Confusing Functions.

[Jennifer]

Originally Posted by athenian200

You know, I guess I can see how this theory makes sense for it's own purposes. But it doesn't define certain aspects of personality that I consider more important.

For instance, some people are very assertive, and some are passive. Some are communicative, and some are terse. Some care mostly for themselves, and some are more concerned with others. Some think verbally, and some think in pictures. Some seek meaning in things, some are just content with reality as it is.

It seems to me that many of these traits could exist in a person regardless of their personality type. My question now is, where do I find a system defines people in these terms, the really important ones?

And... what makes those traits more important?

Well, there are many systems out there that do cover those things. The DISC system, which has been popularized in the corporate environment, for example, seems to follow more of the "Greek humours" model -- D is the assertive (choleric?) type, and so forth.

The FFM (Five Factor model) is popular and has some good validation -- it covers Openness, Extroversion Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Agreeability, I think... (PtGatsby can comment more extensively on that test, he seems very familiar with the validation.)

This is why different tests do exist. They each cover things from a different perspective, or break down the personality in whichever way is most important at the time, based on what you need to know. So we should avoid the notion that MBTI is the "end all be all" system, it's simply one way of analyzing personality and where it comes from, and I have found it useful in terms of communicating with and interacting with people, but other systems might better explain type.

Also, the other thing I was curious about was how obvious it is that my Judging function is Fe (Extraverted Feeling). I mean, I don't always test as a Feeling type, especially if I take a test right after finishing my schoolwork or something. The most common types I've tested as are, in order, INFJ, INTJ, ISFJ, ISTJ, and ENFJ.

which comes out to the following function combinations:
Ni + Fe
Ni + Te
Si + Fe
Si + Te
Fe + Ni

Fe does show up three times, as so does Ni.

This simply can be a failing in the MBTI, to be honest. At this stage, to determine your type, you would focus on the individual type description (which one of these five types to you most resonate with?) rather than the Fe function description. You might have Fe and Te functions that are pretty close in strength.

I would also think about your childhood -- when you were younger, what were your interests, your strengths, and your weaknesses? Those can help you determine which function you leaned towards. And were you in an environment that encouraged (for good or bad reasons) any of the functions that you now strongly exhibit?

The other characteristic that puzzles me is the amount of knowledge I have about my computer. If you ask most people what kind of computer they have, at worst they'll say "Dell," and at best they'll tell you the amount of RAM, and whether their processor is Intel or AMD. I would say something like this:

512MB PC3200 DDR SDRAM RAM
Shuttle AN35N Ultra 400 Motherboard
Socket "A" Athlon XP 3200+
White Linkworld Case

Also, I would mention that I continue to insist on including a Floppy Drive on every computer I build, because I still have some data on floppies, want to be prepared in case I need to read someone else's 3.5 inch disks, and I wouldn't want to break the tradition, as I've had one on every computer I've ever owned.

This makes me wonder about my type, because this doesn't sound very much like Ni or Fe (unless I'm missing something?).

Actually, that bit about the floppy drive seems that way to me -- the floppy drive is obsolete, and I'm surprised you have not copied all your data onto CD at this point. I work in tech and don't even know anyone who still uses 3.5" disks; it's hard to find the drives. It sounds like you have an attachment to your 3.5" drive that is not based on efficiency per se. [That's nothing bad; I am just thinking that an NT person would be more ruthless in throwing out obsolete items like the floppy... but who knows? Everyone has quirks.]

I wouldn't read too much into your computer knowledge. Yes, you are more liable to find INTx people who know their computer stats, but it's definitely not confined to that type. I've known savvy computer users of almost all types, from ENFJ to ISTJ to INFP to ENTJ, who can quote that sort of data about their system and have an interest in it.

(I would probably consider xSFJ females to be the ones to know the least about their system, if I had to guess. Still, even these types of people often work in purchasing or ordering because of temperament, and if they end up acquiring knowledge of systems, then they will notice these details.)

[Uberfuhrer]

Originally Posted by athenian200

You know, I guess I can see how this theory makes sense for it's own purposes. But it doesn't define certain aspects of personality that I consider more important.

For instance, some people are very assertive, and some are passive. Some are communicative, and some are terse. Some care mostly for themselves, and some are more concerned with others. Some think verbally, and some think in pictures. Some seek meaning in things, some are just content with reality as it is.

It seems to me that many of these traits could exist in a person regardless of their personality type. My question now is, where do I find a system defines people in these terms, the really important ones?


Also, the other thing I was curious about was how obvious it is that my Judging function is Fe (Extraverted Feeling). I mean, I don't always test as a Feeling type, especially if I take a test right after finishing my schoolwork or something. The most common types I've tested as are, in order, INFJ, INTJ, ISFJ, ISTJ, and ENFJ.

The other characteristic that puzzles me is the amount of knowledge I have about my computer. If you ask most people what kind of computer they have, at worst they'll say "Dell," and at best they'll tell you the amount of RAM, and whether their processor is Intel or AMD. I would say something like this:

512MB PC3200 DDR SDRAM RAM
Shuttle AN35N Ultra 400 Motherboard
Socket "A" Athlon XP 3200+
White Linkworld Case

Also, I would mention that I continue to insist on including a Floppy Drive on every computer I build, because I still have some data on floppies, want to be prepared in case I need to read someone else's 3.5 inch disks, and I wouldn't want to break the tradition, as I've had one on every computer I've ever owned.

This makes me wonder about my type, because this doesn't sound very much like Ni or Fe (unless I'm missing something?). Actually, just to make sure everyone can read this:

Ni = Introverted Intuition
Ne = Extraverted Intuition
Si = Introverted Sensation
Se = Extraverted Sensation
Fi = Introverted Feeling (Ethics)
Fe = Extraverted Feeling (Ethics)
Ti = Introverted Thinking (Logic)
Te = Extraverted Thinking (Logic)

Intuitives are normally quite good at collecting and remembering information about the things that matter to them -- in your case, computer statistics. An Intuitive type also tends to be more scholarly because they are less likely to take things at face value -- they look into what's more hidden rather than taking things at face value.

Knowledge of more subtle things like informative computer stats could probably equate to looking for hidden meanings in things -- looking beyond the surface.

Sensors, without other functions taken into consideration, are less inclined to do that. They tend to collect what's in their environment like a sponge, so to speak, namely because they are more aware with what's going on in the environment.

In this way, an Intuitive can be good at details, but their detail orientation tends to be directed toward something which catches their eye. Moreover, an Intuitive is also detailed when it comes to envisioning imaginary constructs or may notice details that don't accord with their personal vision. A Sensor would be more aware of the details of their entire environment.

[Athenian200]

I guess it's easiest to tell how I process information that I percieve through Ni, but it's harder to tell how I make decisions. I haven't been around people that much (compared to more extraverted people) or made many decisions. Usually what I do is follow a prescribed set of rules or procedures, and then if those don't work, then I just ask someone (or possibly several people) what to do, and then if what they suggest doesn't make me uncomfortable and seems reasonable, then that's what I do.

Most often, I organize the information I gather and present it in a coherent fashion, and then I give it to someone else, have them process it and tell me what they think, and then I consider whether what they said is useful and/or acceptable to me.

As far as my strengths, I learned to read at age three, and I was using words like "illiterate" and "stethoscope" at age six, so I've always been rather good with language. However, I used to have to count on my fingers to do math, because I wasn't that good with numbers. Another note is that I learned to use and recognize sarcasm at about that age, but since my teachers didn't like it much, I stopped rather quickly. I also tended to learn exactly what the rules were, and then adhere to them as closely as possible so that I didn't get into trouble, or develop the stigma of being a troublemaker. The weirdest thing I did was that instead of assuming something was okay until I was told that it wasn't, I tended to assume that it wasn't okay, unless I was specifically told by a teacher (not another student) that it was. I'm still very similar to this in many ways.