The Enigmatic INTP Psyche, Part 2

For an explanation of this series, see Part 1.


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The INTP has a whole set of skills which he knows that he would be proficient at, yet other people may know little of this. He is satisfied with the knowledge that he has these skills but often sees no requirement to demonstrate this to others.

Yeah, this is probably true. I always had to prove things to myself and didn't care much whether I could prove it to other people. Most of the time, at least.


INTP's put great weight on being individuals and essentially different from other people, who they often view as being too alike and too interdependent.

I used to be more this way. I appreciate the need for a little interdependence now more than I used to. I still think people are way too mindlessly sheep-like in their tastes and opinions, though. And I suppose this all ties into the fact that I actually kind of enjoy being a bit of an anomaly. ...in many ways. I like to be the "weird" one in a society. Go fig.


The opinions of others are rarely given much weight in themselves. All opinions must get filtered through an analysis procedure to test for viability. No title or claim of being an "expert" carries any weight with an INTP.

I don't know if it carries NO weight. It just doesn't negate the need for analysis. Why don't more people realize this? Ideas should stand on their own. Of course, there's always the issue of other people having perspectives I don't, so that's where the trust and respect for generally-sound opinions comes in. Sometimes, I just have to shrug and say, "I don't know everything, and I can't disprove it, so I'll file it away as something to consider."


Independence, derived primarily from strongly introverted Thinking, leads to perhaps the most difficult aspect (for others) of the INTP, namely stubbornness.

I am NOT!


If an INTP is pushed into doing something he will automatically resist. The reason for the resistance is simply that any action must first be filtered by the introverted thinking, guided by the extroverted intuition. He must be given the chance to reach an independent decision, approving or rejecting the action. Hence, he must withdraw to allow the analysis process to work. If withdrawal is not allowed then stubborn resistance is the inevitable result.

Um...yeah, OK. Seriously. Do NOT press me. It yields few...nay, NO results. You're gonna have to back off before I'll make the call. That's why pressure tactics do not work on me. I typically just shrug and walk away when someone tries to put the pressure on.


However, others may not always find the INTP excessively stubborn, since the decision-making process can sometimes be rapidly accelerated when intuition takes the upper hand. The best way to get an INTP to do something is to suggest the idea as an option and let him sleep on it. Ultimately, the INTP must always believe that it is his decision. Once he is satisfied that the decision was independently reached, then he is content.

Duh.