Taco Rice Tuseday: This is Why I Can't Play Japanese App Games Like a Normal Person...
Well, I caved over the weekend and signed up for a Miitomo account. I didn't mean to, as I'm not the type that's big with social media (I thrive more on actual socializing then communicating through a screen... except real-time). But, my brother, cousin and plainrea sort-of talked me into it. And... it looked kind-of fun when I was reading the brochure on it.
Yep, that's what I look like, in a nutshell... puffy blond hair and all.
Now, the funny thing is that it took me three days to enter in my information. Not because I was confused about setup or indecisive about my character's final look. No, because the personality chooser distracted me to the point that I had more fun unraveling its algorithm then actually playing the damn game!
Okay, here's what happened. While I was entering in profile information my character's (and in association, my own) personality, I noticed that whenever I fiddled with the "Manners" dot a notch, I kept sliding between "Leader" and "Charmer" as my personality. I was confused by this, as I know my temperament pretty well and, and far as I know, I don't fit Miitomo's concept of a charmer and I really don't recognize myself as a leader-type (sure my friends tell me I have the aura of a "commander" persona in both my jobs, yet I just don't see those traits in me). So, that got me wondering... Why? I don't even fit those Barnum descriptor they have posted?
That's when I began fiddling with the personality pentagram to see what else the app offered. That's when I started to notice a pattern... there were four personality groups that Miitomo has you choose from. And from each, there were four sub-categories, divided into two different roles, and it added up to 16 types in all.
And it hits me... Am I taking a Keirsey Temperament Sorter?! In essences: Yes. Yes I am. Well, a modified version, at least.
I know what you're thinking... a Kei-what Sorter? A Keirsey Temperament Sorter is a type of personality assessment that's helps people better understand their temperament and (in theory) how they interact with others. There's four temperaments, divided into four rings and further sub-divided into 16 different "types". Mind-blowing, huh? Well, let's break things down a bit...
First the sorter divided personalities into two 'thinking types', Observant (S) and Introspective (N). What this implies is the way one gathers and processes information. Those with S types are more concrete in sensory and interprets information through their senses to make conclusions (ie: An Observant saw a man mugging an old lady for money... the Observant may think 'bad man terrorizing old lady, must call cops'). Those with N types are more abstract in sensory and interprets information through experiences to make their conclusions (ie: An Introspective see a man mugging an old lady... Introspective may think 'why an old lady, is he just that bad or maybe lady owe him drug money?')
*NOTE: Neither way is better or worse. As the Observant could've jumped to convulsions about the above "mugger" and found he was the old lady's overzealous weed mule, the Introspective could have been asked why they just stood around while an old lady was murdered front of them.*
From there, S and N can be broken into temperament, which is based off the concept of Utilitarian (J) and Cooperative (P):
- Guardian (SJ) - Artisans (SP) - Idealist (NF) - Rational (NT)
Anyways, above is pretty much just a fancy way of saying if you're more utilitarian or cooperative when accomplishing goals. P types are more likely to regard social constructs first when putting out information while J types are more likely to regard them as secondary. Or, P does what's viewed as "right in society" and J does what's viewed as "works in society":
So, adding the S/N with the P/J, you get:
- SJ: speak mostly of duty and responsibilities
- SP: speak mostly of what's right in front of them
- NF: speak mostly of hope and imagined possibilities
- NT: speak mostly of problems and imagined solutions
Now comes how you filter your gathered information, do you use your head (T) or your heart (F). T types rely more on though an though while F types relye more on feelings. Finally, there's how you seek your logic - either introvert (I) or extrovert (E). And there you have a Keirsey Sorter.
So, from that information, I started breaking down the personality pentagram. Of course you first notice is, "It has 5 sides... and that Aly clearly can't count"! Well, I figured that the five points represent the "Big Five" model (another personality assessment based on common language descriptors of personality). So, breaking down the Miitomo factors in this way, these are the manipulators I got:
- Individuality = Neurosis (SJ/SP/NJ/NP)
- Expression = Conscientiousness (F/T)
- Attitude = Openness to experience (IT/IP/ET/EP)
- Manners = Agreeableness (P/J)
- Movement = Extroversion (I/E)
Creepy, huh?! It makes sense, as each ray of the pentagram *does* have 8 points. And each point has the ability to manipulate two factors, so if you double the 8, you get 16. Okay, so I'm guessing that Miitomo created a hybrid of a Keirsey/Five personality test.
So, I tired my guess out. First I tried to see if keeping everything on 1 would give you an ISTP type:
- Not Expressive (SP) - Super Polite (P)
- Super Normal (T) - Super Slow (I)
- Super Serious (IT)
And this is what I got:
Okay, so the description reads as the not-so-positive 'shadow' traits of an ISTP, but it sorted ISTP type. So, if that's the case, then theoretically I can crank up the neurosis (Individuality) and it'll still come out ISTP:
Yep, still the same. Now, let's see if I can get get ISTP's "thinking" opposite, INTJ:
Wait, what? Dude, it worked!
Now, let's see if I can uses this formula to solve my issue. In Keirsey sorters, I've been chronically assessed as a ENF(x)J (the x means that, in piratical application, I'm and F, but when under stress, I default to T). So, I plugged in my basic (unbiased) temperament and got:
So, what's up with my T/F? Well, if you look at "my" Manners, it's at the 4/5th dot, middle of the road. And going by my data, Manners primary influences your P/J (with Individuality being secondary). So, going by that logic, I will get my my Meyer-Keirsey type: ENFP (Teacher)... Or, in Mii-type: Outgoing-Charmer.
So, it makes sense. I'm primarily abstract in my information process (as if this post isn't already a dead giveaway), which is an "N". When relaying, I'm a "F" type - as I know that sometimes the means to a goal can make you unpopular and I'm okay with that. My style of interacting is so "E" it hurts, I need things like external stimulus or social discussion, or I'll get drained fairly easily.
But if I ONLY nudge down my Manners one notch to 6/7, I get: ENTJ (Fieldmarshal)
And in the sake of science stating you should sample in threes, I did one more test. This time with the "care" opposites of INFJ (yellow) and ESFJ (red).
I should be getting Nintendo money for life for figuring them out! Of course, that was so much fun, I don't know if I want to continue playing...
Of course, I honestly think that the correlation I made with Miitomo's personalizer and the Keirsey/Five is, in no way, a coincidence. After all, I'm assuming the whole point of the app is to create a virtual version of *yourself*, including a rough guesstimatetion of your social temperament and interacting style. Nintendo, without a doubt, hired an army of physiologists and social engineers to hammer out this three inch data-mining pentagon that the average person might've spent 10 minutes looking at. It's a SOCIAL network, after all.
Yep, that's what I look like, in a nutshell... puffy blond hair and all.
Now, the funny thing is that it took me three days to enter in my information. Not because I was confused about setup or indecisive about my character's final look. No, because the personality chooser distracted me to the point that I had more fun unraveling its algorithm then actually playing the damn game!
Okay, here's what happened. While I was entering in profile information my character's (and in association, my own) personality, I noticed that whenever I fiddled with the "Manners" dot a notch, I kept sliding between "Leader" and "Charmer" as my personality. I was confused by this, as I know my temperament pretty well and, and far as I know, I don't fit Miitomo's concept of a charmer and I really don't recognize myself as a leader-type (sure my friends tell me I have the aura of a "commander" persona in both my jobs, yet I just don't see those traits in me). So, that got me wondering... Why? I don't even fit those Barnum descriptor they have posted?
That's when I began fiddling with the personality pentagram to see what else the app offered. That's when I started to notice a pattern... there were four personality groups that Miitomo has you choose from. And from each, there were four sub-categories, divided into two different roles, and it added up to 16 types in all.
And it hits me... Am I taking a Keirsey Temperament Sorter?! In essences: Yes. Yes I am. Well, a modified version, at least.
I know what you're thinking... a Kei-what Sorter? A Keirsey Temperament Sorter is a type of personality assessment that's helps people better understand their temperament and (in theory) how they interact with others. There's four temperaments, divided into four rings and further sub-divided into 16 different "types". Mind-blowing, huh? Well, let's break things down a bit...
First the sorter divided personalities into two 'thinking types', Observant (S) and Introspective (N). What this implies is the way one gathers and processes information. Those with S types are more concrete in sensory and interprets information through their senses to make conclusions (ie: An Observant saw a man mugging an old lady for money... the Observant may think 'bad man terrorizing old lady, must call cops'). Those with N types are more abstract in sensory and interprets information through experiences to make their conclusions (ie: An Introspective see a man mugging an old lady... Introspective may think 'why an old lady, is he just that bad or maybe lady owe him drug money?')
*NOTE: Neither way is better or worse. As the Observant could've jumped to convulsions about the above "mugger" and found he was the old lady's overzealous weed mule, the Introspective could have been asked why they just stood around while an old lady was murdered front of them.*
From there, S and N can be broken into temperament, which is based off the concept of Utilitarian (J) and Cooperative (P):
- Guardian (SJ) - Artisans (SP) - Idealist (NF) - Rational (NT)
Anyways, above is pretty much just a fancy way of saying if you're more utilitarian or cooperative when accomplishing goals. P types are more likely to regard social constructs first when putting out information while J types are more likely to regard them as secondary. Or, P does what's viewed as "right in society" and J does what's viewed as "works in society":
So, adding the S/N with the P/J, you get:
- SJ: speak mostly of duty and responsibilities
- SP: speak mostly of what's right in front of them
- NF: speak mostly of hope and imagined possibilities
- NT: speak mostly of problems and imagined solutions
Now comes how you filter your gathered information, do you use your head (T) or your heart (F). T types rely more on though an though while F types relye more on feelings. Finally, there's how you seek your logic - either introvert (I) or extrovert (E). And there you have a Keirsey Sorter.
So, from that information, I started breaking down the personality pentagram. Of course you first notice is, "It has 5 sides... and that Aly clearly can't count"! Well, I figured that the five points represent the "Big Five" model (another personality assessment based on common language descriptors of personality). So, breaking down the Miitomo factors in this way, these are the manipulators I got:
- Individuality = Neurosis (SJ/SP/NJ/NP)
- Expression = Conscientiousness (F/T)
- Attitude = Openness to experience (IT/IP/ET/EP)
- Manners = Agreeableness (P/J)
- Movement = Extroversion (I/E)
Creepy, huh?! It makes sense, as each ray of the pentagram *does* have 8 points. And each point has the ability to manipulate two factors, so if you double the 8, you get 16. Okay, so I'm guessing that Miitomo created a hybrid of a Keirsey/Five personality test.
So, I tired my guess out. First I tried to see if keeping everything on 1 would give you an ISTP type:
- Not Expressive (SP) - Super Polite (P)
- Super Normal (T) - Super Slow (I)
- Super Serious (IT)
And this is what I got:
Okay, so the description reads as the not-so-positive 'shadow' traits of an ISTP, but it sorted ISTP type. So, if that's the case, then theoretically I can crank up the neurosis (Individuality) and it'll still come out ISTP:
Yep, still the same. Now, let's see if I can get get ISTP's "thinking" opposite, INTJ:
Wait, what? Dude, it worked!
Now, let's see if I can uses this formula to solve my issue. In Keirsey sorters, I've been chronically assessed as a ENF(x)J (the x means that, in piratical application, I'm and F, but when under stress, I default to T). So, I plugged in my basic (unbiased) temperament and got:
So, what's up with my T/F? Well, if you look at "my" Manners, it's at the 4/5th dot, middle of the road. And going by my data, Manners primary influences your P/J (with Individuality being secondary). So, going by that logic, I will get my my Meyer-Keirsey type: ENFP (Teacher)... Or, in Mii-type: Outgoing-Charmer.
So, it makes sense. I'm primarily abstract in my information process (as if this post isn't already a dead giveaway), which is an "N". When relaying, I'm a "F" type - as I know that sometimes the means to a goal can make you unpopular and I'm okay with that. My style of interacting is so "E" it hurts, I need things like external stimulus or social discussion, or I'll get drained fairly easily.
But if I ONLY nudge down my Manners one notch to 6/7, I get: ENTJ (Fieldmarshal)
And in the sake of science stating you should sample in threes, I did one more test. This time with the "care" opposites of INFJ (yellow) and ESFJ (red).
I should be getting Nintendo money for life for figuring them out! Of course, that was so much fun, I don't know if I want to continue playing...
Of course, I honestly think that the correlation I made with Miitomo's personalizer and the Keirsey/Five is, in no way, a coincidence. After all, I'm assuming the whole point of the app is to create a virtual version of *yourself*, including a rough guesstimatetion of your social temperament and interacting style. Nintendo, without a doubt, hired an army of physiologists and social engineers to hammer out this three inch data-mining pentagon that the average person might've spent 10 minutes looking at. It's a SOCIAL network, after all.