You’re Analyzing MBTI Type Wrong

One method novice MBTI Users use to figure out another person’s type is to look at the letters. They try to figure out whether a person is Introverted (I) or Extroverted (E), then look at Sensing (S) vs Intuitive (N), then Thinking (T) vs Feeling (F), and finally Judging (J) vs Perceiving (P), and voilà, you have just figured out what they are by combining the letters. Seems easy enough right?

Actually, this is NOT how you are supposed to type people. If you try to type people this way, you are likely typing people’s MBTI wrong.

Why is this a bad way to read people?

1) First, people’s preferences are likely to change. First impressions are poor. Your first impression of them will not be accurate for telling whether they are really introverted or not. This will likely hold true for any other trait you would guess about them at first glance.

2) That person can be hiding their true nature. They might not even understand their true nature and are doing what society tells them to. Imagine the ESFJ male who is quite sensitive internally, but will present as macho-guys because that is what is expected of them by society.

3) Probably the most important reason, their cognitive functions are being used in non-stereotypical ways. You may see a very laid-back INTJ, who is operating in his dominant function of introverted intuition. At first glance, it may seem like he is a Perceiver (P) , but do not be fooled. He is internally a Judger (J). Similar issues like this happen all the time between Judging (J) and Perceiving (P) preferences.

So overall, it is very easy to type people in the wrong ways and if you are doing any of these things, it is likely that you are typing people’s MBTI wrong.

How To Really Type People

Look at their cognitive functions. A person’s cognitive functions will give you a much better picture of how a person perceives their world.

Step #1: Figure out the person’s top two cognitive functions.

Usually this is enough to tell you the person’s type. Each of the 16 MBTI types have a dominant and auxiliary function that will account for a majority of their personality, especially at a younger age. If you can figure out the order of a person’s two top cognitive functions, you have figured out their MBTI personality type.

Step #2: Check the Inferior Function

If you type personalities well, you might not even need to do this step, but it can be a great way to double-check and clear up any confusions you may have about a person’s type.

The inferior function will be another sign that you are onto the right MBTI type as it is the weakest cognitive function that a person has and is often projected unconsciously in immature ways at times. For example, ENFJ/ESFJs have a tendency to unconsciously try projecting themselves as smart while INTJ/INFJs can unconsciously get themselves into sensory splurges where they eat a ton of food or other physical excesses.

By looking at a person’s inferior function, you can get a good sense of their dominant function, which will consequentially, tell/confirm their MBTI type.

Step #3: Constantly test your assumptions.

It is very easy to have a bias and believe someone is a certain type based on a few initial impressions that you have had. You should apply a keen eye towards your assumptions about someone and see if the things you believe hold true. False understanding can be dangerous by leaving the other person confused about how you came to your ideas about them, or even for yourself by believing yourself to be something that you are not.

Now What?

Once you learn to type people effectively, that’s when the real fun can begin as you are now entering a world of insights that others will lack. There are numerous benefits of MBTI and learning to type people’s personality can prove to be a great skill to have.

Hopefully you can now stop others when you see them typing people’s MBTI wrong.