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Are you born with it?

Joined
Sep 8, 2008
Messages
30
MBTI Type
ENFP
I've discussed this with many of my friends, and I've come to the conclusion that one's personality type is hereditary. For example I believe I get the NF from my mother, and P from my father, and E from my grandfather. I've found predominantly observant families do not have Intuitive children, and vice versa. What do you think?
 

phoenix13

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Mar 31, 2008
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7w8
I think it's maybelline.

I don't know if it's hereditary, but to a certain extent it's probably fixed (ie, I'll be ENFP for the rest of my life). Also, P and E aren't traits/functions in themselves. P means your perception function (N or S) is extroverted. E means your dominant function (N, S, T, or F) is extroverted.

Btw, according to Myers Briggs theory, there are 8 cognitive functions:
Introverted Sensing, extroverted sensing,
introverted and extroverted intuition,
introverted and extroverted thinking,
introverted and extroverted feeling.

The four letter code indicates which functions one has and what order they're in (dominant, auxiliary, tertiary, inferior). The P/J in particular was invented by MyersBriggs for this purpose. Check it out: Understanding the Eight Jungian Cognitive Processes / Eight Functions Attitudes
 

entropie

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entp
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This idea came to my mind aswell and I am still not sure, if you are born with it or not.

My mum is iSfJ , my dad is iStP. I was raised by my grandpa until the age of 10, who is iNTp.

I tend to go with the idea that you are born with personality.
 
Joined
Sep 8, 2008
Messages
30
MBTI Type
ENFP
I too think it's genetic... something actually encoded in our DNA... like eye, hair, and skin colour.

Side note: My dad's an ISTP, too. ;P
 
Joined
Sep 8, 2008
Messages
30
MBTI Type
ENFP
I think it's maybelline.

I don't know if it's hereditary, but to a certain extent it's probably fixed (ie, I'll be ENFP for the rest of my life). Also, P and E aren't traits/functions in themselves. P means your perception function (N or S) is extroverted. E means your dominant function (N, S, T, or F) is extroverted.

Btw, according to Myers Briggs theory, there are only 8 cognitive functions:
Introverted Sensing, extroverted sensing,
introverted and extroverted intuition,
introverted and extroverted thinking,
introverted and extroverted feeling.

Check it out: Understanding the Eight Jungian Cognitive Processes / Eight Functions Attitudes

Maybe...
 

phoenix13

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Mar 31, 2008
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ENFP
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7w8
I too think it's genetic... something actually encoded in our DNA... like eye, hair, and skin colour.

Side note: My dad's an ISTP, too. ;P

I doubt it's as simple as that (like the existence of a thinker/feeler allele located on chromosome 13.) Is that what you meant? Do you think it's a purely genetic phenomenon?
 

redacted

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 28, 2007
Messages
4,223
I've discussed this with many of my friends, and I've come to the conclusion that one's personality type is hereditary. For example I believe I get the NF from my mother, and P from my father, and E from my grandfather. I've found predominantly observant families do not have Intuitive children, and vice versa. What do you think?

I think that's a gross oversimplification. Not even close to true.

There are certainly nurture factors.
 

Haphazard

Don't Judge Me!
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Apr 14, 2008
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I began showing signs of being INTJ-like after a head injury as a child.

So no, I don't think it's hereditary...
 

entropie

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I think that's a gross oversimplification. Not even close to true.

There are certainly nurture factors.

And where are they for a N in S-world ?

What does a madman keep up his faith, through aeons of time and through incountable proofs of being wrong ?
 

The_Liquid_Laser

Glowy Goopy Goodness
Joined
Jul 11, 2007
Messages
3,376
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ENTP
There may be a genetic component, but I don't think it's purely genetic. I have a big family and our types are all over the place.
 

phoenix13

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ugh... I can't even begin to think of how complex that would be genetically. Someone should do brain scans of, say, N vs. S participants solving specialized tasks. Then we might get some significant differences and begin from there... The idea is to get this personality theory to manifest itself physiologically somehow and work our way down to genes. I can see it now: ENTP transgenic mouse models with wildtype controls, and Oberon Gene knockouts (in honor of Oberon who is an ENTP mouse). Scientists, fill in the detail, 'cause I'm going to bed... for real this time.
 

Jack Flak

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type
RE: OP: There is as yet insufficient data for meaningful answer. Maybe.
 

Xander

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ISFJ + ENTJ = INTP?

Wha? :confused:

As with most psychology I have come to the conclusion that it's all nurture but that the core of it is formed before you can interact with the environment properly and so ends up being a random starting point. But that's just a theory..
 

Totenkindly

@.~*virinaĉo*~.@
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Apr 19, 2007
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BELF
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Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
I have nothing really in common with my parents or sister or grandparents in terms of personality.

I don't think you can track specific functions genetically, except for perhaps I/E (since it involves neurobiology). The others are not correlated directly to particular biological structures / entities.
 

edcoaching

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ugh... I can't even begin to think of how complex that would be genetically. Someone should do brain scans of, say, N vs. S participants solving specialized tasks. Then we might get some significant differences and begin from there... The idea is to get this personality theory to manifest itself physiologically somehow and work our way down to genes. I can see it now: ENTP transgenic mouse models with wildtype controls, and Oberon Gene knockouts (in honor of Oberon who is an ENTP mouse). Scientists, fill in the detail, 'cause I'm going to bed... for real this time.

It's actually underway by a colleague of mine at UCLA and smaller studies have all shown differences in brain patterns when people with different preferences perform the same tasks. The evidence is in and I'll be posting an entry on it shortly.

The research done so far shows that type is innate; culture, family, workplace, environment influence our expression. That's why typing others is so difficult. We have a type but we learn behaviors (or end up OCD or psychotic or a robot or somehow dysfunctional or ostracized...)
 

phoenix13

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It's actually underway by a colleague of mine at UCLA and smaller studies have all shown differences in brain patterns when people with different preferences perform the same tasks. The evidence is in and I'll be posting an entry on it shortly.

The research done so far shows that type is innate; culture, family, workplace, environment influence our expression. That's why typing others is so difficult. We have a type but we learn behaviors (or end up OCD or psychotic or a robot or somehow dysfunctional or ostracized...)

SCORE! So, are you putting me in the paper or what?
 

Gabe

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Nov 17, 2007
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590
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ENTP
It's actually underway by a colleague of mine at UCLA and smaller studies have all shown differences in brain patterns when people with different preferences perform the same tasks. The evidence is in and I'll be posting an entry on it shortly.

The research done so far shows that type is innate; culture, family, workplace, environment influence our expression. That's why typing others is so difficult. We have a type but we learn behaviors (or end up OCD or psychotic or a robot or somehow dysfunctional or ostracized...)

OMG, that is incredibly interesting. When will Nardi be publishing this stuff?

Caveat from opposing Ni: I reaaallly hope people are ready for this stuff; after hearing some of that 'gay gene' speculation, I wonder if people are ready for this kind of knowledge. You can't change someone's preferences through brain surgery or drugs, can you (but isn't that what Adderal already does?!! It screws your preffered perception function).
 

animenagai

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Aug 22, 2008
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4w3
well i don't think that we should say that just because our parents are nothing like us, MBTI is not hereditary. i can't remember the terms used in genetics, can't remember high school shit too much but say XX and Xx = S and xx = N, if both my folks were Xx's, they'll be S's, yet i could still be an N. i wish i remembered something in biology, it wiuld be so much simpler.

personally, i think some things about MBTI are just in your genes, whereas others are not. N and S could be one for example. my baby sister never really questioned anything as a child, i did. i don't think we were raised too differently. something like P vs J could be more nurture.
 

edcoaching

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Jun 30, 2008
Messages
752
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OMG, that is incredibly interesting. When will Nardi be publishing this stuff?

Caveat from opposing Ni: I reaaallly hope people are ready for this stuff; after hearing some of that 'gay gene' speculation, I wonder if people are ready for this kind of knowledge. You can't change someone's preferences through brain surgery or drugs, can you (but isn't that what Adderal already does?!! It screws your preffered perception function).

He published a sample in the current Bulletin of Psychological Type.

Yeah, I'm not sure how he'll handle general dissemination of the knowledge but he's pretty sensitive. And all kinds of drugs alter behaviors that are naturally driven by our preferences. Ritalin...
 

INTJMom

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Sep 28, 2007
Messages
5,413
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INTJ
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5w4
I've discussed this with many of my friends, and I've come to the conclusion that one's personality type is hereditary. For example I believe I get the NF from my mother, and P from my father, and E from my grandfather. I've found predominantly observant families do not have Intuitive children, and vice versa. What do you think?
Hi. :hi: Welcome to the forum.

I'm afraid I can't agree with you.
While I do believe MB type is heavily hereditary, I don't believe it is entirely so.

My parents are both S types, yet my sister and I are both N types.
 
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