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is personality type hereditary in any way?

John Goodman

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Jul 19, 2009
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1
MBTI Type
intp
my father passed away when i was young so i grew with pretty much only vague ideas about who he was. my mom had her own issues with him so she rarely talked about him and i rarely asked. had lunch with this guy that was his best friend and we talked about him for like 3 hours. he and i came to the realization that we are very very similiar. like everything from general personality, sense of humor, style of dress, business sense, relationships, recreational drug use, performance in school, intelligence, general attitude etc etc. his friend even pointed out that the mannerisms i used and the way i sat at a table were the same. its kinda creepy finding this out. my whole life i thought i was a totally original person.

what can explain this?
 

Halla74

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ESTP
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sx/so
I'm no expert on MBTI or genetics, but I do understand the basics of both, and I also have typed my whole family with the same test. Get ready for some silly results:

DAD: ESTJ
MOM: INFP
ME: ESTP
BROTHER: INTJ

My wife is INFJ. Her Dad is ESFP.
See a pattern yet?

:D
 

spirilis

Senior Membrane
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sp/sx
I'm a bit skeptical as to whether we are predisposed to certain types based on heredity, but, I have a thought in the back of my mind that it might be genetically determined in some way, possibly like gender--mostly set in stone right at birth.
 

chasingAJ

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INTJ
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I agree with the E/I going back and forth. My mother is an E but I'm still figuring out the rest... ditto with my daughter. She often says "I hear my friends outside" like I should assume that she should be outside with them. Her famous fit is "I just don't want to be alone!" My SO and I are both very introverted so we tend to go home after a few hours of socializing and just lay around decompressing. My daughter will socialize until she falls asleep and wake up wondering where her friends are.
 

cinema

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I think it is a function of genetics, but the actual relation is a lot more complex than some may think.

If I/E went back and forth, then there would be a 50:50 split between I's and E's.

Quick typing people and trying to extract patterns will only reveal (suspect) information about that particular group of people and nothing more. You will observe a pattern in the symptoms, that may or may not be correlated to the root condition. Children may develop I personalities as a method of coping with overly E tendencies of parents (subconsious rebellion?) and vice-versa.
 

Stanton Moore

morose bourgeoisie
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I don't see how it can be directly inherited. More than likely it's a secondary characteristic of an organism, meaning that it's not a critical factor for survival.

'Personality' is a very high-level function of the most adaptible and plastic organ on earth: the human brain. That alone makes me suspicious of claims that it's set in stone.
 

Wild horses

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Oct 25, 2008
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Well this is a nature vs nature argument, both my parents were SJs in fact many of my family are SJ or SP and the ones who are N are actually borderline crazy and don't seem to handle life very well maybe because the Ss have driven that way HAHAHAHA (j/k) so although it does not seem that mine is a case that argues nature I have wondered perhaps if being surrounded by people who are very organised and like to therefore organise me have added to the extremeness of my P
 

Saslou

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I Children may develop I personalities as a method of coping with overly E tendencies of parents (subconsious rebellion?) and vice-versa.


Hmmm. How did you come to this conclusion?
If you don't mind me asking.

Edit - My 2 cents, i think it is nature and nurture. You are going to be whatever you are, but your parents personalities have to play some part as they are so involved in your younger years.
:)
 

Nonsensical

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Hmm. That's a really intriguing thesis. I would be open to it. I don't think it is genetic, but being raised under certain personality types may effect your personality. You parents really shape your personality, so I think they have a hand in what type you end up in. But that's only a pin point.

I'm hesitant.

My mother died when I was 4. My father always talks about her because he was so much in love with her, and still is, even though it's been 13 years.
Mom: INFP
Sister: INFP
Dad: ENFP
Me:ENFP

It's a weird line up, but it hasn't really been a normal circumstance. My mother died 2 months after my sister was born. Even though she obviously didn't know my mom, she has EXACTLY the same personality, they're both INFPs.

Growing up with only my Dad, I have become so much like him. I didn't used to be, but I am now.
 

Halla74

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Here's my take on it in reductionsit terms.

People = Nature (Genetics of their Parents) + Nurture (Parental Rearing)

Children have 50% of their genes from each parent, thus disposing them to ANY hereditary components of type.

Children are being raised by their parents who are acting out on the EXPRESSED (nature+nurture) phenotype of their own genetics.

Thus, parent's actions reinforce the transmitted aspect's of their personalities in their children...

Does that make sense?
 

Nonsensical

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Here's my take on it in reductionsit terms.

People = Nature (Genetics of their Parents) + Nurture (Parental Rearing)

Children have 50% of their genes from each parent, thus disposing them to ANY hereditary components of type.

Children are being raised by their parents who are acting out on the EXPRESSED (nature+nurture) phenotype of their own genetics.

Thus, parent's actions reinforce the transmitted aspect's of their personalities in their children...

Does that make sense?

I think you nailed it right on the head.
 

cinema

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Hmmm. How did you come to this conclusion?
If you don't mind me asking.


[...] I have wondered perhaps if being surrounded by people who are very organised and like to therefore organise me have added to the extremeness of my P

It doesn't have be I/E, I chose this because of earlier posts in the thread, it could be SNTFJP. Also, it does not have to be parents, it could be other significant people and environmental factors, in which case, the 'rebellion' can be replaced with 'an attempt impress/fit in, etc' or 'reaction to stressful circumstances' etc.

To the OP:
Given your initial 'genetic' personality and life experiences, you may have ended up with roughly the same personality traits and mannerisms as your father. Since it is highy unlikely that you have had the same life experiences as your father, there is no reason to conclude that both yours and your father's 'genetic' personalities were the same to begin with.

Also, your dad's friend may have found the similarities because he was desperately looking for them, and may have exagerated his memory of your father's mannerisms and traits in his head.

Get someone else (your mother?) to confirm the friends observations if this is really important to you. 2-cents...
 

weminuche

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Jul 24, 2009
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Anyone who's had several kids will attest to the clear fact that they come out of the womb with their own unique personality.

Then they arrive at different times in their parents lives. The parents are growing and changing...often significantly...sometimes in good ways, sometimes bad, sometimes just different. A first child will have a very different early childhood than a forth.

So we have:
1.) Different personality elements the kids are born with
2.) Different interactions with the parents because the parents are changing
3.) Parents who are dealing with and treating each kid differently, by necessity, due to the children's different personalities
4.) Different interactions with their siblings and differing numbers of siblings around during their early years

With all of this you can get very different kids produced and raised by the same two parents under the same roof.

It once amazed/baffled me how brothers and sisters could be so different. After living it, it makes perfect sense to me now.

Nature + Nuture, they are both definitely a factor.
 

NewEra

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My family:

Dad - ENTJ
Mom - INFJ
Sister (older) - ISFJ
Me (younger) - ISTJ

Another family:
Dad - INTx
Mom - IxTJ
Daughter (older) - ENTP
Son (younger) - ISTP

So it looks like it's not genetic at least from a few families I know, but you still could have one set in stone for life.
 

BlueScreen

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There's a longer thread on parent's/children's types, and there was no obvious pattern.

It could even be to do with nutrients in the womb or anything that helps one part of the brain become stronger compared to another. Once you have a stronger part I figure it develops more, because it gets used more. And a supporting part tends to develop too. I can see it being something that has enough factors that it could end up random though.
 

demimondaine

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i don't see it being true

i'm the product of an ExFJ mom and an xNTJ father, for the record.
 

OrangeAppled

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In cases where both parents appear a very different type from their child, couldn't it be similar to a case of 2 brown eyed people having a blue eyed child because of carrying recessive genes?
Just throwing ideas out....

I also thought introversion/extroversion was pretty much proven to be differences in brain function, suggesting it's largely biological (?).
 

dirtdirt

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Could be, but isn't there that factor of conditioning also? I used to be very extraverted, but after middle school I became pretty introverted. I was nowhere near introverted previous to middle school Also with having an neurotic ESTJ as father and being an ENFP kinda defeats genetics when he enforces SJ on you to the point where you become an SJ yourself (during middle school and high school). So its kinda like Weminuche said, but I also believe that it could be outside factors from peers that can shape you also, not just genetics and parenting
 

Night

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Nov 2, 2007
Messages
4,755
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INTJ
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5/8
Dad - ENTJ
Mother - ENFJ
Brother - ESxP

Me - xNTP

Hereditary? Maybe. Depends on how you define the term. In terms of cognitive inheritance, certain neurological functions are determined by genetics. Flexibility of mood is often influenced biochemically. Environment is a huge factor. Not from your parents, but from your peers.

Parental roles matter less than fraternal association.
 
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