"In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is." - Yogi Berra
"The people who scored high on self-reflection were more stressed, depressed and anxious, less satisfied with their jobs and relationships, more self-absorbed, and they felt less in control of their lives. What’s more, these negative consequences seemed to increase the more they reflected."
This is 1) a great example of what "too much Ni" looks like and 2) a great example of the ethics of socionics. If you do an IM element (reflection/Ni) for its own sake for too long you will end up neglecting its opposites (Se, Si) and feel unfulfilled.
But I wouldn't phrase it as a what vs. why distinction like they do, really the point is here: "Asking why appeared to cause the participants to fixate on their problems and place blame instead of moving forward in a healthy and productive way."
This need to move forward is what Ni looks when paired with Se; Ni on its own can't "do", it can only think and reflect. Se needs to move, but it doesn't have a sense of which way is forward. Only when you use the two together can you have a whole life. It may be that "what" questions are generally more concrete and easier to give useful answers to.
Nature Human Behaviourvolume 1, pages 890–895 (2017): Regional ambient temperature is associated with human personality
(pdf link)Human personality traits differ across geographical regions1,2,3,4,5. However, it remains unclear what generates these geographical personality differences. Because humans constantly experience and react to ambient temperature, we propose that temperature is a crucial environmental factor that is associated with individuals’ habitual behavioural patterns and, therefore, with fundamental dimensions of personality. To test the relationship between ambient temperature and personality, we conducted two large-scale studies in two geographically large yet culturally distinct countries: China and the United States. Using data from 59 Chinese cities (N = 5,587), multilevel analyses and machine learning analyses revealed that compared with individuals who grew up in regions with less clement temperatures, individuals who grew up in regions with more clement temperatures (that is, closer to 22 °C) scored higher on personality factors related to socialization and stability (agreeableness, conscientiousness, and emotional stability) and personal growth and plasticity (extraversion and openness to experience). These relationships between temperature clemency and personality factors were replicated in a larger dataset of 12,499 ZIP-code level locations (the lowest geographical level feasible) in the United States (N = 1,660,638). Taken together, our findings provide a perspective on how and why personalities vary across geographical regions beyond past theories (subsistence style theory, selective migration theory and pathogen prevalence theory). As climate change continues across the world, we may also observe concomitant changes in human personality.
Improving your happiness and changing your personality for the better
Jungian theory is not grounded in empirical data (pdf file)
The case against type dynamics (pdf file)
Cautionary comments regarding the MBTI (pdf file)
Reinterpreting the MBTI via the five-factor model (pdf file)
Do the Big Five personality traits interact to predict life outcomes? (pdf file)
The Big Five personality test outperformed the Jungian and Enneagram test in predicting life outcomes
Evidence of correlations between human partners based on systematic reviews and meta-analyses of traits
I think that's called culture, but last time I said that someone told me to be careful saying that or I'll get killed for implying there's a such thing as national character. I don't even know why I would get killed for that because that's still not racist (I mean, if you're around a bunch of people who act a certain way and promote acting a certain way, aren't you likely to pick it up? so statistically culture should relate to personality, even if there are exceptions too) but the word "national" is now always followed by "socialist" or something.