What's your type?

Zuri · Dec 28, 2015 10:52 PM

I want to see if anyone else is interested in this stuff. The last post on this forum about MBTI was made pretty long ago -- so I'm making a new Thread!

What is MBTI?
MBTI is a system used to figure out someone's mental preferences, or "type". Everyone has Rational and Irrational ways of thinking and processing the world, or "Functions". These functions are either Extraverted or Introverted, but everyone uses a bit of both. Introversion and Extraversion are "Attitudes", and Attitudes affect Functions. This mix of preferred Attitudes and Functions create a person's type.

What's Extraversion and Introversion?
To start off, I'll state what these Attitudes aren't. They are not:

Someone's level of sociability

Someone's level of popularity

Someone's level of mental health

What they are:
The Attitudes Extraversion and Introversion measure how people interact with the world and themselves, or the "object" and the "subject". It should be noted that in the sense MBTI uses the words Introverted and Extraverted, it would be just as wrong to call someone "an Introvert" as it would be to call someone "a practical". Attitudes are descriptors of functions, not a state of being.

Extraversion: Attention is on the object. E.g, if someone were to be at an orchard and think, "Wow, look at all these apples to pick!" that would be a form of extroversion. The focus is on the object, which is the apples. The subject is being applied to the object.

Introversion: Now, if another person were to be in that same orchard and say, "This orchard reminds me of being with my father. " that would be a form of Introversion. The focus is on the subject, and the object is being applied to the subject.

What are Irrational Functions?
Irrational Functions are called so because they do not rely on reality to work. They work outside of reality's occurrences and do not interact with them, making them "Irrational". The two Irrational Functions are iNtuition and Sensing. In the MBTI community there is a bias towards iNtuition, however that is based on lack of education on what these Functions represent.

iNtuition: Focus is not on what is being observed but the potential that can arise from it. This can lead people who predominantly use iNtuition to be interested in ideas and gifted at insight, however ungrounded those can be. iNuition is not a psychic ability, no matter what some people would want you to believe!

Sensing: Focus is on what is being observed, and all the nitty-gritty things about it. This can lead people who predominantly use Sensing to be down-to-earth and meticulous, but sometimes miss the big picture of things.

What are the Rational Functions?
Rational Functions are called so because they affect how someone makes decisions. The two Rational Functions are Thinking and Feeling.

Thinking: Focus is on the facts, and only the facts. This can lead people who predominantly use Thinking to be logical and objective. An example of Thinking is A=B, B=C, ergo A=C

Feeling: Focus is on the meaning of facts. This can lead people who predominantly use Feeling to be caring and subjective. Despite the misleading label, the "Feeling" Rational Function is not emotional and devoid of rationale. The main difference between Thinking and Feeling is what is valued. An example of Feeling is A=desirable, B=undesirable, ergo I go with A.

Wait! What do the J and P mean? Are they Functions?
J and P stand for Judging and Perceiving. They are not Functions, per se, as they are not descriptions of mental activity. Instead, these are preferences of lifestyle. People who prefer Judging are more likely to plan regularly and might be more organized. People who prefer Percieving are more likely to be adaptable and open to change.

How does MBTI work?
Functions are categorized into four groups; Dominant, Auxilary, Tertiary and Inferior. The Dom. and Aux. functions are developed in childhood and teenage years, while the Tert. and Inferior are developed in adulthood. For example, I am the type ISFJ. Si (Introverted Sensing) and Fe (Extraverted Feeling) are my Dominant and Auxilary Functions respectively. That means that I use them on a daily basis, and quite productively too. Since I am still a teenager, my Tert. and Inferior Functions, Ti and Ne respectively, are not as developed.

I keep getting different answers on the tests I take! What do I do?
Don't worry about it! Think of online tests as Wikipedia articles; the don't count as reliable research, but can be used a step in the right direction. I consider most online tests to be unreliable as they mostly focus on behavior and not cognitive activity. I recommend doing some research of your own to see if the type truly is yours.

The profiles for my type don't exactly fit me! Am I a different type?
I treat online type profiles much like online tests; with a grain of salt. Like most tests, most online profiles are too focused of behavior and not cognitive activity. If the behaviors mentioned in the profile fit you, then great! If not, don't worry. Remember, what truly matters is the Function stackings.

Does the type make the person? Or the person the type?
Types are descriptors. However, they do not describe your personality to a T, nor were they made to. MBTI should be used to better understand people, but they do not describe them fully. It is best to judge everyone individually, and not by their type.

Now, I wonder what Spyro's type is? big_smile

Last edited by Zuri (Jan 17, 2016 7:23 PM)

Paranoia · Dec 29, 2015 9:12 PM

Haven't done one of these in forever.

I got ISTJ Introvert(62%) Sensing(53%) Thinking(28%) Judging(1%). The description seems pretty spot on.

Stormy · Dec 29, 2015 9:14 PM

I'm a very strong I and P, but I almost always score right in the middle with S/N and F/T. Usually I end up with INFP or INTP. Even ignoring the test results and reading the descriptions of the types and what they mean, I don't think I could place myself definitively into one of them. Not sure if I just can't tell how my brain works or if I'm legitimately somewhere in between, haha.

Zuri · Dec 30, 2015 2:41 AM

Stormy wrote:

I'm a very strong I and P, but I almost always score right in the middle with S/N and F/T. Usually I end up with INFP or INTP. Even ignoring the test results and reading the descriptions of the types and what they mean, I don't think I could place myself definitively into one of them. Not sure if I just can't tell how my brain works or if I'm legitimately somewhere in between, haha.

lol, I had the same issue. I've been confused on ISFJ, ISTJ, and even ESFJ! It all went down to how the functions were stacked, and what functions there were. Some people just don't have preferences for all though, and that looks to be your case. It can be seen as one of the flaws of the system.

Swaffy · Dec 30, 2015 4:12 AM

rem

Last edited by Swaffy (Jan 06, 2016 12:46 AM)

36IStillLikeSpyro36 · Dec 30, 2015 5:00 AM

i haven't taken that test in awhile, but every time i do, i get INFJ. the (introverted) part always being extremely high, no less than 89%.

edit: and the (judging) part always being low, like 1%

Last edited by 36IStillLikeSpyro36 (Dec 30, 2015 5:01 AM)

Gekoncze · Dec 30, 2015 11:49 AM

36IStillLikeSpyro36 wrote:

i haven't taken that test in awhile, but every time i do, i get INFJ. the (introverted) part always being extremely high, no less than 89%.
edit: and the (judging) part always being low, like 1%

You get similar results like me. I often get INFJ, where I and F are high and the others are low.

EricChristianOlsenFanatic · Dec 30, 2015 11:29 PM

I'm a mix of both a introvert and extrovert.

Last edited by EricChristianOlsenFanatic (Dec 30, 2015 11:30 PM)

Zuri · Dec 30, 2015 11:53 PM

EricChristianOlsenFanatic wrote:

I'm a mix of both a introvert and extrovert.

All of us are. If not, we'd be in insane asylums.

Are you saying that you have no preference?

EricChristianOlsenFanatic · Jan 01, 2016 12:43 AM

Zuri wrote:

EricChristianOlsenFanatic wrote:
I'm a mix of both a introvert and extrovert.
All of us are. If not, we'd be in insane asylums.
Are you saying that you have no preference?

Pretty much yeah lol.

RangerOfIthilien · Jan 17, 2016 2:22 PM

36IStillLikeSpyro36 wrote:

i haven't taken that test in awhile, but every time i do, i get INFJ. the (introverted) part always being extremely high, no less than 89%.
edit: and the (judging) part always being low, like 1%

Same, I bounce between INFP and INFJ. For me I'm usually P though

Zuri · Jan 17, 2016 7:17 PM

RangerOfIthilien wrote:

36IStillLikeSpyro36 wrote:
i haven't taken that test in awhile, but every time i do, i get INFJ. the (introverted) part always being extremely high, no less than 89%.
edit: and the (judging) part always being low, like 1%
Same, I bounce between INFP and INFJ. For me I'm usually P though

The functions for an INFJ are:
Ni
Fe
Ti
Se

The functions for an INFP are:
Fi
Ne
Si
Te

These types are pretty different. On the outside they appear and might behave similar, but cognitively they are not the same.

Last edited by Zuri (Jan 17, 2016 7:20 PM)

RangerOfIthilien · Feb 06, 2016 2:56 AM

Alright, would it be more accurate for me to say I don't sway very strongly in either direction so it's hard for simple quizzes to determine that about my personality?

Anyway, I've heard some say they don't care for personality tests like this because they pigeonhole people into categories. What do you guys think about that?

Zuri · Feb 06, 2016 3:02 AM

RangerOfIthilien wrote:

Alright, would it be more accurate for me to say I don't sway very strongly in either direction so it's hard for simple quizzes to determine that about my personality?

There's more to this than the quizzes. They just point you in the right direction. And you were saying that the whole time (at least, I assume so) but I thought it important to note that there is a difference between the two, even if some don't show that particularly strongly.

RangerOfIthilien wrote:

Anyway, I've heard some say they don't care for personality tests like this because they pigeonhole people into categories. What do you guys think about that?

Totally agree. This is really just a game for me. It's cute to think that you can describe a human in four letters, but is that even remotely possible? Of course not.

Last edited by Zuri (Feb 06, 2016 3:07 AM)

#1 Dec 28, 2015 10:52 PM

What's your type?

#2 Dec 29, 2015 9:12 PM

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#3 Dec 29, 2015 9:14 PM

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#5 Dec 30, 2015 4:12 AM

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