MBTI tells?

[kita]

I've noticed a lot of people seem to be able to figure out MBTI type of people...how do you do it? What specific behaviors indicate a function preference?

For example, someone who can't be alone and surrounds themselves with other people is probably an extrovert. (is that right?)

 

[Gaze]

I've noticed a lot of people seem to be able to figure out MBTI type of people...how do you do it? What specific behaviors indicate a function preference?

For example, someone who can't be alone and surrounds themselves with other people is probably an extrovert. (is that right?)

Not necessarily. Not an expert myself but i think i've learned how to pick up on a few functions in people. I tend to evaluate the presence of each function separately. And I can spot some types more easily than others such as INTJ, sometimes INFJ or ENXJ pretty quickly now.

i think you'd have to look at the overall behavior or responses of the person to people and their environment. But sometimes the distinctions are subtle. And unless you know them personally you can only guess at their type. There are some great chameleons out there. A P can seem like a J or vice versa depending on what they're doing.

 

[88chaz88]

Yeah that's pretty much it.

I used to be terrible at typing but a few things have helped me along the way:

• I've always been able to spot extraversion and introversion, it's just the easiest thing to spot.
• Since being on these boards and looking at the difference between me and most of the members, I've found it much easier to pick out the differences between S and N types.
• I'm extremely P, Indy is extremely J. Observing his tendencies and comparing them with mine has made me spot P and J a lot easier. In fact I never get them confused.
• F and T still eludes me. At first I thought it would be easy to figure these out but it really isn't. It's hard to decipher if someone decided something using either F or T.

You'll also become familliar with specific types the more you get into this stuff. I can smell an INTJ from a mile off normally and aren't too bad at spotting ENTP's either.

 

[kita]

okay...but can you give examples of typical S/N or J/P responses?

 

[Gaze]

• F and T still eludes me. At first I thought it would be easy to figure these out but it really isn't. It's hard to decipher if someone decided something using either F or T.

+1. The F/T is one of the hardest to spot in my opinion. Because you really can't look at someone and know what they used to make a decision. They may seem to be using Ti but maybe it's Fi.

 

[Phoenix Down]

You'll also become familliar with specific types the more you get into this stuff. I can smell an INTJ from a mile off normally and aren't too bad at spotting ENTP's either.

It's easy to tell an INTJ.
But I've never confirmed another ENTP irl (I think one of the teachers at my high school was an ENTP... but I never had him to confirm my suspicions).

It usually takes me knowing a person for a while before I can peg them to a possible type. Even them I'm not very sure when it comes to typing people.

N/S is easy to spot if you talk to a person enough.
E/I Is probaly the first thing I notice

I can smell NTs.
I use this to tell NFs... they're Ns that aren't Ts

I cannot tell between Ts and Fs when it comes to Sps and Sjs

Trying to get better at it all though...

Generally I type by trying to identify preferences Te user Si user etc...

 

[enfp can be shy]

You need experience. That means: get obsessed and ask everyone you know to make the test (preferably use exactly the same test!). If you know enough people, or some of the sub-communities you participate in get to list their results, you quickly get real life examples for each type. Preferably more than one example. This way you also draw the similarities between people from the same type - but be careful, because usually there's a lot more variety which will take you longer to realize. And then, based on all this information, your mind begins to form pattern recognition schemes, which may even differentiate functions. So you could end up wondering whether someone is INFJ or INTJ, at first, but being quite sure about INxJ, etc.

It's not really scientific, at all, for now. It's being justly criticized for confirmation bias and forer effect. Any major inference should only be made based on data independent of MBTI, and MBTI can only have some supporting / suggesting / insightful function.

 

[Satya]

I've noticed a lot of people seem to be able to figure out MBTI type of people...how do you do it? What specific behaviors indicate a function preference?

For example, someone who can't be alone and surrounds themselves with other people is probably an extrovert. (is that right?)

95% of the time, monotone people are INTJs.
95% of the time, vehement feminists are XNFPs.

 

[Lumi Spitsbergen]

It's easy to tell an INTJ.
But I've never confirmed another ENTP irl (I think one of the teachers at my high school was an ENTP... but I never had him to confirm my suspicions).

It usually takes me knowing a person for a while before I can peg them to a possible type. Even them I'm not very sure when it comes to typing people.

N/S is easy to spot if you talk to a person enough.
E/I Is probaly the first thing I notice

I can smell NTs.
I use this to tell NFs... they're Ns that aren't Ts

I cannot tell between Ts and Fs when it comes to Sps and Sjs

Trying to get better at it all though...

Generally I type by trying to identify preferences Te user Si user etc...

Ditto, the above.
With a caveat: I think P/J is something that you need to know a person for at least a few days to determine. They may talk or seem like they would be one thing - but you don't know until you see them make or be apart of a plan/idea/group, and see it in action.

 

[IndigoSensor]

I don't pick someones type by letters, I pick someones type by functions.

 

[magister343]

Introversion/extroversion is typically pretty easy, but there are certainly some who are borderline enough that it can be difficult. Weak introverts tend to have days where they are far to extroverted for me.

I think I'm really good at picking out the extroverted functions, and not as good at picking up the introverted functions. (My sister was hard to type because I pick up on both extroverted feeling and thinking. when she took cognitive functions test today she came up ISFJ, but with Te much stronger than her very weak Ti. Some theories do say that the attitude of the tertiary can vary.)

I think the hardest for me to recognize is the difference between Si and Ni in strong IxxJs. I typed my dad as an ISTJ but he came up INTJ. I knew one confirmed ISFJ who struck me as very strongly intuitive. At first I thought INFP, but that was before really studying MBTI and it soon became clear that she has strong Fe and that it was her lack of Te that made her not seem judging. I know another girl now who strikes me as extremely similar to her, but INFJ still sounds like the best fit for her.

 

[pax]

E/I and P/J are the easiest for me to determine. S/N can become evident when you start a conversation. I have more trouble with T/F.

I think I can see if a person is a Judger or a Perceiver by looking at their appearance. Their shoes, cloths, hair and other accessory like purses, jewelery, bags etc. An other sign is how they maintain their belongings, like phones, mp3 players, laptops, books etc.

Judgers are more neat in their appearance and Perceivers are a bit more messy. Their cloths are more bright and colorful, and not always color coordinated. A fat Judger are better to hide his tummy then a Perceiver who might wear a tight old white t-shirt. Perceivers are more inclined to satisfy their need immediately.

If a man is running to catch the buss with full shopping bag in one hand and a hot dog in the other and he is wearing a withe "Hard Rock Cafe" t-shirt that is either too big or to small, red nylon shorts,old untied sneakers and black socks. Then I would say he is a Perceiver.

An other man is already waiting for the bus when it arrives, he is hungry as hell but waits till he comes home where the dinner is already defrosting in the fridge. He wears a black jacket because is has beige pants. He let all the other people get on board before him. He might be a Judger.

 

[Lumi Spitsbergen]

E/I and P/J are the easiest for me to determine. S/N can become evident when you start a conversation. I have more trouble with T/F.

I think I can see if a person is a Judger or a Perceiver by looking at their appearance. Their shoes, cloths, hair and other accessory like purses, jewelery, bags etc. An other sign is how they maintain their belongings, like phones, mp3 players, laptops, books etc.

Judgers are more neat in their appearance and Perceivers are a bit more messy. Their cloths are more bright and colorful, and not always color coordinated. A fat Judger are better to hide his tummy then a Perceiver who might wear a tight old white t-shirt. Perceivers are more inclined to satisfy their need immediately.

If a man is running to catch the buss with full shopping bag in one hand and a hot dog in the other and he is wearing a withe "Hard Rock Cafe" t-shirt that is either too big or to small, red nylon shorts,old untied sneakers and black socks. Then I would say he is a Perceiver.

An other man is already waiting for the bus when it arrives, he is hungry as hell but waits till he comes home where the dinner is already defrosting in the fridge. He wears a black jacket because is has beige pants. He let all the other people get on board before him. He might be a Judger.

Actually, I don't think this is accurate at all. I know plenty of judgers who are sloppy dressers and who abuse their electronic devices.

I, on the other hand, and am a perciever who takes good care of my material possessions... up and until the time I lose them or give them away. However those which are still in my possession (like my old iPod I kept for 4 years, until I bought a new one and gave it away) are/were spotless and scratchless.

I am a definite perceiver. I am also someone who dresses nicely. Do I prefer to be casual? Sure. But I can dress in business attire like nobody's business. =p

Just because I'm a P and pull clothes together in three minutes or less, does not mean that I am incapable of using that time to determine what looks good with what.
When I shop, I spend a lot of time - not because I particularly enjoy shopping (it is a pain), but because I care to only purchase clothes I am sure look good on me. People judge you based on the way you present yourself. I care to present a good image.
Am I the type who color-coordinates my closet and spazzes out over which shoes go with which skirt? No. Because I know I am capable of being creative and tasteful in a short period of time every morning when deciding what to wear.
My boss at my old office, before I decided to move for school, actually prefered to have me meet with new clients at first because she said she knew she could count on me to be well dressed and present a professional image.
I know plenty of other percievers who dress, if not snazzily, non-sloppily. I also know plenty of judgers who just don't care what they look like - or what people think of them.

So yeah. I still say you need to see someone in action to decide between P and J.

 

[Phoenix Down]

Actually, I don't think this is accurate at all. I know plenty of judgers who are sloppy dressers and who abuse their electronic devices.

I, on the other hand, and am a perciever who takes good care of my material possessions... up and until the time I lose them or give them away. However those which are still in my possession (like my old iPod I kept for 4 years, until I bought a new one and gave it away) are/were spotless and scratchless.

I am a definite perceiver. I am also someone who dresses nicely. Do I prefer to be casual? Sure. But I can dress in business attire like nobody's business. =p

Just because I'm a P and pull clothes together in three minutes or less, does not mean that I am incapable of using that time to determine what looks good with what.
When I shop, I spend a lot of time - not because I particularly enjoy shopping (it is a pain), but because I care to only purchase clothes I am sure look good on me. People judge you based on the way you present yourself. I care to present a good image.
Am I the type who color-coordinates my closet and spazzes out over which shoes go with which skirt? No. Because I know I am capable of being creative and tasteful in a short period of time every morning when deciding what to wear.
My boss at my old office, before I decided to move for school, actually prefered to have me meet with new clients at first because she said she knew she could count on me to be well dressed and present a professional image.
I know plenty of other percievers who dress, if not snazzily, non-sloppily. I also know plenty of judgers who just don't care what they look like - or what people think of them.

So yeah. I still say you need to see someone in action to decide between P and J.

You saved me a lot of effort by writing this out. Thanks <3