Mind, Body, Spirit

Stress: How The Types Respond

Over a two-year period, participants in CAPT's Professional Training Programs responded to the following two questions about stress: What types of situations are stressful to your type? How does your type tend to behave under stress? This is a compilation of participants' responses, summarized by type and various groupings of type.

If you know your type and want to add to our lists of stressful situations, email your thoughts to . We are especially looking for feedback where no response was given. What types of situations are stressful to your type?

E
working virtually alone
sitting through long meetings
unclear communication
lack of feedback
lack of action

I
noisy environments
constant supervision
leading discussions
public speaking or large group presentations
large groups or social gatherings for too long a time
frequent interruptions
too much time outside myself

ST
dealing with incompetent people
coping with illogical situations
inefficiency

SF
tense interpersonal relationships
frequent change
planning haphazardly without anticipating possible consequences
crisis management that is frequent

NF
hostile, critical atmosphere
evaluations/evaluating others
working where innovation is not possible
routine tasks
data centered meetings
formal, structured, scheduled, impersonal, repetitive, mindless
    assembly-line type work
confrontation
conflict
criticism

NT
dependent people
repetitious work
choosing between two rights or two wrongs
incompetence
authoritarian environments, lack of freedom
lack of challenge or opportunity to learn

SJ
disorganized situations
vague situations
too much or too frequent change
lack of planning
too many rushes, emergencies, surprises

NJ
routine
politics/manipulations on the job
incompetence
closure/decisions are not reached
commitments are not kept
lack of sense of control

SP
generally no stressors identified
rigid schedule

NP
routine
sustained administrative activities
long meetings close supervision
too much structure
feeling controlled

ISTJ
disorganized, irrational, emotional situations
social situations with new groups of people
spontaneous activities
having to wait for anything
situations that don't allow closure

ISFJ
large group presentations
situations that are continuously changing and require adapting
disorganized, vague, social situations
sharing self with strangers
suspected or actual tension with those cared about
no thought behind plan
planning haphazardly without anticipating possible consequences
constant people interruptions
constant talking

INFJ
hostile, critical atmosphere
confrontation, conflict situations
politics on the job
leadership situations
working where not accepted
working where innovation is not possible
not knowing what is expected
working with those who do not honor their obligations or meet promised deadlines
highly competitive environments
insignificant interruptions
meeting new people
being in a situation where one has little or no control
noise
constant supervision

INTJ
dependent people
small talk
indecisiveness
repetitive work
details
doing things in a rush
public speaking
constant turmoil
noisy environment
large groups for too long a time
authoritarian leaders
dealing with incompetence

ISTP
no responses

ISFP
no responses

INFP
frequent interruptions
large gatherings or social situations
sustained administrative tasks
routine activities
too much time outside myself
conflict of value in work
hostile environment, conflict situations
having to supervise or control others
closing off possibilities and committing self
data-centered meetings
highly competitive situations

INTP
talking on the telephone, small talk
routine
social settings, interacting with groups
public presentation
righteousness
incompetence
confrontational personal situations
constant executive-type decisions
having to respond to someone else's agenda
absences of new situations to analyze

ESTP
no responses

ESFP
conflict
rigid schedule
disappointing friends or significant others

ENFP
formal, structured, scheduled, repetitive, mindless work
confrontation
conflict
working virtually alone
highly routine, repetitive, undemanding situations
emotionally unpleasant circumstances
deadlines not of my choice
constant decision making
long boring meetings
talk without action
regulations

ENTP
too much alone time
routine
long meetings
repetitive details
deadlines
structured work
close supervision
spewing of emotions by others

ESTJ
last minute deadlines
surprises
when people don't follow through or do what they're expected to do
unclear communication
dealing regularly with emotional situations that disrupt original plans
incompetent people
inefficiency
coping with illogical situations

ESFJ
lack of knowledgeable leadership
slow decision making
confrontations
breaking rules

ENFJ
conflict/confrontation
criticism
situations where people are misunderstanding each other
competitive situations
people not open to change
routine
disharmony
disorganization
sudden change of plans

ENTJ
routine
incompetence
inefficiency
indecision

Developed by Charles Martin and Margaret Fields
Published by Center for Applications of Psychological Type, Inc. 605 NW 53rd Avenue, Suite A6, Gainesville, Florida 32609, Toll Free 800.777.2278 Copyright 1998 CAPT, Duplication or storage of this form, by any means, is strictly prohibited. CAPT, the CAPT logo, and Center for Applications of Psychological Type are trademarks or registered trademarks of Center for Applications of Psychological Type, Inc. in the United States and other countries.