Your Emotional Type

Please rate each of the statements from 0 to 4 (0 indicates "not at all true of me"; 4 indicates "very true of me"). Try to respond to all of the statements as quickly as you can.

1. My feelings blend into one another.

2. I am very close to my childhood feelings.

3. I am easily hurt.

4. I spend a lot of time daydreaming, fantasizing or in reverie.

5. I dislike stories that have a definite beginning, middle and end.

6. An organization where all the lines of responsibility are precise and clearly established is not one I would value.

7. "There is a place for everything, and everything should be in its place" is not an aphorism I believe in.

8. Sometimes it's scary when one gets too involved with another person.

9. A good parent has to be a bit of a child, too.

10. I can easily imagine myself as an animal or what it might be like to be an animal.

11. When something happens to a friend of mine or to a lover, it is almost as if it happened to me.

12. When I work on a project, I don't like to tie myself down to a definite outline. I rather like to let my mind wander.

13. In my dreams, people merge into each other or become other people.

14. I believe I am influenced by forces that no one can understand.

15. There are no sharp dividing lines between normal people, people with problems and people who are considered psychotic or crazy.

16. I am far from a down-to-earth, no nonsense kind of person.

17. I think I would enjoy being some kind of creative artist.

18. I have had the experience of someone calling me or speaking my name and not being sure whether it was really happening or whether I was imagining it.

Scores below 30 are considered definitely "thick" and scores above 42 are considered definitely "thin". See where you are on the spectrum below:

What does it mean to be a thick or a thin boundary person?  A brief explanation is here. What is the upshot for your health? Click here to find out. And what complementary and alternative therapies are most appropriate for you?

Boundary type turns out to have a relationship with several topics we’ll briefly examine here: the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI); one’s chosen occupation and other demographics; and perception of one’s own (and opposite) boundary type.

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

The MBTI is a well-known personality assessment tool (it may be the world’s most widely used). A person is scored via four pairs of opposites: Extraversion-Introversion; Sensing-Intuition; Thinking-Feeling; and Judgment-Perception. A four-letter code indicates the person’s preference within each of the pairs. Someone whose type is “ESTJ,” for example, reflects a leaning toward Extraversion (E), Sensing (S), Thinking (T), and Judgment (J) whereas someone whose type is INFP connotes a leaning toward Introversion (I), Intuition (N), Feeling (F), and Perception (P).    

A definite relationship has been shown between thin boundaries and Intuition and between thick boundaries and Sensing. To a lesser degree, thin boundaries are associated with Feeling and thick boundaries with Thinking. Also to a lesser extent, thin boundaries are associated with Perception and thick boundaries with Judgment. No correlation has been found between either boundary type and Introversion or Extraversion. So an intuitive, sensitive, thin boundary person is just as apt to be outgoing as a questioning, fact-based, thick boundary person is to be reticent.

Demographics

Overall, people who take the BQ score all across the spectrum similar to a Bell-type curve. Women, however, tend to score significantly thinner than men – and older people generally score slightly thicker than younger people.

Interestingly – though you may or may not fit the profile – people in certain professions have scored markedly thinner or thicker than people in other jobs. In the thin category are artists, musicians, and fashion models. In the thick category are naval officers, salespeople, and lawyers.

Perception of Own and Other Boundary Type

As one might expect, people tend to consider their own boundary type desirable and may disparage qualities associated with the “other” type. Thin boundary people, for example, see themselves as “exciting,” “creative,” and “innovative” but can look upon those with thick boundaries as “dull,” “rigid,” and “unimaginative.” Thick boundary people, on the other hand, view themselves as “solid,” “reliable,” and persevering” while sometimes considering those with thin boundaries as “flaky,” “far out” and “unreliable.” What can we say but Vive la difference!

Return to Top