5 Ways To Annoy An INTP
Today I’m excited to talk about the clever and inventive INTP personality types. Referred to as “the Architects” by personality expert David Kiersey, INTPs are known for their creativity, ingenuity, and strategic way of solving problems. INTPs make up only 1-3% of the population, so if you have one in your life be thankful! They are a rare breed, and they often have a unique way of viewing the world that will open your eyes to new possibilities and theories. Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, Immanuel Kant – these are all shining examples of INTPs at their best.
Not sure what your personality type is? Take our new personality questionnaire here. Or you can take the official MBTI® here.
So how do you annoy these quiet, intellectual types? I scoured internet forums and facebook groups, checked with the INTPs I knew, and scanned through personality manuals for answers. Alas, I discovered the five pet peeves that got mentioned the most. If you want to stay on an INTPs good side, try to refrain from doing these things!
Gossip
INTPs have little patience for gossip or the latest celebrity “dish”. They find this kind of conversation irritating, trivial, and meaningless. One INTP said “I find it not only superficial, but extremely annoying as well. It’s hard for me to respect someone if they gossip too much.”
Tell Them to Smile
INTPs have a hard time being emotionally demonstrative, and usually have more of a quiet, thoughtful disposition. More jovial types may encourage them to “lighten up” or to “turn their frowns upside down” and they find this kind of attitude frustrating. They may be having a great time, but they aren’t going to be as exuberant outwardly as many other types are. Being forced to show off a feigned emotional response is very stressful and irritating for an INTP.
Make Quick, Black-and-White Judgments
INTPs have auxiliary Extraverted Intuition (Ne). Because of this, they see alternatives and multiple angles to many different points of view. They like to know all the information about something before forming an opinion and often seem very open-minded to ideas unless they have no logical basis. When other people make quick judgments or have strong opinions that they haven’t seen from multiple perspectives, it turns off the INTP and they may find the person judgmental and ignorant.
Pull Rank
INTPs don’t have an innate sense of respect for someone simply because they wear a title or have been called an authority by others. While they don’t aim to be disrespectful, they feel that respect and admiration need to be earned – not automatically given just because of a rank. Psychologist David Kiersey said about INTPs, “They will listen to amateurs if their ideas are useful, and will ignore the experts if theirs are not. Authority derived from office, credential, or celebrity does not impress them.”
Push Them to Socialize Too Much
INTPs thrive on alone time to work out their ideas and theories or to relax and read a book or play a video game. While they can enjoy the occasional social gathering, their natural happy place is usually a quiet and uninterrupted space where they can be free to explore their many interests. INTPs are also inclined to be shy, and may feel stressed by frequent socialization or large gatherings of people they don’t know very well. Being with someone who is always pushing them to get out more or go to a new party or club will cause them stress and frustration. If you do want them to socialize more, try to keep gatherings small and with close friends.
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What Do You Think?
Are you an INTP with a different opinion? What are your pet peeves? Let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear from you!
Other Articles You Might Enjoy:
3 Weird and Wonderful Secrets About the INTP Personality Type
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Spot on:)
Thank you!!
This is both spot-on accurate and profoundly INaccurate at the same time. The missing but oh-so-critical element of such scenarios is the BEFORE part – the part where you tie me down so I can’t get away while you inflict these annoyances upon me. Otherwise, they’re just that thing I don’t quite remember that sets off a sort of proximity sensor, when next I see you, that tells me it’s time to move on.
Bingo. When I become aware that I’ve just been tied to an annoying situation, I am maximally irritated. Every annoyance that comes as a result of an inevitable situation that is just a reminder of the regret I have in being associated with said circumstance, and a platform for self-criticism for not being decisive or foresighted enough to avoid the trap.
This is fantastic.
Thank you!! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
The most annoying one for me is illogical arguments from authority. It’s irrelevant. If someone actually knows what they’re talking about they don’t need to claim authority, and if they claim authority I usually assume they don’t know what they’re talking about.
Noise (like most pop music) makes me more withdrawn and introverted and then it’s hard to connect with people even if I want to. If I’m just travelling and waiting for the next bus or whatever I don’t mind being withdrawn, but if the idea is going somewhere to meet people and then I can’t make myself heard or it’s too loud to have an actual conversation, so I just don’t try and wait til it’s time to leave, it’s quite boring. Fast beats also make me more withdrawn – if it’s faster than I want to follow, I just don’t mentally follow it.
This is good to know! I’m thankful to get some INTP perspectives and understand how you work better! I’m an INFJ and I also hate trying to talk in loud environments. Just watching movies where people meet in loud clubs or bars stresses me out for some reason. Anyway, thanks again for taking the time to read the post and share your thoughts!
Susan – Susan, Susan, Susan – my deepest and most sincere gratitude for your addiction to psychology and your interest in and writings about the MBTI.
Thanks so much!! Your words are extremely encouraging 🙂
Understood. Prior to my discovery of the MBTI I would have kept that to myself for fear of triggering a social sensitivity in someone I do not know so, thank you for disclosing your own type.
I am finding “NFJ”s to be more logical than most “F”s AND “J”s – more enjoyable, less “needy”, more easily identifiable and generally quite “not annoying” – which has surprised me. Much of what bothers me also seems to bother them. Or, at least, it seems so.
All of this MBTI stuff is quite new to me but makes sense of some strangeness I’ve perceived over the years. Being INTP, while I knew it was statistically impossible that I would be the only one or even “rare”, the “I” part of the equation makes perfect sense of the experience of not “running into” others like me, LOL! They’re “I”s! They’re off by themselves somewhere, avoiding the same things I’m avoiding!
I’m probably older than you, Kester, but I can definitely attest to the “waiting” part. Much of the nearly 60 years of my life was spent “waiting” for things to be over and also waiting for planned interactive events. Or, perhaps, a better word would be “dreading”. This is why I specified the “most important part” of annoying me which would be tying me down because I don’t “wait” any more. When I turned 50, I decided I’d waited enough so, now, if annoyance rears its head, I make my exit before I actually get annoyed. To annoy me, one would have to tie me down first, otherwise I’d be gone.
I truly like people – when they’re happy – but the “annoyances” listed are things I don’t want to know about someone. When people are happy, they don’t do those things. They’re focused and they’re not petty and they’re fun to work and engage with but when their social sensitivity gets triggered, those unpleasant coping mechanisms tend to emerge and I just don’t want to see them that way and when I turned 50, I quit. Now, when they go off the rails, I leave.
The strange thing about it is that others don’t understand why it bothers me. Nobody mistreats me in the ways listed – my brother says that nobody DARES mistreat me – but others genuinely and sincerely don’t understand why it bothers me when they mistreat each other – when I’m not the target of their social tactics. As if one should only be bothered if one is the actual target. And they are sincerely confused by it which is also something I don’t want to know about people. I do not want to know that NOT enjoying watching people tear each other up is perceived as “strange” or even as a “defect”. That just…well…I was going to say it boggles my mind but the truth is it breaks my heart. In fact, I suspect that the only reason I’m an “I” instead of an “E” is because I’m heartbroken.
It’s strange to think of myself as “heartbroken” but it’s…accurate. Of course, if I was a little more “F” instead of a full-blown “T”, I suppose I would have recognized that sooner….it’s actually a sort of relief to realize it…but it’s also quite unpleasant at the same time. Interesting…I think if I was more “F”, it would crush me.
Similar to gossip being annoying, but more direct-
People who talk incessantly about the boring minutiae of their lives and will persist even when given ample clues that it’s time to turn off the monologue! Conversation, yes, particularly one on one or small group of friends is fabulous.
Ask an intp to talk about themselves. Or if you really want to annoy them- put on any daytime talk show or reality tv show.
Ahh, yes, I can see that being very obnoxious to an INTP 🙂 Thank you for your feedback!
It’s interesting that you say that about asking an INTP to talk about themselves. Most male INTPs I know are not really interested in self-disclosure, but the fellow female INTPs I’ve encountered (granted, I’ve only met two or three) don’t seem to have a problem with that. I’m wondering if it’s a gender-based difference. Women are typically more social. I don’t mind self-disclosure at all, but I’ll only disclose personal things to people from whom I want something. And by “something”, I mean information. I’m constantly mining for data about people so I can see how they work, what makes them tick (and I’ll only ever do this with people who are potentially interesting, people who talk about more than what they had for dinner or where they got their bathroom tile on sale). Because of the concept of “reciprocity of disclosure”, people are more apt to disclose information about themselves if the other person discloses personal information first. I’ve found this to be a very effective way of prying into interesting people’s lives without it seeming pushy. 🙂
Soooooo accurate!
Thanks!!
This is overwhelmingly accurate. Authority figures (particularly ESTJ types) drive me up the wall with their overconfidence. I can’t help but discredit them immediately. It’s doubtful that their quick thinking without any disregard for other possibilities can beat out the thorough reflection of an INTP. I always look at these people with suspicion. I also deeply dislike individuals who are quick to anger and become defensive. I find them impossible to interact with, as I like the freedom of discussing anything that interests me–even taboo or controversial topics.
Continuous phone calls and asking me for a outing is also annoying along with the above listed things
Very accurate, another thing that irritates me are illogical arguments, especially those designed to annoy.
What Cassandra said. Illogical arguments and add stupidity to that. I would venture to guess that it would be difficult to find an INTP in the US that isn’t scoffing at the current president or the voters that ate up his bigoted black and white framework of the world.
Hello, INTP here. Going to have to disagree with you there. All the INTPs I know are actually pro-Trump, myself included.
I think too many people get fooled by both Right-wing and left-wing media propaganda, and don’t come to rational decisions because of that. Don’t forget, virtually half this country voted for him. Check out that red and blue voter map sometime. There is a world outside of your bubble.
Do yourself a favor and quit assuming so much.
-Yours truly, a Trump supporter
Uh no. Purely anarchist I don’t need a ruler. No one does.
I don’t personally know any other INTPs, but I am one…and the idea of being “pro” ANY ruler, but especially one with his sort of illogical and flippant disregard of facts – facts such as him *not* winning the votes of half the country, nor even half the votes of the 60% of the country that’s eligible to vote and bothered doing it – makes me skeptical.
I was annoyed by Trump and his supporters during the primaries (I supported Marco Rubio), but when the actual election happened I was too busy laughing hysterically at Clinton’s defeat. It may have been relief that she didn’t win or the absurdity that someone could actually lose to that clown Trump, but I didn’t care that we elected an ignorant bigot.
I find it odd that you criticize his black and white framework but then categorize all INTPs as anti-Trump.
as an INTP you should have a greater knowledge of politics to make that assertion that is very FE and not rational, INTPs and ENTPs are meant to be the best politicians because we are not swayed by any conventional thinking that the media are always making about trump if you have any issues with trump you should make an logical argument and not make a some kind of self righteous and self incoherent argument.
INTP Trump supporter.
So, why exactly would you want to annoy an INTP? Given the personality type, they most likely haven’t done anything to bother you besides questioning you or not agreeing with your emotional assessment of a problem or situation. As an INTP, just seeing the title of this article annoys me. Forcing any personality type to do the opposite of what they are naturally used to is going to bother them. The reason for writing this article seems petty, a waste of time, or just plain stupid. If you have some sort of issue with an INTP, talk to them about it, like mature adults do.
I think the intention of this post was missed when you read this, and I apologize for that. The intent is to show people what NOT to do with an INTP, not to incite people to actually go out and annoy INTPs. INTPs are some of my closest friends and I have no desire to annoy any of them, because you are right, they aren’t trying to bother anyone and are actually very interesting and fascinating people to know. Again, the intention of this post was merely to talk about their pet peeves and give people ideas of what not to do if they want to stay on an INTPs good side 🙂
Susan, what I find hilarious is that the misunderstanding goes right to the core of how INTPs feel…bullied and picked on from the time we are children. The fact that this person immediately became angry and defensive due to an assumption that they are again being bullied…there you have it. Maybe there should be another list, on communication. How to approach an INTP. How to speak to an INTP, etc…lol. How an INTP can cope alone, in a world full of people…
BTW, I love this site. I am 52 now, and I wish I had known more about when I was young. I could have avoided a lot of Grief. I took the test last year, at the request of my 19 yr-old daughter and it finally clicked. I have taken the test in one form or another, several times over the years but the way it was presented to me did not make sense. I wasn’t introspective enough to realize that it was true to my type, because I couldn’t see myself as others saw me. I would read that I am cold, aloof, unemotional, and I thought this couldn’t be me, because I felt raging emotion often, and was constantly anxious. It didn’t come together until this was explained last year in an INTP description on 16personalities. That although we may appear aloof and unemotional, we actually can have very deep emotions, but we have difficulty processing these emotions. This is what is true. Processing the emotion is anxiety provoking, and so INTPs, if they can, push it away. Then when we finally have to deal with it, it can come out as inappropriate fits of anger, etc. Developing PTSD, and having to leave my job because of it, and the accompanying depression, finally made me realize that I had to deal with my emotions in a more constructive way. I read somewhere that for INTPs (besides the PTSD possible cause) often feel depression BECAUSE their inferior feeling function is ignored by them. I finally got a handle on my depression by addressing my inferior feeling function. I hope this helps other INTPs struggling with depression and other issues. Start working on this function NOW, and you can avoid so much pain in your life.
My daughter is an INTJ. We have been able to help each other grow and develop over the past three years. We both finally feel understood.
Loud people also on that list. People who yell for no reason other than to be loud or maybe they don’t realize it. Either way is like nails on a chalk board.
I’m always wondering if I’m actually an INTP or not. Every single test I took led me to INTP results. It is also the type I can relate to the most, but I don’t feel that logical or smart, or maybe it is just because of my current situation.
But that post was 100% accurate for me, somehow I feel reassured now.
So accurate. Commands to “smile” as a teen and into my twenties drove me crazy, and made me realize that customer service might not be the career for me. I don’t know about men, but INTP women get this constantly. Now at 53, if I have to deal with the public, I just smile when someone speaks to me or approaches. Its just something I learned to do after many years.
52, not 53. But it is fast approaching!
Got it all the time as a guy…. A guy who has had Bell’s Palsy…. twice… first at 13.
So irritating. Intp so the concept irritates me anyway. But literally can’t without serious effort and thought.
Something that annoys me to no end is when I am trying to have a debate or enlighten someone on a subject and rather than giving an appropriate well thought out response they go “well that’s your opinion.” I rarely try to enlighten based on opinion, what’s the point of that?
I find this particularly annoying too, since I tend to see my opinion as based in fact. I’m open to differing ideas, but that doesn’t mean they are all equally valid… some ideas are certainly truer than others.
Another issue is the reverse, when someone treats their subjective opinion as objective fact. If it isn’t supported by logical and reasoned arguments, it isn’t a fact.
So very true! It’s actually odd to discover that there are people out there who actually understand me.
As an INTP, I relate all too well to this post. Something that never fails to cause me to tick is light, casual small talk in attempt to satisfy a mere acquaintance’s boredom. The majority of the time, I act almost as if I hadn’t read the message in the first place, neglecting to respond until they have something particularly interesting to say (tsk, tsk, shame on me). I just, you know, have plenty of things I’d rather be doing in my spare time. Needless to say (and it may be an INTP thing as well), I’m hardly EVER bored, as I find it relatively easy to pick up something and just go to town with it. It could be a game or, hell, even a thought process. I don’t necessarily need anyone else to occupy or entertain me, and it bothers me (more than I’d like to admit) when people demand such attention from me. Heaven forbid when they start talking about their… F-E-E-L-I-N-G-S. Don’t get me wrong—emotions are beautiful. But feelings? They’re so tentative and impulsive that they may as well be considered a second “F word”. Something about them just makes me shut down, and listening to someone in emotional distress is enough to fry a wire in my brain. Here I go, sounding like one of the robots we’re always made out to be. Perhaps it’s true, to an extent. I honestly believe with all my hea—brain that there’s a type of person for every situation, and with all do respect, if you have an unhealthy dominant Fi, I may end up frustrating you even more with my lacking ability to emotionally relate to you. It’s an unfortunate truth, in my opinion, seeing as we INTPs tend to take pride in being considerably good in a vast number of things. Feelings are just something we don’t often even attempt to touch. Then again, I’m pretty sure I have a slightly unhealthy Ti because I take pride in being considerably good at repelling feelings. *sigh* Now, before someone jumps on me for sounding a bit obnoxious, I understand the difference between feelings and… feelings. Like everyone else out there, I experience happiness, sadness, etc. I just deal with it all much more privately, often giving me the appearance of being cold, unresponsive, or unaffected, especially when dealt a typically depressing situation. I choose to sort things out in my own head, relying on no one but myself to work through the problem. It’s just more reliable, you know?
I hate being ignored/talked over.
If I’m talking, I usually have a point. When you interrupt, I will end up snarky and will say things that will hurt your feelings. And I don’t regret what I say, either.
I love a good debate, and when someone says it’s an argument, (just because they don’t have anything to support their opinion or theory with I might add) it really pushes my buttons, when people can’t admit that they’re wrong it makes me want to slap them! Such a narcissistic trait.
Spot on!
I want to print this off and stick it on my door with a note – “To avoid complete annihilation, please refrain from the above”
That’s an awesome idea!! 😀
Gossip is probably the most accurate at least for me, I mean if someone is talking about someone else to you who is to say they won’t do the same to you? Plus it’s rude, and it shows that whoever was gossiping is petty if that’s the only thing they find joy in doing.
I find it annoying when people don’t believe I really just don’t care about their personal business or watch reality TV of any type. Watching housewives of …. is a complete waste of time and I certainly don’t want to hear your opinions about the reality “star” lives.
Thank you. The six ways to annoy an INTP are spot on… and it’s a great relief to “be understood” !
So yes on the last 4 especially the one where people tell me to be happier when I’m perfectly chill. Because then I get frustrated and want to smack them. The other one I find most important is where people have black and white judgements and won’t listen to logic or facts and just insist they’re right… (looking at you INTJ). IT IS SO ANNOYING.
The first one not so much. Like, Celebrity gossip is boring. But I really enjoy watching drama play out like in a movie series or among my acquaintances.
The gossip thing is very true. Something else: my boss is MBTI-certified and got us all to take the Step II instrument. She later gave one-on-one consults to confirm each’s result, and I also borrowed this workbook from her that talks about type at work. It recommended that people dealing with INTP co-workers be brief and business-like. I don’t necessarily agree with the brief part. If someone is long-winded in the service of helping me understand something I want to know, then I see that as a gift. Long-winded only becomes a problem the minute I realize someone is BSing me. I may not even know it’s BS at the time, but I will know I am annoyed for some reason and want to get away from that person. And yes, pulling rank without the expertise to back it up makes for a quick enemy in my life.
This is so accurate! Thanks for saying it so well!
Thank you Evelyn! I’m really glad you enjoyed it!
I agree with all except people with strong opinion They don’t annoy me I annoy them.
I agree for the most part. Gossipers don’t annoy me as much as others, I just ignore them. One big thing missing is personal space. I don’t think there are many things that grate more that someone invading my personal space. Particular to force emotional things like hugs. I have learned to somewhat reduce the size of my personal bubble thanks to two of our children having absolutely zero concept of personal bubble, but out in the wild, invading my space is both annoying and alarming.
This is so accurate for me, especially about someone telling me to smile. I normaly smile, and resent any one telling me to do so if I’m not. I think it’s incredibly rude.
As an INTP
I AM TRIGGERED
this is why i’m so frustrated. i don’t like when my friends and my mom keep forces me to smile brightly. i hate when my friends tell me the gossip about their crush or most popular boys on the school. i hate when my parents tell me to socialize with new people
I think most women hate being told to smile. This article does ring true for me as an INTP though–especially “pulling rank.” I’ve had conflicts with teachers & professors since I was a kid, because it’s true; even though I’m not overtly disrespectful, I don’t automatically equate titles or position with authority.
I actually love gossip to a degree, but not because I enjoy schadenfreude, but because I’m fascinated with the psychology behind it. Like throwing a rock into a pond and watching the ripples. I don’t go around spreading it, but the YouTube tea spill channels are an interesting diversion. But in general, celebrity news or vlogs about celebrities daily lives or following them on social media are a waste of time. I keep up with celebrity news that’s major enough to be covered on major news pages as part of my daily news feed and that’s usually it.
as an INTP I can relate with the 5 xD
LOGICIAN, not Architect! Architects are INTJ.
Small talk and interruptions as well.
I almost always have a smile on my face. I can’t help it. I also love learning about celebrities. My idea of interacting and opening up is merely being in the presence of other people. I love being around my mom’s very close friends. I have a couple friends of my own who I see every few months. I always enjoy my time with them.
All the 5 are the pet peeves. Another thing is that(personally)…. I don’t like people who are way too emotional (sometimes which makes them not to understand my point in depth).Interuptions while I speak irritates me and it is kinda humiliating . Also I doubt if I am an intp because if my bro finds I am a rare one…he will try to suppress it..like tell me it is impossible,mock me…
I am an INTP and this is 100 percent spot on!
Ok But I love Gossips some Times because it is a good source of information specially in The surrounding environment
real