[Jungian Cognitive Functions] the differences between INTP and INFP

[Litvyak]

INFP = cute, exceptions prove the rule
INTP = annoying, see above

D)

 

[yvonne]

thanks for all the information guys

i think i have a good idea now how Ti, Fi, Fe and Te work.

i do have a select few of friends who i'm comfortable with. i am quite good at social situations with strangers at this point in my life. i really wasn't before, but i've grown into it. i've learned how to behave properly and that's probably Fe in action. also, i think a big part of it is me being more comfortable with myself. i don't worry what other people think of me anymore. i am who i am and i'm not as worried about making mistakes as i was when i was younger.

i also dislike fakeness. i know i have to play by the rules in social settings, but i always make sure i am real and true to myself. i have a couple of core values i operate with... the first one is that life matters, the second one is that everyone is equal and the third one is that everyone has got something to give. those are my values and i suppose that's Fi in action... (these are processes, but the core stays stable. i also keep my distance, until i realize that i am in a situation where i need to engage... that's probably what i meant earlier when i said that i can sense if someone is in need of something. also, i have learned how important it is to be discreet with people. i never want to make a fuss.)

Ti, for me, is how things work. i have my thinking to keep me grounded (and to give me back to me), even though my life to outsiders might seem disorganized. to me, it is organized in my brain. Ne is the imagination, the how it could be, the fuel to Ti and the spice to life.

eta: Lauren, i understand what you're talking about and that's how i also operate with people. in relationships you don't really need verification. it's the feelings and what unravels that matter. in the end it's up to the individual alone.

editing again to add another thing... what i meant earlier about getting lost in feeling and then sort of contradicted myself when i said that i'm not dreamy... i suppose it's that i can get into that place, especially with art and in nature... but i don't live there. does that make any sense?

 

[brainheart]

Here's something else I just observed. First off, my closest friends tend to be INFPs, and this one particular friend of mine, we were just chatting via Facebook, and I noticed that he puts a finger on these feelings/emotions I seem to be having- he expresses the feeling, the visual of it, knows how to shape it into language- and it's like it's not until he articulates them that I realize they exist.

Meanwhile, he says that I notice the pattern of what he is expressing and place it into something conscious... like I notice the reasons, the logical cause and effect... I see the system behind it, but not in a rigid sense, like an extraverted thinker would, more like how a system is echoed throughout nature... just in varying sizes.

I wish I could express this in words as perfectly as it exists in my mind... grr.

 

[yvonne]

^ i think i understand what you mean. i also have had those moments when someone else has put into words how i feel. when they get it right, it's like a door opens and i'm relieved. it's uncomfortable, if you don't fully trust the person. i don't usually open up to people about my troubles... i don't mind other people opening up to me, though. the only thing that annoys me is constant whining.

i do live in the real world, even though i sometimes suck at it... but i do enjoy it... whenever i can...

eta: the truth to me is that i feel people's feelings, but it's just sometimes hard for me to react in an appropriate way. i feel like i have so much more to give than i am capable of expressing. people who know me know this... some people don't understand. it is easier to do this when you know you can leave when the situation is over and the person doesn't expect you to keep dealing with it... (i even feel i am good at this... i am good when i don't feel too involved) but in a romantic relationship it's harder, because you can't shut yourself out...

 

[OrangeAppled]

Hmm, I think what I latched onto about what he was saying is that all of the INFPs and ENFPS I know personally still have the rapport. For example, one of my INFP friends is a social worker, and she does her woman poetry-reading groups, and she has a fairly large number of female friends. With strangers, she's not necessarily warm in a Fe sense (and she hates to schmooze), but there still is a semblance of warmth, a desire for human connection. You can sense a sweetness.

Meanwhile, I handle it more with 'the laws' of interaction if I really have to... she has this joke with me about my being a 'stern Victorian woman' because I can seem very rigid and proper in my interactions, because that is what I have learned and so I use it- it's efficient, it gets to the point, and maybe I have a hard time being sweet and 'womanly', but at least I say, 'thank you'. (I'm not like this all of the time, by any means, but it is how I become when I'm uncomfortable and I have no alcohol around to unbridle me or a corner to hide in. Come to think of it, this sounds an awful lot like inferior Fe in action...)

I don't relate to that.....people never call me "sweet". I don't think that makes me INTP though. I still disagree that INFPs are natural with forming rapport; maybe some are, but I think that's a poor way to measure Fi vs Ti. I've known INTPs who manage to come across more personable than me.

 

[uumlau]

I don't relate to that.....people never call me "sweet". I don't think that makes me INTP though. I still disagree that INFPs are natural with forming rapport; maybe some are, but I think that's a poor way to measure Fi vs Ti. I've known INTPs who manage to come across more personable than me.

Agreed.

One should not confuse personality for internal processing. That mistake is made far too often. That you use Fi or Ti is a means of understanding someone, but it has little bearing on whether I like someone.

 

[Seymour]

Here's something else I just observed. First off, my closest friends tend to be INFPs, and this one particular friend of mine, we were just chatting via Facebook, and I noticed that he puts a finger on these feelings/emotions I seem to be having- he expresses the feeling, the visual of it, knows how to shape it into language- and it's like it's not until he articulates them that I realize they exist.

My impression from this forum is that some INFPs are better at verbalizing things than others. Emotional awareness seems to be inherent to Fi, but that awareness isn't always easy to express verbally. I get the feeling that some INFPs are more visually or musically expressive (probably even more true for some ISFPs, I'd guess).

eta: the truth to me is that i feel people's feelings, but it's just sometimes hard for me to react in an appropriate way. i feel like i have so much more to give than i am capable of expressing. people who know me know this... some people don't understand. it is easier to do this when you know you can leave when the situation is over and the person doesn't expect you to keep dealing with it... (i even feel i am good at this... i am good when i don't feel too involved) but in a romantic relationship it's harder, because you can't shut yourself out...

I think Fi-doms also struggle a lot with reacting appropriately, too. We can find it necessary to withdraw and process internally, which can be a difficult response for our loved ones to understand.

Fi tends to demand that one be genuine, but genuine isn't always appropriate or socially polished. Learning how to navigate socially (and in relationships) without feeling compromised can be tough.

 

[yvonne]

sigh... i wish i could make up my mind about my type. i think i want to be INFP, because in a way it's more me and also what i've tested the last couple of times, but i can't because i'm not sure... and to tell you the truth... i'm a bit scared to be INFP. lol

 

[Totenkindly]

i can't because i'm not sure... and to tell you the truth... i'm a bit scared to be INFP. lol

Why is that?

 

[yvonne]

i don't know. i don't want to be that sensitive!

 

[Laurie]

They are almost exactly the same, it's hard to tell them apart.

(this is a joke)

 

[Totenkindly]

i don't know. i don't want to be that sensitive!

Why not?

(It's not like it's a bad thing, every type has its giftings.)

 

[simulatedworld]

sigh... i wish i could make up my mind about my type. i think i want to be INFP, because in a way it's more me and also what i've tested the last couple of times, but i can't because i'm not sure... and to tell you the truth... i'm a bit scared to be INFP. lol

Your descriptions of your values above sound INFP.

What would you do if what was socially expected of you by respected family/friends clashed with your personal values?

 

[yvonne]

they never do. i don't have friends/ family who think they're better than someone else (i mean value themselves higher as human beings), or think that life doesn't matter, or think that there are people who don't have anything to give... i haven't personally met people like that yet. on the internet i have, but i think there's something wrong with those people, lol. i like real people... i like positivity at the core... i don't like meanspirited stuff, like bitterness... what good did that ever do anyone?

i concider myself an openminded person. i'm pretty laid back and unconventional... i don't mind different views on things, or different ways to live, or express yourself.

i don't think being too sensitive is good for you, or the people around you. you always have to have your feet on the ground, even if your head is in the clouds (and that means you're living your life in the smog, lol... i borrowed that from a poster)

yes, so... i've just decided not to live in fairytale land, to keep my head on straight. sometimes i sneak in there while listening to music. it's like a guilty, solitary pleasure of mine...

 

[simulatedworld]

Sounds like balanced INFP to me, but hypothetically, what would you do if the above moral clash that I asked about happened?

 

[yvonne]

They are almost exactly the same, it's hard to tell them apart.

(this is a joke)

thank you, that was very informative.

(just messing with you )

anyway, to simulatedworld... when i encounter an attitude like that, i usually just let it be and can't be bothered. if i feel that it affects someone (it does, but i can't take it to heart too much... those are encounters), i usually try to figure out what the problem is. usually it's the bitter people, who have the problem, you know... people usually just wish to connect with themselves and with others... that's my take on it, anyway. sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. i don't sweat it, or let it affect me too much. i do what i can.

 

[Snuggletron]

INTPs are just INFPs who are ashamed of being feelers

 

[yvonne]

lol... maybe i'm a Ti using INFP.

 

[Snuggletron]

lol... maybe i'm a Ti using INFP.

well, it could be you use Fi+Te to replicate Ti. I proposed this sort of idea in a thread about a week ago. Functions can bounce off each other to look like other functions.

 

[Seymour]

well, it could be you use Fi+Te to replicate Ti. I proposed this sort of idea in a thread about a week ago. Functions can bounce off each other to look like other functions.

While it's an interesting idea, I don't think type dynamics are well researched or proven enough to make it worth changing definitions of the nature of the functions in order preserve the "standard" type patterns for a given type. There are already several competing models for functional patterns out there, so if you don't exactly fit one model it's not the end of the world. If something acts like Ti and doesn't act like the other functions, I'd rather call it Ti rather than bending over backwards to preserve a particular functional pattern.

As someone who struggled a bit with possible Ti usage from the INFP side of the divide, I'd say read about the individual functions and identify with what you identify with. Just keep an open mind and be honest with yourself. I think typology can be a valuable tool for introspection, but if it stops being useful don't get too hung up on it.