# Does intelligence equal to being an NT?



## knittigan (Sep 2, 2011)

slss said:


> Don't you think, though, that my age is correlated to my T/F?


No. Because you don't have T/F. The T/F dichotomy is misleading. It isn't a sliding scale of how you prefer to make your decisions, i.e. more logically-based or value-based. It has to do with the means by which you support your thinking.

INTJs are fundamentally different than INFJs:

INTJ: Ni-Te-Fi-Se
INFJ: Ni-Fe-Ti-Se

As you'll notice, INTJs and INFJs share both Ni and Se in the same positions. Therefore what distinguishes an INTJ from an INFJ is Te-Fi against the INFJs' Fe-Ti.

For INTJs, this means:



> *Extraverted Thinking (Te)* - Contingency planning, scheduling, and quantifying utilize the process of extraverted Thinking. Extraverted Thinking helps us organize our environment and ideas through charts, tables, graphs, flow charts, outlines, and so on. At its most sophisticated, this process is about organizing and monitoring people and things to work efficiently and productively. Empirical thinking is at the core of extraverted Thinking when we challenge someone’s ideas based on the logic of the facts in front of us or lay out reasonable explanations for decisions or conclusions made, often trying to establish order in someone else’s thought process. In written or verbal communication, extraverted Thinking helps us easily follow someone else’s logic, sequence, or organization. It also helps us notice when something is missing, like when someone says he or she is going to talk about four topics and talks about only three. In general, it allows us to compartmentalize many aspects of our lives so we can do what is necessary to accomplish our objectives.





> *Introverted Feeling (Fi)* - It is often hard to assign words to the values used to make introverted Feeling judgments since they are often associated with images, feeling tones, and gut reactions more than words. As a cognitive process, it often serves as a filter for information that matches what is valued, wanted, or worth believing in. There can be a continual weighing of the situational worth or importance of everything and a patient balancing of the core issues of peace and conflict in life’s situations. We engage in the process of introverted Feeling when a value is compromised and we think, “Sometimes, some things just have to be said.” On the other hand, most of the time this process works “in private” and is expressed through actions. It helps us know when people are being fake or insincere or if they are basically good. It is like having an internal sense of the “essence” of a person or a project and reading fine distinctions among feeling tones.


For INFJs, this means:



> *Extroverted Feeling (Fe)* - The process of extraverted Feeling often involves a desire to connect with (or disconnect from) others and is often evidenced by expressions of warmth (or displeasure) and self-disclosure. The “social graces,” such as being polite, being nice, being friendly, being considerate, and being appropriate, often revolve around the process of extraverted Feeling. Keeping in touch, laughing at jokes when others laugh, and trying to get people to act kindly to each other also involve extraverted Feeling. Using this process, we respond according to expressed or even unexpressed wants and needs of others. We may ask people what they want or need or self-disclose to prompt them to talk more about themselves. This often sparks conversation and lets us know more about them so we can better adjust our behavior to them. Often with this process, we feel pulled to be responsible and take care of others’ feelings, sometimes to the point of not separating our feelings from theirs. We may recognize and adhere to shared values, feelings, and social norms to get along.





> *Introverted Thinking (Ti)* - Introverted Thinking often involves finding just the right word to clearly express an idea concisely, crisply, and to the point. Using introverted Thinking is like having an internal sense of the essential qualities of something, noticing the fine distinctions that make it what it is and then naming it. It also involves an internal reasoning process of deriving subcategories of classes and sub-principles of general principles. These can then be used in problem solving, analysis, and refining of a product or an idea. This process is evidenced in behaviors like taking things or ideas apart to figure out how they work. The analysis involves looking at different sides of an issue and seeing where there is inconsistency. In so doing, we search for a “leverage point” that will fix problems with the least amount of effort or damage to the system. We engage in this process when we notice logical inconsistencies between statements and frameworks, using a model to evaluate the likely accuracy of what’s observed.


http://www.cognitiveprocesses.com

Everyone uses all eight cognitive functions, but the four that you prefer/which come most naturally to you are the ones which make up your type.


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## Obsidean (Mar 24, 2010)

The smartest people I know are Fs.


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## disappointed chiliast (Oct 27, 2010)

Staffan said:


> I'm pretty sure the second edition of the MBTI manual had stats that showed a correlation between I, N and to a much lesser degree T, and IQ and SAT scores. This is also in line with that Big Five's Introversion, Openness (similar to N) and to a lesser degree Conscietiousness (similar to T) correlated to IQ scores.


Conscientiousness is correlated much more with Judging than Thinking, and its relationship to IQ seems to be negative.



knittigan said:


> If you're questioning your type, then you should really just read up on cognitive functions. The MBTI dichotomies can be misleading. The difference between INFJs and INTJs is that INFJs are supported by Fe-Ti and INTJs are supported by Te-Fi. I would recommend starting with Fe/Fi since it's much easier to observe then Te/Ti.


I'd disagree with that last bit - a quick impression of a room or (better yet) notebook should suffice - but it may depend on what sort of things you're good at observing.


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## Staffan (Nov 15, 2011)

disappointed chiliast said:


> Conscientiousness is correlated much more with Judging than Thinking, and its relationship to IQ seems to be negative.
> 
> I'd disagree with that last bit - a quick impression of a room or (better yet) notebook should suffice - but it may depend on what sort of things you're good at observing.


I think studies have shown both negative and positive correlation but my point was only that isn't a big factor in IQ. 

As for the correlation with J, that seems reasonable even though I haven't seen the studies on this. If it's based only on McCrae & Costa's study it may not say so much given the limited sample size (about half of a normal opinion poll) and the test-retest reliability of the MBTI. I would have expected the correlation with T and S to be stronger.


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