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[NF] Am I INFP or INFJ?

Lady_X

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haven't read any responses yet...sorry...actually working too

but...you said the wife was isfp right? so...how similar are you two? do you think you all connect on a fi level? or do you feel like you see things from different angles a lot?

that may not help at all because some people are totally hard to tell...even on this forum there's a couple.
 

Doctor Cringelord

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DJ Arendee had the same effect on me. We had a discussion on one of his threads here. He told me I was one of the many mistypes infj's who were actually INFP's. I'd agree with you here though. INFP's get the short end of the stick a lot of times when it comes to profiles. It is possible that they are misrepresented by others interpretations of them.

His videos are quite entertaining but I don't take them as gospel. A lot of what he says is pure conjecture. I also don't believe it's so easy as he says it is to tell types by their physical appearance. I know he's just making generalizations but I honestly don't know where he comes up with some of this shit.

[MENTION=19700]Lyedecker[/MENTION]: from your pic you scream out e4 sp dom and I think you likely are an INFP. That's not based on anything scientific, just on how you vibe to me.

:D

Hey, I'm not surprised. I don't relate to most INFP descriptions, either. Most seem to run heavy on the social instinct and be written about enneagram nines. What worked for me was to read Jung. It was obvious I was a fi-dom doing that. Then it was a matter of deciding whether I was ISFP or INFP (which was more difficult for me). But once I realized my kid is an ISFP I could really see the differences between the two of us and how they were attributable to Ne vs Se.

telling ISFPs apart from INFPs is harder than telling apart INFJs and INFPs, in my opinion. My wife usually tests ISFP and it's eerie how similar we are. We compliment each other in so many ways and often know exactly what the other is about to say. I'd say the major difference is she's a bit more adventurous than me about new experiences.

I feel like the odd one out a lot for being quite stereotypical of both of mine. Guess someone's got to be that person.

you should feel lucky :)
 

Doctor Cringelord

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haven't read any responses yet...sorry...actually working too

but...you said the wife was isfp right? so...how similar are you two? do you think you all connect on a fi level? or do you feel like you see things from different angles a lot?

that may not help at all because some people are totally hard to tell...even on this forum there's a couple.

well, like I just mentioned she is a bit more adventurous, although I feel like it's rubbed off on me a lot. It's kind of difficult to explain how we connect, but to simplify, I'd say if one of us is stressed about anything, the other usually plays the role of morale booster or soother to calm the other person down.

It is really eerie how often one of us will be about to say something and the other person blurts out the very same thing. I don't know if we're just tuned to one another from being together so long or what.

She's a bit more on the carefree side when it comes to spending money, although having a kid as led her to be a lot more responsible with money.

As far as fi goes, yeah we seem pretty good at telling what one another are feeling most of the time. There's no hiding our feelings from each other, no matter how hard we try. I'd say we typically know if something is bothering the other person even when other people are totally oblivious to it.

I think we both have pretty solid built-in bullshit detectors. That's fi at work, right?
 
B

brainheart

Guest
telling ISFPs apart from INFPs is harder than telling apart INFJs and INFPs, in my opinion. My wife usually tests ISFP and it's eerie how similar we are. We compliment each other in so many ways and often know exactly what the other is about to say. I'd say the major difference is she's a bit more adventurous than me about new experiences.

Yeah, my ISFP kid and I are very similar. That Fi-dom connection is strong. He is way more coordinated than me and has difficulty with more abstract thinking. He would much rather read a graphic novel than a book without pictures. Abstract thinking comes pretty naturally to me, I'm not particularly coordinated (I have to practice!), and while I can appreciate the occasional graphic novel I'd rather imagine the visuals myself. We both spend a lot of time rescuing insects, hide to let out our stronger emotions, are introspective and self reflective, and are told we are deep and unique.

Is your wife not self pres first? I'm pretty adventurous/ open to new experience and I'm guessing that has to do with the sexual instinct.
 
B

brainheart

Guest
telling ISFPs apart from INFPs is harder than telling apart INFJs and INFPs, in my opinion. My wife usually tests ISFP and it's eerie how similar we are. We compliment each other in so many ways and often know exactly what the other is about to say. I'd say the major difference is she's a bit more adventurous than me about new experiences.

Yeah, my ISFP kid and I are very similar. That Fi-dom connection is strong. He is way more coordinated than me and has difficulty with more abstract thinking. He would much rather read a graphic novel than a book without pictures. Abstract thinking comes pretty naturally to me, I'm not particularly coordinated (I have to practice!), and while I can appreciate the occasional graphic novel I'd rather imagine the visuals myself. We both spend a lot of time rescuing insects, hide to let out our stronger emotions, are introspective and self reflective, and are told we are deep and unique.

Is your wife not self pres first? I'm pretty adventurous/ open to new experience and I'm guessing that has to do with the sexual instinct.

I agree, btw, that INFP and INFJ come off as more different than INFP and ISFP. That's why I prefer learning the function attitudes vs the temperaments. I'm way more a fi-dom than a NF.
 
S

Stansmith

Guest
I wouldn't confuse the more sensor-ish ISFPs for INFPs. They're usually more extroverted, more sensual/down-to-earth or very wallflower-ish.

But I digress.
 
B

brainheart

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I wouldn't confuse the more sensor-ish ISFPs for INFPs. They're usually more extroverted, more sensual/down-to-earth or very wallflower-ish.

But I digress.

My ISFP kid is definitely as introverted as me. He extroverts with sensing, so he likes to be moving around, being physical, doing things. But he's not very talkative, and a lot of the time he's sitting around drawing.

INFPS who have self pres in the top two tend to be more grounded and sensual.

You don't think INFPs are wallflower-ish?
 
S

Stansmith

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My ISFP kid is definitely as introverted as me. He extroverts with sensing, so he likes to be moving around, being physical, doing things. But he's not very talkative, and a lot of the time he's sitting around drawing.

INFPS who have self pres in the top two tend to be more grounded and sensual.

You don't think INFPs are wallflower-ish?

I get the vibe that ISFPs aren't really thinking about much beyond the present moment. They do look like they're "Fi-ing", but not really like they're delving into intuition.
 

Doctor Cringelord

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I agree, btw, that INFP and INFJ come off as more different than INFP and ISFP. That's why I prefer learning the function attitudes vs the temperaments. I'm way more a fi-dom than a NF.

I kind of think the whole temperament thing is bullshit. I see the appeal in the Keirsey school of thought, but it seems to sugarcoat and oversimplify the types.
 

Doctor Cringelord

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I get the vibe that ISFPs aren't really thinking about much beyond the present moment. They do look like they're "Fi-ing", but not really like they're delving into intuition.

I think they're quite capable of thinking beyond the present and the here-and-now. It's just that they're a bit more comfortable in the present because they are so in tune with their senses and all of the stimuli surrounding them at any given moment. This is why my wife always tends to be a bit more grounded than me, whereas my mind tends to wander and it's very easy to get lost inside my head.
 

kiddykat

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Given the fact that it's hard for you to decipher, I'd say you're probably an INFP.

But, only you know yourself best.

Determining how a person is online is about as questionable as trying to determine a person's type based on a movie character and assigning those roles stringently.

Cyber reality, or fantasy? Not a reliable predictor.
 

Doctor Cringelord

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Nope I'm pretty much back in the INFP camp. The mods can probably close this thread now.
 

Doctor Cringelord

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Determining how a person is online is about as questionable as trying to determine a person's type based on a movie character and assigning those roles stringently.

Cyber reality, or fantasy? Not a reliable predictor.

I wish someone would explain that to all the so called type experts on youtube ;)
 

OrangeAppled

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And why doesn't anyone say Si gives INFP's their superpowers? You can sure hear the tone of admiration for INFJ's in that video.

Yes, I've noted the same pattern well beyond the video. Especially with the tertiary moreso than the inferior. I seldom see Ni-dom users expressing concern that their tertiary sucks. Most feel they have it mastered. But it can be a tripping point for sure.

And do you EVER hear Ti spoken of as giving ISFJs their superpowers? Nah... didn't think so! :D

DJ Arendee had the same effect on me. We had a discussion on one of his threads here. He told me I was one of the many mistypes infj's who were actually INFP's. I'd agree with you here though. INFP's get the short end of the stick a lot of times when it comes to profiles. It is possible that they are misrepresented by others interpretations of them.

More "official" profiles bother me far less than these videos or sites where people base their descriptions of INFPs off of people they've met who may not even be INFP; combined with a huge bias against us (and one in favor of INFJs), they fail to accurately portray INFPs.
It should be noted that DJ guy is a socionics adherent, so this further distorts his idea of what INFPs are. Socionics Fi-Ne (INFj) is not Jungian/MBTI Fi-Ne (INFP). It describes something else altogether, which may or may not overlap with some Jungian Fi-Ne types.

Even positive comments they make often do not ring true for me, as they seem better applied to the e9 INFP.

I think part of the problem is people do not interpret profiles as intended. IMO, if they read Jung's psychological types, then they might get a better sense of what the profiles refer to. The way they take certain statements is not how I interpret them & see myself in them, nor does it align with feedback others give me, nor does it align with Jungian theory for Fi.
 

Siúil a Rúin

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I didn't think that MBTI was supposed to be about cognitive skills anyway, but just preferences.

Although there was a profile I read a while back that described ISFJs as having a surprising skill at logic and numbers or something like that.

I agree it should be consistent. If INFJs make good use of Ti, then INFPs make good use of Si, ISFJs make good use of Ti, ISFPs make good use of Ni, ENTPs make good use of Fe, etc.

Edit: I know that much of the theories focus on just the first two functions, but I've noticed when trying to type people that the middle two functions can get intertwined in a way that makes it difficult to distinguish their type. I have this issue with Fi-doms who are adept at both the abstract and concrete as philosopher artists, and I find it with Ni-doms who seem on the borderline of T/F. I should see it also with Si-doms, but I think because I spend most of my time online, I'm either already seeing them typed as Ni-doms or something similar. I have noticed that Ne-doms can seem borderline T/F as well.
 

Azure Flame

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His videos are quite entertaining but I don't take them as gospel. A lot of what he says is pure conjecture. I also don't believe it's so easy as he says it is to tell types by their physical appearance. I know he's just making generalizations but I honestly don't know where he comes up with some of this shit.

Objective Logic. You value Te.

my "conjecture" is subjective logic, Ti.

So, seeing as how you do not value Ti, we can exclude INFJ or any other Ti from your preference.

And for what its worth, the source of my information is experience. I also run a typing business where people call me and I walk them through a process of questions so that they arrive at a type on their own. I have a lot of experience in identifying what personalities actually look like.

And yes, it is true I am a socionics officionaire. From my point of view, [MENTION=6561]OrangeAppled[/MENTION] is a part of the "make mbti whatever the hell you want it to be" school of thought.
 

iNtrovert

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And do you EVER hear Ti spoken of as giving ISFJs their superpowers? Nah... didn't think so! :D



More "official" profiles bother me far less than these videos or sites where people base their descriptions of INFPs off of people they've met who may not even be INFP; combined with a huge bias against us (and one in favor of INFJs), they fail to accurately portray INFPs.
It should be noted that DJ guy is a socionics adherent, so this further distorts his idea of what INFPs are. Socionics Fi-Ne (INFj) is not Jungian/MBTI Fi-Ne (INFP). It describes something else altogether, which may or may not overlap with some Jungian Fi-Ne types.

Even positive comments they make often do not ring true for me, as they seem better applied to the e9 INFP.

I think part of the problem is people do not interpret profiles as intended. IMO, if they read Jung's psychological types, then they might get a better sense of what the profiles refer to. The way they take certain statements is not how I interpret them & see myself in them, nor does it align with feedback others give me, nor does it align with Jungian theory for Fi.

The more I study Mbti the more I realize how stereotypical the profiles are. Since we're talking about Fe and Ti I can say although I have these functions I don’t think I use them in the same way most profiles would suggest. I know I use Fe to make people feel comfortable and I'm very expressive when I talk. However, I am in no way overly nice. I kind of use it to be just nice enough or not to be a jerk yet still keep people at a distance. Only the people that I’m close to or care to get to know get a full dose of Fe. I thought that maybe this was Fi for a while but I really don't identify with Fi as a function. So then I thought ok maybe Fe is my third function but I am certainly not an extrovert. So I said maybe Fe is my forth but I I’m not a sensing type or a thinking type. I also knew didn’t use Ti nearly enough to be a dom or aux. I think I only use it to break down info from Ni. I hear it when I talk. Some people have told me I use it when I write but that’s about it. I get flashes of me using Ti but very rarely can I pinpoint it. Maybe because I'm still a young INFJ idk. So basically aside from when I initially read the profile for INFJ I have never really taken them as accurate portraits of myself. I feel like yes they fit me but to the extreme. I think of them exaggerated versions of myself.
 
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