Do SJs Have The Best Memories?

People typically describe the SJs (ISTJ, ESTJ, ISFJ, ESFJ) as having the best memories. At this point, good memory has basically become a requisite for being one of the SJ personality types. There are reasons for this, but as per usual, what was originally a decent concept has been taken to an extreme. In this article, I intend to discuss how memory relates to the SJ personality types, including why people think what they think, what’s true, and what’s not. This article will probably be somewhat short, but regardless, I think the topic deserves a straightforward explanation.

Let’s Talk About Memory

Before we delve into this, it’s important to realize that multiple factors play into memory. First, people can have bad memories for medical or health-related reasons. People have found that their memories improve with certain supplements, while certain medical conditions negatively impact memory. These factors are entirely separate from personality, meaning they can impact anyone, regardless of personality type. Second, memory can be exercised and improved to some degree. Third, people remember what’s important to them. Someone can have the best memory in the world, but if they just don’t care to remember when your birthday is, they won’t.

Why Is Memory Associated With the SJs?

Si has become known as the memory function. For those who are new to the cognitive functions, all SJ types have Si high in their cognitive function stack, with the ISFJs and ISTJs specifically having it as their dominant function. In other words, Si is a function that SJs prioritize.

So, how does Si tie into memory? Well, Si causes SJs to rebuild reality, detail by detail, inside their minds. They form specific preferences for reality based on their experiences. As they go about their life, they compare their current experiences to experiences they’ve had in the past, to see if those experiences measure up, to prepare for future events, and to avoid making mistakes. As a result, they have a default desire to catalog the past and remember it, for practical reasons.

Subsequently, people have observed a tendency in SJs to remember a lot of details, especially in regard to past events. The ISTJs and ISFJs especially have this reputation.

Do All SJs Have Amazing Memories?

Here is where the misconception comes into play. As I mentioned earlier, many personality type descriptions make it sound like all SJs have amazing memories. However, rationally, since there are factors beyond personality that affect memory, that conclusion doesn’t make any sense. In addition, memory is not part of the core definition of Si. (See our overview of Si here: Introverted Perceiving Functions (Ni/Si).) There is a trend in regard to their memory that we will discuss, but a trend is not the same as a rule. When dealing with trends, you have to focus on the core process that’s bringing about the trend, or you risk drawing inaccurate conclusions. So, to answer the question concisely, no, SJs do not always have amazing memories.

Do SJs Have Better Memories Than Other Personality Types?

I was once talking to another ISTP about memory, one who doesn’t actually know anything about Myers-Briggs or the cognitive functions, and she made the observation that bad memory in some people seems more like a personality trait than an actual, physical problem. In my opinion, that was completely on point.

It all comes back to what different personality types value. Obviously, we know that memory involves the past. We can’t remember something unless it’s happened. So, since SJs value past experience, so they can consciously use it to inform their present and future, they want to hold onto a lot of that information. Since they strive to have this information on hand, it can make them appear to have better memories than other types. However, this is only because the information they value is practical and useful in their daily life. In other words, you’ll encounter more situations with an SJ that will “show off” or prompt their memories, because the information they value is frequently in action. (SJs can certainly have bad memories, but they’ll probably be sensitive to this fact because they feel like they’re missing a lot of necessary information.)

For the sake of understanding, I’ll give you a comparison example using the SPs. (As an ISTP, that’s a type grouping I understand well.)

Memory In The SPs

SPs (ESFP, ISFP, ESTP, ISTP) don’t value past experience like the SJs do. SPs value gaining a wide variety of experiences and living in the present, but they don’t particularly care about holding onto the past. They prefer to approach every experience like it’s new. As a result, SPs often seem like they have bad memories, even if they technically don’t, because they’re not very concerned about storing and re-accessing a bunch of past details to handle the current situation. SPs frequently act instinctively, using memory in a more subconscious way. Obviously, we all have events in our past that hold meaning to us, and an SP is no exception. They will remember those, but they will not catalog the past to the same degree that an SJ will. It’s just not as important to them.

To use myself as an example, my memory has always been terrible, or so I’ve said. However, back when I was in school, I had no issues memorizing information when the class required it. In my daily life, though, I forget things constantly. I can rewatch the same movie or series and not remember how it plays out the second time around if I put enough time in the middle. (People in my life like to mock me about how I can re-experience movies as if I’d never seen them before.)

Personally, if I’m being completely honest, I just find a lot of stuff to be too much effort to remember, or not worth it. Remembering movies is pointless, and getting to re-enjoy them is technically a perk. Repeating mistakes doesn’t really bother me that much, unless it’s something drastic. Otherwise, I shrug things off quickly. I don’t worry too much about the future, which means storing a lot of information to prepare for it is relatively low on my mental list of priorities. There are just so many things that seem unimportant, so why bother to commit those things to memory? I’ve got enough clutter up there.

(This reminds me of a scene from BBC Sherlock that you can check out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fedC7Pv08Ms. We typed Sherlock from this series as an ENTJ.)

In Summary…

So, to sum this article up, I would surmise that if you take two people of equal memory capacity and intelligence (one being an SJ), the SJ may appear to have a better memory simply because the SJ will often strive to remember information that is practical, or relevant to daily life. While the SP is shrugging off past failures, the SJ will be analyzing that failure in detail to ensure it never happens again. SJs sometimes will even seem like NPs in the sense that they pick up or remember a broad range of information, because it either was relevant once, or might be some day.

Whereas, the other personality types (NJs and SPs) will focus their memory on more specific or narrowed areas of interest or relevancy. When it comes to those interests or specific areas, they’ll be able to remember a wealth of information, if they indeed have a good memory. However, if you ask them about something that falls outside of it, like a non-impactful past experience, they may appear forgetful because they simply didn’t care to commit that to memory in a concrete way.