The 16 Desires of INTPians (or not)

[Da Blob]

It seems that INTpians have unique perspective on motivation. This may be due in part to the way we rank our priorities as opposed to other personality types. The link is to the article from which this table orignates and is full of interesting details.

http://nisonger.osu.edu/papers/Multifaceted nature of intrinsic motivation.pdf

However, I though t it would be interesting if we each listed the 4 most important desires and the four least desired from the table below - to see if a pattern is obvious (?)

[bimgx=750]http://www.intpforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1086&stc=1&d=1266534758[/bimgx]

 

[Sparrow]

Most Desirable:
Curiosity
Independence
Power
Idealism

Least Desired:
Acceptance
Status
Vengeance
Order

 

[Trebuchet]

Most Desired:
Curiosity
Independence
Honor
Tranquility

Least Desired:
Status
Vengeance
Order
Acceptance

EDIT: Hmmmmm. Misread the description of "honor." I think I should have put "idealism."

 

[Jennywocky]

Strongest:
Curiosity
Independence
Tranquility
Saving

Weakest:
Physical Exercise
Status
Vengeance
Order

I added "saving" to strongest because I didn't see a better answer. For me personally, "acceptance" would be my #4.

 

[Anthile]

Strongest:
Idealism
Power
Curiosity
Tranquility

Weakest:
Romance
Saving
Eating
Physical exercise

 

[Da Blob]

Most desired

Power
Curiosity
Independence
Tranquility


Least Desired

Status
Romance
Vengeance
Exercise

Hmm... there does seem to be a bit of a pattern developing... Comments as to whether desires define personality?

 

[ashitaria]

Most desired by order:

1. Tranquility
2. Curiosity
3. Independence
4. Idealism/ Social contact

Least desired not by order:

1. Order
2. Status
3. Power
4. Saving

 

[citrusbreath95]

Most desired:
1. Curiosity
2. Independance.
3. Tranquility
4. Idealism

Least Desired:
1. Vengeance
2. Status
3. Acceptance
4. Exercise

I think desire does affect personality, with different desires you act a certain way to achieve it, therefore your mind also works around the way you act to attempt to achieve these goals. It's interesting to compare people's personalities to their desires. I notice that people I know who are very sensitive, caring, and loving want a family. Very academic people may want status, while people who are very idealistic and have bright goals and plans may want power. This arises a certain question. Do we get our desires as we mature, from gaining experiance and knowledge of things in the world and deciding what we really want? And from this, does our personality, our true personality start to take root? Once we choose our desires, does our personality mold to accomadate this? Or perhaps are we just born with certain desires, as we are born with a personality and we carry this throughout life...any thoughts?

 

[Dormouse]

Most desired:

1. Curiosity
2. Independance
3. Idealism
4. Power

Least desired:

1. Vengeance
2. Order
3. Saving
4. Romance

 

[Puffy]

I can only do this by personal preference (and it's possible I could be INTJ) but:

Most Desired
1.Curiosity
2.Independance
3.Acceptance
4. Tranquility

Least Desired
1. Vengeance
2. Eating
3. Saving
4. Power

Why's excercise not desired? Sloths!

 

[Sparrow]

What if we want some of 'em but it's just unattainable? O_o

 

[Da Blob]

What if we want some of 'em but it's just unattainable? O_o

Well a desire obtained is no longer a desire. A dream come true, is no longer a dream...

Oh well, I guess one could be greedy and just desire more of what the desire obtained

 

[Reverse Transcriptase]

Most desirable:
Curiosity
Idealism
Social Contact
Tranquility

Also, I am totally shitting my pants at how consistent this poll is. Out of 16 options, we've really narrowed down to 5 popular ones.

I am also giving suspicious looks to anyone who chose "Power".

 

[Sparrow]

INTPs that desire power??!!

Dormouse, explain yourself!

 

[Kuu]

Most:
Curiosity
Independence
Idealism
Tranquility

Least:
Status
Vengeance
Exercise
Family

 

[echoplex]

Most Important:
*Curiosity
*Independence
*Social Contact
*Romance

*sigh* it's kinda sad when an INTP is so motivated toward those last two, but I can't really choose what motivates me. Note: these are the things most important to me right now. It's all subject to change.

Least Important:
*Power
*Honor
*Family
*Order

Again, this is just right now. I might actually want to have a family someday, but that's not even worth considering right now. I might even care about power one day too. Meh.

 

[Wish]

Most:
Tranquility
Idealism
Curiosity
Independence

Least:
Status
Vengeance
Honor
Order

 

[lightspeed]

Status still = 0.

 

[Dormouse]

I am also giving suspicious looks to anyone who chose "Power".

INTPs that desire power??!!

Dormouse, explain yourself!

Subtle.

Power makes anything else desired more easily attainable. It's an all-access pass.

 

[Da Blob]

Actually I think it a sign of our overall intelligence, that we have not confused Power as described in this context with Status. This kind of power is personal power to achieve, influence and pursue mastery in a given area. Most others would associate the word Power with social power, the ability to dominate, subjugate or oppress others that results in/from high status

 

[Cognisant]

Power, because knowledge is power.
Curiosity, because a static mind is a dead mind imo.
Honor, because there's no fulfilment in a cheater's victory.
Romance, because objectivity has taught me the value of subjectivity.

I am also giving suspicious looks to anyone who chose "Power".

Lol, the only difference between you and me is that I'm honest

Edit: What Blob said, seconded.

 

[warryer]

Most:

Independence
Honor
Idealism
Tranquillity

Least:

Status
Excercise
Order
Saving

 

[Da Blob]

BTW - a quote for what is meant by the word, desire form the text in the link

Aristotle (330 BCE/1953) divided motives into
ends versus means on the basis of the individual’s
purpose for performing the behavior. Ends
are indicated when a person engages in a behavior
for no apparent reason other than that is
what the person desires to do. Examples include
a child playing ball for physical exercise and a
student reading a book out of curiosity. In each
of these examples, the goal is desired for its
own sake. In contrast, means are indicated when
a person performs an act for its instrumental
value. Examples include a professional athlete
who plays ball for a salary and a student who
studies to improve a grade.

EDIT I would also call attention to the "F" payoffs for these desires. for me it is 'Feelings' of efficacy, freedom, wonderment and relaxation, not the stuff of emotional outbursts in that lot.

 

[Anthile]

INTPs that desire power??!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-xPSxMA580

 

[intuitivet]

Most:
Curiosity
Independence
Honor
Tranquility

Least:
Eating
Status
(I want to say saving, but the meaning confuses me)
(Also, isn't power a means to independence?)

 

[y4r5xeym5]

Most:
Curiosity
Independence
Idealism
Tranquility

Least:
Vengeance
Power
Status
Order

In no particular order.

 

[Anthile]

(Also, isn't power a means to independence?)

Not necessarily. A hobo would be rather independent but powerless. A king would be quite the opposite because, y'know, with great power comes great responsibility.

 

[cheese]

Why does everyone want tranquility? Do you mean a monotonous emotional life, or a monotonous life in general? Level emotions or uneventful life?

 

[Words]

I saw "tranquility" as satisfaction. Its quite important in this jagged, confusing, life of mine.

 

[JoeJoe]

All, in rough order of importance


Curiosity
Independence
Tranquility----let the mind come to rest and wander wherever it desires
Acceptance

Idealism
Romance
Social Contact
Family
Eating
Exercise
Honor
Power

Status
Saving
Vengeance
Order

 

[Jennywocky]

Why does everyone want tranquility? Do you mean a monotonous emotional life, or a monotonous life in general? Level emotions or uneventful life?

I thought it meant more like an Enneagram 9 -- keeping life stable (not boring, but just undramatic and manage the surprise/instability factor).

Isn't it pretty typical for INxP types to keep their external worlds pretty stable so they can focus on the internal realm? And for the internal Ji realm to be a strong natural influence in risk management externally?

 

[Da Blob]

All, in rough order of importance


Curiosity
Independence
Tranquility----let the mind come to rest and wander wherever it desires
Acceptance

Idealism
Romance
Social Contact
Family
Eating
Exercise
Honor
Power

Status
Saving
Vengeance
Order

Hey! JoeJoe!

it is nice to see a new post from you. i hope there will be more!

 

[Lithorn]

Independence
Curiosity
Tranquility
Honor

I was a little unsure as to whether I should pick honor or idealism. Honor seems to be rather unpopular, and its definition "desire to obey a traditional moral code" doesn't sound good, especially to intps. But I guess that's not really how I define honor. To me, it's more about following some kind of moral code, not necessarily a traditional one. It's a helpful tool that enables a person to be honest with themselves about the validity of their actions and change those actions if logic will not yield a justification for them. It's easy for intps to theorize and philosophize about the way the world should be and the way people should behave, and honor can help us walk the walk, not just talk the talk. Also, for me honor is inextricably linked to idealism as I believe that the world cannot be improved without individuals improving themselves.

 

[Vatroslav]

Most:
1. Independence
2. Curiosity
3. Power
4. Idealism

Last:
1. Order
2. Acceptance
3. Saving
4. Status

 

[ckm]

I voted curiosity, independence, acceptance and tranquility; in hindsight I think I should have chosen idealism over acceptance though.

 

[Kuu]

somebody should post an equivalent poll in other typing forums.

 

[Wish]

I think you just nominated yourself

 

[Da Blob]

BTW- since so many of the members of the forum are students or in academia, might I suggest that this thread is the basis for a legitimate research project/paper?

We already have enough respondents (subjects/volunteers) to run some rather sophisticated statistical analysis and an interesting hypothesis, (re: variation in intrinsic motivation causes differences in personality/personality types) . Of course, the hypothesis needs to be worded differently to suggest a correlation rather than a causation...

All that is lacking is a second group of respondents, a 'random' control group who could be 'persuaded' or whatever to participate in the poll at a different site. (on the web or at school)

Also for those members that frequent other forums of other MBTI types (INTJ, ENTP or whatever) reproducing this thread there could provide a third group for analysis...

Just a thought

BTW- I would be interested in seeing the results of the stats...

 

[Dormouse]

Actually I think it a sign of our overall intelligence, that we have not confused Power as described in this context with Status. This kind of power is personal power to achieve, influence and pursue mastery in a given area. Most others would associate the word Power with social power, the ability to dominate, subjugate or oppress others that results in/from high status

I agree. Power can be self-control, rationality, the ability to make ones own decisions while being influenced only minimally.

Also, I'd love to see the results of a large poll. I suppose to eliminate causality you would have them order their desires first, then take an MBTI test...
Other divisions could be made, by age, gender, etc. It could really have some interesting results.

Now, since I'm much too lazy to do it, I'll just offer support for whomever does decide to take some initiative.

 

[Cavallier]

Most Important:

Independence (First and foremost!)

Curiosity (Tied in closely with independence.)

Tranquility (I mean having the ability to stay calm/level headed in all situations. Being in tight control of my emotional reactions would be nice. I would feel joy, love, happiness, horror, disgust, and sorrow but I wouldn't be controlled by these feelings.)

Eating (I tried really hard to not choose this one but frankly I love food. I love cooking for the sake of cooking. I love giving people food I've made. I love discovering new food. It's one of the great interests of my life and by sheer coincidence it happens to be in this poll so I chose it. If reading/writing had been on this poll I'd have chosen that over one of the others as well...probably tranquility. I would not dream of asking Kuu to give up science would I?)

Least Important:

Saving (I can save myself thank you.)

Status (I just can't bring myself to care. Except for perhaps I'd like to have status so that I can prove to people that status doesn't mean anything.)

Acceptance (I want my two or three loved ones to accept me. Other then that I don't care.)

As for the other choices:

I see varying levels of importance but they don't fall into the highest or lowest priority in my life.

 

[JoeJoe]

BTW- since so many of the members of the forum are students or in academia, might I suggest that this thread is the basis for a legitimate research project/paper?

We already have enough respondents (subjects/volunteers) to run some rather sophisticated statistical analysis and an interesting hypothesis, (re: variation in intrinsic motivation causes differences in personality/personality types) . Of course, the hypothesis needs to be worded differently to suggest a correlation rather than a causation...

All that is lacking is a second group of respondents, a 'random' control group who could be 'persuaded' or whatever to participate in the poll at a different site. (on the web or at school)

Also for those members that frequent other forums of other MBTI types (INTJ, ENTP or whatever) reproducing this thread there could provide a third group for analysis...

Just a thought

BTW- I would be interested in seeing the results of the stats...

I think it is very important, that the test is made on people who have not been confronted with MBTI before or are at least unfamiliar. I can very well imagine that I would have answered differently if I didn't know so much about INTPs and I know that thoughts about whether my answers are INTPish or not went through my head.

Also very important is to define the 16 desires and the word desire itself. I am sure that we would have less diversity in the results of this test if there was at least a short definition of each term.

 

[Grove]

Most
Curiosity
Independence
Tranquility
Family

Least
Vengeance
Status
Power
and if i must pick a forth- Social Contract

 

[cheese]

I thought it meant more like an Enneagram 9 -- keeping life stable (not boring, but just undramatic and manage the surprise/instability factor).

Isn't it pretty typical for INxP types to keep their external worlds pretty stable so they can focus on the internal realm? And for the internal Ji realm to be a strong natural influence in risk management externally?

Thanks for answering.

Yeah, I think the two correlate.

 

[Rob Bigelow]

Most:
Curiosity
Independence
Family
Tranquility

Least:
Status
Social contact
Vengeance
Order

 

[Da Blob]

I think it is very important, that the test is made on people who have not been confronted with MBTI before or are at least unfamiliar. I can very well imagine that I would have answered differently if I didn't know so much about INTPs and I know that thoughts about whether my answers are INTPish or not went through my head.

Also very important is to define the 16 desires and the word desire itself. I am sure that we would have less diversity in the results of this test if there was at least a short definition of each term.

I agree and i did post something about what the author meant by the word, desire above.

It is true Knowing one's MBTI type does eliminate the type as being the independent variable used for statistical analysis. One would have to use the results of the Desires poll as that variable. However, considering type as a dependent variable still makes this a feasible project.

Although, I agree what you suggest would be the better study, yielding much more wide-ranging information - it would be a difficult study to conduct. For example to get 50 respondents who would test out to be INTPs one would have to start with a random sample of the size of 2500 -5000 participants since INTPs only comprise 1 - 3% of the general population.

 

[JoeJoe]

Da Blob, atm I am motivated to do this poll at my school. We would have to agree on a questionnaire, in case somebody else wants to make the poll as well.

In my class are approx. 100 students but I suspect that I am the only INTP. I also guess we should only use people from a certain age up, say 15/16? Anyways these 100 students should still be a good enough reference group to see how INTPs differ from the "average" human. Personally I'm also interested in how many iNtuitives are in my class. However, we should not forget that the students in my class do not represent the average population, because I'm doing a university qualification. So on average, the people in my class should be more intelligent.

I also wonder how much of a turnoff it could be if the questionnaire is too long. Answering the MBTI plus reading a bit about desire and considering 16 desires to be in the top 4 takes some time.

Maybe it would be easier to rate the importance of the desires on a scale of 1 to 10.

 

[givalentine]

(In no particular order)
Most
1. Power
2. Independence
3. Tranquility
4. status
Least
1. Order
2. Honor
3. Vengeance
4. saving

My theories are often contradicted before I even finish saying them, so I have this, perhaps incorrect, idea that may be status will remove at least some of that frustration and people will have immediate respect for me. Power I desire for the same reason, it's just better to have it. It's like when you're asked if you're happier knowing you have purchased something or just having the option to buy. I'm all about having the options. It would all just be a lot easier.
I don't need any more curiosity than I already have. If perhaps time had been listen I'd have put that as a number one.

 

[BigApplePi]

Help! What if one chooses

Tranquility over eating - then one will remain forever hungry
Curiosity over exercise - then one can never ever ever know the depth of ping pong
Independence over Family - then one can't propagate themselves
Power over Social Contact - then one rules only things
Idealism over Order - then one is a mess

 

[Da Blob]

Help! What if one chooses

Tranquility over eating - then one will remain forever hungry
Curiosity over exercise - then one can never know the depth of ping pong
Independence over Family - then one can't propagate themselves
Power over Social Contact - then one rules only things
Idealism over Order - then one is a mess

Then one becomes a Stranger in a Strange land or emigrates to the realm of INTPIA

 

[Luminates]

Most Desired:
1. Tranquility
2. Curiosity
3. Independence
4. Idealism

Least Desired:
1. Honor
2. Saving
3. Order
4. Social Contact


Should I be surprised that the results are somewhat one sided?