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Is type inherited?

Lily flower

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Has anyone read any studies on whether type is related to inheritance/genes? It is interesting to me that identical twins often have very different personalities, despite the fact that type seems to be "inborn" in us.
 

Seymour

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Has anyone read any studies on whether type is related to inheritance/genes? It is interesting to me that identical twins often have very different personalities, despite the fact that type seems to be "inborn" in us.

If MBTI follows Big 5 (and they do correlate reasonably well), then the heritability of each dichotomy should be around 40%-60%.
 

highlander

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If MBTI follows Big 5 (and they do correlate reasonably well), than the heritability of each dichotomy should be around 40%-60%.

That seems about right. Can you elaborate?
 

SilentNight

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If it is inherited, so I'm the X-men of the family. INFP surrounded by ESFJ's, ISFJ's, ESTJ's and ISTJ's...
 

SilentNight

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Omg, i feel for you, man, lol! or woman.

ISTJ mom and ISTJ sister over here ! :laugh:

I'm a girl...:)

Yeah it's far from easy... "You slacker! Go clean your room! Stop imagining things and work more!" :doh:

(Maybe you know what it is...)
 

Nicodemus

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If the types do not result exclusively from the circumstances of one's socialization (which is fairly unlikely), they must at least partially be inherited.
 

KDude

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If it is inherited, so I'm the X-men of the family. INFP surrounded by ESFJ's, ISFJ's, ESTJ's and ISTJ's...

Somewhat of the same issue. I'm more independent in my decision making, less busy bee, messier, and I don't seem to care about many of the aspirations and obligations I'm "supposed" to care about. My dad thinks he's somehow done something wrong with my upbringing.. (even though we get along). I don't seem to "get it". Whatever "it" is.
 

Seymour

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That seems about right. Can you elaborate?
Sure... from the wikipedia page on the Big 5:
wikipedia said:
All five factors show an influence from both heredity and environment. Twin studies suggest that these effects contribute in roughly equal proportion.[39] Of four recent twin studies the mean estimated broad heritabilities on self-report measures for the Big Five traits were as follows:[40]

Openness [N/S]: 57%
Conscientiousness [J/P]: 49%
Extraversion [E/I]: 54%
Agreeableness [F/T]: 42%
Neuroticism [no MBTI equiv]: 48%

(correlated MBTI dichotomies added) The MBTI dichotomies are correlated, but not a perfect match for their Big 5 equivalents.

the same as flipping coins ?

No, that would be 0% inherited, meaning that inheritance has no effect. Also, keep in mind that the Big 5 traits are measured along a continuum, rather than being a binary choice. So, for example, having one highly extraverted parent and one mildly extraverted parent would still be measured and taken into account.
 

Snuggletron

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Maybe, every individual is an exception, though ;)

I know identical twins, one is ESFJ and the other is INFJ (duals whoa). Of course some of the similarities transcend their types.
 

Seymour

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Maybe, every individual is an exception, though ;)

I know identical twins, one is ESFJ and the other is INFJ (duals whoa). Of course some of the similarities transcend their types.

Very true. Plus, some (non-typology) studies suggest that identical twins raised together are more different than identical twins raised apart. It makes sense to me, since I didn't want to compete with my identical twin in every area. Plus, I wanted to establish my own independent identity.
 

Domino

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I think it *is* largely inherited, but I've also seen some real "which one of these is not like the others" in my time. My ENTJ best friend is the lone intuitive in her family, but her grandfather was very likely an INFP. Maybe it jumped a generation. Who knows. I do believe in a strong hereditary factor.
 

Domino

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Maybe, every individual is an exception, though ;)

I know identical twins, one is ESFJ and the other is INFJ (duals whoa). Of course some of the similarities transcend their types.

It's very rare that identicals experience such a wide split in type. I would be interested to see their parents and to know if they were truly monozygotic. There are apparently three types of twins now - monozygotic, dizygotic, and a third new category that is so strange I can't even comprehend it.

http://www.tundraco.com/dlp3type.html

My identical twin and I are registered with two scholarly/research organizations for twins. It's been very enlightening and we've even participated in some of their experiments. :)
 

Stanton Moore

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I would say that at most it is 'loosely inheritable', meaning that there are many factors that are influential before and after sperm and egg meet. Before: epigenetic factors can alter the way genes are expressed in the offspring; after: uterine and postpartum environmental influences.
 

Domino

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what is your sister's type?

She's an ENFP and posts here as LadyJaye. :)

I know two other identical pairs IRL - one is an INTP - ENFP set. One is an INTP - ENTP set.
 

Lily flower

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I'm an INFJ

with ENTJ and ISFJ parents.

I think I was supposed to be INFP or ENFP, but the I and J environment made me who I am.
 
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