People who prefer Thinking put more weight on objective principles and impersonal facts when decision-making. They focus on logic and analysis.
People who prefer Feeling put more weight on personal concerns and the people involved when decision making. They focus on values and relationships.
Like the previous preference pairs, Jung used everyday words that mean something different in the context of typology. This preference pair relates to decision-making. People who prefer Feeling use values-based decision-making (focus on people), whereas people who prefer Thinking use logic-based decision-making (focus on systems).
It has nothing to do with the everyday definitions of feeling (emotion) and thinking (intellect), nor do these terms indicate that people are judgmental. People who prefer Thinking can feel and people who prefer Feeling can think. We all use the Thinking and Feeling preferences when deciding, but where we start from and the process we tend to follow often reflects our overall preference.
We tend to lean on the preferences we are most comfortable with, however, there is value in using both. Myers believed that by coming to conclusions using Thinking and Feeling, our "judgments would be sounder".
People who prefer Thinking (T) tend to:
- Use logical analysis when reasoning�system oriented
- Take an objective approach to problem-solving
- Have a critical "eye" (can be "tough-minded")
- Consider the pros and cons in a situation
- Scan for what is wrong, so they can fix it
- Be task focused
- Rely on impersonal criteria when deciding
Keywords: logical, reasonable, questioning, objective, critical, tough-minded
People who prefer Feeling (F) tend to:
- Apply personal and social values�people oriented
- Take an empathetic approach to problem-solving
- Offer praise (may appear "tender-hearted")
- Seek harmony, consider everyone's viewpoints
- Scan for what is right, so they can support it
- Be relationship focused
- Take personal circumstances into consideration
Keywords: empathetic, compassionate, accommodating, subjective, accepting, tender-hearted
- Our process for making decisions�what we consider first, second, etc.
- Our helping style
- How we provide feedback to people
- Our approach for dealing with different viewpoints
- How we like to be recognized or appreciated