What I find interesting is that it describes INTJ as a natural leader. So, basically, I’m a strategist. I guess I do a lot of careful planning in many ways. And I do like strategy games. But it shows some famous people who have the same personality type as me.
First is Mark Zuckerberg. How interesting. The founder of Facebook is like me? Why didn’t I think of something like Facebook? I’d be rich.
Second is Jay-Z. Not Jay Dee. Jay-Z.
Third is Arnold Schwarzenegger. Really? How come I don’t have muscles like him or a totally cool Austrian German accent?
Fourth is Karl Marx. Well, I’m not a Marxist, but I do think some parts of communism has its merits. Just don’t give us the dictators who think they’re communists.
Finally, we have Nikola Tesla. That guy was a genius!
So, how about you? If you don’t know your personality type, you can find it on this blog post. Who are your famous personality twins?
When creating a character, using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test is a useful tool. However, after my previous post, I got to thinking, thanks to a comment, that the MBTI personality test does not dictate absolutely how someone behaves. It’s more of a general guideline.
For example, when I did my test, I found I was an INTJ. But I also mentioned in the post that my ratings for each aspect were between 25 and 75%. My strongest was the T (thinking), as I am rather logical and analytical in my decision-making. I rarely let emotion decide for me, but sometimes I do, usually related to food. If it has bacon, my emotional side takes over and tells my usually dominant rational side to shut up and eat. Bacon has incredible powers. But back to the main topic, although I do love bacon. My weakest category was the N (intuitive). This doesn’t mean that my intuitive side is weak, it’s just that it’s more balanced with the S (sensing) trait. What this means is that while I am good at planning, seeing the big picture, and able to predict outcomes, I am also getting some influence from the sensing side, which means I do see the details and focus on the present. I get the best of both worlds in that case.
When the percentages are below, it’s far less certain about what behaviours you or your characters will do. If it’s closer to 100%, they are strongly following that aspect, but anything under, and especially closer to 0%, it’s highly unlikely that they will firmly be the type you determined them to be.
So what I’m saying is that even if you have figured out your character’s personality type, you don’t have to rely on it to dictate your character’s behaviour. You can fudge it a bit. Or a lot. It’s up to you. Just don’t rely on the indicators, because humans are flexible. I may seem unflappable, but tempt me with bacon (or chocolate ice cream), and I will let go of my 75% thinking brain and let that 25% feeling brain take over.
Last year, I posted about my personality type, analysing it in detail. I am an INTJ type personality according to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. What’s interesting is how incredibly popular that post is recently. It’s the most popular post most days so far this year. So, I thought I’d revisit the topic. It’s given me an idea.
When creating characters for fiction, it’s important to know their personality. The MBTI is a useful tool for that, and can help you keep your character’s personality consistent. There are 16 personality types, each with their own quirks and behaviours.
Click to view the full sized image. It’s quite large. Source: Wikipedia user Jake Beech.
One thing I’m going to do is test each of my main characters and see what kind of personalities they have. It’ll be interesting, but also useful.
What I also plan to do is write posts about each personality type, describing what kind of person they are, as well as mentioning any famous people who are that type.
Head on over to this page and you can take a simplified version of the test to check out your own personality type. But also, think about how your main character thinks. So, in addition to yourself, answer the questions as if you were your main character. See what kind of personality he or she has. I’d love to see everyone’s results. Share your and your character’s personality types in the comments below. This should be fun.
I have an INTJ type personality. This is one of the 16 personality types from the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, or MBTI. It’s also one of the rarest types, with only 1-2% of the population. Thanks to 61 Musings, I was reminded of this test that I took in junior high school, and took the short version of the test to verify my type. It’s still the same.
So, what do all these letters mean in the test? This infographic gives a good idea about what each personality is like, as well as what each letter means.
Click to view the full sized image. It’s quite large. Source: Wikipedia user Jake Beech.
Let’s look at my personality type, INTJ. The top right box is mine, and it says I’m innovative, independent, strategic, logical, reserved, and insightful. I’m driven by my own original ideas to achieve improvements. It seems to describe me quite well. I am very independent, and I’m always thinking about things logically. In social situations, I’m pretty reserved, but I was much more reserved when I was younger. It’s still my default. Now, let’s look at each individual letter.
I – Introversion
Could be described as reserved, private – Absolutely me. I tend to be a fairly private person, though not excessively so. I tend to share a lot more than I used to.
Prefer a slower pace with time for contemplation – It really depends. I do a lot of things in a day, so I do things at a quick pace. However, I tend to prefer to be in a quiet place that allows me to spend time to look at things or study. I don’t like to be rushed.
Tend to think things through inside your head – I do this a lot. I analyse things in my head. I visualise quite a bit, and I can figure out problems in my head both visually and logically.
Would rather observe than be the centre of attention – This is very true. I would prefer to avoid attention, and I certainly was like this when I was younger. However, with my job as a teacher, I am often the centre of attention. But at a party, I’ll sit at the side and talk with just my friends.
N – Intuition
Imagine the possibilities of how things could be – I often think through possible outcomes in the future. I also imagine what things will be like in the future in general, likely giving me an interest in science fiction. However, I do also like doing the sensing side of things, focusing on the reality of how things are. I tend to do both.
Notice the big picture, see how everything connects – I do see the big picture a lot. I see the details, as well, but how they connect with everything else. I’m good with maps and I can visualise large-scale systems.
Enjoy ideas and concepts for their own sake – This would relate to theoretical sciences, and that’s certainly true. I also like knowledge of any kind, as I have broad interests. I do like practical uses, but I also like everything else.
Like to describe things in a figurative, poetic way – I like fiction. I like writing fiction. This sure fits me. The other option is telling things how they are. I do this as well, especially because of my scientific education.
T – Thinking
Make decisions in an impersonal way, using logical reasoning – Absolutely true for me. I am very analytical when looking at the choices, and I choose the option that is most logical. Call me a Vulcan. I don’t like relying on feelings to make my decisions. I’m not impulsive.
Value justice, fairness – Definitely yes. I strongly dislike injustices being made. I observe what’s going on in the world today, and I feel disgusted by a lot of it.
Enjoy finding the flaws in an argument – I do this a lot. In my personal life, it can even make people angry with me because I find their argument completely illogical.
Could be described as reasonable, level-headed – I like to think so. I don’t make unreasonable arguments.
J – Judging
Prefer to have matters settled – Yes. I don’t like to leave things open. So I strive to find out more and get to the bottom of things. This is very useful in terms of science, because I’m driven to find the answer. It also makes me incredibly curious about things. I love learning new things that’ll lead me to a conclusion.
Think rules and deadlines should be respected – I find them to be reasonable. When I see someone disobeying the rules, I feel kind of dirty knowing that they’re breaking the rules. And this also means that the rule enforcers should also follow the rules. They are not above them.
Prefer to have detailed, step-by-step instructions – Yes! I actually like reading instruction manuals for games. But for any procedure, I want everything detailed so I don’t leave anything out. I am very careful this way. This is also extremely important when doing science experiments. Everything must be followed exactly as described.
Make plans, want to know what you’re getting into – Notice how I often write about my reading lists? I like to plan out what I’m going to read. My sister was just in Japan, and I enjoyed making plans with her.
Much of this is pretty accurate for me. In some cases, I do find that I agree with some aspects of the opposite personality trait, such as Sensing. I guess I see things in both ways. But you see, with these personality types, you usually aren’t 100% within each of these aspects. Everyone is a mix of personality types. I didn’t take down the percentages, but they were between 25 and 75% for each aspect.
If you’re curious about your own personality type, you can take the quick and free test here. When you’re done, leave a comment with your personality type. I’m very interested to see the results (as you should probably now be able to guess after reading this post).
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