Tell-Tale Signs of the Types

[GZA]

What are the tell-tale signs of the different types?

I'd like to be able to recognize people a bit better, so I'm wondering what some of the most obvious signs that people are a specific type are. What are phrases that particularly apply to certain types... as in what phrases would a particular type typically say? What are the easiest things to immediately recognize in the different types?

I'm also somewhat interested in the answers to this because I'm curious as tyo how people see INFP's from outside.

 

[Kyrielle]

http://www.typologycentral.com/foru...lity-matrices/1876-tell-tale-signs-types.html

There's your thread.

 

[GZA]

Hahaha, oh wow... I was kind of worried this might happen. I really dropped the ball here! Delete!

 

[MEC]

A desire to socialize is something of E, but the desire and having social skills are totally different.

Social skills are something an S, and particularly SF, tends to have more of. It's easier for them to fit in.

An N, on the other hand, may wish to socialize, but they are often less effective. And since their behavior is less mainstream, they have greater risk of becoming alienated, because an S-dominated world perceives the N's unconventional behavior as obnoxious. Individualistic behavior is often considered anti-social or non-social.

Iam redoing my MBTI test

 

[Sunshine]

A desire to socialize is something of E, but the desire and having social skills are totally different.

Social skills are something an S, and particularly SF, tends to have more of. It's easier for them to fit in.

An N, on the other hand, may wish to socialize, but they are often less effective. And since their behavior is less mainstream, they have greater risk of becoming alienated, because an S-dominated world perceives the N's unconventional behavior as obnoxious. Individualistic behavior is often considered anti-social or non-social.

Ugh. Tell me about it. I feel like I have to monitor the way I act so much in social situations. Lame. F** that though. I'm an individual.

Oh and where on earth are you getting this:

And since their behavior is less mainstream, they have greater risk of becoming alienated, because an S-dominated world perceives the N's unconventional behavior as obnoxious

from? Some survey I never heard about? Where is your perception coming from?

And about the SFs having the most social skills....nope...I have to say if one type gets the prize for best social skills it's ENFJ...hands down...behind that would be EXFP I guess. And ISFPs are often some of the most eccentric people you will meet so maybe the other SFs fit in easily but I dunno about ISFPs. Hmmm skill wise I think ENFJ wins and ENFPs are at the same level as ESFPs but when it comes to fitting in NFs prolly do have a harder time fitting in than SFs....but by how much?...not enough to matter at all IMO. Anyone can fit in if they want to....I don't want to though...conforming is a betch.

 

[Haphazard]

The INTJ is the quiet, reserved, practical one, until you finally pry them open and figure out that they're a total wackjob.

 

[Dali]

Anyone can fit in if they want to....I don't want to though...conforming is a betch.

Conforming = Bleurgh!

 

[runvardh]

The INTJ is the quiet, reserved, practical one, until you finally pry them open and figure out that they're a total wackjob.

Yeah, but the wackjob tends to be more fun...

 

[Thursday]

ENTJ: Army walk; barks instead of talking - content abstract
INTJ: Private person up to evil
ENTP: Moves and speaks like Tigger from Winnie the Pooh
INTP: Antisocial intellectual, seemingly stoned

ENFJ: Lovable airy person that is easy to offend
INFJ: Brooding neurotic, even more easy to offend. Caution: Explosive reactivity if mixed with ENTJ
ENFP: Tigger from Winnie the Pooh with proper social skills
INFP: Innocent looking emotional stirrer

whoa
the NF's are up to par, but the xNTJ's are off

 

[Jack Flak]

::: typecast - TRINITY INTERACTIVE, LLC :::

 

[Night]

Here are a few ways that I can recognize different types. This assumes you are seeing the person acting as themselves and not projecting some persona. (warning: these are not sure fire, but they will usually point you in the right direction.)

ENTP - Very quick in their thinking and clever in putting their words together. Often do things differently for no apparant reason. Unconventional.

ENFP/ENFJ - Both are very charismatic and usually have tons of friends. Almost everyone loves these types. ENFJ's tend to be more focused and goal oriented. ENFP's are less focused and a bit more hands off in their approach to things compared to ENFJ. The tell tale sign of either is huge charisma.

ENTJ/ESTJ - They really want to be in charge, especially ENTJ. Both are very goal/achievement oriented. ENTJ's tend to be more open minded about things and aren't bothered by unusual behavior slide as long as the work gets done. ESTJ's are like ENTJ's but tend to want everything done a certain way.

INTP/ISTP - These can be hard to tell apart. Both are very aloof. Both can seem easy going, and yet both can seem overly critical. Both tend to not have much sympathy for overly feeling types. Usually the way I tell them apart as an ENTP is to start talking about hypothetical ideas. INTP's usually like to talk about these things, while ISTP's will not see much use to talking about these things.

INTJ - You have to get them to open up about what their thinking and then you'll get a glimpse into the unusual mind of the INTJ. They tend to make plans or schemes about everything. They also naturally look for the most efficient way to do everything even in cases where it would make no sense to most other types (like in their relationships to other people). They also speak with certainty but are more willing to change their minds than most other J types.

INFP - They often talk about the way things "ought to be". They are reserved, but optimistic. Actually their optimistic view on life can often seem unrealistic and they will often avoid/retreat away from you if you try to confront them on their unrealistic rosy view.

ISFP - They are often quiet and keep to themselves, but they tend to have concrete ways of expressing their creativity/individuality. Tatoos, a motorcycle, hanging their artwork everywhere...something. Be on the look out for outward expressions of who they are.

ISTJ - They seem the most grounded practical type. They can get irritated easily by what I would consider minutia. Very detail oriented people in general.

ISFJ - Like ISTJ but more polite.

ESFJ - Very warm caring individuals. They are traditional, but try to use the traditions to make people feel special, cared about and lifted up.

ESFP - Like to party and socialize. High energy, expressive and creative. Can seem ditzy and impractical too.

ESTP - Very action oriented. Also likes to party and socialize. Really a lot like the ESFP, but more logical.

INFJ - I'm married to an INFJ, but really I think tell tale signs are the hardest to discern with them. They can appear to be a variety of other types until you really get to know them well.

Nice job, man.
Your efforts are worth a resurrection of your analysis.

This is yet another evaluation that forces me to reconsider the accuracy of my apparent type...

 

[Mondo]

ESFP: Flirts with everything in sight

INTJ: Has a soft-spoken tone filled with a distinct arrogance

 

[Jeffster]

ISFPs wriggle their eyebrows a lot when they get animated.

Haha, I just asked my son if I do this, he said they tend to go up and down a lot.

ISFP - They are often quiet and keep to themselves, but they tend to have concrete ways of expressing their creativity/individuality. Tatoos, a motorcycle, hanging their artwork everywhere...something. Be on the look out for outward expressions of who they are.

Heh. I keep reading type descriptions that make me feel lazy. I'm like "Dang, I was supposed to be doing artwork instead of staring at the computer screen." But being a single parent combined with working full time tires me out. I feel like I never have the energy to do all this stuff my type is supposed to be working on!

And my birthday just passed and no one bought me a motorcycle. Frickin bummer, dude.

 

[Dali]

Heh. I keep reading type descriptions that make me feel lazy. I'm like "Dang, I was supposed to be doing artwork instead of staring at the computer screen." But being a single parent combined with working full time tires me out. I feel like I never have the energy to do all this stuff my type is supposed to be working on!

LOL! Me too!

I tried drawing but it turned out to be pretty much the worst thing ever penned on a canvas.

Sports? I throw like a girl.

Anyway, at least I'm musical so I don't feel like I'm totally betraying my type.

 

[The_Liquid_Laser]

Heh. I keep reading type descriptions that make me feel lazy. I'm like "Dang, I was supposed to be doing artwork instead of staring at the computer screen." But being a single parent combined with working full time tires me out. I feel like I never have the energy to do all this stuff my type is supposed to be working on!

And my birthday just passed and no one bought me a motorcycle. Frickin bummer, dude.

Heh, these sorts of things are more obvious with some ISFP's than others. In college I had a roommate who's body was totally covered with tatoos and piercings. He looked like the baddest mofo you'd ever encounter, but his personality was quiet and meek. Anyway he is more of the "obvious" ISFP type.

My brother on the other hand expresses himself mostly by trying to look his best when he dresses. To most people he normally just looks like a well dressed man, so it would be hard to tell his type just from that until you realize the extremes he goes to. His closets are full of clothes and one of his girlfriends often joked how he had more beauty products in the bathroom than she did. Also all of his gifts to other people are clothes, usually an outfit that goes really well together. Appearance and dress is how he expresses his Fi in a concrete way. (And ironically though he doesn't look like a bad mofo, his personality is that way, so ISFP's come in a wide variety of flavors.)

My mother-in-law is even more subtle with her self expression than that. She mostly expresses herself by decorating her house. The decorations don't really look abnormal, but she redecorates some room in her house every few months. Her garage is jam packed full of spare furniture she uses to help her redecorate.

I bet if I saw how you lived I could find something that fits the "concrete self-expression" description, but it might be harder to spot than the stereotypical artist/musician types.

 

[Jeffster]

Well, one of the walls in my office, I have put up things people gave me, like right now there's two birthday cards, there's a cut-out newspaper headline that says "Tech roughs up Aggies", there's a sticky note that a co-worker drew a picture on and the word "Hello!", a purple cat 3-d sticker thing somebody sent me, a note one of the managers gave me that says "Your the best Jeff!" and another one that says "We ya" and one that says "Read a book, Jeff. Read a book...." I didn't make any of that stuff, it was all given to me (well I guess you could say I "made" the newspaper headline, I cut it out) but anyway I suppose that could be considered "concrete self-expression."

 

["?"]

Okay, since I'm still just trying to learn to type people, and finding it quite difficult (especially in older people, as is expected) I found myself wondering... Rather than me trying to familiarize myself with all the types... Is there a shortcut? Or... are there specific tell-tale signs of type?

To put it directly, "NO". Many can't determine their own type, so it's impossible to determine others unless you live with day-in and day-out and know them intimately. I don't know any good practitioners that will tell you your type, because they can only rely on your self-assessment, which usually is subjective especially with extraverted types trying to introspect.

 

[animenagai]

i like a combination of going through the 4 dichotomies and looking at the typical picture of a certain type. i'll give an example.

my friend aaron is a social butterfly. everybody loves aaron, he's funny, smart, creative, works hard but can still be very spirit-of-the-moment. the one thing about aaron that is a bit odd is that he is also a surprisingly private guy. he has lots of friends but he'll pretty much never have a heart to heart talk with anyone.

i wanted to understand him better so i tried to find his type. i was pretty lost when i tried the dichotomies. for one thing, is he an I or an E? he's creative, but he also likes practical things, so is he an N or S? he works hard but also can be very relaxed, so is he a P or J? the one thing i was sure about him was that he's an F, just because he has so many friends and never offends anyone. it really looked like a lost cause.

however, when i read through all the characteristics of each type, it became obvious to me what type he was. ENFJ. ENFJ's out of all the E types may be the ones that NEED people the most. when they are alone, they often have very dark thoughts so the occupy themselves with friends. the FJ combination explained why he could have J characteristics and still be so relaxed and sociable.

on other occasions though, it makes perfect sense to just go through the dichotomies. it's blatantly obvious sometimes if someone's an E or I, so that's easy enough. P or J could be easy enough to understand too, especially if you're working with the guy or at school with him. you just need to see how he approaches his assignments. N or S is not too hard to distinguish if you've talked to them enough times. N types like to use analogies, comparisons and and abstract ways of describing things. S types use concrete things such as color, measurements etc. F or T? if the guy bites his tongue s no one's feelings will be hurt or likes to compliment a lot, he's probably an F. T's say what they think is right, what the truth is. i've categorized many people i think successfully using this method.

sorry for the wall of text, hope it's somewhat useful.

 

[Domino]

ENFJ's out of all the E types may be the ones that NEED people the most. when they are alone, they often have very dark thoughts so the occupy themselves with friends.

Very true. But I'm pushing the dark side/storm shadow pretty hard. I've met less dark ENFJs. Trauma tends to ramp up our amperage.

 

[redacted]

Nice job, man.
Your efforts are worth a resurrection of your analysis.

This is yet another evaluation that forces me to reconsider the accuracy of my apparent type...

unfortunately, he has no way to pinpoint our type

i find that INFJs have the most internally detailed worldviews, as the thinking and intuition both go inward; they also have a hard time putting their views into words, as both T and N have to be translated by extroverted Feeling (and Se, too, to some extent).