Architect (Role Variant)

The Architect Rational is one of the 16 role variants the Keirsey Temperament Sorter is based on. David Keirsey originally described the Architect role variant; however, the personality descriptions of Isabel Myers greatly contributed to its development. Architects correlate with the INTP Myers-Briggs type.

Architects are introspective, pragmatic, informative and reserved. The scientific systemization of all knowledge, or Architectonics, is highly developed in them. Architects are intensely curious and see the world as something to be understood. Their primary interest is to determine how things are structured, built, or configured. They are designers of theoretical systems and new technologies. Rearranging the environment to fit their design is a distant goal of Architects.

Of all the role variants, Architects are the most logically and verbally precise. In casual conversations, they often point out errors the other speaker makes. In serious discussions, Architect’s ability to detect distinctions, inconsistencies, contradictions, and frame arguments gives them an enormous advantage. In debates, Architects can be devastating.

Of all the role variants, Architects have the greatest ability to concentrate. They prefer to quietly work alone and they may shut other people out if they are focused on analysis. This, coupled with the fact that Architects are usually shy, makes it difficult for other individuals to get to know them. In their social exchanges, architects are more interested in informing others about what they have learned than they are interested in directing the actions of others.

Credentials or other forms of traditional authority does not impress Architects. Rather logically coherent statements are the only things that seem to persuade them. Architects highly value intelligence and they can be impatient with people who have less ability than they have. Architects often perceive themselves as being one of the few individuals capable of defining the ends a society must achieve and will often strive to find the most efficient means to accomplish their ends. This perspective can make Architects seem arrogant to other individuals. The following individuals are identified as Architect Rationals:
 * Thomas Jefferson
 * Albert Einstein
 * Adam Smith
 * Charles Darwin
 * Ludwig Boltzmann
 * James Madison
 * Gregory Peck
 * George Soros
 * Steve Allen
 * Robert Rosen
 * David Keirsey
 * Marie Curie