Understanding Your Results
A profile of your cognitive development is presented below, based on how you have described yourself. A 4-letter personality type code and temperament are also presented for your convenience if you are familiar with those frameworks. Most people find their results match their 4-letter personality type code and temperament. That is, we tend to develop what we prefer and vice versa. As you reflect on your cognitive profile, keep in mind that sometimes we develop a cognitive process to meet the demands of our environment or use a process well in one area of our lives but not others.
The Eight Processes
Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung identified four mental functions — today known as cognitive processes. We focus our attention and gather information using Sensing (S) and iNtuiting (N), and we organize our experiences and make decisions using Thinking (T) and Feeling (F). Jung described how each of these four processes plays out in a person's "internal world" (I) of thoughts, feelings, memories and imagination; and in the "external world" (E) of actions, people, tools and organizations. Thus, 8 cognitive processes (Se, Si, Ne, Ni, Te, Ti, Fe, Fi).
Basic and Developed Use
Each cognitive process can be engaged in a basic, unsophisticated way reflecting our natural human capabilities. Almost everyone can engage each process in some basic way. Beyond this, you will engage some cognitive processes in a more sophisticated, developed way. This is usually the result of innate preference plus lifelong growth and practice, which equals development.
Perceiving—how we focus our attention and gather informationCognitive Process Basic (Passive) Use Developed (Active) Use extraverted Sensing (Se) Notice sensory data in the environment. Trust your instincts and take action relevant to the moment and current context. introverted Sensing (Si) Recall tangible data and experiences. Stabilize a situation by comparing it to what is expected, known and reliable. extraverted Intuiting (Ne) Notice abstract patterns as they emerge. Shift a situation's dynamics and explore imaginative potential possibilities. introverted Intuiting (Ni) Receive "ah-ha" insights and realizations. Persue a greater level of awareness to transform who you are and how you think.
Judging—how we organize our experiences and make decisionsCognitive Process Basic (Passive) Use Developed (Active) Use extraverted Thinking (Te) Follow steps, points and time tables. Create structure, reason by measures and evidence, and implement complex plans. introverted Thinking (Ti) Adhere to definitions and impersonal principles. Analyze a problem using a framework, and find an angle or leverage by which to solve it. extraverted Feeling (Fe) Honor others' needs and preferences. Connect with people by sharing values and taking on their needs as yours. introverted Feeling (Fi) Adhere to personal beliefs about what's important. Evalute situations and choose what you believe is congruent with your personal identity.
Development is more than basic or developed use of processes in isolation. Excellent use of a cognitive process involves both basic and advanced use as appropriate, and ability to deploy other processes in its service. Average to good use usually means we can use the process in limited situations or use it well but only with the aid of other processes. Poor use means basic use at most. Finally, we may get ourselves into trouble when we don't use a process at all.
Your Cognitive Development Profile
The forty-eight questions you rated earlier tap into the eight cognitive processes. Some questions tapped into basic or developed use of a process used by itself, while other questions tapped into use of multiple processes at once. The profile below is based on your responses. The number of squares indicate strength of response. The equivalent numeric is shown in parentheses along with likely level of development.
Cognitive ProcessLevel of Development (Preference, Skill and Frequency of Use)extraverted Sensing (Se) ************ (12.9)
unusedintroverted Sensing (Si) ******************************** (32.2)
good useextraverted Intuiting (Ne) **************************************** (40.4)
excellent useintroverted Intuiting (Ni) ********************************* (33.1)
good useextraverted Thinking (Te) ***************************************** (41.7)
excellent useintroverted Thinking (Ti) *************************************** (39.5)
excellent useextraverted Feeling (Fe) ****** (6.6)
unusedintroverted Feeling (Fi) ********************************* (33.8) good use