[NF] Swaying between INFJ - INFP

[Trefle]

um...

I've been having a little problem with my own personality; for times I've been regularly checking my personality (in a sense of "ooh what am I now?") and the result is I keep swaying between INFJ and INFP. Of course, the percentage is rather borderline (40-60% max) but...

um...I understand that human personality always change, and that my mood, feelings, other mental and emotional functions changes everytime and it might affect the result of the test but the thing I'm wondering is:

Is it good to have this kind of personality? What should I do with this?

I've read the recently made INFJ / INFP Distinction and had begun to read INFJorINFP.com but I still want to know what caused the change (especially in oneself)..

 

[Phantonym]

Is it good to have this kind of personality?

Is it that bad to have 60/40 J/P or P/J? There's nothing wrong with being borderline.

I still want to know what caused the change (especially in oneself)..

This did the trick:

human personality always change, and that my mood, feelings, other mental and emotional functions changes everytime and it might affect the result of the test

Tests are often inaccurate. Take a look at the dichotomies and functions and whatever feels right at the moment, is right. All are present in your personality, the percentages change exactly because of what you said above.

 

[Thalassa]

You could be naturally inclined to P but raised in a very J environment. That's one theory. I'm sure there are lots of other reasons why this occurs - for example, being an INFP with high Ni and Fe like me. My highest cognitive functions are Fi and Ne, but my Ni is almost as high (if not sometimes higher) as my Ne, and my Fe is still stronger than some. Those are my four strongest functions, in fact.

 

[Trefle]

Is it that bad to have 60/40 J/P or P/J? There's nothing wrong with being borderline.

On a hand, there's really nothing wrong, in fact it might be good (that I'm not so...J, which might be bad) but... on the other hand, I feel like..."so WHAT exactly ARE you?"

[/quote]
Tests are often inaccurate. Take a look at the dichotomies and functions and whatever feels right at the moment, is right. All are present in your personality, the percentages change exactly because of what you said above.[/QUOTE]
I guess you're right; but I am still bothered by what might caused this. What part of an INFJ that might changed and turned into more P? At which point will I turned into INFP, and how? Also vice versa, how could one "reverse" this change and go back to INFJ?

You could be naturally inclined to P but raised in a very J environment. That's one theory. I'm sure there are lots of other reasons why this occurs - for example, being an INFP with high Ni and Fe like me. My highest cognitive functions are Fi and Ne, but my Ni is almost as high (if not sometimes higher) as my Ne, and my Fe is still stronger than some. Those are my four strongest functions, in fact.

Hmm, if "orders" were a factor, I -am- raised in an "ordering", perhaps typical Asian family with more drama and tension so it all goes...very "ordering".

But due to that, I actually tried to 'perceive' more; to learn to understand the workings behind, the motives, all those backgrounds, so maybe it's due to that?

 

[Skyward]

I feel nearly 50% across the board a lot. Though more I and more N. Every person has a personality 'base' that is swayed by a gamut of things. I took forever to settle on a type that fit, and that came from knowing what the functions did and knowing myself. It was a great learning experience.

I'm just the kind of person who loves balance within areas where balance is good. Every day I constantly change the weights on my personality scale to keep it as balance as possible, though the weak Se/Si always causes problems. I dont even bother trying to develop those. It's like handling a snake and I always get bitten.

 

[scortia]

Skyward: I am exactly the same. Strong Introversion Intuitive, almost dead even on T/F, J/P. It's hard to get who you are personality-wise and it's really frustrating to me to not have a definitive I AM THIS TYPE sometimes.

If you find you're obsessing over your exact type and thinking about it entirely too much, you probably lean more towards INFJ.

 

[BlackCat]

I'm pretty even on P/J as well, I think your problem can be however explained by this.

P types will want to leave larger, more important decisions open ended. They may (depending on how preferred they are) want to be final and organized about smaller decisions in their lives.

J types will want to make larger, more important decisions final. They may (depending on how preferred they are) want to leave smaller decisions open ended or not have a plan about them.

This may help you. You may "shift" because of the priority of your decision making, making you want some things final and some things open ended.

 

[Polaris]

For awhile I had a dilemma between INFJ and INFP, as well. What broke the tie more than anything else was asking myself whether I was more of an individualist or someone who is focused on society. INFPs are concerned mainly with personal issues like finding a purpose in life, staying true to themselves, and self-understanding. Because of their auxiliary Fe, INFJs are far more apt to focus on social issues like finding their role in the community, fighting injustice, and reaching out to people. Most INFPs and INFJs will share some of these traits, but by deciding which one is the stronger force in your life, you can determine which type you most relate to.

 

[OrangeAppled]

J types will want to make larger, more important decisions final. They may (depending on how preferred they are) want to leave smaller decisions open ended or not have a plan about them.

Hmm, that sounds more like me, and I am definitely an INFP.

----------

I think it can help to look at how J and P affect the other letters. Do you have Fe or Fi? Ni or Ne?

I think Fi and Fe is the easiest to make the distinction with. An INFJ possesses Fe (extroverted feeling) and an INFP possesses Fi (introverted feeling). Roughly put, Fi is more concerned with internal feelings, and Fe is more about external harmony. An INFJ may seek group harmony by emphasizing propriety (ie. being polite), and an INFP may tend to be less in tune with social graces and be more interested in promoting individual inner-peace (both within themselves & others).

 

[BlackCat]

Hmm, that sounds more like me, and I am definitely an INFP.

That's really from what I've heard honestly. Just a theory.

 

[gloomy-optimist]

Well, first remember that the test is an INDICATOR -- it's not always that accurate. You have to quest for yourself what you truly are in your heart *hair flows in the breeze*

But yeah, I've had that problem; a lot of times, I use my Fe and Ti together, and it makes the appearance of Fi. So, it could be that you just have a good handle on your functions and are nice and balanced But a little research, looking at traits and qualities of both types, might help you decide what you truly are at the base.

 

[nightning]

Recommend you to do a search on INFJ INFP threads on the forum. Quite a few snapshots of the similarities and difference of the two type for you to dig into.

 

[Trefle]

I think it can help to look at how J and P affect the other letters. Do you have Fe or Fi? Ni or Ne?

I...am more Fi, I think, but:

I use my Fe and Ti together, and it makes the appearance of Fi. So, it could be that you just have a good handle on your functions and are nice and balanced

would you care to elaborate? I haven't read much about this and making further connection seems harder for me to do

I don't know; it's just at times I feel INFJ, and then I feel INFP, and then at times I feel "what EXACTLY" am I?

I'd done much Judging, but am training to Perceive more, would that be another reason for my...uh....instability?

 

[AphroditeGoneAwry]

For awhile I had a dilemma between INFJ and INFP, as well. What broke the tie more than anything else was asking myself whether I was more of an individualist or someone who is focused on society. INFPs are concerned mainly with personal issues like finding a purpose in life, staying true to themselves, and self-understanding. Because of their auxiliary Fe, INFJs are far more apt to focus on social issues like finding their role in the community, fighting injustice, and reaching out to people. Most INFPs and INFJs will share some of these traits, but by deciding which one is the stronger force in your life, you can determine which type you most relate to.

for me i kinda flip these two ideologies around to understand infp/infj.....in other words, it's the opposite for me.

overall, the tests don't matter. it's the overall type you should study and see what resonates best. reading infp/infj posts on here can help a lot, i think. i've seen some people on here say they are infj, but i suspect, from their writing style they are more infp. but everyone is on their own journey. i think infps tend to elaborate much much more trying to pinpoint down to the nth degree the feeling(s) they are trying to convey, and feel strongly that they want other to understand them in that. whereas, i think, infjs are more general and not so detailed in the conveyance of their experiences, as a general rule......haha.

there are so many threads on here about the two....you should be able to figure it out pretty well. and if you can't label yourself after ALL that, you're probably infp, cuz many times infps don't like being labeled at all.

 

[Little Linguist]

um...

I've been having a little problem with my own personality; for times I've been regularly checking my personality (in a sense of "ooh what am I now?") and the result is I keep swaying between INFJ and INFP. Of course, the percentage is rather borderline (40-60% max) but...

um...I understand that human personality always change, and that my mood, feelings, other mental and emotional functions changes everytime and it might affect the result of the test but the thing I'm wondering is:

Is it good to have this kind of personality? What should I do with this?

I've read the recently made INFJ / INFP Distinction and had begun to read INFJorINFP.com but I still want to know what caused the change (especially in oneself)..

Although I understand your frustration, I think it's totally normal to find more than one possibility fitting, especially with borderlines.

Personally, I'm borderline on the T/F and J/P functions (literally 50/50) and very close on the E/I and N/S functions (although there is a bit more of a spread there).

I agree with the assessment that the test is not accurate. Depending on how you feel on any given day, you might answer radically differently. Circumstances in your life might cause even inferior functions to leap to the surface, thereby skewing your test results.

In the extreme scenario, one might even ask if there IS an accurate test result possible for such a complex mind as the human mind....

I often sway between the ENFJ/ENFP result. Depending on the test, I might even get INFP. All of these results seem highly accurate for me at one point or another, though the ENFJ/ENFP dichotomy seems more realistic.

The reason for this stems from Judging function's necessity to have closure (what am I, damn it?!) to Perception's openness (am I really that?)

Having balanced J/P can lead to other dichotomies as well, particularly if your cognitive functions are also close. (Take a look at my signature, where there is only a 5.2 spread between my second-highest and second-lowest function). This leads me, for example, to exhibit radically different behavior (where totally different cognitive functions are expressed) in different situations, where one could analyze my behavior really only on a situational basis.

However, if you take a look at the cognitive functions again, you'll see that my Ne triumphs over everything. This narrows the scale down to two choices: ENFP and ENTP, where ENFP is probably the most logical option. Reason being that ENTPs exhibit high Ti, not necessarily high Te, and my high T score comes primarily (though not exclusively) from higher Te (although my Ti score is also decent).

So it may help to look at different sources to determine your type (for example, cognitive functions test), especially if you are so close and relate to both type descriptions equally on a situational basis, unable to make a decision on your general behavior...

If you happen to test very high Fi/Ne, you probably lean more towards INFP. If you score relatively high Ni/Fe, you're probably more INFJ. You can also look at descriptions of cognitive functions and see which ones fit more to your personality. For me, it's by far Ne/Fi/Te, and that's how I know I must be ENFP and not ENFJ.

Most ENFJs, INFJs and other types tend to concur as well - I could never be an Fe dom....

 

[AphroditeGoneAwry]

Although I understand your frustration, I think it's totally normal to find more than one possibility fitting, especially with borderlines.

Personally, I'm borderline on the T/F and J/P functions (literally 50/50) and very close on the E/I and N/S functions (although there is a bit more of a spread there).

I agree with the assessment that the test is not accurate. Depending on how you feel on any given day, you might answer radically differently. Circumstances in your life might cause even inferior functions to leap to the surface, thereby skewing your test results.

In the extreme scenario, one might even ask if there IS an accurate test result possible for such a complex mind as the human mind....

I often sway between the ENFJ/ENFP result. Depending on the test, I might even get INFP. All of these results seem highly accurate for me at one point or another, though the ENFJ/ENFP dichotomy seems more realistic.

The reason for this stems from Judging function's necessity to have closure (what am I, damn it?!) to Perception's openness (am I really that?)

Having balanced J/P can lead to other dichotomies as well, particularly if your cognitive functions are also close. (Take a look at my signature, where there is only a 5.2 spread between my second-highest and second-lowest function). This leads me, for example, to exhibit radically different behavior (where totally different cognitive functions are expressed) in different situations, where one could analyze my behavior really only on a situational basis.

However, if you take a look at the cognitive functions again, you'll see that my Ne triumphs over everything. This narrows the scale down to two choices: ENFP and ENTP, where ENFP is probably the most logical option. Reason being that ENTPs exhibit high Ti, not necessarily high Te, and my high T score comes primarily (though not exclusively) from higher Te (although my Ti score is also decent).

So it may help to look at different sources to determine your type, especially if you are so close and relate to both type descriptions equally on a situational basis, unable to make a decision on your general behavior...

i've heard that you can't use functions beyond maybe the first to point you in the right direction of type. some wise person on here said that....macguffin? can't remember. anyway, my functions are freaking all over the map, so much so that i should be receiving my 'functions of type' book today so i can properly order them....

and i think, personally, that infp and infj are completely different so much so that you can't really vascillate between the two. just my opinion.

 

[Trefle]

I personally used to think that INFP and INFJ are differed by..well, the way they "see" things. But then I met life and then I'm confused. And then I remembered seeing the result of tests and there INFPs are defined as "the romantic" / "the dreamer" and then INFJ are defined as "the psychic" / "the insight (or something similar)"

...romantic and psychic. Seems pretty...uh. far away, yes.

Judging by some people's posts here I can say that I try to see the world in INFP way, with an arsenal of INFJ traits. >_>; Hurray!

and forgot to say, but really thanks a lot for replying here, got so much insights

about the Fe/Fi/etc (socionics? Enneagram? *hits brain*)....uh..I forgot my own points, may I ask for links to those tests?

 

[gloomy-optimist]

I...am more Fi, I think, but:

would you care to elaborate? I haven't read much about this and making further connection seems harder for me to do

I don't know; it's just at times I feel INFJ, and then I feel INFP, and then at times I feel "what EXACTLY" am I?

I'd done much Judging, but am training to Perceive more, would that be another reason for my...uh....instability?

Well, I had a discussion about this with someone on the infj forum, and he called it "ghosting" or something. The theory was, everyone uses every function, and they almost never use only one at a time -- the thing that makes a type unique is the preference of the order which they use their functions. Well, it's possible to use two functions almost simultaneously, so an INFJ that has developed secondary and tertiary function (Fe, Ti) very well, after a certain point it becomes more natural to use them together. So, even though you're using two different functions, it appears as if you are using one (Fi, or sometimes Te, but that's less common for INFJs because Fe has preference over Ti so the F usually comes out a bit stronger)

 

[Ruthie]

for me i kinda flip these two ideologies around to understand infp/infj.....in other words, it's the opposite for me.

Further down the same post...

there are so many threads on here about the two....you should be able to figure it out pretty well.

Yeah. Tons of threads. But how does that really help to determine a type when every post seems to contradict the one before? Are there any tell-tale differences between INFP and INFJ that are generally agreed on?

 

[Siúil a Rúin]

This confusion seems to be a *really* common problem. I've flip-flopped myself. I am quite organized by nature which seems J in the end, but am also open-ended by nature and it is hard to impose myself or ideas onto reality.

When the MBTI tests equate Fe with being a good host, then I score quite low. It is often associated with being extroverted in being aware of and attending to the emotional needs of everyone in an environment. I think that is one thing that can cause confusion for the INFJ. I absorb the emotions in my environment, but am not inclined towards hosting.

I also find overlapping stereotypes for INFJ and INFP that describe both as flexible and both as stubborn. It appears that what some people assume is INFJ others assume is INFP and vice versa.

Another possible point of confusion is that those who test as INF tend to be introspective and focus on personal authenticity. This could also reasonably be the same individual most likely to see discrepancies between an actual person and a prescribed system of personality. I've read some people discover a type and reorganize their thinking to be more like the description. The person who tests as INF could be more likely to try to adjust the description or keep looking for the best one rather than adjusting self to fit a description. Also, INFJ and INFP together comprise all 8 functions, so confusion between these two types is somewhat of an elegant solution to function confusion and/or an awareness of using all eight. This covers all possible bases for behavior in the MBTI system.