[NT] Is it genetic?

[Lark]

I think some things are but I think in the main culture's got more to do with anything and everything than people realise, its difficult to generalise though.

 

[promethathustra]

New here. My experience is that these traits are from birth. That it is a genetic issue that we are powerless to change. In looking at genetics,however...remember that we have at least 16 known traits (take keirseys letters) with many numberous possibilities. Which may be recessive,which dominant?

 

[MacGuffin]

I think it is mostly genetic, but it's hardly as simple as eye color.

 

[Totenkindly]

I'm an INTJ from a family people who are almost all NT's of some kind. Another user told me that he's basically in the same boat. Is this typical? Is personality determined by DNA? You know, 'cause if it is, I'm going to rub it in the face of everyone that believes in Tabula Rasa (kidding! Seriously though, what's the deal?).

There's almost no N's in my family.
It's definitely not like a "dominant/recessive" thing... even anecdotally there seems to be no pattern.

The Big Five traits such as Extroversion are shown to have a partial genetic link because it's based on the way your brain and body are wired (in terms of sensitivity to stimulation, although that could be impacted by environment too)... so any MBTI traits that correlate to those traits might have some root in biology. Genetics give you a range to work from, and biological development and environmental stimulus then implement whatever you're becoming.

 

[metasapiens]

I don't think it's genetic. None of my close family NT's except for one grandparent and 1 or 2 out of 14 cousins, and 1 out of 4 uncles and aunts. Usually when these threads are made, no correlation is shown.

About genetic, it's like any other aspect, a specialization takes many generations to become effective, doesn't it ? 10 generations with blue eyes = a baby with blue eyes. 3 generations only = surprise .. we don't know how many factors are involved for a single F/T preference and its parameters (preference's natural strength, natural attraction for a partner sharing the same preference, etc) ..

perhaps in the case of the OP you were raised in a way that encouraged you to develop as an NT?

I was probably encouraged (not pushed, though). However, my N&T abilities were very developed as a child and energizing to use. I used to think about my father's influence as being the source of my difficult adolescence (I/P development) but I was wrong, really.

Speaking of iNtuition, we (humans) also have the ability to imagine the future and to feed off our expectations .. so I couldn't restrict the debate to Nature vs (empiric/passive) Nurture.


(my english may be clumsy, sorry)

 

[Amethyst]

I'm the only NT in my family...my ENFP mom had a much more positive influence on me than my father though, which probably explains why I ended up to be Ne dominant.

 

[Salomé]

Type is exactly 31.3256232% genetic. OK, I admit I just made that up.

There's no need to make stats up when actual stats exist.

 

[Red Herring]

I just found out last night that my mum is a (well balanced) ENTP. It was a close call, but the best bet.
She is a definitive P, cheared when I read her Keirsey´s description of a NT childhood ("so me!") and stopped me almost immerdiately when I read her the INTP portrait ("oh god, no!") and identified most with the ENTP description (minus the daredevil part). She grew up closer to my grandfather than to my grandmother as the youngest of four with two brothers and a sister. As a university student in the early seventies they once did a computerized test that would evaluate your answers to certain psychological questions and then tell you your gender. She came out male and is pissed till this day about the questions´ sexist bias. As a science teacher she fits Keirsey´s description of NT teaching style to a T (ha ha, see what I did there?!).
Part of the reason my parents got divorced when I was 6 years old was that my dad (not typed yet, a general practitioner turned pysochoanalyst, says he loves math and science but is also very emotional and soft and uses extremely fuzzy logic at times) thought that she wasn´t soft and feminine enough for his taste. Oh, and when I told her that her constantly teasing us kids and her sarcasm fit right she denied it for a second and then started smirking at her own fruitless attempt to deny it.
I was raised by my mum together with a younger sister and brother. They both went into science (I´m the only one in humanities, mum always insisted that 1. there is nothing masculine about math and science and 2. you can love and be good at science and humanities at the same time, she hates being nailed down to only one side and has well developed S and F even though she has an overall preference for NT). I´m not sure about my brothers type (big time nerd in some respects, but also a lot of SP in him), my sister is a self-tested ISFP who is a math crack with a PhD in molecular biotechnology. They both love hands-on science: working in the lab (her) or taking algae samples for further analysis (him, currently in Sumatra!!!)

So how much of this is genetics and how much is environment?

PS: This finally helped me understand how she can appear a bit emotionally removed a times while loving us very much. I never gave it much thought, but knowing she´s an NT explains a lot about our childhood (she highly values independence, is very loving but not really the sweet touchy-feely type, etc.) as well as my parent´s failed marriage.

 

[Verfremdungseffekt]

Not sure. If it is genetic, it needn't be direct. You know how certain traits skip generations, or tend to only come from the maternal side?

My father's an ENFP; mother, INFP. Sister... probably ESFJ. My fiancée's family is a whole gaggle, but only her younger sister seems to be an NT. So. INTP here, ENTP there, and nothing immediately to explain it.

Except: my father's father worked for IBM back in the old days and invented that number system you see at the bottom of checks. Didn't know him well, but that may point in an NT direction. And then my mother's father was sort of an inventor. He built TVs and radios from scratch, and secret passages and switches into the walls. Press a button and a panel across the room would open and a home-made TV would pop out. Press another button and the back of the closet would pop open and grant access to another room. Again, sounds kind of NT-ish to me.

If it's part genetics and part environment, it would be curious to see how any kid of ours might hypothetically turn out. The hospital would be forced to issue a nerd warning.