[MBTI General] ISTJ or INTP?

[Habba]

I thought there were few members here (Costring? Matthew_Z?) who were indecisive whether they are INTP or ISTJs... am I mistaken?

Every then and now I ask myself, if I'm an ISTJ... and why wouldn't I be an INTP instead. Every test I've taken has given me a result of ISTJ (except one gave me IxTJ). But yet I don't feel particularly ISTJish. I mean I strongly dislike organizations, religions, military, traditions and formalities.

So, INTPs, what made you think you were ISTJs over INTPs?

And, ISTJs, what made you think you were INTPs over ISTJs?

 

[Virtual ghost]

Is there any particular reason why you can't be INTJ ?

 

[yoginimama]

Yeah, INTJ sounds like a good possibility to explore. If you like getting things done, if you like closure, if you like Thinking, but you hate conformity, INTJ just might be the MBTI designation for you.

 

[Habba]

Well, I don't pay much attention to my surroundings. My apartment is always a mess, and so is my desktop too. I almost perceive organizing as a matter of great unimportance. Doesn't sound too J, wouldn't you say?

 

[Tyrant]

Why not start a thread in the "What's My Type" subforum?

 

[Habba]

Why not start a thread in the "What's My Type" subforum?

Because I'm not really looking for my own type, but to hear what these INTP-ISTJ people have to say. INTP <-> ISTJ is a big jump, but still some people seem to be uncertain which one they are. I've noticed that this pair is more common than any other possible pair of types. Well, ENFP <-> ISTJ is a common pair too, but that can be explained with the shadow personality.

 

[Tyrant]

Well, if you're actually interested in finding out whether your self-typing was accurate, make that thread.

If someone jumps from INTP to ISTJ, they were (are) extremely incompetent at typing and had no idea how to differentiate functions.

 

[Haphazard]

Well, I don't pay much attention to my surroundings. My apartment is always a mess, and so is my desktop too. I almost perceive organizing as a matter of great unimportance. Doesn't sound too J, wouldn't you say?

Actually I think organizing is more a matter of how you were raised and how good a certain type of memory you have, i.e. the type of memory of where you put your shit. If your parents or teachers or anything didn't drill you on being neat and organized all the time, and you have a good memory for where you put stuff, then you're not likely to be very organized whether you're a J or a P. That said, SJs are probably the most likely to be affected by whether their parents were tidy or not, NPs the least. However, there are still an awful lot of messy SJs out there.

 

[NewEra]

I mean I strongly dislike organizations, religions, military, traditions and formalities.

ISTJs don't have to like those things. They can hate them, once again those are stereotypes which people pass around. Take a look at your function strength - I'm sure you've done those tests, which functions are your strongest (and weakest) ??

And, ISTJs, what made you think you were INTPs over ISTJs?

I don't think I've for a moment thought I was INTP. INTJ, ISTP, ESTJ yes (although ISTJ wins out every time), but not INTP.

 

[Laurie]

Well, I don't pay much attention to my surroundings. My apartment is always a mess, and so is my desktop too. I almost perceive organizing as a matter of great unimportance. Doesn't sound too J, wouldn't you say?

Doesn't sound ISTJ to me. But just me thinking that doesn't make you not ISTJ.

 

[JustHer]

I would think ISTJs would be more about organization than INTJs. I'm an NTJ and my room is a disaster.

I also think you should consider the possibility that you are an INTJ

 

[Gerbah]

>> But yet I don't feel particularly ISTJish. I mean I strongly dislike organizations, religions, military, traditions and formalities. <<

Those are just ISTJ stereotypes. It's easy to stereotype ISTJs because on the surface they show a formal face that people not close to the ISTJ see. Actually, they are among the most idiosyncratic, quirky and individualistic of the types. They need to be true to themselves. I read once that what ISTJs often need to do is embrace their individuality and become better aware that they are very different from other people and to relax with letting other people be who they are.

 

[sculpting]

Well, I don't pay much attention to my surroundings. My apartment is always a mess, and so is my desktop too. I almost perceive organizing as a matter of great unimportance. Doesn't sound too J, wouldn't you say?

Umm, not to tell you your type...but my ISTJs are lunatics about this crap. The funniest one has bills organized by months, dates, receipts stapled to each, and little notations. (I prefer the bags in the closet approach, each labeled with the respective year).

They are very disturbed by messes and things not being neat. They laugh at themselves about it but they admit it.

My INTJs are neat at times, but there is a depth to messiness when you see it. It can seem a bit messy, but they seem to have a theme, a goal in mind, a work in progress which has kept them from dealing with the mess. My favorite INTJ would make her own furniture and we would have dinners themed by "fire" or "portugal" or "tennis". So it might seem messy, but there was a goal underway typically.

The INTPs-can be very messy. The most hysterical one had to move offices. His desk had piles two feet deep of paper on it. We found paperwork that had been left for him in 1996 that required his signature. Most seem better than that as they will throw stuff out.

 

[Matthew_Z]

Of all the ISTJs, Habba's posts were the ones I most felt that I could have written myself.

Just my side input.

Things that made me think I could be ISTJ (or IxTJ, at the least):
When I do things I care about, I do them to a VERY high level of precision.
I'm usually EXTREMELY punctual. In one sense, it's a precision in the realm of time.
There was a period of time in which I actually enjoyed managing people... efficiently.
While I don't always agree, I've heard I have an EXCELLENT memory.
Although I was something of a "rebel" in school, intentionally breaking the rules wasn't usually my style. I was more for "get as close to crossing the line without actually crossing it" or "discussing WHY the rule should be removed." However, I shall admit to never being in full compliance with appear codes. (of course, I was subtle about it)
When it came to home, I was completely against my mother's concept of "change," especially "change for change's sake."

 

[Tyrant]

What does having good memory have to do with anything, MZ?

 

[Matthew_Z]

What does having good memory have to do with anything, MZ?

Supposedly a sign of a strong Si, in the MBTI sense of the function.

 

[simulatedworld]

What does having good memory have to do with anything, MZ?

Si (dominant function for ISTJ/ISFJ and secondary for ESTJ/ESFJ) remembers the real details of past experiences in much greater depth than other types, which results in some amazing photographic memory and capacity for memorization of unevaluated data. (Si doesn't actually make decisions though; it just stores all this raw sensory information for future reference so that it can be most prepared when the time for a decision comes.)

Not to be confused with Ti (dominant for INTP/ISTP and secondary for ENTP/ESTP), which categorizes and evaluates data to create frameworks by which future data will be evaluated for consistency and accuracy. Ti can also show some pretty great memory once it's worked out the guiding principles of something, but Ti doesn't just store raw data the way Si does--it actually systematizes and evaluates, making decisions about the quality of the data and turning it into information.

Does either of these sound more familiar than the other, MZ?

 

[Matthew_Z]

Si (dominant function for ISTJ/ISFJ and secondary for ESTJ/ESFJ) remembers the real details of past experiences in much greater depth than other types, which results in some amazing photographic memory and capacity for memorization of unevaluated data. (Si doesn't actually make decisions though; it just stores all this raw sensory information for future reference so that it can be most prepared when the time for a decision comes.)

Not to be confused with Ti (dominant for INTP/ISTP and secondary for ENTP/ESTP), which categorizes and evaluates data to create frameworks by which future data will be evaluated for consistency and accuracy. Ti can also show some pretty great memory once it's worked out the guiding principles of something, but Ti doesn't just store raw data the way Si does--it actually systematizes and evaluates, making decisions about the quality of the data and turning it into information.

Does either of these sound more familiar than the other, MZ?

Trust me, I've gone through this many times before. My memory is much, much more the second than the first.

 

[Riva]

Every test I've taken

I can take any test any time anywhere and deliberately score (i know this is not the best word) any type I want.

 

[simulatedworld]

I can take any test any time anywhere and deliberately score (i know this is not the best word) any type I want.

+89363490123

Trust me, I've gone through this many times before. My memory is much, much more the second than the first.

Fair enough. Would you describe yourself as highly introverted? I'm thinking maybe INTP who leans more on tertiary Si than on secondary Ne for you, at this point. You do seem exceptionally internally organized, but you have a sense of practicality and a distaste for imprecision and whimsy that strikes me as kind of Ti+Si.