Well, that's odd, cuz in
Gifts Differing, Myers devoted a separate chapter to each dichotomy, and the J/P chapter ("Effect of the JP Preference") was the longest of the four, and described quite a lot of personality characteristics associated with being J or P.
So I'm not sure what you mean by a "pure MBTI perspective," but the perspective you've described doesn't sound like any official MBTI source I've ever seen.
Any thread reader interested in a lot of J/P input from me can find in a two-post roundup at Typology Central that starts
here.
Section 4 of that roundup ("Difficult Decisions") specifically takes issue with Turi's notion that J's are more prone than P's to make decisions without gathering enough information first.
Anybody that has access to
Gifts Differing can simply read Chapter 7 themselves to understand my notion that P types prefer to take in lots of information before deciding, and J types prefer to make decisions quicker is accurate - to claim it sounds nothing like any official source you've read is a little disingenuous.
For our fellow readers, I present the following, from Chapter 7 of
Gifts Differing.
THE JUDGING TYPES believe that life should be willed and decided, while the perceptive types regard life as something to be experienced and understood. Thus, judging types like to settle things, or at least to have things settled, whereas perceptive types prefer to keep their plans and opinions as open as possible so that no valuable experience or enlightenment will be missed. The contrast in their lives is quite evident.
Judging types believe life should be willed and decided, whereas perceptive types regard it as something to be experienced and understood.
Which one sounds like it's more concerned with deciding something, and which one sounds like it prefers to gather information in order to develop a fuller understanding first?
Judgment is eternally coming to conclusions—with the finality the word implies. Judgment really likes to dispose of things, even without the spur of necessity. Frequently judging types settle not only what they are to do themselves, but what others are to do. Given a little provocation, they settle what others are to think. The person who says “What you ought to do…†ten minutes after meeting someone new is a marked judging type.
J types are eternally coming to conclusions. Straight from
Gifts Differing.
Less-marked judging types think to themselves what someone else ought to do, but suppress the impulse to speak out. Perceptive types do not even think it. They would rather hear about what a person is doing. Two immortal examples of perception are Kipling’s Rikki-tikki-tavi, whose motto was “run and find out,†and the insatiably curious Elephant’s Child who went around getting spanked for asking “why?â€
"Run and find out" - find out what? Is it such a large reach to assume this might be in regards to
more information?
Such inexhaustible interest in “what?†and “why?†does not conduce to finality. The perceptive types do not come to conclusions until they must—and sometimes not even then. Being cognizant of how many factors are involved and how much is still unknown, they are rather horrified at the eagerness of the judging types to decide a matter. The saying that “a bad decision is better than none†makes sense only to a judging type. Perceptive types always hope that they can solve the problem simply by understanding it better, by “seeing to the bottom of it†if they are intuitives or by “seeing it from all sides†if they are sensing types. Often they can. In such cases they are hardly conscious of judgment; the solution has been latent there in the situation and they have eventually “seen†what was the thing to do.
So the P types inexhaustible interest in "what" and "why?" does not conduce to finality, and they do not come to conclusions until they must (and, not even then, as noted).
It is also noted that P types are
horrified at the eagerness of the J types to decide a matter - what does this reflect?
Clearly, that J types prefer to make decisions
faster than P types. P types prefer to
delay them in favour of gathering more information.
Of course, the perceptive types still need judgment. Their perception should be supported by an adequately developed judging process. Otherwise, they will drift downwind like a sailboat with its centerboard up. It takes judgment (either thinking or feeling will do) to give continuity of purpose and supply a standard by which to criticize and govern one’s own actions.
..and here, it is noted, that P types require Judging in order to actually make a decision lest they drift downwind like a sailboard with its centerboard up.
I wonder what picture this is painting, with regards to J types and P types, with regards to which one prefers to make decisions, and which one prefers to delay them in favour of gathering information?
At the other extreme, judging types with insufficient perception have no “give†or cooperation in them. If they lack an adequately developed perceptive process, they will be narrow, rigid, and incapable of seeing any point of view except their own. This characteristic of the relentlessly judging individual is recognized in the word prejudice—a prejudgment impervious to perception.
If J types don't have an adequately developed P process - they are noted as falling prey to being narrow, rigid, and incapable of seeing any point of view besides their own - and, note - that J is outlined here as a
prejudgment impervious to perception - in other words, it's depicting somebody that prefers to make judgements *without* gathering as much information as may be required.
It also clearly opposes the P perspective whereby they might take in too much information, and therefore constantly prefer to delay making decisions.
Furthermore, if thinking or feeling types lack perceptions of their own, they will be obliged to rely on the forms of judgment in default of content. They will accept the forms current in their environment: Thinkers will depend on the formulas and accepted principles; feeling types will adopt the attitudes of approval and disapproval. But they will apply these mechanically, with no genuine insight into the particular situation. It takes perception (either sensing or intuition will do) to supply understanding, open-mindedness, and the first-hand knowledge of life needed to keep judgment itself from being blind.
Here, we see both forms of J - Thinking and Feeling, noted as decidedly not open to new information, making decisions in accordance with accepted principles and adopting attitudes of approval and disapproval without any genuine insight into the situation - something that is noted here, as what perception does - supplies understanding and open-mindedness.
Now, I ask you and our fellow readers - is my notion that J's are more prone than P's to make decisions without gathering enough information first untrue to
Gifts Differing, an official source of information regarding the MBTI?
Have I mislead anybody?
Does my claim misrepresent the information?
Am I presenting an untruth?
Have I presented a completely subjective, and inaccurate understanding of the P and J divide?
You suggest my claim is not true to any official sources - I suggest you read the book again.
Compare the following, regarding J types:
Like to have matters settled and decided as promptly as possible, so that they will know what is going to happen and can plan for it and be prepared for it.
With this, regarding P types:
Like to keep decisions open as long as possible before doing anything irrevocable, because they don’t know nearly enough about it yet.
You can "take issue" with whatever you want - but the fact remains, my claim is true and accurate to an official source (
Gifts Differing), and no amount of copy-pasta is going to change that.
