How do you type people?

[sonata]

Usually when I type someone, it's because something they said or did made one or more of the letters obvious. When I talk to people, I'll often get vibes such as:

"That was such an SFJ thing to say."
"They get it, must be NT."
"Why can't she just decide already? Must be a P."

Then I go from there and fill in the other letters with what makes sense.
I can't turn it off. It's hard for me NOT to type people. Probably not a good sign.

 

[BlueScreen]

Look for type if I know it already. ie. INFJ INTP ENTP ENFP INFP ENFJ ENTJ INTJ ISFP ESFP ISTP

For the rest I don't have a clue . I try to spot functions often also.

 

[Bougal]

Usually when I type someone, it's because something they said or did made one or more of the letters obvious. When I talk to people, I'll often get vibes such as:

"That was such an SFJ thing to say."
"They get it, must be NT."
"Why can't she just decide already? Must be a P."

Then I go from there and fill in the other letters with what makes sense.
I can't turn it off. It's hard for me NOT to type people. Probably not a good sign.

This is how I do it too. And I also do it far too much. I type everyone and then I convince them to take the test themselves. It is a sick little obsession.

 

[Eric B]

I'm the opposite, I don't bother typing historical/fictional figures, I find no value in that whereas typing people irl helps me understand their intricacies better and therefore build better relationships.

The reason I DO like typing historical, finctional (and current popular people), is because they provide possible MODELS of type/temperament, that you can use to get an idea of the people around you (either what type they are to begin with, or if you already know, how to relate to them). You you can think "If I want to get an idea of what this type is, I can just look at this person".
Their whole "personalities" and full range of behaviors are out in the open for you to see. Of course, a fictional character does nto really have a type, because they are not real. Public figures can have persona masks, and historical figures you are seeing through the distortions of others' memory. But it still gives a possible idea.

 

[sleuthiness]

With Fe in the third slot down, I look for a few things in the estp and entp.

Physically: curl of the lower lip while speaking.
Verbally: not attached to feeling, and often disregard them altogether in favor of the next two higher functions.

 

[FemMecha]

If you ask "what's your problem?" to a random person, you will easily learn how to type them with proficiency.

Is the principle here to type people based on their weakness and not their strengths? I think I lean in the opposite direction, observing people's strengths. This came to my mind just last night in a thread questioning introversion and extroversion. Some people switch types depending on when they are distressed/depressed or feeling well. My impression is that a true type is who you are when you aren't sick, depressed, or wounded, because those are the times when compensations start. It's an interesting dilemma. Is type most clearly revealing at our worst or at our best?

"What's your problem" is usually a statement of aggression, not an actual question, but most of that would be determined by tone. I wouldn't answer it to a stranger and for someone close to me, I might just reflect back, "what do you think my problem is?" to get a sense of their motivation and relevance for asking.

 

[Stanton Moore]

Verbally: not attached to feeling, and often disregard them altogether in favor of the next two higher functions.

Can you explain this further?

I'm pretty new to MBTI, so typing people is not second nature for me, but I do find it easy to identify introverts and intuitives, probably because I am one. I know how they think...

Now how can one recognize the introverts and intuitives from across a room?

 

[Virtual ghost]

I pay attantion to what the person is doing and saying and how they do it.
Usually I try to guess the parts that look more obvious first. Then I try to figure out the parts that are less obvious.

 

[raz]

I tend to look for combinations and temperaments more so. The SFs are really touchy-feely. NFs just have this save the world vibe to them. NTs don't give a fuck about the people around them. STs are obsessed with understanding how to use or do something technical. SPs are stuck in RIGHT NOW. They aren't down to Earth. They aren't stuck in the here and now. That's too general. They're most concerned about RIGHT THIS SECOND.

Then there are the FJs. They're obsessed with their relationships depending on their position on the ISFJ -> ENFJ scale, ENFJ being the most obsessed. INs are just off in their own world. To an INxx, it's their world and you're just part of it. There are TJs also, who want to make sure everything is systematic and organized. See, the FJs organize to make things neat. TJs organize for efficiency. If they don't need to organize something for a productive use, then it's forgotten. The FJ is like, "'People might see my messy room, I must clean it!" The TJ is just like, "Oh fuck, my trash can needs to be emptied or I won't be able to keep putting stuff in it.'"

Plus there are the two types that are really extremes in terms of being in tune with the world. INTJ and ESFP. INTJ is so detached from the world that they don't care if you live or die as long as their plan comes to fruition. ESFP is the opposite. They're completely attached to the outside world and everything happening in it comes first. That includes anything fun and exciting to anything concerning people in general.

That's enough for now. If anyone wants to bash my essay, go ahead. I was bored.

 

[Little Linguist]

I used to piss my family off by letting the trash can get more and more full, stuffing it down, building it up, until stuff almost came falling out and then they would come yelling, "YOU KNOW YOU CAN'T PUT ANY MORE IN THAT!!!!"

And I said, "Oh, yeah, right," and changed it. Hehehehehe

 

[Stanton Moore]

Is the principle here to type people based on their weakness and not their strengths? I think I lean in the opposite direction, observing people's strengths. This came to my mind just last night in a thread questioning introversion and extroversion. Some people switch types depending on when they are distressed/depressed or feeling well. My impression is that a true type is who you are when you aren't sick, depressed, or wounded, because those are the times when compensations start. It's an interesting dilemma. Is type most clearly revealing at our worst or at our best?

"What's your problem" is usually a statement of aggression, not an actual question, but most of that would be determined by tone. I wouldn't answer it to a stranger and for someone close to me, I might just reflect back, "what do you think my problem is?" to get a sense of their motivation and relevance for asking.

I think we make judgements according to what you see, and that is entirely dependant on how you perceive yourself. If I lack social skills, I will be more likely to be aware of that trait on another person, simply because I'm focused on it's absence in myself...etc, etc. And since we are more accutely aware of our weakness than our strength, we may be more likely to see weeknesses in others. I may be drunk...

 

[Biaxident]

I used to piss my family off by letting the trash can get more and more full, stuffing it down, building it up, until stuff almost came falling out and then they would come yelling, "YOU KNOW YOU CAN'T PUT ANY MORE IN THAT!!!!"

And I said, "Oh, yeah, right," and changed it. Hehehehehe

I know a teen who did that. I took all the trash that fell on the floor and put it on his bed. He doesn't do it anymore.

 

[Little Linguist]

I know a teen who did that. I took all the trash that fell on the floor and put it on his bed. He doesn't do it anymore.

Well of course I don't do it anymore lol - just back when I was a teen hahaa

 

[Biaxident]

Well of course I don't do it anymore lol - just back when I was a teen hahaa

Well of course not. But since he did it for several months and didn't seem to understand why it needed to be taken out. I decided that if he couldn't take out the trash before it overflowed onto the floor. I would use his bed as a trash receptacle.
After the first time I put banana peels, an empty ice cream container, and empty cat food cans on his bed. It stopped

 

[Winds of Thor]

I tend to look for combinations and temperaments more so. The SFs are really touchy-feely. NFs just have this save the world vibe to them. NTs don't give a fuck about the people around them. STs are obsessed with understanding how to use or do something technical. SPs are stuck in RIGHT NOW. They aren't down to Earth. They aren't stuck in the here and now. That's too general. They're most concerned about RIGHT THIS SECOND.

Hmm..It's an all-too common misconception that All NTs don't care about others..

Well I don't speak for all the other NTs.

I will however say it may appear that we don't care as we are THINKING while you are looking for feeling.

It's not to say there aren't any NTs indeed who really don't care about others around them..for anyone to assume there are no evil people of each given type would be naive.

 

[NewEra]

I look at each of the four categories, and decide which letter fits them in each. If I can't decide on a letter, I look at their top cognitive functions to help me. This is how I almost always type people.

 

[ajblaise]

If you're trying to type someone, seconds after meeting them you can start to see behavior that either confirms or contradicts E/I, N/S..etc. And after that, you can see how consistent your initial assessments were.... and what you're left with is a pretty good idea to what their type is, if you do it right.

 

[Little Linguist]

Hmm..It's an all-too common misconception that All NTs don't care about others..

Well I don't speak for all the other NTs.

I will however say it may appear that we don't care as we are THINKING while you are looking for feeling.

It's not to say there aren't any NTs indeed who really don't care about others around them..for anyone to assume there are no evil people of each given type would be naive.

Could you explain this to me, please? I'm not trying to be an ass - I'm serious. Just don't understand how people care by thinking versus feeling, and besides, I think this would be useful for the original poster anyway...Never quite got how that works, and it would be nice to understand.

 

[INA]

Generally, I don't waste time typing people in the real world because i rather they take the test thjemselves.
But i enjoy figuring out famous historical figures fictional figurres, and people who share the same type as me.

What do you look for when you type other people?
I look for this

1) their dominant letter
2) their variable letter
3) their weakest letter
4) function intensity

How bout you people?

I type IRL people I know based on interactions over a long period. So far, the track record is pretty good - if it's off, then it's right within a letter (I manage to cajole them into taking the test). The letter is not usually a core letter - NT, SP, SJ, NF are correct. Oddly, I haven't found any greater return in accuracy from knowing someone 8 years versus, say, 3.

 

[Lightyear]

I just naturally try to figure out people, so even if I would try to stop typing someone I couldn't.

Introversion and extroversion are often pretty obvious, can I co-exist with them in silence or do they get offended if there is no conversation. Also if someone likes closure or just leaves things to the last minute is easy to spot, especially in people who are in authority above you. Also you can spot a S from a N often by how deep you can go talking to them. Ses often have a line that is difficult to cross, at some point you just can't get really any deeper anymore.