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[MBTI General] The complex art of descriptions? What's an INTJ?

margo505

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I've been typed as INTJ by a few online tests, but whenever I read the INTJ description, I'm sorta just left in awe of this person i apparently am. Also my therapist said that I'm an INTJ, and she probably knows me better than anyone else in the world.

So what, I'm an INTJ with low self esteem? Or just a special kind of INTJ that doesn't fit the stereotype? or something else completely?

You see, I don't really understand the bigger picture of the Myers and Briggs system. What I'm getting is 4 letters put together, some of them there because you're obviously one over the other, and some of them there by way of elimination. I'm sure this actually makes a lot of sense and I sound super ignorant, but I seriously don't understand. Can anyone shed some light please?
 

Null

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Also my therapist said that I'm an INTJ, and she probably knows me better than anyone else in the world.
How good of a therapist can she be when she can't even tell you why she thinks you're INTJ?

Anyway, look into the functions, ignore the descriptions for now (and always). All they do is encourage stereotyping and bias.
An INTJ mainly uses Introverted Intuition and Extraverted Thinking as their dominant cognitive functions. Read up those, consider which functions you identify with most and figure out your type from there. Here's a good test for that.
 

margo505

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How good of a therapist can she be when she can't even tell you why she thinks you're INTJ?

Anyway, look into the functions, ignore the descriptions for now (and always). All they do is encourage stereotyping and bias.
An INTJ mainly uses Introverted Intuition and Extraverted Thinking as their dominant cognitive functions. Read up those, consider which functions you identify with most and figure out your type from there. Here's a good test for that.

Haha, she never claimed to be great at the system, I just mentioned it one time and she knew enough about how it works to know that I was Introvert over Extrovert, Intuitive over Sensing, etc.

Thanks for the answer and advice!
 

Coriolis

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And I'll give you the opposite advice as [MENTION=25056]Null[/MENTION]: read the descriptions, but read lots of them, not just one or two. Read descriptions of close types as well, such as INFJ, ISTJ, ENTJ, INTP. This will help you get a sense of the differences, or perhaps even see that another type is a better fit. (I'm not suggesting it is, but you should be the judge.)

Reading about the functions is good as well because it helps you understand where the types come from and how each type fits together. But functions don't exist in a vacuum and aren't used in isolation. Every person uses every function, just not with equal comfort, preference, and skill. They work in concert, and one function, say Te, will look a bit different depending on which position it is in and the person's other strongest functions. This is where the descriptions can help. They show you the integrated picture of how a particular functional stacking plays out in how a specific type tends to process information and make decisions. Note I didn't mention behavior. Though there are behavioral trends, any type can exhibit any behavior. It is their motivations and methods that will be more revealing of type.
 
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Null

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Do both. Just remember that there's a lot of crap out there.

[MENTION=9811]Coriolis[/MENTION] Most four letter descriptions do focus on behaviour though, I've found getting into the functions first and into the specific types later to be much more reliable. But obviously everyone has their own preferences.
 

Coriolis

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Do both. Just remember that there's a lot of crap out there.

[MENTION=9811]Coriolis[/MENTION] Most four letter descriptions do focus on behaviour though, I've found getting into the functions first and into the specific types later to be much more reliable. But obviously everyone has their own preferences.
Many of them do, which is a main reason why one needs to read many of them in order to get a sense of the underlying motivations and processes.
 

margo505

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You have a therapist who types people?

No, I just mentioned to her that I've been interested and she knows enough about MBTI to tell me what she thought I was.
 

IZthe411

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When I started I read the descriptions and I felt it was a little too wizard-like to describe me. Over time I realized it does fit; I'm just not the poster-child. Maybe it was upbringing and work..I dunno. I just continued to investigate. I found learning the functions is a big help, but also actual interactions with people helped as well. I fortunately have a circle of people who are familiar with typology where I was able to observe and analyze our interactions. I also work at a CPA firm (aka SJ heaven) and over time I analyzed them and other ISTJ friends and say I was very different in thought in approach.
 
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