I was recently reading Peter Bregman's book "18 Minutes," which got me thinking about how our brain structure might influence our personalities, particularly concerning the roles of the amygdala and frontal lobe.

From what I understand, the amygdala is crucial for our immediate emotional responses—like fear, anger, and stress. It also helps with fight-or-flight reactions and how we process emotions. Studies suggest that the size and sensitivity of the amygdala can affect how empathetic and emotionally perceptive we are. People with larger or more responsive amygdalas tend to show more altruistic behavior, while those with smaller or less responsive ones might show traits associated with psychopathy.

On the other hand, the frontal lobe kicks in after the amygdala reacts, helping us make rational decisions based on the situation. It handles the less urgent threats after the amygdala has sounded the alarm.

I started wondering if many of the behaviors we often associate with INFPs could stem from an overactive amygdala. Could it be that stressful childhood experiences have trained INFPs to rely too much on gut reactions, formed in the amygdala, and not enough on the rational thinking of the frontal lobe?

If the amygdala drives impulsive decisions, like bursts of anger, it might explain why INFPs tend to feel emotions intensely during disagreements about their values, yet often choose to stay silent and withdraw instead of facing the conflict head on - since they aren't quick to come up with rational arguments in the moment, they bottle up the emotion and stay quiet so as to not burn a bridge.

In contrast, other personality types seem better at keeping their emotions in check, giving their frontal lobe time to step in for more reasoned discussions. For INFPs, it often takes writing things down to process their thoughts effectively.

INFPs are often described as "authentic," and some appreciate them because they sense INFPs don't have hidden agendas when expressing likes and dislikes. What if the amygdala contributes to this authenticity? If they're quick to make judgments at that instinctual level, before they've had a chance to rationalize them (and introduce inauthenticity or consider our agendas), they naturally come across as genuine.

On the downside, INFPs are sometimes labeled as selfish. Again, the amygdala isn't concerned with consequences; it's all about immediate needs and desires.

Overactive amygdalas are linked with higher levels of anxiety and depression. That certainly rings true for many INFPs' experiences.

Could this also explain their aversion to work? If they're constantly using the part of the brain designed for flight-or-flight, they're going to feel overhelmed by just about everything. That level of mental exhaustion on a daily basis would lead to the stereotype of wanting to curl up on the sofa and "relax", but all they're actually doing is trying to give their brains a rest.

My theory hinges on negative childhood experiences that many INFPs, myself included, have reported. Growing up around emotionally manipulative adults meant constantly dealing with their tactics. Perhaps making quick emotional judgments was a protective strategy rather than attempting futile rationalization of manipulation. Over time, this decision-making style became ingrained, potentially leading to underdeveloped use of the frontal lobe.

In contrast, other personality types might have coped differently, relying more on rational thought to suppress their initial emotional responses. Take Gordon Ramsay, for example. He's spoken about enduring physical mistreatment from his father during childhood. In his case as an ENTJ, responding emotionally may not have stopped the mistreatment or could have made it worse, so he may have made a rational calculation that work equated to independence and safety

I'm curious to hear from anyone with a background in neuroscience, psychology, medicine, or the like, who understand the roles of the amygdala and frontal lobe. Does my theory hold any water?

I was recently reading Peter Bregman's book "18 Minutes," which got me thinking about how our brain structure might influence our personalities, particularly concerning the roles of the amygdala and frontal lobe.

From what I understand, the amygdala is crucial for our immediate emotional responses—like fear, anger, and stress. It also helps with fight-or-flight reactions and how we process emotions. Studies suggest that the size and sensitivity of the amygdala can affect how empathetic and emotionally perceptive we are. People with larger or more responsive amygdalas tend to show more altruistic behavior, while those with smaller or less responsive ones might show traits associated with psychopathy.

On the other hand, the frontal lobe kicks in after the amygdala reacts, helping us make rational decisions based on the situation. It handles the less urgent threats after the amygdala has sounded the alarm.

I started wondering if many of the behaviors we often associate with INFPs could stem from an overactive amygdala. Could it be that stressful childhood experiences have trained us to rely too much on our gut reactions, formed in the amygdala, and not enough on the rational thinking of the frontal lobe?

If the amygdala drives impulsive decisions, like bursts of anger, it might explain why INFPs tend to feel emotions intensely during disagreements about our values, yet often choose to stay silent and withdraw instead of escalating the conflict - since we aren't quick to come up with rational arguments in the moment, we bottle up the emotion and stay quiet so as to not burn a bridge.

In contrast, other personality types seem better at keeping their emotions in check, giving their frontal lobe time to step in for more reasoned discussions. For us INFPs, it often takes writing things down to process our thoughts effectively in heated moments.

INFPs are often described as "authentic," and some appreciate us because they sense we don't have hidden agendas when we express our likes and dislikes. What if the amygdala contributes to this authenticity? If we're quick to make judgments at that instinctual level, before we've had a chance to rationalize them (and introduce inauthenticity or consider our agendas), we naturally come across as genuine.

On the downside, INFPs are sometimes labeled as selfish. Again, the amygdala isn't concerned with consequences; it's all about immediate needs and desires.

Overactive amygdalas are linked with higher levels of anxiety and depression. That certainly rings true for many INFPs' experiences.

Could this also explain our aversion to work? If we're constantly using the part of our brain designed for flight-or-flight, we're going to feel overhelmed by just about everything. That level of mental exhaustion on a daily basis would lead to our stereotype of wanting to curl up on the sofa and "relax", but all we're actually doing is just trying to give our brains a rest.

My theory hinges on negative childhood experiences that many INFPs, myself included, have reported. Growing up around emotionally and mentally abusive adults meant navigating constant manipulation. Perhaps making quick emotional judgments was a protective strategy rather than attempting futile rationalization of manipulation. Over time, this decision-making style became ingrained, potentially leading to underdeveloped use of the frontal lobe.

In contrast, other personality types might have coped differently, relying more on rational thought to suppress their initial emotional responses. Take Gordon Ramsay, for example. He's spoken about enduring physical abuse from his father during childhood. In his case as an ENTJ, responding emotionally may not have stopped the abuse or could have made it worse, so he may have made a rational calculation that work equated to independence and safety

I'm curious to hear from anyone with a background in neuroscience, psychology, medicine, or the like, who understand the roles of the amygdala and frontal lobe. Does my theory hold water?