Judging Vs. Perceiving: Understanding Your Personality

What Does Judging or Perceiving Mean?

Judging and Perceiving are personality traits. A person with a judging personality has a preference for order, decisiveness, and closure, whereas a person with a perceiving personality prefers spontaneity, relaxed deadlines, and easygoing. Understanding the personality dimensions helps a person to organize their world. It gives a greater understanding of oneself and others, which helps you to understand how you function in life and why you or others behave in certain patterns. Research shows that when people understand their personality types and differences in the workplace, their teamwork improves, they learn to communicate various ideas and views, and they know ways to relieve stress and manage conflict arising from personality differences.²

What Is a Judging Personality?

Judging personality type refers to how you organize the world around you and make sense of it. This is what it means to “judge” the world around you. This is not the same as being judgmental. It simply refers to how they approach daily life. This is a critical personality factor because it relates to how one approaches their work, tasks, and their relationships. Judging personality types need closure in their relationships and activities. They like to understand what’s coming up, so they can plan accordingly. They view planning as a path to minimize future stress.

Traits of the Judging Personality

Some of the defining traits of those with judging personalities are being structured and well-organized. They approach a project by setting clearly defined goals and making a concrete plan for how to achieve these goals by a set deadline. They like order and prefer to complete one task before starting another one. They also like to give themselves enough time to research, plan, and overall prepare so that they can finish a task on time and avoid future stress.

Traits of judging personalities include:

• Making a plan ahead of time
• Prioritizing work over play
• Structures
• Goal-oriented
• Focused and task-oriented
• Being absolute in their decision making
• Like to take charge of their environment
• Self-disciplined and decisive
• Controlled
• Completes tasks
• Responsible

Positive Perceptions of the Judging Personality

People with judging personalities tend to be viewed as dependable. People generally know what to expect from them. They appreciate that they can count on them to finish a task by a deadline. They are commended for their high work ethic. Judging personalities are viewed as planners and can execute a task well. When there is a problem to solve, they are thorough, and not only will they find a solution, but they will have two or three backup solutions ready to go. They seek closure and are motivated to complete a task as soon as they can in order to avoid stress. They thrive off of crossing things off their list and love the feeling of accomplishment.

Negative Perceptions of the Judging Personality

The shadow side of the judging personality can arise from the need to control their environment. This can be experienced as micromanaging and rigid. It can be hard for those with judging personalities to adapt to change and to go with the flow. They like things to be planned out, and if it is not planned out, it can lead to anxious behaviors. Both personally and professionally, there can be value in not planning and just being present. Those with judging personalities may sometimes struggle with trusting themselves that, at the moment, they do have the inner resources to navigate situations. They sometimes put too much trust in the external such as schedules, planners, and carefully constructed goals.

What Is a Perceiving Personality?

The perceiving personality tends to be spontaneous and go with the flow. They approach life with a “come as you are” belief and prefer to tackle problems as they come. They view deadlines more as a guide rather than an absolute to follow. Those with the personality type thrive from open-endedness and being available to receive what may come their way. They expect change and can easily adapt to a change in direction. They place a high value on freedom, and this is reflected in how they navigate their relationships and workload. They thrive on change or new situations and abhor routines.

Traits of the Perceiving Personality

Perceiving types tend to be spontaneous and go with the flow. They view deadlines as just a guide rather than a rigid rule to follow. They tend to leave things until it is close to their deadline to work on them. They prefer to work in spurts of energy rather than at a steady and methodical pace. Perceiving types may start multiple projects at various times. They do not have a need to complete a project before starting another one. They like to leave things open and subject to interpretation or interests. They are open to changes in direction and are not attached to things going in a specific way. They are adaptable, flexible, and always open to new ideas that arise.

Traits of perceiving personalities include:

• Flexibility
• Open-mindedness
• Spontaneous
• Lots of ideas
• Easily adaptable
• Curious
• Creative

Positive Perceptions of the Perceiving Personality

Strengths of the perceiving personality include being open to new experiences. They have a naturally curious mind and want to explore and learn more. They can follow this curiosity along different paths and are flexible as well as spontaneous. Their productivity can be expressed through bursts of energy, and they may be seen as full of good ideas and energetic. They tend to be commended on their adventurous personality and willingness to change course when needed. Being exploratory means that they sometimes discover new ways of doing things or new information that others were unaware of. People like how open they are to new experiences and can enjoy being in their presence, especially when their spontaneity leads to a more vibrant way of living in this world.

Negative Perceptions of the Perceiving Personality

Negative aspects of perceiving personalities include a lack of dependability and predictability. They may change course suddenly without a plan or clear idea of the outcome. Some may view this as irresponsible and impulsive. Perceiving personalities are sometimes viewed as insensitive and unable to work well in teams. Since they like to keep all options open, they are sometimes seen as noncommittal, indecisive, and procrastinating.

Key Differences in Perceiving Vs. Judging

There are several critical differences between perceiving and judging personalities. Perceiving personalities approach the world as an open canvas to be explored and figured out when the urge arises. They are open to what is presented to them and are comfortable with not knowing right away. In contrast, those with a judging personality type approach the world as a canvas to be controlled and managed. They want to know as much information ahead of time as possible so that they can plan and create a timeline with milestones to be achieved within a reasonable time frame or by a fixed deadline. Another significant difference is that perceiving times tend to take their time with making a decision and may follow their interests wherever they go. Judging personality time is decisive and logical. They will wait to finish a project before starting a new one, even if they have interests in various areas.

Judging and perceiving are aspects of a dimension of the MBTI. They are on a continuum and not necessarily complete opposites of each other. It refers to where individuals may have a tendency to lean when faced with a situation.

The table below compares the key differences between perceiving and judging:³

Judging	Perceiving
Controlled	Relaxed
Methodical	Improvising
Prompt	Procrastinate
Planner	Spontaneous
Meets deadlines	Views deadlines as a guide
Likes closure	Open-ended
Structured	Flexible
Relaxed	Controlled
Rule follower	Adaptable
Value work first then leisure	Value leisure first, then work
Decisive	Non-decisive
Task-oriented	Concept-oriented
Focused	Changes track at any point along the way
Ordered	Carefree

Judging Vs. Perceiving in the Workplace

The way that you organize the world around you is important for your career and how you interact in the workplace. Many workplaces tend to follow a hierarchical model and have set rules and expectations to be followed. If someone does not understand how to navigate this hierarchical model or know the importance of following workplace expectations, it can lead to conflict, miscommunications, poor performance, or even loss of job or promotion opportunities. Understanding if you are a judger or a perceiver helps you to evaluate your habits and determine if they are supporting your career success.

Judgers in the Workplace

Judgers tend to thrive in careers that require structure, orderliness, and a sense of task-orientedness. They work well when there is a plan and clear expectations or deadlines. A workplace that allows them to set goals, be organized, and make decisions is most conducive to a judging personality. Judgers do well with having external data that they can use towards methodically arriving at a decision. Careers that are best for a judging personality are business administrator, marketing director, and school principal.

In the workplace, someone with a judging personality needs to be aware of their need to control their environment. It’s helpful to be well organized and meet deadlines, but what’s not helpful is being rigid with team members and not open to change. There are times when some flexibility in thought and actions is needed in the workplace, and judging personalities need to be aware of this. Additionally, not everyone is decisive, and judgers need to be aware that some people may need extra time to perceive information in their environment before making a decision.⁴

Perceivers in the Workplace

Perceivers tend to thrive in careers that invite open-endedness, and creativity and might be more project-oriented with loose or no deadlines. They do well with an environment that changes regularly and allows for innovation and new ideas. They want to have flexibility with how they execute tasks. Perceivers do well in careers where they can sense their environment and receive information. Careers that are best for a perceiving personality are museum curator, social worker, copywriter, public relations specialist, and graphic designer.

In the workplace, someone with a perceiving personality needs to be aware of workplace expectations. It is helpful to be open-minded and creative, but what’s not helpful is being indecisive or not completing projects. Deadlines are created to be followed, and so viewing deadlines as just a guide and procrastinating can create problems in the workplace. A team can be a challenge if a perceiving personality is not meeting the agreed-upon milestones that the group has established or doing their part in a timely manner.

Judging Vs. Perceiving in Relationships

Understanding the way that we organize the world around us is important for our relationships and how we interact with those closest to us. By knowing what drives our behaviors, we can better our feelings and behaviors. This cultivates greater self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, and social skills, all elements of high emotional intelligence. With high emotional intelligence, we have greater communication skills and make healthier decisions regarding our choice of partners as well as how to navigate our relationships.

In the Judging/Perceiving dimension of the MBTI, Judgers tend to orient themselves in a way that would best support the decision-making process. Perceivers, on the other hand, tend to orient themselves in a way that best supports the information-gathering process.⁵

Judging in Relationships

What is it like to be in a relationship with a judger? Judgers like to know what to expect and prefer to have a plan. They would probably know ahead of time all of the details for an upcoming romantic date and would carefully research the location, how long it will take to get there, if reservations need to be made, what the parking is like, the weather conditions, and so much more. They do not like to feel rushed, so they will start planning early on to give themselves room for error and time to explore various options. In their physical environment, they like for things to be neat and orderly. They don’t want to waste time looking for lost items and like for things to be put back where they were found. When it comes to parenting, they establish structure and routine with children and even go so far as to have a behavior chart with rewards and consequences. They thrive on having a calendar that helps to keep them organized with play dates, school events, extracurricular activities, and date nights.

When in a relationship with a judger, it can feel positive or negative depending on if you’re a judger or perceiver. Other judgers appreciate the carefully made plans and the shared color-coordinated calendar. They know what to expect, and the communication is clear and effective. They can feel valued and appreciated because it is clear that attention is paid to details such as your interests and hobbies. It can sometimes feel like a well-oiled machine as plans can be made ahead of time, such as the big summer vacation, and everyone knows well in advance how many days they should take off from work and how much the budget is for the trip.

Perceiving in Relationships

What is it like to be in a relationship with a perceiver? Perceivers love to go with the flow and not feel confined by deadlines or appointment times. They prefer to wait and receive information, then determine the course of action. They are spontaneous and like to take things as they come. Perceives tend to have lots of fun and exciting ideas in a relationship, but many times, these ideas may not come to fruition. They may suggest an adventurous 3-day backpacking trip and wait until the day of to put time and energy into planning it. They may throw a wonderful birthday celebration for you, but unlike judgers, they did not spend weeks or months planning it. This does not take away from how passionate and expressive they are. It’s just that they interact with their external world in a way that is flexible, spontaneous, and open-ended. They may have lots of great interests and hobbies that can show up in a relationship, but they may start several without actually finishing them.

When in a relationship with a perceiver, it can feel positive or negative depending on if you’re a judger or perceiver. It may be difficult to get a perceiver to sit and plan a vacation. They can find making decisions to be anxiety-provoking and may procrastinate until they can’t anymore. Sometimes, however, because of the lack of planning, it can mean that they spend more money than necessary. They may miss out on the early bird deadline or may spend more money on the concert tickets because they waited too long to purchase them. When it comes to parenting, they can be viewed as the fun parent who comes up with exciting activities to do at the moment. They can have cool ideas that kids gravitate towards, and leaving things open-ended means that they can collaboratively work on things with kids, such as deciding on what to make for dinner.

Addressing Differences in Judging Vs. Perceiving

While one isn’t better than the other, there can be times when it is more beneficial to be judging, and there can be times when it is more beneficial to be perceiving. For example, if someone desires to run a marathon, it can be beneficial to be more judgmental. In order to run 26.1 miles, it could be helpful to gather information and plan how to execute this goal. This may involve planning and strategizing, such as setting a goal of three miles every other day and planning to build up one’s mileage and endurance. It is important to be decisive and register for the marathon, then be methodical in training for it, as well as feel comfortable with race day being the deadline for marathon preparation. For many serial marathoners, they are motivated and energized by these aspects of completing marathons. Another example is meal prepping. Many people have found that in order to eat healthier complete meals during the week, or rather to just eat a decent meal, they need to meal prep. So, they understand that it is important to have a plan and to be methodical in executing that plan. As a result, they may choose a day of the week to make the meal plan, probably on a Saturday. Then, they may do research and identify a few meals that they want to cook, make a grocery list, make time to cook, cook the meals, store food in the right containers, and then refrigerate/freeze. This strategy works great for judgers.

Despite the many benefits of a judging personality style, there can be some tendencies that can be a disadvantage to a judge in certain situations. For example, a judger in a marriage with a perceiver may want to have a list of chores and projects to complete over the weekend, with an already written list of materials, steps to completion, and desired outcomes. If that judger dived into the weekend, expecting the Perceiver partner to follow along happily, they would be in for a surprise. A judger needs to sometimes manage their tendencies to be structured, organized, methodical, and planners in situations where this may not be required, like a birthday party or a girls’ trip weekend where others just want to be more spontaneous. In the example above with the list of chores and projects for the weekend, a judger needs to be mindful that not everyone, including the love of their life, may want to plan out their weekend, and they not find a sense of accomplishment in getting the garage cleaned out. Self-awareness and open-mindedness are important. Additionally, positive communication skills, such as collaboratively checking in with their partner about whom they would like to spend the weekend and tentatively sharing their hopes with them while having a willingness to be flexible.

There can also be times when it is more beneficial to have a perceiving personality style rather than a judging personality style. Perceivers love to go with the flow and are known for being spontaneous. They can make excellent travel companions and are willing to try new activities. They have great ideas of things to do. Another example where perceivers thrive can be in the workplace when the team is brainstorming ideas for a new marketing campaign. They are creative thinkers. Thinking outside of the box is where they excel, and having them at the table is essential for brainstorming fresh and creative ideas.

Despite the advantages of being a perceiver, there can be situations where certain tendencies can be a disadvantage. For example, if they had to be the Project Coordinator, they may struggle with breaking the project into smaller parts, assigning roles to tasks, and creating a methodical plan to follow so that the project is completed by the deadline. In order to overcome the tendency to procrastinate and be too carefree, it can be helpful for perceivers to delegate to others tasks that need to be attended to in a punctual way. Perceivers can benefit from using time management apps or project management apps, which can provide tools and strategies for meeting deadlines and completing tasks.

A judging personality can better understand a perceiving personality by:

• Practice more spontaneity
• Include more unstructured time
• Being more open-minded
• Practice flexibility
• Communicate concepts before tasks

A perceiving personality can better understand a judging personality by:

• Using time management or project management apps
• Use tools such as planners and reminders
• Offer to work at the time of the day when you are most focused
• Volunteer when your strengths are and delegate when necessary
• Ask for help before it is too late, rather than miss the deadline

In My Experience

Dimensions such as Judgers and Perceivers on a personality test, are not to be approached rigidly. Keep in mind that it can show up differently for different people, so don’t get too stuck on it looking like one specific way. Also, even though a test may say that I am one particular dimension, I can use this as something to note and keep in mind in my interactions while having the flexibility to understand what other dimensions could be and how I want to interact based on this. Sometimes, we get caught up in our narrow way of navigating life, however, it is important to be flexible and kick the ego to the curb so that we can, with humility, be open to the various personality styles that we encounter in our one wild and precious life.