Re: diabetes as an expert field

A little off base, but has anyone ever taken the Myers Briggs? There is a free version which is not, of course, the exact replication of the Myers Briggs, but it is interesting. I came up as an INFP. Anyone else ever taken this one? I'll look up a version that is pretty thorough, etc.

I would say we're on the right track with the direction of this thread, as I truly believe that there are personality characteristics which would be beneficial to good diabetes management and there are some which might be detrimental. To me, it only makes sense.  It is, of course, important to restate and re-emphasize that no "value judgements" should be attached to the presence or absence of any of these personality traits.  Likewise, as intelligent and motivated human beings, fortunately we are in the position to change ourselves and modify our behavior..., that is, if we are able to, and make the effort to, identify the "problems."  And, that's exactly what all these personality tests were designed to accomplish.

it's a very well respected test.  Where did you find the facimile of this test.  It would be interesting to take it

Here's the link to the test.  You can copy paste the results if you want.
Just click on it.  (You don't have to answer the optional questions at the end.)

Big 5 Test

Crochet Nut-

I've taken the Myers-Briggs test, also. According to that one, I'm an INTJ. I will now go take the one Paul recommended to see how it compares. (=

                                   Crochet nut               Paul                Gina                Sarah 

Openness                             93                      93                   70                    30
Conscientiousness                 41                      64                   83                       69
Extroversion                         12                      37                   59                4
Agreeableness                      57                      79                   74                      50   
Neuroticism                         80                       93                   60                       43

Apparently I'm a hermit. (=

I am definitely no extrovert- I'm very introverted. But I would say that I'm a bit more extroverted than that says. We all do have the same shape of curve, though. Mine is just a bit more curvy.

Ah...I see I am still the victor on lack of conscientiousness. My students don't think so, though...although organization is aligned with conscientiousness...and I am chaotic...very. We like to call them avalanches...small episodes of spontaneous rearrangement of matter within the confines of the apartment, not due to cat activity or dog shenanigans.

Facebook has a pretty accurate Myers Briggs version. It goes question by question and gave me INFP...there were a few other people who took it who got the same ranking as they had received on the original Myers Briggs, so I think that it may be fairly good, although there is no evidence other than anecdotal, which is, unfortunately, weak at best ;-).

...not to deviate from the discussion at hand...

How do you access the tet on facebllk

I think you can access the test on facebook if you have an account. I also think it is labeled as the Myers Briggs...it might be under an application search...you could try personality tests...but then you may have to sift through multiples of hundreds of tests...

I also think that there may be a page dedicated to the quiz...so if you type in Myers Briggs or jungian tests, you might find it. I hope this helps.

I came up as an INFP too on the Myers-Briggs test which is on FaceBook.

INFP
Idealistic, loyal to their values and to people who are important to them. Want an external life that is congruent with their values. Curious, quick to see possibilities, can be catalysts for implementing ideas. Seek to understand people and to help them fulfil their potential. Adaptable, flexible, and accepting unless a value is threatened.

The Myers-Briggs test I took was also on Facebook. Here's my result.

INTJ

You have an original mind and a great drive for implementing your ideas and achieving your goals. You quickly see patterns in external events and develop long-range explanatory perspectives. When committed, you organize a job and carry it through. You are skeptical and independent, have high standards of competence and performance - both for yourself and others.

Paul G. and Sarah...

it's interesting...we all have I and N...do I see the beginning of a pattern? What's fun about this inventory is that you can go around the net and investigate characteristics of your temperament.

For instance, INFP's, supposedly, are mild-mannered...until their internal values systems are violated...and then they are, "uncharacteristically harsh." I can relate to that. It's not something I like or value about myself. I violate my internal value system when my internal value system is violated. I always feel awful later. Although I like my temperament.

Sarah, your temperament looks like a neat one, too. Seeing that one of your temperament strengths is far-seeing awareness of patterns, I'd be curious to see what patterns you spot in the data that is evidently accumulating on T1's on this post. I wonder how many of us are introverted vs. extroverted. Maybe some of this has to do with energy conservation and the necessity of being highly cognizant to our own fluctuations. I think this was what Eric C. was referring to. I might be wrong, however. 

When I think of a situation where I would be able to clearly express the best characteristics in terms of thought patterns, I think of what I would tell a newly-diagnosed T1. Those would be the characteristics I probably think ideal, if that makes sense.

Crochet Nut-

I do like my temperment, except that the fact that I have very high standards of myself and others (which is very true, especially for myself) can sometimes be aggravating. I guess it's also good, though. That part of my personality must be what makes me a good writer and editor.

As far as patterns go, here is what I've detected. I've noticed that everyone who has posted results from personality tests are more introverted than extroverted, except for Gina, who falls pretty much in the middle, with a little more extroversion. Most of us seem to be fairly conscientious, also. You fall pretty much in the middle of that category, but I suspect that means that you are conscientious with certain things.

I think the reason for this is because we, obviously, have to be very careful and pay attention to more things- BS, carbs, activity, ect- because we have T1, which also causes us to be more conscientious about other things. Also, I think the fact that we tend to be more introverted is possibly due to the fact that most of us were diagnosed at a young age, which caused us to have to mature faster than other kids our age, which resulted in us probably being more independent. Gina, though, was diagnosed at an older age, so she had been through all of those 'maturing stages' before she was diagnosed. That may be why she is more extroverted than you, Paul, and I.

These are my thoughts so far. Do you agree on any of this? Do you notice anything else?

Sarah,

Your post brought to mind something I had read in the book 'Finding Flow,' by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi recently.  In this book the author states that the personaly trait of "introversion vs. extroversion" is the only trait which DOES NOT (and CAN NOT) change throughout a person's lifetime.  This doesn't mean that any of us is completely introverted or completely introverted, indeed, most of us have some degree of each, but it's this degree -- our own particular balance -- which OES NOT change.  The author is a researcher at the University of Chicago and "discovered" this by following a group of individuals throughout their lifetimes.  (Incidentally, the book is definitely worth reading.)