How Do INTJs Process Emotions
Kevin Price, Editor at Large for USA Business Radio and Host of the Price of Business Show, has recently become hooked on Quora. In addition to daily hosting the Price of Business, Kevin has numerous writing obligations on this and other sites for which he serves as an editor and with his syndicated column, so we decided that if he’s going to write at Quora, he is going to share that content on this website. If you are on Quora, make sure to follow Kevin. You can check out his page here.
Kevin’s hot topics on Quora are history, free market economics, philosophy, and Myers Briggs typology, and many others. The following is one of his recent answers to the question in the title.
As an INTJ I find emotions to be excruciating. Like Spock of Star Trek (the ultimate caricature of an INTJ by the media), emotions are simply “not logical.” INTJs place a huge emphasis on the utility of something. If it is not useful, than it lacks value. It is very hard for many INTJs to quantify or qualify the value of emotions. They simply seem like an encumbrance to the process of logic. They get in the way.
This view of feeling (which is the INTJs greatest weakness) often has the INTJ being perceived as “emotionally retarded” or backward. Or we can be perceived as cruel or a jerk. The reality is, INTJs simply don’t “get” what’s going on with the emotions of others (or, often, even themselves). We become frustrated because they stand in the way of getting where we all want to go.
However, I have learned over time that blowing off emotions does not work. Emotions are playing a role in my life if I recognize it or not. Understanding exactly what I am feeling allows me to make healthier decision and it makes me more considerate to those with whom I am working with. It makes a profound difference… (read more and while there FOLLOW Kevin on Quora).
