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Who agrees?
by Danny
I've come to find this theory of personality type, as interesting as it is, equally as useless. For instance, even if I told you my type, or my friend's type, and it was accurate, what does that really tell you? Not much. It tells you something mechanical about me.
Personality theory does not tell you why a ... person might like red crayons, or to paint with oils, or to cook on Sundays. It doesn't tell you what kind of food he likes to eat. It doesn't tell you whether he has a sensitive place in his heart for people in general, or whether he believes in a good rule of thumb: "Treat others how you would like to be treated." Personality theory tells you some basic mechanics of a person. It doesn't get into their heart. It doesn't get into why they like a certain perfume, or what a person puts in his journal.
I write all this because I've been interested in psychology for years. I probably always will. But my motivation was to understand people. Well, it's a very limited way of understanding people. Most of what people are is above the core functions. Most of a building is above the foundation. Most of a cake is not the first layer. Most of a beautiful flower is not its roots. So what if we understand all the core functions and technical things? We haven't learned much. I can't say "I only want to date an INFP" for example. INFP? I could LOVE an INFP. I could also find one very HARD to get along with. Instead, I might find myself quite in love with a personality type that hey! I never technically thought possible. That's because life surprises us. There is no knowing all there is to know. Now, I agree that certain types might more often conflict than others. That's not a rule though. And it greatly depends on the ability for each type to be self-sacrificing, instead of having to have their way, being selfish. Putting the other person ahead of yourself sometimes is like oil in an engine. It just makes life run more smoothly. There's less conflict, especially over simple stupid things, too.
This is supposed to be a question and answer board [Editor: This meant to go to Q&A section, initially]. So I'll make my question, "who agrees?" and if you haven't thought of it, you might. I've spent a lot of time studying types. And I'd say it is pretty interesting overall. But, I'm also tired of my brain trying to assess what everyone's type is. Has it reached any conclusions? Maybe for a few individuals. Has there been any real value in it? No. I appreciate those individuals for a hundred things that don't have to do with whatever I discovered about their type.
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| C17 i can see how socionics can be very useful in corporate organisation/HR (team building, efficiency etc) and i do somehow find some strange comfort in knowing that there's a community of people out there who share my personality traits that are often unappreciated by people around me. but somehow i find socionics to be too broad and generalised for inter-PERSONAL relationships, where alot more is at stake emotionally. the problem w/ typing is that by categorising it undermines the unpredictability in humans (which some may associate with imagination) and that emotions should not be defined in a box. if emotions were so easily qualifiable, then there probably wouldn't be so many psychologists around and we'd probably have world peace or something. -- v |
| C18 I found this article very meaningful and interesting. I agree to a large extent. I think that although socionics and other personality theories may be astonishingly accurate at times, it can't really let you know a person. In my opinion, knowing personality theories may be useful but it may also backfire. For example, I've seen some people blaming a certain trait they have on their personality instead of trying to improve it, or somebody blaming a failed relationship on a type mismatch. Although it may be true, I think that sometimes the way they talk about a relationship between two human beings as being too 'technical'. Like asking 'does this colour match this colour?' kind of feeling. Every person is unique. Anyway, enough of my blabbering - great job on the article! -- Anonymous |
| C19 I LOVE THIS! Very well written. -- Anonymous |
| C20 I hate it when people take MBTI way too serious. It isn't suppose to define you. It's one of the tools that will help you understand yourself and others more. One tool can't fix everything, but it helps. -- Anonymous |
| C21 i've recently reconnected with an old friend from 20 years ago. a lot had changed since high school, go figure, and although we felt immediately comfortable with one another, i found her thinking/behavior puzzling. finding out her "type" vs mine gave me some insight into how we think and process things differently, even value small things differently, that i otherwise might not have considered. -- chickenpox |
| C22 I have been obsessed with Socionics for a few months now, and so has one of my best friends. Since I am an ENFp and he is an ESTp, we don't always see eye to eye and we argue sometimes. But since both of us understand that we ARE different types and that we sometime WILL disagree because that's who we are, it makes our disagreements much less personal. My girlfriend is an INFp, and we don't argue very much because we are both NFp's, and sometimes she needs time alone. As an Extrovert, I wouldn't really understand this except that I know she is an Introvert, and therefore don't take it personally. Lastly, I have used Socionics to find out a lot about myself, my strengths and weaknesses. I have read the typical ENFp weaknesses and tried to be conscious of them and work on them, and I have begun to trust my strengths a little more instead of doubting myself unnecessarily. So, I guess I have to disagree, but I like that you posted this because Socionics isn't hard and fast rules nor is it everything to know about a person. It is flawed, and I would be hesitant to call it "science", but still useful. -- AA |
| C23 I actually find that is is very helpful. It helps you to understand yourself, and other people. It helps you to realise why you do the things you do - and why other people do, realise what your weaknesses are, and what you might like to try and consider next time you get into a situation. It helps you to help other people, it is useful if you are trying to persuade someone about something, and in my opinion, it can be used to work out many things about people - maybe not why their favourite colour is, but many other, small, but important things. I think that sometimes we have to remember that a persons personality isn't them. It is the basic driving force, that they use to decide, think etc. - but how they manifest is different for everyone. Everyone uses it in a different way, and so everyone is different. -- Anonymous |
| C24 This man speaks the truth! "The most beautiful part of the flower is not its roots." -- Anonymous |
C25 Let's see... 1.) The most important thing concerning personal devolopment is to develop your "Role Function". 2.) INTj's "Role Funktion" is "Introverted Feeling". 3.) "Introverted Feeling" is about understanding people. 4.) Personality theory is about understanding people. CONCLUSION: If you are an INTj personality theory is VERY useful because it helps to develop your "Role Function". If you are not INTj or ISTj your "Role Function" is not "Introverted Feeling" so you should try something else  -- INTj |
| C26 Hmmm... Must not be an ENTP. It's up to you to figure out what to do with this information. Think it through, don't expect a personality web site to tell you how to live every part of your life. You're in charge. There is a lot of potential in it. -- Stop Worrying and Start Living |
| C27 This article is useless. Socionics may not tell you what someone's favorite color is, or PERSON SPECIFIC things such as that, but it sure as heck tells you how and why a person will do the things they do. Getting to know the other aspects of a person that can't be covered in Socionics is left up to YOU. Not every person completely conforms to a type completely, there will always be a margin of error to some degree. Don't blame a website for not being able to help you with things that you can only find out yourself. -- INTP |
| C28 Socionics doesn't tell you everything there is to know about a person, but it does give you a great insight into how their thought process works. Even the acknowledgment of the fact that people think differently is something to be noted. It's nice to realize that some people are just naturally loud and outgoing, and others and quiet and thoughtful. Especially being a very feely-feeler myself, it was really important for me to understand why other people acted differently than me. No, it may not give an answer to why we are different and like the things we do, but it does help us to understand and embrace the differences between people. -- ISFj Courtney |
| C29 I agree. I think the use of the theory encourages stereotyping. I, like you, was more interested in what I could learn about communication from socionics. But it seems that it caters more to those are deeply interested in the technicalities of the theory, and less about its role in improving communication. And to be honest, unless others you know in person are willing to learn it to an extent, it doesn't really benefit anyone else. If you're the only one learning and practicing it or the only one who believes in the validity of the theory and in the importance of understanding personality differences and their effect on relationships and communication, and those around you are closed off, then you're the only person left making any changes or adjustments in your attitude or behavior, while everyone else is still pretty much comfortable doing and thinking what they're doing. It starts to feel a bit ridiculous after a while if you're the only one who seems to care. So, you may feel you have all this understanding of human behavior while everyone else doesn't care. You know, this saying is true, "Ignorance is bliss." -- Anonymous |
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