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Conference turris::womannotes-v3

Title:Topics of Interest to Women
Notice:V3 is closed. TURRIS::WOMANNOTES-V5 is open.
Moderator:REGENT::BROOMHEAD
Created:Thu Jan 30 1986
Last Modified:Fri Jun 30 1995
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:1078
Total number of notes:52352

274.0. "Stumbling blocks to communication" by ASHBY::FOSTER () Mon Aug 06 1990 22:43

    [From the 5 August Sunday Boston Globe, without permission]

    SEX, SIGHS AND CONVERSATION

    Why Men and Women Can't Communicate
    by Deborah Tannen

    A man and a woman were seated in a car that had been circling the same
    area for a half hour.  The woman was saying, "Why don't we just *ask*
    someone?"  The man was saying, not for the first time, "I'm sure it's
    around here somewhere.  I'll just try this street."

    Why are so many men reluctant to ask directions?  Why aren't women? 
    And why can't women understand why men don't want to ask?  The
    explanation, for this and for countless minor and major frustrations
    that women and men encounter when they talk to each other, lies in the
    different ways that they use language -- differences that begin with
    how girls and boys use language as children, growing up in different
    worlds.

    Anthropologists, sociologists and psychologists have found that little
    girls play in small groups or in pairs; they have a best friend, with
    whom they spend a lot of time talking.  It's the telling of secrets
    that make them best friends.  They learn to use language to negotiate
    intimacy; to make connections and feel close to each other.

    Boys, on the other hand, tend to play competitive games in larger
    groups, which are hierarchical.  High-status boys give orders, and
    low-status boys are pushed around.  So boys learn to use language to
    preserve independence and negotiate their status, trying to hold center
    stage, challenge and resist challenge, display knowledge and verbal
    skill.

    These divergent assumptions about the purpose of language persist into
    adulthood, where they lie in wait behind cross-gender conversations,
    ready to leap out and cause puzzlement or grief.  In the case of asking
    for directions, the same interchange is experienced differently by
    women and men.  From a woman's perspective, you ask for help, you get
    it, and you get to where you're going.  A fleeting connection is made
    with a stranger, which is fundamentally pleasant.  But a man is aware
    that by admitting ignorance and asking for information, he positions
    himself one-down to someone else.  Far from pleasant, this is
    humiliating.  So it makes sense for him to preserve his independence
    and self-esteem at the cost of a little extra travel time.

    He is another scene from the drama of the differences in men's and
    women's ways of talking.  A woman and a man return home from work. 
    She tells everything that happened during the day; what she did, whom
    she met, what they said, what that made her think.  Then she turns to
    him and asks, "How was your day?"  He says, "Same old rat race."  She
    feels locked out:  "You don't tell me anything."  He protests, "Nothing 
    happened at work."  They have different assumptions about what's
    "anything" to tell.  To her, telling life's daily events and
    impressions means she's not alone in the world.  Such talk is the
    essence of intimacy -- evidence that she and her partner are best
    friends.  Since he never spent time talking in this way with his
    friends, best or otherwise, he doesn't expect it, doesn't know how to
    do it, and doesn't miss it when it isn't there.

    Another source of mental frustration is the difference in women's and
    men's assumptions about "troubles talk."  She begins to talk about a
    problem; he offers a solution; she dismisses it, with pique.  He feels
    frustrated:  "She complains, but she doesn't want to do anything to
    solve her problems."  Indeed, what she wants to do about it is talk. 
    She is frustrated because his solution cuts short the discussion, and
    implies that she shouldn't be wasting time talking about it.

    The female search for connection and the male concern with hierarchy is
    evident here, too.  When a woman tells another woman about a problem,
    her friend typically explores the problem ("And then what did he say?" 
    "What do you think you might do?"); expresses understanding ("I know
    how you feel"); or offers a similar experience ("It's like the time I
    ....").  All these responses express support and bring them closer. 
    But offering a solution positions the problem-solver as one-up.  This
    asymmetry is distancing, just the opposite of what she was after in
    bringing up the discussion.

    A similar mismatch of expectations occurs when a woman complains about
    her boss, and a man tries to be helpful by explaining the boss' point
    of view.  She perceives this as an attack, and a lack of loyalty to
    her.  One man told me, incredulously, "My girl friend just wants to
    talk about her point of view."  He feels that offering opposing views
    is obviously a more constructive conversational contribution.  But
    conversations among women are usually characterized by mutual support
    and exploration.  Alternative views may be introduced, but they are
    phrased as suggestions and questions, not as direct challenges.  This
    is one of many ways that men value oppositional stances, whereas women
    value harmonious ones.

    A woman was hurt when she heard her husband telling the guests at a
    dinner party about an incident involving his boss that he hadn't told
    her.  She felt this *proved* that he hadn't been honest when he'd said
    nothing happened at work.  But he didn't think of this experience as a
    story to tell until he needed to come up with material to put himself
    forward at the dinner party.

    Thus, it isn't that women always talk more, while men are taciturn and
    succinct.  Women talk more at home, since talk, for them, is a way of
    creating intimacy.  Since men regard talk as a means to negotiate
    status, they often see no need to talk at home.  But they talk more in
    "public" situation with people they know less well.  At a meeting, when
    questions are solicited from the floor, it is almost always a man who
    speaks first.  When the phones are opened on a radio talk show, the
    vast majority of calls are from men, who are more likely to speak at
    length, giving introductions to questions (if they have any) and
    addressing multiple topics.

    Generalizing about groups of people makes many of us nervous.  We like
    to think of ourselves as unique individuals, not representatives of
    stereotypes.  But it is more dangerous to ignore patterns than to
    articulate them.

    If women and men have different ways of talking (and my research, and
    that of others, shows that they do), then expecting us to be the same
    leads to disappointment and mutual accusation.  Unaware of
    conversational style differences, we fall back on mutual blame:  "You
    go on and on about nothing."  "You don't listen to me."

    Realizing that a partner's behavior is not his or her individual
    failing, but a normal expression of gender, lifts this burden of blame
    and disappointment.  Surprisingly, years together can make the mutual
    frustration worse, rather than better.  After 57 years of marriage, my
    parents are still grappling with the different styles I have described. 
    When my mother read my book, she said, "You mean it isn't just Daddy? 
    I always thought he was the only one."

    Understanding gender differences in ways of talking is the first step
    toward changing.  Not knowing that people of the other gender have
    different ways of talking, and different assumptions about the place of
    talk in a relationship, people assume they are doing the things right
    and their partners are doing things wrong.  Then no one is motivated to
    change; if your partner is accusing you of wrong behavior, changing
    would be tantamount to admitting fault.  But when they think of the
    differences as cross-cultural, people find that they and their partners
    are willing, even eager, to make small adjustments that will please
    their partners and improve the relationship.


         Deborah Tannen, professor of linguistics at Georgetown University,
         is the author of the recently published book, "You Just Don't
         Understand:  Women and Men in Conversation."
T.RTitleUserPersonal
Name
DateLines
274.28942::OAKEYSave the Bill of Rights-Defend the IITue Aug 07 1990 15:065
Worse yet, I'm a woman and my wife's a man!

She'd rather die than ask directions!

                                Roak
274.4ex6317::FOSTERTue Aug 07 1990 15:4816
    I know its the very first part of the article, but I wish you guys
    could get beyond the first paragraph. I can think of numerous times
    when I haven't wanted to get directions and the guy next to me did,
    AND vice versa.
    
    But the other parts about communication seem far more telling. The way
    women do not directly rebut, but redirect toward another point of view,
    for example. I can point out TONS of examples here in the file.
    
    A lot of times, the communications styles of men and women clash, and
    they certainly do here. I would think that since this is a file to
    celebrate women's styles and interests, the typical communication styles of
    women should be better understood by anyone not normally using them
    who wants to interact here and be supported.
    
    Then again, some people just come in to stir up trouble...
274.54629::LEVESQUEBetter by you, better than meTue Aug 07 1990 16:1422
>    But the other parts about communication seem far more telling. The way
>    women do not directly rebut, but redirect toward another point of view,
>    for example. I can point out TONS of examples here in the file.

 Absolutely! As I read the piece, that was what jumped out at me. It could have 
been entitled "why men have trouble communicating in =wn=." Given the fact
that the majority of the audience is female, the prevailing communication
style during discussion is the "feminine" style. This does seem to break down
when we get to arguing; we then get to the pronouncements etc that seem to
be more common during male interactive communication.

>    A lot of times, the communications styles of men and women clash, and
>    they certainly do here. I would think that since this is a file to
>    celebrate women's styles and interests, the typical communication styles of
>    women should be better understood by anyone not normally using them
>    who wants to interact here and be supported.

 Excellent point, 'Ren. 

 Speaking for myself and a few others, it can be a difficult transition.

 The Doctah
274.6Practicalities42730::DAVIESAGrail seekerTue Aug 07 1990 16:2110
    
    .0 certainly rang true for me, and is the most succinct explanation of
    certain communication patterns that I've seen repeatedly.
    
    So - getting practical....
    A question:
    How can the people in this conference use this information to encourage
    easier communication with others?
    
    'gail
274.8fyi17750::B_REINKEtreasures....most of them dreamsTue Aug 07 1990 16:445
    By the way, there is actually a fairly polite discussion of this
    same topic in pear::soapbox. Included in the discussion are some
    good examples of both styles of communication.
    
    Bonnie
274.9sounds familiar52265::MCDONALDTue Aug 07 1990 16:533
    I especially agree with the part that the woman like to talk about
    everything, whereas her partner is often silent except for group
    situations. This sounds like my boyfriend and I 
274.105468::COHENTue Aug 07 1990 17:049
    
    	I posted a reply over in PEAR::SOAPBOX in response to
    	the conversation there, so I'll hold off a bit.
    
    	Ironically, while my ex and I were in marriage counselling,
    	one of the problems which was pointed out to us is that we
    	communicated with each other *too* well. 
    
    ralph
274.114629::LEVESQUEBetter by you, better than meTue Aug 07 1990 17:106
>    Generalizing about groups of people makes many of us nervous.  We like
>    to think of ourselves as unique individuals, not representatives of
>    stereotypes.  ****But it is more dangerous to ignore patterns than to
>    articulate them.****

 This is sage advice, IMO.
274.12pointers7691::BOBBITTwater, wind, and stoneTue Aug 07 1990 18:1611
    
    see also:
    
    womannotes-v1
    654 - men's and women's speaking styles
    
    womannotes-v2
    919 - interrupted women
    
    -Jody
    
274.133230::QUAYLEi.e. AnnTue Aug 07 1990 20:429
    Re .10 
    > Ironically, while my ex and I were in marriage counselling,
    > one of the problems which was pointed out to us is that we
    > communicated with each other *too* well.
    
    - how can this be?  (Please ignore this question if it's too personal.
    
    aq
    
274.14just out of curiosity...GEMVAX::KOTTLERWed Aug 08 1990 13:297
re .5 -

> Given the fact that the majority of the audience [in =wn=] is female, 

Do we know this for a fact?

D.
274.15:-)REGENT::BROOMHEADDon't panic -- yet.Wed Aug 08 1990 13:553
    It's our "audience"; we'd like to think it's our readership too.
    
    						Ann B.
274.16but...GEMVAX::KOTTLERWed Aug 08 1990 13:581
    well, sure, I like to think so too.
274.18Communication is made up of words *plus* silenceSSGBPM::KENAHHealing the Fisher King's woundWed Aug 08 1990 17:076
    Ralph -- from my vantage point, what you described was not a situation
    where communication was too successful -- what you described was a
    relationship with no boundaries -- a relationship without privacy
    does not support healthy communication -- 
    
    					andrew
274.19Grace paley on the SubjectSSVAX2::KATZAin't I a stinker?Thu Aug 09 1990 12:3148
    
    
    Copied w/o any permission whatsoever from Grace Paley "The Story
    Hearer" in her collection "Later the Same Day"
    
    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
                                                                 
    
    
	I woke.  Where's that glass of water, I screamed. I want to tell
    you something, Jack.
    
	What? What? He saw my wide awake eyes.  He sat up. What?

	Jack, I want to have a baby.

	Ha ha, he said.  You can't.  Too late.  A couple of years too late, 
he said, and fell asleep.  Then he spoke.  Besides, supposed it worked; I 
mean, suppose a miracle.  The kid might be very smart, get a scholarship to 
MIT and get caught up in problem solving and godalmighty it could invent 
something worse than any of us old dodos ever imagined.  Then he fell 
asleep and snored.

	I pulled the Old Testament out from under the bed where I keep most 
of my bedtime literature.  I jammed an extra pillow under my neck and sat 
up almost straight in order to read the story of Abraham and Sarah with 
interlinear intelligence.  There was a lot in what Jack said - he often 
makes a sensible or thought-provoking remark.  Because you know how that 
story ends - well!  With those three monotheistic horesmen of perpetual 
bossdom and war: Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.

	Just the same, I said to softly snoring Jack, before all that 
popular badness wedged its way into the world, there *was first* the little 
baby Isaac.  You know what I mean: looking at Sarah just like all our own 
old babies - remember the way they practiced their five little senses. Oh, 
Jack, that Isaac, Sarah's boy - before he was old enough to be taken out by 
his father to get his throat cut, he must have just lain around smiling and 
making up diphthongs and listening, and the women sang songs to him and 
wrapped him up in such pretty rugs. Right?

	In his sleep, which is as contentious as his waking, Jack said yes 
- but he should not have been allowed to throw all that sand at his brother

	You're right, you're right.  I'm with you there, I said.  Now all 
you have to do is be with me.
    
    
p.s. I met her once at school -- she's an amazing person!
274.21TCC::HEFFELSushido - The way of the tunaTue Aug 14 1990 21:1846
	Sorry but for me the article is utter bull-hockey. 

	While it is true that Gary would die rather than ask directions and 
I'm the one who always says "why don't you call and ASK what the store hours 
are?".  Our reasons have nothing to do with loss of face or hierarchical play,
fer Chrissakes.  Gary is an EXTREME introvert.  He hates parties, fears the 
telephone, and gets almost physically ill when forced to interview.  I on the 
other handam a strong extrovert. (and by the way I'M the one who HATES to lose 
face.  I have a mental image of myself as extrememly competent.)  (Asking for 
directions, I would not consider a loss of face though...)  I have no desire 
to make some fleeting contact with some faceless cretin on the street.  I just 
want to get there and since Gary is too damned shy and I'm the more impatient 
of the two of us, I'll ask. 

	Further, Gary talks to make connections, I give commands.  Gary avoids
conflict.  I'll rip someone's throat out verbally without even meaning too when
rebutting a point.   No hostility meant, just my non-gender typical way. :-)

	I drive Gary crazy, 'cause he just wants to complain about work, while 
I feel compelled to tell him his boss's side.  (Just had another argument about 
that last weekend as a matter of fact.

 	I could go on and on...	(What do you mean I already did?! :-) )

	I *HATE* articles like this.  Rather than telling us that women talk 
like X and men talk like Y.  How about.... Here are some communication styles.
Here are things to help you recognize and deal with people who use a 
communication that is not your preferred/natural one.  (I'm thinking about 
things like the Myers-Briggs personality indicator that I find MUCH more 
useful.)

	You apply this stereotype to me and you'll get your feelings hurt FAST
when dealing with me.  I'm a deal with issues not people sort of person. 
And women aren't supposed to be that way, so if I'm insensitive, it can't be
because I'm not good at that, it must be that I MEAN to insult you.

	BAH!

Grump, Grump!  
Stupid stereotypes!!!!

Tracey



	
274.22YGREN::JOHNSTONbean sidheWed Aug 15 1990 12:3126
re.21

Tracey,

I believe that you hit a few good points, perhaps unaware.

In any study of behaviour, groupings will occur around like attributes of the 
individuals tested.  To view all individuals as separate and unique entities
is valuable if the end is individual interaction, but anarchy for the purpose 
of study. Yet these studies do have value.

The fallacy is not in saying 'women tend to connectedness in communicating...'
The foolishness is in saying 'women are not _supposed_ to ...'  when they are
not conforming to type. [any attribute can be substituted].

Stereotyping is not necesarily bad.  We all acquire our filters as we pass 
through life -- like 'engineers have tunnel vision' or 'cats are uppity' -- 
and they help us make preliminary judgements on approach and style in our
interactions.

The tragedy is to take the stereotype and either force conformity [in our minds
or in fact] or reject the atypical individual as somehow 'wrong.'  To take such 
a narrow stance is to reject our own special humanity for we are each atypical
in some way.

  Annie
274.23TCC::HEFFELSushido - The way of the tunaThu Aug 16 1990 13:0534
	I realize the value of generalities.  They give you a starting point.
A framework upon which to start your interaction.  But in any individual 
interaction they become far too binding too quickly.

	I really despise studies/articles that place so much weight on gender 
in their conclusions without giving any kind of numbers to support the 
tendency.  This article would not nearly have been so objectionable to me if 
it had presented two communications styles and then in passing had said that 
while say 70% females preferred communication style A only 45% of males used it.

	An example that I actually happen to know the numbers for:  The Myers 
Briggs Personality Indicator.  The M-B categorizes people by their preferences
around 4 duplets. Introvert vs. Extrovert, Intuitive vs. Sensing, Thinking vs.
Feeling, and Judging vs. Perceiving.  The stereotype says that women are more
feeling oriented than thinking oriented.  Not terribly surprisingly, the M-B 
research bears this tendency out.  BUT...  Only 60% of women prefer a feeling
style.  40%, almost half, prefer the thinking style.  This seems to me to show 
that this generalization (women prefer a feeling style) is not a particulalry 
useful one, since it will lead to the wrong conclusion almost half the time.
Not much better than flipping a coin. (and, oh by the way, about 40% of males 
prefer the Feeling style.  How many of you would have guessed that based on the
prevalent gender stereotypes?) The M-B people present this information
in a style that I find very reasonable.  They talk about the duplets, how they
affect people's outlook on life, reactions to other people and other styles and 
so on.   Then in a sort of "footnote style",  they mention that the gender 
preference on this is...  It keeps the focus on people and individuals while 
still recognizing a trend.

	I guess I'm just particularly sensitive to this because I always seem 
to fall into the 40% or 25% or 2% that doesn't follow the trend.  You get tired 
of being told you're weird (even if you are :-) ).  

Tracey

274.24Works for mePOLAR::PENNYFind me in my field of grassFri Aug 17 1990 12:2827
    For me the root note makes a lot of sense. My wife and I have had some ups
and downs, which has lead to problems of "lack of togetherness or closeness".
(We've been married thirteen years this November.) She had turned to friends
and relatives for companionship because she felt we were not mentally intimate
(any longer). I'm finding out that this was mostly due to communication. A
*lot* of our secondary and tertiary problems had been caused by the _way_ we
talk, as described in .0. I can really relate to some of the examples given. 

    Counseling has helped somewhat, but also as of late (a few weeks ago) we
decided to do some "self help" of our own, so we went to the library to do
some of our own research. We've got a couple of books on marriage and one that
I found very enlightening was "Husbands & Wives". (The authors are two (male)
Psychologists.) This book is (partly) about communication in marriage. 

    It's funny how reading something like this book and the base note put
things into perspective. It's like getting hit in the forehead with a sledge
hammer. We are (in the last few months) on the road to recovering our unity
and relationship, and boy does it feel good! 

    I don't want to rattle on about whats already been said in many places in
this notesfile, but I just wanted to say; hey, this is good stuff, and I'm
glad someone who has either gone through this before, or has found some
valuable information (to me it's valuable) has the foresight to enter things
like this into this medium so I may learn. Keep at it. 

		dep 
    
274.26Interesting, Reference?CASEE::MCDONALDWed Aug 29 1990 16:381
    Do you have any references for this Myers-Briggs stuff?
274.27Reference BookSAGE::SZKLARZCan't you hear? My silence screams!Wed Aug 29 1990 17:0518
    
    
    Just so happens that in my office I have a copy of
    
    		TYPE TALK *
    
    		* Or How to Determine your personality type
    		  and Change your life.
    
    		(based on the Myers_Briggs Typr Indicator tm)
    
    		By Otto Kroeger and Janet M. Thuesen
    
      While it doesn't contain the test it does give a lot insight to
      the "types".   Somewhere I think I have an abbriviated copy of the
      test.  I'll enter it if/when I find it.
    
      LSN
274.28LDYBUG::GOLDMANAmy, whatcha gonna do?Wed Aug 29 1990 18:2535
	There's a one-day course called "Introduction to Myers-Briggs 
    Type Inventory in Career Development" being offered in Shrewsbury
    in late September.  Deadline for registration is Friday (I'm not
    sure if it's full or not).  The following is the course
    description:


INTENDED AUDIENCE:

This basic course is intended for individuals who are considering a career 
transition or are evaluating their career paths.

COURSE CONTENT:

The workshop introduces the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory as a model to help you
better understand yourself and to begin to guide you through career transitions
and the identification of compatible work settings.

What is the Myers Briggs Type Inventory (MBTI)?

MBTI is a tool, based on the work of Carl Jung, which focuses on the 
multiple ways people experience and respond to the world. It is a tool 
which has been used extensively in business, health care, government 
and academic settings to help individuals understand where they like 
to focus their attention, the way they like to take in information and
make decisions, and the kind of workstyle that is most comfortable to them.  

Through a confidential multiple-choice self-assessment which is taken before 
the seminar, you will receive 'type' feedback, which is the combination and 
interaction of your chosen preferences.  The seminar will provide you with the
opportunity to explore and understand the implications of your own as well as
others' 'types' and how to start thinking broadly of careers that naturally 
suit who you are.
 

274.29"a sorter"SAGE::SZKLARZCan't you hear? My silence screams!Wed Aug 29 1990 18:52354
Found it!  It is from the book:

		PLEASE UNDERSTAND ME  By Keirsey & Bates

 To interpret the test I also included the "sorter" sheet.  I think it's
 pretty self explanatory, but if not let me know and I'll try to dechiper
 it.

 LSN

 



	      	The KEIRSEY TEMPERAMENT SORTER
                =============================

	 1.  At a party do you:
		a) interact with many, including strangers
		b) interact with few, known to you

	 2.  Are you more
		a) realistic then speculative
		b) speculative than realistic

	 3.  Is it worse to:
		a) have you head in the clouds
		b) be "in a rut"

	 4.  Are you more impressed by
		a) principles
		b) emotions

	 5.  Are you more drawn toward the
		a) convincing
		b) touching

	 6.  Do you prefer to work
		a) to deadlines
		b) just "whenever"

	 7. Do you tend to chose
		a) rather carefully
		b) somewhat impulsively

	 8.  At parties do you
		a) stay late, with increasing energy
		b) leave early, with decreased energy

	 9.  Are you more attracted to
		a) sensible people
		b) imaginative people

	10.  Are you more interested in
		a) what is actual
		b) what is possible

	11.  In judging others are you more swayed by
		a) laws than circumstances
		b) circumstances than laws

	12.  In approaching other is you inclination to be somewhat
		a) objective
		b) personal

	13.  Are you more
		a) punctual
		b) leisurely

	14.  Does it bother you more having things
		a) incomplete
		b) completed

	15.  In your social groups do you
		a) keep abreast of other's happening
		b) get behind on the news

	16.  In doing ordinary things are you more likely to 
		a) do it the usual way
		b) do it your own way

	17.  Writers should
		a) "say what they mean and mean what they say"
		b) express things more by use of analogy

	18.  Which appeals to you more
		a) consistency of thought
		b) harmonious human relationships

	19.  Are you more comfortable in making
		a) logical judgments
		b) value judgments

	20.  Do you want things
		a) settled and decided
		b) unsettled and undecided

	21.  Would you say you are more
		a) serious and determined
		b) easy going
	
	22.  In phoning do you
		a) rarely question that it will all be said
		b) rehearse what you will say

	23.  Facts
		a) "speak for themselves"
		b) illustrate principles

	24.  Are visionaries
		a) somewhat annoying
		b) somewhat fascinating

	25.  Are you more often
		a) a cool-headed person
		b) a warm hearted person

	26.  Is it worse to be
		a) unjust
		b) merciless

	27.  Should one usually let events occur
		a) by careful selection and choice
		b) randomly and by chance

	28.  Do you fell better about
		a) having purchased
		b) having the option to buy

	29.  In company do you
		a) initiate conversation
		b) wait to be approached

	30.  Common sense is
		a) rarely questionable
		b) frequently questionable

	31.  Children often do no
		a) make themselves useful enough
		b) exercise their fantasy enough

	32.  In making decision do you feel more comfortable with
		a) standards
		b) feelings

	33.  Are you more
		a) firm than gentle
		b) gentle than firm

	34.  Which is more admirable
		a) the ability to organize and be methodical
		b) the ability to adapt and make do

	35.  DO you put more value one the
		a) definite
		b) open-ended

	36.  Does new and non-routine interaction with others
		a) stimulate and energize you
		b) tax your reserves

	37.  Are you more frequently
		a) a practical sort of person
		b) a fanciful sort of person

	38.  Are you more likely to
		a) see how others are useful
		b) see how others see

	39.  Which is more satisfying
		a) to discuss an issue thoroughly
		b) to arrive at agreement on an issue

	40.  Which rule you more
		a) your head
		b) your heard

	41.  Are you more comfortable with work that is
		a) contracted
		b) done on a casual basis

	42.  DO you rend to look for
		a) the orderly
		b) whatever turns up

	43.  Do you prefer
		a) many friends with brief contact
		b) a few friends with more lengthy contact

	44.  Do you go more by
		a) facts
		b) principles
	
	45.  Are you more interested in
		a) production and distribution
		b) design and research

	46.  Which is more of a compliment
		a) there is a very logical person
		b) there is a very sentimental person

	47.  Do you value in yourself more that you are
		a) unwavering
		b) devoted

	48.  Do you more often prefer the
		a) final and unalterable statement
		b) tentative and preliminary statement

	49.  Are you more comfortable 
		a) after a decision
		b) before a decision

	50.  Do you
		a) speak easily and at length with strangers
		b) find little to say to strangers

	51.  Are you more likely to trust your
		a) experience
		b) hunch

	52.  Do you feel
		a) more practical than ingenious
		b) more ingenious than practical

	53.  Which person is more to be complimented one of
		a) clear reason
		b) strong feelings

	54.  Are you inclined more to be
		a) fair minded
		b) sympathetic

	55.  Is it preferable mostly to
		a) make sure things are arranged
		b) just let things happen

	56.  In relationships should most things be
		a) re negotiable
		b) random and circumstantial

	57.  When the phone rings do you
		a) hasten to get it first
		b) hope someone else will answer

	58.  DO you price more in yourself
		a) a strong sense of reality
		b) a vivid imagination

	59.  Are you drawn more to
		a) fundamentals
		b) overtones

	60.  Which seems the greater error
		a) to be too passionate
		b) to be too objective

	61.  Do you see yourself as basically
		a) hard headed
		b) soft heated

	62.  Which situation appeals to you more
		a) the structured and scheduled
		b) the unstructured and unscheduled

	63.  Are you a person that is more
		a) routine than whimsical
		b) whimsical than routine

	64.  Are you more inclined to be
		a) easy to approach
		b) somewhat reserved

	65.  In writings do you prefer
		a) the more literal
		b) the more figurative

	66.  Is it harder for you to
		a) identify with others
		b) utilize others

	67.  Which do you wish more for yourself
		a) clarity of reason
		b) strength of compassion

	68.  Which is the greater fault
		a) being indiscriminate
		b) being critical

	69.  Do you prefer the
		a) planned event
		b) unplanned event

	70.  Do you tend to be more
		a) deliberate than spontaneous
		b) spontaneous than deliberate



                           Sorter
			   ======

     To sort your answers: for each question check the appropriate 
     A or B column.   Total Each column, and then totals the column
     totals as described.  


     A  B      A  B      A  B      A  B      A  B     A   B      A  B

 
   1 __ __   2 __ __   3 __ __   4 __ __   5 __ __   6 __ __   7 __ __   


   8 __ __   9 __ __  10 __ __  11 __ __  12 __ __  13 __ __  14 __ __   


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  29 __ __  30 __ __  31 __ __  32 __ __  33 __ __  34 __ __  35 __ __   


  36 __ __  37 __ __  38 __ __  39 __ __  40 __ __  41 __ __  42 __ __   


  43 __ __  44 __ __  45 __ __  46 __ __  47 __ __  48 __ __  49 __ __   


  50 __ __  51 __ __  52 __ __  53 __ __  54 __ __  55 __ __  56 __ __   


  57 __ __  58 __ __  59 __ __  60 __ __  61 __ __  62 __ __  63 __ __   


  64 __ __  65 __ __  66 __ __  67 __ __  68 __ __  69 __ __  70 __ __   



    __ __      __ __     __ __     __ __     __ __     __ __   __ __   
     1  2       3  4      3  4      5  6      5  6      7  8    7  8 



    __ __                __ __               __ __             __ __   
     1  2                 3  4                5  6              7  8 
    
     E  I                 S  N                T  F              J  P


     Extrovert            Sensing             Thinking          Judging
     Introvert            iNtuition           Feeling           Perceiving
274.30WRKSYS::STHILAIREI don't see how I could refuseWed Aug 29 1990 19:114
    I've had to take this Myers-Briggs thing twice at DEC.  I'm an INFP!
    
    Lorna
    
274.31LDYBUG::GOLDMANAmy, whatcha gonna do?Wed Aug 29 1990 21:1411
    	I guess there are different versions of the test.  I took one
    (last night in fact) in preparation for that course I mentioned,
    and it was different.  It had three parts, one of which was just
    choosing the more appealing of two words.  (It was kind of
    strange, and I found many of the questions somewhat ambiguous.  Of
    course the very last question was "Would you have liked to argue
    the meaning of a) a lot of these questions, or b) only a few?")

    	We'll see how they rate me...

    	amy
274.32How do I register?TOOK::MCCAULEYWed Aug 29 1990 21:538
    
    How do you register for the Myers Briggs course? I've looked in
    several places, and found no reference to this course. I'm 
    interested in the course offering in Shrewsbury in late September
    that was mentioned in .28.
    
    Thanks,
    Laura
274.33TINCUP::KOLBEThe dilettante debutanteWed Aug 29 1990 22:357
    Interesting how you can never know something exists and then suddenly
    it's everywhere. The communications class I'm taking this semester is
    having us take and evaluate this test. Wonder what I'll end up being
    classified as? I think I'm an introverted extrovert. :*)

    I can almost hear the line at the singles bar now. What's your type?
    liesl
274.34*** co-moderator nudge ***LEZAH::BOBBITTwater, wind, and stoneThu Aug 30 1990 02:465
    The meyers-Briggs test is currently being discussed in its own topic -
    345.....
    
    -Jody