So, are you really your type, or do you wish you were your type???

[Gabe]

You're a phony. I think you're a T.

Edit: I think you're right about people not really being self aware.

The grin means you're not serious, right?

 

[wedekit]

The biggest problem is probably the sensor/intuitive divide. The MBTI books and all were written by intuitives.. and the bias clearly shows.. there is a lot more positive life affirming language in the intuitive descriptions than in the sensor ones. So it is no wonder if people self select intuitive as they believe it to be superior...

If I had to guess, it isn't a bias favoring intuitives. Explaining intuition to S's is much more difficult than explaining sensing to N's . They have to try and show the S's (and honestly even self-doubting N's) that dominant usage of intuition over sensing is completely valid (note that I didn't say superior)... even in our sensate culture.

 

[EsoteriEccentri]

Many extroverts (particularly shy ones) often seem to see themselves as introverts. Same for sensors thinking they're intuitive. I don't think the different functions are described properly, I was very confused on the S/N issue until I saw a thread in this forum about sensors being able to see the "big picture" too, and a link to some website.
I think if someone's 100% sure of their type that means they're not self aware enough to even question it (and therefore have probably got it wrong)
But there's no best type, some of the best and most fascinating people I know are types like ESFJ which don't seem to be very popular on here. You can't say all INxx types are deep or interesting, for example, and all ESxx types are not...

 

[nightning]

Many extroverts (particularly shy ones) often seem to see themselves as introverts. Same for sensors thinking they're intuitive. I don't think the different functions are described properly, I was very confused on the S/N issue until I saw a thread in this forum about sensors being able to see the "big picture" too, and a link to some website.
I think if someone's 100% sure of their type that means they're not self aware enough to even question it (and therefore have probably got it wrong)
But there's no best type, some of the best and most fascinating people I know are types like ESFJ which don't seem to be very popular on here. You can't say all INxx types are deep or interesting, for example, and all ESxx types are not...

Very good points you've raised

I think a lot of it has to do with people trying to type themselves without a better understanding of the theory behind it. The extreme case examples can be damaging. For example, to say that extroverts dislike to be alone... or how about a sensor has no N? There's just not enough emphasis on your type relating to which functions you're most likely to utilize and which the least. Instead there's the impression that a S don't do N things and an N don't do S stuff. *shakes head*

Addressing the OP... Do I know what my true type is. Not at all! I think INFJ fits me better than the other types and that's about it. Could it be self selectional bias in taking the tests? It could have happened. For example, insisting that I'm closer to INFJ than INFP because the bad rep they have for being overly sensitive? Who knows...

 

[Kiddo]

I'm INFX. On any given day I could be INFPish or INFJish. But based on my childhood and cognitive processes, I'm INFJ with high Fi.

 

[Ezra]

I think a lot of it has to do with people trying to type themselves without a better understanding of the theory behind it. The extreme case examples can be damaging. For example, to say that extroverts dislike to be alone... or how about a sensor has no N? There's just not enough emphasis on your type relating to which functions you're most likely to utilize and which the least. Instead there's the impression that a S don't do N things and an N don't do S stuff. *shakes head*

I have very little Feeling in me.

 

[Carebear]

I always score highest on Ne, but the function tests still peg me as INFP, and other tests say INFP or XNFP as well. I might have certain ENFP traits, but I'm no extrovert. The INFP profile fits me best by far, and if I add certain ENFP and INTP traits, I get a perfect description of myself.

 

[prplchknz]

to the OP: I don't know.

 

[Colors]

Oh, I don't know. I could be an ISTP. It's close enough for my purposes? Sometimes I'm not even sure of what the difference between Se and Ne is supposed to be. And don't even ask me what Ni is...

Reasons why I would want to be ISTP: Se-people are so alive and one with the world. They sound self-sufficient and confident.

Reasons why I might be ISTP: I am definitely Ti-oriented, critical with the picking apart of things. I'm quiet except with friends, with whom I am very silly. I am blunt, and have often been accused of being heartless by IxFxs. I like to be led by no one and to follow no one.

Reasons why I might not be ISTP: I'm very clumsy. And I'm very very observant of some things, but also very very forgetful (low Si?). I'm not that decisive.

 

[wedekit]

Oh, I don't know. I could be an ISTP. It's close enough for my purposes? Sometimes I'm not even sure of what the difference between Se and Ne is supposed to be. And don't even ask me what Ni is...

Reasons why I would want to be ISTP: Se-people are so alive and one with the world. They sound self-sufficient and confident.

Reasons why I might be ISTP: I am definitely Ti-oriented, critical with the picking apart of things. I'm quiet except with friends, with whom I am very silly. I am blunt, and have often been accused of being heartless by IxFxs. I like to be led by no one and to follow no one.

Reasons why I might not be ISTP: I'm very clumsy. And I'm very very observant of some things, but also very very forgetful (low Si?). I'm not that decisive.

I think being clumsy would be attributed to low Se, which is your secondary function. That could be you solely using your Ti and failing to exercise your Se.

And here, I'll help you understand Se, Ne, and Ni:

Se: "Sensation should not be confused with simple awareness. Sensation is ultimately the ability to adapt to and make us of what we're taking in with out senses. When we employ this function in an Extraverted way, we interact physically with data in our immediate environment. For example, we might use it to catch a ball, get out of the rain, change a tire, or play a guitar."

Ne: "[Intuition] encourages us to see things not as they are but as they might be. When we use our intuition in an Extraverted way, we recognize what exists in front of us as meaningful not in it own right but because it suggests the larger picture-- a pattern, an emerging possibility. For example, at its simplest level, Intuition will tell us that a panther in the jungle is dangerous but a panther in a zoo is not. Unifying the panther with its context gives us the "whole picture" before we've even had time to conceptualize it."

Se vs. Ne: "As a right-brained perceiving function, Ne has a lot in common with Se. Both push us to adapt, to relate to ourselves to sensory data in our immediate environment. Sensation, however, draws our attention to objects, and we adapt immediately to their surface features. Intuition draws our attention to context and we adapt to sensory events in terms of it... [To Se] all that matters is past experience and whether it applies here and now."

Ni: "When we Inuit in an Introverted way, we also recognize patterns. But Ni is more cerebral. It enables us to understand that meaning is relative. The same information can suggest many different patterns, depending on one's perspective."

Beach Example
Imagine we're spending a day on the beach.

Extraverted Sensing would prompt us to go with our sense impressions as they occurred: to lie in the sun, play in the surf, listen to the gulls piping overhead.

Introverted Sensing would move us to stabilize our sense impressions by integrating them with facts we knew to be consistent. We might bring our favorite book, a snorkel and flippers, a bag of snacks, extra towels because someone will probably forget one, and a watch to make sure we beat the traffic home.

Extraverted iNtuition would move us to unify our sense impressions with their large context, thereby creating new options for meanings and responses. For example, as we lie on our blanket in the sun, perhaps we hear music in the distance. Someone passing by mentions a great restaurant in town. Suddenly we're thinking: Hey, there must be an amusement park nearby. If it's on our way to town, we can check out the rides before we look for the restaurant that passerby was talking about. In fact, maybe the guy knows about other places we should consider. Where did he go?

Introverted iNtuition would prompt us to liberate our sense impressions from their larger context, thereby creating new options for perception itself. For example, we might find ourselves wondering why people feel so strongly about getting a good tan. We remember reading somewhere that before the Industrial Revolution, being tan marked one as a manual laborer, because it suggested work out of doors. After the Industrial Revolution, it was pale skin that suggested manual labor because it indicated work in a poorly lit factory. Such correlations aren't relevant today, but a good tan is still considered attractive. Why is that? Ni's would then consider raising the questions as a topic of conversation, but we're pretty sure our friends will think we're observing a situation instead of enjoying it."

 

[redacted]

@ wedekit: i like the beach examples.

@ the OP: i wish i was an ENTP, and i spent a year going back and forth between all the NP types (INTP, ENTP, INFP, ENFP) before i figured out i'm really INFJ from a function theory standpoint (those damn messy desk questions threw me off). i still test as INTP or sometimes INFP, though.

 

[Nocapszy]

The grin means you're not serious, right?

The grin means I approve. I like Fs too though.

 

[wedekit]

Beach Quotes:
Thomson, Lenore. Personality Type: An Owner's Manual. 1. Boston: Shambhala Publications, Inc., 1998.

 

[Lateralus]

My best friend just took the Myers Briggs test again, and came out as being an INFP. (Which she is soooooooooooooo not).

I've taken the test a handful of times over a span of at least five years, and I always am an ENFP, though once I scored an I, instead of an E.

Also, whenever I research material on my type, I am astounded by how accurately it generally depicts my personality.

Lastly, I just don't think most people are self aware.

Which begs the question, are phonies even aware that they're phony?

I type either ENFP or ENTP, depending on my mood and both descriptions fit me pretty well, so...

 

[substitute]

As far as I can tell... yeah. Been professionally tested, self-confirmed and also confirmed by others. I was reluctant to admit my ENTP-ness and went under a cloak of INTP-ness for quite a while, until Jennifer rumbled me and forced me out of the closet.

 

[arcticangel02]

Many extroverts (particularly shy ones) often seem to see themselves as introverts. Same for sensors thinking they're intuitive. I don't think the different functions are described properly, I was very confused on the S/N issue until I saw a thread in this forum about sensors being able to see the "big picture" too, and a link to some website.
I think if someone's 100% sure of their type that means they're not self aware enough to even question it (and therefore have probably got it wrong)
But there's no best type, some of the best and most fascinating people I know are types like ESFJ which don't seem to be very popular on here. You can't say all INxx types are deep or interesting, for example, and all ESxx types are not...

Yeah, that's my case... I feel like my level of extraversion varies on my mood - on a good day I'm clearly extraverted, on a regular day I'm borderline, but sitting on the extraverted side of the line, and on bad days I'm a little introverted.

So, y'know, I want to have good days, so I want to be more ENFP than I actually am? Hmm. Who knows?

But very good points!

 

[EsoteriEccentri]

Hmm. It's just the idea that sensors are concrete, practical, boring ect that annoys me. I know so many people that are definitely sensors but not really any of those things... So, many of the S types may be very concrete and "boring" but NOT ALL and I think that's why many S types type themselves as N. I know that if I showed most of the common S descriptions to many of my S friends they would immediately type themselves as N.
I think the forest/trees Si/Se/Ni/Ne is the fairest and least biased example of the differences between Ss and Ns.