Detail-Oriented or Detail-Averse?

**Doppelbock** · 08-11-2008, 11:16 AM

In general, are INTJ's detail-oriented or detail-averse? The MBTI literature is somewhat inconsistent on this, but tends towards detail-averse.

I find myself unable to get too interested in learning any new task/skill that involves understanding or coping with a myriad of mundane details. Computer programming is the exception because it's mostly logic and abstraction (i.e., fun), and you can pick up on the syntax (i.e., details) as you go -- but learning every last little function in X-Windows/Motif, for example, is something way beyond my interest level.

**MichaelH** · 08-11-2008, 01:10 PM

Generalizing from myself:

INTJs are usually detail-averse. We think about the big picture and how things fit together. We're interested in how the building wiring works, not how to get the network cable to one badly-positioned workstation.

The reason literature is mixed is probably our ability to dive deep when needed. When pursuing a specific goal, we can deal with an amazing amount of detail to get there. I can only do this for a very limited time, but I'll know everything there is to know about that one task!

**blckprljinju** · 08-11-2008, 02:09 PM

I don't think INTJ would be detail-oriented, but I also don't think they'd be detail-adverse. Since INTJ's tendd to be perfectionist, INTJ would be willing to look into the details as well (only after taking care of the big picture though).

**jikin** · 08-11-2008, 02:50 PM

If the details are interesting enough, or really needed for the project at hand, then yes. If they are just the normal and boring details that will only clutter my mind and make me bored, then no. So in gereral, at least in myself, I'm going with detail-adverse.

**Doppelbock** · 08-11-2008, 02:54 PM

So, is it safe to say that INTJ's are pretty much detail-averse except where the details are related to something the INTJ is deeply interested in?

For example I could hold forth all day long on the topic of beer -- different styles, brewers, etc., and probably quote you the % ABV adn other information of a thousand different beers, because I'm a beer geek. But if you held a gun to my head I could not summon the interest to learn even a fraction of this type of information about wines, because I'm not interested in wines.

**True Rune** · 08-11-2008, 03:27 PM

	Originally Posted by blckprljinju To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	I don't think INTJ would be detail-oriented, but I also don't think they'd be detail-adverse. Since INTJ's tendd to be perfectionist, INTJ would be willing to look into the details as well (only after taking care of the big picture though).

I think you hit the nail on the head. We'll handle the details later.

**Jgib5328** · 08-11-2008, 04:09 PM

Detail-oriented = S, detail-averse = N. I hate details and I generally skip over them because I consider the big picture much more important.

**ssrprotege** · 08-12-2008, 01:56 AM

Well, "whatever works" would be my response. If I think I need to absorb details in order to understand concepts I am interested in or projects important to me, I will go for it. Most times, though, I think most details are irrelevant so I omit them (or even don't notice them). Sometimes, though, if I discuss something with other people and find a hole in my big picture, I will fill that hole with details.

Overall, I think I am detail-averse - that may be why I find this summary of
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
hard to follow....too many details....I got so impatient that I skipped some parts.

ssrprotege added to this post, 540 minutes and 49 seconds later...

	Originally Posted by Jgib5328 To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	Detail-oriented = S, detail-averse = N.

While INxP's consider a big picture important, they can be detail-oriented because of their tertiary S. Again, NJs' perfectionism makes them detail-oriented as well. I totally understand what you mean, but the better way to put is "detail-averse at first but can become detail-oriented when necessary" for N. But based on my experiences with Sensors, they seem to swim in the realm of details but are not good at getting a big picture. Everyone can act Sensing-ly or Intuitively, but I find N->S shift slightly easier than the S->N shift. This is based on my observations, so this may not be accurate. Thoughts?

**NephilimAzrael** · 08-12-2008, 02:02 AM

Detail averse, what a wonderful phrase. I detest the idea of being detail-focused and detail-orientated because it would narrow my perspective and rather than thinking laterally I would be consumed by the central idea rather than the bigger picture.

**Darkmist** · 08-12-2008, 11:49 AM

Originally Posted by Doppelbock
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

So, is it safe to say that INTJ's are pretty much detail-averse except where the details are related to something the INTJ is deeply interested in?

For example I could hold forth all day long on the topic of beer -- different styles, brewers, etc., and probably quote you the % ABV adn other information of a thousand different beers, because I'm a beer geek. But if you held a gun to my head I could not summon the interest to learn even a fraction of this type of information about wines, because I'm not interested in wines.

This sums up me exactly. If a topic catches my interest, I study it to death. If it doesn't, I have no interest in learning anything about it. Otherwise, detail-averse. I can usually find a result to a problem quickly. Why toil over the mundane when you don't need to?

**eyebyte_AtWork** · 08-12-2008, 12:11 PM

Fuck details - its the principals that count.

**Fej** · 08-12-2008, 12:15 PM

lmfao. Computer programming is very very detail oriented. I took a course in high school and did poorly. The reason was because it was so detail oriented plus I wasn't interested at all in that crap. You got to do so much junk just to get a little miserable insignificant result.

On the flip side I also took an Accounting course which is also very detail oriented. I excelled in that course. I'm thinking I did good because my interests lay in business and I know that I will need to be familiar with accounting if I want to major in finance. Having said that, I would never major in accounting. It's just too detail-oriented. I do not care for insignificant details. Finance will be my major, the big-picture, future-oriented choice.

**Ranie9** · 08-12-2008, 06:33 PM

Depends on my fatigue level. If I'm not tired, I'm very detail oriented. But, I'm not sure what type I am - INTJ, INFJ, or INTP. For awhile I obsessed over my type, but now I am over that. Whatever. Don't have the time or energy for it.

**Fej** · 08-12-2008, 07:47 PM

	Originally Posted by Ranie9 To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	Depends on my fatigue level. If I'm not tired, I'm very detail oriented. But, I'm not sure what type I am - INTJ, INFJ, or INTP. For awhile I obsessed over my type, but now I am over that. Whatever. Don't have the time or energy for it.

Wow I'm in the same situation. I don't know if I am INTJ, ISTJ, ISTP, or INTP or maybe even F lol. I was obsessed trying to figure out what type I am, but I am over that now also. Maybe I'm just an extremely well-rounded individual lol.

**cognosco** · 09-07-2008, 10:30 PM

Maybe I'm an odd duck here, but I've been told many times I have excellent attention to detail. Perhaps it was in areas I was interested in, or had dealt with the big picture already and needed something else to learn (as in working in a mind-numbing customer service job for three years). I don't know, since I never really paid attention to whoever said it or why. The only reason I recall is because I thought it would look good on a resume. Maybe I'm not so good with details after all...

**Henry** · 09-07-2008, 10:59 PM

Originally Posted by Doppelbock
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

In general, are INTJ's detail-oriented or detail-averse? The MBTI literature is somewhat inconsistent on this, but tends towards detail-averse.

I find myself unable to get too interested in learning any new task/skill that involves understanding or coping with a myriad of mundane details. Computer programming is the exception because it's mostly logic and abstraction (i.e., fun), and you can pick up on the syntax (i.e., details) as you go -- but learning every last little function in X-Windows/Motif, for example, is something way beyond my interest level.

Overwhelmingly detail adverse, particularly when it comes to the "details" on cover sheets on TPS reports.

**aok** · 09-08-2008, 12:52 AM

In general, are INTJ's detail-oriented or detail-averse?

When it comes to concrete details I'm detail averse. I'm thinking concrete detail-oriented to be the realm of the ISTJ. Usually when people talk about being detail-oriented it has to do w/ concrete things. On the other hand, I can get pretty detailed about certain abstractions.

**eastman** · 09-08-2008, 06:12 AM

INTJ's can be detail oriented. We just have to work a little harder to train ourselves to pay attention to details. I was pretty much surrounded by Sensors in school so I had to be detail oriented.

**SiMey** · 09-08-2008, 08:18 AM

In terms of memory, I tend to remember general concepts instead of specific facts. My mind concentrates on the common patterns.

In that
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
thing posted elsewhere it was clear that I only see big picture. I'm trying to get my ISTJ brother to take it for comparison.

I was playing a game with my brother and he had some Heroquest thing covering up his stuff on the table. He said people kept complaining about the crappy artwork. I didn't even notice that there was any artwork.

When
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
I can't see the detail in people. I might notice the common patterns in their behaviour but not the details of each individual.

**Snowdragon** · 10-25-2008, 01:42 PM

Too many details throw me off.

**Colette** · 10-25-2008, 02:05 PM

Originally Posted by Doppelbock
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

In general, are INTJ's detail-oriented or detail-averse? The MBTI literature is somewhat inconsistent on this, but tends towards detail-averse.

I find myself unable to get too interested in learning any new task/skill that involves understanding or coping with a myriad of mundane details. Computer programming is the exception because it's mostly logic and abstraction (i.e., fun), and you can pick up on the syntax (i.e., details) as you go -- but learning every last little function in X-Windows/Motif, for example, is something way beyond my interest level.

My natural bent isn't to be interested in detail, but my job requires me to be able to be meticulous and careful with detail (especially when drafting or interpreting legal documents), so I've 'honed' my ability to focus on detail to a point where I'm comfortable that I don't overlook things.

I don't have a good memory for detail though (in fact I have a poor short term memory generally), so when asked to recount facts or details I often struggle.

**Krazy P** · 10-25-2008, 02:25 PM

This is a very interesting question - and insightful.

While 95% of the time I am detail averse, the 5% of the time that I am not, I am very obsessive. This is especially true if the stakes are personally high.

Two examples would be economic risk (recent market conditions) or physical risk (preparing for wilderness travel).

**thatfox** · 10-25-2008, 04:02 PM

While I am not nearly as detail oriented as my mother (ISTJ), I am a lot more detail oriented than my father. But as a whole I would think that I am not too detail oriented unless the matter is of great interest to me.

**CaptainA** · 10-25-2008, 04:39 PM

I go both ways depending on the situation. I tend to be very detail oriented in many ways but expect someone else to actually take care of the details I specify. But as many have said already in the big picture I am detail averse.

**SmileyMan** · 10-26-2008, 12:34 PM

(School) It depends on how interested in the subject I am.

If I'm writing a paper on, for an example, clean energy I'll dig deep until I understand what happens inside every technology, that I'm covering, on an atomic scale. I usually write all the information that I myself needed to fully understand.

I don't dig that deep if it's something I don't give a rat's ass about, like social sciences. I'll usually just write what has been requested by the teacher and maybe try to stitch some "strings-of-interest" into the report.

08-11-2008, 11:16 AM	#1
Doppelbock Member [30%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 1,213	In general, are INTJ's detail-oriented or detail-averse? The MBTI literature is somewhat inconsistent on this, but tends towards detail-averse. I find myself unable to get too interested in learning any new task/skill that involves understanding or coping with a myriad of mundane details. Computer programming is the exception because it's mostly logic and abstraction (i.e., fun), and you can pick up on the syntax (i.e., details) as you go -- but learning every last little function in X-Windows/Motif, for example, is something way beyond my interest level.
Doppelbock is offline post a comment

08-11-2008, 01:10 PM	#2
MichaelH Member [06%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 262	Generalizing from myself: INTJs are usually detail-averse. We think about the big picture and how things fit together. We're interested in how the building wiring works, not how to get the network cable to one badly-positioned workstation. The reason literature is mixed is probably our ability to dive deep when needed. When pursuing a specific goal, we can deal with an amazing amount of detail to get there. I can only do this for a very limited time, but I'll know everything there is to know about that one task!
MichaelH is offline post a comment

08-11-2008, 02:09 PM	#3
blckprljinju Member [08%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 330	I don't think INTJ would be detail-oriented, but I also don't think they'd be detail-adverse. Since INTJ's tendd to be perfectionist, INTJ would be willing to look into the details as well (only after taking care of the big picture though).
blckprljinju is offline post a comment

08-11-2008, 02:50 PM	#4
jikin Member [26%] MBTI: ENFJ Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 1,079	If the details are interesting enough, or really needed for the project at hand, then yes. If they are just the normal and boring details that will only clutter my mind and make me bored, then no. So in gereral, at least in myself, I'm going with detail-adverse.
jikin is offline post a comment

08-11-2008, 02:54 PM	#5
Doppelbock Member [30%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 1,213	So, is it safe to say that INTJ's are pretty much detail-averse except where the details are related to something the INTJ is deeply interested in? For example I could hold forth all day long on the topic of beer -- different styles, brewers, etc., and probably quote you the % ABV adn other information of a thousand different beers, because I'm a beer geek. But if you held a gun to my head I could not summon the interest to learn even a fraction of this type of information about wines, because I'm not interested in wines.
Doppelbock is offline post a comment

08-11-2008, 04:09 PM	#7
Jgib5328 Member [47%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 1,896	Detail-oriented = S, detail-averse = N. I hate details and I generally skip over them because I consider the big picture much more important.
Jgib5328 is offline post a comment

08-12-2008, 02:02 AM	#9
NephilimAzrael Member [22%] MBTI: XXXX Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 908	Detail averse, what a wonderful phrase. I detest the idea of being detail-focused and detail-orientated because it would narrow my perspective and rather than thinking laterally I would be consumed by the central idea rather than the bigger picture.
NephilimAzrael is offline post a comment

08-12-2008, 12:11 PM	#11
eyebyte_AtWork New Member [01%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 17	Fuck details - its the principals that count.
eyebyte_AtWork is offline post a comment

08-12-2008, 12:15 PM	#12
Fej Banned MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 509	lmfao. Computer programming is very very detail oriented. I took a course in high school and did poorly. The reason was because it was so detail oriented plus I wasn't interested at all in that crap. You got to do so much junk just to get a little miserable insignificant result. On the flip side I also took an Accounting course which is also very detail oriented. I excelled in that course. I'm thinking I did good because my interests lay in business and I know that I will need to be familiar with accounting if I want to major in finance. Having said that, I would never major in accounting. It's just too detail-oriented. I do not care for insignificant details. Finance will be my major, the big-picture, future-oriented choice.
Fej is offline post a comment

08-12-2008, 06:33 PM	#13
Ranie9 Member [04%] MBTI: INxx Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 168	Depends on my fatigue level. If I'm not tired, I'm very detail oriented. But, I'm not sure what type I am - INTJ, INFJ, or INTP. For awhile I obsessed over my type, but now I am over that. Whatever. Don't have the time or energy for it.
Ranie9 is offline post a comment

09-07-2008, 10:30 PM	#15
cognosco New Member [01%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 26	Maybe I'm an odd duck here, but I've been told many times I have excellent attention to detail. Perhaps it was in areas I was interested in, or had dealt with the big picture already and needed something else to learn (as in working in a mind-numbing customer service job for three years). I don't know, since I never really paid attention to whoever said it or why. The only reason I recall is because I thought it would look good on a resume. Maybe I'm not so good with details after all...
cognosco is offline post a comment

09-08-2008, 12:52 AM	#17
aok Core Member [305%] MBTI: INTx Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 12,207	In general, are INTJ's detail-oriented or detail-averse? When it comes to concrete details I'm detail averse. I'm thinking concrete detail-oriented to be the realm of the ISTJ. Usually when people talk about being detail-oriented it has to do w/ concrete things. On the other hand, I can get pretty detailed about certain abstractions.
aok is offline post a comment

09-08-2008, 06:12 AM	#18
eastman Member [03%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 122	INTJ's can be detail oriented. We just have to work a little harder to train ourselves to pay attention to details. I was pretty much surrounded by Sensors in school so I had to be detail oriented.
eastman is offline post a comment

09-08-2008, 08:18 AM	#19
SiMey Member [06%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 261	In terms of memory, I tend to remember general concepts instead of specific facts. My mind concentrates on the common patterns. In that To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. thing posted elsewhere it was clear that I only see big picture. I'm trying to get my ISTJ brother to take it for comparison. I was playing a game with my brother and he had some Heroquest thing covering up his stuff on the table. He said people kept complaining about the crappy artwork. I didn't even notice that there was any artwork. When To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. I can't see the detail in people. I might notice the common patterns in their behaviour but not the details of each individual.
SiMey is offline post a comment

10-25-2008, 01:42 PM	#20
Snowdragon Member [26%] MBTI: ENTP Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 1,061	Too many details throw me off.
Snowdragon is offline post a comment

10-25-2008, 02:25 PM	#22
Krazy P Member [17%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 703	This is a very interesting question - and insightful. While 95% of the time I am detail averse, the 5% of the time that I am not, I am very obsessive. This is especially true if the stakes are personally high. Two examples would be economic risk (recent market conditions) or physical risk (preparing for wilderness travel).
Krazy P is offline post a comment

10-25-2008, 04:02 PM	#23
thatfox Member [08%] MBTI: INTj Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 347	While I am not nearly as detail oriented as my mother (ISTJ), I am a lot more detail oriented than my father. But as a whole I would think that I am not too detail oriented unless the matter is of great interest to me.
thatfox is offline post a comment

10-25-2008, 04:39 PM	#24
CaptainA Member [16%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 670	I go both ways depending on the situation. I tend to be very detail oriented in many ways but expect someone else to actually take care of the details I specify. But as many have said already in the big picture I am detail averse.
CaptainA is offline post a comment

10-26-2008, 12:34 PM	#25
SmileyMan Member [08%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 331	(School) It depends on how interested in the subject I am. If I'm writing a paper on, for an example, clean energy I'll dig deep until I understand what happens inside every technology, that I'm covering, on an atomic scale. I usually write all the information that I myself needed to fully understand. I don't dig that deep if it's something I don't give a rat's ass about, like social sciences. I'll usually just write what has been requested by the teacher and maybe try to stitch some "strings-of-interest" into the report.
SmileyMan is offline post a comment