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[Jungian Cognitive Functions] the differences between INTP and INFP

yvonne

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as an INxP i am very curious about this. i've tested as both and i don't really know which type i identify better. i'm also not a very strong I, so that probably also affects my personality. i have always been introverted, though, more as a child than now, i think, because i've had to adjust. it is an E world out there, really... at least i was always pushed to be more extroverted.

anyway... do all INFPs have strong Ni and Fi?

because i think that's where i probably am more INTP than INFP... especially the Fi part... even though i've gotten better at that over the years... my Fe is dominant, though, i think.

then again... i am very sensitive, really... i just have this logical "armor" i usually use... but when i let myself go, i can get very lost in feeling and stuff that i logically just let be can make me deeply emotional. :blush:
 

disregard

mrs
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INFPs use Ne and Fi (Te is their dom thinking process)
INTPs use Ne and Ti (Fe is their dom feeling process)

Logic is not armor, logic is logic.
Being armored doesn't mean you are unemotional, in fact it is the opposite.
 

yvonne

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thanks a lot for that. i feel stupid now :D

anyway... yes... i think i am more INTP then... (should go and fix my type)

you're right about logic... it's just that sometimes logic isn't... "logical"... lol (and that's probably because i know so little ;) )

"it looked like rain, but it felt like snow" (i'll give points to the person who knows what song that line is from :D )
 

Totenkindly

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Logic is not armor, logic is logic.
Being armored doesn't mean you are unemotional, in fact it is the opposite.

Well, with some.

I've been surprised at the range of internal emotion within Thinkers. Some Thinking types really are "flatter" on the emotional response level than others... or just have a different and/or smaller range of items that trigger them. It probably coincides somewhat with any inborn need for external affirmation/connection.

"it looked like rain, but it felt like snow" (i'll give points to the person who knows what song that line is from :D )

Spoiler:
Biffy Clyro, "Whorses"
(all hail the power of the almighty Google!)
 

disregard

mrs
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Armor implies the existence of something that is being protected.

I don't deny that a lack of depth of feeling exists in certain people. I'm focused on the word armor.
 

erm

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then again... i am very sensitive, really... i just have this logical "armor" i usually use... but when i let myself go, i can get very lost in feeling and stuff that i logically just let be can make me deeply emotional. :blush:

Well, if it is between the INPs, you've fallen right into the INFP pigeon hole.

INFPs "masks" are practically burnt on. They'll often sit there wondering whether they are INFP or INTP all the time because they can't tell the difference between the mask(s) and the face anymore. Especially if they are male.

Figurative armour is slightly different than a mask though. Armour sounds like distancing your emotions from a situation, which most people do, masking is actively hiding your internal side from the external world. Even hiding and distancing it from yourself.
 

INTP

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Logic is not armor, logic is logic.

First function can be used as "armor" to protect the weaker functions(with bit assistance of secondary function) that you are bit uncomfortable to use around people that you dont know well. I do this with Ti and i know enfp who does this with Ne. I cba to explain how it works now.

My best friend is infp with strong feeling and i got strong thinking, i dont know how to explain the difference other than hes almost totally missing Ti and i got strong Ti and that hes sensitive and im not(other than few really personal things).
 

Totenkindly

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Armor implies the existence of something that is being protected. I don't deny that a lack of depth of feeling exists in certain people. I'm focused on the word armor.

I didn't really disagree that people use some sort of psychological armor to protect the things that are important to them, if they fear being hurt or are uncertain. (See INTP's explication above.)

... anyway, hope the discussion is helpful, Yvonne! :)
 

disregard

mrs
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First function can be used as "armor" to protect the weaker functions(with bit assistance of secondary function) that you are bit uncomfortable to use around people that you dont know well. I do this with Ti and i know enfp who does this with Ne. I cba to explain how it works now.

My best friend is infp with strong feeling and i got strong thinking, i dont know how to explain the difference other than hes almost totally missing Ti and i got strong Ti and that hes sensitive and im not(other than few really personal things).

I will be the first to tell someone that being a thinker (the use of a Ti/Te process before a Fi/Fe process, not the abhorrent dichotomous definition) does not mean lacking emotion.

You're right that logic can be used as armor. My point was that armor is not to be confused with logic. That a facade of uncaring does not imply that a person is a thinker.
 

erm

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I still think this is al right:-

Take the following with a grain of salt:-

Don't expect any short term differences on the outside. They'll both be cold observers and very analytical, thinking a lot before acting. Over the long term, INFPs will generally warm up a lot faster than INTPs, and become much more hands-on and confident. INTPs will usually keep the analytical observer thing going strong. Generally, I think INFPs will be a lot more consistent in their life patterns (very long term), sticking to values, whereas INTPs may jump around seeking competency in many things (NT), and are generally much less value driven, leading to much less consistency in their lives, overall.

As for short term on the inside, well it's all about the comparison between introverted feeling and introverted thinking. Fi will naturally try and get involved in a situation first, and then stay back second (takes training to change). For Ti, vice versa. Fi constantly analyses things in reference to values, or more generally, in reference to the subject. ("How do I fit into this? How do they fit into this?") Ti analyses with no such reference ("What goes on here? How does this work?"). Value based analysis normally refers to the question "what should I do?", with little care about other people's answers to that question. This leads to a lot of Ti analysis, but only in so far as it helps an Fi dominant discover how to serve their values. Likewise, Ti might analyze a person's own values, but only in so far as understanding them. It's really an ineffable thing to experience, internal detachment vs internal attachment. Like I said, both are externally detached.

Fi+N is more imaginative, in a fairytale sense.
Ti+N is more imaginative, in a theorising sense.
They seem to converge over time, judging by some of the older members on this site, but always keep the same essence.

Again, this is just educated guesswork on my part. At least, I like to think it's educated.

I'd add that Primary Fi's most common activity is altering emotions and internal activity to fit an ideal of some sort. Primary Ti's is taking data and fitting it into a subjective framework of understanding, usually altering that framework in accordance. Both enact strong internal changes, but in those different ways.

It's hard to go wrong with Jung's descriptions as well.
 

INTP

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i just remembered one thing that happened last weekend with my infp friend. we were taking some photos and i said something like this: damn i wish i could get like 4 meters in the air and take picture of that forest (few second pause), they should invent a machine that lets me levitate in air.
my infp friend answered: heh i thought that it would be cool if i could fly(using magics) and take the picture when you started talking about taking picture from the air
 

Little_Sticks

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When I see these threads now I start to sarcastically chuckle because people repeat the same contradictory conceptions that have been said many times. I wish there was a practical way to categorize, but I wouldn't even begin to confidently understand what underlying principles hold universally for each difference.

However, in an effort to enjoy wasting time and try to be constructive and try to find an underlying principle that hasn't been stated before, I will say that it is important to define Fi vs Ti in terms of what a person would feel more comfortable being when around people that are not close to them. Because let's face it...anyone can be ethical...and most people regardless of type have emotions that can be used to deal with conflict in themselves and other people (I say most to account for people who have a complete or more psychopathic makeup, which can fall under any type)...and when around people you are very close to you are going to be a lot more open and vulnerable with feelings and thoughts because that's what it means to trust someone and be close to them.

So, in conclusion...I would have to think...at a more basic level...we have some considerations on type that need to be properly address from the following.

1. Feelers are ethical and thinkers are not ethical.
2. Feelers are emotional and thinkers are not.
3. Feelers are empathetic and thinkers are not.
4. Feelers don't think as much as thinkers.

It seems like for the most part people tend to type themselves based on filling in which of the above they are mostly like, but what I'm coming into realizing is that it has a bit more to do with emotional reciprocation. A feeler is going to enjoy activities that focus around forming a rapport because that is what they are good at. It would seem natural to want to involve themselves in activities that build this. And a thinker will not have as good a natural rapport with people and will prefer activities that they are more successful at that do not require a strong focus on rapport, such as communication through writing, email, and more formal, frank, and to the point discussion that aids in the fulfillment of a goal not related to rapport.

Alright I'm done.
 

Totenkindly

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Fi+N is more imaginative, in a fairytale sense.
Ti+N is more imaginative, in a theorising sense.
They seem to converge over time, judging by some of the older members on this site, but always keep the same essence.

The bolded part is important to remember.

People are constantly change and sculpted by their life experiences, so sometimes it becomes harder and harder to recognize initial instincts.
 

Laurie

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i just remembered one thing that happened last weekend with my infp friend. we were taking some photos and i said something like this: damn i wish i could get like 4 meters in the air and take picture of that forest (few second pause), they should invent a machine that lets me levitate in air.
my infp friend answered: heh i thought that it would be cool if i could fly(using magics) and take the picture when you started talking about taking picture from the air

That makes me a T. Except I would be imagining how to invent the machine.
 

yvonne

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this has been helpful, thank you all :)

it was interesting what erm said about the mask and not recognizing it. i probably have an issue with that... but i am a little at loss with emotions, because they make no sense to me. the only way i have been able to come to terms with them more is to approach them with logic. i am good at using Fe and Ne, but Fi is a mystery to me. the whole idea makes me feel uncomfortable...

i have values that i've built on logic and i care and feel very deeply, though. many people just don't realize that. :(
 

AlexM

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Don't expect any short term differences on the outside. They'll both be cold observers and very analytical, thinking a lot before acting.

Of myself and the several other INFP's I know, only one is remotely like a cold observer or very analytical, although they do all think a lot before acting. I suppose I could see how a typical INFP might come off that way to other types, or at least to non-NFs. I would expect an NF to know better.
 

Spamtar

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just my two cents. My intution tell me the OP is INFP. At least this is the vibe I get when I read her.
 

Totenkindly

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The Amazing Spamtar knows all!

i probably have an issue with that... but i am a little at loss with emotions, because they make no sense to me. the only way i have been able to come to terms with them more is to approach them with logic.

You tear them apart and try to analyze them?

i am good at using Fe and Ne, but Fi is a mystery to me. the whole idea makes me feel uncomfortable...

I always feel like I jumped off a cliff without a parachute when I go by values I can't support from the external world/logic model in some way. It's one reason why being part of an organized religion for so long eventually became unbearable.

i have values that i've built on logic and i care and feel very deeply, though. many people just don't realize that. :(

That sounds familiar. :)
 
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