Drastic mistyping: what's the greatest "change in type" you've seen?

[wired]

I wonder, has INFP been a transition type to any other members?

 

[Kasper]

Biggest change I've seen is a stressed self claimed INTJ changed after de-stressing to ESFP.

 

[Ginkgo]

I think that there are so many competing theories about typology and so many misconceptions about the practice that makes it difficult for people to discern what type they are. It's not necessarily that people's types are changing, it's that their opinions about their types are changing because they find faulty descriptions on these forums and elsewhere. For instance, an INFP might see a behavior pattern about an INTP, INTJ, or another type, and then jump to the conclusion that he/she must be that type.

 

[William K]

I wonder, has INFP been a transition type to any other members?

It's like the "Misc/Uncategorized" bin

 

[wired]

It's like the "Misc/Uncategorized" bin

Personally I am just relieved I got rid of the emotional mess I couldn't deal with. I wasn't a very successful INFP.

 

[Eric B]

I would say Stevie Wonder. Everyone looks at hm now and insists INFJ, but when he was younger, he really seemed like an ISTP. I mean; would an Ni dominant have a top hit whose refrain is "when you believe in things that you don't understand, then you suffer"?
He always sang about "love", but was not quite as "feely" as later on. He didn't even sing about 'peace" as much! He seemed very concrete and logical.

37 years ago, he was in an accident where a log hit him in the right side of the head. (we almost lost him!) That seems to be when he started to become more "love/peace" focused, and "spiritual". He has mentioned in biographies how that had an impact on him. (naturally).
It is then he tried to settle down more, and produced albums and went on tours less.
In the brief period of his artistic independence before the accident, most of his songs were about his broken and new relationships, political awareness and, also the mind moreso than just general appeals to "love and peace" or "spirituality". A lot of us diehard fans actually liked those earlier messages better. It was more indepth. For instance; it's one thing to just sing about "peace"; and yet another to directly address what's wrong in politics. The latter is what he tended to do more earlier.

However, as far as type, the right brain ISTP's closest left-brain counterpart is INFJ! (TiSeNiFe--> NiFeTiSe). So that change would make sense.

I've asked Lenore Thomson about this, since the neurological angle is her specialty, so I'm waiting to see her take on it.

Otherwise, I don't hold to types really changing. Behaviors can change, though.

 

[wired]

In the brief period of his artistic independence before the accident, most of his songs were about his broken and new relationships, political awareness and, also the mind moreso than just general appeals to "love and peace" or "spirituality". A lot of us diehard fans actually liked those earlier messages better. It was more indepth. For instance; it's one thing to just sing about "peace"; and yet another to directly address what's wrong in politics. The latter is what he tended to do more earlier.

However, as far as type, the right brain ISTP's closest left-brain counterpart is INFJ! (TiSeNiFe--> NiFeTiSe). So that change would make sense.

Otherwise, I don't hold to types really changing. Behaviors can change, though.

Interesting. INFP->ISTJ would make a similar pair. But doesn't the change in thinking also change your type? In order to effectively change your behavior, you have to change your thinking first.

 

[Moonstone3]

I wonder, has INFP been a transition type to any other members?

Yes, when I went through a hermit-like depression, due to a certain stimuli named John-I tested as INFP, for about a year. Now that I feel more confident, less second guessing, and more eager for knowledge, I tested several times in the past 2 months as INTP-although N and S have come up twice as 50%.
I related to the INFP wholly, at that time, and read a lot about them, so I hold them close to my heart.
When this period dissipated, I knew something had changed, so I revisted the testing, and I claim INTP. I have always taken the tests very seriously and thoroughly, so I know it was no misinterpretation. I am the absent-minded professor, through and through.

 

[Eric B]

Interesting. INFP->ISTJ would make a similar pair. But doesn't the change in thinking also change your type? In order to effectively change your behavior, you have to change your thinking first.

Well what I'm suggesting is a special case where the one side of the brain suffers trauma, so then the other side becomes more active, appearing to change the type. I don't really think the type changed; just a shift in the functions, with the J-like Ni and Fe increasing.

This I would say would be the closest sort of thing to a type changing, rather than someone willfully trying to change it by thinking or behaving differently.

 

[KDude]

i think drugs, puberty, and abuse altered my behavior for awhile. spiritual ideas/generally getting my head on straight kind of set back to how i was before that.

 

[wired]

The way I reason this for myself: T/F preference was never clear cut for me, so that wasn't a big change. However, as far as I had developed Fi, there was nowhere to go but to TJ. I have always identified myself as an IN.

Dominant Fi is tied to values/ideals/feelings. It is a judging function. If you find yourself a rational, how can you be an INFP anymore? You can't. It's not just about behavior anymore.

I also have a huge soft spot for INFPs, because I understand.

I should probably go read the Ni/Fi confusion thread now. I used to score Se higher than Si, but I don't know. I wish I could go back to childhood and make some sense of my then self, but I can't. The last time I read Ne/Ni descriptions I identified more with Ni use, although I might be mistaken.

Is there another way to explain all this? Maybe. I'll continue investigating, as far as it interests me.

 

[Arclight]

I wonder, has INFP been a transition type to any other members?

Good question.. and one that might have some merit.
Someone else told me during a very transitional period they scored as an INFP ..

In my case. I went from INTJ to INTP to ISTP to ISFP to INFP.. this was all during an existential crisis.

INFP is what I score now but I am not sure it feels right. and I am pretty sure I am not INFP.

It has been suggested to me.. to consider ENFP, ISFP and INFJ. there are a few people who think INFP is also perfect as well.

I think what happens in my case is simple.. Confidence and emotional health will change the preference of my functions at that time.
Since my confidence and emotional well being fluctuate radically and often, it's very difficult to pin point a type.

 

[LeafAndSky]

I wonder, has INFP been a transition type to any other members?

Yes.

I've tested over . . . decades . . . as:

INTJ (college psychology class)
INFP (when my kids were young)
ENFP (divorcing)
ISFP (post-divorce)
INFJ (a few months back)
ESFP (now)

At least, that's how I remember the results. It's getting hard to keep it straight.

I've come to see humans' ability to describe personality through testing or studies as a pursuit in its infancy.

 

[Charmed Justice]

INTJ to ENTP - better understanding of MBTI
ISFP to INTP - rather young in the first place
ENFJ to INTJ - optimistic person who went through difficult trials

What kind of type changes have you seen? And what do you think the reasons were?

How much is lack of understanding? How much is that one really hasn't faced a real trial in life? How much is it just that MBTI is a pseudo-science and cannot be used with precision?

A combination of all of the above and more, but I'd say it's mostly that many people come here typing themselves according to test they've taken and not as a result of studying the cognitive functions. Furthermore, many people here are depressed, experiencing major life transitions causing them di(stress), and are otherwise beside themselves. Some, moreso than others, see themselves through the eyes of other people and may find it difficult to reconcile conflicting viewpoints. Circumstance is quite influential as well. If one is frequently adapting and accomadating to the needs of others, well, it can be difficult to determine what exactly it is that you prefer, cognitively speaking.

 

[wired]

My Fi is strong, but by using Te I can override Fi when it does no good. It's only because of my circumstances in life and me realizing that dominant Fi was leading me and people around me to unnecessary trouble. I couldn't actually get anything accomplished, because I was preoccupied with thoughts that were leading me nowhere. This is only my personal experience and I do have huge appreciation for the positives of having strong Fi.

Ne is fun, also.

It might be that I have just successfully developed Te...

 

[Glycerine]

I thought I was INTP-INFJ-ENFJ. I'm sure most INTPs would find that laughable. Well, at least I know I'm Fe-Ti focused.

 

[Matthew_Z]

I knew this one guy that went from ISFJ to ISTJ to INTP. He couldn't type something to save his life.

 

[Mondo]

It's possible to make 'drastic' changes as you learn more about yourself.
I believe that at least one of your perceptions about yourself in such a case is or was incorrect.
What I hate is the people who are like I USED TO BE AN I AND NOW I AM AN E LOL!!!
No.. then typology theory is a pile of bullshit. You're one or the other.

 

[Venom]

ive gone from INFP to ENTJ over the course of many changes...but they re still first to last a big diff.

 

[RaptorWizard]

I have gone from INTJ at age 8, to ISTP at age 10, to INTP at age 15, to ISTP at age 18, and now I am age 19 back at INTJ, as it is often where we started that we finish, since our initial instincts seem to me more accurate than the systematic and designing setup of tests, hence it is our early impulses that may shape our very destinies in the directions of our dreams, which of course should be in accordance with our natural type discovered at an analysis of ourselves in young ages before we have been transformed by society into something we are not.

Anyway it is the demands the external world imposes upon us that, like with me, can lead us to question and ultimately change our type, though in reality type is static and unchanging, but we can however develop our other sides in an ever evolving process of self mastery.