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This personality type has negative traits you probably never knew.
By Emily Ratay — Last updated on Apr 26, 2023
Your Myers-Briggs personality type reveals your strengths and weaknesses, including what you’re like at your brightest and darkest moments.
The best INTJ personality traits include independence, self-confidence, and self-sufficiency — but as with all types, the INTJ has negative traits as well.
My personality type is INTJ (Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking, Judging). I might suck in some social situations (okay, most social situations), but I can still be very sure of myself. It’s not so much that I don’t trust myself to be friendly or not shy; it’s just that, as an introvert, I prefer situations where there aren’t a lot of stimuli.
I also tend to lead a fairly private life; unless we’re super-close, there’s a good chance I’m not going to be the first person to strike up a conversation about my personal life. (Hey, it’s just the kind of person I am!)
INTJs, in general, are fiercely independent and always need that freedom to be the person they want to be. Unfortunately, this can seriously damage their chance of having serious and deeply rooted relationships.
But for every strength INTJ personality types have, there’s a weakness to match. Read on to learn more about the dark side and the most negative traits of the INTJ Myers-Briggs personality type.
5 Negative Personality Traits of the INTJ Myers-Briggs Type's Dark Side
1. Clueless
INTJs can be totally clueless, and often appear very cold and unfeeling to those around them, which makes it harder for them to cultivate lasting partnerships — so much so that relationships and friendships suffer and often fail because they never really learn how to let their guard down completely.
INTJs can also be crazy judgmental of others — even if they don’t realize just how critical they can be — so dating them can feel more like you’re on display for them to pick apart rather than actually getting to know each other.
INTJs are one of those personalities that do better in love when they’re not trying; the harder they try to make a relationship last, the worse their judgmental behavior can get. Because of that, this personality type doesn’t often have long-lasting relationships.
They sometimes tend to prefer casual encounters because it takes some of the pressure off them.
2. Overly logical
INTJs rely too much on pure logic. They do everything with their brain: think, feel, and decide. While there’s nothing wrong with having a penchant for logic and being more of an analytical person rather than a feeling one, there is such a thing as relying too much on logic.
INTJs believe there is a rational explanation for everything and, as long as they use knowledge and reasoning, they will always have a solution to things.
Well, no one has to listen to that for very long to know that not everything needs to be dissected and analyzed that much. Sometimes, problems are better solved with intuition and feeling, while sometimes, there are no right answers.
Does that stop INTJs from doing everything in their power to find the answer through logic and have time to try to prove you wrong? Of course not.
3. Introverted
INTJs are introverted to a fault. Some personality types are a lot more comfortable when they have as little external stimulation as possible — in other words, these personality types are considered introverts. But no one is an introvert like INTJs are, which tends to get them in trouble a lot more than it can help them recharge.
Think of this like some kind of introverted inception. The INTJ brain has a lot of complex layers they can get lost in. And rather than try to set healthy boundaries for themselves and balance social interaction with alone time, INTJs would rather build a perfect life inside their mind where they can always be right and always feel comfortable.
What’s worse is that not very many people understand INTJs to begin with (and they know it), so they prefer a place where they don’t have to explain themselves.
4. Highly skeptical
INTJs tend to be skeptical of others. In any other situation, defending yourself until you’re blue in the face would seem admirable — as long as what you’re defending makes sense. But when it comes to INTJ personalities, this skill of theirs is just headache-inducing.
To start with, INTJs have a lot of trust issues. This is (obviously) why their relationships and friendships suffer. Secondly, INTJs absolutely hate being wrong.
They believe that because they spend so much time cultivating the right answers to their problems, there’s no way anyone could disagree with them. And even when they’re presented with the right facts, they not only defend their truth (no matter how wrong it is sometimes), but they also correct you or tell you there are always two sides to every story. Arguing with an INTJ will never work out in your favor.
5. Rebellious
INTJs are professional procrastinators. In fact, INTJ personality types are the kind of people who will rebel against something unless it has a purpose. Frustrating, right?
They often rebel against the status quo because they refuse to be a part of anything where people just blindly follow the rules. That’s not them and it never will be. This aversion to rules and authority would be one thing, but when we’re talking about INTJs, it’s never just about one thing.
6. Procrastinator
INTJs can also be huge procrastinators. They always want to do something meaningful, but it has to be on their terms.
They’re the kind of people who say that they’re going to start working at exactly 7:00, and when they look at the clock and it says 7:03, they tell themselves they’ll just wait until 8:00.
Any kind of structured environment immediately turns them off. INTJs must have control or else nothing gets done.
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Emily Ratay is a full-time writer living in Pittsburgh. She's passionate about the environment and feminism, and knows that anything is possible in the right pair of shoes. She plans on writing a book in the future.