INTX with odd results on Big Five?

[thakid]

Based on my results on the MBTI I can only describe myself as an INTX. I have at least a moderate preference toward I, N, and T but I am right on the line of P and J. But it seems as if my traits are somewhat contradictory. Here's what I mean:

J:
• Very consistent in my habits
• Constantly contingency planning
• Like to have a clear plan and stick to it
• Want to put my analysis to practical use so I can make an impact on the world and reap the fruits of my labor.
• Always hold my ground in debate
• Persistent

P:
• Not good at troubleshooting
• Very indecisive
• Not apt to come to a firm decision about what is happening and or what should be done (and tend to instead come up with a litany of options.)
• Have a strong desire to understand myself and find wisdom
• Less interested in finding a single solution that works and more interested in exploring a topic completely

It seems as if I have extroverted intuition and a desire to apply my knowledge, however I am indecisive and not very good at troubleshooting and problem solving unless the problem is highly conceptual. It is as if I have a tendency to want to explore and understand topics completely, but am instinctually inclined to want to make practical use of my analysis (even if I am not very good at it). Given that the last letter of INTX is the most important one, which determines all of the functions, this leaves me highly skeptical that such an odd borderline of these two personality types exists, which I could reasonably exist upon. This has lead me to much questioning about who I really am and if either or both of these types best describe me, or if something else is clouding my judgement of myself and giving me a false sense of identity.

On top of this I have recently taken the Big Five Personality Test and scored odd results for a typical INTX. My results:

Openness to new experience: 12%
Conscientiousness: 8%
Extraversion: 18%
Agreeableness: 0%
Neuroticism: 98%

These results have led me to even further question my psychological state. Could it be possible that a psychological disorder(s) is causing me to exhibit traits, which have led to inaccurate MBTI test results? I know I have some psychological problems, but isn't it crazy to think that they could cause me to think, feel, and behave in ways that are completely out of character with who I really am? Am I just being paranoid, or are my concerns appropriate, sound, and/or probable?

 

[hjgbujhghg]

If you really have a mental illness, there is a strong possibility that it causes you to act differently. It's more like...very likely. It has nothing to do with MBTI, if you have problems go to see a doc and rather care about your health, than MBTI test results.

 

[Totenkindly]

Based on my results on the MBTI I can only describe myself as an INTX. I have at least a moderate preference toward I, N, and T but I am right on the line of P and J. But it seems as if my traits are somewhat contradictory. Here's what I mean:

J:
• Very consistent in my habits
• Constantly contingency planning
• Like to have a clear plan and stick to it
• Want to put my analysis to practical use so I can make an impact on the world and reap the fruits of my labor.
• Always hold my ground in debate
• Persistent

P:
• Not good at troubleshooting
• Very indecisive
• Not apt to come to a firm decision about what is happening and or what should be done (and tend to instead come up with a litany of options.)
• Have a strong desire to understand myself and find wisdom
• Less interested in finding a single solution that works and more interested in exploring a topic completely

So what makes you indecisive? What's the underlying reason?

It seems as if I have extroverted intuition and a desire to apply my knowledge, however I am indecisive and not very good at troubleshooting and problem solving unless the problem is highly conceptual. It is as if I have a tendency to want to explore and understand topics completely, but am instinctually inclined to want to make practical use of my analysis (even if I am not very good at it). Given that the last letter of INTX is the most important one, which determines all of the functions, this leaves me highly skeptical that such an odd borderline of these two personality types exists, which I could reasonably exist upon. This has lead me to much questioning about who I really am and if either or both of these types best describe me, or if something else is clouding my judgement of myself and giving me a false sense of identity.

Well, I think high Ne in an introvert can lead to indecisiveness. Extrovert Ne's simply pick a direction to plunge in, then just do an immediate turnabout if they decide they don't like it, they are far more apt to move ahead and just change direction. Introverted Ne's like to have things figured out / through ahead of time, but since the Ne is in play, it's too many directions to go in and an unwillingness to explore them externally -- the tendency is to try to mentally model each of the many options and unless one comes out far ahead, nothing is actually done.

On top of this I have recently taken the Big Five Personality Test and scored odd results for a typical INTX. My results:

Openness to new experience: 12%
Conscientiousness: 8%
Extraversion: 18%
Agreeableness: 0%
Neuroticism: 98%

These results have led me to even further question my psychological state. Could it be possible that a psychological disorder(s) is causing me to exhibit traits, which have led to inaccurate MBTI test results? I know I have some psychological problems, but isn't it crazy to think that they could cause me to think, feel, and behave in ways that are completely out of character with who I really am? Am I just being paranoid, or are my concerns appropriate, sound, and/or probable?

Well, it's interesting to see a potential Ne type with such low Openness scores. Normally you see a much higher Openness for an NP. It makes you sound more like a TJ type to me, controlling your environment and what passes into it. also, the Agreeableness is a 0 -- really? That sounds a little extreme, like you could be reacting out of some bad experience(s) versus an intrinsic need to be independent and fend off external factors... but maybe not. I can't tell things like that from an online post. But coupled with a high Neuroticism? Maybe.

The Conscientious score, you have only an 8% in it, but I thought high scores were more conscientious the way it's worded and you make it sound like you are more conscientious in your "J description" up above. What exactly does the 8% mean in this particular version of the test?

Anyway, your Big Five results seem pretty extreme to me... like you have had some bad experiences in your life that have led you to take the test more based on them rather your natural inclinations. There's a lot of "defensive strategies" in your scores, from the extremities of them coupled with the high Neuroticism. It's like you have closed yourself off to new people and experiences and interactions because of your extreme anxiety level, and I don't know if they are actually giving you a good read on your personality.

What Big Five test did you actually take? there are a number of them out there. Did you do the short or long form(s)?


---

For comparison (if it helps), I'm INTP but more like an INxP probably, in the MBTI. I exhibit a lot of typical Ji + Ne behavior.

My OCEAN scores are usually around O(90) C(40) E(30) A(60) N(55). Note how they clump more in the middle ranges or on one end, rather than being at the extreme endpoints.

In terms of J/P behave, my Thinking conclusions are nuanced but within that nuance are pretty firm, so internally I'm "J-ish" (I'm a Ji primary), but externally I'm very flexy. When it's something that matters to me and I'm thinking throgh it, I can plan very well and have everything thought out and be prepared... but after doing all that, if the situation changes, I adjust to it. So I can seem anal in theory but not in practice. I don't like totally winging it, even if I am very capable, simply because I am aware that I could be blindsided by something I might not be able to accommodate if I don't think through things, and find myself in a corner.

 

[thakid]

So what makes you indecisive? What's the underlying reason?

One example of my indecisiveness is my lack of knowledge and decisiveness with what I want to do with my life. I am 21, have dropped out of college twice, and have changed my major many, many, times. I will search and search until I think I found my calling and then decide to go for it. But after a (usually short) period of time I will start to question the validity of my reasoning, and purity of my motives, which in turn causes me to lose hope and confidence and move on to the next possibility. Once I cycle through all the possibilities I go back to square one and cycle through them all again. People tell me I have to just jump in and try things out, and make a judgement based on my experience, but I live far too much in my head to do that. I look at taking chances as being impulsive and am worried that if I take a chance I will end up regretting it and paying the price. Although I know I should proportion my risk taking to the riskiness of a situation, I am overly cautious and often decide that I would rather do nothing, risk to lose nothing, and leave it up for further analyzation, rather than doing something impulsive and risking loss. When it comes to big decisions I will not act until I am sure that I have analyzed every possible angle, every possible alternative, have high certainty and have a contingency plan(s) in place. However, this rarely happens so I end up plagued by inaction and paralyzed by anxiety and paranoia.

What exactly does the 8% mean in this particular version of the test?

What Big Five test did you actually take? there are a number of them out there. Did you do the short or long form(s)?

As far as your questions about my Big Five results, you can see it yourself by copying and pasting this link into your search bar:
http://www.outofservice.com/bigfive/results/?oR=0.525&cR=0.333&eR=0.375&aR=0.194&nR=0.969&y=1990&g=m

 

[valaki]

"So what makes you indecisive? What's the underlying reason?"

One example of my indecisiveness is my lack of knowledge and decisiveness with what I want to do with my life. I am 21, have dropped out of college twice, and have changed my major many, many, times. I will search and search until I think I found my calling and then decide to go for it. But after a (usually short) period of time I will start to question the validity of my reasoning, and purity of my motives, which in turn causes me to lose hope and confidence and move on to the next possibility.

This... How about nobody has truly pure motives and who cares anyway? Try the thing and see if you actually like it and are actually good at it.

Once I cycle through all the possibilities I go back to square one and cycle through them all again. People tell me I have to just jump in and try things out, and make a judgement based on my experience, but I live far too much in my head to do that. I look at taking chances as being impulsive and am worried that if I take a chance I will end up regretting it and paying the price. Although I know I should proportion my risk taking to the riskiness of a situation, I am overly cautious and often decide that I would rather do nothing, risk to lose nothing, and leave it up for further analyzation, rather than doing something impulsive and risking loss. When it comes to big decisions I will not act until I am sure that I have analyzed every possible angle, every possible alternative, have high certainty and have a contingency plan(s) in place. However, this rarely happens so I end up plagued by inaction and paralyzed by anxiety and paranoia.

Yeah now you've got another person telling you to just jump in. Honestly though, it's the best thing you can do! I never regretted any such decision if I made it based on instinct and/or based on simple main priorities. I guess you can try doing it the latter way, figure out the most important priority/priorities and go by that.

You have nothing to lose if you actually go and do whatever. You do have a lot to lose if you keep doing nothing.

PS: Sorry maybe this isn't what you've come here for but I just had to say these things to you.

As far as your questions about my Big Five results, you can see it yourself by copying and pasting this link into your search bar:
http://www.outofservice.com/bigfive/results/?oR=0.525&cR=0.333&eR=0.375&aR=0.194&nR=0.969&y=1990&g=m

Interesting, I tried it out, it seems to be impossible to score high Openness on this unless I ditch my usual practice of almost never going for the extreme "Yes" answers for most questions in general.....

So just because you got low Openness it means nothing on its own... for Ne vs Ni, I mean.

 

[Clementine]

So this is not very scientific, and based only on some experiential observation and 'instinct', but you ooze "INTJ" to me. And i like to consider that I have a pretty good eye for INTJs (since they are my fascination lol). Even your very organised original post with a dot-point list seems more INTJ than INTP to me

Note, the below is quite generalised:

I have been in a long-term relationship with both an INTP and INTJ. This is what I observed: The INTP and INTJ differ quite tremendously in how their functions manifest. The INTP is not at all as ordered (or nearly close) as the INTJ. INTJs seem to be more objective in their thinking, far more risk adverse, whereas the INTP can be logical and objective when it comes to certain interests (eg: programming) yet in general life, they seem to take a much more subjective philosophy/perspective. INTJs can be messy but their mess is very functional. INTPs are chaotic in this sense.

INTPs not contingency planners as much as INTJs. INTJs seem to have 2, 3, 4 other routes already planned, whereas an INTP is more likely to "go with the flow" and enter "holy shit" mode when something goes awry.

INTPs and INTJs are both great thinkers from what I have experienced, in that they are both able to be very philosophical and talk about a whole range of facts, but sorry to say this to any INTPs reading, my experience has found that in general INTJs tend to be better long-term thinkers/planners and generally far more factual and 'right' about how the world works. INTJs seem to be more grounded in reality and INTPs tend to be more dreamy/imaginative in many ways.

INTJs tend to be excellent problem solvers when it comes to logical problems, but emotional problems, they take a very different approach to what most consider normal socially. However, I have found that INTJs in general seem to have very good reads on people, their motives, and their hidden agendas, except in the case of when someone likes them (romantically) in which case they are a bit clueless. INTPs are slightly better and a bit more cocky (i have found) so they are more likely to think a girl likes them than the good ole INTJ.

Both seem to have similar interests (eg: computer programming/networking/physics/engineering) yet I have noticed that more INTJs than INTPs tend to be engineers/get into physics. More INTPs tend to go into programming/computers.

I also found that with my experience with INTJs and INTPs, one defining factor seems to be money! INTPs seem (in general) quite flippant with money, whereas the INTJs that I have known all seem very conservative and risk-adverse with money (even to the point of appearing miserly).

 

[Cygnus]

J:
• Very consistent in my habits
• Constantly contingency planning

Keep in mind, INTPs can think they're INTJs because they actually enjoy organizing data. They like being systematic.