Identical Types Amongst Siblings and/or Offspring?

[INTJMom]

First, I'm new here. Searched for this topic. Didn't find anything and thus, the new thread. Apologies up-front if this thread already exists.

So...I'd say I've been type-watching and learning about MBTI for about 10 years or so and there's two things I've never seen.

1) A child and parent of the same MBTI type
2) Two siblings of the same type

It must be possible as you couldn't avoid it in a family of 15/16+, but how often does that really occur in the world today?

Has any one out there that's fairly experienced with MBTI ever seen either phenomena?

Thanks!

I'm of the opinion that MBTI is somewhat genetically influenced, so I would expect to find a child and parent of the same MBTI type, yet I think it's less likely to find two siblings of the same type.

I have an ISTP husband and an ISTP son.
My daughter is ISTJ with a high N.
My mother is ISTJ with a high N.
And of course, you can see from my username that I am an INTJ.

 

[Economica]

Whoa!!! Three of you. That's amazing!!! I think I need to revise my belief that same sibling and parent types, in Western families, ARE possible but (to me) now are just either a) rare or b) extremely rare.

I'll leave the probability calculations to someone else (pt?) but I wouldn't think it's all that rare to see two same-type family members. To illustrate, I've got more anecdotal evidence: My SO is an ENFP like his mother and my friend Blackwater's late father was an ENTP like him.

However, I'll grant you that three INTJs is probably extremely rare.

The identical-twin, near-identical personality thing is interesting. We're so far counting four pairs of identical twins who are off on only one letter, right?

That must've been a trip growing up in that setting.

What, you mean not everyone bonds with their mother over the perfecting of manipulative strategies?

I completely agree about the mirror in which flaws are doubly unattractive in same types. The mirror becomes more of a magnifying glass; hopefully not focused too long and intense like we used to do as kids burning dried leaves or even insects with sunlight.

Methinks the magnification is proportional to how much we suffer from the same flaw.

Reading your previous posts that you referred me too was sort of eerie because my British INTJ friend talks and writes VERY VERY similarly. That could've been him simply talking to me. Weird and cool at the same time!!

I know how you feel. It's experiences like that one that keep me an MBTI believer.

He also likes Ayn Rand. Lately he's taken a serious liking to the Austrian school of economics and libertarianism. Some of his ideas though seem TOO idealistic for me about "the market sorting everything out"; more so when it comes to public trust commodities like water. I can see it working for other things. However, I asked a libertarian Web site if they could name a single country that was a libertarian state and they said Somalia. That was it and that country doesn't seem like it's working too well or effectively. Of course, I do know that Western countries are f***ing with that experiment so it may not ever work. I just like to see that ideal somewhere and somehow working in a practical (Sensor) manner. Anyway...we rambling again. Sorry.

I'm with you on this one. Libertarians who think the market can sort everything out are either ignorant or being all religious about it. This essay pretty much sums up my Ayn Rand fanhood.

 

[FrisbeeLad]

Is the mutation the mechanism of the end?

Or the mechanism at the outset?

A little too cryptic for my Sensate mind. Can you clarify your question(s) a bit more?

 

[FrisbeeLad]

I'm of the opinion that MBTI is somewhat genetically influenced, so I would expect to find a child and parent of the same MBTI type, yet I think it's less likely to find two siblings of the same type.

I have an ISTP husband and an ISTP son.
My daughter is ISTJ with a high N.
My mother is ISTJ with a high N.
And of course, you can see from my username that I am an INTJ.

Well...if we do the straight math...with a family of two kids...the second child has a 1/16 (6.25%) chance of being the same type as the older sibling.

With a single child having the same type as a parent...there's a 1/15 (6.67%) chance I think (assuming two parents aren't of the same type...how often does THAT occur?!!)? I'm not great at statistics and probabilities.

However, seems like personality theorists have found that not all of the 16 types occur at the same frequency. So that would tweak the probabilities of identical sib-sib or parent-child type occurrences. Thus, making some types more likely to be "repeated" within smaller-sized families (say 1-4 children). Weren't INFJ's and INTJ's considered the two less likely to occur of the types? I think Keirsey thinks that (or has survey numbers to back that up).

I too am also of the opinion that MBTI is genetically influenced, such that offspring would tend to be fusions of the parent types. Thus...if there's any validity to my OPINION...then (as a second opinion) seems the likelihood of sib-sib "identity" in "smaller" families would be < 1/16 (6.25%).

On a sidenote: I've seen MANY instances of grandparent-grandchild same-types.

 

[FrisbeeLad]

I'm of the opinion that MBTI is somewhat genetically influenced, so I would expect to find a child and parent of the same MBTI type, yet I think it's less likely to find two siblings of the same type.

I have an ISTP husband and an ISTP son.
My daughter is ISTJ with a high N.
My mother is ISTJ with a high N.
And of course, you can see from my username that I am an INTJ.

Oh yeah...your ISTJ daughter with a high N could simply be an environmental factor...that being that she was raised by you an INTJ.

My mother is an INFP, my father ISTJ. However, they divorced when I was 6 and my father remarried to an ESFP when I was 8 (still married many years later). Dad/step-mom - formerly US military moved A LOT. I was raised pretty-much by a single INFP mom. I tend to think that I have an OK understanding of N's and possibly not as strong of an S as had I been raised by S parents.

 

[FrisbeeLad]

However, I'll grant you that three INTJs is probably extremely rare.

Agreed!!

What, you mean not everyone bonds with their mother over the perfecting of manipulative strategies?

Oh shiiit!!! Good one!!

I'm with you on this one. Libertarians who think the market can sort everything out are either ignorant or being all religious about it. This essay pretty much sums up my Ayn Rand fanhood.

My INFJ wife is in gradual school for a career change to counseling from engineering. Crazy huh?! It's a good step for her. Anyway...she was telling me about this psychological theory developed by George Kelly called cognitive complexity/cognitive simplicity. "In which, people high in cognitive complexity are able to see variety among people and can easily place a person in many categories. They are better able to make predictions about other people's behavoir. They more readily recognize differences between themselves and others, are more empathic, and deal better with inconsistent information in constructing others than do people high in cognitive simplicity" (Crockett, 1982)

Took it from her Theories of Personality text.

Another quote..."Studies of politicians in the US and England found that conservatives were high in cognitive simplicity, whereas moderates and liberals displayed higher levels of cognitive complexity" (Tetlock, 1983, 1984).

Perhaps my friend is higher in cognitive simplicity. He tends to be fairly black and white about things.

 

[INTJMom]

...
On a sidenote: I've seen MANY instances of grandparent-grandchild same-types.

Yeah. Maybe it's like those diseases that skip a generation.

 

[redacted]

With a single child having the same type as a parent...there's a 1/15 (6.67%) chance I think (assuming two parents aren't of the same type...how often does THAT occur?!!)? I'm not great at statistics and probabilities.

it's actually 2/16 (if the parents are different types). it would be 1/16 if the parents were the same type.

and the chance of 3 INTJs is 1/(16^3) = 1/4096. but since you all would've been equally amazed by 3 of any one type, the more useful calculation would be this:
16/16 (the parent's type) * 1/16 (kid same as parent) * 1/16 (2nd kid same as parent) = 1/256

 

[wedekit]

Mom - ESFJ
Dad - ISTP
Brother #1 - ISTJ
Brother #2 - ESTP
Me - INFJ
Brother #3 - ESFP

Yes... I'm stuck in a family full of Sensors... >_<

 

[LadyJaye]

Mom - ESFJ
Dad - ISTP
Brother #1 - ISTJ
Brother #2 - ESTP
Me - INFJ
Brother #3 - ESFP

Yes... I'm stuck in a family full of Sensors... >_<

Just like my father when he was growing up - an INFJ surrounded by sensors. Probably why he felt like the broken- headed kid in the group.

 

[FrisbeeLad]

Mom - ESFJ
Dad - ISTP
Brother #1 - ISTJ
Brother #2 - ESTP
Me - INFJ
Brother #3 - ESFP

Yes... I'm stuck in a family full of Sensors... >_<

Sorry. That must've been a bit difficult. I'd like to guess that just maybe the ISTJ was a difficult one for you to "get"? Maybe the ESTP was a challenge at times too? But your parents and the ESFP brother might have been a bit easier to deal with?

 

[white]

late here but yes, to confirm, identical twins as arcticangel said. ENTP-INTP.

We're mirror twins though, so I don't know if that has any effect.

Possibly the one-leg difference because DNA is not only carried in the genes, but mitochondrial DNA could play a role too?

 

[istpunk]

Your husband must've waited 2-3 years before getting into your pants. I can't imagine an ISTP/INTJ relationship.

What attracted you to him?

I'm of the opinion that MBTI is somewhat genetically influenced, so I would expect to find a child and parent of the same MBTI type, yet I think it's less likely to find two siblings of the same type.

I have an ISTP husband and an ISTP son.
My daughter is ISTJ with a high N.
My mother is ISTJ with a high N.
And of course, you can see from my username that I am an INTJ.

 

[INTJMom]

Your husband must've waited 2-3 years before getting into your pants. I can't imagine an ISTP/INTJ relationship.

What attracted you to him?

Punk is a good name for you. You are crass.

crass:
so crude and unrefined as to be lacking in discrimination and sensibility

I cannot dignify your inappropriate comment with a response to your question.

As my kids would say, "Are you on crack?!"

 

[Griffi97]

Hi FrisbeeLad.

There actually is a similar thread under Family Types in the Relationship section. As for my family members, my father and his father are both INTJs, and my dad has an ENTJ brother as well. My husband and his only sister are both INFPs, and their parents are ESTJ/ISFJ. Strange, huh?

I have a hard time finding consistent patterns within families, but the twins being off by one letter thing is very interesting.

 

[redacted]

mom - ISFJ
dad - INTP
brother - INFJ (?)
me - INFJ

i've had a hard time typing my brother, but i'm pretty sure he's INFJ like me. he's certainly an INFsomething.

 

[FrisbeeLad]

There actually is a similar thread under Family Types in the Relationship section.

Thanks!! I'll check that out.

Hi FrisbeeLad.
My husband and his only sister are both INFPs, and their parents are ESTJ/ISFJ. Strange, huh?

Definitely strange!!

 

[istpunk]

okay. I got my answer. Sorry if I offended you.

Punk is a good name for you. You are crass.

crass:
so crude and unrefined as to be lacking in discrimination and sensibility

I cannot dignify your inappropriate comment with a response to your question.

As my kids would say, "Are you on crack?!"

 

[hotmale]

2) Two siblings of the same type

My sister and I are very similar, although not the same type. I'm ESTJ and she is ENTJ. When we were both younger, we were each other's best friends and system of support when our parents were going through a divorce. I think the entire experience made us seem very introverted at the time.

We have the same sense of humor, we like the same things, we have similar styles in everything. My sister supports me in every way as I do her. Sometimes, people mistake us for twins, but I think we are complementary sides of the same coin.

I'm neater and more tidy than her however. She's slightly better at reading people; however sometimes I'll come up with insights that she'll never have come across and later say to me, "Matt- you're a genious!"

 

[INTJMom]

okay. I got my answer. Sorry if I offended you.

You got no such thing. Perhaps INTJs are the only ones in your life to tell you that the truth about yourself. You have some nerve judging people you don't know and jumping to conclusions which are wrong. Pardon me if I don't fawn all over you like a schoolgirl.