The usual INFP/INFJ confusion. Also an HSP...

[foxtail]

Hi everyone,

I'm rather new to the whole MBTI thing. I've taken a few online tests and tested as INFP.

The result from http://www.humanmetrics.com/:

You have strong preference of Introversion over Extraversion (89%)
You have distinctive preference of Intuition over Sensing (62%)
You have moderate preference of Feeling over Thinking (50%)
You have slight preference of Perceiving over Judging (11%)

And when reading the descriptions, I can identify myself with both INTP and INFJ. Actually, the INFJ seems even more accurate. Now, I know it doesn't really *matter* which one I am, and I know every person carries a bit of everything inside them. I'm just curious to know if it could be distinguished.

I'm rather indecisive but at the same time needing closures. I have many contradictory qualities, such as the need to plan and control things but also to be spontaneous (I guess that's because I'm very creative and somehow the space for spontaneity allows me to use my creativity more).

Some other distinctive qualities:

• I'm very conscientious and feel easily guilty even for things that have nothing to do with me! This is very exhausting and usually I'm intellectually aware of it but not able to change it.

• I'm natural with language(s). I learned to speak, read and write at an unusually young age. I also learn foreign languages quickly and easily.

• I'm very creative and idealistic. Sometimes I lack the ability to put my ideas into action, to realize them in this world. It's often hard for me to find the optimal level - I'm either hyperactive and over-confident (when inspired) or insecure and nearly paralyzed. I also have the tendency to fantasize a lot and sometimes I forget the "real" me or I can't distinguish myself from the ideas I have. I suppose this is typical for INFP's.

• I'm really curious about other people indirectly. I like to hear/read their stories and sometimes "spy" on others while avoiding direct contact.

• I'm really introverted. I want to and need to spend a lot of time by myself and definately have a rich, complex inner life.

• In group situations, I can usually sense other's emotions and needs and tend to forget about my own. When I'm by myself or with people who are really close to me, I stick to my ideals and can be very stubborn, but when I need to face a conflict or a "difficult" person I get scared and start to please the other. I hate it.

• People usually see me as calm, caring and intelligent. I experience all emotions very strongly and it can be really painful. I don't show much of that to strangers, but with the closest ones (especially love partners!) I can be quite a drama queen.

I thought that maybe the reason I test as a P is because a lot of the questions in the tests are something like "Are you never late?" "Is your work desk always clean an organized?" and I have to answer no - I'm not very good at keeping things in order but I suffer from that! I need to know what's going to happen, I dislike surprises, need a lot of time to make desicions. I also feel much more harmonious in tidy places. I've always been really picky and sensitive about clothing materials, foods, people, noises... Some people have called me a control freak and I guess they are not completely wrong.

I think a lot of this has to do with me being an HSP (a Highly Sensitive Person)- which means having a higher-than-average sensory-processing sensitivity. I get easily overwhelmed by external and internal stimuli. I was wondering whether this could contribute to my confusion about the J/T part. Maybe I'm an INFP but sometimes appear as INFJ because of the need to control the environment in order to avoid overstimulation? Any thoughts?


Thanks for reading. And sorry for any spelling mistakes, I'm not a native English speaker.

 

[ndovjtjcaqidthi]

Did not read a single word, but are you aware that INFP and INFJ use a completely different set of functions?

 

[reckful]

[MENTION=20159]foxtail[/MENTION] —

Just in case, speaking hypothetically, you ever encounter an internet forumite who tries to convince you that it's just plain goofy to be agonizing over INFJ vs. INFP because, ZOMG, if you cross the J/P borderline, it flips all your functions, you may want to read this PerC post.

You sound like a Limbic INFJ to me.

"Limbic" refers to the Big Five temperament dimension that isn't included in the Myers-Briggs typology and is often referred to as "neuroticism" (although it isn't a psychological disorder). The Big Five/SLOAN typology labels it Emotional Stability and refers to the two poles as Calm and Limbic. Being Limbic on that dimension tends to be associated with, among other things, anxiety/worry-proneness; emotional sensitivity/volatility; proneness to annoyance/irritation; self-consciousness; and (sometimes) depression. I'm Limbic, and it makes me less of a cucumber than some of my fellow INTJs.

Assuming you have reasonably well-defined preferences, I think you're more likely to correctly type yourself using dichotomy-based tests than tests (or analysis) based on the "cognitive functions." And if you've got one or more preferences that are in or near the middle, I think dichotomy-based tests are more likely to correctly indicate that situation as well. Even cognitive function aficionados generally don't claim that there's any test they can point you to that's particularly likely to give you results that place your dominant function in first place and your auxiliary function in second place — never mind ID-ing your tertiary and inferior functions in any easy-to-spot way.

For links to the two tests I'd recommend and more type-me input from me (including profile roundups for the four IN types), see this post.

 

[oneandonly]

"Less of a cucumber" lol

[MENTION=20159]foxtail[/MENTION] —

Just in case, speaking hypothetically, you ever encounter an internet forumite who tries to convince you that it's just plain goofy to be agonizing over INFJ vs. INFP because, ZOMG, if you cross the J/P borderline, it flips all your functions, you may want to read this PerC post.

You sound like a Limbic INFJ to me.

"Limbic" refers to the Big Five temperament dimension that isn't included in the Myers-Briggs typology and is often referred to as "neuroticism" (although it isn't a psychological disorder). The Big Five/SLOAN typology labels it Emotional Stability and refers to the two poles as Calm and Limbic. Being Limbic on that dimension tends to be associated with, among other things, anxiety/worry-proneness; emotional sensitivity/volatility; proneness to annoyance/irritation; self-consciousness; and (sometimes) depression. I'm Limbic, and it makes me less of a cucumber than some of my fellow INTJs.

Assuming you have reasonably well-defined preferences, I think you're more likely to correctly type yourself using dichotomy-based tests than tests (or analysis) based on the "cognitive functions." And if you've got one or more preferences that are in or near the middle, I think dichotomy-based tests are more likely to correctly indicate that situation as well. Even cognitive function aficionados generally don't claim that there's any test they can point you to that's particularly likely to give you results that place your dominant function in first place and your auxiliary function in second place — never mind ID-ing your tertiary and inferior functions in any easy-to-spot way.

For links to the two tests I'd recommend and more type-me input from me (including profile roundups for the four IN types), see this post.

 

[Mal12345]

INFP because of the description in the OP. I don't understand why you just didn't go with that type based on your test scores. The OP description verifies those results.

 

[Pionart]

I'm rather indecisive but at the same time needing closures

Dominant perception, but extroverted judgement = IxxJ

 

[OrangeAppled]

Another enneagram 9. The J/P thing is hard with them, as they tend to sound P-ish, but aren't necessarily, which will confuse them also. They also want people to give them closure, but don't necessarily create it themselves, and that also doesn't neatly seem J or P.

It's always hard for me to grasp the "I don't know how I feel around other people" thing, and I think it's more e9 than Fi or Fe.

 

[á´…eparted]

It's always hard for me to grasp the "I don't know how I feel around other people" thing, and I think it's more e9 than Fi or Fe.

I don't grasp it period. Honestly, how is it even a question? What do you mean "don't know how I feel around other people"? ...you don't know? That's something that is extremely obvious to me and I just can not understand how someone wouldn't know that. It smacks me in the face hard instantly and can be a problem sometimes actually if I really despise someone. It really truly boggles my mind.

If it is a 9 thing that would make sense, it's the lowest of the low for all the enneagram types I relate with.

 

[Z Buck McFate]

INFP because of the description in the OP. I don't understand why you just didn't go with that type based on your test scores. The OP description verifies those results.

You think the tests are really that accurate though? I consistently test as INTJ or INTP more often than INFJ. Even on the 'official' mbti test, I scored right on the line between INFJ/INTJ. Which is weird, because of how not INTJ I am. While this particular OP does sound almost blatantly FP to me (the characteristics listed, in themselves, could easily apply to an INFJ- but the vernacular in which they're listed is very FP), my own experience is that the tests are not reliable indicator of someone's type.

 

[Mal12345]

You think the tests are really that accurate though? I consistently test as INTJ or INTP more often than INFJ. Even on the 'official' mbti test, I scored right on the line between INFJ/INTJ. Which is weird, because of how not INTJ I am. While this particular OP does sound almost blatantly FP to me (the characteristics listed, in themselves, could easily apply to an INFJ- but the vernacular in which they're listed is very FP), my own experience is that the tests are not reliable indicator of someone's type.

The test score that tells you what you already know unconsciously is the one you should believe.

 

[skylights]

I don't grasp it period. Honestly, how is it even a question? What do you mean "don't know how I feel around other people"? ...you don't know? That's something that is extremely obvious to me and I just can not understand how someone wouldn't know that. It smacks me in the face hard instantly and can be a problem sometimes actually if I really despise someone. It really truly boggles my mind.

If it is a 9 thing that would make sense, it's the lowest of the low for all the enneagram types I relate with.

I can kind of relate with OP. For me, sometimes I have very strong feelings around others, and other times I am not sure how I feel, especially until I process it later. I often feel the latter if I interpret mixed signals from someone. For example, I went on an interview recently, and thought that my interviewer seemed somewhat disinterested in me. However, I got a call back, and when I met with him again, and his tone completely changed, and he was warm and welcoming and embracing. So now I look back and I think maybe he had been preoccupied or having a bad day. But at the time, it was so hard to read him, and because it was so hard to read him I didn't know how to feel in response. I left the interview feeling a confusing jumble of happy to have been called into an interview at all but very floaty-in-between emotionally because I had no idea how I was received. I ended up having to kind of suspend my feelings in relation to that experience because I couldn't get a solid footing and it was hard to proceed emotionally until I had a final answer.

Another enneagram 9. The J/P thing is hard with them, as they tend to sound P-ish, but aren't necessarily, which will confuse them also. They also want people to give them closure, but don't necessarily create it themselves, and that also doesn't neatly seem J or P.

It's always hard for me to grasp the "I don't know how I feel around other people" thing, and I think it's more e9 than Fi or Fe.

Yes! My boyfriend, whose type took me ages to figure out and confirm with him, is J and e9. He is the most confusing mix of seeking closure and not necessarily creating closure. His spaces are what I would like to call an organized mess - when we moved into our apartment, he was so diligent about setting everything up and creating a place for everything and putting everything in its place. But now, he tends to be as messy or more messy than I am. But in a predictable way. And he moves quickly to decisions - he doesn't like leaving things up in the air - but he is also very avoidant of certain topics and sometimes will say things like yes I definitely want to make a decision on that but not until two years from now when I am finished with whatever. And then he adheres very strictly to that. He, too, is very sensitive to sensory processing and stimuli, and is highly controlling of his environments. But it is more of a passive form of control, with him avoiding environments he does not like and gravitating towards environments he does like, more then taking the environments he doesn't like and transforming them.

 

[chubber]

Dominant perception, but extroverted judgement = IxxJ

That's very true.