A Short Look at Keirsey Temperaments

Building on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, psychologist David Keirsey devised four basic Keirsey Temperaments: SJ, SP, NT and NF. Those with the S, or sensing, trait often take a concrete approach to life. They are most in tune with what they sense through tasting, hearing, smelling, seeing and feeling. N stands for intuitive, involving a focus on what can exist or be imagined. The P and J stand for perceiving and judging, and the F and T stand for feeling and thinking.
Basic Four Keirsey Temperaments Explained

Sensing Perceiving or SP: Also called the artisans, these individuals love to create and modify their environment.

Sensing Judging or SJ: Known as the guardians, these people tend to be left-brained and conservative with a black-and-white view of the world and a preference for sameness and safety. SJs and SPs each compose about 38 percent of the population.

Intuitive Feeling or NF: Idealistic NFs want to change the world for the better.

Intuitive Thinking or NT: Rational NTs are detail-oriented and love to learn for the sake of it. NTs and NFs each account for about 12 percent of the population.
Only Generalizations

The Keirsey temperaments are basically guidelines, and not everybody neatly fits into any one group. While certain individuals might not be expected to take a certain road in life, they still may do so and bring something different to the table. Some have compared this to a right-handed person choosing to work left handed. Although it might not come naturally at first, it can be learned over time. This means that personality types can’t always be figured out based on just a few observations.
Identifying Personality Types at a Glance

Political ideals: NTs and SJs, who are commonly interested in sameness, are often more conservative, but change-favoring NFs and SPs tend to be liberal.

Reading Preferences: Fact-oriented NTs and SJs can usually be found reading practical non-fiction, but SPs and NFs often enjoy fiction or poetry.

Career: SJs are often in law enforcement or military positions. NTs are engineers or researchers. NFs commonly serve the world as nurses or teachers. SPs usually gravitate toward artistic work with plenty of variety.

Work Environment: Intuitive individuals are often messy, but Sensing types usually prefer more order. While SPs want to finish their art without becoming distracted, NTs can’t be bothered by cleaning when they’re working.

Social Behavior: SJs usually want to avoid chatting to get back to work while SPs want to achieve their goals with as little work as they can. Intuitive types often like to conversate as they seek to expand their knowledge base, and NFs are deeply interested in learning more about other people.

Plenty has been written about the different temperaments. While Keirsey.com has plenty of information about the types discussed above, the best way to understand one’s own personality type is to take a Myers Briggs type personality test that is administered by a professional. With a strong understanding of one’s temperament, it can become easier to find an ideal career.