What type do you wish you were?

[Coriolis]

That's true, but it makes sense to me that extroverts overall experience positive emotions more often than other types. The extroverts I know are generally less depressive than the introverts I know.

I suspect extraverts overall display their happiness more, almost by definition. This doesn't mean introverts feel any less happy inside.

So I read this curious book called The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World.

It wasn't much of a self-help book, per se, but you could glean some. It was mostly about the author's (unhappy author's) search around the globe studying different cultures and how they see happiness. It varies indeed.

But the interesting thing was this think tank/happiness laboratory in Holland called the World Database of Happiness. No joke.

And the researchers there discovered a method of determining a person's happiness that was surprisingly accurate. Certain brain centers are more active in happy people, plus other scientific indicators to compare.

But the main method was this: They simply asked if the person was happy or not.

I thought about it and it made total sense to me. I'm about to pass out, so that's all I got for now. I haven't done any research on extroverts vs. introverts and possible correlating happiness levels, so I can't speak to that at the moment, but I thought that their method for determining one's happiness was interesting.

I'm sure these researchers are seeing something in the brain that is reproducible, but what correlation are they really making? Does it actually correlate with happiness, or contentment, or inner peace, or simply the absence of any sort of clinical depression or anxiety? Did they measure each subject many times, to correct for daily highs and lows in a person's emotional state prompted by ongoing events?

I find it hard to believe that an emotional state as individual and subjective as happiness can be predicted or measured in any statistically significant or scientifically reproducible way.

 

[Nicki]

triple id ESFP

 

[lulabelle]

I suspect extraverts overall display their happiness more, almost by definition. This doesn't mean introverts feel any less happy inside.


I'm sure these researchers are seeing something in the brain that is reproducible, but what correlation are they really making? Does it actually correlate with happiness, or contentment, or inner peace, or simply the absence of any sort of clinical depression or anxiety? Did they measure each subject many times, to correct for daily highs and lows in a person's emotional state prompted by ongoing events?

I find it hard to believe that an emotional state as individual and subjective as happiness can be predicted or measured in any statistically significant or scientifically reproducible way.

I think it's more 'better mood' as reported by the study subjects over a period of time. If you're grumpy all the time you're not going to be happy, are you?

In one of the studies, introverts reported better moods after they engaged in more extroverted activities like calling a friend and going for a walk with a friend.

 

[Coriolis]

I think it's more 'better mood' as reported by the study subjects over a period of time. If you're grumpy all the time you're not going to be happy, are you?

In one of the studies, introverts reported better moods after they engaged in more extroverted activities like calling a friend and going for a walk with a friend.

I don't agree that "better mood" equates to happiness. Often I am happiest doing something alone. If people come around and intrude on that, I am forced into an extraverted situation and may indeed take on a foul mood. Introverts, or at least INTJs, are often accused of being depressed or even angry when in fact we are simply thinking - perhaps thinking of something that makes us truly happy.

 

[lulabelle]

I don't agree that "better mood" equates to happiness. Often I am happiest doing something alone. If people come around and intrude on that, I am forced into an extraverted situation and may indeed take on a foul mood. Introverts, or at least INTJs, are often accused of being depressed or even angry when in fact we are simply thinking - perhaps thinking of something that makes us truly happy.

Fair enough, I still think that on a very basic level introverts tend to experience lower moods overall and more frequent, prolonged negative emotions.

 

[five sounds]

Fair enough, I still think that on a very basic level introverts tend to experience lower moods overall and more frequent, prolonged negative emotions.

Sorry to cut in, but I think we just deal with it differently.

 

[lulabelle]

Sorry to cut in, but I think we just deal with it differently.

maybe. it's really impossible to compare exactly just from one's perspective; i don't think the findings from all those studies and this study http://keirsey.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/happiness_survey_graph.gif are totally bogus.

A lot of extroverts I've known didn't really relate to my melancholic nature and I kinda felt like a downer around them. They definitely went through shyt too but it didn't seem to be as constant and overall they seemed to have better moods/a more positive, upbeat energy than me or other introverts I've known. This is not to diminish anything anyone goes through, I just do think there is probably some kind of correlation between happiness/unhappiness and introversion/extroversion... there's just too much data and stuff I've observed and others have observed for it not to be somewhat true. jmo

 

[Mole]

Just as the introverted Mole wishes he was more like the extroverted Water Rat, so do I.

Sometimes I am tempted to be like the ultra extroverted Toad, but then I think better of it.

Perhaps it is good for me to have extroverted friends like the Water Rat and Toad, but then I know I can never really be like them. And I am just grateful they like me.

But how glorious to be an extroverted Water Rat in a bijou residence beside the sparking river.

The Rat sculled smartly across and made fast. Then he held up his forepaw as the Mole
stepped gingerly down. ‘Lean on that!’ he said. ‘Now then, step lively!’
and the Mole to his surprise and rapture found himself actually seated in the stern of a
real boat.
‘This has been a wonderful day!’ said he, as the Rat shoved off and took to the sculls
again. ‘Do you know, I’ve never been in a boat before in all my life.’ ‘What?’ cried the
Rat, open-mouthed: ‘Never been in a- you never- well I what have you been doing,
then?’ ‘Is it so nice as all that?’ asked the Mole shyly, though he was quite prepared to
believe it as he leant back in his seat and surveyed the cushions, the oars, the rowlocks,
and all the fascinating fittings, and felt the boat sway lightly under him.
‘Nice? It’s the only thing,’ said the Water Rat solemnly, as he leant forward for his
stroke. ‘Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing- absolute nothing half so much
worth doing as simply messing about in boats. Simply messing,’

 

[Stanton Moore]

I wish that type didn't exist, because it isn't real.

 

[DerekEvans01]

If I had to pick a type I'd rather be, then it would probably be ENTP, ESTP, or ENTJ. Those guys are always getting the good rap about how tough they are, but us ENFP's seem to be associated with all the childlike wusses like Hay Lin from WITCH, Chuck from Mazerunner, and Robin Williams. The only ENFP that I can think of that is close to tough is Peeta Mellark, and maybe Anakin Skywalker. My type somewhat contradicts my enneagram, so it's a little weird.

 

[Mademoiselle]

The answers are similar to this:
Question: What kind of hair you wish you had?
Straight-haired girl: I wish I had curly hair.
Curly-haired girl: I wishI had straight hair.

 

[BadOctopus]

The answers are similar to this:
Question: What kind of hair you wish you had?
Straight-haired girl: I wish I had curly hair.
Curly-haired girl: I wishI had straight hair.

I love my straight hair. It's so low-maintenance. And perfect for headbanging.

If I wasn't an INTJ, I'd like to be an INFP. They're pretty adorable. (Except for Wesley Crusher.)

 

[miss fortune]

because it has it's own documentary and shit

 

[Mademoiselle]

I love my straight hair. It's so low-maintenance. And perfect for headbanging.

If I wasn't an INTJ, I'd like to be an INFP. They're pretty adorable. (Except for Wesley Crusher.)

Asian as expected. :3
I was trying to say that all the types has good stuff to like
And bad stuff to deal with

 

[BadOctopus]

[MENTION=22782]Mademoiselle[/MENTION] I'm not Asian. I'm a pasty redhead. lol But thank you for assuming I was Asian.

And I get what you were saying. Mostly, I'm quite satisfied with my type. I like that I'm calm and rational, and not easily riled up. But I do wish I were more empathetic. I mean, I am empathetic; I'm just lousy at showing it.

 

[Mademoiselle]

[MENTION=22782]Mademoiselle[/MENTION] I'm not Asian. I'm a pasty redhead. lol But thank you for assuming I was Asian.

And I get what you were saying. Mostly, I'm quite satisfied with my type. I like that I'm calm and rational, and not easily riled up. But I do wish I were more empathetic. I mean, I am empathetic; I'm just lousy at showing it.

You character, that’s how I call you.
Even if I was a visual reader how come I judge?
Empathic people would like to have some logic, too.

 

[Showbread]

I think it would be fun to be an ENFP for a day. More Ne sounds fun.

 

[Robopop]

I would like to be ISTP, they seem like very "cool", aware people, better task focus than INTPs and seem to fit in better socially.

I think it's more 'better mood' as reported by the study subjects over a period of time. If you're grumpy all the time you're not going to be happy, are you?

In one of the studies, introverts reported better moods after they engaged in more extroverted activities like calling a friend and going for a walk with a friend.

I am very skeptical of these claims, the way introverts and extroverts are defined is likely to be erroneous in those studies, calling a friend or walking with a friend has little to do with cognitive extroversion.

All extroversion means is that you are oriented towards the object, there are many introvert "types" that would easily be mistaken for extroverts by these colloquial notions. Carl Jung described himself is a very sociable person but he clearly categorized himself as a introvert(likely introverted thinking dominant) while he described Freud as more socially reclusive but a clear extrovert(more specifically extroverted thinking dominant).

I suspect what these studies are really measuring is emotional stability/neuroticism as an independent personality dimension, a shy anxious person is being lumped in as an introvert when this is more to do with social anxiety. You might argue that social anxiety is correlated with introversion but it seems more like introversion is being equated to being socially anxious/reclusive/negative moods, ect., I mean if a lot of researchers can't even define introverts and extroverts right their studies and the conclusions they produce are crappy from the start. All these studies are telling me is that people who are more socially isolated tend to be less happy, but that is a very different beast than the introversion/extroversion Jung was talking about.

There are a lot of socially immature/awkward extroverts out there that would be erroneously classified as introverts by these studies.

 

[Pionart]

I would like to be an EJ type. I think lots of people would. But no doubt these types have problems too. And NJ. I would like to be NJ. So Ni auxiliary. Though I should like to be a P type to see things from the other side. If I was an ENTJ I would just be dismissing my Si and moving the other functions up a notch. Maybe if I was ENTJ I would want to be INFJ. Really I would like to be better developed.

 

[chickpea]

i want (someone else) to start a 'what type do you wish the person above you was' thread.