Seymour
Vaguely Precise
- Joined
- Sep 22, 2009
- Messages
- 1,579
- MBTI Type
- INFP
- Enneagram
- 5w4
- Instinctual Variant
- sx/so
I found the recent article "The Surprising Strengths of Perceivers" by Meri Hicks Beckham published in the Journal of Psychological Type to be right on target, and a good match for my approach to college (with a few exceptions). The study used a grounded theory methodology (a mostly qualitative approach) with a pool of 19 junior, senior and recently graduated academically successful undergraduate students. From the abstract:
Beckham goes on to write:
Which is how the writing (and programming) process tends to work for me. I always had a sense of something percolating in the back and my head, and I knew when I was ready to write. If I tried to force it before time, writing was slow, painful and drawn out.
I also tended to find that going back and editing (other than for basic grammar and typos) tended to make things much worse before they got better.
The article goes on to point out that Judging faculty outnumber Perceiving faculty 2:1, and that time management techniques are all about taking a Judging approach. The author points out:
The perceivers, although academically successful, tended to study very little (74% studied less than 7 hours per week), wait until the last minute, and not go back and revise.
Six elements were identified as being central to how the perceiver's work process:
So, I am curious if other perceivers identified with the above descriptions. It seems like some perceivers end up adopting more Je-typical styles as adults ([MENTION=204]FineLine[/MENTION] being an extreme example among INFPs, [MENTION=5999]PeaceBaby[/MENTION], too, to a lesser degree) and others mostly don't, working to optimize the process that comes more naturally.
Also, for people who are successful with a more Perceiving approach, what are the limitations and work-arounds? When do you have to bite the bullet and engage/emulate Je?
Beckham said:Findings supported the dimensions of Unconstrained Time, Entirety, Continuity, Awareness, Augmentation, and Momentum. The core dimension, Momentum, explained (a) the challenge of getting started (waiting to start), (b) the value of working all at once, (c) the energy of working at the last minute, and (d) the surprising significance of not going back.
Beckham goes on to write:
Beckham said:[To perceivers] time is continuous and resistant to interruption once a work process has begun. Thoughts and actions flow as the individuals become interested in objects and events, and experiences are connected and ongoing. When Perceiving college students work on a paper or project, they may think about various aspects of the assignment for quite a while before demonstrating any observable work effort. At some place in time, the location of which is typically indescribable, everything comes together and the product is complete, often right at the deadline. Rather than a burst of inspiration in which new ideas come into being, this is a burst of activity, coordination, and combination. It is as if pieces of a puzzle—previously collected, examined, and known—rapidly fall into place. Perceiving students say it can be very difficult to revisit work products for editing or rewriting, since mustering up interest on demand (deciding to start again) often seems impossible. A sense of wholeness and continuity shapes the flexible habits of academically successful Perceiving college students.
Which is how the writing (and programming) process tends to work for me. I always had a sense of something percolating in the back and my head, and I knew when I was ready to write. If I tried to force it before time, writing was slow, painful and drawn out.
I also tended to find that going back and editing (other than for basic grammar and typos) tended to make things much worse before they got better.
The article goes on to point out that Judging faculty outnumber Perceiving faculty 2:1, and that time management techniques are all about taking a Judging approach. The author points out:
Beckam said:Conventional ways of dealing with time—typically promoted as guides for college students’ academic lives—incorporate strategies aligned with the Judging preference including (a) clearly defined timeframes, (b) reminder systems for deadlines and due dates, and (c) limitation of leisure time in favor of work-related periods (Fitzsimmons, 1999; Lawrence, 1997). However, these out-of-character strategies require much effort from Perceiving students and are typically not sustainable “because they are not part of the natural rhythm of their learning process†(Lawrence, 1997, p. 27). Demarest (2001) cautions that time management, as used by people of different types, means being able to work toward and complete tasks that matter rather than simply following a prescribed set of techniques.
The perceivers, although academically successful, tended to study very little (74% studied less than 7 hours per week), wait until the last minute, and not go back and revise.
Six elements were identified as being central to how the perceiver's work process:
Beckam said:
- Momentum - A sense of intention and progress, activated and propelled by energy, which carries through to completion of a process of cognition or action. Its antithesis, going back, is avoided, resisted, and may even be perceived as impossible
- Unconstrained Time - The perception that time is (a) available rather than passing; (b) fluid, not fixed; and (c) useable, not manageable. As the quantity of time decreases, the rate of thought and action increases.
- Entirety - A pattern of cognition and action in which processes are (a) whole, not broken or in parts; (b) complete, not missing something or lacking in some way; and (c) cohesive, not compartmentalized or divided.
- Continuity - A pattern of cognition and action in which processes have a flowing quality, and interruption of that flow is potentially destructive to both process and product.
- Awareness - A pattern of interest and attention, employed cognitively and in relation to objects, which influences recall, intention, and use of time.
So, I am curious if other perceivers identified with the above descriptions. It seems like some perceivers end up adopting more Je-typical styles as adults ([MENTION=204]FineLine[/MENTION] being an extreme example among INFPs, [MENTION=5999]PeaceBaby[/MENTION], too, to a lesser degree) and others mostly don't, working to optimize the process that comes more naturally.
Also, for people who are successful with a more Perceiving approach, what are the limitations and work-arounds? When do you have to bite the bullet and engage/emulate Je?