Types- Nature vs. Nurture

S

Sunkmanitu Tanka

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MBTI
ENTP
Enneagram
7w8
So I managed to type my family. My dad and brother, ISTP. My mother and I, ENTP. What's interesting is that both types came directly from the parents. I even have another friend who's father was ISTP and he shared the same personality.

However my dad's parents are ESFP and ISTJ and one of his brothers (my uncle) is an ENFP. My uncle is married to an ISFJ who's children (my cousins are ESFP and ISFJ. Also I have another friend who's an INTJ while his parents are ESFJ and ISTJ. He somehow inhereted an incredible amount of intelligence.

So the question is, what is type? Is it inhereted or taught? For instance could you train your child to become an INFJ or ENFP by submitting them certain information and sensory data much like you would teach them two languages or a hobby? Intelligence certainly seems to be inherited, so why not type? The problem is the examples given are so contradictary. Is it coinsidence that my brother inhereted spatial ability whereas I inhereted lateral thinking? Certainly not. But then how did my friend become such an intelligent INTJ? *Confused*
 
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Everybody perceives the world differently and thus reacts differently in certain situations. The study of personality type is based on repeated patterns of behavior in certain situations. There are some genetic components found in the Big 5 but MBTI is hard to measure.

MBTI would just say that there are 16 different types of people but really it's more-so that there are 16 different points of view.
 
My understanding of personality's manifestation:

Basic hardware is genetic, in some way. Mother is an ENFJ, I am an INFJ - same functions, different ordering.
Learning to use the functions is a product of one's environment. Father is an ISTJ. His (extremely harsh) Te was rather abusive to my fledgling Fe, causing a rebound Ti-cloaking effect to prevent further hurt.

Just my thoughts, of course. I doubt the answers will be available without actual objective verification via experiments.
 
I think type is inherited but also influenced by the environment in which a person grew up (see the above post for a good example).

It's not genetic. Babies are known to be influenced by their mothers'stress levels and emotions- and each reaction influences the mind of the unborn child. But genetics plays a small role in this, I think. It's mostly hormonal.
 
Interesting, I didn't know that. Links? Studies? Knowledge is my favored meal.

Although, wouldn't the mother's reactions to externals influence the child more or less depending on how developed the fetus is? From what I remember, babies in the womb are capable of dreaming at a certain stage in pregnancy. This suggests at least a partially developed psyche that includes internalization, which in turn suggests babies in the womb are capable of (unconscious) thought. To think at any level, one must have the proper tools - a lens for interpreting the environment, specifically. Is this not personality, in a nutshell?

(Faulty information and logic is entirely my fault, 'tis rather late at night for me.)
 
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Interesting. I didn't know that babies dreamed in the womb. I'd say that would definitely establish a certain level of psyche, but then every baby undergoes the same external environment-the womb. So I'd say in personalized development would be impossible in comparison to other fetuses.

Besides, MBTI is about how you perceive information and how you base your descisions on that insight. So the fact that they are influenced by the mothers emotions is interesting. However, if they are so heavily influenced by the emotions, wouldn't that mean that they would all probably base their decisions on Fi/Fe? Because we certainly don't. Additionally one must consider that male and females tend to side with feeling or thinking.

Well if it's true that they develop based on external stimuli and not genetic cognitve brain functions, then could one potentionally alter their childs development on a personality level? For instance when a child asks what they should do and you say "Do what you feel is right." vs. "Do what you think would make everyone feel better." would that influence Fi over Fe?

To be honest I even know an ESFP/ESTP couple who had three children: ESFP, ESFP, ISFP. All the same functions with a siding toward Se. I'm not sure one can completely dismiss the possibility that type has a very high possibiliy of being inhereited (or atleast functions).
 
I don't know. My parents, as best I can guess, are ISFJ (mom) and ESTJ (dad) . Both my sib and I are INFJs (no question).

My spouse's parents are likely emotionally constipated INFJ (father) and ISXJ (mother). Spouse is ISTP with sibs that are (best guess) ESFP, INFP, ISTP and INTP (all guys).

Only our oldest two kids show preferences so far, and seem to be ENT? (I suspect ENTP, but it's hard to say at her age) and IFP. My youngest is most assuredly an introvert, but that's as far as you can really guess with a toddler. :P

I have no clue if I think it's nurture or nature. I think, perhaps, it's a bit of both. As a child, my brother functioned as an ISTJ, and me, as an EXFP, but those were the roles that enabled us to survive our family dynamic. :muse: He was expected to be a faithful little duty fulfiller, and I was expected to be emotionally expressive and provide the family entertainment. <shudder>

I do know that my children were born with very different personalities from the get-go. I tend to be a little bit emotionally intense with all my pregnancies, though, so, I don't know.
 
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