My personality type changed after my thru hike

[BonBon]

I have taken many Myers Briggs type of evaluations over the years and have always been scored as a dyed in the wool ENTJ. Since my hike- I have been evaluated by two different tests and now have scored as an ENFP both times- scoring lower percentages in the extrovert category than I did before (my introvert is coming out) and also less the thinking and judging. (higher in feeling and perceiving) I find that very interesting. Another interesting thing I heard before the hike- INTJs finish the entire hike more often than any other personality type.

[nsherry61]

. . . INTJs finish the entire hike more often than any other personality type.

What types start the hike more than any other?
What types are most common among backpackers - independent of the AT?

[Feral Bill]

Could you share the meanings of those term?

[One Half]

I have found most people's personalities change somewhat over time. It's called experience. and change. Life changes people. Accomplishments, loss, joy, trauma, etc.

[CamelMan]

Could you share the meanings of those term?

Myers-Briggs are based on Jung's work. Here's one website: http://www.truity.com/view/types

[rickb]

I believe the best known study was done by O.W Lacey some years ago, and showed INTP as the by far the most common profile for AT Thru Hikers. At least at the time the study was conducted.

Some disciussion can be found in is thread: http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/arch...p/t-69271.html

[rickb]

Here is an article on O W Lacey and his research:

https://archive.bangordailynews.com/...s-um-students/

I bet the full 1000 hiker study is online somewhere.

[Traveler]

I have found most people's personalities change somewhat over time. It's called experience. and change. Life changes people. Accomplishments, loss, joy, trauma, etc.

Pretty true. The combination of events in people lives will lend to an evolution of their personality. To me its a rarity if there is no change over years.

[MtDoraDave]

In preparation for my first section hike, I read a couple books about hiking; one just a generic hiking book, the second about the AT. One of the books touched on this subject. The author said that a through hike will change you. Just doing a week at a time 2 or three times a year has already changed me, I think.

I could write my opinion on some of the reasons why - but I'm not a shrink. I would be interested to read what someone (a hiker) in the psych profession has to say about this subject.

[rafe]

My wife is a psychologist. She has little regard for the Myers-Briggs test. It's very popular of course, but isn't very meaningful. Or as Wikipedia puts it, "it does not measure what it purports to measure".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers%...Type_Indicator

[Starchild]

One thing (among many) that the AT thru has done for me is I now can remember people's names in social situatioms, which I could not before. Not that I am perfect, but yes I can now, it is a great gift and very helpful, not remembering names is very limiting in ways I didn't realize.

[BonBon]

I noticed and journaled about my change in extrovert vs. introvert on the trail. I still identify as more extroverted but hiking alone for much of the time and then being around people with such big personalities for much of the way gave the more reflective and much quieter side of my personality the space to emerge. It is a rare opportunity to think without distraction and one of the most precious things about the experience for me. I also feel that I am more accepting of how others do things- and my staff says I am a different person- much less intense. I like these gifts from the trail. I am resisting the pull back to the retail mania I lived in before as a business owner.

[colorado_rob]

Interesting! I've always scored ENTP, I'll retake and see what is my current after having completed the AT and a few shorter thru hikes.

[FlyPaper]

My wife is a psychologist. She has little regard for the Myers-Briggs test. It's very popular of course, but isn't very meaningful. Or as Wikipedia puts it, "it does not measure what it purports to measure".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers%...Type_Indicator

Agree or disagree, when I read the description of her personality type to my wife after she took the MB it pegged her so accurately she thought I wrote it myself as a joke. And my own description (opposite of my wife's) pegged me quite accurately too.

[CamelMan]

I believe the best known study was done by O.W Lacey some years ago, and showed INTP as the by far the most common profile for AT Thru Hikers.

That's good news, maybe I'll make some friends along the way. There is a lack of them in most other areas.

[dudeijuststarted]

I went into my hike an introvert and had to flip flop to get out of the herd. I am still an introvert, preferring lots of quiet and personal space, which is kind of unfortunate as I'd love to be able to NOBO. I suffer from sound sensitivity (eating sounds) which I believe is related to an attention deficit.

The thru-hike did change me in some ways though. I believe it aged me faster, making me a little more accepting of life's nonsense, lowering my expectations, and providing an overall feeling of satisfaction and grace. I've found my job in IT much easier to deal with, have become less combative, and have found saying "no" so much easier. I'm hoping to heal my MCL and thru-hike Colorado Trail this year and continue the journey, no longer seeking, but being present and enjoying every moment. For prospective thru hikers: there is an inner peace that comes with looking back and seeing a life not wasted. The trail is transformative.

[Dogwood]

The "study" of Psychiatry is an inexact "science." It's approached for the sake of "science" by placing people who are actually more complex in reality into neat more easily understood defined "scientific" categories which are ever being added to with more categories by the "scientists."

[rafe]

Yes, scientists categorize things, and water is wet.

[burger]

My wife is a psychologist. She has little regard for the Myers-Briggs test. It's very popular of course, but isn't very meaningful. Or as Wikipedia puts it, "it does not measure what it purports to measure".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers%...Type_Indicator

This is my understanding, as well. In general, you should be leery of any system that takes something as complex as human personalities and divides them into arbitrary categories. Nature doesn't come in categories for the most part--everything is on a continuum.

The "study" of Psychiatry is an inexact "science." It's approached for the sake of "science" by placing people who are actually more complex in reality into neat more easily understood defined "scientific" categories which are ever being added to with more categories by the "scientists."

This, however, is not true. The scientific fields of psychology and psychiatry use rigorous methods to do actual science. We would not have treatments for depression, PTSD, or other mental illnesses without psychiatry and psychology (not to mention all sorts of fascinating but perhaps less useful insights into how the human brain works). The problem is that what most people think of as "psychology" or "psychiatry," like personality types or some types of psychoanalysis, is not actually science.

Don't let misconceptions about what constitutes science make you think that psychology/psychiatry are not real disciplines.

[colorado_rob]

The "study" of Psychiatry is an inexact "science." It's approached for the sake of "science" by placing people who are actually more complex in reality into neat more easily understood defined "scientific" categories which are ever being added to with more categories by the "scientists."

Agree with what you're saying, even with the overdose of "quotes", but what does psychiatry have to do with studies of human personality and classifications?