Temperament groups - they really are meaningless
Okay, so my fellow MBTI nerds have undoubtedly heard the rising number of accusations that the MBTI is basically meaningless, and like me, they’re probably frustrated by now at that oft-made assessment because it’s made solely on the basis that some people misuse and abuse the MBTI. With some of the most notorious being the slew of MBTI pop quizzes prevalent on the internet. The critics’ reasoning is the same logic that was responsible for the era of prohibition. And we all saw how well that worked out. But part of that is our own fault, as we have a natural tendency to condense and simplify the MBTI so that we can present its highlights all at once in the form of brief quizzes or charts listing famous type bearers both real and fictional. But contrary to what the skeptics claim, that tendency isn’t unique to MBTI nerds by any stretch of the imagination. It’s one of the most common traits of humanity. And just because something is categorized incorrectly doesn’t mean the category itself is automatically invalid.
Take taxonomy, for instance. Taxonomy is a pursuit almost as “meaningless” as the MBTI is accused of being, because what we choose to call an organism does not change the organism. And because organisms are always changing and specializing, they are constantly being re-categorized. Why, very recently, the Palestinian viper, believed for decades to be one of the southernmost members of the genus Vipera, was recently reclassified as a member of Daboai that somehow got separated from its Indian cousin, the Russell’s viper. It didn’t change genera genetically; herpetologists simply discovered that it seemed to have more in common with the Russell’s viper than it did with the Eurasian vipers. So what’s the point of taxonomic classification? Simple; it helps keep biologists on the same page, for the most part. With so many species to study, it’s necessary to have a way to organize them all.
Now, obviously, I’m preaching to the choir here. Most of my followers are also into the MBTI, and we all know it is far from meaningless. Buuuuut...it does have its...less than meaningful elements. The most notable of which are the temperament groups.
Those of you who have taken the MBTI quiz over at 16personalities.com are aware that the 16 types are divided into four temperament groups:
The Analysts (NTs)
The Diplomats (NFs)
The Sentinels (SJs)
The Explorers (SPs)
These four temperaments can have other names, depending on which site is organizing them. They may be called the Rationals, Idealists, Guardians and Artisans, respectively. But it doesn’t really matter what you call them, as they don’t really mean anything.
The temperaments are not original to the MBTI. They were added by David Kiersey, who typed subjects based on a sliding scale of four letters rather than by cognitive functions. We all know the obvious problem with this; it’s impossible to get a solid, accurate typing when it’s so easy to be right in between two letters--especially P and J. We also know it’s impossible to be both a P and a J when the middle two letters remain the same. But Kiersey didn’t pay any attention to this fact when he grouped all the NTs together and all the NFs together. He did alright grouping the Sensors by their common Perceiving function, but he should have done the same with the iNtuitives. It would make more sense for all of the NJs to be in the same temperament group, while all the NPs share a temperament group.
But don’t all NFs share a temperament? And all NTs? Well, no, not really. Both Thinkers and Feelers can be analytical or efficient leaders, so it’s really, really not fair to say that ONLY Thinkers are rational and want to reason everything through. Both Thinkers and Feelers are capable of great compassion and compromise, so it’s unfair to claim that ONLY Feelers are capable of negotiating a peace between individuals.
So what makes NPs and NJs more similar in temperament than NFs and NTs? And what makes the latter so dissimilar? Honestly, their strengths.
For the next section, you’ll need to have a passing familiarity with the Strengths Quest/Finder tests.
NPs - These are the types usually strong in Input. Ne is their most developed extroverted function. Ne is the function of imagination, exploration and deliberation. It often creates many, many rich fantasy worlds in which to live and build. It’s easily distracted, and can become overwhelmed when too many options are available to it. It is the most ambiverted function because it takes its inspiration from literally everywhere and everything. For this reason, Ne users hoard information. And I do mean hoard. There is not an Ne user on the planet whose brain is not full of seemingly random trivia that “may come in handy one day.” They all appear very analytical, and they are prone to info-dumping when someone so much as casually mentions one of their passions. Ne users are among the most excitable of the types, despite their ambiversion or strong introversion. And they are almost always either ambiverts or strong introverts.
NTPs are unlike NTJs in that they are information hoarders. NTJs know how to efficiently sift through information that they know they will need, and will either discard the rest or put it aside as potentially useful in the event they need to fall back on it. NTPs want to learn everything about anything that even remotely captures their interest, dissecting it so thoroughly that it’ll be a miracle if anyone can put it back together. NTPs also tend to be very good at finding and endearing themselves to other Ne users who share their passions.
NFPs are unlike NFJs in that they are more expressive--and more volatile. NFJs are masters of tranquil fury. NFPs are decidedly not. Their passion leads them in all things, including logic. NFPs are long suffering, but if you push them to their breaking point, all hell will break loose. While the NFJ will just devise a master plan to get you to walk yourself into hell. Not that NFJs can’t lose their temper; they just generally have much better control over it than the NFP. NFPs take just about everything personally. NFJs know exactly what’s truly personal and what is not. But on the flip side, NFPs can also be de-escalated and brought down to baseline fairly quickly. They are easy to appease with a simple apology because they still desire good relations that allow them to continue to share their passions. They generally forgive easily. And they will grow from the experience.
All in all, the best temperament group title for the NPs would be the Learners.
NJs - These are the types usually strong in Focus. Ni is their main Perceiving function, making either Te or Fe their most developed extroverted function. Ni is the function of focus, gut instinct, and direction. It’s just as capable of imagination as Ne, but keeps that imagination focused on what it deems truly important. Like Ne, it focuses on the future, but it pursues a singular future, combining all possibilities to produce its desired outcome. Ni users tend to be very clever and very driven. They can turn even unfavorable circumstances into a favorable outcome. They are often acutely aware of their abilities, and for that reason may grow narcissistic. They may punish themselves for engaging in personal amusements or “meaningless” pursuits that don’t have a clear end goal (”guilty pleasures”). If they lose their focus, they grow listless and may fall into depression. They are often found closer to the ends of the I/E scale, but a good percentage of them fall toward the middle.
NTJs are unlike NTPs in that they will not allow themselves to be distracted by what they consider frivolous. If they don’t need to know something, they won’t be bothered to learn it. If it has no application in the present or immediate future, it’s probably not important. NTJ passions are much more subtle in nature than NTP passions. And NTJs will only share those passions with those they deem worthy of receiving their bountiful wisdom. If an NTJ chooses you for this purpose, for the love of Jung, pay attention!! The NTJ has selected you not just to be their follower, but to be groomed as a sort of successor, if you will. NTJs want to build something that will outlive them, and they want to make sure someone will be there to carry on their work. Because as far as they are concerned, there’s always room for improvement.
NFJs are unlike NFPs in that they are, quite frankly, much better diplomats. Their Fe gives them a desire for emotional stability within themselves so that they can better serve the emotional needs of those in their care. And their Ni makes them some of the most incredible listeners. NFJs, like all empaths, are capable of manipulating the emotional atmosphere to suit their needs and desires. But NFJs, unlike SFJs, have very specific reasons for doing this. Which is why the NFJ in a position of power is potentially incredibly dangerous. NFJs in power have an uncanny ability to get the masses to do exactly what they want and to love doing it. No matter what you are doing, if you are interacting with an NFJ, there is always the chance that they are subtly directing you to a certain path, and they are probably making you believe it is all your own idea. These types are the most potent for that reason, and can accomplish great good or great evil. It’s a good thing they’re also the rarest types.
All in all, the best temperament group title for the NJs would be the Achievers.
All that said, my groupings are really completely arbitrary. Because the temperament groups are meaningless. You could find a common temperament among all SFs and STs, or group the types according to function stacks and figure out temperament names for those. Knock yourself out! And please, by all means, share with me what you came up with. I value creativity.
