The ‘Color Q Personality’ is yet another “MBTI by another name”, created by Shoya Zichy. We do not think it adds much to the understanding of Jungian typology, but on the other hand, it appears that Zichy has been very prolific in searching out celebrities and getting them to take her personality test. In this short post we will give you the conversion key needed to switch between the four-letter codes that are the standard in the field and Zichy’s ‘Color Q’ codes.
Her first idea is to color code Keirsey’s temperaments in the same way that Keirsey and numerous other writers have done:
- SP = Red
- SJ = Gold
- NF = Green
- NT = Blue
A Color Q code consists of three parts:
- The first component of one’s type is therefore the color of one’s temperament, like with Keirsey.
- The second component of one’s type tells you whether you’re T or F (for S types) or whether you’re J or P (for N types).
- The third part designates whether you’re introverted or extroverted.
For example, a Color Q code may say: Green/Red Extrovert. Converting this to the four-letter codes, we see that Green (= NF) while Red (= P) and Extrovert (= E) = ENFP.
Likewise, in the case of a Gold/Blue Introvert, we see that Gold (= SJ), and Blue (= T) while Introvert (= I), which therefore means that a Gold/Blue Introvert is ISTJ.
The Sixteen Types
- ENTP = Blue/Red Extrovert | (NT + P + E)
- INTP = Blue/Red Introvert | (NT + P + I)
- ENTJ = Blue/Gold Extrovert | (NT + J + E)
- INTJ = Blue/Gold Introvert | (NT + J + I)
- ENFP = Green/Red Extrovert | (NF + P + E)
- INFP = Green/Red Introvert | (NF + P + I)
- ENFJ = Green/Gold Extrovert | (NF + P + E)
- INFJ = Green/Gold Introvert | (NF + P + I)
- ESTJ = Gold/Blue Extrovert | (SJ + T + I)
- ISTJ = Gold/Blue Introvert | (SJ + T + I)
- ESFJ = Gold/Green Extrovert | (SJ + F + E)
- ISFJ = Gold/Green Introvert | (SJ + F + I)
- ESTP = Red/Blue Extrovert | (SP + T + E)
- ISTP = Red/Blue Introvert | (SP + T + I)
- ESFP = Red/Green Extrovert | (SP + F + E)
- ISFP = Red/Green Introvert | (SP + F + I)
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At CelebrityTypes we do not think that the Color Q codes represent an improvement over the standard four-letter codes. People are free to re-package the system in various ways, of course, but in our opinion the Color Q codes seem both more unwieldy than the four-letter codes they purport to replace, as well as giving the system a less academic feel.
Throughout the history of typology many practitioners have proposed to rename and re-package the Jung-Myers verbiage into something more catchy. And while Sensation and Intuition are kind of misleading to the modern ear, the real problem with people failing to “get” typology isn’t really the letters and terms as much as it is the fact that some people simply are not interested in personality studies. Framing the content differently may get marginally more people into Jungian typology, but at the end of the day, all schools of personality studies, including the Big Five, are confronted with people who simply do not find the study of personality fascinating.