If you have heard of the Myers-Briggs personality test, you may be familiar with some if not all of the 16 personality types. These personality types are based and structured upon hierarchical
cognitive functions that determines our attitudes, inclinations,
strengths, and weaknesses. Though the test does not encompass all parts of our psyche, it nevertheless produces a profoundly accurate description
of our individual psychologies.
I have taken the test a few years ago and I learned that I have an
INTJ personality type which stands for introverted, intuition, thinking, and judging.
Being introverted means I am more energized by intrapersonal
activities. Intuition shows that I make sense of my experiences based
on intuition rather than my raw sensory data. I value thinking over feeling, and I engage in critical thinking or judging rather than plain perception.
Strategic, composed, and critical; these are some traits INTJs are known
for. In this first of a two-part post series, I'll be sharing a brief
study of the INTJ's psychology.
* * *
The INTJ, dubbed as the mastermind or the architect, is a highly
intuitive and analytical personality type. Its cognitive function is
dominated by rationality, order, and seeing patterns. INTJ people thrive in
making connections in complex internal or external environments to solve
problems. They perceive and identify this connections through their dominant
function, introverted intuition (see diagram below)
which is then externalized by their auxiliary function, extraverted
thinking, by working through or creating systems that will bring
their intuitions to reality.
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| The cognitive functions structure of an INTJ |
INTJs thrive in systems. They spend a lot of their mental energies creating, improving or changing systems to fit a present challenge they face. They go to great lengths in making sure that they know each part of a system because doing so improves their chances of being effective. And they see the world as such: a system with complex relationships and variables that can be studied and adjusted accordingly.
The INTJ's other two functions, introverted feeling and extraverted sensing also has their crucial roles but not as
prevalent as the first two. Given the INTJ's primary focus on
rationality and order, it is of no wonder that emotions and external sensing are put at the back end.
The tertiary function, introverted feeling, is responsible for
an INTJs values and sense of individuality. It is home to their attitude to
relationships. Which often get put to the side, by design, due to their
emphasis on rationality. INTJs can disregard or tone down emotions if it
does not support the system they're working in.
The last function, extraverted sensing, is the INTJ's "blind spot."
As a cognitive function, it is the capacity to tune in with one's senses and
get information from raw experiences. INTJ's process experiences internally
through their first two functions. They derive conclusions about the
environment based mainly on what their intuition provides and not entirely
from their sensual experiences. Their heightened intuition causes them
have a reduced sense of tuning in with their environment. They can be
inadept observers of in-the-moment activities such as social cues or group
dynamics.
Some other observable traits and attitudes of INTJs include:
Being theory-oriented, logical, analytical, ambitious, independent, consummate learner, exhaustive researcher, private, prefers to work alone, inquisitive, leader, always
seeking for improvement, always striving for excellence, emotionally
detached, meticulous planners, sensitive to beauty and art, determined, and
truth seekers.
Notable INTJs:
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| Clockwise: Hillary Clinton, Robert Greene, Jodie Foster, Mark Zuckerberg, Isaac Newton, and Stephen Hawking |
Statistically, INTJ is the 3rd rarest personality type comprising only 2%
of the general population. They are a rarity but their abilities and
accomplishments speaks for themselves. Their achievements elevate them to fame and success in their fields.
They can often be found working in fields that require critical thinking
skills such as Science, Law, Engineering, Technology, Literature,
Philosophy, and even the Arts. They make great leaders, strategists, and
directors because of their emphasis on order and ability to have a long term
vision.
* * *
That was the INTJ personality type at a glance. In part 2, I'll be
discussing how I, as an INTJ, cope with the complexities and the delights
that my personality type brings.
If you're interested in knowing your personality type, you can take the
MBTI test
here.
References:
Sites
https://www.truity.com/personality-type/INTJ
https://www.16personalities.com/intj-personality
https://personalityjunkie.com/the-intj/
Videos
IDRLabs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBAKG2gyef0
Psychology refresh: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OF4goHt8f9k
The personality
network: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKHJzfsDY1Y
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