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INTJ or INTP? Help?

3K views 37 replies 15 participants last post by  forgotten reason 
#1 ·
I know that there are a lot of articles and videos on this topic already. Trust me, I've looked into them and I'm not satisfied with the answers they provide. I'd prefer to have a lively discussion with you guys instead. Seems much more fun.

I am going to try to keep it concise.
I got into this whole thing around 2 months ago since it seemed fun enough.

I took the test several times on 16personalities.com and got INTJ. I've read the summary and I was impressed with the level of accuracy. Especially since I didn't expect anything to begin with.

However, when I looked into INTP I realized there are plenty of things I can relate to as well. Suspecting that all descriptions are vague on purpose I looked through other personality types as well. I felt like no other type applied.

After that I decided to take the cognitive test here and got these results.

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I made sure to repeat the test and spent some time analyzing the questions.
Hopefully I understood them properly.

So, I decided to ask you guys for your opinion. Do you have some methods that can help me determine my type?
Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you.
 
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#3 ·
Using Te a lot is something an INTP does not give a lot of credit to. We may use it to operate Ti, but it does not hold up on its own to justify any action whatsoever. If you believe your decisions to rationally come from within (not placed easily on external facts or criteria such as immediate consequences) and your actions themselves to be more chaotic (as contributed by Ne) then you are INTP.

Another way to think of it: INTJ will be more goal oriented within external reality, every thought process is guided by some externally motivated goal. Not so with INTP at all.
 
#12 ·
It just keeps getting more complicated.
I delved into philosophy during my early teens and I came in contact with nihilism, existentialism and many other concepts that are similar in nature. It's rather possible that I wasn't emotionally ready for these things and they might have impacted me in a negative way.

At that time I started not caring for a lot of things. I chalked it up to some form of depression created by not having a goal in life. It made sense because I thought I was an INTJ. INTJs are goal oriented and it would make sense that I would become depressed and uninterested due to the lack of direction in my life.

I'm not so sure right now. I could be lying to myself. It's quite possible that I was lying to myself this entire time. For the last 2 weeks I've spent a lot of time thinking about MBTI for fun. I typed people I know and have them take the test to see if I was right. I looked into the functions and spent a good chunk of my time lurking the forum. I also have the tendency to research random stuff and just cycle through videos for hours, accumulating random knowledge.

Now the question is: Am I a directionless INTJ sifting through random knowledge out of sheer desperation. An INTJ who has forced himself to enjoy random knowledge to cope with reality or an INTP who genuinely enjoys knowledge for the sake of knowledge.

It's just so complicated.
 
#4 ·
I can relate. I was stuck somewhere between INFP and INTP for months before I finally decided I was an INTP. But even now, I express almost as many Feeling traits as I do Thinking traits. I just feel that as a whole, I relate more to the NT temperament than I do to the NF temperament. Maybe you should ask friends what they think. Judging and Perceiving are outward preferences, so friends who see you on a regular basis may come in handy when trying to decide whether you're a J or a P.
 
#6 ·
It's complicated. I haven't done any serious work in a very long time.

As an INTJ I used to justify it by saying that I haven't found my goal life. I felt like everything was pointless so there wasn't any particular goal worth committing to. I don't really care about school and my grades are quite lacking at the moment.

I do however spend very large amounts of time reading about random stuff on the internet.
Just the other day I spent my entire day reading about the Chernobyl disaster.
I have a lot of trouble focusing on my school work.

I don't know if it's because I have no ultimate goal or I'm just lazy.
I seemed to use the first explanation up until this point.
 
#15 ·
Around strangers I tend to be polite and quiet for the most part. After all I'm just going through my day and I don't want any complications over nothing. Especially if there's nothing to gain by confrontation in the first place.

Around friends I like to joke around. I don't speak all of the time, but when I do I try to say something witty and make them laugh. Some of my humor is dark. Some of my humor is absurd. Some of my humor over-glorifies me. Some of my humor is self-deprecating. Sometimes it's the combination of all those types of humor at the same time..

I don't go outside much. Like, once every few months. I mostly see my friends at school.
I have issues with authority in general. I've clashed with my teachers quite a few times. I usually do it in the form of a joke and only when a I think a teacher is a jackass.

I often feel like my behavior is a mix of both types. It's weird.
 
#20 ·
As someone who's neither INTP or INTJ but knows people of both types, I'll just say: just accept your INTPness XD

Look, INTJs will rarely suffer that much because they don't have a goal. Their goal doesn't have to be the goal, they will just focus on getting things done until they find something really worth being dedicated to. The way you describe yourself screams Ti Ne.
 
#26 ·
However, when I looked into INTP I realized there are plenty of things I can relate to as well.
The two types seem very similar in a lot of superficial ways, being the biggest competence-mongers of the MBTI types and all. But we're also complete opposites.

I'm more convinced with each comment you post. There's no question. You are describing INTP exactly. Hang around INTJs and you'll see.
Have to agree. Spend some time on the xxTJ boards and see how charming you find them (and vice versa).

As someone who's neither INTP or INTJ but knows people of both types, I'll just say: just accept your INTPness
A person who can stand people of both types!? I find that somewhat rare (not that I ask every single person)
 
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