Are INTP's Impulsive?

[Birdsnest]

I can be impulsive at times. Not always, but it does make me wonder if this is a trait of INTP's. With groceries, I tend to overspend and buy whatever I need regardless of the price. I don't do other frivolous things, but groceries to me are important, I want my cupboards stocked to the brim. Are INTP's impulsive in other ways?

[Jezebel]

I'm the opposite of impulsive in most cases. When I go to the grocery store, I tend to spend too much time over little decisions. I spend a lot of time trying to find the best deals and I never overspend. I tend to be slow and indecisive in most matters. I can be spontaneous sometimes, but it can't require any commitment or involve money.

[Division56]

I can be very impulsive. But I also have long internal debates about other things...


In fact, I often choose something impulsively after a long internal debate.

[SensEye]

Not me, I'm just like Jezebel.

I tend to analyze everything to death. I'm one of these guys who stands in the grocery store aisle comparing the ingredient list of generic products vs name brands trying to see if there is any difference.

Major purchases take me forever. Sometimes I end up doing without the analysis paralysis gets so bad.

I can be more spontaneous regarding activities, but that may be more of a case that in typical NP fashion I avoid plans/schedules/commitments etc. so am often free to persue any activity that appeals to me. As opposed to the typical SJ who has their day/week all planned and tends to say "that sounds like fun, how about next week Thurs. sometime between 7 and 9...".

[Melody]

I have more obsessive-compulsive qualities. The best example is setting my alarm clock. On the back of the clock is the alarm switch. If the switch is down, the alarm is disactive, if the switch is up, the alarm is active. Even if I flick the switch up, even if I am staring right at the switch, telling myself, "the switch is up - the alarm is on," it still takes some effort to convince myself that that is the case. It is as if my mind instantaneously forgets (or simply does not remember in the first place) that the switch is up. So I can't use logic to convince myself. I have to do it through some more external means, and in the end I am never "sure" the alarm is on, I have to have faith. >_>

[Google Monster]

It's fun being impuslive at times. Especially when you do something no one expects anyone to do at the time. Like jumping in freezing water or running through the woods because we just finished talking about zombies or vampires.

[cloakable]

Hmm... I am generally impulsive, but it's a targeted, long term goal kind of impulsivness e.g. I'll go to buy a new computing/psychology/whatever book, 'cause thats what I'm currentley learning, and then before you know it, I have about 2 or 3 books, and I cannot afford food for the week.

[Jezebel]

I can be more spontaneous regarding activities, but that may be more of a case that in typical NP fashion I avoid plans/schedules/commitments etc. so am often free to persue any activity that appeals to me. As opposed to the typical SJ who has their day/week all planned and tends to say "that sounds like fun, how about next week Thurs. sometime between 7 and 9...".

I'd say the same about activities as well.

[NGene]

I tend to buy things impulsively, especially books, nail polish, and tasty but expensive food or beer.

Once I was looking around in a bookstore and was about to buy a really, really expensive symbolic calculator on a whim. Now I'm glad I didn't, though I still want the calculator.

[int]

Hmmm...maybe related, but sometimes I go out of my budget on a whim, and purchase things impulsively (usually food). I figure I'll just get creative if I run out of money. :) An "art" limitation, maybe?

I go back and forth between security and impulses. If things are too stable for too long I'll throw something into the loop to break up the monotony. But if things are too chaotic for too long, I end up hermitting at home for long periods of time.

[NGene]

I figure I'll just get creative if I run out of money.
Haha. Me too. :D

It's worked nicely so far! :D

[int]

Seriously, if I kept that mindset all the time, I might have less trouble right now. :)

[Avengardh]

It really depends on my end. Like someone else said already, it's fun to just act on an impulse when people don't really expect you to. But I only do that in certain situations with certain people.

Otherwise I just analyze everything...I don't like to spend money unless I know what I am going to buy is useful and I will use it. Otherwise I spend money on those I care about, like my friends and family, that doesn't really bother me.
Like, just recently I needed a CD case badly, and I went into the Sanrio (makes Hello Kitty) store with the purpose of finding something useful to buy, not just something that was cute.
I came out of there with a CD case, granted, it was expensive, but CDs are important to me, compared to, say, clothes.

~*Aven*~

[ohnoaninfp]

I dont know I am not an INTP.

[Crazy]

I am impulsive about food. Groceries and eating out I will do in a heartbeat. DVD's are a big impulse buy for me as well. I don't plan for things any more than 24 hours out, unless it is absolutely neccessary.

Driving on the other hand is planned. If I am going somewhere, I will know how I am getting there before I get in the car. Then I go from point A to point B.

[Jkrs]

...and then before you know it, I have about 2 or 3 books, and I cannot afford food for the week.
The only thing that stops me from doing that is lacking money to begin with.

Does deliberately planning out as little of my time as possible count as 'impulsive'? I might end up taking a walk, or I might spend the afternoon researching stegnography, or doodling. I never know beforehand.

[Vagabond]

I think impulsive/spontaneous and P go very well together. I will not analyse *everything* to death, but I will think about everything before doing it - I can't say I am spontaneous. I may however decide to overlook my analysis of things and go with the impulse of the moment, as long as I feel safe enough to do it - if odds are that nothing extremely unsettling will come out of it.

[Hypnos]

I have vacillated on this in the past, and have decided to be analytical on big/long-term things and whatever I feel like for little things.

[Johnny]

Yes.

[Seraph]

I have more obsessive-compulsive qualities. The best example is setting my alarm clock. On the back of the clock is the alarm switch. If the switch is down, the alarm is disactive, if the switch is up, the alarm is active. Even if I flick the switch up, even if I am staring right at the switch, telling myself, "the switch is up - the alarm is on," it still takes some effort to convince myself that that is the case. It is as if my mind instantaneously forgets (or simply does not remember in the first place) that the switch is up. So I can't use logic to convince myself. I have to do it through some more external means, and in the end I am never "sure" the alarm is on, I have to have faith. >_>

Okay, I'm a little creeped out, because I do the exact same thing. I'm constantly second-guessing myself (very common INTP trait, I've noticed), sometimes with the alarm clock as well. Whenever something happens, my mind will examine every possibility and alternative...Sometimes I act surprised even when I'm not, because I've already analyzed the possibility of a surprise when others haven't. It's a beautiful thing, the INTP mind.

[Google Monster]

I do the same stuff also.

[nobarcode]

I'm generally not impulsive at all. I tend to have a very judgemental side around people who are as well. It tends to grate on my nerves when anyone around me becomes impulsive. "What are/were you thinking?" I am somewhat spontaneous. Now,...compulsive? Yes, but that's another thread.

[GraviTass]

I tend to vaguely be aware I have nothing to eat at home , go to the grocery store and buy a couple of items , wonder home and realisze theres nothing to eat at home ...


But I'll take the time to seek out good books !

[Vagabond]

Sometimes I act surprised even when I'm not, because I've already analyzed the possibility of a surprise when others haven't.
Lol, no kidding... I thought this was my "unique" abnormality :D I sometimes do that not only with surprise, but with startling as well. I was wondering if I have trained myself to act surprised/startled/whatever in cases where everyone else would, in order to avoid the "what a freak" behaviour towards me, but I'm still not completely sure on why or how I do this.

[Phreon]

I think the "keeping options open" side of being an xNTP can create the illusion of being impulsive. I unconciously avoid setting concrete plans for myself more than 3 days out. I may seem impulsive to other people, but I always have several predetermined options in my head from which to choose from. Call it "quasi-impulsive"

Here's another example:

I've been wanting a new guitar amplifier from quite some time; one suddenly became availible for a great price, even though I really couldn't afford it. It might seem that I purchased it on impulse; however, I spent countless hours researching every aspect of it's operation, reliability, sound quality, etc., before committing my cash. I determined that the person selling didn't really know what he had, so I "bit the bullet" (Ramen noodles for a couple weeks).

Maybe my interest was piqued on an impulse, or maybe I just devoted an obsessive-impulsive amount of time analyzing the value of the purchase?

Is it impulsive that in studying the operation of said amplifier's circuit, I suddenly have the urge to buy a $134, print on demand, book on vacuum tube physics?

Yes, I suffer from the alarm clock syndrome as well,

Phreon

P.S. Hi, I'm new around here.

[file cabinet]

* greets and welcomes Phreon *

I bought 2 used CD's last night.. mainly because used is cheaper if I don't buy them "now" then someone else will buy them. I haven't bought any CD's in awhile but the CD's I do want to buy, I haven't really rushed out to buy them(brand new requires extra $$$) but if it's used then I'll fork the bling over like nobodies business. 2 - 3 used CD's is equal to the cost of a new CD.. and .. yes, MP3's are all the range but I can't trust p2p networks to feed me with shitty rips. I make my own rips and you can believe that they're good(CDex + LAME + --alt-preset-standard).

[EternalCynic]

When I first read this thread I thought to myself, "Naa, I'm not really impulsive at all. I generally plan things out.. I think.."

But looking at myself over the past few days, I could be described as impulsive. My friend James who I generally hang out with all the time.. we never have any sort of plan at all.
Other times I'll call someone or someone will call me up and say something random like,
"Hey, wanna go to Disneyland?"
me: ...Yeah, okay. When do we leave?

Or I'll call James and say: Hey, I feel like having a club sandwhich.. or a burrito. Wanna go?
James: ..Yeah okay, I'll be over in 10 minutes.

Kind of random examples, I know :D. So yes, I would say I'm impulsive.

[spirilis]

Based on my purchase of a whole used PC for my dad (which he's paying me back) when I only intended to buy a case, along with buying 3 used keyboards at the computer show last week, plus the spontaneous purchasing of a refurbished motherboard to replace the fried motherboard I discovered out of my old computer... plus the rather trigger-happy purchasing of replacement exhaust components (after a little bit of researching, of course) to fix my exhaust leak in my car last month, plus... etc etc etc, I'd say I'm rather impulsive :D

All of my impulse purchases have utility, and usually are worth it though... so there is "method behind the madness"

[spirilis]

I often have long-term plans in my head, but only surface them right when they need to happen... thus giving the illusion of "impulsiveness" when in actuality the master plan was there all along :D

[Google Monster]

same goes with me. I say I want something and then the topic is never brought up again. Until I see the opportunity then I just get it.

[BritainOphira]

Sometimes I act surprised even when I'm not, because I've already analyzed the possibility of a surprise when others haven't.
Lol, no kidding... I thought this was my "unique" abnormality :D I sometimes do that not only with surprise, but with startling as well. I was wondering if I have trained myself to act surprised/startled/whatever in cases where everyone else would, in order to avoid the "what a freak" behaviour towards me, but I'm still not completely sure on why or how I do this.

I've always wondered how I manage to do this, though I must say it comes in handy sometimes.

I'm really not all that impulsive, as I tend to over-analyze even the most mundane things. I do make random, baseless purchases, though I think that has less to do with impulse as opposed to not really caring about money. (Could be the reason that I'm perpetually broke...)

[Salad]

I'm impulsive.



unless I change my mind.

[Mnemosyne]

I sometimes have impulsive thoughts, like, "I want to learn Portuguese" or "I want to take voice lessons", but these are followed by more thoughts, and I usually don't go through with the idea. I have a lot of obsessions, where something is the coolest thing on earth one day, and the next day I couldn't care less about it. I don't know if impulsive thinking counts, though. You might just be talking about actions. In which case, no, I think too much to be impulsive.

I like to know what I'm going to be doing ahead of time. I like to be assured that there aren't going to be any nasty surprises. I'm obsessed with deciding on a career, like NOW, or else I'll be working at Stop & Shop when I'm 40.

[edited because this post was a little too impulsive for me.]

[cloakable]

[edited because this post was a little too impulsive for me.]

We really need a 'cynical smirk' emoticon in this forum.

[Horger]

I can be very impulsive. But I also have long internal debates about other things...


In fact, I often choose something impulsively after a long internal debate.

haha.. definitely.

I'm often impulsive about things like cleaning my room. I'll go 6 months or more without cleaning my room, then just go nuts. I'll end up throwing away tons of stuff, vacuuming everything, and rearranging my furniture.

If it's something more complicated, like a decision, then I'll take forever. If I don't come to a conclusion, I usually just choose something impulsively because I don't like taking so long.

[waxwing]

When I'm manic, I'm usually impulsive, but then when the depression surfaces again, I've got way too much capacity for over-thinking all my folly.

It's hard to pin down whether or not I am impulsive. I definitely do some very impulsive things, but when I view my behaviors/thinking patterns as a sort of cycle, the overall picture seems to present my impulsivity as more of a break from my intense analysis. And there is always the analysis of my impulsivity and my wonderful rationalizations that "I just didn't want to think anymore." Hehe.

I got my tongue pierced not too long ago, but I seriously did not think about it ahead of time. People cannot understand why I would do that. It seems so "outta character," they say. One time I completely shaved my head so I wouldn't self-destruct. I did actually think that one through (for about five minutes).

Interesting....hmm.

[INTrPosr]

My impulsiveness shows, as an afterthought when self analyzing. At the time I do whatever, I don't consider it being impulsive. Ummmm after reading my response maybe that's what impulsiveness is.

[t]

I can be impulsive at times. Not always, but it does make me wonder if this is a trait of INTP's. With groceries, I tend to overspend and buy whatever I need regardless of the price. I don't do other frivolous things, but groceries to me are important, I want my cupboards stocked to the brim. Are INTP's impulsive in other ways?

this is me to a T w/ the groceries. i HAVE to keep full cupboards & a full fridge or i get very nervous.

as for impulsive-ness, i am known to be very impulsive to others, but i swear i think out my decisions before i make them. they just tend to be really extreme decisions. i am especially like this with moving. i've lived in 3 different states, attended 3 different colleges, and had countless roommates in the past 4 years. i think this stems from my detachment issues, though. i think nothing of up & leaving a place b/c i don't get attached to it. i need a constant change of scenary.