I'm an ENTP, and I have struggled with listening/following authority ever since I can remember. Whether it's because I think my authority isn't qualified to be in a position of leadership, or because I just don't want to be bossed around, I've always hated it.
My ISFP brother, however, has no problem being told what to do. He follows, listens, and was always the perfect child. Am I just a brat, or does this have something to do with how our brains work..? Thanks! [emoji16]
I have always reacted unfavorable to dictator-type authority. Basically if someone tells me they want me to do something in a really bossy way I will deliberately not do it. My report card at school always said I was a gifted student but I had an attitude problem. I was also hugely rebellious towards my parent's authority as a child. As an adult I still avoid situations where I feel controlled but it isn't as strong of an aversion.
I don't know if it is type related or not. A friend of mine said it was unlikely I was an SJ based on that.
Respect toward authority is what would be connected with what's called "wanted Control" in the APS temperament system I always talk about (which is derived from FIRO-B, which divides behavior into "expressed" and "wanted"). NT's are "Choleric in Control". Choleric has a low "Wanted" behvior, which indicates a strict criteria for coming under others' control. For the NT, it's the iNtuition and Thinking. Things have to make intuitive sense, or he'll think it's "nonsense" and likely resist.
This is what Keirsey/Berens-based temperament theory would consider an "abstract structure". The other structure-focused temperament is the SJ. That's the Melancholy in Control. Melancholy also has low Wanted behavior. Now, when you think of Melancholy or especially SJ, you usually think of the "guardians" who would
never rebel against authority. But then, they're also "cooperative" (which would be low expressed Control, based on the need to find out what's "right", before acting), which will be slower to take self-initiated action. (NT's are "pragmatic" which will a higher expressed Control acting on whatever "works") So the SJ's "Structure" is "concrete". They operate off of introverted Sensing (the Sensing + Judging), and so their strict criteria for coming under control is a concrete, "authorized" authority, as well as familiarity. Hence, "Guardians", who will seemingly always follow. However, when this is not met, then their low Wanted behavior will come out (very strongly, often), and the corresponding FIRO scores were even labeled "the Rebel". Since FIRO looks more at negative behaviors, while MBTI and Keirsey look more at positive, you don't really see this in SJ descriptions. But ask anyone who's around them what they're like when they don't get their concrete structure, and they're being pushed into a lot of "abstract" plans with no certainty or authorization!
The cooperative/motive-focused (low expressed, high Wanted) NF can be either Supine, who will also be more of a "follower", or a Phlegmatic, who can be very stubborn when pushed. So we see NF's can go either way. (While the pragmatic/motive-focused SP is operating off of extraverted Sensing, which will go with the flow of the current sensations, and so the "Sanguine in Control" is described as "swinging" between independence and submission).
All of this is also tempered by Interaction Style (I/E + T/F/J/P) or "Inclusion" temperament. So my tendency to "rebel" will be hampered by wanting to be accepted or responded to favorably. Like NF, the ISF/INP group can be either Supine or Phlegmatic, and the Supine will tend to be more yielding, while Phlegmatic will be more stubborn or sluggish, or may yield, just to "keep the peace".
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