autumn
New member
- Joined
- Oct 5, 2007
- Messages
- 106
- MBTI Type
- eNFP
Several years ago when I first took the Keirsey Temperament Sorter and had no idea what it was, I scored as an ENFP. I answered the questions honestly and uncoerced, in a comfortable environment with a supportive friend administering. The description really seemed to fit quite well.
It wasn't until years later that I really took an intense interest in MBTI and Keirsey and started to study the theory behind it and get to know the types and everything better. Again I took the KTS, just for kicks, and again scored solidly in the ENFP range. Again the type description fits me the best out of all 16 possibilities, though I have mellowed with age and practiced using more of my functions.
However, nearly every online MBTI-type indicator I have taken scores me as an INFP. I have read many type descriptions for INFP, and while a lot of it resonates with me, I do think the ENFP descriptions fit better.
I took the cognitive processes indicator, and the results were interesting--Ne and Fi were almost equal, Ne winning out by a small margin of about two points. Again, this would seem to indicate ENFP, if only barely. However, the score I was given was INFP. The only reason for that that I can think of is that my Ne and Fi were almost equal for dominant and auxiliary, and the next two cognitive processes in line were Ni and Ti, which makes three out of my top four cognitive processes introverted ones. Perhaps that tipped the scales over to introvertedness, as far as the indicator was concerned? (Ne, Fi, Te, and Si were in that order, the ENFP order, but other processes were interspersed between them in prominence.)
Another interesting thing is that recently two friends of mine, one who scores ENFP and another who scores INFP both pegged me as an INFP. The ENFP pal is pretty interested in MBTI herself and said that she estimated the NFP pretty readily but was uncertain whether to choose I or E when typing me.
Another very close friend, who is an INTP and is very interested in MBTI (and who is the one who originally gave me the KTS!) put forward the theory that I "hide" my dominant function somewhat. I do think that as I have gotten older I have made an attempt to rein in the Ne around most people. And if my Ne and Fi are as close as the cognitive processes results indicate, it makes sense that while reining in my Ne I may appear to have dominant Fi, or at least to be an xNFP.
I do think that overall, ENFP fits me better. With Ne and Fi so far in the lead, the NFP part is pretty much chiseled into the marble statue of my being and surrounded by flashing Vegas lights (metaphorical ones, LOL). At times I have been tempted to think of myself as an xNFP, but something about putting an x in there annoys me, as though it's indicating indecisiveness on my part or something. (I don't mind when other people do it, if they are still determining their best-fit type or have definitely scored 50/50 on some part, but something about it strikes me as "unfinished," if that makes sense.) Further, there don't seem to be any meaningful type descriptions for 50/50 E/I types, and I really do think that the descriptions for the ENFP fit me better overall than those for INFP.
Anyone have any thoughts on this? Why is the KTS the only one that has consistently (well, twice over the course of several years) scored me as ENFP, while so many others have scored me as INFP? I have never taken an official MBTI; I wonder how that would score?
autumn
It wasn't until years later that I really took an intense interest in MBTI and Keirsey and started to study the theory behind it and get to know the types and everything better. Again I took the KTS, just for kicks, and again scored solidly in the ENFP range. Again the type description fits me the best out of all 16 possibilities, though I have mellowed with age and practiced using more of my functions.
However, nearly every online MBTI-type indicator I have taken scores me as an INFP. I have read many type descriptions for INFP, and while a lot of it resonates with me, I do think the ENFP descriptions fit better.
I took the cognitive processes indicator, and the results were interesting--Ne and Fi were almost equal, Ne winning out by a small margin of about two points. Again, this would seem to indicate ENFP, if only barely. However, the score I was given was INFP. The only reason for that that I can think of is that my Ne and Fi were almost equal for dominant and auxiliary, and the next two cognitive processes in line were Ni and Ti, which makes three out of my top four cognitive processes introverted ones. Perhaps that tipped the scales over to introvertedness, as far as the indicator was concerned? (Ne, Fi, Te, and Si were in that order, the ENFP order, but other processes were interspersed between them in prominence.)
Another interesting thing is that recently two friends of mine, one who scores ENFP and another who scores INFP both pegged me as an INFP. The ENFP pal is pretty interested in MBTI herself and said that she estimated the NFP pretty readily but was uncertain whether to choose I or E when typing me.
Another very close friend, who is an INTP and is very interested in MBTI (and who is the one who originally gave me the KTS!) put forward the theory that I "hide" my dominant function somewhat. I do think that as I have gotten older I have made an attempt to rein in the Ne around most people. And if my Ne and Fi are as close as the cognitive processes results indicate, it makes sense that while reining in my Ne I may appear to have dominant Fi, or at least to be an xNFP.
I do think that overall, ENFP fits me better. With Ne and Fi so far in the lead, the NFP part is pretty much chiseled into the marble statue of my being and surrounded by flashing Vegas lights (metaphorical ones, LOL). At times I have been tempted to think of myself as an xNFP, but something about putting an x in there annoys me, as though it's indicating indecisiveness on my part or something. (I don't mind when other people do it, if they are still determining their best-fit type or have definitely scored 50/50 on some part, but something about it strikes me as "unfinished," if that makes sense.) Further, there don't seem to be any meaningful type descriptions for 50/50 E/I types, and I really do think that the descriptions for the ENFP fit me better overall than those for INFP.
Anyone have any thoughts on this? Why is the KTS the only one that has consistently (well, twice over the course of several years) scored me as ENFP, while so many others have scored me as INFP? I have never taken an official MBTI; I wonder how that would score?
autumn