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Note: It should be noted that the Myers-Briggs and Kiersey ratings
do not measure a definite or concrete limit on personality
characteristics, but rather existing tendencies. An individual's
personality rating can change over time or be changed by conscious
personal decisions. |
To outsiders,
INTJs may appear to project an aura of "definiteness", of
self-confidence. This self-confidence, sometimes mistaken for
simple arrogance by the less decisive, is actually of a very
specific rather than a general nature; its source lies in the
specialized knowledge systems that most INTJs start building
at an early age. When it comes to their own areas of expertise
-- and INTJs can have several -- they will be able to tell you
almost immediately whether or not they can help you, and if
so, how. INTJs know what they know, and perhaps still more
importantly, they know what they don't know.
INTJs are perfectionists, with a seemingly endless capacity
for improving upon anything that takes their interest. What
prevents them from becoming chronically bogged down in this
pursuit of perfection is the pragmatism so characteristic of
the type: INTJs apply (often ruthlessly) the criterion "Does
it work?" to everything from their own research efforts to the
prevailing social norms. This in turn produces an unusual
independence of mind, freeing the INTJ from the constraints of
authority, convention, or sentiment for its own sake.
INTJs are known as the "Systems Builders" of the types,
perhaps in part because they possess the unusual trait
combination of imagination and reliability. Whatever system an
INTJ happens to be working on is for them the equivalent of a
moral cause to an INFJ; both perfectionism and disregard for
authority may come into play, as INTJs can be unsparing of
both themselves and the others on the project. Anyone
considered to be "slacking," including superiors, will lose
their respect -- and will generally be made aware of this;
INTJs have also been known to take it upon themselves to
implement critical decisions without consulting their
supervisors or co-workers. On the other hand, they do tend to
be scrupulous and even-handed about recognizing the individual
contributions that have gone into a project, and have a gift
for seizing opportunities which others might not even notice.
In the broadest terms, what INTJs "do" tends to be what they
"know". Typical INTJ career choices are in the sciences and
engineering, but they can be found wherever a combination of
intellect and incisiveness are required (e.g., law, some areas
of academia). INTJs can rise to management positions when they
are willing to invest time in marketing their abilities as
well as enhancing them, and (whether for the sake of ambition
or the desire for privacy) many also find it useful to learn
to simulate some degree of surface conformism in order to mask
their inherent unconventionality.
Personal relationships, particularly romantic ones, can be the
INTJ's Achilles heel. While they are capable of caring deeply
for others (usually a select few), and are willing to spend a
great deal of time and effort on a relationship, the knowledge
and self-confidence that make them so successful in other
areas can suddenly abandon or mislead them in interpersonal
situations.
This happens in part because many INTJs do not readily grasp
the social rituals; for instance, they tend to have little
patience and less understanding of such things as small talk
and flirtation (which most types consider half the fun of a
relationship). To complicate matters, INTJs are usually
extremely private people, and can often be naturally impassive
as well, which makes them easy to misread and misunderstand.
Perhaps the most fundamental problem, however, is that INTJs
really want people to make sense. This sometimes results
in a peculiar naivete', paralleling that of many Fs -- only
instead of expecting inexhaustible affection and empathy from
a romantic relationship, the INTJ will expect inexhaustible
reasonability and directness.
Probably the strongest INTJ assets in the interpersonal area
are their intuitive abilities and their willingness to "work
at" a relationship. Although as Ts they do not always have the
kind of natural empathy that many Fs do, the Intuitive
function can often act as a good substitute by synthesizing
the probable meanings behind such things as tone of voice,
turn of phrase, and facial expression. This ability can then
be honed and directed by consistent, repeated efforts to
understand and support those they care about, and those
relationships which ultimately do become established with an
INTJ tend to be characterized by their robustness, stability,
and good communications. |
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| Famous INTJ's |
Fictional INTJ's |
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Dan
Aykroyd, actor (The Blues Brothers)
Susan B. Anthony, suffragist
Arthur Ashe, tennis champion
Augustus Caesar (Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus), Emperor of
Rome
Jane Austen, author (Pride and Prejudice)
William J. Bennett, "drug czar"
William F. Buckley, Jr., conservative political advocate
Raymond Burr, actor (Perry Mason, Ironsides)
Chevy Chase (Cornelius Crane), actor (Fletch)
Phil Donahue, television talk show host
Michael Dukakis, governor of Mass., 1988 U.S. Dem. pres.
candidate
Greg Gumbel, television sportscaster
Hannibal, Carthaginian military leader
Veronica Hamel, actor (Hill Street Blues)
Orel Leonard Hershiser, IV, major league baseball pitcher
Peter Jennings, television newscaster
Charles Everett Koop, former U.S. surgeon general
Ivan Lendl, tennis champion
C. S. Lewis, author (The Chronicles of Narnia)
Joan Lunden, television talk show host
Edwin Moses, U.S. olympian (hurdles)
Martina Navratilova, tennis champion
Charles Rangel, U. S. Representative, D-N.Y.
Pernell Roberts, actor (Bonanza)
Maria Owens Shriver, television newscaster
Josephine Tey (Elizabeth Mackintosh), mystery writer (Brat
Farrar)
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U.S. Presidents:
- Chester A. Arthur
- Calvin Coolidge
- Thomas Jefferson
- John F. Kennedy
- James K. Polk
- Woodrow Wilson
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Cassius (Julius Caesar)
Mr. Darcy (Pride and Prejudice)
Gandalf the Grey (J. R. R. Tolkein's Middle Earth books)
Hannibal Lecter (Silence of the Lambs)
Professor Moriarty, Sherlock Holmes' nemesis
Ensign Ro (Star Trek--the Next Generation)
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (Hamlet)
George Smiley, John le Carre's master spy
Clarice Starling (Silence of the Lambs) |
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