Data Disclaimer: there are only 21 people in my class – we are very likely not representative of any population other than the students of this particular class. Any use of “the average culinary student” is just speculation and me making a very nerdy joke. Fascinating, but not scientifically valid enough to draw broad conclusions from, as there are so few of us.
One of our required courses is a psychology class. We have had a class largely designed for our program: Psychology of Human Relations. Our professor is fantastic, and we are having a ball.
We are currently talking about self-concept and personality. As part of our homework, we took a modified Myers-Briggs assessment.
What absolutely fascinated me was our type breakdown in class. We very much don’t match up to the distribution of personality types in the United States as a whole. Below is a chart of the 16 Myers-Briggs types. The top number is prevalence in the US population. The bottom number is prevalence in our psychology class. Anything pop out at you?
ISTJ ISFJ INFJ INTJ
11.6 13.8 1.46 2.1
4.8 4.8 4.8 0.0
ISTP ISFP INFP INTP
5.4 8.8 4.4 3.3
0.0 9.5 9.5 0.0
ESTP ESFP ENFP ENTP
4.3 8.5 8.1 3.2
0.0 4.8 9.5 0.0
ESTJ ESFJ ENFJ ENTJ
8.7 12.3 2.5 1.8
0.0 23.8 23.8 4.8
Also of note is our E/I and other type pair breakdowns. According to MBTI Statistics (also where I pulled the US prevalence information), the type pair splits for the US population look like:
The E-I split is close to 50-50.
The S-N is close to 75-25.
The T-F is close to 40-60.
The J-P is close to 55-45.
E-I refers to Extraversion/Introversion, or where we draw energy. Do we recharge by being around people or being alone?
S-N is Sensing/Intuition, or how do we gather information. Sensing is gathering data through the senses and is more concrete; Intuition is gathering data through contemplation and is more theoretical.
T-F is Thinking/Feeling, or how we make decisions. Thinkers tend to be fact-based, while Feelers tend to be emotion or personal context based.
J-P is Judging/Perceiving, or roughly, how we like interact with others. Judging types tend towards wanting decisions to be made. Perceiving types tend towards liking decisions to be more open-ended (you can read more about the types at http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/).
In my class, we look like:
E-I is 67-33.
S-N is 48-52.
T-F is 9-91.
J-P is 67-33.
Wow. We are Feelers. We are also remarkably in the Extraversion and Judging camps. This makes a lot of sense to me, and also explains to me some of the reasons why I don’t like being on the line. Kitchens tend to be busy, loud, chaotic, and hectic, where a lot of things need to get done, and the end product needs to look a certain way, consistently.
Me, I’m an INFP, although I can test as an INFJ, and I use a lot of J in my daily life. I prefer a quieter atmosphere, and hard and fast rules feel stifling to me. I would rather be able to highlight the beauty of the specific items on each plate rather than make each plate look exactly the same. It doesn’t surprise me that I want to go into personal chefery at the individual and family level. I find the prospect of helping a small group of individuals live healthier lives through the food that I make them – changing on a daily basis – much more appealing than cranking out however many covers a night of the exact same dishes.
Info about each of the 16 types can be found at http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/the-16-mbti-types.asp#INFP. I’ve borrowed and copied below:
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 fulfill their potential. Adaptable, flexible, and accepting unless a value is threatened.
INFJ
Seek meaning and connection in ideas, relationships, and material possessions. Want to understand what motivates people and are insightful about others. Conscientious and committed to their firm values. Develop a clear vision about how best to serve the common good. Organized and decisive in implementing their vision.
I am very much intrigued that the US population is about 14.8 percent ESFJs and ENFJs, while my class is almost half (47.6%) these two personality types:
ESFJ
Warmhearted, conscientious, and cooperative. Want harmony in their environment, work with determination to establish it. Like to work with others to complete tasks accurately and on time. Loyal, follow through even in small matters. Notice what others need in their day-by-day lives and try to provide it. Want to be appreciated for who they are and for what they contribute.
ENFJ
Warm, empathetic, responsive, and responsible. Highly attuned to the emotions, needs, and motivations of others. Find potential in everyone, want to help others fulfill their potential. May act as catalysts for individual and group growth. Loyal, responsive to praise and criticism. Sociable, facilitate others in a group, and provide inspiring leadership.
There is a second section of our class that is almost all pastry/baking students. I’m very much looking forward to seeing what their class breakdown is. My guess is that they will skew towards ISTJs (it may be of note that the single ISFJ in our class is a Pastry/Baking student):
ISTJ
Quiet, friendly, responsible, and conscientious. Committed and steady in meeting their obligations. Thorough, painstaking, and accurate. Loyal, considerate, notice and remember specifics about people who are important to them, concerned with how others feel. Strive to create an orderly and harmonious environment at work and at home.
I just realized that I would love to see the score values for each category in a splatter graph comparing the Culinary kids with the Pastry/Baking kids…..hmmm, maybe I can make this happen.
