I find the Myers-Briggs and related personality-type constructs to be fascinating. Of course, we don't want to stick people into rigid categories that may not capture all the nuances of who they really are, and we don't want to bind our lives to self-fulfilling prophecies based on what sort of personality-type we think we are. With all proper warnings and nuances in place, however, it seems to me based on observation of myself and others that this personality-type sort of thinking is indeed capturing a real component of how human personalities work. The tests I've seen (and I've never paid for one) seem to be fairly accurate at placing people into various types, and sometimes they can be astonishingly accurate at painting a picture of what a person is like.
Probably the most amazing example of this I have seen so far relates to myself. The description of the INTP personality-type seems to capture core aspects of my personality with astounding precision. If you want to understand me, read this article describing the INTP personality. Of course, even if we fit into a particular personality-type fairly well, we are all unique, and we have different beliefs, values, and experiences and can make different choices that affect how we think and live and interact with others. So no personality-type portrait is going to capture or accurately describe all that we are. But it can often capture a good chunk! That is certainly the case with me and INTP!
If you want to take a free test that seems to work pretty well from what I've seen, go here. (I will say that the test seems to slant a bit toward the J side; so if you find yourself labeled a J, you might read the corresponding P description as well and see which one fits better.) If you do this, let me know how it went and what you found!
My daughter Erin, 13, just took the test today, and it labeled her an ISTJ. It does seem to fit, but she is a little young for the test, so perhaps she can take it again in a few years and see if it still does.
UPDATE 7/1/13: I thought I'd mention also that my wife, Desiree, seems to be an INFP.
Hello fellow INTP. I found you by googling "INTP christian". I was hoping to find an online community of INTP Christians that engage in conversations of theology and faith-related matters. Whenever I bring up faith and theology in other INTP communities it results in predictable debates about morality and science, and I'm getting bored by those threads. So now I'm looking for like-minded INTPs, not to join an "echo chamber" but to discuss different interpretations of the faith that we share. It's interesting to me how differently people of similar personality types approach these things.
ReplyDeleteThat's funny I did the same exact Google search to get here. I am definitely seeking forum for intps because all of my close Christian friends are extroverts and I feel really awkward sometimes like even though we share the same Faith they don't totally understand me and my perspective.
DeleteHello. Good to hear from you! I've looked at a bit of your web page. Are you in Denmark?
ReplyDeleteI agree, it would be nice to have a group meeting place for INTP Christians. A lot of the INTP sites I have seen, such as on Facebook, seem dominated by very strange conversations that don't really seem all that INTPish to me. They seem to be more of a place for people to talk about simplistic and stereotypical "INTP traits and behavior."
Hello there!
ReplyDeleteGood to know other Christian INTPs.
I have created a facebook group for us here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/311275792356394/
We still are very few.
The problem in most INTP groups is that there is a big problem in self-testing, most people arent really sincere, so it gets full of ISTPs and INTJs that think they are INTPs.
Hello!
ReplyDelete"The problem in most INTP groups is that there is a big problem in self-testing'
Yes, I've noticed that.
I've just requested to join your Facebook page.