INTP me or her?

[SilentChaos]

I know this girl who tested as INTP although we have some similarities, we can’t both be INTP

These are some of the things she does, but I don’t.
1. She doesn’t mind talking about.. ‘normal’ things, the weather etc
2. She can finish any task no matter how boring and pointless it is
3. She doesn’t mind wasting energy
4. She cares nothing for details, we started having a conversation about ‘what is an intelligent person’ and she seemed to have no desire to get to the bottom of it. She ended the conversation with “you’re thinking about this too much”
5. Shes good at almost everything and appears to care for almost everything equally including people.

so what do you guys think?

 

[ProxyAmenRa]

ESFJ

Edit: Perhaps she just doesn't care for the same things you do.

I know a few introverted thinkers myself and we have nothing in common.

 

[EvilScientist Trainee]

I believe that "You're thinking too much" doesn't seem a very INTP-ish response. And, avoiding stereotyping, four out of five of those traits remind me of Si and Fe, thus leading to the conclusion of xSFJ. We have also Si and Fe anyways, so who knows?

My guess, and i might be entirely wrong, is that she's the one that isn't INTP.

 

[SilentChaos]

ESFJ? well she doesn't seem like a feeler to me, apart from the things I listen above we are similar.. she has to at least be an xntx...

 

[EyeSeeCold]

Hmm. I think she needs to get her INTPness retested, you know some of the public places you can go aren't reliable. If she doesn't want to test again just provide us with more samples. It's more common in males though, than in females, so I don't think you have anything to worry about. That is, unless she starts to exhibit certain eccentric traits.

 

[Jesse]

What? I say your thinking to much on so many things. The MBTI I see as a rough guide and actually the philosophies are more concerned with whats going on in the mind rather than something you can puzzle out of a person just by observing someone.

 

[Oster]

Most of my friends would probably label me as istp-of-some-sort. The ones that know me better seem to see the 'intpness' in me. Have you ever heard of "Roles" that intp's tend to keep up? How about the theory of keeping things simple in relationships, which usually means that we don't let others see what we're really like?

I also have a friend that got close to 50% in all aspects of the personality test. In your friend's case, well... she could have gotten closer to 50% but only read the result.

 

[Alice?]

I believe that "You're thinking too much" doesn't seem a very INTP-ish response.

I tend to disagree. While ruminating on an issue has its benefits, overthinking and overanalyzing to the point of irrationality can be often times be harmful rather than helpful. I've been reminded of this many a time through experience. Sometimes simpler is better and making things more complicated than they ought to be is never fun.

 

[Wizardry]

I know this girl who tested as INTP although we have some similarities, we can’t both be INTP

These are some of the things she does, but I don’t.
1. She doesn’t mind talking about.. ‘normal’ things, the weather etc
2. She can finish any task no matter how boring and pointless it is
3. She doesn’t mind wasting energy
4. She cares nothing for details, we started having a conversation about ‘what is an intelligent person’ and she seemed to have no desire to get to the bottom of it. She ended the conversation with “you’re thinking about this too much”
5. Shes good at almost everything and appears to care for almost everything equally including people.

so what do you guys think?

1. This could partly be due to gender differences. I mean as a female (in the US anyway, not sure about other countries) you pretty much have to be capable of shallow talk or you are going to be a complete alien to other females. There is more instinctual pressure as a female to fit in since in older days their survival was dependent on them being liked and accepted.

2. and 3. What sorts of tasks? I mean doing dishes is boring but it needs to be done or the kitchen sink gets full of stinky bowls and plates. Laundry sucks but needs to be done or you have nothing but stinky clothes. Homework sucks but needs to be done sometimes if part of your grade is dependent on doing it.

4. You sure she wasn't just trying to avoid conflict or something from differing opinions? Perhaps she thought about it a long time ago and had no wish to revisit the subject? Maybe she really wasn't in the mood for thinking...or perhaps that is what people would tell her so she used the line on you.

5. Maybe that is just her way of dealing with the world to be happier?

Too little info to try to type her, imo. She may just be better socially/worldly adjusted.

 

[ApostateAbe]

My first inclination was to say that people are diverse even within any personality type, but I realized there is another possibility. If you influenced her to take the test, then she may be answering the questions according to your personality, not her own personality, just to please you or to benefit the relationship, either consciously or unconsciously. This is a stronger possibility if the two of you are very close and if she seems (aka pretends) to love almost everything that you love (or just tries to). Maybe she doesn't want there to be differences between the two of you.

 

[snafupants]

Think of the difference between these two "INTP" personalities for a moment:

Person A ​

I - 95% ​

N - 83%
T - 68%
P - 78%

Person B

I - 56%
N - 52%
T - 78%
P - 61%


They seem less similar now, right? Also, supposedly MBTI is meant to be assessed when someone is in their mid-twenties, for what it's worth.

 

[Glordag]

Think of the difference between these two "INTP" personalities for a moment:

Person A ​

I - 95% ​

N - 83%
T - 68%
P - 78%

Person B

I - 56%
N - 52%
T - 78%
P - 61%


They seem less similar now, right? Also, supposedly MBTI is meant to be assessed when someone is in their mid-twenties, for what it's worth.

I'd argue that the percentages are crap for anything other than pointing out that there are distinct differences on how two people see things, despite the fact that they test out to be the same personality type online.

In terms of any real analysis, I'd say they are kind of shady.

 

[EyeSeeCold]

but I realized there is another possibility. If you influenced her to take the test, then she may be answering the questions according to your personality, not her own personality, just to please you or to benefit the relationship, either consciously or unconsciously. This is a stronger possibility if the two of you are very close and if she seems (aka pretends) to love almost everything that you love (or just tries to). Maybe she doesn't want there to be differences between the two of you.

I was thinking the same, but couldn't get my words right.

 

[Magnus]

1. She doesn’t mind talking about.. ‘normal’ things, the weather etc
2. She can finish any task no matter how boring and pointless it is
3. She doesn’t mind wasting energy
4. She cares nothing for details, we started having a conversation about ‘what is an intelligent person’ and she seemed to have no desire to get to the bottom of it. She ended the conversation with “you’re thinking about this too much”
5. Shes good at almost everything and appears to care for almost everything equally including people.

This woman sounds like a saint. I know plenty of monks who I would say are INTP, but this is the first real example I have heard of. She may have come to the intellectuall conclusions that people are important and details get in the way, and people seem to need some form of normalicy...where is spellcheck/thesaurus when you need it?...point being she could easily be INTP...I think...

 

[IfloatTHRUlife]

As for the strengths of the personailty... it has been said here over.. and over.. and over again, that the strengths do not change anything, if you are an intp, you are an intp, there is no middle ground. There are obviously going to be situational differences in people of the same personality but it doesnt mean they are any more feeling or sensing than another INTP. Even if the persons sensing or feeling is more developed than another INTP, they will still naturally use thier prefered logic and intuition.

That being said, i would probably say that she is an idealist NF type. I doubt she is a sensory type, it would be fairly obvious to you. I have an INFP friend who i get along with very well, we do have some fun discussions but it never gets very interesting because he doesnt care about the subject much beyond what he originally had to say when we started the conversation.

Still very hard to say, but i do sincerely doubt she is an INTP, people incorrectly test as both INTP and INTJ very often, probably just because they answer the questions in ways that seem more interesting or would make them appear more intelligent.

 

[EvilScientist Trainee]

@Jesse and Alice

I indeed made a rough generalization, didn't I?

I kind of forgot that what its true for me might not be the same for others, but in my defense, my interpretation of that was that she dismissed the subject upon noticing the nature of it. I was biased, then.

 

[Lobstrich]

I believe that "You're thinking too much" doesn't seem a very INTP-ish response.

My thought exactly. Definately not a INTP if you ask me.

 

[Wizardry]

My thought exactly. Definately not a INTP if you ask me.

I've had an INTP (no doubt on the type) tell me this before. I believe he was just bored of the direction the conversation took and that was his "nice" way of saying it.

 

[Lobstrich]

I've had an INTP (no doubt on the type) tell me this before. I believe he was just bored of the direction the conversation took and that was his "nice" way of saying it.

Yeah, I didn't think of it that way. This could also be a very plausible situation.