François Ferrero: Inquiry of the Geneva 1980’s Psychiatry Crisis: Forced Hospitalization, ETC and Sleep Therapy
David Janowsky’s response to François Ferrero’s reply
I very much enjoyed all the comments and dialogue concerning Francois Ferrero’s essay and Dr. Ferrero’s reply to my comment. I will limit my comments concerning Dr. Ferrero’s reply to one issue. Dr. Ferrero’s last sentence reads: “Janowsky’s last paragraph is fascinating to me: How was it possible to have such a clear understanding what was going on in the small city of Geneva?” My answer is that I applied the components of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) (Myers and McCaulley 1998), a somewhat controversial temperament measuring device used widely in management and industry, that I have used previously to profile depressed and suicidal patients (Janowsky, Hong, Morter and Howe 2002; Janowsky, Morter, Hong and Howe 1999).
The MBTI divides temperament/personality into four dichotomies: extroversion/introversion, sensing/intuitive, thinking/feeling and judging/perceiving. It is similar in many ways to the more popular 5-factor NEO Personality Inventory scale (MacDonald, Anderson, Tsagarakis and Holland 1994). The MBTI components are as follows:
Extraverts (E) - sociability, interaction, external, breadth, extensive, gregarious, speak than think, multiple relationships, energy expenditure
Introverts ( I ) - territoriality, concentration, depth, intensive, energy conservation, reflective, limited relationships, internal reactions, reflective, think than speak
Sensors (S) - direct, present, realistic, actual, down to earth, fact oriented, practical, specific
Intuitives (N) - random, future oriented, conceptual, inspiration, theoretical, head in clouds, fantasy, ingenuity, energy conservation
Thinkers ( T) - objective, firm minded, law oriented, just, clarity, analytical, policy, detached, firmness
Feelers (F) - subjective, tenderhearted, focused on circumstances, uses persuasion, humane, harmony, appreciative, social values, involved
Judgers ( J) - resolved, decided, fixed, control oriented, closure, planned, structure, definite, scheduled
Perceivers (P) - pending, wait and see, flexible, adaptable, open ended, openness, flow, tentative, spontaneous, what deadline
Given the possible combinations, there are thus 16 types ( INFP, ENFP, ISTP, ISTJ, etc.) which represent different styles of interacting and perceiving as well as styles of management and job preferences. For example, of 61 chemistry scientists surveyed, 0% had an ENFP profile whereas, in contrast, 16.39% had an ISTJ profile. Of 177 rehabilitation counselors, 20.34% were ENFP types and 5.08 % were ISTJ types. Of the chemistry scientists, 72.13% were thinkers and 27.87% were feelers. In contrast, of 177 rehabilitation counselors, only 33.33% were thinking types and 66.67% were feeling types (Myers and McCaulley 1998) .
An abbreviated vignette describing the ISTJ MBTI type was written as follows: “Serious, quiet, earns success by concentration and thoroughness. Practical, orderly, matter of fact, logical, realistic and dependable. See to it that everything is well organized. Take responsibility. Make up their own minds as to what should be accomplished and work toward it steadily, regardless of protest and distractions” (Kroeger and Thuesen 1992) .
A vignette for the ENFP type is as follows: “Warmly enthusiastic, high spirited, ingenious, imaginative. Able to do almost anything that interests them. Quick with a solution for any difficulty and ready to help anyone with a problem. Often relies on their ability to improvise instead of preparing in advance. Can usually find compelling reasons for whatever they want” (Kroeger and Thuesen 1992).
Given the contrasting job interests and probable work styles of Dr. Tissot versus those of Drs. Garrone and Haynal, and some of the behaviors mentioned by Dr. Ferrero in describing these individuals, I was able to speculate as to their opposing personality and philosophical biases and how these could have caused clashes.
References:
Janowsky DS, Hong E, Morter S, Howe L. Myers Briggs Type Indicator personality profiles in Unipolar depressed patients. World J Biol Psychiatry. 2002; 3(4):207-15.
Janowsky, DS, Morter S, Hong L, Howe L. Myers Briggs Type Indicator and Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire Differences Between bipolar patients and unipolar depressed patients. Bipolar Disord. 1999; 1(2):98-108.
MacDonald DA, Anderson PE, Tsagarakis CI, Holland CJ. Examination of the Relationship between the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the NEO Personality Inventory. Psychological Reports. 1994; 74(1):339-44.
Myers IB, McCaulley MH. Manual: A guide to the Development and Use of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator. Palo Alto, Calif Consulting Psychologists Press 1998.
Kroeger O, Thuesen JM. Type Talk at Work. New York, N.Y.: Delacorte Press, 1992.
November 21, 2019