[MBTI General] ISTJ female vs. ISFJ female?

[ItsAlwaysSunny]

What differences would be noticeable between an ISFJ female and an ISTJ female?

 

[Jaq]

*thinking face

I wonder...............................................................................................................................

 

[ItsAlwaysSunny]

wow, thanks for the help guys. what great answers.

 

[Orangey]

wow, thanks for the help guys. what great answers.

The lonely SJ subforum unfortunately doesn't get a lot of traffic.

A good way to tell the difference is to measure who's bossier. ISFJs, especially ISFJ females (IME), do not often feel comfortable telling people directly what to do. If they want someone to do something, they usually couch the demand in passive/indirect (they call this "informing") language. ISTJs, OTOH, do not care as much if they're perceived as dictatorial assholes. This difference makes ISFJs come off as being more soft while ISTJs come off as "sharp."

 

[ItsAlwaysSunny]

The lonely SJ subforum unfortunately doesn't get a lot of traffic.

A good way to tell the difference is to measure who's bossier. ISFJs, especially ISFJ females (IME), do not often feel comfortable telling people directly what to do. If they want someone to do something, they usually couch the demand in passive/indirect (they call this "informing") language. ISTJs, OTOH, do not care as much if they're perceived as dictatorial assholes. This difference makes ISFJs come off as being more soft while ISTJs come off as "sharp."

Thanks for answering. I noticed it doesn't get much traffic, but the one answer I got was pretty much useless so I felt the need to be sarcastic for a second.

I've been stuck between ISTJ and ISFJ, but since I find that the ISFJ descriptions all sound like 1950s housewives and the ISTJ descriptions all sound like grumpy male accountants, I cant commit to either.

I've looked into Te and Fe too but for whatever reason I have a hard time figuring out which is which. Sometimes I get frustrated and decide that I'm an ISTP instead. But I'm not cool enough to be an ISTP and I'm know I'm probably more ISxJ than anything else.

 

[Bamboozle]

^ Yeah, the stereotypes aren't very helpful.

You haven't really provided any information and it's difficult to talk about the two types without just giving the usual type descriptions. Essentially, the T and F difference indicate that the ISTJ thinks about the world in terms of 'objective' rules/categories/what-have-yous whereas the ISFJ will think about the world primarily in terms of people and how to deal with people/how to relate with them. The ISFJ in my family is keen on telling me how to deal with people, drawing lessons from his dealings with people, for example. If I tell him about my day, he's likely to see the people-dynamics in what I tell him more easily (though he's also interested a wide range of other things, too). I tend to talk to him in anecdotes because of this.

ISTJs may be more inclined to think out problems. When my ISTJ brother isn't thinking about a problem (a math problem, the build for his next game character, etc), then he's quite happy to switch off entirely. He might stick music in his ears or go to sleep. He values logic, in a way. It's different from my logic but when he doesn't understand why, for example, someone behaves in a certain way, his first words will be, 'I don't get it! It's not logical.'

They're both very different kinds of introverts, too. My ISFJ father actually likes to spend time alone, going to get coffee, reading the papers, etc. These things make him happy. My ISTJ brother likes time alone but doesn't draw the same sort of energy from it, so far as I can see. I think that if my brother were to do what my father did, he'd just get plain bored unless he could preoccupy himself in his head.

I find that my brother likes to whinge a lot more, too .

Just stuff from my experience, though. It might be helpful if you talked about how you worked.

 

[ItsAlwaysSunny]

[MENTION=7867]Bamboozle[/MENTION]
This is from my "whats my type" thread that I made a while back.


Here are some things about myself:

I care very deeply for my family and a few close friends. I am extremely protective over my family and am always ready to battle against anything in life that threatens them.

Apparently I'm not that great at showing how I feel about people. I have a hard time saying "I love you" to people, even when I really do love them. Then I feel guilty for not saying it.

I like to be a problem solver and feel really proud of myself when I can solve my family or friends problems.

I have wanted to be a teacher or at least work in a school since I was little. Sometimes I don't want to become a teacher because I know that I'm smart enough to have a career where I could make more money and live more comfortably. But I'm also scared that I'm too shy to be a teacher.

I love learning and I've always liked school. I especially liked primary and secondary school, where I could learn a little bit of everything. I was also kind of a teacher's pet and goody-two-shoes. Think Hermione Granger, but less bossy.

I don't like college. I get good grades and I like learning, but I don't like the atmosphere. I feel like it lacks the structure that I always liked about school. Its hard to explain. I also had a hard time picking a major because I like to learn a little bit of everything. My favorite subjects have always been math and foreign languages.

I really enjoy creating stories in my head. One of my favorite things to do is to watch a show/movie or read a book with good characters and then create a fantasy world about them in my head. I've been doing that all my life.

I have a hard time making friends and sometimes I don't know where I fit in exactly. I've never been cool enough to be cool, but I've also never fit into any counter-culture. In high school I was considered a "headbanger", but even then I was kind of on my own. I get along with everyone, but don't get close to too many people. I get kind of stiff in new social situations.

I spend a lot of time reading and looking up random facts and trivia. I like to know things for no reason.

Being organized comes very easily to me, but I'm also messy. Everything has a place, but sometimes I just throw things on the floor anyways.

Amongst my friends and family I'm known for being responsible, eccentric, a goody-two-shoes, and having a good sense of humor.

I don't bond by sharing personal info, at least not immediately. Thats something that usually comes after bonding with a person, oddly enough. I don't really know how I bond with people. I do try to be nice and smile, but I think my warmth is more hidden. I've been surprised to hear to that I come off as kind of unemotional or even judgemental when I'm not intending to be either of those things at all. I do think that I sort of "screen" people in a way. I don't trust just anyone.

I wish I could verbalize love better, but I usually show it by doing things. Like the other day I took the initiative to do all the dishes and clean out the refridgerator for my mom because I knew it had been bothering her. That was my way of showing her that I'm thinking about her and know that she works hard and deserves a break from some of the chores.


I was thinking that maybe a good way to help type me would be to explain how others in my life see me, so I'm going to list some of the comments/remarks that I have heard people have say about me over the years. Some of these remarks actually made me feel bad about myself when I heard them, but they are probably true nonetheless.

Sits in her room watching tv, going on the internet, playing video games alot
Has a good but weird sense of humor
Really good grades and never gets in trouble
Always there for the family--but too overprotective.
Is quietly judgemental
Always wants to learn about something strange or useless
Can be blunt
Acts much more carefree around the family than anyone else.
Likes to work on her own.
Modest about how she dresses.
Doesn't like to be told what to do.
Doesn't take enough risks--holds herself back too much--worries too much


According to my sister I am "weird, analyzing, judgemental, and paranoid."
One of my friends says "I seem really vanilla but I'm actually not." and another says that "I have personal space issues."
This might sound weird too but in the past some people have thought that I'm a lesbian. I'm not, but I just suck at getting guys to like me and haven't really dated. I guess I'm also a little tomboyish.

Again, I'm not proud of some of these descriptions, but those are some of the ways my friends and family have described me.



(btw thanks for responding. i wish this website has a "thank" button for each post. )

 

[Bamboozle]

How does ISFJ sound to you? That's just my impression. Maybe actual SJs could step in here but you actually seem to be aware of how other people perceive you. I've only ever really known one ISTJ but it's actually not something he thinks about. I don't know if knows how to think about it. He thinks about his friends but not about how people perceive him per se.

On the other hand, my father likes to be perceived in certain positive ways. He's pickier about being tidy than my brother hehe. He's a real stickler for neatness and organisation. (My brother only cares about organising what's important to him—ideas/planning). Finally, my father is more interested in knowledge generally and seeks it out…little bits and pieces of everything. Even extended family knows that he knows a lot of material. In contrast, my brother sticks with what he's interested in. And even then doesn't seek knowledge per se. He's happy with what he gets through university.

What do you think?

 

[ItsAlwaysSunny]

[MENTION=7867]Bamboozle[/MENTION]
I could see ISFJ working, but I'm not ready to agree to it for sure.

 

[Bamboozle]

That's cool. If you want to talk about it, go ahead. It's not like I know you IRL and, in the end, only you can say what goes on in your head.

 

[tinker683]

You sound like a female version of me. The similarities in fact are almost frighteningly exact

So yeah, my vote is ISFJ