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[MBTI General] How to tell the difference between ISTJ and INTJ.

Giggly

No moss growing on me
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Jun 12, 2008
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iSFj
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2
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sx/so
How would you tell the difference between these two?
 

d@v3

Perfect Gentleman! =D
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MBTI Type
ISTJ
Good question. :shock: I don't think I know any INTJ's. I'm willing to bet that the INTJ's like to read poetry and have a better understanding of school and things like that whereas ISTJ's are probably more "hands on". :yes:
 

Matthew_Z

That chalkboard guy
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xxxx
If you compared an INTJ and an ISTJ, you'd probably notice the following things:
  • The INTJ is likely smarter
  • The INTJ will likely focus on the bigger picture, while the ISTJ will more likely be inclined to focus on the smaller picture
  • The ISTJ is likely to be a harder worker
  • The ISTJ likely has more respect for authority

That being said, those characteristics would be the best for telling the difference between the two types.
 

Recoleta

No me digas, che!
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600
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ISXJ
One of my closest friends is an INTJ male. On the outside, you'd probably think we were the same person...it is uncanny how we react to things in very similar ways.

Most of the time our thoughts are even in sync with one another (but that could just be b/c we've known each other for about 8 years). Of the differences I see between us, he is very intellectual at pretty much all times. He enjoys reading informational texts on all kinds of stuff, whereas I probably won't read about it for enjoyment...I'm more likely to just jump strait into a project, ask for help, and/or figure something out by actually doing it.

His thought processes are probably more fluid and changeable compared to mine...he expects things to go wrong, and will adjust accordingly. He's pretty good at improvising things -- me, not as much. Teaching has taught me to be flexible, but I still like being planned and rehearsed and decided on things ahead of time. He sees the "big picture" more easily, but I'm the one that catches the details.

Socially, I'm more outgoing and talkative, and can tolerate people a little better. He prefers to keep to himself, and shows very little emotion. He has 2 default facial expressions: smirk, and neutral. It is rare to see a wider range of emotion than that (could be a guy/girl thing, though?).
 

NewEra

New member
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Dec 21, 2008
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I
Simple as:

INTJs are more abstract, imaginative, and head-in-the-clouds. They are more ingenious. In general, they have better leadership ability. They also seem more random (because of the leading Ni).

ISTJs are simpler, more concrete, and formal. In general, they are harder workers. More common sense, more detail-oriented.
 

Virtual ghost

Complex paradigm
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Jun 6, 2008
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It is interesting to see what ISTJs think about INTJs.

We can look similar from the outside. Especially if you are not ISTJ or INTJ.
However on the inside we are quite different people.

But I agree with previous posters .


I think that INTJs are more likely to annoy ISTJs then the other way around. (opinions?)
 

Eagle

New member
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Mar 9, 2009
Messages
733
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ISTJ
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1w9
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sx/so
If you compared an INTJ and an ISTJ, you'd probably notice the following things:
  • The INTJ is likely smarter
  • The INTJ will likely focus on the bigger picture, while the ISTJ will more likely be inclined to focus on the smaller picture
  • The ISTJ is likely to be a harder worker
  • The ISTJ likely has more respect for authority

That being said, those characteristics would be the best for telling the difference between the two types.

Ri-ight. So intelligence is suddenly influenced by type. Although there are patterns it's not enough on any scale to really help determine effectively a persons type. I do believe that other factors are much more reliable and that the first suggestion for making distinctions is a poor one. Everything is based off of the individual and we try to fit it into type. It depends on what has influenced your personality for some of these factors more than what your personality is.
 

Saslou

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ESFJ
It is interesting to see what ISTJs think about INTJs.

We can look similar from the outside. Especially if you are not ISTJ or INTJ.
However on the inside we are quite different people.

But I agree with previous posters .


I think that INTJs are more likely to annoy ISTJs then the other way around. (opinions?)

Ex was INTJ and my eldest son is an ISTJ .. Both got on brilliantly. Mutual respect. My son looked up to him as he was interested in strategic war games. Never one argument.

Now INTJ and ENTP .. oh please *sigh*. :doh:
 

d@v3

Perfect Gentleman! =D
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2,830
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ISTJ
I think that INTJs are more likely to annoy ISTJs then the other way around. (opinions?)

AGREED!:yes:

I'm not so sure the N's are better leaders though... And I DO think the S's are more "tidy".
 

Eagle

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ISTJ
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sx/so
Simple as:

INTJs are more abstract, imaginative, and head-in-the-clouds. They are more ingenious. In general, they have better leadership ability. They also seem more random (because of the leading Ni).

ISTJs are simpler, more concrete, and formal. In general, they are harder workers. More common sense, more detail-oriented.

IN regards to leadership ability, leaders a grown more so than natural. INTJs might better leaders, but to be a good leader you have to be a good follower. Maybe they are seen as better leaders or more natural leaders in general because they refuse to follow, or have more trouble doing so seeing as ISTJs generally don't have trouble submitting to authority. I say generally because I have authority issues.. I want to be incharge.

That's the one I'd pick. INTJs are also among the worst followers as a type, I think.

Edit: I also suspect ISTJs are tidier than INTJs.

Hahah, you should see my room.
 

Matthew_Z

That chalkboard guy
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Jun 15, 2009
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1,256
MBTI Type
xxxx
Again, debatable.
It's infinitely debatable. However, there was a study some time ago that showed that the average INTJ IQ is higher than the average ISTJ IQ. Is this to say they're smarter? Is this to say that any given INTJ is going to be "smarter" than any given ISTJ? On both counts, the answer is no. But, instead of going into a long-winded post, I put the idea in politically incorrect layman's terms.
 

Laurie

Was E.laur
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Jan 3, 2009
Messages
6,072
MBTI Type
ENFP
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Make it more purdy and say

"INTJs will probably excel at traditionally 'intellectual' pursuits like computers or math whereas ISTJs..."

Forget it, I missed the boat.
 

sculpting

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Jan 28, 2009
Messages
4,148
This is one the harder ones to know right off. Some of my favorite ISTJs have a really strong tertairy Ne, so the feel much more open and more abstract than you would expect.

I sometimes have to know them for a bit to tell.

How can you tell them apart young-my todd is an IXTJ and I would love to know how S and N would differ here.

What do little INTJs do for fun?
 
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