Do animals have types?

Royal Xavier · 05-07-2008, 03:32 PM

I have a pet parrot who acts sort of like an ENFJ and an INTPish ferret. Do animals have MBTI types? They have brains just like people, so I would think that they would; then again, their minds work differently. Or perhaps the smarter creatures have types(I can hardly picture typing a snail or a housefly). What do you think?

Leysing · 05-07-2008, 03:35 PM

I think the more developed animals definitely have personalities, though their minds are not as complicated at all as the human psyche. (That's why I like animals.)

My dog is ESFP

WobblyStilettos · 05-07-2008, 04:37 PM

My bunny is ENTJ, no doubt about it xD I am her minion

Edahn · 05-07-2008, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Royal Xavier

I have a pet parrot who acts sort of like an ENFJ and an INTPish ferret. Do animals have MBTI types? They have brains just like people, so I would think that they would; then again, their minds work differently. Or perhaps the smarter creatures have types(I can hardly picture typing a snail or a housefly). What do you think?

Trying to fit animals onto an MBTI system doesn't really make sense. Are animals intuitive? Do they make decisions based on logic? Do they have a preference for closure? It's all projection, imo.

Leysing · 05-07-2008, 06:02 PM

I think animals quite clearly exhibit E/I (sociable - reserved) and J/P (clean and picky - messy and dirty). But I think that basically all animals are SF.

Perhaps the smarter animals are thought to be T, but that's probably just anthropomorphism.

If animals somehow can be fitted to MBTI, their types certainly are much more simple than the people types

Anonymous · 05-07-2008, 06:15 PM

If they do, are INTP dogs less likely to want to play fetch?

Blackmail! · 05-07-2008, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edahn

Trying to fit animals onto an MBTI system doesn't really make sense. Are animals intuitive? Do they make decisions based on logic? Do they have a preference for closure? It's all projection, imo.

Indeed.

An animal's mind is not made to fit within a human typing system.

---

But nonetheless, we could make comparisons with humans. For instance, elephants's brains are three times larger than ours, and the area dedicated to memorization is beyond compare. Their memory knows no equal, it's probably eidetic. Thus, somehow, their minds would probably look very S to us.

The more clever the animal, the more sense the comparison makes. Dolphins, chimps and elephants might be good candidates.

Though I always thought crabs were very INTPish... Lonely, feed on corpses, not very expressive, hard-shelled and communicate only with their claws. But that would rather be a metaphor, of course...

Seanan · 05-07-2008, 06:23 PM

I used to breed dogs and actually experimented with this in terms of astrological signs and they do seem to fit their birth sign. MBTI?.. probably a stretch but it would have to be modified down to three functions I think. I've lived with animals... multiple at a time and currently 10 of them... and, as I said, they do seem to fit astrological signs.

CaptainChick · 05-07-2008, 06:29 PM

Do animals have types?

Some do, I think they're called Homo sapiens sapiens.

Leysing · 05-07-2008, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anonymous

If they do, are INTP dogs less likely to want to play fetch?

05-07-2008, 03:32 PM	#1 (permalink)
Royal Xavier Member Join Date: May 2008 Type: INXP Location: Auburn Hills, Michigan Posts: 67	Do animals have types? I have a pet parrot who acts sort of like an ENFJ and an INTPish ferret. Do animals have MBTI types? They have brains just like people, so I would think that they would; then again, their minds work differently. Or perhaps the smarter creatures have types(I can hardly picture typing a snail or a housefly). What do you think?

05-07-2008, 03:35 PM	#2 (permalink)
Leysing Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Type: INfP Location: Finland Posts: 290	I think the more developed animals definitely have personalities, though their minds are not as complicated at all as the human psyche. (That's why I like animals.) My dog is ESFP __________________ Flowers often grow more beautifully on dung-hills than in gardens that look beautifully kept. - St Francis de Sales 4w5 sp - Leisurely-Solitary - RCUAI - Holland RAI - Phlegmatic - Musical-Visual-Intrapersonal Fi 39.6 % (Fe 18.3 %) Ne 33.5 % (Ni 26.0 %) Si 39.4 % (Se 21.2 %) Te 32.1 % (Ti 30.1 %) DAMNED GRAMMAR.

05-07-2008, 04:37 PM	#3 (permalink)
WobblyStilettos Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Type: INFP Location: Cambridge, UK Posts: 326	My bunny is ENTJ, no doubt about it xD I am her minion __________________ Where you used to be, there is a hole in the world, which I find myself constantly walking around in the daytime, and falling into at night. I miss you like hell. ~Edna St. Vincent Millay

05-07-2008, 06:02 PM	#5 (permalink)
Leysing Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Type: INfP Location: Finland Posts: 290	I think animals quite clearly exhibit E/I (sociable - reserved) and J/P (clean and picky - messy and dirty). But I think that basically all animals are SF. Perhaps the smarter animals are thought to be T, but that's probably just anthropomorphism. If animals somehow can be fitted to MBTI, their types certainly are much more simple than the people types __________________ Flowers often grow more beautifully on dung-hills than in gardens that look beautifully kept. - St Francis de Sales 4w5 sp - Leisurely-Solitary - RCUAI - Holland RAI - Phlegmatic - Musical-Visual-Intrapersonal Fi 39.6 % (Fe 18.3 %) Ne 33.5 % (Ni 26.0 %) Si 39.4 % (Se 21.2 %) Te 32.1 % (Ti 30.1 %) DAMNED GRAMMAR.

05-07-2008, 06:29 PM	#9 (permalink)
CaptainChick ~~Philosofighter~~ Join Date: Jan 2008 Type: ENFP Posts: 5,342	Do animals have types? Some do, I think they're called Homo sapiens sapiens. __________________ ` "A lie is a lie even if everyone believes it. The truth is the truth even if nobody believes it." - David Stevens Veritatem dies asperit Ride si sapis Yes!

05-07-2008, 06:15 PM	#6 (permalink)
Anonymous Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Type: INTP Location: California Posts: 387	If they do, are INTP dogs less likely to want to play fetch?

05-07-2008, 06:23 PM	#8 (permalink)
Seanan Procrastinating Join Date: Feb 2008 Type: INTP Posts: 1,062	I used to breed dogs and actually experimented with this in terms of astrological signs and they do seem to fit their birth sign. MBTI?.. probably a stretch but it would have to be modified down to three functions I think. I've lived with animals... multiple at a time and currently 10 of them... and, as I said, they do seem to fit astrological signs.

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
What types do you know well IRL?	Economica	The Bonfire	32	10-13-2008 03:35 AM
With which types do you get along the best?	alcea rosea	The NF Idyllic	95	10-08-2008 05:19 AM
Animals by Type	istpunk	The Bonfire	12	03-10-2008 07:42 AM
The merit of stuffed animals	nightning	The NF Idyllic	51	09-29-2007 04:49 PM
Animals have personality right?	Vicki	Other Psychology Topics	31	08-26-2007 11:59 PM