<--- Daydreamer, avid writer, vivid imagination, ESFJ.
Please separate imagination from iNtuition in your mind. They are not one in the same. Hopefully you'll learn more about N/S as you continue to interact with the forum.
All of the items on the current form of the official MBTI test got there by a process of elimination that started decades ago and has involved hundreds of tested items, with the survivors basically being the items that have been found to do the best job of clustering — based on thousands of tests and the psychometric standards applicable in the personality typology field — with the other items being scored for the same preference.
Here are three of the S/N items from the official MBTI:
Do you usually get along better with (N) imaginative people, or (S) realistic people?
In doing something that many other people do, does it appeal to you more to (S) do it in the accepted way, or (N) invent a way of your own?
Which word appeals to you most? (N) imaginative or (S) matter of fact.
As you may know, the "Step II" version of the MBTI has five "facets" for each dimension, and one of the S/N facets is Realistic/Imaginative.
The Big Five dimension that's generally viewed as tapping into the same real underlying personality dimension as MBTI S/N is called Opennness to Experience, and as further described below, two of its six facets are Fantasy and Aesthetics.
"Hopefully you'll learn more about N/S as you continue to interact with the forum."
... especially when SPs get classified as the Artisans?
sorry... I know you're new... I just couldn't help myself there!
For anyone under the mistaken impression that either ISFP or ISTP is a more likely arts-oriented type than INFP or INTP, the opposite is actually true. INFP is arguably the single most likely artist type (with INFJ and INTP both runner-up contenders), while ISFPs and ISTPs are relatively unlikely artist types. The "ISFP as artist" notion came from David Keirsey, and I think Keirsey had quite a few insightful things to say, but the ISFP=artist thing was probably his biggest mistake.
Decades of studies (MBTI and Big Five both) have pretty clearly established that creativity/imagination and artistic interests are quite strongly correlated with an N preference, and that's consistent with both Jung's and Myers' takes on the types, and it applies whether the materials the artist/creator is working with are abstract or concrete (e.g., photographers and painters).
Of the 114 professional fine artists in one study shown in the second edition of the MBTI Manual, 91% of them were N's (65% NF and 26% NT). More specifically, 25 were INFP and only one was ISFP. It's pretty common to find internet forumites assuming that, if the relevant art involves
physical materials and tools (like painting), it must be "Se" territory rather than "Ne" territory, but as the Manual explained: "Because true creativity in the arts requires highly differentiated use of tools and materials, one might expect artists to prefer sensing perception rather than intuition. Empirically, N types outnumber S types in art students and among artists. The theoretical explanation is that the insights and inspirations provided by intuition are more important, but true artistic skill requires the development of S skills for use in the service of N inspirations."
The list of occupational rankings along the SN dimension in Appendix D to that edition of the Manual (based on a variety of studies in the CAPT database) includes the following entries:
- Photographers: 73% N
- Teachers of art, drama & music: 71% N
- Artists & entertainers (broad category): 69% N
- Musicians & composers: 65% N
- Designers: 58% N
There are
no artistic occupations that are majority S.
And the correlation of N with creativity isn't limited to the arts. An entire section of the Manual is devoted to "Studies of Creativity," and they include a series of studies conducted by the Institute for Personality Assessment and Research at UC Berkeley that looked at people who both worked in creative professions and were "selected by peer nomination" as "highly creative." Out of the resulting 107 "highly creative" mathematicians, architects, research scientists and writers,
only three were S's. A 2½-page table presents the results of multiple other studies correlating various measures of creativity (from students majoring in the arts to people working in creative fields), and N's are
always in the majority — and often quite overwhelmingly.
And all these N majorities are particularly noteworthy in light of the fact that N's are typically reported to make up only around 25-30% of the general population.
As already noted, it's widely accepted (and I agree) that the Big Five Openness to Experience factor is essentially tapping into the same underlying human temperament dimension as MBTI S/N, and being high on Openness (the Big Five equivalent of an N preference) is associated with aesthetic interests of all kinds (in both the verbal and non-verbal arts). The most well-established version of the Big Five is McCrae & Costa's NEO-PI-R, which breaks down each of the five factors into six "facets." The Openness to Experience facets include the following (with quoted descriptions from McCrae & Costa):
- Fantasy: "Individuals who are open to fantasy have a vivid imagination and an active fantasy life. ... They elaborate and develop their fantasies and believe that imagination contributes to a rich and creative life."
- Aesthetics: "High scorers on this scale have a deep appreciation for art and beauty. ... They need not have artistic talent. ... However, for many of them, interest in the arts will lead them to develop a wider knowledge and appreciation than the average individual."
The Big Five Inventory is one of the more well-regarded (and academically sanctioned) Big Five tests, and its 44 items include the following three (all of which test for Openness to Experience):
- Has few artistic interests [reverse-scored]
- Values artistic, aesthetic experiences
- Is sophisticated in art, music, or literature
The official MBTI folks put out Career Reports that show the popularity for each type of "22 broad occupational categories," based on "a sample of more than 92,000 people in 282 jobs who said they were satisfied with their jobs." The sample included 3,230 ISFPs and 4,267 INFPs, so it's a very large sample by personality typology standards.
Here are the "Most Attractive Job Families" (= scores above 60) for ISFPs:
Health Care Support [100]
—Nurse's aide, veterinary assistant, pharmacy aide, physical therapy aide
Architecture and Engineering [91]
—Architect, surveyor, mechanical engineer, chemical engineer
Food Preparation and Service [78]
—Chef, food service manager, bartender, host/hostess
Office and Administrative Support [78]
—Bank teller, receptionist, clerical services, legal secretary
Building and Grounds Maintenance [75]
—Gardener, tree trimmer, housekeeping, lawn service supervisor
Transportation and Materials Moving [66]
—Pilot, air traffic controller, driver, freight handler
Personal Care and Service [64]
—Lodging manager, personal trainer, hairdresser, child care provider
In 19th place (out of 22) for the ISFPs (with a job satisfaction score of 30 out of 100) is the category that includes arts, design, entertainment and media:
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
— Artist, coach, musician, reporter
By contrast, here are the "Most Attractive Job Families" for INFPs:
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media [100]
—Artist, coach, musician, reporter
Education, Library Sciences, and Training [75]
—Schoolteacher, librarian, school administrator, university faculty
Personal Care and Service [71]
—Lodging manager, personal trainer, hairdresser, child care provider
Health Care Support [69]
—Nurse's aide, veterinary assistant, pharmacy aide, physical therapy aide
Community and Social Services [68]
—Community service manager, career counselor, clergy, social worker
Prior to the publication of the 1998 edition of the MBTI Manual, the official MBTI folks created a "national sample" of 3,000 people that was tweaked to be a representative sample in a number of respects, and besides typing everybody, they also asked the people in the sample quite a lot of supplemental questions. And one question asked them to indicate how important 11 values were in their lives, on a scale of "Very Important," "Somewhat Important," "Somewhat Unimportant," or "Not Important." And one of those 11 values was "being creative" — and on average, 31% of the entire sample said "being creative" was "very important." But of all the 16 types, can you guess which type was the
least likely (just 16%) to rate "being creative" as "very important"? Well, if you guessed ISFP, you are correct. (The ENFPs were #1, with 55% of ENFPs saying "being creative" is "very important.")
Hopefully needless to say, personality type is about
tendencies and probabilities, so it's pretty much always inappropriate to say "X type
always does that" or "X type
never does that." I'm sure virtually every kind of artistic pursuit includes at least a smattering of participants of every possible type. But the OP asked which MBTI types were "more likely" to get into art — and any source that claims that ISFPs are the quintessential artists is a source that's very much at odds with over 50 years of MBTI and Big Five data.
When we get better we should exchange drawings!
And thank you!
