Personal Writing: Taking The Merkler Interest and Personality Type Self After taking the Merkler-Interest and Personality Type Self- Assessment, I couldn’t wait to read the results because the Myers-Briggs Self-Assessment had been so correct. The Merkler found me to have an artistic, social, and investigative (ASI) personality, scoring 75, 74, and 72 respectively. The results proved to be just as accurate as the Myers- Briggs. As an artistic personality type, I have a definite need for self- expression.
I am constantly looking for alternatives in everything that I do, whether it be on homework assignments or making changes in my daily routine. This tends to make it hard for me to do things “by the book.” I am more motivated to do things my own way. I greatly value my being independent. The Merkler stated that my “artistic” values are expressed through music, writing, and/or design. This statement rings very true in my case. I have played the piano and saxophone, sang at events, and am learning how to play the guitar. I was also a journalism major at one point, winning awards in writing competitions, and still desiring to write a book someday.
I am also wanting to make a career out of computer and software design. Although I could be very creative in writing essays, the Merkler stated that I prefer multiple choice tests and projects. I feel that this is true because multiple choice tests and projects offer more alternatives. These results also stated that I learn best in an open climate that permits the free exchange of ideas and the examination of multitudes of possibilities. I can see the truth in this statement because I prefer having small classes in which discussions are abundant, rather than large classes where listening is the top priority.
As a social personality type, I am very “humanistic.” I am concerned about others and love to help others. I am sensitive to the needs and concerns of others and am very good at perceiving things from another person’s point-of-view. This is very true due to my constant giving. I love to help other people out, whether this means giving advice or financial aid. Sometimes this aspect of my personality gets me into trouble. More than once have I been “walked on” and taken for granted. But I learned from those mistakes and am more careful in my “giving.” The Merkler also found me to have a strong sense of “social conscience.” believe this to be true because of my interest in government and politics and my being a very verbal person.
My last dominant personality type was investigative. Being investigative means being more concerned with “what might be,” rather than “what is.” This is true because I love to analyze all situations, and I love to dream. I am always one to look towards the future. The self- assessment results also stated that I love gathering information and will do so for long periods of time. I know that this is true because I have always had the urge to become a government lobbyist.
Having an investigative personality type also means that I prefer having lots of possibilities and alternatives, and that I would rather deal with abstractions and ideas, rather than with the memorization of facts. Another quality that comes with having an investigative personality is that I am very skilled in problem solving. This is very important to me and I feel it is true mostly because of my interest in the computer field. There is a lot of analyzing and problem solving involved when working with computers.
I wasn’t as surprised to see the results of the Merkler because the Myers-Briggs results had hit so close to home. However, after seeing the descriptions of all the personality types, there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that the Merkler had placed me in the right categories. I also look at the results and feel more positive that I have a tight grasp on who I am.
