What is your interest in typology?

[gromit]

I'm curious.

Do you have practical uses for typology? Or are you more interested in the theory? Personal growth? Relationships? In addition, what drew you to this site initially? How has your view or usage of MBTI changed since then?

 

[Cellmold]

I was foolish and got into typology for bland and superficial reasons.

I wanted it to help tell me about myself since I could not understand myself without any ability at analysis. But it cant and such a bad reason is the worst way to start.

I always subordinate my own understanding to others, that's why I struggle. I also wanted to know why I could never change who I was....why there seemed to be an inherency to my flaws that went beyond what I could understand.

I also contradict myself because on the one hand I want to be told but on the other I wont be told and I despise the system in some ways because it makes me feel like I cannot change what I am....and what I am ive never loved or liked.

Learning type is like being given a death sentence at the same time as a pardon from the king.

 

[Aquarelle]

This is an interesting question. I would say that I got into typology because I'm a seeker... I'm always looking to better understand myself and those around me. I basically use MBTI as a tool to aid in understanding what makes people tick. It can help me understand why someone might react a certain way, feel a certain way, think a certain thing, and I think that helps me understand where that person is coming from and can often help their perspective make sense to me, or at least I can see how it would make sense to them, so this allows me to be less judgmental and dismissive of people who think differently from me. It's also helped me really become okay with who I am and my preferences-- I spent a lot of my life trying to "become" an extrovert, and it really never worked for me. MBTI helped me realize that we all have something to contribute-- different perspectives, ways at looking at things, etc-- and that being an introvert is no worse (or better) than being an extrovert. Likewise with all the other functions. Now I don't waste energy trying to be an extrovert, because that's never going to happen. Instead, I focus on making sure I allow myself to be an introvert, and make sure my needs as such are being met: I try not to overextend myself socially, and plan in "I time"; I try to identify what I need, as an introvert, to deal with things that might come more naturally for an extrovert, but which I still have to do; I am honest with people when I turn down social invitations because I need alone time or the particular activity, which is meant to be fun, would not be fun for me-- instead of making up and excuse, I do my best to just say "I need some alone time" or "I'd love to hang out with you, but this party isn't my thing and I'd rather spend time with you in a setting where we can really talk."

How has my opinion changed... I'm not sure. I've definitely learned a lot more about typology and how the different functions interact with each other. The more I learn, though, the more I think MBTI needs to be used as a lens with which to understand people, not a system of classification.

 

[WALMART]

I honestly don't know why I'm so interested, because I literally never think about the implications.


To me, it is a puzzle to be solved - I see a giant ticking clock and I want to rip it apart until I know every last glimmer of potentiality.

 

[Such Irony]

I tend to be more interested in the theory than applying it in practice.

I use it mainly for personal growth. To a lesser extent, I use to it to better my relationships with others. The thing is, people are complex and the four letter code can only explain some things about a person.

I was drawn to this site to find other people who shared my interest in type, to gain more self-understanding and to seek clarification on my type.

I don't think my view of MBTI has changed much since I joined the forum 2.5 years ago.

 

[highlander]

Understanding others gives me practical advantages in life with respect to relationships and at work. Type is a framework that helps me to do that. I've also used these things to understand myself better which has led to personal development and growth. Historically, I've used MBTI but over the past year or two, I have started using Enneagram much more extensively. Since joining the forum and through some personal study, I've gotten a lot better at identifying people's type. Prior to that, I was guessing a lot and frequently wrong. I'd also say since joining the forum, it's become more of an intellectual exercise. I enjoy learning about it because it's fun even if I don't realize immediate practical value. Overall if I reflect back on it, I've gotten immense value out of this stuff.

 

[INTP]

This is an interesting question. I would say that I got into typology because I'm a seeker... I'm always looking to better understand myself and those around me. I basically use MBTI as a tool to aid in understanding what makes people tick. It can help me understand why someone might react a certain way, feel a certain way, think a certain thing, and I think that helps me understand where that person is coming from and can often help their perspective make sense to me, or at least I can see how it would make sense to them, so this allows me to be less judgmental and dismissive of people who think differently from me.

this.

but for me, instead of being ok with my preferences, it has shown me the direction in which to grow towards and i have succeeded in it pretty well, at least considering my age and how people typically develop their tert and inferior. not that i think that i am ready now, on the contrary, i have understood(not really from typology, but more from jungs other stuff) that its a life long journey and i dont need to be 'ready', i just need to be in the correct path. i have always been driven towards balance, before i thought that the balance was about being emotionally stable(which pretty much meant, that i need to disregard feelings), but learning about typology, i have noticed that its about the balance between T and F, N and S and I and E.

 

[PuddleRiver]

[MENTION=10315]Aquarelle[/MENTION] summed it up pretty well for me.

 

[Eric B]

I liked the four-way symmetry of I/E and people/task, and it is really practical in explaining interaction with people. Then, the functions and archetypes were a deeper level of this, which are also symmetrical, and explain even more about us.

 

[RaptorWizard]

Typology interests me since I love to compare myself against other people, as well as seeing all the different diverse little ways in which different people see and perceive things.

It's also a great tool for manipulation, since if you know what sets other types off, or what appeases them, you can use those little kinks in the wheelwork of their minds to your advantage.

I suppose that isn't really that ethical though. Still, manipulating and persuading people I find to be far more eithical than outright dominating and controlling people, even against their will.

After all, if a person changes their mind under your own influence, even though you were the catalyst in the operation, the other person also chose to be operated on so, from a certain point of view, the basic law of justice is prevailing, that being the advantage of the stronger who, under a simple society rule, while the weak serve.

Really though, I would avocate a philosophy where all people are valued and appreciated for their contributions and accomplishments, as we freely share our abilities amongst all.

 

[HongDou]

My friend made me take the test a long time ago and after it typed me so accurately, I just couldn't stop. It's good for people to know their strengths and weaknesses and it helps you grow as a person, so initially I just learned all about ENFPs and found their trends extremely accurate for me. It made me realize why I never bothered to finish a lot of my schoolwork or never lead a very organized life like my ENFJ mom and INTJ dad...and why I constantly kept pursuing new interests and then jumping to something else the next day. Before I was all over the map and didn't know why, but the MBTI types helped me learn a lot about myself and what I need to focus/improve on!

After that I made all of my friends and family take it, and eventually I began educating myself on what each letter meant. After falling out of video editing during 2nd semester of my junior year in high school, I needed something to do and began researching the types. Then I just enjoyed talking with my aspiring psychologist friend what I thought the types were of TV characters and people we knew. It's a lot of fun to make guesses about people and analyze them because people are just so interesting to me...I love to learn about how we work and how everyone has their own unique way of operating in this world. That's why I'm interesting in typology and that's why I joined this forum.

 

[Cellmold]

My friend made me take the test a long time ago and after it typed me so accurately, I just couldn't stop. It's good for people to know their strengths and weaknesses and it helps you grow as a person, so initially I just learned all about ENFPs and found their trends extremely accurate for me. It made me realize why I never bothered to finish a lot of my schoolwork or never lead a very organized life like my ENFJ mom and INTJ dad...and why I constantly kept pursuing new interests and then jumping to something else the next day. Before I was all over the map and didn't know why, but the MBTI types helped me learn a lot about myself and what I need to focus/improve on!

After that I made all of my friends and family take it, and eventually I began educating myself on what each letter meant. After falling out of video editing during 2nd semester of my junior year in high school, I needed something to do and began researching the types. Then I just enjoyed talking with my aspiring psychologist friend what I thought the types were of TV characters and people we knew. It's a lot of fun to make guesses about people and analyze them because people are just so interesting to me...I love to learn about how we work and how everyone has their own unique way of operating in this world. That's why I'm interesting in typology and that's why I joined this forum.

Could I ask: Which test did you take? The official one?

 

[HongDou]

Could I ask: Which test did you take? The official one?

I took four I think, I'm pretty sure and I've gotten ENFP every time. First was on Humanmetrics, the next was on Naviance, then Socionics, then PersonalityPage and then some obscure one I do not remember. ): Why do you ask? I don't think any of these are the official ones, though.

 

[miss fortune]

I originally came here for the ideas, but ended up staying for the people long after I got turned off from the MBTI system because of the manners in which it was used around here by people

it's not like I have friends in real life, so people here are a substitute in a way

gotta say, I have a preference for enneagram after this amount of time because it allows for more flexibility and growth in a way... more of an idea than a hierarchical structure somehow

still, the people are why I stay

 

[Little_Sticks]

Bad relationships with people made me seriously re-evaluate everything about my life and the world. This is one of many secret interests to help me do that, although I don't really subscribe to MBTI theory. In fact, I think MBTI is so terrible that instead of leading to understanding I think it attempts to justify deeper misunderstanding, but never-mind.

 

[sprinkles]

It's always been for the lulz.

Somebody gave out a test on a totally unrelated forum years ago and I took it and discovered typology (which I'd never even heard of before) and I was a bit enamored with my (largely incorrect) result profile and ended up visiting the INTJ forum. Never really could get into the -ology part. I tried, but it seemed boring and stilted and it seemed like a lot of people tried too hard to be type-fit. Even at one point I was trying too hard to be type-fit.

I said screw INTJforum and went to PerC for a couple years and had some fun there. Then I followed some people here and said screw PerC.

I'm basically here for the off-topic shit.

 

[Cellmold]

I took four I think, I'm pretty sure and I've gotten ENFP every time. First was on Humanmetrics, the next was on Naviance, then Socionics, then PersonalityPage and then some obscure one I do not remember. ): Why do you ask? I don't think any of these are the official ones, though.

Oh I just wondered. Ive generally held that most of those tests are rather....poor. In the sense that they tend to carry a person off down certain answers. But more so if a person understands a little of function theory in terms of general definitions, the entire structure of those tests can be pulled apart by working out what the author interpreted from the functions and following on from this; what questions can be tied to which functions.

Ruins it a bit for me.

Which is not to say your type is not correct for your preferences. Im just interested in how others experience those tests. I very often get INTJ and im extremely honest with my answers and at least somewhat self-aware of my own foibles and shortcomings. Im no INTJ .

Although over time these answers have morphed into INFP and INFJ and ENFJ and ISFJ. Which is somewhat closer.

 

[HongDou]

Oh I just wondered. Ive generally held that most of those tests are rather....poor. In the sense that they tend to carry a person off down certain answers. But more so if a person understands a little of function theory in terms of general definitions, the entire structure of those tests can be pulled apart by working out what the author interpreted from the functions and following on from this; what questions can be tied to which functions.

Ruins it a bit for me.

Which is not to say your type is not correct for your preferences. Im just interested in how others experience those tests. I very often get INTJ and im extremely honest with my answers and at least somewhat self-aware of my own foibles and shortcomings. Im no INTJ .

Although over time these answers have morphed into INFP and INFJ and ENFJ and ISFJ. Which is somewhat closer.

Ah, I agree! The obscure one I took wasn't really that good (you could tell how to answer to get a certain type if you knew how each one functions). But I think the ones I took were decent - at least Humanmetrics anyway. Naviance I only took because it's a part of my high school's college application "assistant", so I thought I might as well do it to kill time.

But I do think I seem very ENFP after looking at profiles of it and the whole Ne/Fi thing is just so...me. O: That's what initially interested me in typology after all; it was all so accurate I just had to learn more and what other people's types were hahaha

 

[Lux]

I have always had an interest in people and anything that had to do with the similarities and differences of them. I use it now for my own communications with others and it seems to work pretty well, at least it gets me thinking of all the different ways to connect with people, mostly in a work environment.

What drew me to this site was character research disguised as a book, but it was really me looking for answers on myself and others.

My usage of Typology is that I use it to communicate better with others and to improve on myself, I think at first I was using it for excuses on my behavior and others behavior, which is just silly.

 

[Cellmold]

Ah, I agree! The obscure one I took wasn't really that good (you could tell how to answer to get a certain type if you knew how each one functions). But I think the ones I took were decent - at least Humanmetrics anyway. Naviance I only took because it's a part of my high school's college application "assistant", so I thought I might as well do it to kill time.

But I do think I seem very ENFP after looking at profiles of it and the whole Ne/Fi thing is just so...me. O: That's what initially interested me in typology after all; it was all so accurate I just had to learn more and what other people's types were hahaha

Ah that's good I like to see enthusiasm .