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I’ve talked about a few of the Myers-Briggs 16 personality types before: the ENFP and the INFP. Today I’m going to focus on the INTP (which stands for Introversion, Intuition, Thinking, Perception).
#1) What are INTP Personality Types Like?
INTP personality types are very organized. They are smart and are often attracted to new devices and situations which will allow them to show their more analytical sides. They are more focused on extroverted senses (which mean the physical world rather than their inner feelings and emotional needs). They also love technology and do well when they have to improvise.
As a child, they loved to be able to take things apart in order to analyze how their toys (and the world around them) works. This is a great way to increase your intelligence but may prove to be a handicap because they are not normally able to “just enjoy something”.
Some famous INTP personality types would include:
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- Socrates
Isaac Newton
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- Albert Einstein
Dwight D. Eisenhower
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- Gerald Ford
Tiger Woods
#2) Hyper-Mindfulness and Persistent Reaction In A Relationship
Some things aren’t all good and all bad. For the most part, personality quirks can be a weakness or a strength in a relationship (and I’ll get to weaknesses and strengths in a little bit). Right now I want to talk about both hyper-mindfulness and the “persistent reaction” and how those qualities can be both good and bad in a relationship.
In order to talk about hyper-mindfulness, we must first talk about what it means to be mindful. When I say “mindful” I mean that INTP’s are generally very analytical. They are constantly taking in information, organizing it in their heads, and forming patterns. Often, INTP personality types will have to actively try to turn that off.
So hyper-mindfulness means that they are constantly trying to analyze every situation in the relationship and they can’t fully enjoy it and live in the moment. If you are in a relationship with an INTP personality, you must take this into account when you are together or it could lead to some heartache.
Persistent reactions can be both good and bad. That means that if the INTP sees that a situation ends on a positive note, he will (most likely) try to recreate that situation. However, if he sees that the situation will end on a bad note, he will most likely try to avoid that situation all together or do his best to avoid getting hurt. While this may appear to be logical, it is also a handicap.
Not all situations will end the same way, afterall.
#3) Weaknesses In A Relationship
All personality types have their weaknesses in a relationship. You may have the most romantic and thoughtful man but sooner or later, something will happen that will allow you to see some of their weaknesses (relationship-wise). This is good though. It’s like peeling an onion and getting to see all of the layers of his personality.
Here are some of the weaknesses of a INTP personality type that may hinder them in having a happy and/or successful relationship.
They have difficulty leaving bad relationships.
They aren’t good at expressing their feelings or emotional needs.
They aren’t naturally emotionally driven people so they aren’t good at detecting their partner’s feelings and emotional needs. They are mainly analytical.
#4) Strengths In A Relationship
Just like we all have weaknesses, we also have our strengths. Here are the strengths of an INTP that may add more to the relationship:
They are generally laid back and easy-going.
They are imaginative and creative
They are loyal (of course, Tiger Woods may be the exception to that).
They approach new things that interest them with big child-like eyes and enthusiasm.
While they may try to avoid conflict, they won’t take the argument personally.
They have fairly simple needs and aren’t very demanding in a relationship.
#5) The Best INTP Relationships
In order to have a happy and successful INTP relationship, you have to remember that (1) they aren’t very good at expressing their emotions or picking up on your emotional needs and (2) they are very analytical people and will often have to actively turn off their thinking habits in order to sit back and enjoy a moment.
You may have to remind them that they don’t have to overanalyze this particular moment. Instead of thinking about the air pollution that is causing that beautiful sunrise, just revel in the beauty of the colors in the sky. This may take a few tries but if you can help them enjoy the relationship more and get in touch with their emotions, you will be in for a treat.
Well I have to say, that was very insightful. I have heard of this test before, but that’s it. I’ll take a closer look, but right now I would have to say I fit in with this personality type quite well.
Most of it makes sense, but not all of it. For example, I’m good at showing my emotions and I am very analytical. According to the article, I shouldn’t have both traits at the same time.
I have a friend who fits this description perfectly. She is extremely organized and also doesn’t give up on relationships, even when she should. As her friend, it’s hard to watch her continue relationships that are toxic.
I also know someone like this. Her husband actually left her for another woman when she was eight months pregnant and she took him back a few months later. I’d say that’s clearly having difficulty leaving bad relationships.
I had to take this profile during my first semester of college, along with the rest of our class. I can’t remember how I scored, but I love how this article highlights both the strengths and weaknesses of this particular personality type.
Ha ha, I love how the articles specifically points out that Tiger Woods might be the exception to the loyalty rule! I also think he might not be the best about not taking things personally. I’ve watched him get into tiffs with other golfers before (always mediated by an announcer who is egging things on) and it seems like he is pretty touchy about being critiqued or accused of breaking another golfer’s concentration.
I think everyone know someone like that. I have a friend that is the same and it takes a long time before she lets go of the relationship. She’s been in three different relationships and when they were not working anymore she would try to figure out what was wrong so she could fix it. The relationship just dragged on and on.
Not to be the dissenter, here, but how is it possible to know if someone like Socrates was an INTP personality type? I mean, they didn’t have the test back then. Are those educated guesses based on what we know of prior famous figures?
I can see how a persistent reaction can be a bad thing if he only assumes something can go wrong. But if it’s a situation that keeps re-occurring that is bad, then the reaction to avoid it is a good thing
Myers-Briggs types are interesting, but they’re not a complete picture–everyone will deviate from their type a little. I know an INTP who’s emotionally savvy and empathetic, which, from what I understand of Myers-Briggs, is something of an anomaly. She’s tested consistently for it for years, though.