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Personality Change Over Time

NewEra

New member
Joined
Dec 21, 2008
Messages
3,104
MBTI Type
I
My personality has changed significantly over time. I used to be a lot more extraverted just a couple of years ago, and I'd talk before thinking. I was an E. I used to also be more carefree, and go-with-the-flow and more experimental than I am now. I was a very clear P. I used to be more friendly, less confrontational, less hard-working, more creative, and more fun. Definitely more F than I am now. This was just 1 or 2 years ago. If you asked me back then, I would never have thought one's personality could just change like that. But it happened to me. I would say before, I was an ESxP.

I wanted to know if something like this is common, or have you heard of it? Or has it happened to you?
 

527468

deleted
Joined
Oct 22, 2008
Messages
1,945
A good friend of mine went from a sad INFJ childhood to en extremely happy ENFJ adulthood!
 

INTJMom

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 28, 2007
Messages
5,413
MBTI Type
INTJ
Enneagram
5w4
My personality has changed significantly over time. I used to be a lot more extraverted just a couple of years ago, and I'd talk before thinking. I was an E. I used to also be more carefree, and go-with-the-flow and more experimental than I am now. I was a very clear P. I used to be more friendly, less confrontational, less hard-working, more creative, and more fun. Definitely more F than I am now. This was just 1 or 2 years ago. If you asked me back then, I would never have thought one's personality could just change like that. But it happened to me. I would say before, I was an ESxP.

I wanted to know if something like this is common, or have you heard of it? Or has it happened to you?
According to the science of the theory, your first function begins to develop @ age 6, the second @ age 12, the third @ age 25 and the fourth @ age 50.

As we are developing these functions, we are learning to prefer one over the other. One is becoming more comfortable, automatic and natural. This differentiation process is necessary for our psychological well-being. We have to have a preference or else we would be insane. According to what I've read, the only circumstance under which someone's type might change is if they suffer brain damage.
 

NewEra

New member
Joined
Dec 21, 2008
Messages
3,104
MBTI Type
I
According to the science of the theory, your first function begins to develop @ age 6, the second @ age 12, the third @ age 25 and the fourth @ age 50.

As we are developing these functions, we are learning to prefer one over the other. One is becoming more comfortable, automatic and natural. This differentiation process is necessary for our psychological well-being. We have to have a preference or else we would be insane. According to what I've read, the only circumstance under which someone's type might change is if they suffer brain damage.

That's interesting. By functions, you mean cognitive functions?
 

INTJMom

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 28, 2007
Messages
5,413
MBTI Type
INTJ
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5w4
That's interesting. By functions, you mean cognitive functions?
Um, the Dominant, Auxiliary, Tertiary and Inferior as classified by MBTI,
I haven't studied the cognitive functions in depth, so I don't know.
 

Anja

New member
Joined
May 2, 2008
Messages
2,967
MBTI Type
INFP
I think it is more a matter of development of potential that is happening. As a child I function, as I was trained - as an ESTJ.

But I was also very unhappy trying to fit that role.

If one is free to pursue their tendencies and discover the true self I think the true PT eventually emerges.

If you saw me in public you would be certain that I am an extrovert. But I continue to have my energy depleted in contact with others and know that indicates that I am an "I."
 

pippi

New member
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Sep 6, 2008
Messages
735
MBTI Type
xxxx
That's interesting. By functions, you mean cognitive functions?

Um, the Dominant, Auxiliary, Tertiary and Inferior as classified by MBTI,
I haven't studied the cognitive functions in depth, so I don't know.

Yes, those are the cognitive functions (Ne,Ni,Se,Si,Te,Ti,Fe,Fi). The theory about when we develop preferences for the Tertiary and Inferior functions is just a theory, I've never seen any supporting data for the timing. It's possible that the preferences exist earlier or that some people never make it past the Dominant and Auxiliary functions.

That's not to say we can't use all the functions, we can. The type theory is about preferences or what comes most naturally, not the same thing. N's don't go through life without ever using the S functions, and the opposite is true. T's would have no subjective values if they never used any F functions, etc.

All that said, I don't think people change their preferences, but they may not have identified them correctly in the first place or may have still be developing the preference when they first tried to type themselves. That is one of the limitations of the MBTI tests, they require people to know themselves and answer how they are and not how they want to be. When people type themselves from 20 or 70 question online tests it just increases the likelihood of mistyping themselves. Even the professionally administered full in person tests are only about 75% accurate from the data I've seen.
 

Costrin

rawr
Joined
Nov 1, 2008
Messages
2,320
MBTI Type
ENTP
Enneagram
5w4
I think, your type is determined by preferences. Which functions you prefer to use. This is related to, but not the same thing as the strength of your functions.

That said, I don't think a persons preferences are static. They can change over time or with a particularly big event. Especially if your close on any of the dichotomies it can be easy to change between one type or another.

As for specific ages of developing tertiary and inferior, I don't put much stock in that. An InTp, close on both N and P will likely have a somewhat developed Si, even before 25 or whatever.

But probably most people stay within the same type most of their life.
 

BlackCat

Shaman
Joined
Nov 19, 2008
Messages
7,038
MBTI Type
ESFP
Enneagram
9w8
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
I was raised as another type than myself also Anja.

My ENFP mom basically raised me to be an ENFP. She still doesn't get why I am introverted and the fact that I always want to be alone annoys her. :laugh:
 

redacted

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 28, 2007
Messages
4,223
My ISTJ mom kept trying to raise me as an ISTJ and kept failing over and over, then taking out her failures on me, etc.

Unfortunately for her, I've been pretty clearly INFJ my whole life. And her 2nd child has always been clearly ENTP. And her husband has always been clearly INTP.

The more she tried to make me into her dream child, the less like her dream child I allowed myself to be. Very NF of me :)
 

Cenomite

Systematic chaos
Joined
Nov 30, 2008
Messages
623
MBTI Type
ENTP
I feel that I was an extreme ENFP/INFP in early childhood. I used to be nice to a fault.
 

Shaula

Te > Fi > Ni
Joined
Nov 27, 2008
Messages
608
MBTI Type
INTJ
Enneagram
4w5
I think, your type is determined by preferences. Which functions you prefer to use. This is related to, but not the same thing as the strength of your functions.
I agree with this. I typed myself as an INTJ because its functions are what I prefer but what I've noticed is that I have a very well developed Fi which sometimes causes me to be typed as an INFP. I used to get confused about what my real type is so I came up with the hypothesis that although a function may be prefered, it needs to be exercised for it to gain strength, much like a muscle. I think my Fi is strong because I often had to stand up to my senslessly abusive upbringings and understand the feelings behind the violent acts so I could attempt to stop them from happening again. (Which I was sucessful at doing by the way.) I mean I was actually beaten and belittled for accidentally breaking a cereal bowl. Talk about overreacting! However I identify much more with INTJ as I'm more organised and not very touchy-feely.

*Now of course this could be a bunch of BS I made up to rationalise my decision to type myself as an INTJ. But I still think it's a viable hypothesis at this time.
 

01011010

New member
Joined
Jun 22, 2008
Messages
3,916
MBTI Type
INxJ
According to the science of the theory, your first function begins to develop @ age 6, the second @ age 12, the third @ age 25 and the fourth @ age 50.

As we are developing these functions, we are learning to prefer one over the other. One is becoming more comfortable, automatic and natural. This differentiation process is necessary for our psychological well-being. We have to have a preference or else we would be insane. According to what I've read, the only circumstance under which someone's type might change is if they suffer brain damage.

Succinctly explained
 

Anja

New member
Joined
May 2, 2008
Messages
2,967
MBTI Type
INFP
Well, and confusion also. It takes us a while to know ourselves.
 
G

garbage

Guest
I used to act a lot more introverted, which is really, really hard for me to believe now. I'm fully convinced that I've been wired as an extrovert all along and just never exercised it.

I've also become a much softer and more understanding and empathetic person, but that has more to do with personal growth rather than discovery of existing preferences.
 

Take Five

Supreme Allied Commander
Joined
Aug 26, 2008
Messages
925
MBTI Type
ISTJ
Enneagram
1w9
I've been an ISTJ as long as I can remember, but as time passes I think awareness and balance increase more than anything else.
 

Gingerale-san

New member
Joined
Feb 7, 2009
Messages
15
MBTI Type
INFP
I think I've always been an INFP, but a while ago, when I would take [online] assessments, I would usually get INFP, but I would often get INFJ too. I didn't think this was accurate and didn't understand why I was getting those results until recently, I stopped getting INFJ results and started getting some INFP and some INTP. I think I (and I assume many other people do this too) go through phases where I exercise one of my non-dominant functions, yet still remaining the type I've always been. I think that accounts for some of personality change.
 

Darjur

New member
Joined
Oct 26, 2008
Messages
493
MBTI Type
INTJ
Enneagram
5
I started out as an INTP, then went to ENTP, now I'm most likely an INTJ, give or take ten years and I'll be an ENTJ if the pattern continues.
 
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