personality types over on SDN. . .a big laugh for me

The SDN pre-allo forum has a Myers-Briggs thread going now, and I good laugh that I had to share with people here, who can appreciate the absurdity of SDN.


35% (55) of the respondents are INTJ. I am an INTJ, although I didn’t respond. . .I actually took the real test in college, not just some internet version, although the 5+ online ones I’ve taken confirm my fate.


What’s particularly hilarious (and perhaps only to an INTJ), is that in the general population, we comprise 1.5% of all personality types, compared to 35% on SDN. “Doctor” does not even float to the top of our recommended careers. It’s in the top 20, for sure (neurosurgeon maybe), but we’re not people-persons so research scientist or engineer usually precedes doctor. (Jung’s site has dictator as #2). However, INTJs tend to be the kind of focused, determined types who do well in a school environment and we have a lot of intellectual qualities making us ringers for med school acceptance. After med school is the problem. I think we have other traits that will cause us to struggle in practice. One describe INTJs this way: “They dislike messiness and inefficiency, and anything that is muddled or unclear.” Umm, that IS the healthcare system. The younger INTJ’s over on SDN haven’t had a lot of life experience to see how their personalities will trip them up. Professors love us, but most regular people (patients, customers) probably don’t “get” us. We also think nonlinearly, which makes it hard to communicate. I always thought it was difficult to write papers because I had smatterings of the beginning, middle, and end everywhere at once, and then it all just came together later. Works for me, but try to show a boss what progress you’ve made on a project when working like that!


Anyway, just thought that was interesting. I’m guessing a OPM poll would have significantly fewer INTJs.

I’m pretty close to that - ISTJ. I really think that my career “taught” me A LOT of “people skills” to the point where my staff continually rated me quite highly on that category in our annual employee surveys. But I know that deep down I am an ISTJ (with a dash of N).



I am an ENTJ and anyone who knows me would have no doubt of that dx!

  • LJSimpson Said:
I'm pretty close to that - ISTJ. I really think that my career "taught" me A LOT of "people skills" to the point where my staff continually rated me quite highly on that category in our annual employee surveys. But I know that deep down I am an ISTJ (with a dash of N).



I'm only 50% "N" myself, so we're probably close : )

I have found living with an ESFP husband has loosened me up a little & definitely improved my people skills. . . My work, not so much. . .I work with engineers who are a "NT" heavy group too.
  • OldManDave Said:
I am an ENTJ and anyone who knows me would have no doubt of that dx!



Hmmm. . .I always knew there was something I liked about you.

I’m totally not an NT. I was INFJ for many years but the last few years I’ve been getting ESFJ. Even so, the E and the S on the borderline.

While I remember that I is for introvert and E is for extrovert, I can’t remember the rest. Can someone write out the key so we have a better understanding? Thank you!

I=Introvert, E=Extrovert


N=Intuitive, S=Sensing


T=Thinking, F=Feeling


J=Judging, P=Perception


More explanation from wiki below:


Attitudes: Extraversion (E) / Introversion (I)


The preferences for extraversion (thus spelled in Myers-Briggs jargon) and introversion are sometimes referred to as attitudes. Briggs and Myers recognized that each of the cognitive functions can operate in the external world of behavior, action, people and things (extraverted attitude) or the internal world of ideas and reflection (introverted attitude). The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator sorts for an overall preference for one or the other of these.


The terms extravert and introvert are used in a special sense when discussing the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. People who prefer extraversion draw energy from action: they tend to act, then reflect, then act further. If they are inactive, their level of energy and motivation tends to decline. Conversely, those whose prefer introversion become less energized as they act: they prefer to reflect, then act, then reflect again. People who prefer introversion need time out to reflect in order to rebuild energy.


The extravert’s flow is directed outward toward people and objects, and the introvert’s is directed inward toward concepts and ideas. There are several contrasting characteristics between extraverts and introverts: extraverts are action-oriented and desire breadth, while introverts are thought-oriented and seek depth. Extraverts often prefer more frequent interaction, while introverts prefer more substantial interaction.[18]


[edit] Functions: Sensing (S) / iNtuition (N) and Thinking (T) / Feeling (F)


Jung identified two pairs of psychological functions:

  • The two perceiving functions, sensing and intuition

  • The two judging functions, thinking and feeling


    According to the Myers-Briggs typology model, each person uses one of these four functions more dominantly and proficiently than the other three; however, all four functions are used at different times depending on the circumstances.


    Sensing and Intuition are the information-gathering (perceiving) functions. They describe how new information is understood and interpreted. Individuals who prefer sensing are more likely to trust information that is in the present, tangible and concrete: that is, information that can be understood by the five senses. They tend to distrust hunches that seem to come out of nowhere. They prefer to look for details and facts. For them, the meaning is in the data. On the other hand, those who prefer intuition tend to trust information that is more abstract or theoretical, that can be associated with other information (either remembered or discovered by seeking a wider context or pattern). They may be more interested in future possibilities. They tend to trust those flashes of insight that seem to bubble up from the unconscious mind. The meaning is in how the data relates to the pattern or theory.


    Thinking and Feeling are the decision-making (judging) functions. The thinking and feeling functions are both used to make rational decisions, based on the data received from their information-gathering functions (sensing or intuition). Those who prefer thinking tend to decide things from a more detached standpoint, measuring the decision by what seems reasonable, logical, causal, consistent and matching a given set of rules. Those who prefer feeling tend to come to decisions by associating or empathizing with the situation, looking at it ‘from the inside’ and weighing the situation to achieve, on balance, the greatest harmony, consensus and fit, considering the needs of the people involved.


    As noted already, people who prefer thinking do not necessarily, in the everyday sense, ‘think better’ than their feeling counterparts; the opposite preference is considered an equally rational way of coming to decisions (and, in any case, the MBTI assessment is a measure of preference, not ability). Similarly, those who prefer feeling do not necessarily have ‘better’ emotional reactions than their thinking counterparts.


    [edit] Dominant Function


    Although people use all four cognitive functions, one function is generally used in a more conscious and confident way. This dominant function is supported by the secondary (auxiliary) function, and to a lesser degree the tertiary function. The fourth and least conscious function is always the opposite of the dominant function. Myers called this inferior function the shadow.[1]:84


    The four functions operate in conjunction with the attitudes (extraversion and introversion). Each function is used in either an extraverted or introverted way. A person whose dominant function is extraverted intuition, for example, uses intuition very differently from someone whose dominant function is introverted intuition.


    [edit] Lifestyle: Judgment (J) / Perception §


    Myers and Briggs added another dimension to Jung’s typological model by identifying that people also have a preference for using either the judging function (thinking or feeling) or their perceiving function (sensing or intuition) when relating to the outside world (extraversion).


    Myers and Briggs held that types with a preference for judging show the world their preferred judging function (thinking or feeling). So TJ types tend to appear to the world as logical, and FJ types as empathetic. According to Myers,[1]:75 judging types prefer to “have matters settled.” Those types ending in P show the world their preferred perceiving function (sensing or intuition). So SP types tend to appear to the world as concrete and NP types as abstract. According to Myers,[1]:75 perceiving types prefer to “keep decisions open.”


    For extraverts, the J or P indicates their dominant function; for introverts, the J or P indicates their auxiliary function. Introverts tend to show their dominant function outwardly only in matters “important to their inner worlds”.[1]:13 For example:


    Because ENTJ types are extraverts, the J indicates that their dominant function is their preferred judging function (extraverted thinking). ENTJ types introvert their auxiliary perceiving function (introverted intuition). The tertiary function is sensing and the inferior function is introverted feeling.


    Because INTJ types are introverts, the J indicates that their auxiliary function is their preferred judging function (extraverted thinking). INTJ types introvert their dominant perceiving function (introverted intuition). The tertiary function is feeling, and the inferior function is extraverted sensing.


    [edit] Whole type


    The expression of a person’s psychological type is more than the sum of the four individual preferences, because of the way in which the preferences interact through type dynamics and type development. Descriptions of each type can be found on the Myers & Briggs Foundation website. In-depth descriptions of each type, including statistics, can be found in the MBTI Manual.[15]

THANKS A LOT, MINAN!

Minan - that’s better than most personality websites explanations. Thanks! You rock, even if you are SF