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Drastic mistyping: what's the greatest "change in type" you've seen?

uumlau

Happy Dancer
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Anyone who frequents MBTI forums sees people questioning their type and on occasion changing their type. Usually it's something simple, like INTJ to INFJ, or ISTJ to ESTJ. Simple, one-letter changes, as one gradually adjusts one's self understanding.

But what about the big changes? I've seen a few, with a brief summary of reasons.

INTJ to ENTP - better understanding of MBTI
ISFP to INTP - rather young in the first place
ENFJ to INTJ - optimistic person who went through difficult trials

What kind of type changes have you seen? And what do you think the reasons were?

How much is lack of understanding? How much is that one really hasn't faced a real trial in life? How much is it just that MBTI is a pseudo-science and cannot be used with precision?
 

Night

Boring old fossil
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ISFJ to ENTP

Significant life changes, alongside an academic shift of focus in college -- his entire outlook and depth of approach was configured.
 

sLiPpY

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An ISTP mis-typing as an INTP is common... Spending a little time at INTP Central got me to my "sensor" real quick.

Then there was yesterday meeting with a small group of three for the first time. It made me feel like the only extrovert in the room. Their talk time 3 minutes while mine went for 21 minutes.

Couldn't stand the silence or lack of their responsiveness to my attempts at including them in the conversation. So I talked and talked and talked.

Reminded myself ISTP's are typically the most social of introverts. So no real E there. :cheese:
 

Night

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How's about you, uumlau?

Any particular rationale you observed?
 

yvonne

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i think it's probably mostly the pseudo science part... i think more like that as i've been here for a while...

i think i've gone gradually from INTP to iNTP to INtP to INFP to INfP... i'm not sure about childhood, that's just from when i've been testing.

i still think i switch between Ti and Te and Fi and Fe.
 

uumlau

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How's about you, uumlau?

Any particular rationale you observed?

I think the standard MBTI tests are pretty much a "best guess." The reasons for changes are numerous.

For me, the most surprising change is E to I or vice versa: it's usually really easy to tell whether one is introverted or extroverted. Also, it really doesn't make a difference which it is, especially if it's close to balanced.

Similarly for J/P, as long as you don't score near the middle, it's fairly solid and unchangeable.

T/F is fairly easy to switch, because people think "F" means "emotional" and "T" means "intellectual." Also, it's fairly easily affected by a time of crisis: some times in our lives, we abandon are natural inclination, because we feel betrayed by it, and throw ourselves into the other. I've seen many reluctant Fs become INTJ after realizing "but I have FEELINGS" doesn't say anything about how you process feelings, and reluctant Ts become INFJ after realizing that for most matters, they judge things subjectively and personally, even though they're extremely smart and inclined toward math/computers/science.

N/S is mostly inscrutable. It's a concept you either "get" or you don't.
 

Night

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I think the standard MBTI tests are pretty much a "best guess." The reasons for changes are numerous.

For me, the most surprising change is E to I or vice versa: it's usually really easy to tell whether one is introverted or extroverted. Also, it really doesn't make a difference which it is, especially if it's close to balanced.

Similarly for J/P, as long as you don't score near the middle, it's fairly solid and unchangeable.

T/F is fairly easy to switch, because people think "F" means "emotional" and "T" means "intellectual." Also, it's fairly easily affected by a time of crisis: some times in our lives, we abandon are natural inclination, because we feel betrayed by it, and throw ourselves into the other. I've seen many reluctant Fs become INTJ after realizing "but I have FEELINGS" doesn't say anything about how you process feelings, and reluctant Ts become INFJ after realizing that for most matters, they judge things subjectively and personally, even though they're extremely smart and inclined toward math/computers/science.

N/S is mostly inscrutable. It's a concept you either "get" or you don't.

Agreed, with particular emphasis on certain 'stigmatizing' elements of classification. Some Ps misconstrue aspects of their organizational behavior and presume a sense of duty and goal-seeking is necessarily restricted to a J. Conversely, Js who are, say, suspicious of authority or dislike leading others can misrepresent their decisions as indicative of their P counterpart.

Depending on the layout of the test (as well as administration style - proctor v. self-evaluation), there is additional opportunity for mistaken diagnosis. Familiarity with the MBTI can negatively influence final outcome, as certain 'key' words or phrases are illuminated above others (words like 'abstract' or 'analytical' or 'empathy), so semantic structure is an important consideration as well.
 

Totenkindly

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I'm still sort of amazed at my FiL's original score. He's textbook ISTJ, even by people who don't know a ton about MBTI, and worked as an engineer his entire career... but when he self-scored the test for his workplace, he came out ENFJ.

The counselor worked with him on the re-test... ISTJ.

There's just a lot of reasons someone can get confused when self-scoring a test like this.
 

miss fortune

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N/S is mostly inscrutable. It's a concept you either "get" or you don't.

:huh:

I understand the N/S divide, I even recognize that I use Ne plenty, I just use Se a bit more :)

It's hard to describe that to people though... even if you recognize the sensing characteristics in someone who's claiming to be an N "because it seems to fit and they don't seem to fit into society" it's not like they'd care to be informed of it... too many people seem to see the functions as a dichotomy- you're either one or the other, on or off... I think that you're right on that attitude causing a lot of people to end up mistyping themselves :yes:
 

BlackCat

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On a socionics forum I've seen an INFP confused over whether they were an ESTP. :rolleyes:
 

yvonne

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i think I/ E can change, as well... at least a bit. i know that when i was in high school and was going out with my friends, i was probably more inclined to E behavior. deep down, i still was never an extrovert, i don't think.

P and N have always been very clear with me.

the problem i have with T and F are the functions, because i honestly think i use Ti... but i think i use Fi, as well. i know i use Fe... i think i do? ... and i probably use Te, as well... this divide is just not clear cut for me... at the moment, anyway.
 

INTP

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type "changes" are caused by mistyping. mbti type doesent change even if you learn to use functions that you didnt use before
 

BlackCat

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If my memory serves, you began your forum life here as an INTJ.

Nah it was INFP. INTJ was the phase that I discovered I used Fi and Ni; and didn't think it was possible for me to be an S because of the forumwide bias.

That was for like 6 hours though. :laugh:
 

sLiPpY

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type "changes" are caused by mistyping. mbti type doesent change even if you learn to use functions that you didnt use before

Tests seem to be a poor way to figure it out. Lots of words take on a differing context when reading a test question? Dependant upon what's going on in life right now.

I'd never figured my own out just taking test. It'd always been wrong.

Reading up made all the difference.
 

Moiety

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Nah it was INFP. INTJ was the phase that I discovered I used Fi and Ni; and didn't think it was possible for me to be an S because of the forumwide bias.

It's not difficult to imagine an INFP thinking he was an ESTP if he was a guy. INFP males tend to have to come up with weird ways to adapt to their social environment to be accepted.
 

BlackCat

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It's not difficult to imagine an INFP thinking he was an ESTP if he was a guy. INFP males tend to have to come up with weird ways to adapt to their social environment to be accepted.

Well it was actually a chick... That was the strange thing.

That reminds me, on here that ESTP stellar renegade thought he was an INFP the first time he read through Kiersey's work.
 

sculpting

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Past 30 or so most of the enfps I know would have T/F confusion. They look like thinkers-albeit they are in a corporate workplace. As Te grows in it hardens them and gives a sense of practicality.

Lots of ENTPs here seem to have moments where they question if they are feelers or not-as Fe grows in and changes them, they think they may be ENFPs.

Lots of ENTPs also mention a shadow INTJ state when they are younger-it seems like a distinct life phase for them. A few ENFPs mention a shadow INFJ like state.

I know an ESTP at work who took a formal MBTI and came out an ENTJ. On the DISC test he took it was more clear-He came out as a high (disturbingly so) D for dominant, yet in reality he is very Fe heavy-in a yucky way. When the group saw this, they all questioned it as it matched none of his behaviors. The assumption is that he is selecting for what he would like to become, not for what he actually is.

So lots of reasons, but the underlying message is that the four letter MBTI is flawed.

(I broke it-after all of the questions, it made me pick if I was an ENFP or an ENTP based upon descriptions)
 

teslashock

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disregard went from INFP to ENTJ.

How the hell that happens is beyond me...

But, errrrr, she won't tell me why. :thinking:
 
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