Which MBTI Personality Type is More Intellectually Predisposed?

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a popular tool used to assess an individual's personality preferences. However, there is often a desire to know which personality types are more intellectually gifted.
According to the 3rd Edition of the MBTI Manual: A Guide to the Development and Use of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, there is a correlation between MBTI types and intelligence as measured by GPA and IQ.

IQ and GPA Correlation with MBTI Types

According to the book, the GPA ranges from INTJs at the high end to ESFPs at the low end. Specifically, sensing types (SJ, SP, NF, NT) tend to have lower mean scores in IQ and GPA, while intuitive types (NF, NT) tend to have higher mean scores. Moreover, introverted individuals with intuition (INFJ, INTJ) have the highest grades across all 16 types while INTP and INFP have the highest GPAs for all perceiving types (P).

On the IQ scale, INTJ, INTP, INFP, ENTP, and ENTJ score the highest in this order. The z-scores indicate how close a group of scores are to the mean. Accordingly, INTJs scored 6 standard deviations above the mean, while INTPs scored about 5.5 standard deviations. This suggests that while INTJs slightly edge out INTPs, the difference is not substantial.

IQ Correlation with Big Five Inventory

It is important to note that while IQ is highly correlated with MBTI types, it has a low correlation with the personality traits of the Big Five inventory. Specifically, a correlation is noted only for individuals with an IQ of 140 and above. This indicates that beyond a certain threshold (approximately 120), the Big Five traits are more influenced by other factors independent of IQ.

In other words, for individuals with an IQ higher than 160, strong introversion is predominant. More than 75% of individuals with IQs above 160 are introverted, suggesting that regardless of one's MBTI type, intelligence cannot be accurately predicted by their type alone.

Conclusion

While there is an interesting relationship between MBTI types and intelligence as measured by GPA and IQ, it is crucial to understand that IQ is not the sole determinant of intelligence. Personality types do not accurately predict overall intelligence. Therefore, it is advisable to consider multiple factors when assessing an individual's intellectual prowess.