Personality psychology is a horizontal model
All personality types are considered equal in terms of development skill and ability.
In a horizontal model, we can’t advise on how to improve or grow
If we are all equal, there is no better or worse, and everyone is equal. This makes personal growth impossible.
Development theory is a vertical theory of development
A person can be more or less self-actualized.
In a vertical model, we can advise people towards personal growth
By studying undifferentiated, undeveloped types, and comparing them against self-actualized and transcended people, we can understand how to move towards greater Flow, happiness, and development.
But if your personality and skills are fixed, you can’t develop
An INtj would be born this way, with these skills, and could not grow or develop any of these scales throughout life.
Most people in the MBTI community are attached to binaries
To understand how I see things, you have to stop seeing things as 1-0. In the MBTI, you either have a trait or you don’t, and there is no nuance. This is a tragic oversimplification.
1. If you can change or develop your skills throughout life, you can change your personality type
2. You can’t grow or develop if you can’t change your personality type.
Relative vs Absolute preference
An INTJ-6 (Transcended) might possess skills in Attention enough to surpass an ESfp-1.
At the same time, he is still relatively better at using his abstract Imagination than sustained, direct Attention at a hands-on task.
He’s objectively better at his weakest skill, while on a relative level, having a weaker preference for said skill.
1. If you can change or develop your skills throughout life, you can change your personality type
At the same time, it must be possible for people to change their personality throughout life through sustained, long-term effort.
