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[MBTI General] How often can your type change? An ENF's search

Malkavia

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Dec 2, 2009
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289
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ENXP
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3w4
Title says it all plus -

Is there an age when it settles?

This has sparked a little debate when I asked at the INTJ forum....so to give you a little more context as to why I am asking:

I'm pretty sure Im ENFP, I fit a lot of the descriptions. I dont fit a lot of the stereotypes but I think thats because I consider myself a healthy ENFP. (Im not chaotic or really disorganized and I do not flake out of people) I am actually very organized.

I have always thought this was just simply because I had to mature and take care of myself at a very young age. So maybe you could call me an extremely mature ENFP.

I am starting to connect with the ENFJ portrait a little and have a tough time deciding whether or not I am slowly "moving" into a more J type of personality. Mostly because of the simple love for people that I see in a lot of ENFJ's portraits.

I agree with the ENFPs portrait of loving life, but I am obsessed with people. Not only do I want to meet them and be on a surface level friendship, I want to go further and discover them and see every part of them.

I am not an expert on MBTI so I do not how all the Fe of Fi or whatever works, which would definitely probably help me. However I simply have to much with school right now to do the research. I think I will try to do more discovery over Christmas Break.
 

jcloudz

Yup
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Nov 5, 2009
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Istj
from what i have heard, it takes 6 months for something to really become habit. if you think about the things you want to change and are consistent, you may see the desired results. baby steps and easy does it?
 

Malkavia

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I'm not trying to become an ENFJ. It just seems to be happening. (if my conclusions are correct, which they very well could be completely wrong)
 

sunshinEnfp

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Sep 30, 2009
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48
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ENFP
I am starting to connect with the ENFJ portrait a little and have a tough time deciding whether or not I am slowly "moving" into a more J type of personality. Mostly because of the simple love for people that I see in a lot of ENFJ's portraits.

I agree with the ENFPs portrait of loving life, but I am obsessed with people. Not only do I want to meet them and be on a surface level friendship, I want to go further and discover them and see every part of them.

Well, I definitely fit the ENFP description to a T (blew my mind when I read it for the first time on personalitypage), but I am into knowing about people on a deeper level. I want to know their thoughts, their fears, their hopes, etc. But it's not usually everyone... I mean, while I would like to know that about everyone, I don't have enough time. But when I first meet someone and I am getting to know them, I really want to discover more about them.

But... who knows? Maybe you're a J/P mix or maybe you are moving toward being a J.
 

BlackCat

Shaman
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Nov 19, 2008
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ESFP
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9w8
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
You can't change your type.
 

Malkavia

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try asking Little Linguist... :whistling: :whistling: :whistling: :popc1:

Who's that?

I mean Im not trying to change my type. Maybe I am ENFJ but has never fully grown into my type? Or maybe I am an ENFP who is just doubting?

I mean honestly, MBTI is not an exact science from what I can tell and everyone is different. I do not think you can just throw out the possibility of someone slowly over time changing types.
 

Scott N Denver

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INFP
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4w5
You can't change your type.

But some people sure spend a lot of time thinking what they are while trying to find out what they are MBTI-type-wise. Both you and LL can attest to that

Who's that?

I mean Im not trying to change my type. Maybe I am ENFJ but has never fully grown into my type? Or maybe I am an ENFP who is just doubting?

I mean honestly, MBTI is not an exact science from what I can tell and everyone is different. I do not think you can just throw out the possibility of someone slowly over time changing types.

Little Linguist, she has two blogs, one for ENFP and one for ESTJ. I think she even posted in both of them today. Go to NF blogs and SJ blogs to find hers
 

1.000.000

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Nov 16, 2009
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35
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INxJ
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6w5
I mean Im not trying to change my type. Maybe I am ENFJ but has never fully grown into my type? Or maybe I am an ENFP who is just doubting?

I mean honestly, MBTI is not an exact science from what I can tell and everyone is different. I do not think you can just throw out the possibility of someone slowly over time changing types.

Could it be personal growth? To me it sounds like you're developing more of a J than secretly being an ENFJ. You did say you fit the ENFP description pretty well, so the idea of you being something different without you knowing seems a bit out there.
 

Thalassa

Permabanned
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May 3, 2009
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25,183
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ISFP
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sx
If you're obsessed with people and very organized, I'd say you've been an ENFJ all along.
 

Venom

Babylon Candle
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Feb 10, 2008
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INTJ
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1w9
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sp/sx
You can't change your type.

although the theory kind of says this ^ a priori, the actual observance of people changing types is well supported.

Form M of the MBTI test had (im trying to pull this from memory) about 70+ % of people scoring the same type when they took the test less than 9 months later. Beyond 9 months, only less than 30% (dont remember exactly, but its a low #) scored all four letters the same (though many kept 3 letters).

From a purely observed frequency perspective, it seems people change types a lot. Though I do get that the theory has it a priori that types don't change.
 

Halla74

Artisan Conquerer
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Jan 20, 2009
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6,898
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ESTP
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7w8
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sx/so
although the theory kind of says this ^ a priori, the actual observance of people changing types is well supported.

Form M of the MBTI test had (im trying to pull this from memory) about 70+ % of people scoring the same type when they took the test less than 9 months later. Beyond 9 months, only less than 30% (dont remember exactly, but its a low #) scored all four letters the same (though many kept 3 letters).

From a purely observed frequency perspective, it seems people change types a lot. Though I do get that the theory has it a priori that types don't change.

I can offer a glimpse of this phenomena from my own life esperience. About 9 years ago I took an MBTI test online. Granted I don't rememebr if it was as credible as the Thompson-Maidenbaum free test often referenced nowadays, but it seemed like it was comprehensive enough.

Anyhow, I tested ENTJ, and my wife tested INTJ. We cracked up. Both of us at the time were working in the software development industry. So, the NT rational thinking was utilized in everyday tasks, and timeliness was of the essence due to intense project schedules with little or no slack, hence reinforcement of "J."

Then I went back to school for a few years, my wife kept working but eventually became a mother when I knocked her up. :pornstar:

Two years ago we both took the Personality100: PhD-certified Personality Test test as an exercise in self discovery. I tested ESTP (off the charts) and she tested INFJ (strong in all characteristics, but not off the charts).

So, it looks like for me that EXTX is very consistent over a decade, and I have been allowed to let my "S" and "P" manifest as my default schema since I am now working as a policy analyst/database analyst/statistician/contract manager instead of doing system analysis/coding.

My wife has held INXJ for a decade. Maybe motherhood allowed her "F" to come forward as she traded her compiler and whiteboard for diapers and bottles for a few years. :yim_rolling_on_the_

Anyhow, I don't know if it is more a matter of (a) types changing over time, or (b) the nature of our lives (work/school/personal situations/etc.) having a strong influence over us to the extent that maybe we have to subconsciously suppress our default modes of thinking for a given period of time in order to be successful in our current environments/states.

Either option above serves as an adequate framework for a given person's MBTI type registering differently when tested at different times of their lives.
 

valentine

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intj
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I tested INTP several years ago consistently. Then I had a very rough and gloomy few years and now test INFP regularly. Type I'd say type can gradually change over time, but one can not consciously change their type.
 

Charmed Justice

Nickle Iron Silicone
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I also think it's possible for your type to change over time(or circumstantially); particularly, on the J/P and E/I scale. My natural preference at work is not my natural preference at home.
 

Sinmara

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I don't know if it is more a matter of (a) types changing over time, or (b) the nature of our lives (work/school/personal situations/etc.) having a strong influence over us to the extent that maybe we have to subconsciously suppress our default modes of thinking for a given period of time in order to be successful in our current environments/states.

Either option above serves as an adequate framework for a given person's MBTI type registering differently when tested at different times of their lives.

My sister's job required her to take the official MBTI test a few years ago. She tested as ISTP when she's actually ESTJ. Their explanation of the change of type is that while ESTJ may be her core type, ISTP is the mindset she puts hersef into when she is at work. They said your type can temporarily alter according to your environment.
 

Snuggletron

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if I have been paying attention correctly, the 8 letters don't matter as much as the 8 functions. Maybe there should be more functions tests out there. It doesn't make much sense to me if someone said "well, I used to test as an introvert but now I'm an extrovert" as much as it would make sense for someone to say that their secondary function was X at one point, but after a certain period of time they developed another function and the hierarchy changed.

none of it matters, probably.
 

Halla74

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My sister's job required her to take the official MBTI test a few years ago. She tested as ISTP when she's actually ESTJ. Their explanation of the change of type is that while ESTJ may be her core type, ISTP is the mindset she puts hersef into when she is at work. They said your type can temporarily alter according to your environment.

Interesting.... :doh:
I have a mutha-effin time suppressing my ESTP-ness at work.
Luckily, my peers enjoy the very lunacy that is my reality.
They say it's nice to have someone with so much "energy" around.
But still, if I let it ALL hang out of the bag I probably would scare a few folks. :devil:
 

Space_Oddity

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so
According to the theory, you can't change type.

In my personal opinion, your perceiving functions (Ne+Si or Ni+Se) are innate and Fi Fe Ti Te come into play and order themselves later in childhood, thanks to both nature and nurture. In my opinion, the time when the ordering part occurs is different for every individual, but your type should become pretty clear once you become a teenager.

Therefore, if you ask if you can change from an ENFP to an ENFJ, I say that under normal circumstances, no, because all your functions would have to change and that would be completely unnatural and probably feel very weird. I would say, though, that a change like that is possible due to a mental illness or as a result of extreme stress. It's hard to judge if it would be temporary or permanent.

If you're an ENFP and want to become more J, developing your Si and Te would be the safest way I guess :)
 

Venom

Babylon Candle
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if I have been paying attention correctly, the 8 letters don't matter as much as the 8 functions. Maybe there should be more functions tests out there. It doesn't make much sense to me if someone said "well, I used to test as an introvert but now I'm an extrovert" as much as it would make sense for someone to say that their secondary function was X at one point, but after a certain period of time they developed another function and the hierarchy changed.

none of it matters, probably.

the consistency of Function tests is even worse than the MBTI test lol

According to the theory, you can't change type.

In my personal opinion, your perceiving functions (Ne+Si or Ni+Se) are innate and Fi Fe Ti Te come into play and order themselves later in childhood, thanks to both nature and nurture. In my opinion, the time when the ordering part occurs is different for every individual, but your type should become pretty clear once you become a teenager.

Therefore, if you ask if you can change from an ENFP to an ENFJ, I say that under normal circumstances, no, because all your functions would have to change and that would be completely unnatural and probably feel very weird. I would say, though, that a change like that is possible due to a mental illness or as a result of extreme stress. It's hard to judge if it would be temporary or permanent.

If you're an ENFP and want to become more J, developing your Si and Te would be the safest way I guess :)

Yes, you can make the theory unfalsifiable and just say a priori that no ones type really changes. You are entitled to think that :) (it doesn't violate logic or anything).

I would just say that the map is not the territory, and most functions can be described as a combo of two other functions. What we end up having is a lot of fluid metaphor (when talking about functions). Theres nothing wrong with that. The reality is that its just as likey that she has taken on new functions and in a new order. Making an a priori assumption that people can change functions is just as logical as assuming that people dont change type.

I dont mean that in an adversarial way (I dont think there is a 'right answer' on this topic). Just talking :D
 

Space_Oddity

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so
Yes, you can make the theory unfalsifiable and just say a priori that no ones type really changes. You are entitled to think that :) (it doesn't violate logic or anything).

I would just say that the map is not the territory, and most functions can be described as a combo of two other functions. What we end up having is a lot of fluid metaphor (when talking about functions). Theres nothing wrong with that. The reality is that its just as likey that she has taken on new functions and in a new order. Making an a priori assumption that people can change functions is just as logical as assuming that people dont change type.

I dont mean that in an adversarial way (I dont think there is a 'right answer' on this topic). Just talking :D

No offense taken :) I definitely don't think the theory is unfalsifiable and I agree that there is no 'right answer' to this topic. What I've written above is just my theory based on my latest observations. About a half year ago I had a slightly different theory, so it's not like it's set in stone ;)

I'd agree that there might always be exceptions from the rule, but I've yet to meet an individual who's personality would substantially change since teenage years. Of course that people develop many different traits and they get more (un)balanced, but completely change your core personality? One doesn't see that very often. Actually, the only person who I've ever seen change so much (from an INFJ to a weird INFP) was a girl with schizophrenia.

However, I'm by to means implying that one can't take up some of the other functions (especially Fi, Fe, Ti, Te) to those they already have. I think this might be perfectly possible, but I don't think such a person would change one function for another, they would more likely add them to the already established ones. I doubt they would completely change the preference though.

But these are just my personal opinions, of course :)
 
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