Framework · four dimensions
Four preferences describe your process—not your profit potential.
Each axis asks a practical question about attention, information, decisions, and structure. Both ends can work; each needs a different operating rule.
E / I · where attention recovers
Extraverted preference often benefits from verbalizing a thesis and comparing views; introverted preference often needs quiet preparation before committing. The trading risk is different: the first may borrow urgency from a crowd, while the second may stay inside an unchallenged thesis. A useful guardrail is either an independent pre-write or a scheduled dissent review.
S / N · what evidence feels convincing
Sensing preference tends to trust observable price, volume, filings, and repeatable detail. Intuitive preference tends to organize information into themes, second-order effects, and future scenarios. One can miss regime change by staying too literal; the other can trade a beautiful narrative before evidence arrives. Separate observed facts from interpretation in the journal.
T / F · how a decision is justified
Thinking preference usually seeks internal consistency, expected value, and explicit rules. Feeling preference notices personal conviction, stakeholder impact, and emotional fit. Neither is emotion-free. The first may rationalize a broken model; the second may protect an identity-linked position. Define invalidation before entry and record the reason without changing its category later.
J / P · how much closure the process needs
Judging preference often works best with a prepared checklist and defined review time. Perceiving preference often adapts quickly as new information arrives. Excess structure can make a trader slow to recognize a changed market; excess flexibility can turn every exception into a new rule. Fix the risk boundary while allowing only one documented process change at a time.
Clarity matters more than the letter
A 51/49 axis should not be treated like a 90/10 axis. Nearby types are useful because pressure, recent outcomes, and wording can move a balanced preference. Use the letters to locate likely friction, then use records to decide which guardrail actually improves execution.
Start with personality. Finish with a process you can actually test.
Time and experience get the final say. If a method needs attention you cannot reliably give it, the method moves down the list.