What's An INTP? In the 1920s, psychologist Carl G. Jung theorized that while people have in common the same set of instincts that drive them from within, they are fundamentally different because they have different preferences for which instincts to use in everyday life functioning. His book, Psychological Types, was the basis for work done in the 1950s by Isabel Myers and her mother, Katheryn Briggs, in the creation of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). The MBTI assumes four pairs of preference alternatives, each preference representing one end of a continuum. These preferences are:
Characteristics of the INTP (Introverted, INtuitive, Thinking, Perceiver) include a love of problem-solving, an openness to new ideas and information, a delight in humor, especially humor based on word-play or creative twists, and an exceptional ability to make coherent large-scale concepts out of endlessly proliferating amounts of seemingly unrelated data. INTPs are the stereotypical "absent-minded professors" of the world, spending much of their time in intensely concentrated analytical thinking. So much so, that people of other Types, frequently misunderstand INTPs as uncaring or uninvolved with the world around them.
The downside of being an INTP is that they tend to put off decision-making, waiting to fit that latest new piece of data into the conceptual model they have created. That is, they are big-time procrastinators!!!! INTPs don't have much affection for planning, and abhor repetitive, routine tasks; instead, they thrive on spontaneity and variety!! Also, INTPs love learning new things inside and out, mastering them in fact, but then they have a tendency to lose interest in a thing once it is mastered, and want to move on to something else new and exciting. This results in starting a whole lot of projects, and not finishing very many of them. INTPs are idea people, and need people around them who like to take new ideas and do something practical with them! INTPs love to debate and discuss ideas, often long past the tolerance of people of other types. INTPs tend to approach problem-solving, for ANY kind of problem, with logical analysis. To people of other types, this can sometimes appear cold and unfeeling.
INTPs are introverts, and have a tendency to neglect their social skills; they are especially inept - even intolerant - when it comes to making "small talk" or coping with groups of people they don't know. INTPs prefer intimate relationships with a few special people, and are cautious about revealing their feelings to any but their closest friends. This can be misunderstood by people of other types as coldness. Actually, INTPs are extremely sensitive, and easily hurt by criticism. Their feelings are quite intense, and when these feelings are expressed they can come flooding out with surprising force.
I am an INTP woman - a rare type. This has presented some challenges for me in life, because my interests and my preferences for functioning in the world are not always accepted as traditionally female behaviors. I was fortunate however to have people in my family and in my life who placed great value on some of those traits - especially the love of learning, of debate and discussion, of analysis, of wordplay. I was encouraged by my teachers rather than discouraged, as some INTP women were. There was only one high school vocational counselor who gave me a hard time because I wanted to go to an engineering college instead of a small liberal arts school.
The most difficult challenges I have had to face have been in the social arena. As a Major Introvert, it takes tremendous energy for me to interact with people in social situations for any length of time. Not that I don't like people - I do! And I've had some wonderful friendships and relationships in my life, but I am NOT naturally good at small talk, I am NOT good at "thinking on my feet" in conversation, so usually by the time I've figured out how I'd like to respond to what someone has said, the conversation is already miles down the road on some other point entirely! As a manager, I HAD to learn how to converse with strangers, how to deal with social situations, etc. This is an ongoing learning process for me, and I am gaining skill, but it probably never will feel natural or totally comfortable.
I love other INTPs! One way you can connect with other INTPs across the country (and the world) is to join an INTP e-mail discussion group. I highly recommend it to any INTPs who happen to drop in here and read this! If you want to join a list, just go www.intp.org and then follow the directions from there. WARNING: be prepared for heavy mail volume, like at least 100 messages per day. What INTPs don't say out loud, they more than make up for in e-mail correspondence!!!!
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