Comments on: Can Your Myers-Briggs Type Change?/Neuroplasticity: The Adaptable Brain

By: Ann Holm

Ann Holm — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 23:31:19 +0000

Certainly the brain can change “instantly” in response to a traumatic event but as far as changing one’s type, it would be gradual phenomenon. For example, a traumatic event could cause an indelible memory that would affect specific behavior pattern. However, type (or psychological preference) is more stable than that. You could have a parenting environment that could modify one’s type and even cause one to operate out of preference for quite some time. It is likely to manifest itself in a particular area rather than a wholesale change of one’s personality type. Another example might be if an ENTP is in the military, he is likely to learn organizational and time management skills pertinent to the demands of his role but he will still be someone who prefers ideas, connections, and brain storming over what is already known. The enhanced time management-organizational skills will be an overlay to his ENTP type. I hope that helps! If you want further clarification, feel free to ask more questions.

By: jewelz

jewelz — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 15:37:32 +0000

Does anyone know how long it might take, what might be average, to have an aspect of a personality develop that is contrary to one’s type.

Perhaps one’s type was forced to change in childhood (like an ENFJ) might turn into an ESTJ because of the parenting style… would it then be possible or logical for one to have a tramautic event in life (such as divorce) to trigger a shift back to one’s natural tendancy? Would this be a scenario where one would feel the shift instantly?

By: Starsailor

Starsailor — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 22:12:19 +0000

Thanks for posting this. I have been experiencing this myself but had heard that you cannot change your personality type. This explanation makes sense. Particularly, when you said, “Or, you may have facets of your personality that you would like to modify so that you don’t fall into the same bad patterns time and time again. ” That sums up exactly what I’ve been trying to do with myself for the last few years.

I felt compelled to comment because of what Megan Devlin-Petty wrote. I, too, was a very strong INFP for most of my life. However, recently, I seem to have developed into an INTJ just as she has observed in herself.

By: Katherine

Katherine — Mon, 31 May 2010 12:57:58 +0000

An article in June WIRED Magazine(2010) talks about the way that neural pathways in the brain appear to be altered by Internet use. If the brain can exhibit change as a result of intentional methods of information gathering (or superfluous surfing), why should intentional effort to influence/shift MBTI type characteristics (like the effort of an introvert to be more outgoing) be any different? Seems like “brain plasticity” should apply across the board – ?

By: Megan Devlin-Petty

Megan Devlin-Petty — Sat, 29 May 2010 17:27:42 +0000

Ann,

This is fascinating to me, because while I have usually typed as one thing (INFP), I know that I express strong non-preference (Thinking and Judging) characteristics in many situations, which I can see having been fostered by different elements of my environment. I have not yet been able to find a circumstance in which I could take the MBTI Type II, but I really want to (my husband would too). I think the breakdown of the expression of our preferences–at the MBTI I level are the same except for the dominant one– would be telling.

By: Dee Relyea

Dee Relyea — Sat, 29 May 2010 04:41:25 +0000

Ann,
As a fellow life coach and MBTI practitioner I am glad to have discovered your blog! I do think we are hardwired in our preferences but as we mature and hopefully evolve our consciousness, we are better able to access our less preferred cognitive functions. I know I have become less extroverted over the years but I do not think I will ever be categorized as an introvert. Do our preferences shift? Yes! Do they change? I don’t think so.