How do you guys type someone when you meet them?

[gnome]

I am trying to work on this so I can use the MBTI to further my understanding of relationships etc.

Introverted vs Extroverted
This is a gimmie in my opinion. It's pretty obvious to tell which they are. Introverted people are usually more quiet and less out going. Usually more reserved in their speech.

Sense vs Intuition
This is one I have a hard time figuring out. How do you guys base your opinions on this one?

Feeling vs Thinking
I usually just look to see if this person is displaying emotion. Such as crying at movies or whatever.

Judging vs Perceiving
When I think of the J types I think of someone who is actually judgemental and quick to draw conclusions. Perceiving people usually come across as "understanding". Meaning they usually don't take a concrete side they just understand. The judging type usually come off as pompous at times.

 

[The Frood]

http://intpforum.com/showthread.php?t=4944&highlight=typing+real+time
Check out this ^ thread Guide to typing in real time

 

[GarmGarf]

Physiological cues. Humans give off evidence of cognitive function use and "preference".

 

[EditorOne]

Well, first, I don't bother typing people I meet, I try to avoid meeting people. Usually I can't even remember the name after an introduction.

Then:

"Feeling vs Thinking
I usually just look to see if this person is displaying emotion. Such as crying at movies or whatever."

Hell, I cry at movies, usually not when everyone else does, though. I think using what people "display" can lead you astray. We do have emotions, we just don't trust them and don't use them to inform decisionmaking to the extent other people do. That doesn't mean they don't take over from time to time, usually much to our discomfort. I'd look for someone who is crying during a movie and seems annoyed by it. Then you might be dialing in on a thinker. Someone who is crying and seems to enjoy it -- that and other drama, where emotions are not just indulged and accommodated, but seem to be actually something the person enjoys inflaming, is probably better for "feeling." That's because in both cases you get a read on their attitude toward feeling, not just a display of feeling.

I'm afraid I'm guilty a great deal of the time of not wanting to understand others, although not to the point of rudeness. Mainly I just watch out for things I know are going to produce conflict, like someone who proofreads and gets bent wildly out of shape when there are two spaces between words rather than one, rather than the fact that, perhaps, the conclusion reached in the essay or whatever is not supported by reality. That kind of anal fixation means it is someone I need to separate from or insulate from, because I am unable to take seriously things that are central to their value system. There's a serious imbalance of views there, and no common ground for cooperation.

Before we had Myers Briggs, you know, we had just two classifications: "flaming assholes" and "the rest of us." It was pretty workable.

 

[Razare]

I have found that the best way to type your acquaintances and friends on-the-fly is to do so by pinning down at least one function that they strongly represent, whether that function is their dominant or auxiliary. It then helps if you can determine if they're introverted or extroverted, which usually is not difficult, but in some cases it will be.

Once you have that down, it usually leaves you with 2 choices to pick from.

If I am an introvert expressing Se strongly, chances are that I am either ISTP or ISFP. Picking between the two can sometimes be tricky, sometimes easy. Subtle cues are what I then look for to decide one way or the other.

If you find similarities between yourself and the person you're typing, be extra-careful because you may be projecting your own biases upon the person. It may be that you both share a function like Fe and that's why you think you're so alike, when in reality you are different in other aspects.

For me this process only works on people I have had substantive interactions with. I couldn't type a new person I just met with it very easily. Stressed introverts can behave like extroverts, and the reverse is true as well. A person could be expressing a stressed state when they're first meeting you.

In order to use this method, it's best to identify what Te, Se, Fe, and Ne look like when expressed. Trying to identify a person using their introverted functions is, for an obvious reason, difficult. I can easily identify Te, Se, and Fe behavior, but Ne eludes me. I think this is because I am Ni dominant, which makes Ne alien to me. Identifying three behaviors well, is sufficient for typing people. Also, identifying a strong Si is often fairly simple too. Si users generally like to share the facts that they've accumulated. It's an introverted function, but facts are usually impersonal data, so I suppose that's why they're usually willing to share them.

Deep analytical thinking tends to come from Ti users too, but I think it's one of the least reliable functions to use for typing. When expressed (through another extroverted function of course), it only eliminates them as a Te user, that's it. Ti could be their weakest function, but they'll still use it if they have it because it's so useful.

I find S vs. N to be a better indicator, since those behaviors are are expressed in a way that is less conscious to the user. We spend a great deal of time mulling over what we think about this or that, but very little time considering the lens through which we perceive the world.

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Just a side-note, sometimes I can type people when I first meet them, but often there will be a blank. I might think this person is an ISXJ, and I fill-in the X at a later date.

 

[InvisibleJim]

I try not to judge someone's type when I just meet them, I tend to let it settle for a few months or else I feel I cannot break apart momentary behaviour from true cognition.

 

[Bird]

I feel it's best to get to know someone
before you type them. It's kind of hard
to type one's personality after having
known them an hour. Basing one's type
after a short time of observation is not
really that accurate.

 

[Puffy]

Personally, I find Ns have a certain type of humour. I often test the water of friendships with quite random comments, I don't know how to explain it any better than that. But as a really rough example I was in a history lecturer with a friend, and before it started the lecturer left the room and locked the door. I said something along the lines of 'he's left before his ninja monkeys arrive.' In a more situational way anyway. She responded along the lines of 'you're strange, y'know that?' Which to me is a S kind of answer. All my N friends would respond to this comment and add to it, and it doesn't have to make any kind of sense because Ns leap around a bit in conversation. That's what I've found anyway.

In terms of what you describe it sounds quite generalised. F doesn't necessarily mean 'emotional'. I am an F and I am usually very unemotive/ thick skinned. I havn't personally cried in 5 years. I initially confused myself as an INTP it just later turned out that my Ti tertiary was particularly developed, and I confused a lot of what I thought was Ti with Ni, I was an INFJ.

Fi is more emotive than Fe but at the same time it is internal, the emphasis is on how they personally feel, not as an expressive thing. Fe, I've found, lends itself in facial gestures mostly. They want to create a comfortable environment, if someone looks uncomfortable they might raise an eyebrow or sorts to communicate 'are you all right?' They are more concerned with how the other person is doing, I suppose, to create a bond. Emotional? Not necessarily.

In terms of E/I you would be really surprised. Any number of reasons can make an extrovert appear shy/ distant..

I think really you should focus on finding people you like being around, you can work out why with type later on. Maybe why doesn't even matter, either way you enjoy their company.