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[MBTI General] Link Between Spelling and Personality Type?

cafe

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 19, 2007
Messages
9,827
MBTI Type
INFJ
Enneagram
9w1
I've always struggled with spelling. I correlate it with being more of an auditory learner than a visual one.

My husband, an INTP, is a good speller. My INTJ daughter and EXTJ son are good spellers.

My INFP daughter has the same kinds of trouble with spelling as I do. My IXTP son appears to be leaning towards having difficulty spelling, but the jury is still out. Maybe it's some kind of dyslexia or something. English, IMO, is terribly confusing.

Edit: The good reader/good speller thing . . . I'm a good reader. I can read just about anything. Reading and spelling is like the difference between taking something apart (reading) and putting it together (spelling). I can take it apart, but can't seem to put it back together easily.
 

SillySapienne

`~~Philosoflying~~`
Joined
Jan 14, 2008
Messages
9,801
MBTI Type
ENFP
Enneagram
4w5
I'm a visual learner, always have been.

When I spell a word incorrectly, I usually know it, why?

Because it doesn't look right.

Also, I am a dictionary freak, and enjoy perusing them for fun. :newwink:
 

Quinlan

Intriguing....
Joined
Apr 6, 2008
Messages
3,004
MBTI Type
ISFP
Enneagram
9w1
I agree aout the spelling-reading link, when I was a kid I used to read more than other kids so my spelling was good, as my reading time declined so did my spelling abilities.
 

man

New member
Joined
Sep 16, 2009
Messages
330
MBTI Type
IntP
Enneagram
=)
I have the ability to spell/pronounce nearly any word correctly -- and I will if it's for something important.

On the internets, however, I'm not too worried about it. :DDDDDDDDD
 

Grungemouse

Widdles in your cream.
Joined
Feb 5, 2008
Messages
577
MBTI Type
INTP
Enneagram
5
Well, I know an ITJ who is a terrible speller.

I'm an English major, so naturuly I have a fare grasp of SPAG. :D
 

KLessard

Aspiring Troens Ridder
Joined
Apr 25, 2008
Messages
595
MBTI Type
INFJ
Enneagram
1w2
Hello! This is my first thread, but this is something I have been wondering about for a while:

Is spelling capability related to personality type?

My first instinct is that Sensors would be better spellers than Intuitives when it comes to routine words. (I'm not necessarily wondering about the types of the national spelling bee champs, although it would be interesting to know...) However, I do know of many deviations from this theory. The reason I ask is because I am trying to distinguish the S/N preference of my roommate, and I have noticed that she often misspells or asks me for the spelling of words. I have never had a problem with spelling, and I find it interesting when others seem to struggle (or simply don't care). I had the gist that my roommate was a Sensor, but this would, again, contradict the theory.

Please add your thoughts. :)

I'll speak for my type, but I think spelling is usually easy for NFs, since written communication (poetry, novels, journalism, etc.) is their natural gift. I was about ten years old when I said good bye for good to spelling mistakes. My fifth grade teacher once said to my parents, "Next year, your daughter should be able to write without any spelling mistakes."
 

KLessard

Aspiring Troens Ridder
Joined
Apr 25, 2008
Messages
595
MBTI Type
INFJ
Enneagram
1w2
I'm a visual learner, always have been.

When I spell a word incorrectly, I usually know it, why?

Because it doesn't look right.

Also, I am a dictionary freak, and enjoy perusing them for fun. :newwink:

Exactly the same for me.

I have a photographic memory. Once I've read a word spelled right in a book, I will always remember how to spell it.
 

Tamske

Writing...
Joined
Oct 22, 2009
Messages
1,764
MBTI Type
ENTP
Take an ENTP.
Add lots and lots of books.
Add a fancy for writing that doesn't cool down for 100 years.

You'll get good spelling :D Even in Dutch, where the spelling rules change every 5 years.

I guess being an ENTP is not necessary - the books and the fancy for writing will do the trick!
 

incubustribute

New member
Joined
Oct 4, 2009
Messages
297
MBTI Type
ISFJ
Si users would most likely be fantastic spellers - they store away the data on how a word looks when it's correct.

Te would also probably lend itself to good spelling - decisive logical organization makes for a consistent performer. But writing practice trumps any type preferences any day.
 

Siúil a Rúin

when the colors fade
Joined
Apr 23, 2007
Messages
14,037
MBTI Type
ISFP
Enneagram
496
Instinctual Variant
sp/sx
I don't have a particular natural ability with spelling, but I do with spell checkers. When I see that red, squiggly line, I know something isn't right. :newwink:
 

Clonester

New member
Joined
Jul 5, 2009
Messages
480
MBTI Type
ENFP
Well... According to this thread I cannot spell. Or don't care.

How is spelling related to type? Given that there are going to be many people of every type who can spell or cannot spell, I doubt any MBTI trends will be found.
 

BlueScreen

Fail 2.0
Joined
Nov 8, 2008
Messages
2,668
MBTI Type
YMCA
Dad - Good speller/grammar nazi (INTP)
Sister - Amazing in all respects (ISTP)
Me - Knows how to install and use a spell checker (ENFP)
 

Litvyak

No Cigar
Joined
Oct 5, 2008
Messages
1,822
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
To the OP: I think IS' are the best spellers.
 

Tamske

Writing...
Joined
Oct 22, 2009
Messages
1,764
MBTI Type
ENTP
I hate spelling checkers. They are correcting your spelling already when you want to take care of an intern consistent, good story first. It's no good correcting spelling and then rewriting the story. I turn them off. When I'm ready, I check my spelling myself and only then turn the damned thing on. I always want to beat the spelling checker!

I was thinking about the relation with type...
I guess an SJ would take care of correct spelling regardless of interest. If I wasn't interested in language, I would probably care less...
 

FDG

pathwise dependent
Joined
Aug 13, 2007
Messages
5,903
MBTI Type
ENTJ
Enneagram
7w8
I really don't care about spelling, but since teachers are totally fixated about this weird, useless matter, I forcibly became good at it. Here in Italy you can lose 3 grades in an assignment if you spell 2 words incorrectly. Once I wrote a long, complex story for my german class. I made 4 spelling mistakes, got a D (she said she should have given me an E, since the mistakes were 4, but the story was good). Other kids that wrote a short, idiotic story with perfect spelling got As. The message was basically that spelling is the most important thing about a given language.
 

BlackCat

Shaman
Joined
Nov 19, 2008
Messages
7,038
MBTI Type
ESFP
Enneagram
9w8
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
I really don't care about spelling, but since teachers are totally fixated about this weird, useless matter, I forcibly became good at it. Here in Italy you can lose 3 grades in an assignment if you spell 2 words incorrectly. Once I wrote a long, complex story for my german class. I made 4 spelling mistakes, got a D (she said she should have given me an E, since the mistakes were 4, but the story was good). Other kids that wrote a short, idiotic story with perfect spelling got As. The message was basically that spelling is the most important thing about a given language.

That's a bit much, don't you think?
 

Totenkindly

@.~*virinaĉo*~.@
Joined
Apr 19, 2007
Messages
50,187
MBTI Type
BELF
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594
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
I'm an excellent intuitive speller, my INTP son is not.

I think being a good speller involves a lot of different things, least of which is caring that you spell words "correctly." Sheer brain processing, detailed memory, willingness to practice, exposure to lots of words, etc... it's kind of hard to narrow it to a particular type since much of this is "basic human skillset" stuff, not necessarily function-based.

I think you'll see a lot of SJ people in proofreading because it suits their temperament, but it doesn't mean they are naturally better spellers, they're just quick to perceive and compare things and weed out the "incorrect" as their natural mode of operation.
 
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