My ISTP Struggle with the Keirsey Temperaments

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MBTI and Myers-Briggs related content

The Keirsey Temperaments are pretty popular among Myers-Briggs and 16 Types enthusiasts. People typically mix them into general type theory seamlessly, categorizing the sixteen personality types according to Keirsey. Often, those who are confused about their type also turn to Keirsey, hoping it’ll break the tie between two types or at least help narrow things down. The main reason I know this, is because I was one of those people.

Once upon a time, I began questioning my type. I had always typed as an ISTP, but as I got a bit older, I started really relating to stuff I was reading about INTPs. I could really see myself as a potential INTP, and some people in my life even agreed. So, I started reading a ton of information, including the Keirsey Temperaments. Ultimately, they didn’t help, and I want to explain why. (If you’re into the Keirsey Temperaments, I apologize. This is simply my opinion.)

An Overview of the Keirsey Temperaments

In case you’re not sure what I’m talking about, I’ll give a brief overview. Keirsey breaks the sixteen personality types into four temperaments: Artisans, Guardians, Idealists, and Rationals. The Artisans encompass the SP types, so ISTP, ESTP, ESFP, and ISFP. The Guardians are the SJs: ISTJ, ESTJ, ISFJ, and ESFJ. The Idealists are the NFs: INFJ, ENFJ, INFP, and ENFP. Lastly, the Rationals are the NTs: INTJ, ENTJ, INTP, and ENTP. In summary: SP Artisans, SJ Guardians, NF Idealists, and NT Rationals. Pretty straightforward, right? Ok, moving on.

My INTP vs ISTP Personality Type Dilemma

According to Keirsey, INTP and ISTP fall into two separate temperament brackets. At the time, I saw that as a good thing. Maybe it could be my tiebreaker. So, I started reading the descriptions of the Rationals and the Artisans from off of the main website. Unfortunately, I related to both, but in many ways, I related to the Rational (or NT) temperament more. Below I’m going to briefly cover both temperaments, and explain what my specific problem was. Let’s talk about the Artisans first.

Artisans

The Artisans are described as: optimistic, excited, playful, daring, impulsive, tactical, adaptable, enticing, and persuasive. The page goes on to essentially describe a very bold, hands-on personality that is exceptionally skilled at physical crafts. The description overall is very Se (or Extraverted Sensing) heavy, but with a lot of general Perceiver traits mixed in and a strong focus on physical skills.

Notice: I’m separating out physical skills from Se, because Cognitive Functions Do NOT Determine Skills. People like to make SPs out to be the only crafters, and that’s simply not the case. Some SPs aren’t even very good at that stuff. Their intelligence is not solely relegated to tools.

After reading the entire Artisan overview section, my condensed takeaway is that the Artisans are impulsive, fun-loving tool wielders.

Rationals

The Rationals are described as ingenious, logical, pragmatic, calm, curious, strategic, innovative, independent, and systemic. The page goes on to describe a system-focused individual bent on solving problems via analysis, curiosity, and independent thinking. Part of me wants to quote large portions of their Rational overview, because while reading, I just see so much Ti, and general Thinker traits. I’ll throw a couple of quotes in below to demonstrate what I’m saying.

“Rationals are the problem solving temperament, particularly if the problem has to do with the many complex systems that make up the world around us. …But whatever systems fire their curiosity, Rationals will analyze them to understand how they work, so they can figure out how to make them work better. ”

“They are rigorously logical and fiercely independent in their thinking — are indeed skeptical of all ideas, even their own — and they believe they can overcome any obstacle with their will power. Often they are seen as cold and distant, but this is really the absorbed concentration they give to whatever problem they’re working on.”

“…they are completely pragmatic about their ways and means of achieving their ends. Rationals don’t care about being politically correct. They are interested in the most efficient solutions possible, and will listen to anyone who has something useful to teach them, while disregarding any authority or customary procedure that wastes time and resources.”

A lot of that, to me, just looks like a motivated or ambitious Thinker. Although, the focus on complex systems sounds a lot like Ti specifically. Oh and for the record, the description on the website seems to make the Rationals out to be a perfect blend of realistic/concrete thinking with a love for abstract concepts. (Although, the quotes I shared don’t relay that. I was focusing on the Thinker stuff in those.)

Let’s look at this through the lens of Cognitive Functions

Each of the sixteen types have four cognitive functions in its stack. In the world of cognitive functions, saying SP simple means one of the four personality types with high Se. An SP is a Se user. NT is not so cut and dry. NTPs and NTJs have completely different cognitive functions. From a dichotomy standpoint, saying NT implies pulling in both an Intuition-based Perceiving function (Ne or Ni), and a Thinking-based Judging function (Te or Ti).

My mind breaks this information down into one core observation: the Rational temperament describes a group of people with two primary cognitive functions, while the Artisan temperament reduces its group of people down to one. The same thing applies to the Idealist temperament (two functions), and the Guardian temperament (one function). Why couldn’t it have been consistent? like NJs and NPs, or STs and SFs? Honestly, to me, it feels like another case of making the intuitives more complex than the sensors, but I digress.

Who am I?

I’m an ISTP. An ISTP’s cognitive function stack is Ti-Se-Ni-Fe. So, who am I? I’m first and foremost a thinking dominant. Se comes secondary to my Ti, and always will. Sure, I relate to the Artisan (SP) temperament, but it only captures one facet of me, and not the facet that is dominant. I love diving into systems, and gaining an understanding of them. I get a thrill from problem-solving. In addition, I’m skeptical and pragmatic. I’m cold and distant when problem-solving, because I’m hyper-concentrating. I often ignore procedure and authority. Etcetera. Etcetera. I could go on and on. When I was trying to figure out if I was an INTP or an ISTP, the Keirsey temperaments ultimately made me lean INTP, because my Se is not dominant.

In Conclusion

Throughout the type community, I often see the auxiliary Se users (ISFPs and ISTPs) being described with too strong of a focus on Se, and too strong of a focus on what people think Se is. It feels like the same thing is happening here. If the Keirsey Temperaments were separate from the Myers-Briggs types, and only loosely correlated (like Enneagram), this wouldn’t be an issue. However, they’re so tightly bound to the 16 types theory, that I see these temperaments as problematic. But, like I said above, this is just my lone opinion. I welcome feedback in the comments below, and any personal experiences you have.

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