If you take the Myers-Briggs personality test online and find that you have the rarest personality type, you may feel misunderstood. Perhaps you’d wonder if anyone could ‘get’ you. But fret not, because research asserts that even the most common of the 16 personality types from the Myers-Briggs Indicator Test also feel misunderstood.
The most common personality types take up around 15.9% of the worldwide sample. This proves that regardless of your personality type, you still cannot expect people to completely fathom and understand the depths of who you are. Personality is akin to a vast ocean with varying undercurrents and ripples, so it is indeed virtually impossible to fully explore and comprehend it. Having the supposed rarest personality type is okay because every individual’s personality is unique and complex.
Personality is often influenced by familial upbringing and outside environmental factors such as family dynamics, schools and peers. However, did you know that your personality is also determined in part by your genetics? Studies show that you may inherit some personality traits like artistic and creative tendencies. That’s why for some people the ability to paint, dance, or compose music runs in their families. Even love for numbers and proficiency for math could be in your DNA. Learn if you have the rarest personality type below:
The Origins of the MBTI Quiz
The Myers-Briggs Personality Quiz (or MBTI personality test) is composed of a series of questions that help categorize and identify your personality type. It was developed by mother-daughter tandem Katherine Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers, based on Carl Jung’s theories on personality types explored in 1942 to help workers find careers that are suitable for them.
The test measures how people think, behave, and perceive the world based on their answers to very specific questions.
Getting results that you’re the rarest personality type (which we’ll explain in this article) doesn’t mean as much as you might think. The Myers-Briggs test is not 100% accurate, and some people may even get different test results when they do a retake. However, the MBTI Quiz is still very useful for finding your strengths and weaknesses as it is a tool for self-introspection and reflection. The test is highly engaging, and it may even uncover deeper parts of your persona that you may not be aware of.
The results of the quiz come in a combination of four letters, with each letter serving as an indicator of your strengths and weaknesses. There are 16 personality types and who you are is based on how you relate to others as Extraversion (E) or Introversion (I), how you process information as Sensing (S) or Intuition (N), and how you make choices as Thinking (T) or Feeling (F).
MBTI Chart From Most Common to Rarest Personality Type
Check out the personality type distribution chart below from Career Planner, taken from their copy of MBTI manual from CPP (the company that provides the MBTI test products in the market). This personality type distribution chart is based on the general population and is arranged from the most common to the rarest personality type.
Frequency of Personality Types in General Population
The most common personality types could be easy to spot since they appear in the general population quite often. You may notice these personality types sharing similarities in how they socialize, think, behave, and structure their lives. These personalities belong to the group at the top of the aforementioned chart.
Meanwhile, the rarest personality type is at the bottom of the chart, showing that only very few of the population exhibit these traits and tendencies. If you have a rare personality type, it may be hard for you to find others to relate to. Since there are not many of you out there, you may have trouble feeling connected to others. This is where feeling alienated and misunderstood stems from.
However, having a rare personality like the INFJ doesn’t mean you can no longer relate well with others at all. You can still forge meaningful relationships with your one-of-a-kind persona. Your personality type could also be an advantage at work since you have rare natural and innate talents that are hard to find in others.
The Rarest Personality Type: Is This You?
The most recent data stated that the rarest personality type is the INFJ personality, as approximately 1.5% of people in the general population get the INFJ results. This person is also fondly known as the Counselor. This personality type is also referred to as the Advocate or the Idealist. Notably, the INFJ personality is also the rarest personality type for males.
The INFJ acronym stands for introversion, intuition, feeling, and judging. This combination is the rarest personality type because it is hard to find in the majority of the global population. Those with INFJ personas are also called idealists because they are highly sensitive people with a deep sense of integrity. They tend to make choices based on what they believe, using their core values and emotions as guidelines.
As a result, INFJ individuals could be quite stubborn. Although they are usually quiet and reserved, they will speak up and fight for what they feel is right. Though they work well with others, it could be a struggle when they encounter someone with an opposing belief. The INFJ type is seen as highly emotionally intelligent and empathetic, but they prefer to listen more to other people’s concerns than express their own. Hence, some people call INFJ types as mystical or exuding an air of mystery.
This rarest personality type is also called counselor and advocate since they work hard in listening to others and interpreting other people’s issues. They also aim to help other people realize their fullest potential or assist others in facing challenges. However, in spite of the INFJ’s dedication to offering a helping hand, they are reluctant to share their own feelings and prefer to keep their lives private.
They won’t readily divulge their thoughts and plans. Alone time is essential for an INFJ personality type, and they feel energized with solitude. They also love being organized and veer away from spontaneity. This applies to both their personal and work lives since seeing things arranged and having structure makes them feel more secure.
What Does Having the Rarest Personality Type Imply?
Though the INFJ is understood to be the rarest personality type in the global population, there are still external factors that could affect how this personality manifests in society. Studies show that geographical location affects the prevalence of a particular personality type because culture, religion, and other ethnic traditions could influence values and shape how a person develops. Having an INFJ personality could occur more rarely or frequently based on the country or region you’re in.
More importantly, having the rarest personality type doesn’t make you any more special or any worse than the more common personality types. Bear in mind that all 16 personality types possess their own strengths and weaknesses. The issue of common or rare occurrences of personalities just talks about how easy or hard it is to encounter a particular personality type in the general population.
Do you know what kind of personality you have? Aside from taking an MBTI Quiz, you can take a CircleDNA test to discover some potential genetic traits you may have. This comprehensive test provides more than 500 reports about you. Apart from the usual ancestry or disease risks, the CircleDNA test results provide insights on your behavior traits, personality traits and tendencies which are influenced by your unique genetic makeup.
This at-home DNA test helps you discover a bit more about who you are, as well as your genetic strengths and weaknesses, which may help you live up to your full potential. Test results may also give a glimpse on areas that you may want to improve or be more cognizant of. Working with accurate information based on your unique DNA assures you have the best possible outcome and live a more fulfilling life.
References:
- How Rare is Your Myers Briggs Personality Type? (Susan Storm) https://www.psychologyjunkie.com/2019/11/15/how-rare-is-your-myers-briggs-personality-type/
- Genes, brain dynamics and art: the genetic underpinnings of creativity in dancing, musicality and visual arts (Marinos Sotiropoulos and Maria Anagnostouli) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34997732/
- How Rare is Your Personality Type (Career Planner) https://www.careerplanner.com/MB2/TypeInPopulation.cfm
- What is the Rarest Personality Type (Steven Melendy MD) https://www.truity.com/blog/what-rarest-personality-type
- Who You Are is Where You Are: The Geographical Account of Psychological Phenomena (Hao Chen et.al) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7105879/
