# MBTI in Identical Twins



## CorgiGirl (Jan 3, 2011)

Do you think that identical twins will automatically have the same MBTI type? I only know one identical twin really well and he's the same type as his twin. So in my experience, it seems to happen. But do you think it's automatic because they share the same genes?


----------



## MonieJ (Nov 22, 2010)

No, some twins r complete opposites, I knew some twins one was soo E it hurt lol and the other was more quiet and Introverted so I would hang with that one more but they got along really well, it was interestin.


----------



## Kriash (May 5, 2011)

My mom and aunt are Identical twins and one is ESFJ and the other is ENFJ. I am friends with a set of identical twins, and one is ENFJ and the other is ISTJ. But at the same time, my cousin's boyfriend and his twin brother are both ENTP.


----------



## Musician6120 (Jun 24, 2010)

I knew 2 identical twins in high school. We were required to take the MBTI in senior year. Recently, I became reacquainted with one of them and got to talking about if she could remember what she got on the MBTI. I was surprised when she told me she was/is ENTJ. She strikes me as an F. She did say she scored just over the T side. Her identical twin scored ENFP.


----------



## TheOwl (Nov 3, 2010)

The Olsen twins are both INTPs.

I only know one pair of identical twins, and they're really similar. I can't tell them apart by how they act; I have to go off looks.


----------



## Jorji (Oct 24, 2009)

I have cousins who are identical twins. I was 10-11 years old when they were born, so I remember them well as babies. As early as one year old (which is the first time I spent more than a few hours at a time with them), I could see a big difference between them. I actually preferred one over the other (sorry...they're not my kids, so I can do that). To this day, I still see some of the same traits in each of them that I saw then...and I still prefer one over the other : )

One is more introverted, stand-offish, and somewhat negative (probably more like me, yet I favor the other)
The other is more extraverted, friendly, and positive


----------



## CorgiGirl (Jan 3, 2011)

Oh wow, that's really interesting. I wonder where we get our MBTI type from. I thought it was genetic where we got our cognitive functions. Especially since when I was talking to my friend who is an identical twin, he shot down my idea that identical twins could be different MBTI types. 

I'm still pretty sure that it's nature instead of nurture, but maybe it's something else besides genetics?


----------



## Linnifae (Nov 13, 2009)

I have am friends with a set of twins. One is an INFP and the other is an ESTJ, at least that's how they act and that's how they've tested. Is one of them fighting their nature just to be unique? I couldn't tell you, but they do a convincing job of it.


----------



## kittychris07 (Jun 15, 2010)

I guess the only way to tell would be to do an experiment where twins were split up at birth and then raised in different households. If they seemed to have the same type despite different nuturing, it might be related to genetics.

Personally, I think personality is shaped a lot by the way people are nutured as children. I don't think you can type someone as early as 2 years old. It is possible that twins will have different personalities as a result of their roles in the family.


----------



## emberwing (Jan 19, 2011)

I knew one set of fraturanl twins when I was young (I didn't even know they were twins at first because one started school a year late and was in the grade below me while his twin was in my grade)
Both were definetely introverts, but very different. Voth were socially awkward in their own ways. Now that I think about it, one was probably an INFP/INTP and he was the one I got along with the best. The other tended to be far more frustrated with everything and was probably along the lines of an ISTJ. Maybe INTJ.


----------



## CorgiGirl (Jan 3, 2011)

kittychris07 said:


> Personally, I think personality is shaped a lot by the way people are nutured as children. I don't think you can type someone as early as 2 years old. It is possible that twins will have different personalities as a result of their roles in the family.


Yes, perhaps. Although I saw videos of experiments where introversion and extroversion were predicted accurately as early as four months. But of course that's just part of the MBTI.


----------



## Riy (Apr 1, 2010)

My Girlfriend has an identical twin, they have both been tested as INFJs


----------



## Magnitudes (Jul 19, 2014)

I have an identical twin and we are both INTJ.


----------



## reckful (Jun 19, 2012)

Decades of twin studies strongly suggest that genes account for around half (or more) of the kinds of relatively stable personality dimensions measured by the MBTI and Big Five. But the genetics is complicated: an introvert's identical twin brother would probably be an introvert, but they might have two extraverted parents.

The most counterintuitive conclusion that's been drawn from the cumulative data is that _how your parents raise you has almost no influence on your basic temperament_ — e.g., whether you'll end up an INTJ. Identical twins raised in the same household are not significantly more alike (in terms of temperament) than identical twins raised in separate households.

For more, see this post.


----------



## kittycatwindow (Jul 4, 2014)

I'm an identical twin &, although my twin doesn't to my knowledge know her type, I feel like we're both similar enough that she may also be an INFJ. I'm fairly certain she'd be INFx. We both have very slight alignments toward introversion & are very intuitive & feeling-oriented. I just think the last letter may be up for debate.

BUT I do agree with some other people that this isn't always the case. Yes, identical twins have the same DNA & grow up in similar environments, but a lot goes into constructing someone's personality.


----------



## FearAndTrembling (Jun 5, 2013)

My mom is a twin. She seems to be the same type as my aunt. I have friends who are twins. One is clearly more extroverted. I think one is an ESTP, and the other is an ISTP. I think if twins were different types, they probably wouldn't be drastic, like estj and isfp or something.


----------



## geraldineL (Jul 16, 2014)

I know identical twins who are both ISTJ. They are, however, the only twins I know, so it may just be coincidental.


----------

