How much does James Holmes resemble an INTP?

[Architect]

• Loner (a vague term, how many friends is 'normal'?)
• Intelligent
• Likes and is good at science
• Thinks about the nature of reality and perception
• Adept internet user
• Interested in advanced education
• Difficulty with the opposite sex (apparently)
• Uncooperative with authority

Unfortunately I can't help but see many INTP traits in there. I hope people realize that correlation isn't causation, and so put people with these traits on some kind of watch list.

 

[BigApplePi]

INTPs are Ti Ne Si Fe. His Fe was not well developed, but his Se was very high. ISTP? ISTP = Ti Se Ni Fe .

 

[Jennywocky]

How do you know his Se was very high? Just because he bought and shot guns and actually carried out his plan rather than just designing a theoretical scenario?

 

[BigApplePi]

How do you know his Se was very high? Just because he bought and shot guns and actually carried out his plan rather than just designing a theoretical scenario?

I don't "know" ... just proposing.

How theoretical was what he did? He did something very specific with lots of details, I assume. Did he make any mistakes to his purpose? Was he clumsy in any way? Maybe I have "Se" wrong?

 

[pjoa09]

No way Se. Se are reasonable people when it comes down to killing. They only take full cash up front.

In all seriousness, many serial killers are intuitives.

 

[Architect]

In all seriousness, many serial killers are intuitives.

Examples

 

[Jennywocky]

I don't "know" ... just proposing.

How theoretical was what he did? He did something very specific with lots of details, I assume. Did he make any mistakes to his purpose? Was he clumsy in any way? Maybe I have "Se" wrong?

I think you could be "misapplying" Se here? People just seem to pick and choose a few aspects of something and try to assign a function value to it.

A few key points:
- Everyone has access to all the functions.
- People also don't necessarily fit within "standard ordering" of functions, few people are probably textbook.

Any analysis of the guy's type really deserves a big-picture overall of various aspects of his life, to see what his inclinations and natural modes of expression were, etc. Not just a few choice facts snagged out of a news story.

 

[Jennywocky]

Examples

Out of the biggies,

Rader isn't.
Green River killer probably isn't.
John Wayne Gacy probably isn't.
Ted Bundy probably was.
Ed Kemper is probably IxTP but the S/N isn't clear.
Dahmer? Not sure.

I could go on, but yeah, I don't really see it. Many of the spree killers, too, seem to be far more S.

 

[pjoa09]

Examples

Actually, I'd like to take back that statement. I didn't actually realize that I could only name a few.

A lot of these are not concrete. In fact, maybe all. I do think a lot of them are introverts after looking around for some.

Edward Kemper,Jefferey Dahmer (maybe ISTP), Herbert Mullin,Alieen Wuornos, Raman Raghav, Ted Bundy and Ed Gein.

I am really going off of illnesses for Ted, Aileen, and Raman.

Otherwise the better statement would've been a lot of them are introverted and are thinking types. Just by pure apathy and introversion.

 

[BigApplePi]

Apparently it is cathartic to speculate on these things. After all, sooner or later our own worst fears could be realized. Therefore being prepared for such a thing is reassuring.

Yes to getting the big picture, yet when we stumble around a dark room, we can be desperate.

 

[Jennywocky]

Otherwise the better statement would've been a lot of them are introverted and are thinking types. Just by pure apathy and introversion.

I do agree with that, primarily because IxTx types are more apt to stuff and internalize, retain secrecy, plan things out, avoid social ties and crowds, not have as much relational support by nature, etc.

I think INTPs were considered during one 80's survey to have the least amount of relational/emotional safety net to help support them in types of crisis, and it is part of the IxTx nature to be kind of "withdrawn" like that.

 

[Architect]

Ted Bundy probably was.

Hmmm, I'm not too familiar with him and it's too early to read up his detailed horrors on Wiki, why do you say he probably was?

 

[Jennywocky]

Hmmm, I'm not too familiar with him and it's too early to read up his detailed horrors on Wiki, why do you say he probably was?

I need to do some real research on him for details, I've followed the general progress of him. POtential scan as ENTP, he was a good talker and very extroverted in his approach, almost frenetic type three or type seven -style on the enneagram. He extroverted everything and just went out of control, hence why he got caught. (Wondering if he had manic episodes as well, he certainly seemed to become manic at times.)

Anyway, I'm pretty sure on the EP part without digging out my books.

I found it interesting on the eve of his execution he basically tried to present a large framework of rationalization as to why pornography was at fault for the things he had done. Dobson bought it, apparently (because he wanted to); but it seems almost just like one more long con. There's a possibility he could be ESTP or an ESFP with strong Te skills, but he seemed to be able to pull rational-sounding explanations out of his butt at a moment's notice. And apparently people (the women he was hitting on, their families, etc.) all loved him, he really knew how to pour on the charm.

 

[Jennywocky]

PS.

Yeah. He looks "sane." Sure.

 

[SLushhYYY]

I went to high school with this kid. He used to come to school wearing a tuxedo everyday throughout senior year. Go figure.

 

[amazingdatagirl]

INTPs are Ti Ne Si Fe. His Fe was not well developed, but his Se was very high. ISTP? ISTP = Ti Se Ni Fe .

I would exclude ISTP for one reason - at this point, tertiary Ni does not appear to be a factor in his motivation for the killings. ISxP are notorious for their paranoia and fear of being controlled. AND they like to talk about it. While I agree that Se is part of his functional stack, I don't know if I would characterize usage as high level. Seems to be more of a fetish - violence was part of his hidden life. Until July 20th.

Based on very limited information about James Holmes, it appears that he spent most of his time playing MMORPG. That was his only interest and (other than a few hook ups with prostitutes) the only activity that even approximated social interaction (the story about having a beer with a guy in a bar is probably false). Altering his physical appearance (dying his hair, plucking his eyelashes) was the first externalized hint that he was attempting to merge the real world with his own virtual reality.

My guess is INxJ. RPG was the channel by which he extroverted his secondary function. The game either satisfied his impulse for Te problem solving or Fe relationship through fantasy.

 

[Agent Intellect]

I wonder what types you think the Dnepropetrovsk Maniacs are? (link is NSFW or for anyone who doesn't want to see a video of a man getting beaten to death).

If you haven't heard of the, here is the wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dnepropetrovsk_maniacs

 

[Jennywocky]

I heard of those guys, I read about them a few months back. Just... wow. Not currently sure about types, but just horrific stuff. Basically spree killers. They seemed a little different than Holmes, who worked alone, had some stressors in his personal life, and then did one act that he never really planned to walk away from.

 

[BigApplePi]

I wonder what types you think [they] are?

I'm going to guess the answer to that is overwhelmed by the story's theme. To put it simply it's fear. Weakness of any kind leaves one vulnerable. We all have weaknesses. Weakness brings about fear. I found the video disgusting. The way to overcome fear is to find strength in oneself without damaging others and gain maturity, not by searching out weakness in others and using that as a lesson.

This could apply to any type. I have no answer as to type.

 

[Hadoblado]

I went to high school with this kid. He used to come to school wearing a tuxedo everyday throughout senior year. Go figure.

Freel?

 

[pjoa09]

I wonder what types you think the Dnepropetrovsk Maniacs are? (link is NSFW or for anyone who doesn't want to see a video of a man getting beaten to death).

If you haven't heard of the, here is the wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dnepropetrovsk_maniacs

ESTPs and ISTPs? lol , They are clearly suffering from ASPD.

 

[Jennywocky]

Freel?

I wonder if it had tails.

Only the classy psychos wear tails.

 

[Etheri]

In all seriousness, many serial killers are intuitives.

I often get this idea from people. I think, in a way, it's easy to associate intuitives with serial killers because intuitives traits would easily be confused with sociopathic traits. The contrast gets bigger if you compare both to sensors. However, I consider sociopaths as mentally ill (sorry!) and thus not part of the system (so neither N nor S, just ill).

I don't really see why not sociopathic intuitives would be more likely to kill than sensors. Perhaps they're more likely to be cold, planning serialkillers, killing out of their fundamental beliefs, but then again they'd probably be less likely to commit a crime of passion?

 

[pjoa09]

I often get this idea from people. I think, in a way, it's easy to associate intuitives with serial killers because intuitives traits would easily be confused with sociopathic traits. The contrast gets bigger if you compare both to sensors. However, I consider sociopaths as mentally ill (sorry!) and thus not part of the system (so neither N nor S, just ill).

I don't really see why not sociopathic intuitives would be more likely to kill than sensors. Perhaps they're more likely to be cold, planning serialkillers, killing out of their fundamental beliefs, but then again they'd probably be less likely to commit a crime of passion?

Serial killers often suffer from schizophrenia. They are much more likely to be guided by a 'voice in their head' than what is apparent in the moment. This resembles intuition gone wrong.

Introverted thinking types are the stereotypical cold-blooded ones. Often they are in search of an excitement that they can't seem to get in their daily moral and mundane lives.

 

[Etheri]

Serial killers often suffer from schizophrenia. They are much more likely to be guided by a 'voice in their head' than what is apparent in the moment. This resembles intuition gone wrong.

Introverted thinking types are the stereotypical cold-blooded ones. Often they are in search of an excitement that they can't seem to get in their daily moral and mundane lives.

Stereotypical, sure, but is it true? I get thrilled in excitement from having just the right thoughts aswell, why would I need to kill people over it. My point is that I don't think our type would be any more violent or criminal than any other. Where I agree we might harvest more cold-blooded killers among us, there's other crimes that just wouldn't fit us, and are more suited to other typologies.

While serialkillers can easilly hold entire regions in angst, in general people are much more likely to be killed by angry spouse or a drunk or distracted driver. (Atleast I'm quite certain, i don't have the time to find numbers right now, thus I admit I might well be wrong!). I have friends whom suffer irrational fear to be raped if they have to go home alone after dark, but i've known them to cross roads without properly looking.

 

[ENTP lurker]

INTP, schizotypal personality disorder.