People have the ability to employ all their senses. They will favor and build more skills related to their preferred senses. This means most people will be more successful at learning through their favored senses.
Kinesthetic
Through body movement and physical activity involving the large muscle groups, kinesthetic people gather data about the world. In addition to seeing and hearing while learning, kinesthetic people must “do”; that is, they must be actively and physically involved in their learning and daily work. Studies show that 25 to 35 percent of the general population prefers this approach to learning and working.
Tactual
This preference involves distinctions in experiencing the physical world that are more subtle than those associated with kinesthetic learning. The tactual person learns through bodily sensations and small motor muscle movement rather than through physical movement involving the large muscle groups. (These people perceive subtle sensations, some as fine as those registered on the surface of the skin, and can receive information from a variety of sensations, including odor.) Emotional changes in others are also noticed more readily by tactual people. Studies show that 15 to 25 percent of the general population favors this modality.
Auditory
Speaking and listening are the favored modes of learning for auditory people, with an emphasis on speaking. Discussion, “thinking out loud” and listening to what is being said are the preferred learning approaches. Sounds of all kinds play a large role in learning. Only about 10 to 15 percent of the general population shares this primary sense.
Visual
For visual learners, information is processed by seeing, viewing pictures or CD-ROMs, or watching demonstrations, visual learners will prefer to rely on visual sources of information when working or learning. An average of 35 to 40 percent of the general population shares this primary preference.
PERCEPTUAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL STYLES
This score shows the brain’s organization preferences and how the brain associates and stores sensory input.
CS – Concrete sequential
This means you like to have things neat and orderly. You may want someone giving you a task to explain each step. You want to deal with the real world and factual information rather than just ideas. You may be uncomfortable with open-ended tasks where you can be “creative”, and may prefer to have a specific task. You feel good when your home is in order and your work area is neat with supplies in their places. You want to get started on time and avoid wasting time. If you were fixing a car or cooking a meal, you would want to know the most practical and efficient way to do the job.
CG – Concrete global
You like knowing how things work, but not all the details. You tend to attach problems until the answer “comes to you”. Following instructions can annoy you. You may not think organizing your work into files is all that important, and will just stack things up because you know you can find them when you need them. You like knowing why you need to learn things, but would much rather find out on your own. If you were working on a new computer, you would “discover” how it works as you go along. You would probably discover other things about it along the way.
AG – abstract global
You like to know the “whys” of things. Your home or work area may appear disorganized, but you know where everything is. You like ideas and want to see how they fit together. When fixing a car or cooking a meal, you would want to check out how many different ways it could be done, and even improved upon, before you start to work. For you, the actual work may blossom into re-doing the interior of the car or coming up with an exotic presentation of the meal.
AS – abstract sequential
You like things orderly, but it may show up in the way you think more than in what you do. You may want to tell your colleagues the reasons why you organize your day the way you do. You may be very good at organizing and understanding abstractions, such as math and science theories. If you were learning to use a computer, you would want to study the problem, the fundamentals behind it, and the steps involved before actually starting to work.
PERSONALITY STYLES
This score shows what you focus on when learning as well as how you approach things in life.
NF – intuitive feeling
You like to know about people and what they are feeling. When you ask questions, they are about who, and how people are involved. You value the personal significance and the emotional content of issues. You may find that you are uncomfortable with this profile process because it fails to identify what is unique about you and you may not like being “labeled”. You prefer to work with people, plants, or animals interactively and creatively in a peaceful environment.
NT – intuitive thinking
You like ideas and thinking about things. You like to ask questions about why things are the way they are. Having things “make sense” and making connections between ideas are important to you. Many times you will see how ideas can fit together. You like to analyze problems and issues. You tend to be reasonable and logical. You may be interested in the theories and concepts behind this profile. You prefer to work with an analytical, creative focus where you can perfect an idea and then go on to another task.
SJ – sensing judging
You like to find out how information is useful. You appreciate predictability and organization. Learning needs to be useful and “make sense” to you. You want to know what is most important to learn. “Be prepared” is a motto you appreciate. This profile will not be very interesting to you unless its usefulness and importance in your work is identified. You prefer a safe, stable, secure job in a well-established organization or institution.
SP – sensing perceiving
You want to ask questions about how things work. You find it exciting to discover the way things work and how things happen. Keeping to schedules seems stifling to you. You will probably quickly glean what you want to know from this profile and be ready to move on before anyone else, unless you see some practical and interesting applications for this information. You prefer lively, unpredictable, risky jobs that allow you flexibility. You work well under pressure.
