“Shilly-shally” sounds like a silly word. I wonder how we got it or from whom. It does sound as though it might be British. Think I’ll see what I can find out about its etymology. When I taught H.S. English, I liked to bring word studies/etymology into our work on vocabulary building.

On to your question: In H.S. health class (50′s), we were given Kuder tests. One tested aptitude and the other personality type. Then there were three identifiable types: Introvert, Extrovert, and Ambivert. According to my test results, I am the latter. A more recent (well, in 70′s, I think) scale was developed which is Briggs-Meyer Profile (I suppose named after two who developed it). According to Briggs-Meyer, personality types are described differently, more specifically as: Thinker, Perceiver (or Intuitor), Emotor, Sensor, Judge. At the risk of “shilly-shallying”, I’d say I like most personality types, but probably favor the ones with more outgoing characteristics or who are empathic. Most people, I think ,have a blend of personality traits, perhaps with one being dominant. Any personality type can have characteristics that are pleasing or annoying, depending. Using Briggs-Meyer as reference, I’d say the hardest personality type for me to deal with is one who would score high as ”Judge”. A feature of Briggs-Meyer is to aid in self understanding and how to relate to the different personality types.

Another interesting point about personalities is that they are set by age five, and some psychologists would take it further back to three years.

Regardless, I agree that #2 choice is the best.

~~Blessings ‘n Cheers

BTW: I looked up “shilly-shally” in dictionary. It does come from expressions of vacillation, a reduplication of  ”shall I? & Shall I not?”