The INTJ Personality

As of late, I’ve been researching personality types and different types of social interaction issues. Naturally, I’ve delved deeper into some of the studies/generalizations revolving around my own type, INTJ.

While I had always known some of them (like holding yourself and others to a high standard, or equating your “heart” to your thoughts rather than your feelings), I was surprised to learn that many of my other traits are also typical of this personality type. Thus, I thought it might be fun to share what I’ve learned/experienced, and ask my readers what type they are as well.

What is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test?
This is a psychometric multiple choice questionnaire that was created by psychologist Katherine Cook Briggs and her daughter, scientific author Isabel Briggs Myers. Their work extrapolates the theories put forth by the renowned psychiatrist and psychotherapist, Carl Jung. It was first published in 1962, and is in continued use today to measure the preferences an individual has in how they perceive the world and interactions with others, as well as make decisions based on said perceptions. The test can be found here: http://www.16personalities.com.

What do the letters stand for?
Each letter indicates a particular psychological type, which are in turn dichotomies of cognitive functions:

Extraversion VS Introversion

Sensing VS INtuition

Thinking VS Feeling

Judging VS Perception

These combine to form up to 16 distinct personality types, each with it’s own specific way of handling the world. For example, my lover is an ENFP to my INTJ…nearly the exact opposite of myself. He is Extraverted, Intuitive, Feeling, and Perceptive whereas I am Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking, and Judging.

How common are the various types?
The 16 personality possibilities vary greatly according to type and sex. For INTJ, about 2-6% of male test takers are deemed such compared to 1-3% of females. If you’d like to see how prevalent your own type is, try this website: http://www.capt.org.

The INTJ Type
Friendships
Positives:
-Enjoys a small circle of very good friends over larger social groups.
-Offer and expect straightforward communication and honesty.
-Good at creating stories, helping to actively solve problems, and remaining rational in a crisis.
-Often push companions to grow as individuals and think for themselves.
Negatives:
-Can get easily bored by people on lower intellectual levels.
-May have a poor social filter, telling the truth when a “white lie” is more acceptable.
-Typically are unsure of exactly what to do when emotional support is suddenly required.
-Usually engage in puns, dark/self sardonic humor, or dry wit, which some can find trying after a while.

Work
Positives:
-Excel at working in small, like minded groups or solo.
-Value high standards of conduct, earned respect, protocol, and quality.
-Are highly competent and intuitive in their chosen careers.
-Often desire a challenging or intellectually satisfying job over one that pays better.
Negatives:
-Have no time for “teamwork building” games, office gossip, or politics, which can cost them promotions in certain fields.
-Care very little for hierarchy.
-Will inform a superior that they are wrong, usually in a less than tactful way.
-Will attempt to change traditional rules/policies if they are unfair, which can lead to being known as a “troublemaker” or “rebel”.

Relationships
Positives:
-Incredible sense of devotion.
-Are excellent at planning ahead, whether for a first date or anniversary.
-Great memory for the likes/dislikes of their partner.
-See chivalrous actions as unnecessary and sexist against both men and women.
-Are seen as attractive due to their unshakeable self-esteem and dedication to making sure their partners are happy.
Negatives:
-Require large amounts of trust and freedom, even when in a long term relationship.
-Typically need some solitude to collect their thoughts everyday, which can be seen as uncaring or antisocial.
-Approaches issues in the relationship using logic and reason, which is seen as “cold” to newer partners.
-Can drive short term partners away due to constant demands for the same perfections their hold themselves to.
-Do not handle betrayals well at all, and can utterly shatter their sense of reality.

Emotions and Thoughts
Positives:
-Capable of remaining calm during fights or disagreements.
-Will forgive small slights easily.
-Are bastions of confidence in themselves and their abilities.
-Desire for truth over “what feels good”.
-Will only show strong emotions if the situation truly calls for it, making them very reliable.
Negatives:
-Get extremely frustrated when there is no logical way to solve an issue.
-Can become arrogant towards those who are more open about their feelings.
-Are completely out of their element when strong emotional reactions occur.
-Need to be wary of becoming detached from the rest of humanity.

Hobbies
-Are the living stereotypes of every geek or nerd.
-Excel at games of strategy, trade, or resource management.
-Find solitary activities such as building models, painting, reading, or computer programming to be superior to group activities.
-Prefer a comfortable, relaxed environment over a loud, busy one (aka order a pizza and play videogames VS go dancing/flirting at a club).
-Outdoor activities include such things as hiking, rock climbing, biking, running, hunting/shooting, surveying, camping (alone or in small groups), swimming, and snorkeling/diving. I wonder if Calvinball would also qualify… 😉

The “Glare”
-Often deep in thought even when resting, reading, or working alone, INTJ’s frequently (and unconsciously) furrow their brow and narrow their eyes. It’s entirely possible for an INTJ to be reading a favorite book or happily typing up a letter to a dear friend…and yet look like they are ready to kill someone. This is a severe detriment to creating positive relations with new people, who will most likely not approach due to fear of invoking ire.

I’ve personally overcome this by training myself to play funny songs or movies in the back of my mind when I’m in public. As these cause me to smile and don’t disturb people around me, it earns me the constant compliment of “Wow, you are always so nice to be around, Tarnished!” I very much recommend trying similar tricks for my fellow INTJs, especially when attempting to attract mates.

Well, that’s myself and other INTJs in a nutshell. Of course, nothing is set in stone and even if you test as an INTJ, some of this may not describe you…but chances are 90% of it will. So, what type are you?