# How Personality Types Develop



## Mutatio NOmenis (Jun 22, 2009)

A joke post that explains how early in your life, you get your type.
First encounter: Positive outcome=E. Negative outcome =I.
First questions you are asked: concrete=S. Abstract =N.
First problem you witnessed. If it was resolved by logic, then T. If it was resolved by emotion, then F.
First environment. If chaotic, then P, if ordered, then J.


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## Mutatio NOmenis (Jun 22, 2009)

NephilimAzrael said:


> *groans with nausea* What a terrible generalised principle of unification.


 It makes even GUT seem possible.
And activating superpowers as I get older? Can I opt for bioweapons?


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## baroquen (Aug 8, 2009)

I went from an ISFJ to an INFJ to an INFP through the use of Entheogens.


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## Munchies (Jun 22, 2009)

durr ok there, and how much people was ths tested on? i call bullshit


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## Functianalyst (Jul 23, 2009)

The *Jungian Function Models* shows Jung using one function, Myers-Briggs using four, Beebe and Berens using the same model of eight and Lenore Thomson using the eight, extending MB. I tried pasting the tables earlier into a thread, but the properties would not allow it. The Tiegers theory claiming that we develop certain functions as we age is at best idealistic. Development of functions is a process not a guarantee as we age.


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## VenusMisty (Dec 29, 2009)

I was really looking forward to a post like this. I think between 0 and 6, I definitely developed Ne and Ti because I lived in a very boring place and drew and read books all the time, few kids around...but when I saw them I usually made friends fairly quickly. I'm pretty weird and I grew up in rural Iowa. Also I was thin and had glasses and asthma, so as you can guess I was bullied pretty heavily between the ages of 6 and 12 and that gave me a chance to develop introverted thinking, strongly enough that for a very long time I thought I was an introvert, but living that way definitely does not make me happy in the long run. 12-20--introverted feeling: I was very introspective during this time and still am, but head definitely rules more than heart. Am 22 now, so probably developing third function, which is extroverted feeling. Now that I know a lot of people I like, it's coming in handy. My parents are both introverts, so in many ways I lived an introverted life until they trusted me not to die when I went outside by myself. They still don't completely.:laughing:
Okay....going on 22, 1/24. See how I jumped ahead in time? I figure I might as well be. Winter in Iowa tends to age a person.


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## Aerorobyn (Nov 11, 2009)

This is interesting. I was raised in a household full of Introverts - my grandparents and father. Growing up, they had a pretty tight leash on me. They (mostly my grandparents) were very very protective of me and didn't feel that I needed to be out playing with others and getting myself into trouble. I was very often depressed growing up, because I wanted to be out going to parties and whatnot with the other kids, but typically I was not granted that wish; when it was granted, however, it felt like a breath of fresh air. I loved going out and doing things with my friends and meeting new people, and I didn't want to go home.

Now that I am nearing 21, I can pretty much do whatever I want; they can't stop me from going out. I much prefer being around people, as I always have, but seeing the way I was raised - I grew very accustomed to being alone, not depending on anybody else; so, I _can_ be alone because it's what I'm used to, but I get depressed if I don't have some people interaction on a daily basis. Although, my family still doesn't understand my need for interaction and going out. 

I could go more into detail, but I wont. I just feel that I am very underdeveloped because of how I was raised. If this were ten years ago, one might think that I was probably an IxTJ; nobody knew how miserable I was because I couldn't be who I really was while also trying to please my family.


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## cb23 (Dec 31, 2009)

i dont think you can pinpoint exactly how personality types develop on a timeline. if our personal development was set, people on this forum would not be looking for ways to perhaps speed the process and understand how to develop themselves better. we would be like hamsters running inside of a wheel (working and going nowhere)


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## Shadow1980 (Jul 17, 2009)

I call bullshit. I was an ESTJ at 21. I'm an ENFJ at 29. I'd guess I was an INFJ until I was 18 or 19. People change and you can't fit it into neat little time spans.


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## TaylorS (Jan 24, 2010)

I was Ni Dominant as far back as I can remember. I was the quiet, dreamy kid that "lived" in the fantasy and sci-fi words in my head.

When I was about 10 or 11 my Fe emerged at about the same time I started puberty, and the raging hormones sent me into what my mom called my "judgmental preacher" phase, which morphed in high school into a moralistically-charged Marxist phase followed by a moralistically-charged Anarchist phase.


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## garthachov (Mar 21, 2010)

I dont now about this article...when i was in 6-8th grade i was pretty hyperactive...but pretty good in school too....but i remember when it was time to be quiet or work i was able to do that....i think in 5th or 6th grade the school put me in a talented and gifted program since my terra nova scores were somewhat high....but I remember hating that class. We were suppose to put on a place in front of the whole school...and dress up as clowns...i wanted out so bad but my parents wanted me to keep going. But then in high school my grades turned to shit...probably due to the fact that I was drinking and smoking pot on an almost daily basis....all those wonderfull brain cells that could have gone to something productive and i wasted them with my destructive behavior...


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## Marco Antonio (Nov 25, 2008)

garthachov said:


> I dont now about this article...when i was in 6-8th grade i was pretty hyperactive...but pretty good in school too....but i remember when it was time to be quiet or work i was able to do that....i think in 5th or 6th grade the school put me in a talented and gifted program since my terra nova scores were somewhat high....but I remember hating that class. We were suppose to put on a place in front of the whole school...and dress up as clowns...i wanted out so bad but my parents wanted me to keep going. But then in high school my grades turned to shit...probably due to the fact that I was drinking and smoking pot on an almost daily basis....all those wonderfull brain cells that could have gone to something productive and i wasted them with my destructive behavior...


Well it's how it is proposed to develop normally, but hey all those wonderful neurons are daily lost, so don't worry as much.


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## Lyubomir (Mar 25, 2010)

NephilimAzrael said:


> And I become one with the universe?



You become god :laughing:


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## vocalist (Jul 21, 2010)

Fe Si Ne Ti.- ESFJ

So according to the article, at age 25 I am still developing my tertiary function, and the fourth has not even developed yet? So really, the only two things set in stone so far are Extroverted Feeling and Introverted Sensing? So how do I even know I'm really an ESFJ?


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## Eric B (Jun 18, 2010)

Your type is determined by the dominant and auxiliary. The tertiary and inferior are juist "mirrors" of those, so to speak.

Here, I build up the type code and processes from scratch:
Temperament Part 2: The MBTI's 16 types and Cognitive Functions

According to one source, I/E and J/P are the first letters to become evident. This of course indicates introversion or extraversion, and the orientations of the functions that will develop.
The process is really not so much "development" of functions as it is *differentiation*. We engage all functions, but as a conscious preference, one will begin to differentiate from the others. 
So the, we will have chosen a dominant orientation, and a dominant function. These will be paired together as what we call a "function-attitude". (Xe or Xi). The opposite orientation and the other processes is initially rejected into the unconscious. This is why it was once believed that all three of the other functions after the dominant were the same attitude; opposite the dominant.

So the auxiliary differentiates in the opposite orientation, and then the entire type is evident.
In early adulthood, the tertiary then surfaces, in conjunction with a complex called the "puer" or child. It tries to maintain the dominant attitude in opposition to the auxiliary's opposite orientation. This is why the tertiary function is the same attitude as the dominant. 
At times, we may run to the tertiary even more than the aux. This may confuse our true type preference.

Finally, the inferior differentiates in midlife. This is in reaction to a near lifetime of engaging the dominant perspective. What's been rejected into the unconscious (in the "larger Self") now tries to get our attention. 
With it, you might also deal more with the opposite attitudes for the four functions, which are even further in the unconscious, and previously experienced in what's known as the "shadow" complexes, which would erupt under stress, and often be projected onto others. 

All of this stuff doesn't really "develop"; you simply take on new perspectives youpreviously ignored.


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## DJArendee (Nov 27, 2009)

So basically an ISTP would go like this:
age 1-6:
clunky and awkward and dreamy

6-12: less dreamy, more fidgity and impulsive

13-20: sexy

21-35: even sexier

36+: earth shatteringly sexy


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## Jason104 (Sep 18, 2010)

Marco Antonio said:


> From: How we Develop our Personality Types



where do you find this but in ENTP:wink:


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## vel (May 17, 2010)

> Let's take a look at Grant's phases of development, using the INFJ Personality Type as an example:


great, lets dissect the INFJs again - we're like the labrats of MBTI :dry:



> From 6 - 12 years
> During this phase, our dominant function begins to develop and assert itself. Our young INFJ begins to appear dreamy and introspective - he begins to prefer to use his iNtuition to take in information, and he chooses to do this alone (Introverted). The dominant function of "Introverted iNtuition" begins to show itself as the prevailing aspect of his personality.


sounds about right - was a very curious but cautious kid



> From 12 - 20 years
> The auxiliary function asserts itself as a powerful support to the dominant function. Since all recent studies point towards the importance of a well-developed team of dominant AND auxiliary functions, this is an important time of "self-identification". Research suggests that people without a strong auxiliary function to complement their dominant function have real problems.


Fe appeared in me at 10 years of age and it felt more like getting hit on the head with a baseball bat repeatedly than gentle assertion - was very disorienting - I guess this is what people deal with in their teens, assertion of their auxiliary, new kind of awareness coming into place



> From 20 - 35 years
> We begin to use our tertiary function more frequently and with better success. Our INFJ begins to use his Introverted Thinking function. He continues to make judgments with his Extreverted Feeling auxiliary function, but he also begins to make judgments based on logic and reason, which he works through in his own mind, rather than discussing it with others.


not sure when Ti started kicking in - wasn't sudden as with Fe - what's interesting is that my music interest started to change and Ti-ish music I could not stand before suddenly became very appealing



> From 35 - 50 years
> We pay attention to our fourth, inferior function. We feel a need to develop it and use it more effectively. Our INFJ begins to use his Extraverted Sensing function. He becomes more aware of his surroundings and begins to take in information from others in a more literal, practical sense. He continues to rely on his dominant Introverted iNtuitive function to take in information, but he is more able to use his Extraverted Sensing function than he has been before in his life. Some researchers have attested that the appearance of our inferior functions at this phase of life may be responsible for what we commonly call the "mid-life crisis".


looking forward to doing some skydiving and buying myself a yellow ferrari - I have my Se mid-life crisis already pre-planned xD


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## Perseus (Mar 7, 2009)

*Grant's Phases of Development*



gOpheR said:


> Then you don't really matter....
> 
> 
> "Let's take a look at Grant's phases of development, using the INFJ Personality Type as an example:"
> ...


*
Is there a source reference please?​*


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## DJArendee (Nov 27, 2009)

Perseus said:


> *
> Is there a source reference please?​*


its right here.


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## Omen (Sep 29, 2010)

Grant's general stages seem likely. Wouldn't team sports help to develop extraverted sensing at any age old enough to play? Same point for thinking and school, social relationships for feeling, and art for intuition. I'm not doubting Jung's idea of natural preferences/capacities, but it seems that overt developmental efforts can play a major role in type formation, albeit that the specific form of the opportunities must match the preferences.


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## Vaka (Feb 26, 2010)

In my opinion, it's possible for someone, when very young, to have a better grasp of their dom. and tert. functions, as they're both either introverted or extroverted, and to develop their second function in young adulthood.


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## Omen (Sep 29, 2010)

I agree, that's pretty close to my own experience -- big changes from just turned 15 to late in age 16 ... first scored well on tests, started exercising, fell in love .... all those built up my extraverted functions ... was very introverted and one sided until then.


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## scarygirl (Aug 12, 2010)

I don't know, guys.

As a child I was very introverted, but when I grew up I learnt to be very extroverted, even if it didn't fill me up. And I felt out of place, like I couldn't touch my feelings. Like right now. I always had a keen conscience of something deeper, inside me, somehow. Maybe I was born borderline.


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## Perseus (Mar 7, 2009)

*Transformations (Bird to four legged animals)*



scarygirl said:


> I don't know, guys.
> 
> As a child I was very introverted, but when I grew up I learnt to be very extroverted, even if it didn't fill me up. And I felt out of place, like I couldn't touch my feelings. Like right now. I always had a keen conscience of something deeper, inside me, somehow. Maybe I was born borderline.


 

My personality type Turtle (Extrovert) and Eagle (Introvert) NTP does not think the intovert-extrovert distinction is all that important. Maybe it is marked, but we all have to come out of our shell (for Turtles) to function in society.

INFP (Love Bird) > Ferret (Polecat when young, Cat Weasel when old) as an extrovert.


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## Tridentus (Dec 14, 2009)

i don't get how grant's theory is any different from jung's.. you pick the one which seems to suit you? that completely suggests that you're born with functions that suit you. parents also constantly say that they can tell the personality of their children as soon as they're born- like introversion etc.
then there's the ideal way the population is proportioned, with Ss most common, etc. that can't be coincidence borne of environment.


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## Tridentus (Dec 14, 2009)

Omen said:


> Grant's general stages seem likely. Wouldn't team sports help to develop extraverted sensing at any age old enough to play? Same point for thinking and school, social relationships for feeling, and art for intuition. I'm not doubting Jung's idea of natural preferences/capacities, but it seems that overt developmental efforts can play a major role in type formation, albeit that the specific form of the opportunities must match the preferences.


not all athletes are Ses. i remember being 3 years old and being enthusiastic at maths where my friend found it pointless and was bad.


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## xEmilyx (Jan 3, 2011)

well when you play sports, even if you're naturally introverted, you can still become a very social person in a sense. Of course you'll probably have to take a break every now an then, but you'll still be introverted even if you can socialize well and like speaking with people. I believe people are born with their personalities. Of course people change their interests now and then, but it doesn't form their core personality. It also doesn't mean you're stuck with the limitations of that personality all of your life either. You can always improve. 
I went to school, I played sports, but did I turn up anything else than an infj? nope.
I always liked art, because i was good at it. I liked sports because I was good at those too, but I'm still not an extrovert. 
People are born the way they are. (their cor personality) that's what I think


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## nevermore (Oct 1, 2010)

Omen said:


> Grant's general stages seem likely. Wouldn't team sports help to develop extraverted sensing at any age old enough to play? Same point for thinking and school, social relationships for feeling, and art for intuition. I'm not doubting Jung's idea of natural preferences/capacities, but it seems that overt developmental efforts can play a major role in type formation, albeit that the specific form of the opportunities must match the preferences.


You could take different approaches to different things. Jungian "Thinking" is not necessary to do well in school; many of the most accomplished students are F's. Also, how is art exclusively intuitive? There are plenty of sensor artists out there (the ISFP is even called "the artist"), and not all of them are simply calling on their tertiary/inferior intuition.

Simply trying different activities is not likely to develop other functions simply because you can approach different things in different ways, and we usually respond to things in ways that feel comfortable to us.


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## Aelthwyn (Oct 27, 2010)

Like Snail, I feel that I was pretty clearly INFP from the start. 
As a small child I had maybe one or two friends, and was very shy. But I never really cared that much that other kids didn't like me. The teasing was annoying, but I never craved their attention or approval. In preschool I remember always playing by myself, except when some other kids picked on me. They would insist I had to play house with them and that I had to play the baby which meant I had to stay at home (wich was always between these two trees by the wall) while they ran around and did stuff, but I didn't mind. I remember happily curling up behind the tree in reliefe after they left the vacinity and enjoying just sitting there, immagining my own story and feeling the cold pebbles on the ground in the shade of the tree, which I liked to look through and pick out the pretty ones that were slightly pink or had a bit of quartz in them. I would also walk by myself through the garden (which we weren't supposed to go near) and talk to the flowers - I never trampled them. 

In elementary school I made a couple of friends by going up to girls who were crying on the playground. Everyone else overwhelmed me and seemed like aliens. Those two friends hated eachother even though they loved me and I always played peace-keeper. I remmeber being totally overwhelmed by the noise in my 1st grade class to the point where it all turned into a kind of fuzz that was like silence. I hated school, resented all the homework and scheduals, and kids picking on me. 

I intensely loved fantasy and fairy tales from as far back as I can remember and wanted nothing to do with practical life. I was very disorganized, had piles of things all over my room and in my desk at school. I was always late for everything. I was always forgetfull. I had a strange way of being very in tune with certain pretty and enjoyable aspects of my surroundings, while being completely oblivious to a lot of other things. I still did very well in school, because I wanted to be a 'good girl' but would frequently fly into rages of screaming and sobbing at home over it. I was more often friends with my teachers and my mom's friends than I was with people my own age. I also did really well with kids a few years younger than me. 

I was extreemly empathetic and intuitive about people. Before I can remember, my mom says she'd take me for walks in my stroller and I would comment to her whether the people we passed were bad or good. I also seemed to understand my mom's feelings better than she did and would bring them up with her to get her to pay attention to them. 

I was never bored but always enjoyed entertaining myself at home - and I was almost always alone, no siblings, just me and my work-a-holic mom. I started telling and writing stories very young - early elementary. I never felt like anyone understood or identified with me. I did a LOT of reading - always had a book in my hand once I reached upper elementary. 

I did often beg my mom to go out somewhere or see someone almost every day on vacation times, and sometimes did get energized by spending time with friends, so my mom thought I could just be a shy E, but I think we were both taking for granted how much time I had alone. I never introduced myself or tried to make friends unless I saw someone who looked emotionally weaker than myself (which was rare). I felt it didn't matter if people didn't like me for who I was, because only those who did like who I was would be people I'd want to know anyways. I sometimes felt energized by spending time with people I knew, and I tended to not like feeling like I was missing something when people I liked were talking in another room. But I also developed at a very young age the tendancy to have to spend time by myself before I was able to fall asleep at night, and would feel a mixture of excitment and drained at the end of a day spent with friends. I loved being awake when no one else was, when it was all quiet in the house. 

I also did have a way of feeling like I had to have some physical outcome to show for my hours spent - even when I was still in elementary school I remmeber thinking this - so I did a lot of crafts. That sounds kind of Sensing-ish to me, but in spite of that I was also constantly living in my own immaginary worlds and loved to wonder and theorize about things to myself or to my mom. I was constantly dealing with the outside world on 'auto-pilot', always off in my thoughts and not able to remmeber how I'd gotten from here or there, or how I'd actually done some thing. I'd even sing to myself and not realise that I was singing at all because I was thinking. I always said I belonged in a different time or different world, and from the time I was very small I have had this internal immage/feeling/identity of myself as being a fairy. I've always felt a deep connection to fairies and elves, to old times and deep green woods. I never thought of where I lived as my real home - I somehow always thought of Scotland as my country - and when I finally went there I felt instantly at home. 

As a kid in elementary I hated my mom asking me to tell her about what I did each day, but I loved having deep discussions about things with her, or telling her all the things "I suppose"ed or "I Wonder"ed about. 

I feel like I have memories of all 4 traits from as far back as I can remember. 

However, I can say that I feel like I have become both less shy and more Introverted at the same time as I've grown older. And I can see a few traits in myself here and there that are related to S,J, and T, but looking back there is no time that would cause me to seriously question whether I was anything other than INFP. I don't recall any moments where I 'discovered' who I am or noticed making a choice to be one thing or another, I've always just been me, and felt like I knew who I was and was only learning better ways to describe or specifically note different things that had always been true about me.


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## geGamedev (Nov 26, 2009)

In my opinion, I was more INTJ-like when I was "little" than I am now. Adapting to life, and adjusting based on what I want to promote in myself, has led me to become a bit atypical (for an INTJ).


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## justcritic (Mar 26, 2011)

Informative
Negative
Thinking
Picky


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## Simo (Feb 23, 2011)

I don't understand one thing: 

Although I am an INTP with Ti as my leading function, I am certain that my Ne developed before my Ti.

Between age 7ish-11ish I was lead by my Ne and I had very little use for Ti. (oddly enough, or not, I used to be an extroverted child and the ENTP children description fits my childhood personality nicely.)

Even to this day, I believe, my Ne is stronger than most other INTPs; however, my Ti is my leading function and in any other aspect I am a typical INTP. 

Given that it's been said one's personality do not change over time, I don't understand how come my auxiliary function was more active than my leading function in the second stage of my life.


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## Simo (Feb 23, 2011)

vocalist said:


> Fe Si Ne Ti.- ESFJ
> 
> So according to the article, at age 25 I am still developing my tertiary function, and the fourth has not even developed yet? So really, the only two things set in stone so far are Extroverted Feeling and Introverted Sensing? So how do I even know I'm really an ESFJ?


It doesn't mean you do not use Ne and Ti at all, it means you have not mastered using them yet. We all use all the functions at all stages of our lives, otherwise we would have been tied to a bed in a mental hospital for most of our lives!


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## Eric B (Jun 18, 2010)

Simo said:


> I don't understand one thing:
> 
> Although I am an INTP with Ti as my leading function, I am certain that my Ne developed before my Ti.
> 
> ...


I used to wonder about this too, regarding me, until not too long ago. I thinkt it's a matter of Ne being more noticeable, and Ti so engrained, we don't realize it (the same thing happens with Fi, and it's yet another reason people struggle between Ti and Fi). Also, thinking of the functions in terms of "skills" we B"use". They're really more of "perspectives"; in the case of Ti, "a focus on technical (as opposed to 'personal') variables"; and looking at it this way, it became clear I was always Ti dominant.


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## Sungiant (Mar 31, 2011)

No one could have denied I was an ENTJ as an adolescent. Now, everyone denies it. I would assume that this is related to development of cognitive functions, as you say. I would not say however that I have become more "emotional" insofar as I have become more "accepting". Opinions are not an absolute, deadlines do not have to define a person, you do not need a list for everything. Sometimes, efficiency is mysterious. While everything can be given a logical analysis, sometimes, that is not the correct thing to do.



> Given that it's been said one's personality do not change over time, I don't understand how come my auxiliary function was more active than my leading function in the second stage of my life.


I can say this is true of me as well. It is more odd, to explain, in myself however, considering my auxiliary function is introverted and therefore supposedly invisible. As a small child I could have been mistaken for an INXJ, easily. Now, my auxiliary function, I would say compliments my dominant function to a degree that I sometimes appear to use Ne, instead of Te+Ni (simultaneous). I have often been mistaken for a "Deep ESTJ". Whichever that indicates.


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## Simo (Feb 23, 2011)

Sungiant said:


> Now, my auxiliary function, I would say compliments my dominant function to a degree that I sometimes appear to use Ne, instead of Te+Ni (simultaneous).


Could you please elaborate? Do you mean a combination of Te dominant and Ni auxiliary appears as Ne? How? I am interested to know more about this. 

Thanks!


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## Sungiant (Mar 31, 2011)

> Could you please elaborate? Do you mean a combination of Te dominant and Ni auxiliary appears as Ne? How? I am interested to know more about this.


I do not think it "appears" as Ne, but I think if you do not understand the cognitive functions completely in depth, it is easy to mistake. I use Te to order Ni, so I extend Ni outward from myself into the world using Te. I can follow multiple paths at the same time, I can relate it with the outside world because Te is an objective function, and Se is my tertiary. When I describe this to people I am often assumed to be using Te and Ne (ESTJ), when really I am using Te to work with Ni (ENTJ). I can tell the difference by the way my mind behaves without external input, or without the necessity for me to interact with the external world. Like the rest of it, cognitive functions are preferences. I prefer to use Ni, therefore I am Ni auxiliary.


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## Simo (Feb 23, 2011)

Tridentus said:


> remember being 3 years old and being enthusiastic at maths where my friend found it pointless and was bad.


I always hated math (except for geometry) and was bad at it in spite of being an INTP.


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## Up and Away (Mar 5, 2011)

spiked-essays | Essay | The myth of 'infant determinism'

I think they are calling infant determinism a myth because what happens to us in our first couple years might not effect our IQ, Socioeconomicstatus, are stability, etc...

But I think it most certainly effects our personality.


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## Perseus (Mar 7, 2009)

justcritic;Informative
Negative
Thinking
Picky
:)[/QUOTE said:


> This sounds like an INTJ (or an INTP putting down another INTP)


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## nevermore (Oct 1, 2010)

Perseus said:


> This sounds like an INTJ (or an INTP putting down another INTP)


INTP's are the informative NT's. INTJ's are the directive NT's. Thinkers are often negative, and they, well, tend to think. And Ti dominance is nitpickiness incarnate...

...which is why I wrote this post... o.o


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## Perseus (Mar 7, 2009)

*Judgement v Perception*



nevermore said:


> INTP's are the informative NT's. INTJ's are the directive NT's. Thinkers are often negative, and they, well, tend to think. And Ti dominance is nitpickiness incarnate...
> 
> ...which is why I wrote this post... o.o


I agree with your observations but not your conclusions. There is no reason why thinking should be reductionist (=negative). Sometimes it is, but most likely with an INTP it is not.


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## nevermore (Oct 1, 2010)

Perseus said:


> I agree with your observations but not your conclusions. There is no reason why thinking should be reductionist (=negative). Sometimes it is, but most likely with an INTP it is not.


By negative I meant "critical", not reductionist.

"Negative" is a word Feeling types may use to describe Thinkers because of Thinking's critical nature. It examines everything (if left to its own devices) regardless of what others may feel. So it _appears_ "negative" or adversarial, but from an INTP's point of view it's just doing its job and examining everything logically, giving privilege to nothing (though an individual INTP might and override the T function in specific situations).

Some INTP's can be negative as in "reductionist", usually those with underdeveloped N's, but usually we're not, no.


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## Perseus (Mar 7, 2009)

*Agree*



nevermore said:


> By negative I meant "critical", not reductionist.
> 
> "Negative" is a word Feeling types may use to describe Thinkers because of Thinking's critical nature. It examines everything (if left to its own devices) regardless of what others may feel. So it _appears_ "negative" or adversarial, but from an INTP's point of view it's just doing its job and examining everything logically, giving privilege to nothing (though an individual INTP might and override the T function in specific situations).
> 
> Some INTP's can be negative as in "reductionist", usually those with underdeveloped N's, but usually we're not, no.


Hello,

There is a strong possibility we actually agree. 

Andy


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## nevermore (Oct 1, 2010)

Perseus said:


> Hello,
> 
> There is a strong possibility we actually agree.
> 
> Andy


I think so too. Just a problem with semantics. :wink:


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## Up and Away (Mar 5, 2011)

I still like the first stage only being 0-3 years because that way you can't access it with your memory in later life and deconstruct it, therefore making it the most influential part of our personality.


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## Chiharu (Jun 1, 2011)

My experience with development has been similar but different in several ways.

0-6: Agree
6-10: Dominant Function emerges, hints of Auxiliary
10-14: Auxiliary strengthens, nearly growing equal to Dominant Function before the DF re-asserts itself
14-18: Tertiary Function begins to develop
Beyond that: no idea

Anyone else experience something similar?


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## talktome (Jun 4, 2011)

Marco Antonio said:


> The ability to recall experiences and details in a very Si trait...


But what if those experiences are remembered due to the heavily emotional content? 

I've only just started reading into these things in earnest recently, but I myself have a few diaper-age memories that are all strongly connected to the emotions surrounding the event (like the two year old breaking up a fight between his parents, which seems strictly Fe) or in my case trying desperately to escape from my mom because it was time to leave and I didn't want to but couldn't quite walk yet... hmmm though I also remember distinctly the feeling of long grass tickling my belly while trying to crawl away... but mostly the being frustrated because I couldn't walk yet and kept trying and falling and finally crawling away on hands and feet.


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## Crono (Jul 5, 2011)

This would actually explain a lot about why I've become much more analytic as an ENFJ in the last few years...


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## Perseus (Mar 7, 2009)

Crono said:


> This would actually explain a lot about why I've become much more analytic as an ENFJ in the last few years...


This sounds like a Teachers Lot ? INTPs get a lot of flack from teachers when younger. The ENFJ Teacher feels the INTP is being obstructive. The INTP is just being himself.


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## Crono (Jul 5, 2011)

Well, I'm planning to be a teacher at some point in the future, but I probably won't have that issue with INTPs as much since I've been...living with/adapting to it for the last couple of years. (My girlfriend is INTP)


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## greenkey (Aug 19, 2011)

I have wondered about personality development for a long time especially since reading Please Understand Me and some of the books by Paul and Barbara Tieger. I feel like the specific stages in the original link that reference Harold Grant are an idealized version of how it would happen assuming every child grows up in a supportive environment. And that rarely happens.

As an ENFP, my dominant function is Ne but I did not learn to trust it until I was in my early 20s. My parents were wonderful people - Dad was (I think) an ISFP and Mom is an ESFJ. My mom was a gentle force to be reckoned with and we clashed frequently. I always felt that my Dad was very understanding. But without even realizing it, my parents tried (and I think most parents unconsiously try) to make me in their image. I also have two siblings, one older, one younger. And I've pondered a lot on how the family dynamics (of siblings' and parents' personalities) shape one's personality through the years. Once I was on my own, I could finally relax into my natural self and choose to spend my time with people who appreciated me for who I was with all my quirks.

I think you're born with the basic type (one of the four "main" types) intact and then the specific type within that (of the 16) emerges whenever it can (be it when you are 18 or when you are 40). And I think that family dynamics, and the environment in which you're raised, and the experiences of your life when you are young, and the personality types of the people you are raised by, influence when that true self can emerge.

I also have a theory that a lot of mental illness is from trying to fit yourself into the "right" personality, trying to be someone you are not. After all, there is a good side and a bad side to each of these personalities and the bad side doesn't say anything, necessarily, about your character. But if you are told repeatedly that certain elements of your personality are bad you can waste a lot of time trying be the square peg in the round hole, so to speak.


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## Perseus (Mar 7, 2009)

greenkey said:


> I have wondered about personality development for a long time especially since reading Please Understand Me and some of the books by Paul and Barbara Tieger. I feel like the specific stages in the original link that reference Harold Grant are an idealized version of how it would happen assuming every child grows up in a supportive environment. And that rarely happens.
> 
> As an ENFP, my dominant function is Ne but I did not learn to trust it until I was in my early 20s. My parents were wonderful people - Dad was (I think) an ISFP and Mom is an ESFJ. My mom was a gentle force to be reckoned with and we clashed frequently. I always felt that my Dad was very understanding. But without even realizing it, my parents tried (and I think most parents unconsiously try) to make me in their image. I also have two siblings, one older, one younger. And I've pondered a lot on how the family dynamics (of siblings' and parents' personalities) shape one's personality through the years. Once I was on my own, I could finally relax into my natural self and choose to spend my time with people who appreciated me for who I was with all my quirks.
> 
> ...


I agree with your conclusions about natural type. However, my view (an INTP one) is not necessarily is N the dominant function of an ENFP. Perception could be the natural leading trait. However, Perception is apt to be the door/trait that is suppressed in society. There might be a good reason for this. Feeling could be the leading trait as well. 

Which means I do not follow the Quenk theories like an ISTJ would.


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## Hycocritical truth teller (Aug 29, 2011)

I noticed that older people (those too whom I gave the test) have judging rather then P. Now is it possible that we switch from XXXP to XXXJ? 
Have any of you ever got a different result when taking the test again.


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## Blazing_Glitter (Sep 13, 2011)

Looks like I'm headed to the "fourth, inferior function" ability.


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## Elpinoine (Sep 21, 2011)

gOpheR said:


> I gather that the main principals described in "Grant's phases of development" are universal but expect the order in wich you develop your functions may be different?


I would think that the order is the same, you just replace the dominant function of an INFJ with your dominant function and so on. . .


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## Mind Swirl (Sep 7, 2011)

Interesting read. It seems I've been developing my "feeling" side as of late which makes sense. It's like it's sneaking up on me little by little and I find myself more inwardly emotional and introspective as well as being kinder in _how_ I say things to others. I'm also getting more nostalgic as time goes on. :shocked:

Just as the article says, in the 6-12 age range, intuition traits were obvious in me. Daydreaming, creative, vivid imagination, loved to pretend and wonder about things. Yet I was also strangely analytical when it came to things that "didn't add up" in my mind. I stopped believing in Santa at age 4 when I was given a toy much too large to fit down the chimney. I sized up the chimney and the toy and decided it wasn't possible for it to fit. I decided Santa was fake from then on. I was actually highly imaginative in coming up with stories and ideas and worlds, but didn't ever believe in fictional things people tried to pass off as real like faeries, elves, or Santa.


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## esmeec (Nov 20, 2011)

hmmm..........


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## Perseus (Mar 7, 2009)

I think the letters are just potential. Life circumstances may force/lead a P to behave like a J. But a J cannot behave like a P. An N can behave like an S but not the other way around.


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## intpanonyme (Aug 29, 2014)

Wait, why are we prescribing one timeline or path of development to an entire population. Every individual's personality develops independently. Some have stagnant development, or develop in a negative direction, thus leading to the archetypal "unhealthy" personality. Myers Briggs is a good indicator of many things, but you can't use it to create (false) structures about people, especially about their life-long development, and apply them to everyone.


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## Scarlet_Heart (Oct 11, 2014)

I do tend to think our personalities are inherent. Perhaps they can be affected by our upbringing/childhoods or be the product of conforming as adolescents, but I think eventually we become our true selves once again as adults. Just a personal anecdote: I was an incredibly extroverted child, a tiny philosopher, and precocious. ENTP all the way. But my dysfunctional parents dumped all their shit on me and the result was that I was very introverted, afraid of everyone, awkward, and insecure (not to mention depressed) from probably ages 10-20. Amazingly, I went away to college, met my husband, moved even further away from my parents and amazingly found my former self. If I had taken one of these tests in high school I would probably been an INTP/INFP or perhaps other types at other times depending on how many walls I put up, professed to hate people, or blocked out my emotions. But it was an effort and I wasn't really being the real me, I was hiding/protecting the real me... I guess. 

Anyway, as a 30 year old now, I'm personality-wise exactly the same as when I was kid. I feel like my authentic self.

Just my two cents.


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## Perseus (Mar 7, 2009)

Scarlet_Heart said:


> I do tend to think our personalities are inherent. Perhaps they can be affected by our upbringing/childhoods or be the product of conforming as adolescents, but I think eventually we become our true selves once again as adults. Just a personal anecdote: I was an incredibly extroverted child, a tiny philosopher, and precocious. ENTP all the way. But my dysfunctional parents dumped all their shit on me and the result was that I was very introverted, afraid of everyone, awkward, and insecure (not to mention depressed) from probably ages 10-20. Amazingly, I went away to college, met my husband, moved even further away from my parents and amazingly found my former self. If I had taken one of these tests in high school I would probably been an INTP/INFP or perhaps other types at other times depending on how many walls I put up, professed to hate people, or blocked out my emotions. But it was an effort and I wasn't really being the real me, I was hiding/protecting the real me... I guess.
> 
> Anyway, as a 30 year old now, I'm personality-wise exactly the same as when I was kid. I feel like my authentic self.
> 
> Just my two cents.


I think this is subjective. I held this view but evidence and personal experience seems to indicate that the personalities develop either very early in life and odds on such are inherited in a large part. 

But other evidence indicates they are the results of parent's influence. A bit of both, probably. How much, I don't know!


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## Scarlet_Heart (Oct 11, 2014)

Well, we'll see. I already typed my almost 2 year old son. We'll see if it changes. I have a feeling it won't.


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## trifire (Aug 16, 2014)

hmm... I think we all have cognitive functions. We develop preferences towards some of them when we are young, and those preferences are harder to change over time due to neuroplasticity. 
Temperaments become solid at around age 8-12 i think.
Or maybe temperaments are decided by genetics. 
Like my mom is pretty sensitive and my dad likes to think.


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## process (Oct 19, 2014)

ALL i KNOW IS THAT I used different functions when I was younger


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## littlemisscustard (Jan 7, 2015)

Hello. I'm 16 this year and I can't be sure that I've been using my Ni. I mean - the articles I read said that a Ni user is able to predict the future so accurately that they're called as "psychics" and stuff. I mean, I do use my gut feelings a lot, but my "predictions" are rarely true. At least when I try to predict stuff consciously. Is it possible to use Ni unconsciously and be right about the predictions? 

Sometimes I do dream about a certain event and it does happen days, months, or even years later on ( I remember dreams most of the time so I can check when it does truly happen or not ).Does this count as a Ni thing? 

My Fe, Se and Ti is already functioning..i think. 

Pleaseeee help this newbie? Thank you in advance and I'm sorry for not knowing better.


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## Mary Baird (Feb 23, 2015)

I've always wondered because we as a person do change through out life obviously this being because of new experiences such as daily life, new relationships, new friends, trying stuff out and just the struggle of life. But I suppose through all this you still are the same person you just adapt rather than completely change as a person. But surely saying that our personality changes a little bit like we grow up and find bits of our self with the gift of exploring. Im not too sure but it would make sense if our personality type did change but not entirely. Make sense?


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## justcritic (Mar 26, 2011)

The 4 letter typing is too restrictive. The human experience is far too complex to force it into a structure like the one presented. Someone can progress or regress depending on their situation.


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## ESFPlover (Mar 1, 2015)

i think they develop depending on your own personality and how and where you were raised. There is a lot of factors to be considered, but the most is how you deal with them. Your circle you hang out with makes a huge impact.


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## Zora (Sep 21, 2014)

Ah, so this explains why - from 12 and onwards - I was so much colder than before! I wish this was around when I turned 12, so I could turn to my parents and say 'This is why I'm becoming like this. Now realise it's natural, and shut the hell up.'.


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## pluvio (Feb 14, 2015)

ENTP here. I've always been extroverted, can't really remember a patch in life where I didn't get energy from socialization. By these standards, my development was pretty speedy. I remember as a kid kind of hating how the world worked. From an early age, I had schedules, standards, and a lot of rules set upon my shoulders, which I basically table flipped to breathe. I didn't like authority, disobeyed most teachers, and bickered ruthlessly against one of my parents (INTJ...Yeah.) Luckily, we're both not feeling, so most arguments end with food and a good movie. I always questioned everything, and father treated me squarely as an adult (The basic rule of thumb was that if I was smart enough to ask said question, I deserved an honest answer, however grown up it may be.) 

The only trait that constantly changes if F vs T. I am a gray person; I like the in between ideas of being able to entertain a thought, but not accept it. I am at ease in chaos and a mess in order. I remember coming to this conclusion while I was watching people play on a beach with my dad, who was giving me a philosophy session about the general "happy pigs" and "sad philosopher". He asked me who I would like to be, and I said why not both? I didn't understand how he could label people in said boxes, and I sure as hell wasn't going to be categorized into one of them--So from then on I decided to be both. I wanted to experience carefree life, but have the sense to realize that I had it pretty damn good. My father always saw things in black and white, or of the box "unexplainable", whereas my Perceiving function saw a lot where he saw three options.

Long story short, I switch between F and T for nearly every interaction I have within a day. I test positively for the one I want, 50/50 percent of the time. I become ENTP with dad, ENFP with mom, and generally behave as one such personality when it's convenient for myself. I identify as ENTP because it's who I am, only I would more likely want to experience the other sides as any visionary would. Its easier to condone to society's standards in ENFP than ENTP, and yes, it is exhausting to hop from one to the other, but somehow I make it work, and to be honest, I enjoy lighting myself on fire once in a while for entertainment. I am at home in the chaos of myself, i guess.


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## pluvio (Feb 14, 2015)

Oh, i guess to close up what I think, I believe people change accordingly. Personality isn't cemented into your very being--It can morph with who you are day to day, even by your own choice. Then again, it may just go down to whether or not you favor flexibility and change. I like to switch it up, so I found a method to do so and experience as much as possible, which what makes me feel bliss as a person.


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## Rabid Seahorse (Mar 10, 2015)

This makes sense. I've read that our personality traits- although always malleable to some extent- tend to do so the most in our 20's (might be us tapping into our weaker 3rd function) and remain the most stable from age 50 onwards. I'm almost 23 and I'm starting to have a lot more success with social skills and being considerate. As a teenager I was always doing "reckless" things because I would get an idea, analyze it and be like "HEY THAT SOUNDS FUN" lol.


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## blingyeol (Jun 24, 2015)

This actually made me sure I'm an INFJ (my results were always 50/50 on the T/F and when I read the descriptions I thought INFJ suits me more but of course some things from INTJ were fitting too). With this using INFJ as an example, I could see my development in it pretty clearly


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## Abigail1509 (Jul 1, 2015)

I think that no one is really born a certain temperament, but we start being like one of them according to our environments and our experiences!


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## AndyBeanz (Feb 15, 2016)

interesting


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