 6, 2012)

When are you at your happiest, and why?

In a new situation, what is your very first thought or action?

What do you feel is the most prominent part of your personality?


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## Ayia (Feb 27, 2012)

Spades said:


> Well that's the hard part of it. If the questions are too obvious, people can easily manipulate/bias their answers. However, if the questions are too vague, the answers might not be of any help at all (the issue with some of the questions in the first one). Furthermore, the ones I suggested were preliminary and by no means the proposed final ones. I expect others to contribute.


I know what you mean. but you could see if someone referred more to the past or present, how many details they described and how much they mentioned others (etc) in their replies. and that's stuff people often do unconsciously. so I hope you keep a few of the "describe a time when..." questions


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## Agent Blackout (Mar 1, 2012)

@_Spades_ 
true, 10's too vague

"Which are you more keen on keeping organized, your mind or your environment?"
feel free to rephrase


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## LiquidLight (Oct 14, 2011)

Yea the big thing is really not so much asking people what they are what they like to do etc, which is the problem with the current questionnaire but why. Why is the biggest question because that gets down beneath the surface (and many people may not even be able to give a good answer as to why which also indicates certain preferences). 

Also I think Yukawa's AP questionnaire over at PerN has some great questions even if they are more AP focused and because he's attempting to ascertain different things other than MBTI type a lot of the questions are just different ways of asking the same thing, but the approach I think is a good one.



> • If your outward behavior and internal mindset are different in different settings, do you have any specific reasons as to why you act one way in one setting and another in another setting?
> 
> • What do you repress about your outward behavior or internal thought process when around others?
> 
> ...


Obviously many of his questions need to be re-worded but I think the basic ideas behind them are pretty sound and force people to do more than write simple four word sentences like "I don't feel inferior."


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## KokuroNya (Mar 19, 2012)

I love the picture idea! I tried it. It's fun!


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## Spades (Aug 31, 2011)

Kitzara said:


> When are you at your happiest, and why?
> 
> In a new situation, what is your very first thought or action?
> 
> What do you feel is the most prominent part of your personality?


These are good! Thanks!

The first may or may not be informative depending on what they say.

The second, I was thinking of something like this. I think it might be better to give specific scenarios, such as walking into a room full of people, etc.

The third, perhaps re-worded to "What stands out about your personality, a) To you, b) To others?"



LiquidLight said:


> Yea the big thing is really not so much asking people what they are *what* they like to do etc, which is the problem with the current questionnaire but *why*. Why is the biggest question because that gets down beneath the surface (and many people may not even be able to give a good answer as to why which also indicates certain preferences).
> 
> Also I think Yukawa's AP questionnaire over at PerN has some great questions even if they are more AP focused and because he's attempting to ascertain different things other than MBTI type a lot of the questions are just different ways of asking the same thing, but the approach I think is a good one.
> 
> Obviously many of his questions need to be re-worded but I think the basic ideas behind them are pretty sound and force people to do more than write simple four word sentences like "I don't feel inferior."


I did consider this. Though there is a certain aspect of impatience and frustration when filling out a really long survey asking a lot of "why"s. I put a lot of "why"s in the Enneagram survey, because I felt it was much more relevant to Enneagram than MBTI. The functions describe the *how*, and so it's kind of a hit and miss approach trying to ask questions that get at that. I'll take this into consideration though.

Thanks for these questions. I'll take a look at them and see how we can modify them.



KokuroNya said:


> I love the picture idea! I tried it. It's fun!


Excellent! Maybe I'll incorporate more activity-based questions like this! Even the way in which people approach doing them (or not doing them!) could help indicate type.

By the way, how *do* you get a random photo? I got bored trying to find it.


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## Jabberbroccoli (Mar 19, 2011)

Wanted to try picture thing.


climbing | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Green nike swish
Short socks
Dirty bottom (running before?)
Parkour on pipe/top of car perhaps?
Background Autumn, somewhere farther north
Shoelaces knotted, not tied
Shoe's probably about to fall off.


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## Jewl (Feb 28, 2012)

I have one suggestion for a certain question _not_ to ask... There is a question on the current questionnaire that asks how best you learn. It always bugs me. I can tell (I think) what it is trying to get it. It is under the impression that if you learn best hands on you are more likely to be a Sensor. That always bugged me. Don't ask a question that touches on learning styles. O_O They don't tell you anything having to do with cognitive functions or personality type. Just thought I'd throw that out there. 



> • When dancing, are you more likely to dance in steps that have been pre-determined? For example, you're at a club and you get on the dance floor and do the C-Walk or Melbourne Shuffle. You have an idea of what the different styles or types of dance there are and you generally prefer to dance in these manner. Or, do you prefer to just hit the dance floor and groove in ways that just seems right without really thinking about it?
> 
> (this is actually a good question for whether people are oriented more toward Thinking than Feeling and possibly Sensation over Intuition depending on the answer. Perhaps you can come up with a variation on this question).


^ Although the above is interesting, I wonder if it would actually work.  I always find it a lot easier to dance pre-determined steps, for instance, although I have no idea what that says about me other than I don't like to improv in front of a bunch of people. So there could be a bit of a flaw there.

I wonder if there is a question that would shed light on Intuition versus Sensing in a hard-to-see way. I know lots of people say that the big difference is simply you either see underlying messages/what's not seen or you don't. Which is not true. But I don't know what question to ask that would actually get down to the real difference, which is not that, but how you actually see it. 

I know I'm not listing questions, but I wanted to contribute ideas and thoughts. If I think of any questions, I shall let you know. ^^


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## LiquidLight (Oct 14, 2011)

> I wonder if there is a question that would shed light on Intuition versus Sensing in a hard-to-see way.


Do you prefer to follow your gut-instincts or do you trust what you see with your own eyes?


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## Jewl (Feb 28, 2012)

LiquidLight said:


> Do you prefer to follow your gut-instincts or do you trust what you see with your own eyes?


Extremely obvious, but yeah, that works. XD The odd thing is, that is also a hard question to answer. O___O Maybe a rephrase... Perhaps "Do you trust possibilities or what is clearly in front of you?" Erm, maybe not quite that. The questions are very similar. I just know that a lot of people will see "gut-instinct" and know it's getting at Intuition. For somebody who has a bias, they'll see through that. Also, it's hard for me to even see my own Ne and the things I act as or see as "gut instinct" even though I guess it could be described as that.

EDIT: I do think a really helpful question would be to give a specific scenario and ask the person their initial thoughts, reaction, etc, as has already been mentioned. I remember answering a question in such a way, and it was probably the most helpful answer I gave. XD


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## LiquidLight (Oct 14, 2011)

Yea I think many people, especially Sensation types have a tendency to describe their lives in the form of happenings. When you read their threads its a list of "when I was three this happened, and when I was ten I did this," and so on. Its like their life is a series of things that have happened to them (really typical of Si-doms I notice - not T/F/N-types do this as commonly). For me this is hard because I don't really look at my life this way so asking me to describe an experience singularly often is tough, I'd much more describe myself or my thoughts or ideas or philosophies rather than talk about what I've been through.


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## Spades (Aug 31, 2011)

Julia Bell said:


> Extremely obvious, but yeah, that works. XD The odd thing is, that is also a hard question to answer. O___O


You would think so, but a lot of so-called "NT"s would claim "Of course I want to see it for myself to believe it. Gut feelings are nonsense". Sensation much?

Yes, I think we should use "feelings" as opposed to "instincts" to really trip people up XP


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## LiquidLight (Oct 14, 2011)

Yea I sometimes try to look for other words like insights or notions. Because the problem with Feelings is that someone could literally have a gut-feeling (as in stomach ache) and this make them not want to do something (Se-doms are sort of notorious for giving circumstantial things more meaning than they should have like saying "the tequila made me do it!") It's tough because all these words are often so interchangeable in everyday speech. Sometimes intuitive people get called intelligent or thoughtful and thoughtful people get called insightful. Sensation and Feeling are always mixed up (and intuition gets meshed in here as well). People say "I have a good sense of how things work" when they mean Intuition, or "I had a bad feeling" when they also mean intuition. And of course there are all the different interpretations of thinking (smart, intelligent, thoughtful, brainy, resourceful, categorical, high-IQ, practical, etc.)


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## Jewl (Feb 28, 2012)

I guess we could ask people to describe what their so-called "gut instinct" or "good sense" is, really. How it works. But that's really specific and people would probably react with a big WHUT? I wonder if that can even be clarified. 

Arg. So frustrating. XD


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## counterintuitive (Apr 8, 2011)

Yeah, the "gut feelings" thing is a problem, and I think saying "gut instincts" could get confused with Se, which is often described as following one's instincts in the moment. I have been using the words "impressions" and "hunches" instead. I'm not sure those words hold the same meaning outside of my head though lol

Also, the "gut feeling" is not literally a sensation in the gut...right? It's more of a mental thing?


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## Kito (Jan 6, 2012)

I wanna play!


LiquidLight said:


> You know I was thinking it might be interesting to try to differentiate Si vs Se by asking 'describe this picture.'


My first thought was that it feels kind of happy and fresh because of the green walls and the sunlight on the bed. Then I noticed the open window, there's another house across the street outside the window... it has some sort of air vent on the wall and a window underneath. The other window's closed. The bed doesn't have any sheets and there's some sort of weird object on it, I can't figure out what it is. I think it's a basket. The window frames look dirty and the paint seems to be peeling off them. There's a plug socket at the end of the bed. All these details give me the idea that it's probably a vacant house or a spare room. Ooh, there's also a tree behind the house outside the window.


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## Agent Blackout (Mar 1, 2012)

About the picture...

At first glance (so all-at-once):

it's a room in the top floor of a building (based on shape of roof and height looking out window) 
(looking out window) there are buildings next to the one in the photo, so it's in a neighborhood. 
there's a bed with something on it. bed is on ground with no frame or covers and there's no furniture, so it doesn't seem occupied 
one open window, one closed window 

After I kept looking at it for about a minute:


Sky color --> Approximate time of day 
Window + light coming in hitting the bed --> I could deduce direction/angle of sun in sky (also can make time of day a little more accurate) and hence possible compass directions photographer could be facing 
Approximate height of camera above ground (and perhaps height of photographer) 
There at least four power outlets. Two on the bottom left edge of room, one on the top left of pic of room, and one directly next to the bed under the open window (barely in sight) 
The number of outlets, shape of roof, and high probability of being the top floor of a building made me wanna think it's an attic (?) 
The condition of the window paint and condition of the rest of the room suggests the room's been redone/touched up (?) 
 @_Kitzara_ I didn't notice _half_ the details you mentioned before 20 seconds... LMAO


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## Kito (Jan 6, 2012)

@Agent Blackout Nor did I realise half of the stuff you noticed after about a minute, heh. It took me until after I'd posted and gone back to look at the picture again to realise that the light was coming through the closed window, and I didn't consider the photographer at all.


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## Spades (Aug 31, 2011)

*Revision 1.0*

1. Click on this link: Flickr: Explore! Look at the random photo for 30 seconds. Copy and paste it here, and write about your impression of it.

2. You are with a group of people in a car, heading to a different town to see your favourite band/artist/musician. Suddenly, the car breaks down for an unknown reason in the middle of nowhere. What are your initial thoughts and outward reactions?

3. You somehow make it to the concert. The driver wants to go to the afterparty that was just announced. They assure you they won't drink so they can drive back later. How do you feel about this party, and what do you do?

4. On the drive back, a friend makes a claim that clashes with your current beliefs. What is your inward reaction? What do you outwardly say?

5. What would you do if you actually saw/experienced something that clashes with your previous beliefs, experiences, and habits?

6. What are some of your most important values? How did you come about determining them?

7. a) What about your personality most distinguishes you from everyone else? b) If you could change one thing about you personality, what would it be? Why?

8. How do you treat hunches or gut feelings? When are they most often triggered?

9. a) What activities energize you most? b) What activities drain you most? Why?

10. What do you repress about your outward behavior or internal thought process when around others? Why?


*Comments/suggestions/corrections/additions/omissions requested.*


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## MilkyWay132 (Jul 15, 2010)

LiquidLight said:


> You know I was thinking it might be interesting to try to differentiate Si vs Se by asking 'describe this picture.'
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hmm..yeah, the room is green. It has windows with white edges. The matress looks really old. The room is empty and it looks as if it has been there for years. It gives off a gloomy mood, I suppose. It kind of looks dull, and needs more color. More color would make it look more vivid. There's another house outside the window. The other house looks so hard that it is as if it's made of concrete. I'm sure that if you were to punch that house, you would break your wrist. 

The roof on the other house seems to be a brick-red, similar to the color of public schools. The edges of the roof also have slits. There's also this window on the other house---maybe that leads to a certain type of room, a basement, garage, attic, etc. Again, chances are that people have left that house because the lights seem to off. Furthermore, the paint on those windows are chipped. That further supports my belief that the house is really old. It could use a re-painting. Also, the reason why the paint is so chipped might not be because it's old, but because cats or something else scratched it up badly. There's also an object on the bed; I can't tell what it is. 

I have another theory as to why the lights are off; maybe the lights are over-charged, or there was a poweroutage. It could explain why the windows are open like that. But maybe the windows were also opened because it was really hot and the people wanted to let some fresh air in. Maybe the windows are opened because they were left open. Perhaps it's because without the windows open, the room looks dark and depressing and the open windows make it look more cheerful. Or, it could simply be because it's daytime and the sun is out. If it were nightime or raining, wouldn't that be less likely? Also, I just thought of something: bugs. Because the windows are open, insects might come in through the windows. Particuliarly mosquitos. It looks like in this picture it's either Summer or Springtime, so the critters might just peek in. But if no one is really living there, would that really be a concern?

P.S: The attached thumbnail is a edited version of the picture above.


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## marzipan01 (Jun 6, 2010)

@Spades, my questions are: 

1. When you're in the company of friends and involved in a stimulating activity that you enjoy, do you find yourself becoming steadily tired as the night goes on or do you find yourself becoming steadily energized? 

2. When a friend comes to you with a problem do you find yourself trying to help him/her solve the problem or do you prefer to focus on offering them emotional support? 

3. Give an example of a time when you had to make a tough decision and how you finally came to the conclusion.


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## marzipan01 (Jun 6, 2010)

LiquidLight said:


> You know I was thinking it might be interesting to try to differentiate Si vs Se by asking 'describe this picture.'
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Is there a body in that mattress? Or, erm, what is that? It looks like a person's back. 
I might not know what mattresses are made of but I'm instantly reminded of a film I saw once. I think it was called Bellhop. The kids found a body in the mattress in that movie or somewhere in the bed at least. hahaha.

Description of the room: 

The room is green--bright, acid green. The window on the facing wall is open and a cool breeze streams in. Soft light trickles in illuminating a spotlight over the gaping hole slashed into the floral print mattress. 

Either they were stashing something or looking for something.


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## Spades (Aug 31, 2011)

No suggestions for Revision 1.0? Hmm...


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## JungyesMBTIno (Jul 22, 2011)

LiquidLight said:


> Depends on who you ask. I've met a number of people say they literally felt something (I suppose why its called a gut-feeling). People might say "my toes curled," or "I got itchy." A lot of this is sort of sensation types propensity to give meaning to incidences and circumstances that they can't explain tangibly. I've noticed a lot of Introverted Sensation types apply some whacky intuitive meaning to some experience like "bad things happen when I get dizzy," or "waking up on the wrong side of the bed" (as if this really made a difference -- this is the kinda superstitious stuff that Sensation types are sort of known for and I think why our wording has to be careful. IDK. This might be one of those where describing an incident and having the person talk about how they would deal with it (alluding to intuition or sensation) might help.


Oh wow, I had this ISFJ friend in 10th grade who did exactly this kind of stuff! Great points to bring to the table overall, btw.


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## firedell (Aug 5, 2009)

Do you like cheese? 

I just wanted to put some input in, but I agree there needs to be a better questionnaire. Especially one when you cannot manipulate to the answer to a certain type preference.


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## Ember (Feb 11, 2012)

I am not an expert but as @firedell mentioned, it would be better if the questions are such that one's bias doesn't intervene with their answers. For example, if I think I am an NT in my mind, I would tend to use more of rational-related technical terms to seem more self-assured subconsciously. I hope that makes sense.


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## Jewl (Feb 28, 2012)

Spades said:


> *Revision 1.0*
> 
> 1. Click on this link: Flickr: Explore! Look at the random photo for 30 seconds. Copy and paste it here, and write about your impression of it.
> 
> ...


All I have to say is that the thing we ought to do now is... test it. XD I know that sounds odd. The reason I have no revisions in mind is because I want to see how people would answer it, and then better fine tune it. 

I also want to add that lots of people are saying we can't make things obvious so peoples' bias won't get in the way... However, we're not going to be able to get rid of somebody's bias, and it will show up in the answers no matter how un-obvious the questions are. There's no point in trying. I think the questions at this point are just good enough that someone with a bias won't be able to completely see what the questions are getting at. The important thing is that the questions make it so that we can type people with more accuracy.  Just thought I'd throw that thought in there.


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## emerald sea (Jun 4, 2011)

@Spades: 

i like when your brain storms. the thunder and lightning are powerful! 

storm more often xD


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## Spades (Aug 31, 2011)

*Revision 1.1*

1. Click on this link: Flickr: Explore! Look at the random photo for about 30 seconds. Copy and paste it here, and write about your impression of it.

2. You are with a group of people in a car, heading to a different town to see your favourite band/artist/musician. Suddenly, the car breaks down for an unknown reason in the middle of nowhere. What are your initial thoughts? What are your outward reactions?

3. You somehow make it to the concert. The driver wants to go to the afterparty that was announced (and assure you they won't drink so they can drive back later). How do you feel about this party? What do you do?

4. On the drive back, your friends are talking. A friend makes a claim that clashes with your current beliefs. What is your inward reaction? What do you outwardly say?

5. What would you do if you actually saw/experienced something that clashes with your previous beliefs, experiences, and habits (for example, seeing a ghost if you don't believe in them)? **Not sure whether giving an example is a good idea, people might end up using it.

6. What are some of your most important values? How did you come about determining them? How can they change?

7. a) What about your personality most distinguishes you from everyone else? b) If you could change one thing about you personality, what would it be? Why?

8. How do you treat hunches or gut feelings? In what situations are they most often triggered? **This is probably good for seeing if they are dom/aux (normal situations) or tert/inf (stressful situations).

9. a) What activities energize you most? b) What activities drain you most? Why?

10. What do you repress about your outward behavior or internal thought process when around others? Why?


*If there are no comments/suggestions/corrections/additions/omissions, I am posting this as a new thread and testing it.*


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## Jewl (Feb 28, 2012)

@Spades, the only thing I have to say is take out the example on number five. I think it might be better in this case to leave it more open.


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## Ember (Feb 11, 2012)

What about adding an optional "Other info." 11th 'question' where the person specifies their age, sex, and other stuff that might help in analyzing the answers.


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## Spades (Aug 31, 2011)

Skream said:


> What about adding an optional "Other info." 11th 'question' where the person specifies their age, sex, and other stuff that might help in analyzing the answers.


Shit, that's an excellent point! I'll contact a mod to see if they can add this.


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## Ember (Feb 11, 2012)

Spades said:


> Shit, that's an excellent point! I'll contact a mod to see if they can add this.


Yeah, because I realized someone who is 18 might answer a question differently from those who are 30-something. And other parameters that I can't really think of, right now.


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## Spades (Aug 31, 2011)

Skream said:


> Yeah, because I realized someone who is 18 might answer a question differently from those who are 30-something. And other parameters that I can't really think of, right now.


Such as mental illness, stressful time, or not sleeping for 24 hours


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## Ember (Feb 11, 2012)

Spades said:


> Such as mental illness, stressful time, or not sleeping for 24 hours


LOL. That, too. 


:ninja:


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## KokuroNya (Mar 19, 2012)

I haven't been keeping up on this thread, so sorry if this post is not well-timed. 

I've taken to asking these two questions...

*Question #1 *Choose one (only one!!)
a. I for sure use* much* more iNtuition than Sensing.
b. I for sure use *much *more Sensing than iNtuition.
c. I for sure use *much *more Thinking than Feeling.
d. I for sure use *much *more Feeling than Thinking.

*Question #2 *Choose one (only one!!)
a. I relate to iNtuition and Sensing almost equally.
b. I relate to Thinking and Feeling almost equally.


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