Thinking vs Feeling – Which Pattern Do You Follow?

Key Takeaways

• Thinking vs feeling refers to an inclination in which a person either uses objective thinking or subjective feelings and opinions to make decisions in life.
• Thinking personalities are critical thinkers and are ruled by the head.
• Feeling personalities are naturally emotional and are ruled by the heart.
• Thinkers are task-oriented and remain emotionally aloof.
• Feeling types are warm, compassionate, and cannot use rational judgments.
• Both thinking and feeling functions have their own pros and cons. Thus, use them wisely.

We all have used thinking vs feeling functions at some point in our lives, depending upon the situation we were in. Right? 

It is one of the preferences in Jungian personality theory, given by Carl Jung, where an individual makes decisions based on either logic and rationality or feelings and personal values.

If you are the one who is brief, to the point, and thoughtful, it means you are more inclined towards the thinking function. 

On the contrary, if you prefer to put emphasis on your deepest feelings and desires, you are definitely inclined towards the feeling function.

In most situations, the primary preference that you show up with will depend on your inner world and how you tune it with your outer world.

This article will talk about the finer aspects of this Myers Briggs preference in detail.

Read on….

Thinking vs Feeling Infographic

What is a thinking personality?

SUMMARY
People who use their thinking skills are logical, thoughtful, task-oriented, frank, and detached from feelings and emotions. They decide sensibly and reasonably and hold an objective outlook towards life in general.

Thinking type people frame their decisions rationally. They decide on facts and objective criteria. These individuals use logic to solve problems. Thinkers have a set of rules to differentiate between right and wrong. 

They value facts, justice, and fairness. Accomplishing some typical tasks having a proper system helps motivate these people. 

Thinkers love such work that lets them perform critical analysis. These individuals love finding inconsistencies within a system.

All those, who select themselves in different work areas, cause a lot of frustration for the thinkers. It is because they prefer logic and norms over feelings and people.

This Myers-Briggs type interacts straightforwardly. Hence, it gives others a professional feel. These people stay away from emotional issues. They use their logic to tackle others and situations impartially.

Deep thinkers are often found to ponder and contemplate on known and unknown facts. They are slow-paced and love to decide slowly. 

Most of the time, thinking personalities prefer ‘me time and spend time alone. They may not always be an introvert but prefers to live in an inner world of logic and rationality.

People who prefer thinking over feeling are good observers. They are well aware of what’s happening around them. They speak less and see more.

Sometimes thinkers may take a lot of time to gather information about something before making a final call. This makes them logical decision-makers who never decide in haste.

If you are a thinking type, you will decide with your head and not your heart. For you, emotions are a sign of weakness and you would never wish to look and feel vulnerable.

You are tactful, indifferent, and fiercely honest. For you, logic and facts are the pillars of good decision-making. 

When asked to decide on something, people with good thinking skills lean on factual information and in-depth background knowledge of a topic. 

After gathering adequate information, they tend to test their alternatives to see what works well in a situation. These individuals tend to verify their decisions against the backdrop of available facts.

They dismiss emotional information fully because it appears puzzling and irrational. Thus, thinking personalities are more prone to believing what is actually right and not what appears to be right.

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What does a feeling personality mean?

SUMMARY
People with feeling as their primary trait tend to be more emotional than logical. Their decisions are based on feelings and personal values. They value the feelings of themselves and others equally well.

People of feeling personality type make all their decisions based on social considerations and value systems. 

They pay close attention to their moral values and how others feel, which help them to differentiate between right and wrong. Harsh truths do not bother these individuals too much.

Making connections and developing relationships are extremely important for feelings types. They feel motivated by their urge to know people and offer their help to others.

These people choose work depending on whom or what seems important to them.

Feeling personality type individuals love to offer their support to others. They show empathy to others’ feelings. 

They maintain harmony with all. These people often feel frustrated from the adversarial and impersonal segments of life. 

It is a great challenge for them to tackle conflicting situations. They tend to interact with others tactfully. 

Feelers are ready to step back from the realities, favoring someone who has had the experience of tackling such a situation. They consider the effect that their actions have on others.

Feelers are passionate, kind, and empathetic. They think for the welfare of others, especially of those who are close to them. 

As they are caring and gentle, they avoid conflicts and prefer to remain aloof during tense situations.

The feeling personality is also dominated by their innate need to make decisions based on their core values, what they actually feel to be right.

They also try to please others just to avoid disagreements. Maintaining harmony and cohesiveness is their guiding principle of life, without which their life’s purpose never gets fulfilled.

People who are high on feeling traits are natural caregivers because they are attuned to the needs and wants of others. They can sacrifice their personal well-being to accommodate things for others.

Feeling types can keep everyone connected in one thread. Thus, they are good helping hands for all.

Thinker Personality Traits

We have already discussed details linked with the thinker’s personality type and how they lead their lives.

Let us now discuss some of the signs associated with thinking people, which can help others identify them better –

1. Logic over emotion

Human beings use a mix of logic and emotions to make crucial decisions in their lives as per the demands of different situations. It does not apply to thinking personality type people. Thinkers always prefer logic to emotions. They do proper reasoning before making decisions.

2. They focus on truth

Thinking personality individuals focus on truth. They always look to use their principles and deal with different circumstances in life.

They would thoroughly analyze the benefits and drawbacks. Finally, they will use their logic to decide the course of action.

3. Identify inconsistencies 

People of a thinking personality type can notice inconsistencies. Whether in a personal or professional set up, they need things to stay consistent.

So, if you are with a thinker, make sure that you do not try to fool them by resorting to mischief or false claims.

4. Like to debate with others and argue

Thinkers do like to take things lying down. They always make it a point to discuss with others and logically put forward their points.

This approach does not make them easy for others to deal with as their rational thoughts score over others more often than not.

5. Firm in pointing out the wrong

Individuals of thinking personality type are firm in pointing out any wrong that grabs their attention. They give ideas to make things better.

This particular attitude makes others feel that thinkers always look to make things perfect.

6. Keep their eyes on the task

Thinking individuals always have their focus on the task in hand. When they are required to carry out any work, one can rely on them to do the needful in the best possible manner.

They are ideal employees for any organization due to their sense of responsibility. They carry out different tasks in the best possible manner.

7. Believe in fairness

Thinkers make sure to treat every individual with respect. They maintain transparency and think sensibly to examine both sides of any issue.

Moreover, these people make their decisions based on hard evidence. They do proper reasoning and pass judgment only after knowing the whole story.

8. Critical of new ideas

These individuals prefer following the same pattern and do not accept if anyone offers new ideas to meet objectives.

They are critical of those ideas. Thinks always prefer going with the flow and do not appreciate change.

9. Achievements motivate them

Every individual in this world loves to achieve something or the other in their life. Now, the results of achievements differ from one person to another.

On the one hand, some people might feel proud and become arrogant. While on the other hand, for people of thinking personality type, achievements become the source of motivation.

They help them perform even better.

10. Appreciates support from others

When people of a thinking personality meet others, they do not like anyone giving out negative vibes. These individuals will put off the thinkers.

People with this Briggs personality type want their companions to remain positive. They appreciate when they receive constant support from them.

11. Use logic to defend their position

Thinkers are always ready to give an opinion that can help improve any situation, both in their personal and professional lives.

When these people opine about something, they make sure to use their logic and justify their claims. Hence, it becomes difficult for others to win arguments against thinking personality type people.

12. Job-oriented

People with this personality type are job-oriented. For them, work is worship, and they put off leisure activities for later times.

They are ideally suited to meet their official responsibilities. It allows them to fulfill organizations’ objectives in the desired manner.

13. Thinkers are well informed people

Thinkers may be found immersed in books because they love to read a lot and keep themselves updated about new things happening around them. 

They are well-informed and thus can easily win over others in debates and discussions. People who are thoughtful and logical are voracious readers. 

They have an innate need to know and relate their knowledge in making appropriate and rational decisions.

Sometimes, thinking types may take refuge in solitary reading just to unwind themselves from the hustle-bustle of everyday living. Maybe just a way to connect with their inner ‘self’.

14. You’re curious

Thinkers are naturally curious and have an insatiable thirst to acquire knowledge. They prefer to learn about new things, people, and situations.

This curiosity makes them naturally explore new and innovative problem-solving strategies. Moreover, they are good communicators because of their extra nudge towards knowing many things at a time.

15. Thinkers tend to analyze situations closely

Almost all thinking personality types are analytical people who want to know the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of everything.

People high in thinking traits are keen to scan the tiny details of everything they experience around them.

They prefer to understand the cause-and-effect relationship before deciding on anything. Thinking personalities never accept anything at face value, rather trying to go deeper into the finer aspects of it.

16. You can analyze various perspectives quite flawlessly

In order to understand something better, you will always analyze various aspects of the situation so that you do not miss out on important information if any lies underneath. 

Thinking types are detail-oriented people. Thus, you tend to delve deeper into the words and actions of others to gather clarity and understanding.

17. Thinking types tend to forget frequently

People with thinking traits tend to be forgetful. Sometimes they get busy in their inner world of deep thinking and may forget to accomplish an important task. 

It happens because you actually have so many things to ponder about that you may miss out on some mundane tasks that you were supposed to do at a specific time.

18. You are not interested in small talk

Thinkers never like talking and discussing petty matters. Gossips and small talk is not your cup of tea. Rather you would love to discuss discoveries and inventions, theories, and the purpose of life.

People with thinking function as their dominant personality trait are often found discussing serious topics with friends and family. Regular chit-chats are seen as a mere waste of time and energy.

19. You may not focus on things that do not serve a definite purpose

It has been found that thinking types may find it hard to focus on things that do not serve a definite purpose in life. 

They remain aloof when it comes to routine tasks such as cleaning the messy house or doing some laundry or gardening work.

As these individuals are fiercely rational, they may want to hire someone for the extra work and concentrate more on those things in life that are important and worth considering.

They believe in using time cautiously and prioritizing their work. Sometimes, these people may not stress out on things that are totally unimportant at that particular point in time.

20. Thinkers prefer to remain prepared

People who think deeply are cautious and prefer being prepared to face any kind of adverse situation. Thus, they may have many backup plans to ensure optimum functioning and avoid failures. 

If anything goes wrong with one plan of action, they will immediately move on to the next one so that they can handle the disruption well.

Feeler Personality Traits

Every individual possesses certain personality traits. They help others to identify and know each other better. We have already discussed what this personality type means, apart from several details.

Now it is time to see the signs of being a feeler-

1. Follow their heart

People with feeling traits always go by their hearts and emotions. They do not realize that they are making decisions on what their heart says. 

These individuals tend to show it in various ways and to a different extent. Logical thinking is not the basis of making decisions.

2. Warm and Compassionate

Feeling type personality people are warm and friendly, caring and compassionate. They feel for others and become protective of them. 

It does not matter if the people they care about belong to their immediate family or the remote population in need.

3. The well-being of others is their top priority

If you are looking for selfless individuals, do not look any further than those carrying feeling personalities. They always base their decisions on the well-being of others.

This concern for others can go up to such an extent that it can even lead to their burnout. Their too much involvement can even cause others to burn. 

4. Easily become depressed

Feelers can become depressed if they feel they have not managed to become selfless in life as per their level of expectation. 

This depression can also occur if they notice that people cannot lead quality lives despite getting their help.

5. Face trouble in confronting others

People of feeling personality type face trouble while confronting people and telling them brutal truths. Due to this reason, they always prefer to keep all their resentment to themselves. 

Due to this reason, they can maintain harmony with other individuals. It allows them to make the relationship prosper further.

6. Put them in others’ shoes 

Feelers are people-oriented. They put themselves in others’ shoes and decide from their angle. Therefore, before making any decision, these people think of the impact that it will have on those involved. 

7. Sympathetic colleagues

Feeling personality type people make sympathetic colleagues. They show warmth and are extremely friendly with others.

It allows them to create a rapport amongst themselves. Thus, these people can perform better while working as a team and meet any organization’s demands.

8. Handles situations tactfully

Feeling personality type people use their words judiciously and thus tackle tricky situations tactfully.

When they work as a manager at a workplace, their ability to use tact holds them in good stead. It not only helps them stay in the good books of people and let others complete their tasks.

9. Offer advice to people in distress

If you are in trouble and looking to share your problem with someone, do not look any further than a feeler.

An individual of a feeling personality type understands others’ problems and knows that their support and empathy are all they need to feel better.

10. Negative criticism affects them adversely

Feelers have real problems in staying objective. It is more so when they face criticism at the workplace. Negative criticism adversely affects their lifestyle.

This sort of criticism severely affects their personal and professional lives. Thus, it interferes with their peace and composure.

11. Seek consensus

When feelers work alongside others, they give due importance to their ideas and suggestions and implement them gradually.

They also apply their natural tendency to seek consensus and popular opinions in their personal lives. It helps them to gel with people better.

12. Prime focus on the relationship

Feeling personality type people focus on building and taking care of relationships. They will do anything to keep their relationships intact.

These individuals understand people’s feelings and emotions. Hence, they uphold others’ interests ahead of their own.

13. Feelers are not an open book

Deep within you are a private person and may not show off your deepest emotions to others. At times, you may not feel comfortable crying openly or laughing loudly in private places.

This holds true for introverted feelers who prefer to keep their emotions private and hidden.

14. All feelers are natural peacemakers

Feelers are peace-loving people and try to avoid conflicts at all costs. They do not like to hurt others unnecessarily and thus never get into arguments and squabbling.

These individuals are soft and sensitive and as they are caring too, they may hate to disagree with those who matter the most in their personal life.

15. They’re morally strong

People who are strong in their feeling function are morally strong and put a lot of emphasis on what they think to be right. They never compromise on their ethical judgments and always follow their heart.

They do a lot of self-talk and analyze right and wrong in detail before deciding on an important matter in life.

Thinker vs Feeler – Key Differences

Let us briefly discuss the key differences between a thinker and a feeler. It would help us get clarity on several aspects of their personality dynamics and what makes them behave in the way they do.

The differences are as follows –

Thinking vs Feeling – workplace habits

When it comes to workplace habits, thinkers and feelers act differently. This is because thinkers are analytical and logical and they do well in jobs that require a lot of information analysis and synthesis.

Thinkers choose careers in science and technology, computer analytics, engineering, etc.

However, feelers are prone to careers that involve people. They can become good teachers, social workers, doctors, and psychologists. Most often, these individuals take up jobs that look into helping others. 

Any job that satisfies their need of being a nurturer or caregiver is readily accepted. Now let’s understand how thinking and feeling types perform in workplace setups.

Thinking types – workplace habits

In the workplace, thinking types use facts and data to understand concepts. They do not follow things blindly but love to get deeper into the various perspectives that help them in rational decision-making.

In team meetings, thinking personalities will always have a handy gist of critical points to be discussed. These individuals prefer to be prepared and avoid the last-minute rush.

They are preferred in the workplace for their logical and conceptual understanding. Thinkers are hardworking people and they prefer to finish off their tasks on time.

Most thinkers practice active listening and passive speaking in workplace setups because they prefer to have an in-depth understanding of what others are talking about.

This helps them to analyze things logically based on facts and data and then decide accordingly. Thinkers are good problem solvers and this makes them popular in workplaces. 

They are known for their methods and systems put in the right place to fulfill organizational goals. As managers, thinkers are able leaders and can lead their teammates with utmost efficiency.

Feeling types – workplace habits

People who use more feeling and less logic in their decision-making process are seen as compassionate and helpful in the workplace.

As colleagues, these individuals are helpful and can support others in need. Sometimes this caring nature may backfire and others may use them in various ways by sabotaging them emotionally.

It has been found that people who are high on feeling traits are able communicators who believe in shared experiences. During team interactions, they seek advice and suggestions from others. 

Feelers have relaxed body language and they remain empathic towards the needs of their colleagues and subordinates.

Thinking vs Feeling – how do they approach and maintain relationship

What it takes to build happier, healthier, and committed relationships has been debated and discussed for ages. 

People who think and act are more systematic and methodical when it comes to choosing their right partner. While the feelers are easygoing and relaxed and decide emotionally when they look for their perfect soulmate.

Let’s analyze their relationship habits in detail.

Thinkers and their relationship habits

People who are hard-core thinkers without a touch of emotion in them may seem to struggle in their intimate relationships.

This is probably because of the fact that thinking personalities tend to evaluate the nitty-gritty of intimate relationships with logic and reasoning, but in reality, it doesn’t work that way.

Their partners may hate being evaluated and criticized at every moment. Thinkers are detail-oriented and never accept anything at face value. 

This holds true even for relationships. They may put their partner’s patience and commitment to test every now and then.

Sometimes this behavior backfires and the bonding may get damaged over time. During the initial days of the relationship, thinkers may look for hard facts and do a lot of background checks about their partners. 

Though every relationship goes through ups and downs, thinkers tend to focus more on how to resolve the conflict by finding out the wrong links in the relationship and they try to do this logically, not with their heart after all.

They prefer settlements at all costs, even if it means ignoring or hurting their partner’s feelings unknowingly.

Most often, thinkers try to dominate their partners. If their partners appear timid and submissive the job becomes easy.

In working out a solution to a problem, a thinking personality either assumes or starts a blame game to resolve the issue.

So, the matter of fact is, people who think and try to nurture their relationships with logic and rationality may fail completely. They may struggle to attain inner peace and harmony in their intimate relationships.

They may try to remain as the main caretakers of the relationship. The relationship may appear a give and take contract rather than a deep bonding based on love, mutual understanding, and lifelong friendship.

Feelers and their relationship habits

Feeling personalities nurture their relationship with compassion and warmth. They become adaptable partners who know how to give space in a relationship.

Feelers are emotional and respect the deepest feelings of their partners. They may readily understand the needs and desires of their partners. 

They are empathic and kind and support their partners to accomplish their individual life goals.

People who are high on their feeling functions use gut feeling that always tells the truth. Sometimes, if the relationship hints at a problem, they may use their intuition to find out the real truth. 

They are also quick to pick up the subtle cues in the relationship pretty early. If something is wrong in the relationship and they get a cue from it, feelers will try to communicate their problems openly with their partners and thereby try to resolve the issue.

Above all, feeling types want to be loved, accepted, and praised by their partners. They may feel hurt if their partners criticize them and try to find fault in their behavior. 

They may take criticisms personally and feel emotionally down about it.

Feelers view their partners as someone with whom they were meant to be related with. Thus, they put their best efforts to nurture the relationship with deep care and affection.

They want assurance, understanding, and lots of affection from their partners to feel fulfilled in their relationships.

Myers and Briggs Thinking vs Feeling Functions

In Myers Briggs Type Inventory (MBTI), thinking vs feeling preferences describes the way an individual makes decisions in real-life situations.

This cognitive function is decision-making machinery where the person either decides with logic and reasoning or settles down with the feeling components.

If you are a thinking type, it’s evident that you will analyze the pros and cons of everything in detail, then apply your logical powers to make the ultimate decisions.

If you are a feeling person, you will be aware of your own feelings and the feelings of others. You will allow your personal wishes and values to influence your decision-making process.

Thus, feeling types are subjective and more emotional than the thinking types.

Feelers are tactful and take the opinions of others into consideration before making any concrete decision. 

The following statements hold true for thinkers –

• I prefer to understand various things logically.
• I hate to decide with the feelings I possess.
• My decisions are based on facts and valid information.
• For me, a detailed background check of everything is a must.
• I am a keen observer, I am quick to notice inconsistencies, if any.
• Sometimes, I tend to rule out the influence of others in my decision making process.
• I always have the last say.
• For me, truth and honesty is more important than being tactful.
• I appear indifferent, uncaring, and emotionally distant in various social settings.

The following statements hold true for feelers – 

• I decide with my feelings and deepest intuitions.
• For me, the feelings of others are equally important as mine.
• Peace and harmony are important for my emotional wellbeing.
• I also avoid conflicts and feel nervous if I confront an undesirable situation.
• I miss out on seeing the hard truth or harsh realities of life.
• Idealism, beliefs, conviction, and values guide my life’s path in desirable ways. It stops me from making errors and mistakes,

A word from ‘ThePleasantPersonality’

To conclude, it can be said that thinking vs feeling is a mere clash between rational objectivity and subjective feelings. 

Sometimes it may happen that a person’s tendency to lean on any one of the functions could be stronger than the other depending upon the decision to be made.

As the feeling personalities cherish their own and others’ feelings, it doesn’t mean that they never use their thinking mind.

It just means they are more inclined to use their affective states when asked to make an important decision.

The same holds true for thinking personalities as well. These people show a general propensity to remain logical and objective as much as possible.

After all, the head versus heart tussle goes on till one feels satisfied with the decision being made. 

Are you interested to know more about ‘Judging Vs Perceiving’ then click here?