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[INTP] I keep getting INTP...

Scorquendo

New member
Joined
Dec 8, 2009
Messages
58
MBTI Type
INTP
Just wondering on what your thoughts are since you guys are more "comfortable" with your type.

I took this test 3 years ago in senior year of high school and got INFP. In fact, my childhood/adolescence has INFP written all over it - imaginative, emotional, and artistic - and I have always been one to read social situations, people, and consider their feelings when interacting with them..

However, my last three years of college have been absolutely integral in the development of my "genuine" personality. I love the arts and aspire to be a writer someday; oddly enough, I had a tough time with art history and theatre, but aced my critical thinking and math classes. I decided to take the MB again, and truthfully, I keep getting INTP (on three separate, but recent occasions).

So in summation:

*I love logical arguments and artistic works that make you think deeply. I want to write and my writing has always been very logical and critical; however, I was always bored when professors would throw theory/semantics in your face and suck the "fun" out of a topic.

*I feel very awkward around crowds of people, but I am not socially inept and understand "how" to fit in, but choose not to. Not to mention, I always "feel" the need to be liked around people - friends, family, and acquaintances - so I am usually the first to ask them questions with genuine interest about themselves. As a result, I speak fast since I fear people would lose interest in my conversation and think I was "boring" - which from my understanding on clips I've seen on youtube, INTP's tend to be boring to talk to. I am very wishy-washy in making decisions and I always tend to go with gut feelings.

*Whenever someone tells me something that I don't necessarily agree with, rather than argue, I always correct them in my head, but "agree/nod" since I do not want to seem like a jerk, almost always taking their feelings in consideration.

*People say that I come off as a very nice person and at times, I can tell others could see the vulnerability in my politeness and try to take advantage of me. I try to avoid that, but if it happens, I really dislike to argue (unless its on the internet, lol) or be defiant and just let them think they are right. When I do argue, I feel horrible since I "usually" don't have a quick tongue and come off as awkward raising my voice and exposing my temper.

*Even though math and logic has come fairy easy to me, I absolutely hold the arts in highest regard due to the my adoration of "feeling/experiencing" a piece of art first, and then breaking it down. I would pick the arts over anything math/science related; however, I hate being touchy-feely and sentimental, since I think that's just pretentious as hell.

*I over-analyze, think, and seek obscure signals about so many things, it's created a somewhat odd paranoia/temper that my friends tell me. In tense situations, I feel very panick-y rather than calm, and do my best to not let anyone notice.

However, I've been thinking: my parents raised me to fear getting in "trouble" or coming off "rude" to strangers; is there a kind of hybrid IN*F/T*P?

Thanks for reading.
 

sleepy

Member
Joined
Dec 6, 2007
Messages
536
is there a kind of hybrid IN*F/T*P?
Yes there is. I am an XXXX, all types and non. At the same time. How is that for a paradox? Please don't ask me what it's like.

You're an INFP. An INTP is primarly a truth seeker. It's not that INTPs don't take peoples feelings into consideration. It's just that in the greater scheme of things it's more important to state the truth. People will have to deal with emotional difficulties on their own. It's not the responsibility of the INTP.
 

Oeufa

New member
Joined
Jan 5, 2010
Messages
694
MBTI Type
INTP
Well, most importantly: do you base your decisions on hard, solid fact or more on what feels right?

Also, realise that INTPs are Ti doms and INFPs Fi doms so just because you take other people's feelings into account doesn't automatically make you an F. Also, many INTPs are artistic and creative, so that is hardly ground for differentiation. You'll find plenty of NTs who are into the Arts, and plenty of NFs who are into the Sciences. Interests alone aren't very important.

Are you male or female? Social conditioning has a lot to do with it. If you're a girl, you may act more like an F because that is how we've been expected to behave throughout our lifetimes. Societal expectations on growing young people play a part... INFP men may tend to test more T because it is how they feel they should answer rather than how they actually think and react.

You say you hate feeling sentimental? INTPs have Si as their third function, so nostalgia and sentimentality can often be quite important to us.
 

Snuggletron

Reptilian
Joined
Sep 25, 2009
Messages
2,224
MBTI Type
INFP
Enneagram
10
maybe this isn't a sure thing but I actually think INFPs are less predictable than INTPs. You said you're wishy washy and go with gut feelings. Of all the INFPs I know, -including myself-, this is an characteristic of theirs. The decision-making criteria of INFPs is more multi-faceted, based on values that are hard to measure and for an outsider to remember. Logic's pretty straight-forward and rigid. If you apply logic to something you can predict what will come out of the equation, like checking things off of a list. Fi ethic is harder to predict, you can write down values but values change, and values can alter themselves depending on different situations. Logic is impartial, and aims for consistency. Not all INTPs are consistent, but generally that's the idea.
 
A

A window to the soul

Guest
It's hard to tell from your description if you are T or F. So maybe my experience will help you. I fall somewhere in the middle between T and F, but I lean towards T and here's why...

In the day to day, I notice things that I consider a deviation from the facts; such as when someone says "salads are healthy." The word 'healthy' means having or enjoying good health. So the proper thing to say is "salads are healthful." Things like that, don't usually annoy me or make it out of my head. Most thoughts like that are good for light-hearted conversation at parties.

Moments when others seem overly emotional or easily defeated are tough for me to digest. If I hear too much of it, my response will be annoyance: direct and serious. If my response has a negative impact on someone; I'll attempt to reconcile. Unfortunately, not everybody is reconcilable.

When I'm right, I'm right and the goal is to be an effective communicator; not overbearing. I'm reasonable, willing to hear people out, and admit when I'm wrong. In that regard, my intentions are sometimes misunderstood. 99% of the time, I have good intentions. The 1% is a result of being overly stressed or provoked under stress.

The paradox is that I'm very much in touch with my feelings, I'm often times silly and I have a hard time being serious in overly serious situations. I attribute that to being somewhere in the middle (T/F).

As far as what your type is, only you know for sure (after you've gained understanding of the types).
 
R

ReflecTcelfeR

Guest
I'd say enneagram would help with some of your issues. You sound like a nine, not bad and intp's have a little tendency towards nine if Fe is developed, or hyper active (not unhealthy).
 

Scorquendo

New member
Joined
Dec 8, 2009
Messages
58
MBTI Type
INTP
First, thanks for the replies. I never thought I'd get a response so quickly!

Well, most importantly: do you base your decisions on hard, solid fact or more on what feels right?

Are you male or female?

1. I usually base it on fact; however, depending on the situation I always feel rude or guilty when making a decision conflicting with friends and family.

2. Male; that may be the case, too.

Moments when others seem overly emotional or easily defeated are tough for me to digest. If I hear too much of it, my response will be annoyance: direct and serious. If my response has a negative impact on someone; I'll attempt to reconcile. Unfortunately, not everybody is reconcilable.

Interesting....that's how I feel whenever I see a person being really emotional [crying, yelling, singing, etc.] to me or around me. I have trouble saying "I l*ve you" to people, too.

For the T's out there, do you guys often ask for second opinions? I tend to do that because I love having options (my lovely "P"), but deep inside, I kind of already know what I want.
 

Tallulah

Emerging
Joined
Feb 19, 2008
Messages
6,009
MBTI Type
INTP
I haven't read anything that makes you sound un-INTP-like. A lot of what you wrote sounds like me, growing up. I was always lost in my imagination, and have always been drawn to the arts. I'm mostly interested in intellectual or recreational pursuits that have a human element to them, so math and science don't hold my interest long. I was always drawn to music, writing, theatre.

I do know that acting, though I love it, can be a challenge for me because of my tendency to separate myself from things and look at them objectively.
 

Totenkindly

@.~*virinaĉo*~.@
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Apr 19, 2007
Messages
50,192
MBTI Type
BELF
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594
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
1. I usually base it on fact; however, depending on the situation I always feel rude or guilty when making a decision conflicting with friends and family.

No biggie. You're allowed to have feelings. It's just which tends to be the larger pull. You feel more compromised by your relationships than by your logic, you're just very aware of who your decisions are impacting.

For the T's out there, do you guys often ask for second opinions? I tend to do that because I love having options (my lovely "P"), but deep inside, I kind of already know what I want.

Basically, the T rationality already sees the most rational answer based on what information is known. Even when I am learning, I typically have the current "final answer" in my head. However, with Pe, there's still a desire to learn more information constantly, and this will adjust the answer as soon as you learn something new.

When I was younger, I didn't think anyone could contribute much to my thinking (because in my practical experience they had not). However, in my adulthood, I've realized it's more a matter of getting knocked out of my frame of reference to see things from different sides where people contribute most to me. My rationality within a perspective is typically sound; but I might miss a particular perspective.
 

sleepy

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Dec 6, 2007
Messages
536
No biggie. You're allowed to have feelings. It's just which tends to be the larger pull.
It is a biggie. An INTP do not let their emotions influence their statements. Ever. Those that do are compromised and so called faux INTPs- more accurately INFPs. Please - keep the standard up.
 

Eric B

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It is a biggie. An INTP do not let their emotions influence their statements. Ever. Those that do are compromised and so called faux INTPs- more accurately INFPs. Please - keep the standard up.
There's no such absolute in this area. Especially when there's a "shadow".

Much of what he describes sounds like common "Behind the Scenes" traits, which are common to INP's. They are both introverted, and "informing" (rather than directing). D/Inf can be connected with either J/P or T/F, and for the N's, it's J/P, and may give off some characteristics that might look "F"-like. What you are seeing is basically "agreeableness".

Even the not wanting to argue in person and feeling bad about it, but then arguing online sounds like the INP + NT combination. The key is "don't have a quick tongue and come off as awkward" (identify perfectly!), rather than because any form of arguing being bad, which it can't be if he's willing to do it online.

The "gut feelings" thing sounds like Fi, but then that is really ambiguous. It probably can refer to any introverted function. (You even hear it mentioned for Ni, which isn't even judgment!).
 

ajblaise

Minister of Propagandhi
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Aug 3, 2008
Messages
7,914
MBTI Type
INTP
It's usually about the 10th time someone gets INTP on a test that they break down, hit a mental wall, lay around for a few days, reject MBTI, then put INTP in their profile type.
 

MacGuffin

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xkcd
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It is a biggie. An INTP do not let their emotions influence their statements. Ever. Those that do are compromised and so called faux INTPs- more accurately INFPs. Please - keep the standard up.

Oooooh... no.

INTPs can lose control of their emotions and be even bigger emos than INFPs.
 

Oeufa

New member
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INTP
This is true. INFPs are caught up in their Fi most of the time, so know how to handle it well for the most part. When INTPs get stressed they can either go into Ti lockdown, or Fe meltdown mode. The latter is quite ugly, with chunks of emotional goo splattered on every surface in sight.

Why do emotional outbursts always occur at the worst possible moment? :tongue:
 

sleepy

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Messages
536
Oooooh... no.

INTPs can lose control of their emotions and be even bigger emos than INFPs.
I'm just saying it's unfortunate if it happens. And that one is compromised. ....and that one should learn from this. Or I may suspect the J. And that's something else entirely.
 

MacGuffin

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I'm just saying it's unfortunate if it happens. And that one is compromised. ....and that one should learn from this. Or I may suspect the J. And that's something else entirely.

J?
 
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