Finding similarities through MBTI

[geniusndisguise]

I was wondering if anyone else had an experience like this. I have a sister who I always thought was crazy. I wondered where she came from. She's super extraverted, super selfish, a little psychopathic and it seemed to me completely irrational. Oh yeah, she is only 13, I'm 26.

Anyway after I learned about MBTI and my intpness, I reasoned without thinking it through, that she must be ESFJ because we are soooo not alike. After some time though, I came to realize that she's just a young ENTJ. Here's where I want to know if anyone has similar experiences: all of a sudden I've come to realize that I do have things in common with this girl who I couldn't relate to.

My mom's an F, so she just doesn't completely get our morbid, heartless humor. She laughs, just not as hard. Also, when my sister and I sit there, mentally jousting (sp?), my mom thinks we're fighting and we're so not. It's kind of cool because as far as I can tell, she is the only NT I know right now - which could be why I'm so damn bored with life. (I'm entertaining the idea that my brother is intp - he's 12. If he is, he's very F for an intp - he can't eat a chocolate bunny 'cause it has a face.)

Did this happen to anyone else?

[ptGatsby]

No particular comment, but just note that younglings will not have fully developped their personality at the ages of 12 and 13. Which means it is difficult to place them on any particular type and it may not fit the description as close as it will later on.

[geniusndisguise]

No particular comment, but just note that younglings will not have fully developped their personality at the ages of 12 and 13. Which means it is difficult to place them on any particular type and it may not fit the description as close as it will later on.

That's very true, especially with my brother, but if you knew my sister. . . the only possible deviation is S instead of N, but I don't think so. This is in contrast to my husband who the best I can do is EXXX, and he's my husband!

[Xander]

MBTI is great for relating to people but you'll find its not a case of finding one particular truth or guidline but the more you read/ discuss/ understand about psychology and personalities then the more you will understand.
The wierdest thing I've seen in three people all about twenty eight taking the MBTI test on similar minds. Bearing in mind that each is wildly different from the other they all tested as the same type!
It's only after pondering over than for two weeks that its starting to make any sense at all!

~I suppose the best gauge of how much you've learnt is by how many questions you want to ask an interesting person. (Sorry. That was a side thought that may be useful or just crap.)

Additional:-
I've just noticed that the young lady in question is the same type as my Father.
It took him eighteen years and an MBTI test to come close to understanding my brain processes. Though I think that he now amiably proves that fed on the right information and exposed to enough variety of thinking even an ENTJ can become reasonable and perhaps understanding of what they can barely concieve (ie thinking like an INTP!).

[geniusndisguise]

Additional:-
I've just noticed that the young lady in question is the same type as my Father.
It took him eighteen years and an MBTI test to come close to understanding my brain processes. Though I think that he now amiably proves that fed on the right information and exposed to enough variety of thinking even an ENTJ can become reasonable and perhaps understanding of what they can barely concieve (ie thinking like an INTP!).

That's actually encouraging. I won't hold my breath though. LOL. My father is too. We're alike in the fact that neither of us ever picks up a phone, so I talk to him like once or twice a year. But we're different in the fact that he's freaking scary! Yes, extraverted judging types scare me! (more LOL)



(Sorry. That was a side thought that may be useful or just crap.)

I feel that way all the time. :whistle:

[Xander]

That's actually encouraging. I won't hold my breath though. LOL. My father is too. We're alike in the fact that neither of us ever picks up a phone, so I talk to him like once or twice a year. But we're different in the fact that he's freaking scary! Yes, extraverted judging types scare me! (more LOL)
The main thing I find when working with my dad is that although I usually streak ahead when it comes to developing a solution to a problem that he is essential in making sure I have a viable plan.
The differences in the types as he describes it is that he is a straight line thinker who does follow a process but is more than capable of penetrating obstacles along the way. Where as I see no obstacles. I have a problem. Now I have five solutions. Ten solutions. Twenty. Fourty. After I am happy that I have followed most appropriate paths I choose the best. This can make it look like he is a standard thinker and I am radical but I prefer to think that yes I may be a drmatic theorist he is a solid theorist more capable of supporting his ideas.

[eyebyte_atWork]

I was wondering if anyone else had an experience like this. I have a sister who I always thought was crazy. I wondered where she came from. She's super extraverted, super selfish, a little psychopathic and it seemed to me completely irrational. Oh yeah, she is only 13, I'm 26.

Anyway after I learned about MBTI and my intpness, I reasoned without thinking it through, that she must be ESFJ because we are soooo not alike. After some time though, I came to realize that she's just a young ENTJ. Here's where I want to know if anyone has similar experiences: all of a sudden I've come to realize that I do have things in common with this girl who I couldn't relate to.

My mom's an F, so she just doesn't completely get our morbid, heartless humor. She laughs, just not as hard. Also, when my sister and I sit there, mentally jousting (sp?), my mom thinks we're fighting and we're so not. It's kind of cool because as far as I can tell, she is the only NT I know right now - which could be why I'm so damn bored with life. (I'm entertaining the idea that my brother is intp - he's 12. If he is, he's very F for an intp - he can't eat a chocolate bunny 'cause it has a face.)

Did this happen to anyone else?



I doubt that there are that many NT's in your family - the statistics do not support it - although it is possible. As with anyone under 20 it is hard to accurately type someone (its hard to type someone over 20 too). You have to observe them for a very long time to accurately type them - and it will be harder for you to do so because you know them.

From your description your brother may be either an NF or SF. THere are a few ways or methods that can help type them a bit more accurately - and I suggest you read them (or re-read as I often have to do) in Keirsey's book. One example that stands out from my reading is determining S or N - and one indicator is how they take test in school - does you kids fail because he/she was not prepared or because he/she was prepared but did not bother reading the test questions completely before answering??? N types persume the rest of the question, SP do not learn a subject if they do not find it interesting, an SJ will pass with a good grade in order to get recognition for the effort put forth. Like I said - just an example.

My Daughter shows sights of being and ENTJ but at 10 it is not clear - she tends to control the kids around her and put them to work - she fails a tests because she does not read the entire question and yet has a straight A average in her school work, she has little empathy towards the feelings of others, and she is very organized (the only ten year old with a PDA that I know of). In time I may be sure or I may discover she is like her mother (an ESFJ) but who really knows.


For background:

My Mother: ITSJ and a former Catholic
My 1st Brother: ENFP - the strangest of all of us.
My 2nd Brother: ISTP - talks like a lot of the people here - and like to find fun in all that he does.
Then Me: INTJ - or INTP - I am the only one of my immediate family who has searched for knowledge to the level I have.

Hope this help but I fear the water is now mudd.


-EYEBYTE

[s0978]

he can't eat a chocolate bunny 'cause it has a face
that's so awesome.

[ApeTheDog]

Yes, i also thought it was funny how he wouldn't eat things with a face. Of course, paradoxally, he probably eats meat, and those things DO have an actual face. And suffer their entire life. And die in agony.

They force the cow down a tunnel in the abbatoir, then put a gun to the cows head and zap it to death. All the while these cows walk towards what they must know is their death (because they see cows dying before them in the tunnel, and they can sense the terror in the rest of the herd)

That's probably what I wouldn't be able to help myself from telling your brother. I'm such a sadist.

[Helios]

that was a very mooooo-ving story Ape. :D

[geniusndisguise]

That's probably what I wouldn't be able to help myself from telling your brother. I'm such a sadist.

You and my sister would have such a grand time torturing people together. What great fun it would be to watch. . . from a distance. . . like on tv. :ph34r:

[geniusndisguise]

I doubt that there are that many NT's in your family - the statistics do not support it - although it is possible. As with anyone under 20 it is hard to accurately type someone (its hard to type someone over 20 too). You have to observe them for a very long time to accurately type them - and it will be harder for you to do so because you know them.

I agree that it doesn't make sense for all those NT's. It could be that my sister's an S and my brother is an F. But I'm pretty sure my dad - who is not their dad - is an ENTJ. My mom said it was exactly him when she read the description of one. But it's true, it is harder to type people I know really well. My husbands family I have pegged. (In my mind anyway.)


From your description your brother may be either an NF or SF. THere are a few ways or methods that can help type them a bit more accurately - and I suggest you read them (or re-read as I often have to do) in Keirsey's book. One example that stands out from my reading is determining S or N - and one indicator is how they take test in school - does you kids fail because he/she was not prepared or because he/she was prepared but did not bother reading the test questions completely before answering??? N types persume the rest of the question, SP do not learn a subject if they do not find it interesting, an SJ will pass with a good grade in order to get recognition for the effort put forth. Like I said - just an example.

That might make me an ISTP, perhaps an ISFP, since I wonder. What the hell am I doing here! :shock: Actually that's not true I used to get good test grades but never did the rest of the work hence bad class grades. Anyway, you're right, its probably hard to know without really being tested.



Hope this help but I fear the water is now mudd.


Yes. Yes it is. That's all right. I'll deal. :sobs:

Note: Please don't hurt me for all the (2) smilies. I know how you all get. ;P (3)

[myabyss]

They force the cow down a tunnel in the abbatoir, then put a gun to the cows head and zap it to death. All the while these cows walk towards what they must know is their death (because they see cows dying before them in the tunnel, and they can sense the terror in the rest of the herd)
Oh my...made me glad I don't eat beef.

[eyebyte_atWork]

I agree that it doesn't make sense for all those NT's. It could be that my sister's an S and my brother is an F. But I'm pretty sure my dad - who is not their dad - is an ENTJ. My mom said it was exactly him when she read the description of one. But it's true, it is harder to type people I know really well. My husbands family I have pegged. (In my mind anyway.)



That might make me an ISTP, perhaps an ISFP, since I wonder. What the hell am I doing here! :shock: Actually that's not true I used to get good test grades but never did the rest of the work hence bad class grades. Anyway, you're right, its probably hard to know without really being tested.





Yes. Yes it is. That's all right. I'll deal. :sobs:

Note: Please don't hurt me for all the (2) smilies. I know how you all get. ;P (3)


Shucks ma'am - ain;t nothing.

[chatoyer]

But it's true, it is harder to type people I know really well. My husbands family I have pegged. (In my mind anyway.)


Yeah, I agree. I love to play faux-psychologist, & I was able to figure out my husband's family's types long before my own immediate family.....my brother had to tell me that he tested as an ISTP, I could not believe it, as I felt we were "kindred spirits", he has a fairly developed N. Then when I read the ISTP description, I thought he is not this daredevil, Evil-Knievel type, he does some mechanical things......but I kept tripping up on him being a psychology major, a LOTR fanatic, his quirky imagination & sense of humor, but his type became apparent when he made it clear his disdain for "ivory tower types" who never practically apply their ideas! He can talk philosophy, psychology, theology for awhile......but he tires of it before my husband, dad, & I do (all N types). I don't know, sometimes being so close & knowing all the complexities of a person makes the typing part really difficult. Also the layers of their own psychology--their mental/emotional/spiritual health can cloud their type as well.

[eyebyte_atWork]

Yeah, I agree. I love to play faux-psychologist, & I was able to figure out my husband's family's types long before my own immediate family.....my brother had to tell me that he tested as an ISTP, I could not believe it, as I felt we were "kindred spirits", he has a fairly developed N. Then when I read the ISTP description, I thought he is not this daredevil, Evil-Knievel type, he does some mechanical things......but I kept tripping up on him being a psychology major, a LOTR fanatic, his quirky imagination & sense of humor, but his type became apparent when he made it clear his disdain for "ivory tower types" who never practically apply their ideas! He can talk philosophy, psychology, theology for awhile......but he tires of it before my husband, dad, & I do (all N types). I don't know, sometimes being so close & knowing all the complexities of a person makes the typing part really difficult. Also the layers of their own psychology--their mental/emotional/spiritual health can cloud their type as well.


YOu see the people close to you in a non-objective way and they also behave differently around you than with anyone else. It is also somewhat difficult to type your self - I had a co-worker take the test - and he came out ISTJ - and he is so not an ISTJ... he answered one question about being on time to appointments as if he was always on time. He is two hours late to work everyday. He clearly sees himself differently than he actually is.

[Zephyrus055]

I love using MBTI on my family members. I know who to avoid and who to approach.

My mom though, an ENTJ, I can't live with her. I have to move out. I can't believe that I have put up with her controlling attitude for 19 years.

My dad is an INTJ, and he's a literal arsehole. I might be inclined to dismiss him as an ISTJ because he surrounds his life with principles, morals, and religion. On the other hand, he is abstract in communication and an effective strategist. If it wasn't for his principle centered life, I might be able to get along with him. By contrast I perceive life as a strategic game of producing effects - I have the power to produce results independent of non-existing divine influences or popular assumptions on causal/consequent relationships.

eyebyte,

That's creepy. I think your daughter really is an ENTJ, lol. Even more interesting is that I often get lower scores on tests because I make the mistake of not reading the question correctly. Another reason why I may get a lower score is because many questions may have been written by a S, and I see the question as implying something. Consequently I burn myself by selecting the answer that's undetermined.

[Nadiar]

I doubt that there are that many NT's in your family - the statistics do not support it - although it is possible. As with anyone under 20 it is hard to accurately type someone (its hard to type someone over 20 too). You have to observe them for a very long time to accurately type them - and it will be harder for you to do so because you know them.
It might make sense if all 16 types were spread around randomly, but if its based on genetics at all (and the evidence supports this), then it becomes much more likely that multiple NT's would be in the same family.

[Ivy]

I'd like to see the evidence that supports personality type being based on genetics.

[Nadiar]

Thats not what I said.

[Zephyrus055]

I'd like to see the evidence that supports personality type being based on genetics. Well I think it makes sense, but that's just my intuition working. Assuming type is valid and genetic however, it does not mean that we should start developing group identities, encourage selective breed, and oppress other types. Instead, I think it's an opportunity to maximize the synergy and efficiency of human societies.

Keirsey believes that temperament is genetic, although I don't think he tries to prove it.

[Ivy]

Thats not what I said.

It's not?



if its based on genetics at all (and the evidence supports this),

[Ivy]

Well I think it makes sense, but that's just my intuition working. Assuming type is valid and genetic however, it does not mean that we should start developing group identities, encourage selective breed, and oppress other types. Instead, I think it's an opportunity to maximize the synergy and efficiency of human societies.

Keirsey believes that temperament is genetic, although I don't think he tries to prove it.

Oh, it's not that I disbelieve it-- it makes sense to me that some personality tendencies may be affected by genetics. I just hadn't seen any evidence of it, and so I remain skeptical (again, not the same as disbelieving).

[Nadiar]

It's not?
You keep talking about Personality Type. I'm talking about Personality.

Personality types are made from observations, not from genetics. Personality Type Theories, such as MBTI posit that they are based entirely on nature, and not nurture. So every artcile about MBTI you have ever read is evidence that they may be correct.

[Ivy]

You keep talking about Personality Type. I'm talking about Personality.

Personality types are made from observations, not from genetics. Personality Type Theories, such as MBTI posit that they are based entirely on nature, and not nurture. So every artcile about MBTI you have ever read is evidence that they may be correct.

Somebody's hypothesizing isn't evidence.

And you did couch it in terms of type in the statement I mentioned.