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Myers-Brigg Typology
Your Type is
ISTJ| Introverted | Sensing | Thinking | Judging |
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Strength of the preferences %
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| 22 | 1 | 12 | 44
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The Portait of the Inspector (ISTJ) Inspector
Guardians look carefully and thoroughly at the people and institutions
around them. Making up perhaps as much as ten percent of the general
population, Inspectors are characterized by decisiveness in practical
affairs, are the guardians of institutions, and if only one adjective
could be selected, "superdependable" would best describe them. Whether
at home or at work, Inspectors are nothing if not dependable,
particularly when it comes to examining the people and products they
are responsible for-quietly seeing to it that uniform quality is
maintained, and that those around them uphold certain standards of
attitude and conduct. These quiet, no-nonsense Guardians have a
distaste for and distrust of fanciness in speech, dress, and living
space. Their words tend to be simple and down-to-earth, not showy or
high-flown; their clothes are often homespun and conservative rather
than of the latest fashion; and their home and work environments are
usually neat, orderly, and traditional, rather than up-to-date or
luxurious. In their choice of personal property (cars, furnishings,
jewelry, and so on) price and durability are just as important as
comfort or appearance. Classics, antiques, and heirlooms are especially
valued, having achieved a certain time-honored status-Inspectors prefer
the old-fashioned to the newfangled every time. Even on vacation,
Inspectors tend not to be attracted by exotic foods, beverages, or
locales. Their thoroughness and orderliness, combined with
their interest in legality and standardization, leads Inspectors to a
number of occupations that call for the careful administration of goods
and services. Inspectors feel right at home with difficult, detailed
forms and columns of figures, and thus they make excellent bank
examiners, auditors, accountants, and tax attorneys. Managing
investments in securities is likely to interest this type, particularly
investments in municipal bonds and blue-chip securities. Inspectors are
not likely to take chances either with their own or others' money, and
the thought of a bankrupt nation, state, institution, or family gives
them more than a little uneasiness. The idea of dishonoring a contract
also bothers an Inspector -their word is their bond-and they naturally
communicate a message of trustworthiness and stability, which can make
them successful in business. With their eye for detail, Inspectors make
good business men and women, librarians, dentists, optometrists, legal
secretaries, and law researchers. High school and college teachers of
business administration, home economics, physical education, civics,
and history tend to be Inspectors, as do quartermaster officers in the
military. Queen Elizabeth II, Harry S. Truman, Warren Buffet, Queen Victoria, James K. Polk, and J.D. Rockefeller are examples of Inspector Guardians.
Qualitative Analysis of Your Type Formula- slightly expressed introvert
- slightly expressed sensing personality
- slightly expressed thinking personality
- moderately expressed judging personality
Introverted Sensing Thinking Judging
ISTJs are often called inspectors. They have a keen sense of right
and wrong, especially in their area of interest and/or responsibility.
They are noted for devotion to duty. Punctuality is a watchword of the
ISTJ. The secretary, clerk, or business(wo)man by whom others set their
clocks is likely to be an ISTJ.
As do other Introverted Thinkers, ISTJs often give the initial
impression of being aloof and perhaps somewhat cold. Effusive
expression of emotional warmth is not something that ISTJs do without
considerable energy loss.
ISTJs are most at home with "just the facts, Ma'am." They
seem to perform at highest efficiency when employing a step-by-step
approach. Once a new procedure has proven itself (i.e., has been shown
"to work,") the ISTJ can be depended upon to carry it through, even at
the expense of their own health.
ISTJs are easily frustrated by the inconsistencies of others,
especially when the second parties don't keep their commitments. But
they usually keep their feelings to themselves unless they are asked.
And when asked, they don't mince words. Truth wins out over tact. The
grim determination of the ISTJ vindicates itself in officiation of
sports events, judiciary functions, or an other situation which
requires making tough calls and sticking to them.
His SJ orientation draws the ISTJ into the service of established
institutions. Home, social clubs, government, schools, the military,
churches -- these are the bastions of the SJ. "We've always done it
this way" is often reason enough for many ISTJs. Threats to
time-honored traditions or established organizations (e.g., a "run" on
the bank) are the undoing of SJs, and are to be fought at all costs.
Funtional Analysis
Introverted Sensing
Si is oriented toward the world of forms, essences, generics. Time is
such a form, a quantifiable essense of exactitude, the standard to which
external events are held. For both of the IS_J types, the sense of
propriety comes from the clear definition of these internal forms. An apple
"should" have certain qualities, against which all apples are evaluated.
A "proper" chair has four legs, (and other qualities this poor INTP can only
guess). Jung viewed introverted sensing as something of an oxymoron, in
that the natural direction of senses is outward toward the object, rather
than inward and away from it. One has the sense that Introverted Sensors
are drawn more to the measure of the concept of the perceived object
than to the experience of that perception.
Extraverted Thinking
The moderation of the Te function serves to socialize the expression
of these forms. When the Si function is ready to relinquish the data, Te
may speak. Otherwise, silence is golden. ISTJs seem to have a few
favorite forms (the tried and true) which may serve for most occasions.
My ISTJ dad woke me every morning with the same phrase for more years
than I care to remember. Asked, "How are you?" he answered with the same
stock phrase. ("As well as my age and habits will permit" was used for
about two decades.) "It's a good form, a sound form--it's the form for
me."
Introverted Feeling
Since Fi is turned inward, it is rarely expressed. Perhaps this enables
the ISTJ to resolutely accept that "we are all doomed." When told that
Lazarus had died, Thomas said, "Let us go and die with him." (He could
just as well have said something like, "I knew this was bound to happen
sooner or later.") Only in times of great distress is the Introverted
Feeling expressed (as I witnessed in my dad when a neighbor's son was
killed in a hunting accident). Otherwise, feeling is inferred, or
expressed nonverbally, through eye contact, or an encouraging smile.
Extraverted iNtuition
The Ne function of an ISTJ does not serve her very well. It needs a
lot of help. She was surprised, for example, to find that someone she had
talked with only by phone had red hair, because she "didn't usually like"
people with red hair! This inferior Ne seems to be a major source of, and
a natural breeding ground for, stereotypes. Failure of the banking system
is but one bogeyman which arises from the fear which feeds on the ISTJ's
mistrust of real world possibilities. The shadow inhabiting the inferior
Ne strikes at the precious forms and standards in the heart of the dominant
Si function.
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