by EdenOne 22 Replies latest jw friends
I was going through the personality types of the Briggs-Myers test (take the free test here) and noticed how some types are naturally inclined to follow rules and expect order, while others are inclined towards feelings and emotional appeals, other are naturally inclined to help out others ... what do you think? Are there certain basic personality types that pre-dispose the individual to adhere to a certain type of religion ?
Eden
In the appendix of Combating Cult Mind Control, there is a section on a study of Myers-Briggs and cults.
Apparently, the desired cult personality is ESFJ and people in a cult are bent toward this. ESFJ's make the the best recruiters for cults.
I think anybody can be drawn into a cult. But I suspect idealists (INFP, ENFP, ENTJ, INTJ) can be lured because cults appeal toward idealism.
Interesting stuff, Londo111...I should have a look at it soon.
Eden
Londo - LOL. I just finished the test and then read your post. My personality type is an ESFJ.
I found out I'm an INTP, so I'm a candidate to rebellious, independent, logic and creative thinker. duhhh
Eden
I'm sure it might help, but I believe the correct way of looking at personality types isn't in terms of what you do but why you do it.
I know quite a few ISTPs (my type) who are - or seem to be - true believers. I can't shake the feeling that it's probably mostly due to information control, but the fact remains that even though they are introverted thinkers and "should" prefer a sensory or materialistic approach to their environment, they still believe to some degree in the supernatural. I think the key to understanding this, is, as I hinted earlier, motivation: an ISTP generally wants to be correct, and they want to be professional/competent in what they do. As a Jehovah's Witness who's still under the influence of information control, the need for being correct is satisfied by studying and, where applicable, by "winning" discussions with people who don't share their faith. The need for being professional is satisfied by taking on as much theocratic work as possible, and excelling at it.
Besides, even as a believer, I was pretty relaxed about things I found unimportant or ridiculous. Long before I got enough information to believe in evolution as the explanation for the diversity of life, I implemented explanations of the proof for the Big Bang theory (which is something completely different but still not completely accepted among witnesses) into answers at the book study and speeches in the congregation. And I never understood the concept of not watching good movies or avoiding listening to music that made me feel alive. It wasn't, technically, rule following or a love of order that kept me inside the congregation: I had the same rebel streaks I have today. But they were combined with a naive belief that legalism and bigotry and systemic faults were to be expected, but that we still had the most correct world view available, from a wide enough perspective. Evidently, my perspective wasn't wide enough.
I took the test twice once quick and then slow (stopped to really think about it) I'm an INTJ in both. Lends credence to the test and the fact that I am not a JW besides being born in.
I don't believe in the test for what it claims to do. Any time I can change the answers to conform to what I want it to be, the test is junk. It is a way of analyzing the world just as psychoanalysis is. Also, most people change types frequently. Temperament was a new concept for me.
It reminds me of all the teen age and adult fashion mag tests. Please.
The approach is useful but it should never the final word.
Try this it worked three times for me with the same result
I have been fascinated by the MBTI since the '80's. I'm an INXP, which is a combination of INTP and INFP. I was a passionate JW, as INFP's are about whatever they believe in. The "truth" was presented to me (as a child) in a way that I considered scholarly; i.e., there were lots of quotations from "authorities" to back up their claims, so the INTP part was drawn in.
The ESFJ type is "the salesman," so cults find them very useful. They are also upholders of institutions and tradition (as are all SJ's/guardians).
What I learned from researching the different types are (1) that I don't have to be so melancholy and serious and (2) to figure out which type(s) a person is after I've known them a while. It helps me to speak to them in a way that they can relate to. INFP's have a mission to help everyone to be their authentic selves.
The 4 temperaments each have 4 types:
SJ: "Guardian" - keeps institutions and traditions alive, resists change, is methodical, does things step-by-step, expects others to conform to his/her values and expectations, make good administrators, are usually the boss.
SP: "Artisan" - Free spirited and fun-loving, live entirely in the moment, become great athletes, artists and musicians because if they love to do something, they do it for long stretches.
NT: "Rational" - thinkers, tinkerers, want to figure out how things work, make great inventors, analysts, scientists, often full of self-doubt.
NF: "Idealist" - People who care about others, make decisions based on values and how others will be affected; NF's were at the forefront of the Civil Rights movement and the Women's movement, work to make the world a better place, not bound by tradition.
