INTP and INFP differences

[Gengar]

Call me a sensor

Hmm, is that meant to be the ultimate insult around here?


@Azeroff - I think I see how your personality reflects a bit on the way I am. When I first came across MBTI, I was so confused as to whether I was an INTP or INFP. I could be completely objective about some things, analyze the world, or even formalize 'perfect' ideas. I was constantly rotating locks in my mind, trying to figure out the perfect combination to 'unlock' ideas. I locked myself in a room for two entire days just coming up with the thesis to my History IA. . .and it's qualities like these that make me think that I had an INTP in me.

The deciding factor which made me realize that I was an INFP was infact - my girlfriend. Deep down inside, I was a feeler, no matter how I portray myself as a Thinker outside. I guess it had to do with the social norm; Thinkers are normally more preferred for guys. My girlfriend, whom I loved very much (sadly we had to break up ), was quite adept at opening me up, making me feel happy. She did it so well that I trusted her, and that's not something I do very often. On the other hand, she liked not the person I portrayed outside, but the soft feeling guy inside. I don't know how she saw through me at first, but she did.

There are also other reasons I think I'm a F, I can hardly ever control my laughter. Once I'm at it, I'm hysterical. I read somewhere that NFs had a lot of imaginary friends when young - I did . My friends would never realize this, but when they're all drunk, I'm normally the one who takes care of them and makes sure they're all right. I'm softer than most of them are, but they don't realize it (I suspect it's due to my extremely low bass voice and formal language). Feelings really affect how I perform as well - if I feel like shit, I can't do shit. I would literally sit there and do nothing. The only solution. . . YUGIOH That show is awesome in bringing back old memories.

Hope this helps

 

[SurlyAdam]

I think in the simplest sense, an INFP will go with what feels right, and not see the need to explain or analyze the reasons for their decision - it just makes sense to them. An INTP on the other hand will question every detail down to zero, not being satisfied until they have ALL of the available information and have exhausted all possibilities.

An INFP's decisions are very subjective, and fuzzy facts don't need to be fully understood to be accepted as truth. INTPs on the other hand are purely objective in their thinking. They have a need to question everything and decisions must make logical sense.

 

[Eric B]

I can relate too.

What I found decisive in this was the John Beebe archetype model. Analytical thinking has always been my default mode of judgment, but I did for whatever reason develop an inner emotional core. This provides a lot of good and bad feelings, but still, it is logic that has the final say, even if informed by the emotional sentiment.

When a totally opposite (eighth place) function like that is developed, it goes from playing a "destructive" role to a "transformative" one. Yet you'll still have a "default" dominant function, which will be the opposite pole, but in the same attitude.
So both will appear to be strong and positive, and thus possibly "preferred". Yet one will be default, while the other will serve more to restore balance, particularly after a stressful situation.
Others might even notice the latter first, and type you according to it. Thus you will teeter between both. But you have to look at which one is the default mode.

 

[Azseroffs]

See, now was that so hard ?

Yes
Putting feelings into words is actually pretty difficult
further INTP proof

The deciding factor which made me realize that I was an INFP was infact - my girlfriend. Deep down inside, I was a feeler, no matter how I portray myself as a Thinker outside. I guess it had to do with the social norm; Thinkers are normally more preferred for guys. My girlfriend, whom I loved very much (sadly we had to break up ), was quite adept at opening me up, making me feel happy. She did it so well that I trusted her, and that's not something I do very often. On the other hand, she liked not the person I portrayed outside, but the soft feeling guy inside. I don't know how she saw through me at first, but she did.

I can relate to this.

An ex of mine did the same except in a more destructive way. I got to know myself better and understood my own feelings more though. Even T types have feelings at the core btw . However I can sometimes hide them completely, even from myself for the sake of logic.

 

[nanook]

i would propose that the significant difference is most likely to be found in the past, in your development of skills during live.

that seems to be the best approach for me, when I want to figure out, whether i am NiFe or NiTe. it seems pretty obvious, then. if i would wonder about the present self, that shows up when a keyboard is in front of me, it would be much harder to tell, which one it is ...

might be more complicated if you are actually pondering between TiNe and FiNe ...

 

[CJ99]

Whats the difference?

a huge one!

I was an INTP (might still be who knows) and my sis is an INFP.
Where like twins except i'm 18 months older.

Theres a huge difference when those types are young.
INTPs are smart, cold, quiet and at times extremely daring and outright shocking.
INFPs are also quiet but eager to please and help people and be a mother figure as well as being a bit quirkey and playful.

As to an INFP who believes in being logical they will probably be a sort of philosophical "greater good" type. Not sure if they would be like any other type though.

 

[Wiley45]

I love to think and learn to think better, but when the logical thinking gets too abstract or complicated, I always say, "OK, that's enough thinking," before my brain explodes. Then I go back to whatever feels like it fits for me until I have the energy to work at thinking again. (And no matter how logical I may learn to be ... I still sob uncontrollably at the symphony. How utterly embarrassing.)

 

[OrangeAppled]

Whats the difference?

a huge one!

I was an INTP (might still be who knows) and my sis is an INFP.
Where like twins except i'm 18 months older.

Theres a huge difference when those types are young.
INTPs are smart, cold, quiet and at times extremely daring and outright shocking.
INFPs are also quiet but eager to please and help people and be a mother figure as well as being a bit quirkey and playful.

As to an INFP who believes in being logical they will probably be a sort of philosophical "greater good" type. Not sure if they would be like any other type though.

See, your INFP description does not sound like me at all. The idea of being a mother figure makes me want to puke. I disliked kids even when I was a child. I was not, and am not, eager to please either. I'm really more interested in seeing my own visions fulfilled. As a child I was quirky & playful, but more daring than pleasing. I was very smart & did exceptionally well in school. I sound more like an INTP in your analysis.

I am 100% sure now that I am INFP though. I test INTP quite often, and the percentage of my Fi ends up bordeline when I do test INFP, however, I think the tests have some bias as to what F is. Being a feeler does not mean you are a "warm" & "emotional" person as society defines it. I think INFPs in person may come off as INTPs with people who have that idea of Fi. We're just these lovable hippies who want to make everyone feel good :rolli:.

I'm really less concerned with other's feelings than my own. My feelings filter the things I take in and toss out what doesn't fit my values. My values are formed through experience and how that experience makes me feel. So if a new fact is presented to me, and I have no feeling towards it, I can consider it without bias. However, if I have a negative feeling, then I will find something to cancel that "fact" out. I realize how well I am able to twist things to fit my view. I do it so well I can even influence other people with my feeling "logic" .

Someone posted these links on globalchatter which really clarified Ti vs. Fi for me:

Ti: infp.globalchatter.com :: View topic - "The Introverted Thinking-Type"

Fi: infp.globalchatter.com :: View topic - "The Introvert of Feeling-Type"

"they are likely to exhibit violent resentment if circumstances do not correspond to their feelings, and it then seems to them that harshness and indifference prevail in the world."

I think this cynicism that results in some INFPs can lead to a sardonic humor and cool exterior that throws people off as to their Fi. That can be the case with myself at times. If you were to ask my family if I am an emotional, feeling person they would laugh pretty hard.


"They still in their innermost being believe implicitly in what their feelings tell them. Even if they are not able to express it clearly in words, they are inwardly quite certain as to what accords with them and what does not. Outwardly, their feelings are not very obvious, for when these are affected, these people tend to withdraw into themselves, and if they do express anything, it will only be much later, after they have had time to work it all over within themselves."


INFPs wear a mask with others, and we don't show our feelings very much. Some of us may wear an INTP mask

 

[the state i am in]

"they are likely to exhibit violent resentment if circumstances do not correspond to their feelings, and it then seems to them that harshness and indifference prevail in the world."

I think this cynicism that results in some INFPs can lead to a sardonic humor and cool exterior that throws people off as to their Fi. That can be the case with myself at times. If you were to ask my family if I am an emotional, feeling person they would laugh pretty hard.

"They still in their innermost being believe implicitly in what their feelings tell them. Even if they are not able to express it clearly in words, they are inwardly quite certain as to what accords with them and what does not. Outwardly, their feelings are not very obvious, for when these are affected, these people tend to withdraw into themselves, and if they do express anything, it will only be much later, after they have had time to work it all over within themselves."


INFPs wear a mask with others, and we don't show our feelings very much. Some of us may wear an INTP mask

i think this is a really well conceived distinction you are making here. like in the five factor model, being an infp has nothing to do with the openness rating of the personality trait system (i know infps ranging from extremely open to extremely masked. it has so much to do with the SPECIFICITY of one's ideals and their relationship to the external environment, their upbringing/development, etc). it means you have extremely strong resonating emotional tones to different experiences that you use to organize and prepare your Judgment System internally. you use subjective experiences and their affective colour more than you use abstracted systems of representation (ie logic, language, theoretical systems, typology, etc) to understand situations, weigh them out, and make decisions.

 

[Jeremy]

Maybe I can help. One of my "values", or at least purposes in life, is trying to understand the world and other people. I'll often apply my own brand of reasoning to this question - "fuzzy" logic if you will. I often just "know" something, without being able to objectively break down exactly why. I often avoid showing this to others, though, because it makes me feel vulnerable. My feelings about something are something I protect, so I can often come across as logical just because I don't show others that side of myself. It tempers my interaction with others, but rarely surfaces.

 

[Totenkindly]

T's detach, pure and simple. There is more detachment with the INTP than the INFP when it comes to personally volatile areas.

To whit:
The INTP will attempt to step back from the self to get clarity.
The INFP will become more immersed in the self to get clarity.

That is the instinct.
It just happens.

So INTPs can introspect deeply on a personal level, but they treat the self as an object to be analyzed, even the emotions must be analyzed in order to be understood; if the INTP merges with the feelings, the sense of clarity (identity through external perception) is lost. The INFP instead identifies with the emotions, even when they try to pull back; they can't "detach" like that or keep things separate, it feels like amputation.

And yes, I see older INFPs develop their Te in order to "work the issues" in order to reduce anxiety. Meanwhile, older INTPs have learned their place in the group and how to interact with others enough (Fe) to get the resources they need or reduce tension as well. There is overlap there, people develop all their functions based on personal pref as well as environmental needs, but that's the general pattern. INFPs need to reduce their "practical" tension, they already a social/connecting function (Fi), they have to be able to "work issues"; INTPs already have a great strategic sense they use to deal with practical problems, their issue is the lack of a socialization tool (Ti usually just pisses off or alienates people if used exclusively), so they develop more Fe.

 

[zago]

How can you tell the difference between an INTP and an INFP that highly values logical and objective thinking?

..I'm in one of those moods where I question my type again

I see the biggest difference in the expression of the inferior function, Fe for INTPs and Te for INFPs. INTPs tend to be weirdos with merely a strictly minimal sense of social grace. INFPs are terrible at getting things done in an "official" sense; for instance, an INFP I teach just can't get his act together with things like turning in and making up work, even though he is a fairly smart kid with a mother who rapes him in the ass if he fucks up. I'll tell him he needs to do something, like make up a test, he'll "yes" me, but it will never happen.

Same with my INFP roommate from college. He'd often "yes" people to make them go away. We'd all be going out on a Friday night, and we'd practically beg him to come, and he'd always just say "ok, I'll catch up with you guys in 20 minutes" and then just never show up. Most of the time, INTPs would keep a deal like that, or just not make it in the first place.

The difference between Ti and Fi is also quite apparent. Fi folks are big into expression of their emotions, and often like to write poetry or music or something of the sort. INFPs are also always nice to people both to their face and behind their back. INTPs are gossip queens by any means, but they have no problem talking shit about someone if it's on their mind.

 

[Sponge]

I worked out that I was more NF than NT because my mood dictates everything. I can't even function if I'm in a bad mood. I need to be in the right 'mood' in order to do, well, anything.

I know that, logically, I should spend my holidays catching up on work, but if I'm not in the mood to do it, then logic goes out of the window, for example.

 

[Orangey]

I worked out that I was more NF than NT because my mood dictates everything. I can't even function if I'm in a bad mood. I need to be in the right 'mood' in order to do, well, anything.

I know that, logically, I should spend my holidays catching up on work, but if I'm not in the mood to do it, then logic goes out of the window, for example.

If this is true, then I must be NF, because it's very hard to bring myself to do work if I'm not in the mood to do it. I rarely every get work done over holidays...I usually end up spending them pursuing something entirely different, which refreshes me.

 

[JocktheMotie]

I worked out that I was more NF than NT because my mood dictates everything. I can't even function if I'm in a bad mood. I need to be in the right 'mood' in order to do, well, anything.

I know that, logically, I should spend my holidays catching up on work, but if I'm not in the mood to do it, then logic goes out of the window, for example.

If this is true, then I must be NF, because it's very hard to bring myself to do work if I'm not in the mood to do it. I rarely every get work done over holidays...I usually end up spending them pursuing something entirely different, which refreshes me.

I find this is more of a P thing.

 

[tommydystonic]

I use a lot of cognitive behavioral stuff when i realize I'm not being objective enough. I used to feel completely helpless if i was feeling crappy, and allow myself to.

 

["?"]

Too lazy to write again, so I will copy and paste from INTPC.

Unlike ISTP and ISTJ, I would think it harder to discern the difference between INPs and INJs since their cognitive functions are close, but mostly because the latter comparisons share the same interaction styles. INTP and INFP both have the “Behind the Scenes” interaction style that has a

theme of getting the best result possible. People of this style focus on understanding and working with the process to create a positive outcome. They see value in many contributions and consult outside inputs to make an informed decision. They aim to integrate various information sources and accommodate differing points of view. They approach others with a quiet, calm style that may not show their strong convictions. Producing, sustaining, defining, and clarifying are all ways they support a group's process. They typically have more patience than most with the time it takes to gain support through consensus for a project or to refine the result.

Ti and Fi can also be confusing since I still question the difference in ruling values and ruling principles and some other terms thrown around distinguishing the two functions. Jung says of the two functions:

Both the foregoing types are rational, since they are founded upon reasoning, judging functions. Reasoning [p. 496] judgment is based not merely upon objective, but also upon subjective, data.

Jung does give some tale-tell signs in distinguishing the two. For Ti he says

This negative relation to the object-indifference, and even aversion-characterizes every introvert; it also makes a description of the introverted type in general extremely difficult. With him, everything tends to disappear and get concealed. His judgment appears cold, obstinate, arbitrary, and inconsiderate, simply because he is related less to the object than the subject. One can feel nothing in it that might possibly confer a higher value upon the object; it always seems to go beyond the object, leaving behind it a flavour of a certain subjective superiority. Courtesy, amiability, and friendliness may be present, but often with a particular quality suggesting a certain uneasiness, which betrays an ulterior aim, namely, the disarming of an opponent, who must at all costs be pacified and set at ease lest he prove a disturbing- element.

For Fi Jung says

The proverb 'Still waters run deep' is very true of such a type. They are mostly silent, inaccessible, and hard to understand; often they hide behind a childish or banal mask, and not infrequently their temperament is melancholic. They neither shine nor reveal themselves. Since they submit the control of their lives to their subjectively orientated feeling, their true motives generally remain concealed. Their outward demeanour is harmonious and inconspicuous; they reveal a delightful repose, a sympathetic parallelism, which has no desire to affect others, either to impress, influence, or change them in any way. Should this outer side be somewhat emphasized, a suspicion of neglectfulness and coldness may easily obtrude itself, which not seldom increases to a real indifference for the comfort and well-being of others. One distinctly feels the movement of feeling away from the object.

 

[OrangeAppled]

T's detach, pure and simple. There is more detachment with the INTP than the INFP when it comes to personally volatile areas.

To whit:
The INTP will attempt to step back from the self to get clarity.
The INFP will become more immersed in the self to get clarity.

That is the instinct.
It just happens.

So INTPs can introspect deeply on a personal level, but they treat the self as an object to be analyzed, even the emotions must be analyzed in order to be understood; if the INTP merges with the feelings, the sense of clarity (identity through external perception) is lost. The INFP instead identifies with the emotions, even when they try to pull back; they can't "detach" like that or keep things separate, it feels like amputation.

I think that's a really good way of explaining the difference, except I would put a more "positive" spin on Fi . Sometimes T types describe it as if our feeling is just these emotions we have no control over. I think that's the issue with people mistyping themselves as INTP when they are INFP....we don't feel led along by an irrational feeling. Our feelings are so clear and fine-tuned that they offer insight that is quite logical to others. Feeling does not always equal emotion (one definition of feeling = "the general state of consciousness considered independently of particular sensations, thoughts, etc..". It's a "knowing" rather than a specific emotion such as sadness). This is why we make great therapists (which requires being both objective and empathetic), and we can do well in science and math as long as it has some greater significance to us (and is not just numbers and logic for the sake of numbers & logic).

Regarding Fi:
"Whether they are artists or scientists, they are still primarily attracted by problems of the emotional life. They express themselves in such occupations with great care and precision."

 

[Orangey]

I think that's a really good way of explaining the difference, except I would put a more "positive" spin on Fi . Sometimes T types describe it as if our feeling is just these emotions we have no control over. I think that's the issue with people mistyping themselves as INTP when they are INFP....we don't feel led along by an irrational feeling. Our feelings are so clear and fine-tuned that they offer insight that is quite logical to others. Feeling does not always equal emotion (one definition of feeling = "the general state of consciousness considered independently of particular sensations, thoughts, etc..". It's a "knowing" rather than a specific emotion such as sadness). This is why we make great therapists (which requires being both objective and empathetic), and we can do well in science and math as long as it has some greater significance to us (and is not just numbers and logic for the sake of numbers & logic).

Regarding Fi:
"Whether they are artists or scientists, they are still primarily attracted by problems of the emotional life. They express themselves in such occupations with great care and precision."

This just seems so non-specific. This is basically saying that INFPs will be good at whatever it is that they value, even if what they value is something like math or science. So is this to say that other types will pursue "with great care and precision" things that they don't value?

Edit: I'm talking about the latter part of the post...I didn't bother editing out the parts of the quote that I wasn't talking about.

Edit Edit: Actually, that was a kneejerk post. My frustration with such descriptions isn't the bit about pursuing what they care about...it's just the lack of specificity regarding "the emotional life." What sorts of things are problems of the emotional life? As a physicist, for instance, what would differentiate the INFPs motivation (or aim towards "the emotional life") from that of other types? Because it sounds like it's primarily a difference in motivation.

 

[the state i am in]

This just seems so non-specific. This is basically saying that INFPs will be good at whatever it is that they value, even if what they value is something like math or science. So is this to say that other types will pursue "with great care and precision" things that they don't value?

i disagree. they just pay attention to a different stream of information/analysis. it is based on subjective experiences but it becomes very fine-tuned and capable of dealing with complex situations. it understands relationships in the social domain in terms of human-centric values, whereas thinking is more detached and uses other conceptual tools to find/discover/employ judgments in abstractly symbolized forms of representation.

they just use different analytical tools, and EVERY type MUST use both thinking and feeling to some degree. thinking is one side of analysis, pure cognitive technology, whereas feeling helps analyze one's own position with-in the world. it is a way of finding place, understanding and managing and navigating and exploring social relationships and their respective meanings, etc, by paying attention to the physical responses and shifts in internal state.