ISTJ 4w5: (A Complete Guide)

In this article, we will describe a combination of ISTJ 4w5 personality type i.e. ISTJ personality from the MBTI types and the type 4w5 from enneagram types. We will be describing each personality separately followed up by giving an in-depth overview of a combination of both personalities i.e. ISTJ 4w5.

ISTJ 4w5

ISTJ 4w5 shares traits of both ISTJ and 4w5 personality. They want to be able to have an impact on the world and be admired by others. They are driven by their need to be authentic and try to be creative. They pay attention to details and work in a steady and original way. They are concerned by their social image  and use prior experiences to guide their behavior and thoughts. 

MBTI: Four Cognitive Functions

 Myer Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), based on Carl Jung’s 16 personality types, approaches personality to be composed of four cognitive functions that govern how people think, process, and make decisions. The top two cognitive functions play a dominant role in guiding a person’s personality. Whereas, the latter two play less of a role. However, they still have some impact or influence on how a person behaves in certain situations. ISTJ is one personality type out of the 16 types. 

ISTJ: The Inspector (Introverted, Sensing, Thinking, Judging)

The ISTJ personality type from the Myer-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is based on Carl Jung’s 16 personality types. It describes people who are quiet, reserved, practical, and organized. They are traditionalists and value loyalty. 13% of people have an ISTJ personality type in the world.

Four Cognitive Functions of ISTJ

Four cognitive functions that guide how ISTJ personality type processes information includes:

Introverted Sensing

ISTJs are present-oriented and can take in information from their surroundings.  They have a good memory and can use prior experience to predict or expect what will happen in the future.

Extroverted Thinking

ISTJs are logical,  objective, and rational.  They focus on details and concrete information rather than abstract information.  They are efficient and productive people who appreciate knowledge with practical application.  They are also good decision-makers who use logic and evidence instead of feelings to guide their judgment. 

Introverted Feeling

ISTJs often have gut feelings about different situations.  Although they make decisions based on logic but their feelings inform them to trust their emotional instinct rather than just facts. 

  Extroverted Intuition

This is the weakest part of ISTJ’s personality. They enjoy new ideas and experiences which help them to have a more balanced personality. 

Enneagrams

Enneagrams are a map or typology of human personalities. It was developed by George Ivanovich Gurdjieff, Oscar Ichazo, and Claudio Naranjo.It is divided into nine personality types that are spread across 3 triads i.e. Feeling triad, Thinking Triad, or Instinctive Triad. It describes a person’s fundamental psychological orientation in the form of good or bad traits and sees which triad quality i.e. emotion, intellect or instincts is most characteristic of his or her personality.  The Basic Personality Type is the most characteristic of a person. Whereas wings add elements to the overall personality. Type 4w5 is one of its types.

Type 4w5: ‘The Bohemian’

Type 4w5 has basic traits of type 4 and secondary traits of type 5 personality. Both types influence such individuals to withdraw and protect their feelings. These people are observant, intellectual, original, and insightful. They have a degree of social insecurity and can be inconsistent in their work at times. 

Healthy versions of this subtype are creative with a high degree of emotional awareness and intellectual comprehension. They are attracted to arts and social sciences since they are interested in understanding human behavior. Such types do not care deeply about the opinions of others and do what they feel like doing. Their self-expression is original, authentic & unique and they create things more for themselves than for their audience.

Average versions of this subtype are self-absorbed in philosophy and religion. Their emotions are dominant than their intellect but both are equally profound. Such types shy away from social connections and spend time alone. Their artistic expression is original and unique. At times, they have insights that are out of this world. Consequently, people find them independent, eccentric, and unconventional. 

Most of their time is spent thinking and keep their thoughts private. Even their creative ideas are unique, symbolic, and unusual. So, they keep their communication limited to only those who can understand them, as expressing their vision no matter what it is, is important for them. Generally, they like a simple lifestyle but at times they can be eccentric too.

Unhealthy versions of this subtype spend their time daydreaming, fantasizing, and in self-doubt. Their inner world is scary and has a self-denying feel to it. Especially as their existential problems are incapacitating. Although they are aware of their problems but often they get lost in the negative emotions. Fatigue, Depression, hopelessness, and nihilistic tendencies are common in them. What makes matters difficult is that they deny help from others and continue to be alienated. Their distorted thinking especially phobias, hallucinations, etc. are based on self-hatred and they can easily start feeling that life is meaningless. Due to this, they are at high risk of having depression and schizophrenia.   

Examples of Type 4w5: Virginia Woolf, Johnny Depp, Bob Dylan

A Combination of ISTJ 4w5

Personality: ISTJ 4w5

ISTJ 4w5 fears not being able to have an impact or influence. Although they are private but they need admiration and want to be recognized by others. They desire to be unique in terms of identity. They try to do that by being creative and figuring out who they are At times, they withdraw from others and adapt to their loved one’s qualities/traits. They focus on details and use previous knowledge and experiences to guide their future behavior. Their focus is to work quietly and steadily according to the plan. They are concerned about their social image but only to some extent. 

Workstyle: ISTJ 4w5

These personalities are deep thinkers who strive for insightful self-expression. They like spending time with books than people which explains their inquisitive and insightful nature. Their focus is on details and planning. They also work according to plans and follow rules and regulations. They prefer to work in jobs that allow them to think and express themself e.g. artists, writers, actors, librarians, programmer, etc

Emotional stressors of ISTJ 4w5

These personalities are stressed by spending a lot of time with others and engaging in casual conversations. Having a lack of understanding and feelings of rejection and isolation also upsets them. Their inner world can turn negative especially due to negative thinking. 

Conflict: ISTJ 4w5

ISTJ 4w5 try their best to not engage in conflicts. Although they can engage with others on a factual and abstract level in arguments, their focus is to avoid them. They mostly do not care about the opinions of others and keep their communication limited to people who agree with them so arguments do not take place.

Interpersonal Skills: ISTJ 4w5

ISTJ 4w5 are observant of other people and interested in understanding others. They stay in the background quietly and spend most of their time thinking. They are emotionally aware and can connect with people but often their worldview clashes with others. So, they communicate only with those people who can relate with them. They are not that open and expressive. At times, they need to go away from people to recharge. They are intellectually superior and are original in their thoughts. Regarding people, they do not spend a lot of time thinking about what they want or what they think. They are more self-absorbed in this regard. 

Strengths of ISTJ 4w5

• These people are curious, inquisitive and have a high drive for knowledge
• They are motivated to stay authentic
• They can connect with their ‘Self’ at a deeper level
• They are creative
• They are good problem solvers
• They are detail-oriented
• They are realistic
• They are focused on the present
• They have good observational skills
• They like practicality, organization, and order in their life.

Weakness of ISTJ 4w5

• They often withdraw from others
• They can lose grip on real-world problems
• They may engage in overthinking
• They struggle to follow rules and orders
• They can be Judgmental and highly subjective
• At times, they are Insensitive

If you’re facing this, it may be a good idea to seek the help of a therapist or other mental health professional. You can find a therapist at BetterHelp who can help you learn how to cope and address it.

If you’ve enjoyed the ”ISTJ 4w5” mentioned above, I would recommend you to take a look at ”ISTJ 6w7” and ”ISTJ 7w8” too.

 FAQs: ISTJ 4w5

Conclusion

In this article, we discussed ISTJ 4w5 personality.  We found that ISTJ 4w5 shares traits of both ISTJ and 4w5 personality. They want to be able to have an impact on the world and be admired by others. They are driven by their need to be authentic and try to be creative. They pay attention to details and work in a steady and original way. They are concerned by their social image and use prior experiences to guide their behavior and thoughts.   

I hope you found this article interesting. If you have any queries or comments, please state them in the comment section 😊

Citations

https://www.verywellmind.com/istj-introversion-sensing-thinking-judgment-2795992

https://www.crystalknows.com/enneagram/type-4-wing-5

Personality Types – Using the Enneagram for Self-Discovery by Don Richard Riso with Russ Hudson

The Wisdom of the Enneagram by Don Richard Riso and Russ Hudson