[MBTI General] ISJs as collectors

[FemMecha]

I have an aunt who I believe is an ISTJ. She keeps everything and has all her life. She buys very little new, but keeps every newspaper and photograph, etc. I was just wondering if ISTJs had any propensity towards collecting. Perhaps ISFJs would as well? It seems like it might be a Si motivated activity. If not ISJs, then what other types do you suppose tend to be collectors?

What do you think?

 

[Jae Rae]

My sister is a definite ENTJ and never throws anything away. She still has closets full of her children's clothing and they're 16. She's an avid digital photographer and documents every family event and occasion. She recently sent me 13 photos of her cat's surgery!

She says her memory is bad and holding on to souvenirs helps her remember the good times and high spots.

As an IXFJ, I keep sentimental objects, like letters from loved ones, and we have a few photo albums. But my family is somewhat photophobic and like to take photos more than appear in them, so we have more of the kids as infants than as teens.

I don't keep ticket stubs or anything like that, except for my son's and daughter's graduation programs. I have a box of "stuff" related to my last job - my boss died last summer - and I kept a few rare book catalogues, etc.

Jae Rae

 

[anii]

My ISTJ brother started collecting stamps as a child and still does. He's also a bit acquisitive about money, but what you are describing sounds more like hoarding behavior, which is often a feature of anxiety disorders, possibly OCD.

 

[girlnamedbless]

I keep EVERYTHING.
I have old notes, journals, and movie ticket stubs, mostly because I like the memories associated with them.

 

[quietgirl]

My boyfriend keeps all of his pictures, including ones with his ex girlfriend in them. At first this put me off a little, but then I realized that it wasn't because of emotional attachment but simply because he didn't like to throw anything away. He also collects hats & sneakers.

I relate to him because I hate throwing things away, so I also have photographs galore and clothes hanging in my closet that no longer fit me. I have a really bad memory, so it's a way of preserving my memories. I'm not sure what motivates my boyfriend, though.

 

[swordpath]

I'm the opposite... I pretty much throw away everything I can. I have no collections really, save a few DVDs.

 

[Athenian200]

It does sound Si-ish to me as well, although I tend to have trouble throwing things away too. It's especially true of something I've used or seen a lot that has sentimental value, or something that could potentially be useful. In my case it would be letters from people, or magazines with particularly interesting articles. Photos would definitely be hard to part with. I probably wouldn't keep an old newspaper lying around for no reason, though.

For some reason, I tend to throw something away if it breaks, but I'll often (though not always) be angry that it was broken. I'm not sure why that is.

I have a feeling that J's are more likely to do such things than P's, though. It could also be more likely for F's than T's. In fact, I think the type most disposed towards this would be ISFJ, having all the traits that seem to contribute to holding on to things rather than getting rid of them. But I've definitely seen ISTJ's who seem to take collections to extremes, so they might tend towards it more... I'm not sure.

 

[Totenkindly]

Very Si oriented activity.

ISTJ males are very very prone to being collectors of any sort (coins, stamps, [comic] books, CDs/albums, model trains, etc., you name it!)

But ISFJs can also become collectors. Whereas the ISTJ male focuses more on the impersonal, the ISFJ female (to pick the other extreme) usually collects things of personal significance... either items that specifically represent contributions of people to her life or items that evoke a particular feeling state.

So you'll see lots of ISTJ men develop meticulous collections of things, whereas the ISFJ women seem to fuel most of the scrapbooking industry if they try it... not necessarily for the "artsy" part but because it serves as a memoir of the people who are meaningful to her and is often used to maintain family/relationships.

I specify gender mostly because I have little experience with ISTJ women and ISFJ males; but based on those few observations, the focus on personal vs impersonal might actually hinge more on gender than on T/F for the ISxJ, partially because the gender expressions are SO ingrained by the nature of Si.

 

[cascadeco]

My mom is an ISTJ and she has a LOT of stuff.

She's much more into knick-knacky things than collecting letters or highly personalized things. She has a lot of figurines (china, hummells, porcelain), a lot of crystal, a collection of perfume bottles (her newest collection), collectors plates (I can't recall the brand, but it's something where a new one comes out every 5 years and she has at least 20 by now), all kinds of other little things she picks up here and there...rather expensive taste, although she also gets stuff from craft-fair type places on occasion.

She doesn't save newspapers or anything like that - she doesn't save just to save - she just seems to like having a house with a lot of stuff on display. She'll occasionally give older decorations that she doesn't like anymore to goodwill; so I know she doesn't have a problem with hoarding.

Jennifer, your mentioning ISFJ's and scrapbooking makes me laugh -- my ISFJ friend LOVES scrapbooking. That's actually her main hobby!!

As for myself - I suppose I have one 'collection' that I can acknowledge. I have a small collection of wooden bird carvings. So if I ever come across a bird carving in my travels, I pick one up. So I tend to like more hand-crafted things, and more 'natural' art. Woodworking, fabrics, stuff like that. Oh, one more collection -- although in my defense, my mom started it for me. I have 6 little jewel-boxes that are all animal or bird-shaped. My mom has given me one every year for 6 yrs at x-mas. They're awfully cute. So I guess I'm not immune to collecting myself! I just have no desire to accumulate as much 'stuff' as my mom, and don't want any more collections!!!

 

[The Ü™]

I like to collect things of my interest. I also don't like to get rid of old magazines, because when I look at the older ones, there's a nostalgic, elusive feeling that races through my mind. When I look at old magazines, I compare them to the newer magazines and notice how the layouts have changed.

I also don't like to get rid of possessions that I've abandoned, because there may be a time in the future where I may want to pursue the hobby again.

 

[INTJMom]

My ISTJ mom likes to collect old things that have value like coins, books, stamps, etc.

I had a female ESTJ boss who came into the offices and just overhauled the place in the matter of a couple of weeks. There were 7 rooms. She had to rearrange all the furniture even though there was nothing wrong with the way it was. She was compelled to throw away everything she didn't see a use for. I got the impression ESTJs are not ones for leaving clutter around.

 

[swordpath]

Why doesn't this apply to me at all, I'm wondering.

 

[INTJMom]

I don't know you at all, but maybe you have a high N factor?

 

[The Ü™]

Why doesn't this apply to me at all, I'm wondering.

Don't worry. My mom's boyfriend is an ENTP and a real pack rat, even of expensive items -- he has a Bowflex machine, a synthesizer, and skis which he never uses, but also refuses to sell -- and he also has dozens of more cheaper things. So collecting and pack-ratting is not necessarily an Si domain.

 

[Metamorphosis]

My ISTJ friend collects comic books.

 

[swordpath]

Well, I guess I do want to collect vinyl but only have 2 albums.

 

[oasispaw]

I knit, crochet and sew so I have stashes of yarn and fabric for upcoming projects. I also have many, many personal photographs. I do hang onto things a little longer than needed, but I'm not opposed to getting rid of something that I have no use for or has no or little sentimental value. There is a pull to keep things that I might use in the future, but the better part of me gets rid of them, knowing I can always find whatever it is again- if that future time ever came.

Oh, I have a lot of CDs, does that count?

 

[runvardh]

My ISTJ friend collects knives, most of them he uses... kind of... ^^;;

 

[quietgirl]

So you'll see lots of ISTJ men develop meticulous collections of things, whereas the ISFJ women seem to fuel most of the scrapbooking industry if they try it... not necessarily for the "artsy" part but because it serves as a memoir of the people who are meaningful to her and is often used to maintain family/relationships.

I specify gender mostly because I have little experience with ISTJ women and ISFJ males; but based on those few observations, the focus on personal vs impersonal might actually hinge more on gender than on T/F for the ISxJ, partially because the gender expressions are SO ingrained by the nature of Si.

My ISTJ aunt is the queen of scrapbooking. It's her weekly Saturday activity - she'll take her scrapbooking luggage looking thing to a scrapbook store and plant herself there from mid morning until late at night. She also has an entire room dedicated to scrapbooking with tons of plastic storage drawers & bins of scrapbooking stuff - completely organized, of course.

My ISTJ aunt & most likely ISTJ grandmother (the two are carbon copies of each other) have both dedicated a LOT of time to geneology & my family's been mapped out by the two of them for quite a few generations. It really is amazing. I tried to help them once & was bored to tears, probably due to Si being dead last in my eight functions, haha.

My ESTP mother will join her scrapbooking, but my mom is far less organized about it. I think she does it for the creative side of it, moreso than to organize memories. However, she has zero attention span so she has a lot of incomplete albums.

I've dabbled in it a little, but the only albums I made were for people who would completely appreciate a gift like that. My pages were never organized like my aunts, but more "out there" and I'd play with textures & color schemes - usually get weird materials and mess with the actual photo a bit. It was more an art project than a way of logging memories, haha. My ENFJ cousin seems to scrapbook in a way similiar to me.

 

[cascadeco]

My ISTJ aunt & most likely ISTJ grandmother (the two are carbon copies of each other) have both dedicated a LOT of time to geneology & my family's been mapped out by the two of them for quite a few generations. It really is amazing. I tried to help them once & was bored to tears, probably due to Si being dead last in my eight functions, haha.

My mom is also incredibly interested in our geneology, and has spent countless hours over the past 2-3 years doing that. I'm afraid I have little patience with it, though. And I just don't have much interest in knowing the minute details of generations past. But I can certainly appreciate the end product and all of the work involved. Oddly enough my brother got into it too (INTP), and has proven to be really adept at the researching, even to the point of ordering a book from Norway that is about a specific little town there. He's figured out a lot of the stuff that my mom would never have found, and has gone down paths that she wouldn't have thought of. But my mom was the one who first became interested in it. I can't recall why my brother started doing it. It was possibly a way of helping my mom because she would always bring it up and she often needs assistance with computer stuff (she's not computer savvy). But he also probably started doing it because it was soon after a depression period and I have a feeling he wanted/needed things to occupy his time.

I've dabbled in it a little, but the only albums I made were for people who would completely appreciate a gift like that. My pages were never organized like my aunts, but more "out there" and I'd play with textures & color schemes - usually get weird materials and mess with the actual photo a bit. It was more an art project than a way of logging memories, haha. My ENFJ cousin seems to scrapbook in a way similiar to me.

I've never had the scrapbooking desire. Mostly it's because I don't think there's much value-add in my doing it, and I'm perfectly happy with my photos in cheap photo albums. But also I cringe at the cost of all of it -- I'd much rather spend my money on other things or experiences that matter more to me.