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[NF] How boxed in are NF characteristics?

briochick

half-nut member
Joined
Dec 14, 2008
Messages
633
MBTI Type
eNFP
Enneagram
;)
Instinctual Variant
sx
That is, how much crossover can there be before you're one type and not another?
Can an INFP be talkative, effusive, and friendly? Or, must they quiet and emo be?
Can an ENFP not be everyone's favorite person? Can they just be rather average? Must they be some hopped up puppy dog?
What about ENFJ do they always have to have power personalities?
INFJs, can they be daring and blunt just because they think it's right? Really?
 
Joined
Jun 3, 2009
Messages
106
MBTI Type
INFP
I've known intuitives that are so far out there they are difficult to converse with. I've known sensors who are so attached to reality that it makes them blind to sarcasm.

I've met feelers who are far too tied to their feelings, and everything must be approved by their emotions. As for thinkers, some of them fail to remember the emotional side of things, and as such, they are unable to empathize with others.

Of course, most people, whether intuitives or sensors, feelers or thinkers, fall somewhere between these extreme ends of the spectrum.

Now, to answer your question, I think NFs usually display some common characteristics. They are able to empathize with people. Whether E/I or P/J, they seem to feel their emotions strongly. Their function directive (extroverted or introverted, Fe or Fi) will determine how such traits are displayed on the outside.

On the other hand, NFs can't be boxed in, simply because you have your different, specific combinations that add a lot of variety to the mix.

Myself, being an INFP, I am quite different than the average ENFP. I consider myself slightly "emo," but I don't share that with the world because I keep it on the inside. Imagine an ENFP or INFJ with equivalent "emo" tendencies.
 

Rebe

New member
Joined
Nov 15, 2009
Messages
1,431
MBTI Type
INFP
Enneagram
4sop
It's faulty for people to think that one is either T or F, I or E. It's a spectrum, some infps are 60% I, some are 40% I, some lean toward the middle between T and F, and some lean all the way to F. And even so, it's not as straightforward as a percentage or how far along on the line you are, it depends on situations, on the people, on one's mood, on a great many list of things.

NFs do share some common characteristics because of function similarities and how those similarities will show up/represent themselves in interactions and decision making. NFs are usually perceptive of other people's emotional vibes and feelings without the other person needing to tell them but how they respond to the knowledge of these vibes and feelings differ from person to person. Some infps are warmer and more optimistic, some colder and more pessimistic or warmer and pessimistic. People are made up, a lot of the times, of contradictory traits, so no, NF characteristics are not rigidity boxed in, no type/group is. But yes, there are, of course, similarities. And also, sometimes an NF type can relate to an NT better than another NF type and share more common personality traits. Or an INFP can relate better to an ENFP than another INFP.

The functions that we prefer are, I'd say, basic fundamental components, but how we specifically use these functions and how they end up being presented to other people will greatly differ.
 

CuriousFeeling

From the Undertow
Joined
Dec 18, 2009
Messages
2,937
MBTI Type
INfJ
Enneagram
4w5
Instinctual Variant
sp/sx
I'm an NF science nerd. Sometimes people may think I'm an NT, others see me as an NF. Depends on the situation, and who the person is. When it all boils down, I think of science as an important part of society and I think it can be very relevant in people's lives. I use both objectivity and subjectivity to make a decision too.
 

musicnerd93

New member
Joined
Apr 19, 2010
Messages
249
MBTI Type
INFP
Enneagram
4w5
I'm INFP and I'm FARRR from emo. I'm very bubbly and energetic. Though, I do have a more thoughtful, romantic side, which many people mistake for emo. I think people should just be themselves.
 

OrangeAppled

Sugar Hiccup
Joined
Mar 20, 2009
Messages
7,626
MBTI Type
INFP
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4w5
Instinctual Variant
sp/sx
I think much of what the OP describes are E/I differences. E/I is a "scale" and one of the few aspects of MBTI confirmed by science. Anyhow, I think an INFP who is only moderately inroverted & has good social skills may come across as talkative and friendly.

As an high introvert, I tend to see these people as eNFP though, I admit. If they are still energized most by their own inner world & thoughts & drained by external interaction, then I suppose they qualify as iNFP.

I think people should just be themselves.

"How am I not myself?"

;)
 

BRMC117

is an ambi-turner
Joined
Jan 21, 2010
Messages
781
MBTI Type
INFP
Enneagram
3w2
Can an INFP be talkative, effusive, and friendly? Or, must they quiet and emo be?

Yes very much so, I know I can be. When I am around the guys at the station I am loud and talkative. I do have my moments of being quiet and when I am everyone thinks something is wrong lol.
 

Arclight

Permabanned
Joined
Nov 5, 2009
Messages
3,177
MBTI Type
INFJ
Enneagram
6w5
I say look at it like this.

Take two religeous fundamentalists of different faiths.
Think of what they have in common.
They would display many of the same characteristics.
Have many of the same qualities and if they shared the same faith they might be dynamic together.
However because of those "personal" differences and beliefs, the odds are more likley that they would clash, and in extreme cases go to war over their differences completely forgetting whatever it is they share in common.

Such is the way with humans in general.

So NF, or any type for that matter, will all have similarities and yet be so differnt simply because of personal exeprience, perspective and taste, that they might as well be from different species in certain situations.
 

Stanton Moore

morose bourgeoisie
Joined
Mar 4, 2009
Messages
3,900
MBTI Type
INFP
If you talk about something I find interesting, I'll talk your ear off...

Typology is not set in stone. Everyone puts on different clothes for different ocassions.
 

Seymour

Vaguely Precise
Joined
Sep 22, 2009
Messages
1,579
MBTI Type
INFP
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5w4
Instinctual Variant
sx/so
I tend to see E/I partially about where one's comfort level lies. Most people can think of social situations in which they'd feel uncomfortable and therefore might not say much. I think introverts tend to hit that point with fewer people (especially people we don't know well).

I think I come across as gregarious when interacting with a small group of people I know well. However, put me in a room with people I don't know, and I become a withdrawn observer. I think an extreme extravert might never hit that point unless placed in a completely foreign social context.

One of the more convincing bits of evidence for their being dichotomies comes from a study (MBTI Manual, 1998, p188) in which they plotted faculty rating of gregariousness vs E/I scores. There is a large gap right at the E to I cross-over where gregarious drops suddenly (although more extreme introverts are rated as less gregarious still).

And, like many INFPs, I don't consider myself particularly "emo," nor do I spew emotions publicly. I do feel strongly about some things, but I only share those feelings with those I trust. Often I don't share my "growing edge" of exploration/interest much at all, since I feel particularly vulnerable in that area. What I share is often what I've already settled internally.
 

Thalassa

Permabanned
Joined
May 3, 2009
Messages
25,183
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ISFP
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6w7
Instinctual Variant
sx
I think all of the characteristics are far too boxed in. A person can be opinionated and outspoken and still be drained by interaction with other people and gain energy from their own inner world. Likewise, someone who NEVER WANTS TO BE ALONE can seem quiet at times when surrounded by people. The first person is still an introvert. The second person is still an extrovert.
 
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