Those here who claim to be INTJs but don't know the cognitive functions are probably mistyped. Am I correct in this assessment?
There is no guarantee of course, but it seems to me highly unlikely for an INTJ (who cares about MBTI and is not just a passer by) to then not almost immediately dive into the cognitive functions as soon as they catch wind of them. The functions are after all a goldmine for our Ni's interconnected web of models of the world and the four letters are almost worthless in comparison.
Of course it is also very possible for one to know how the functions work and still be mistyped and it's not like this is in any way definitive either way.
Edit: Perhaps I should clarify my thought process a bit more here:
- INTJ is one of the most common type people get mistyped as. This is not made better by the Barnum effect. As such, there is a real risk for any INTJ to be a mistype, and a decent percentage of us on this subreddit likely are mistyped.
- Tests are highly inaccurate, and so the only way to reliably get typed is by either being typed by someone who knows the cognitive functions (as intelligently pointed out), or by typing yourself, in which case you need to know the cognitive functions. If this hasn't been done, the risk for mistype remains high, by mere probability theory.
- Actual Ni-Doms have an outstanding thirst for knowledge and intellectual depth beyond just the surface level and cannot help but to see the deeper patterns behind everything. This, combined with the fact that we are quick learners means it is very likely for a true INTJ who is into MBTI to thus also learn about the cognitive functions, and INTJs will buy themselves time to use their dominant function in one way or another.
If you are not really into MBTI anyway however, then this point might not apply to you.
- If you don't know the cognitive functions, I'm not sure if you are a credible source to refute my point. MBTI isn't even really about the four letters to begin with.
Of course, plenty of exceptions to this will exist, and maybe you are one of them, but that wouldn't disprove my point. Since a decent chunk of this subreddit probably is mistyped, I'd say knowledge of the cognitive functions are probably one of the better ways to differentiate between those typed correctly and not, though it will for sure not be perfectly accurate.