This is the third and final Module in the program that includes a deliberate and specific Type focus (the previous ones being Modules 4 and 6). We believe that to “know yourself is the beginning of all wisdom” and to develop and sustain authentic style that comes from the inside out your style must originate from your core as a person.
Module 10, in particular, intertwines Type and style concepts in a way the previous Modules haven’t and so is a natural advancement of previous explorations around Type. These are concepts that go deep and wide in your authentic style journey.
By understanding what we’re exploring next in this Module, you will be better able to:
- Make style decisions that you trust more of the time, including limiting any style choices you later regret.
- Know what style information to pay attention to, and what to ignore. You’ll always have ready access the style input you need.
- Use the two balancing elements of your psychological make-up to ensure you never ‘go to extremes’ with your style.
This remainder of this Module is focused on applying advanced Psychological Type concepts to your style. These concepts and Explorations are in a separate section so you can take your time with them – as much time as you need to read and reflect on everything before you start the Explorations.
We’ve used examples, explorations, illustrations and graphics to explain the Type concepts as simply and clearly as we can, and how they relate to style. We’ll be doing a deep dive into these two style+type concepts:
- Your Perceiving Function – how your preference for Sensing or iNtuition factors into your style
- Your Judging Function – the impact your preference for Thinking or Feeling has on your style decisions
Take your time with this material, it does contain some sophisticated ideas, but once you start looking at your style through the psychological type lens, you’ll see things that you simply couldn’t see before!
Type Talk – Judging and Perceiving
So you’ve heard of Judging and Perceiving – the J and P that are at the end of your Style Type code, such as ESTJ or INFP.
These functions have two jobs. The first is as Type functions and terms in and of themselves, and the second is as a signpost. It’s their second job as signposts that we are concerned with here.
This signpost works this way:
- Judging points to Thinking (T) and Feeling (F). T and F are the “Judging” functions. Judging is all about how you assess and decide things.
- Perceiving points to Sensing (S) and iNtuition (N). S and N are the “Perceiving” functions. Perceiving is all about how you gather and retrieve information.
If you remember that J and P have two jobs and it’s their job as a signpost that we’re exploring here, that will help you as you progress through the remainder of this Module.
Remember we explored in-depth in Module 6 your Leading and Supporting Functions. All we are doing here is assigning those two Functions to the categories of Perceiving and Judging – just one simple step further in our exploration.
On the next page of this section you’ll see the dominant Perceiving and the dominant Judging functions for each of the 16 Style Types.
The Different Landscapes of Judging and Perceiving
Imagine two landscapes.
One is the land of Judging, there are two places here – Thinking and Feeling.
The second is the land of Perceiving, with two destinations – Sensing and iNtuition.
You can go to both lands, just not at the same time.
One land is your preferred land (your Dominant/Leading function). The other is a favorite second land you like to go to (your Auxiliary/Supporting function).
You have discovered which these are in Module 6 – refer to those notes.
Juding and Perceiving Examples
Style Type: ENTJ
Leading Function: Extraverted Thinking – a Judging function.
Supporting Function: Introverted iNtuition – a Perceiving function
Style Type: ISFJ 
Leading Function: Introverted Sensing – a Perceiving function
Supporting Function: Extraverted Feeling – a Judging Function
Why it Matters – Judging and Perceiving
Knowing if you are Perceiving dominant or Judging dominant is so useful. This builds on what you have already learned about your Leading and Supporting Functions in Module 6.
There are 8 dominant Judging Types, and 8 dominant Perceiving Types (you’ll see this on the next page of the website). These two concepts apply to style.
Dominant Judging Types will be keen to order, organize and assess style information – they want to shape and control their style, internally (if they are Introverted) or externally (if they are Extraverted). They may need to remember to take in enough style information and keep their options open long enough before deciding too quickly and closing down options. You will notice on page 73 of the Module PDF that the dominant Judging Types do not necessarily have a J at the end of their Type code – dominant Judging Types are ExxJ and IxxP.
Dominant Perceiving Types will be keen to learn as much as they can, to gather more information, to not close off too many options too soon. They will source their favorite information internally (if Introverted) or externally (if Extraverted). They may need to remember to make a decision before the information they’re making it on becomes out of date. You will notice on page 72 of the Module PDF that dominant Perceiving Types do not necessarily have a P at the end of their Type code – dominant Perceiving Types are ExxP and IxxJ.
