ISTP (personality type)

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This article is about the Myers-Briggs personality type. For other uses of the acronym, see ISTP.

ISTP (Introversion, Sensing, Thinking, Perception) is an abbreviation used in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) to refer to one of the sixteen personality types.^[1] The MBTI assessment was developed from the work of prominent psychiatrist Carl G. Jung in his book Psychological Types, which proposed a psychological typology based on his theories of cognitive functions. These theories were based on clinical observation, however, rather than the controlled studies required for acceptance by the modern field of cognitive psychology.^[2]

From Jung's work, others developed psychological typologies. Well-known personality tests are the MBTI assessment, developed by Isabel Briggs Myers and Katharine Cook Briggs, and the Keirsey Temperament Sorter, developed by David Keirsey. Keirsey referred to ISTPs as Crafters, one of the four types belonging to the temperament he called the Artisan.

[edit] The MBTI instrument

The MBTI preferences indicate the differences in people based on the following:^[3]

• How they focus their attention or get their energy (Extraversion or Introversion)
• How they perceive or take in information (Sensing or iNtuition)
• How they prefer to make decisions (Thinking or Feeling)
• How they orient themselves to the external world (Judgment or Perception)

By using their preference in each of these areas, people develop what Jung and Myers called psychological type. This underlying personality pattern results from the dynamic interaction of their four preferences, in conjunction with environmental influences and their own individual tendencies. People are likely to develop behaviors, skills, and attitudes based on their particular type. Each personality type has its own potential strengths as well as areas that offer opportunities for growth.

The MBTI tool consists of multiple choice questions that sort respondents on the basis of the four "dichotomies" (pairs of psychological opposites). Sixteen different outcomes are possible, each identified by its own four-letter code, referred to by initial letters. (N is used for iNtuition, to differentiate it from Introversion). The MBTI is approximately 75% accurate according to its own manual.^[4]

• I – Introversion preferred to Extraversion: ISTPs tend to be quiet and reserved. They generally prefer interacting with a few close friends rather than a wide circle of acquaintances, and they expend energy in social situations (whereas extraverts gain energy).^[5]
• S – Sensing preferred to iNtuition: ISTPs tend to be more concrete than abstract. They focus their attention on the details rather than the big picture, and on immediate realities rather than future possibilities .^[6]
• T – Thinking preferred to Feeling: ISTPs tend to rely on objective criteria rather than personal values. When making decisions, they generally give more weight to logic than to social considerations.^[7]
• P – Perception preferred to Judgment: ISTPs tend to withhold judgment and delay important decisions, preferring to "keep their options open" should circumstances change.^[8]

[edit] Characteristics

Some practitioners have speculated that Clint Eastwood is an ISTP.^[9] However, according to the guidelines for the ethical use of the MBTI, only those taking the assessment can identify their own best fit.^[10]

[edit] Myers-Briggs description

According to Myers-Briggs, ISTPs excel at analyzing situations to reach the heart of a problem so that they can swiftly implement a functional repair, making them ideally suited to the field of engineering. Naturally quiet people, they are interested in understanding how systems operate, focusing on efficient operation and structure. They are open to new information and approaches. But contrary to their seemingly detached natures, ISTPs are often capable of humorously insightful observations about the world around them, and can be closet daredevils who gravitate toward fast-moving or risky hobbies (such as bungee jumping, hang gliding, racing, motorcycling, and parachuting), recreational sports (such as downhill skiing, paintball, ice hockey, and scuba diving), and careers (such as aviation and firefighting).

[edit] Keirsey description

According to Keirsey, Crafter Artisans are masters at using tools of every type—artistic, technological, martial. Although they are introverts, they are authoritarian in their interactions with others and can be forceful at influencing people. They focus on accomplishing tasks efficiently and skillfully.

To master the tool of their interest, ISTPs require a certain degree of seclusion in which to practice. The result is often a virtuosity that other types find difficult to match.

[edit] Cognitive functions

Drawing upon Jungian theory, Isabel Myers proposed that for each personality type, the cognitive functions—sensing, intuition, thinking, and feeling—form a hierarchy. This hierarchy represents the person's "default" pattern of behavior.

The Dominant function is the personality type's preferred role, the one they feel most comfortable with. The secondary Auxiliary function serves to support and expand on the Dominant function. If the Dominant is an information gathering function (sensing or intuition), the Auxiliary is a decision making function (thinking or feeling), and vice versa. The Tertiary function is less developed than the Dominant and Auxiliary, but it matures over time, rounding out the person's abilities. The Inferior function is the personality type's Achilles' heel. This is the function they are least comfortable with. Like the Tertiary, the Inferior function strengthens with maturity.^[11]

Jung and Myers considered the attitude of the Auxiliary, Tertiary, and Inferior functions to be the opposite of the Dominant. In this interpretation, if the Dominant function is extraverted, then the other three are introverted, and vice versa. However, many modern practitioners hold that the attitude of the Tertiary function is the same as the Dominant. ^[4]

• Dominant Introverted Thinking (Ti) – The ISTP lives a world of logic, basing decisions on logic. They process information from their auxiliary function to create strategies for action at a moment's notice. They love to examine complicated systems.
• Auxiliary Extraverted Sensing (Se) – This function gives ISTPs an element of spontaneity, driving them to embrace opportunities to plunge headfirst into experiences. It also gives them a keen insight into situations similar to that of the ISTJ. Their occasionally tunnel-visioned curiosity for the world around them gives them a "leap before you look" tendency. They are notorious for taking apart devices to "see what makes them tick", before considering whether they can put them back together.
• Tertiary Introverted iNtuition (Ni) – Never as open in their theorizing as the INTP, the ISTP prefers to keep themselves grounded in the situation at hand, using their intuition to visualize components and concepts that they cannot see and touch firsthand, such as the wiring in a circuit board.
• Inferior Extraverted Feeling (Fe) – This is the weak point of ISTPs and it may lead them to interpret criticisms of their ideas as criticisms of their competence. Although ISTPs strive to follow the edicts of logic, their inferior function can lead them to illogically and stubbornly cling to their own ideas even when proven wrong.^[11]

[edit] See also

• Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
• Keirsey Temperament Sorter
• Artisan temperament
• Crafter (Role Variant)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Keirsey: Artisan-Crafter (ISTP)
• TypeLogic ISTP
• Personality Page: Mechanic
• The Myers & Briggs Foundation: The 16 MBTI Types
• PersonalityDesk: ISTP Profile