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[INFP] INFPs And Intelligence

Fecal McAngry

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Oct 31, 2009
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but IQ tests are simply meant to measure one's "ability to learn" or I've even heard that they measure ability to learn quickly - to "pick things up" so to speak. I used to dismiss the results of IQ tests as well when I thought they measured "how smart someone is" (and I'll definitely admit that one's score should not determine success in life), but if you understand that it's just measuring the ability to learn (or to learn quickly) - then it's perfectly understandable to have some score in the 130's and others much less. Think about a person who is mentally retarded. I've read that this is usually below 70. 60's being a mild case of retardation and it gets more severe the lower the score. Being "smart" and a success in life (whatever that means) is not what these tests measure, contrary to popular belief.

I don't think those that are mentally retarded are necessarily stupid. I've talked with a few who are and thought, "aha...he knows his stuff!". They just maybe don't learn as quickly. It would be like if there was a test that measured how hard one swings a hammer when framing a house. Of course, some would score high and some would score low. IQ tests only measure one tiny aspect of life - how quickly we learn - it means nothing outside of this. Success in life has to do with so much more. IQ tests cannot account for other success factors such as motivation, people skills, a good work ethic, passion, the necessity or drive that comes with having to put food on the table for your children, how hard you swing a hammer, how fast you run, if you have the looks of a supermodel, great leadership skills (whether learned or inherited), and the list goes on.

With that said, I think most IN's tend to score high on these tests. I know INFP's who are great in math and I know NT's that can write extremely well, but I would assume (and could be wrong) that generally speaking NT's are going to score higher in the math/hard sciences while NF's score higher in the verbal areas of tests like SAT/GRE/GMAT, etc.

This is a great book, written by an INTJ I admire profoundly:

Amazon.com: The g Factor: The Science of Mental Ability (Human Evolution, Behavior, and Intelligence) (9780275961039): Arthur R. Jensen: Books

Arthur Jensen - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Excerpts are available online...
 

Mad Hatter

Head Pigeon
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Just out of curiosity, I took a quick Mensa test tonight. It was a short test comprising 33 questions and, in order to get viable results, it's supposed to be completed within about twenty minutes. I didn't answer the questions in the given order and postponed some of them, and I thought I was doing pretty well. The results were strangely accurate:
22 answers I gave were right. 8 answers were only partly filled in because I simply forgot about them (and therefore considered wrong).

I conclude that I'm simply too absent-minded at times to be certifiably smart :rofl1:
 

Alwar

The Architect
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Jun 19, 2009
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Mensa: Changing the world for the better using superior intelligence by playing chess and Risk with other members of Mensa.
 

Mad Hatter

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I always thought its more obscure meaning was "Men Expecting Nerds to Seize Authority."
 

Thalassa

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I have a 3.9 GPA. I have been considered "smart" for most of my life. I have my strengths and weaknesses like anyone.

I don't think that being an INFP is counterintuitive to being intelligent. "T" does NOT equal intelligent. "F" does NOT equal unintelligent. It's a mistake to confuse the two things. There are less intelligent Ts and more intelligent Fs.
 

PoprocksAndCoke

A Benign Tumor
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Nov 7, 2009
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ENTP
I've read several articles that say that INFP's are intelligent types. Which almost seems contradicting seeing as how we deal mostly with our feelings, but not so much when you really delve deep into it. Feelings can lead to thought and they can also be analyzed and broken down themselves, plus I wouldn't be surprised if many INFP's intense feelings on subjects stems from their thinking on them, or vice versa.

The main point of this thread is that there's a Facebook INFP group who posted a thread about IQ, based off of most the members post there their IQ's seemed to average around 130 so the question was brought up whether INFP's seem to gravitate towards having above average IQs.

I don't know the exact number of my IQ but I was always labeled "smart" in High School even though I didn't take primary school seriously and prefered to be a class clown. I can also retain a large amount of information and analyze abstract concepts and possess an extremely high Verbal IQ as I was considered capable of reading on a College level in 8th grade.

So do INFPs really average around having a bit of a higher Intelligence Quotient than other types?

Mine is 141;).
But I'm not an INFP. Not that this proves much.
I think there's no one type that's smarter than the other.
 

Mad Hatter

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I think there's no one type that's smarter than the other.

I was just curious because the link on the first page suggests a certain correlation.
Trying to attribute certain descriptions (like the "T" vs. "F") to a certin level of intelligence seems a bit daft to me, too. In fact, being overly rational (or trying to appear so) sometimes gives me the impression of being highly irrational.
The informational input I get from my "feeling" functions is always welcome because I like to possess as much information as possible :)
 

Thessaly

I drink your milkshake.
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Personality does contribute to ones IQ, although not as much as genetics. I believe that INFPs would have above average emotional intelligence; I don't know about IQ. I have never taken a professionally administered IQ test, but the IQ correlations with my LSAT score predict 144 or higher.
 
A

A window to the soul

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I've read several articles that say that INFP's are intelligent types. Which almost seems contradicting seeing as how we deal mostly with our feelings, but not so much when you really delve deep into it. Feelings can lead to thought and they can also be analyzed and broken down themselves, plus I wouldn't be surprised if many INFP's intense feelings on subjects stems from their thinking on them, or vice versa.

The main point of this thread is that there's a Facebook INFP group who posted a thread about IQ, based off of most the members post there their IQ's seemed to average around 130 so the question was brought up whether INFP's seem to gravitate towards having above average IQs.

I don't know the exact number of my IQ but I was always labeled "smart" in High School even though I didn't take primary school seriously and prefered to be a class clown. I can also retain a large amount of information and analyze abstract concepts and possess an extremely high Verbal IQ as I was considered capable of reading on a College level in 8th grade.

So do INFPs really average around having a bit of a higher Intelligence Quotient than other types?

Yes, it's true for me. I can't speak for the rest of us though.
 

Kastor

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Just because I'm a Feeler doesn't mean I don't have a tendency towards a certain amount of realism LOL I'm quite realistic and cynical about certain things.

Anyway, I've always been told that I was VERY intelligent, but just lacked ambition LOL
 

copperfish17

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I think I've read somewhere that these three MBTI types are the most likely to have high IQ's (generally, in order):
INTJs
INTPs
INFPs

My IQ is around 145... and I'm an INFP! :D
...with a very VERY weak F though.
 

Phenix

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Apr 28, 2009
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From my own experience and interaction with other INFPs (hard to find this lot), they can be the shining oracle insight one moment and the next minute you wonder if they can even tie their shoes. Someone mentioned the Ne that knows no box. True for me. That's why I get the blank stare from the STJs I work with and the eye roll from the NTJs I know. My challenge has always been to try to communicate these wacky ideas to them in ways that they understand and might appreciate. Mostly, it's ignore me, or call me stupid and walk away. So I just do it anyway and let them catch up. HaHa.
 

Salvadorabian

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I recently took an IQ test and scored 145. Interestingly, I took an IQ test about 8 years ago and scored 114. It was only after I started taking classes to fulfill the requirements for my major (English) in college that I started to realize that I wasn't an idiot. I think INFPs can be so self- effacing that they can totally distort themselves sometimes.
 

Talisyn

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I was in gifted, and always read about 4 levels above my grade level- but I wasn't an honor student. Having higher IQ does not equal applying it to school! There were other kids in gifted with me who definitely weren't INFP who did very very well in school. (I'm not saying the INFP's can't do well in school, I'm just saying I'm lazy and hate monotonous work).
 

Aleksei

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I've read several articles that say that INFP's are intelligent types. Which almost seems contradicting seeing as how we deal mostly with our feelings, but not so much when you really delve deep into it. Feelings can lead to thought and they can also be analyzed and broken down themselves, plus I wouldn't be surprised if many INFP's intense feelings on subjects stems from their thinking on them, or vice versa.

The main point of this thread is that there's a Facebook INFP group who posted a thread about IQ, based off of most the members post there their IQ's seemed to average around 130 so the question was brought up whether INFP's seem to gravitate towards having above average IQs.

I don't know the exact number of my IQ but I was always labeled "smart" in High School even though I didn't take primary school seriously and prefered to be a class clown. I can also retain a large amount of information and analyze abstract concepts and possess an extremely high Verbal IQ as I was considered capable of reading on a College level in 8th grade.

So do INFPs really average around having a bit of a higher Intelligence Quotient than other types?
This should be taken with a grain of salt given the inconsistency inherent to MBTI type testing, but the data so far suggests that they do. Type-IQ studies place INFP fourth for median IQ, behind INTJ, INTP and INFJ.

Of course, IQ is rather heterogeneous with relation to type anyway. I belong to what's on average supposed to be the dumbest of all Intuitive types, and my IQ is in the low 140s.
 

Arclight

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IQ scores are like penis sizes on the internet.. everyone is well endowed.
But.. just like 9" wangs being rare.. so are IQ scores of 130.

In fact just a shade over 2% of the earth's population scores 130 or over.

Most people(80%) score somewhere in the average range, with 119 being high end average and 80 being low end average.

120-129 is considered gifted or superior and that is only 6% of the population.

Finally IQ only indicates academic intelligence therefore missing many other levels of intelligence. Especially social and emotional intelligence.

IQ is about "What".. it does not measure the "how" and "why" of things.
 
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