“Pragmatism…asks its usual question. ‘Grant an idea or belief to be true,’ it says, ‘what concrete difference will its being true make in anyone’s actual life? How will the truth be realized? What experiences will be different from those which would obtain if the belief were false? What, in short, is the truth’s cash-value in experiential terms?’”
Observant Types Are Practical But More
When we talk about people with the Observant personality trait (whom we’ll call “Observant types” for brevity), the word that almost always comes up is “practical.” And it’s a good word for describing them. Managing that which is down-to-earth is where their strengths lie. A defining quality of their personality is their preference for the concrete, the straightforward, and clear outcomes. There’s nothing more practical.
But a potential danger with discussing Observant types is the potential for oversimplification. This is true when discussing any personality trait. Throwing the “p-word” (practical) around as often as we do, it’s easy to think of this group of people as one-dimensional – as long as they get things done, there’s nothing else to them. This is not only unfair but also inaccurate.
The goal of this article is to explore what it means to be an Observant type beyond superficial assumptions. Nothing here is likely to surprise people who share the Observant trait. They already know how complex they are. There may not even be many revelations for Intuitive readers. This is not an article filled with surprises. But hopefully, a review of potential misinformation can serve to reinforce balance and a proper perspective.
If you try to predict what a person will do based only on their four or five letters, you have an enormous chance of being wrong. Many factors influence behavior: upbringing, cultural pressures, life events, and so on. And traits aren’t rationed out, four traits per customer with no partial servings of any others. Most people enjoy some measure of their opposite traits. For Observant types, this would include qualities usually seen in those with the Intuitive trait.
Studying personality types is, no doubt, valuable. It allows us to understand our tendencies, our strengths, and our weaknesses, so we can plan a life that works with these qualities rather than against them. But, as we see in most fields that study humans as groups, the individuals within those groups usually have wild cards up their sleeves. While we humans always strive to categorize ourselves for better understanding, our uniqueness often stands in defiance of an absolute definition.
“Practical,” “concrete,” “down-to-earth,” are our buzzwords for Observant types. These descriptive words work well. But while there are prominent salt-of-the-earth characteristics in their profiles, it would be a mistake to think of these personalities as though they are useful cardboard cutouts – practical but without depth. Let’s look for potential misconceptions and destroy any lingering myths.
Observant Types Aren’t Intuitive Types
“Whatever the truth is, I don’t see how it will help me get food on the table.”
Before we deal with potential misconceptions around Observant types, it may help to review the differences between them and their Intuitive counterparts. The difference involves where each type believes they can find important information and what type of information they believe is important.
62% of Observant types say their dreams are best described as realistic, compared to 35% of Intuitive types.
Intuitive people consider and process information in their imaginations and in “what-if” terms. Their thoughts may be in some other time than the present. Or, they might imagine other scenarios rather than the one that’s right in front of them a great deal more than Observant personality types do. “What if?” is an impulse to transform “what is” into something else, whether it’s an idea, a strategy, or an object.
63% of Observant types say they prefer to think about how things are rather than how things should be, compared to 22% of Intuitive types.
Observant people are more comfortable with information that is “right here,” and they process it in “what is” terms. They prefer to deal with things as they are and in the present. That doesn’t mean that they ignore the past or the future, but mostly they view things through the lens of now. For example, they may look at retirement, a future event, as something for which to save. Because of the Observant trait, they likely believe that any “saving for” is best done in the present if it’s ever to happen. “What can I do about this right now,” is likely where most of their focus will rest.
Observant Types Aren’t Unimaginative
“Imagination doesn’t always mean looking outside of the box, but taking a closed box and seeing a different world from within it.”
Since the preference of Observant types is for gathering information from more exterior and concrete sources, one might assume that they have no or little imagination. Imagination may seem “too internal” for this group. But just because a personality type values one style over the other does not mean that they don’t value the other style at all. There is plenty of room for exercising imagination within the Observant approach. That doesn’t change their preference for gaining information from the material world. Rather, it expands their pallets of skills and tools to include some creative resources.
63% of Observant types say they spend a lot of time thinking about “what if?” scenarios, compared to 88% of Intuitive types.
While it’s true that thinking about imaginative what-if situations is more the domain of Intuitive types, 63% of Observant types say they spend a lot of time in the Land of What-If. That’s a little over six in ten.
One definition of imagination includes the ability to be resourceful. “Resourceful” means quick thinking that leads to problem-solving. By this definition, imagination and practicality overlap.
Some definitions of imagination include thinking of something that is remote either in the sense of distance or in the sense of reality. We can picture concrete things in our imaginations absent the thing itself. For example, daydreaming at work about how to fix the broken toaster at home. Or, Observant types asking themselves, “What are some activities that we can plan into our vacation next summer?” They don’t have to wander too far from their source of information and the things on which they focus to engage their imaginations.
Explorers (SP), an Observant group, are often creative interpreters of their worlds. Many are craftspeople, artists, decorators, entertainers, and athletes. Some, helped by their flexible spontaneity, seem to pull inventive and unusual solutions out of thin air. It would be hard to argue that Explorers, as a group that represents Observant personality types, are without imagination.
You don’t have to invent new worlds to be imaginative. Observant individuals often view real things that exist in their world in their minds and see alternatives in their imaginations. The texture and scope of their imagination are probably much different from that of Intuitive types, but the difference makes it no less imagination.
Observant Types Don’t Ignore All Theories and Abstract Ideas
“I pass with relief from the tossing sea of Cause and Theory to the firm ground of Result and Fact.”
Observant personalities will have less use for theories and abstract ideas than their Intuitive cousins, who love to indulge in these things simply because they exist or can be conjured up. But that doesn’t mean that Observant types have no room in their thinking for theories. Abstract thinking is likely more palatable for them if a theory connects to something they can deal with in more tangible ways. “Ideas are fine,” they might say, “but it’s better if they relate to practical ends and solving immediate problems.”
As an example, consider the teachers within the Observant personality types, of whom there are many, especially among Sentinels (SJ). They may happily embrace and teach abstract concepts to their students to set up a foundation for learning or to provide a logical framework for more practical considerations.
53% of Observant types say they like discussing different views and theories on what the world could look like in the future.
As a group, Observant types may be less likely to fool around with theories and abstract ideas the way Intuitive types might just for the fun of it. But the majority shows some interest in esoteric topics. Would Observant types prefer to talk about something that mattered in the moment rather than speculate about some far-flung future? Most likely. But that doesn’t mean that they reject imagining the future altogether.
59% of respondents with the Observant trait deny that they quickly lose interest in a discussion when it gets philosophical.
So, it’s not that theory repels or confounds Observant personalities. It may bore some of them. But that’s something different. It’s just that their relationship with abstract notions differs from the relationship Intuitive types might have. But a relationship exists, nonetheless.
Observant Types Aren’t All the Same
“I know there is strength in the differences between us. I know there is comfort, where we overlap.”
This section contains probably the most obvious point being made in the article. But it needs addressing.
Popular media often portrays practical and hardworking people as cogs in a social/economic machine. It may show them living in similar communities with similar houses, wearing similar clothes, going to work in similar vehicles, and working at similar conventional jobs like everyone else on their street. In these portrayals, often, they are humorless bureaucrats.
Storytellers usually write these utopias of sameness for dramatic or comedic effect. They may see their dronelike portrayals as making a social statement about losing individuality. It’s fair to wonder how much of their depictions seep into the consciousness of media consumers.
There may even be something about Observant personalities that helps perpetuate the faulty image of sameness. Sentinels are often very community-oriented and loyal to the people in their groups. And what is a community besides a cluster of people with things in common – at least enough things to bind them together? But most of us recognize that all individuals are unique, even in a tight community. There’s no reason to look at Observant types any differently.
Add to that other personality traits, life experiences, differing genes, different parenting styles, and on and on, and you have an individual unlike any other individual. Even identical twins don’t live identical lives, so people who share a trait or two should still have plenty of room to express themselves in their unique ways.
69% of Observant types say they have consciously attempted to discover their identity.
But if there is still any question about the distinctness of Observant types as individuals, our research suggests that they struggle with individual identities the same as everyone else. Almost seven in ten say they actively try to discover who they are. If their lives were that much a cookie-cutter existence, and the direction of their lives a foregone conclusion, identities would be fairly set, not something to find.
This suggests a level of introspection that people who don’t know any Observant types well might not expect from them. (See “Observant Types Don’t Neglect Their Inner Lives” below.)
79% of Observant types often feel misunderstood, and 66% think they are misunderstood because they are very different from most people.
Similarly, if they were that homogenous, misunderstandings would be few, and almost eight in ten Observant types would not suffer from feeling misunderstood. Note that they feel this way not because they think they’re different from most people but because they think they’re very different from most people. Their perception of differing from others suggests that they maintain a strong sense of individuality.
Observant Types Don’t Neglect Their Inner Lives
“But you might stumble upon yourself one day. You might suddenly stop short and see yourself in a completely new light.”
Just because people with the Observant trait prefer to get their information from the outer world does not mean that they never look inward. Everyone is introspective. The difference between various personality types and their practice of self-examination is a matter of degrees and maybe the things they look at. Personality traits alone do not limit anyone’s level of self-awareness. Self-examination is often crucial to self-development regardless of one’s traits.
7 out of 10 Observant types say writing lets them express things they’d otherwise find difficult to say, and 8 out of 10 think writing is an effective way to process emotions.
Journaling is a way to make the internal more external. The journaling process allows people to explore their feelings, ideas, motives, and many other things that exist below the surface of everyday life and casual thoughts.
In our research, we find that a large percentage of Observant individuals recognize the power of writing to help them both express difficult matters and deal with emotions. Writing can be an amazing tool for introspection, and Observant types’ appreciation for the tool suggests at least an interest in delving into their inner lives.
We can safely speculate that the texture of Observant individuals’ introspection differs from that of Intuitive individuals. Intuitive personalities may find expansive theories, philosophies, symbols, and ideas connected to their internal lives. Observant types may find that exploring their inner worlds reflects their outer worlds more. They might measure their sense of self by their real-life accomplishments rather than by less tangible concepts.
Not that there is any boundary that stops an Observant individual from exploring their lives with an emphasis on the intangible (and the other way around for Intuitive types). It’s all about relative preferences rather than the absence of anything. Observant types may spend less time navel-gazing, preferring to act instead. But it would be wrong to assume that having a practical and outward focus in life means a lack of introspection and the self-awareness it produces.
All That Observant People Are
So, hopefully, we’ve somewhat rounded out the portrait of those with the Observant personality trait. There are probably many more misconceptions about Observant types that can be discussed in the comments below. None of these things change the basic nature of Observant types’ practical energy and focus. They just allow us a more complete view, preserving their native traits while exploring characteristics that some may not expect.
To find out more about the Observant/Intuitive continuum and how it applies to you, please visit the Trait Scholar for more insights. Our Trait Scholar tool will help you fine-tune your understanding of your different traits with more nuanced information about your specific characteristics.
Further Reading
What Intuitive Personality Types Aren’t