[MBTI General] Introverted Extrovert? No, you're an Ambivert

[Mal12345]

21 Signs You Might Actually Be An Ambivert

I wonder how many people are really ambiverts, or about 50/50 introvert/extrovert?

If you've had a great deal of difficulty trying to type yourself with a personality system that does not have ambiversion as a possibility, then you're probably reading the reason at this very moment.

You may ask, why make the distinction at all? Isn't an ambivert just someone with a combination of introverted and extroverted traits? The answer is No, not exactly. While it's true that this person has a combination of introverted and extroverted traits, the combination also creates a personality distinct from the true introvert or the true extrovert which I have described in another thread here.

The ENFP type is widely regarded as a so-called introverted extrovert, or extroverted introvert, or whatever you want to call this switch-hitter type if not just plain ambivert:
ENFP Personality (“The Campaigner”)


| 16Personalities
"Luckily, ENFPs know how to relax, and they are perfectly capable of switching from a passionate, driven idealist in the workplace to that imaginative and enthusiastic free spirit on the dance floor, often with a suddenness that can surprise even their closest friends."

This chameleon-like nature also extends to the emotional realm, where the ENFP is capable of trading one emotion for another very quickly.

I'm quickly beginning to learn that introversion and extroversion are just very old-fashioned, inaccurate terms for groups of traits that are better described in other ways. "Ambiversion" likewise doesn't really stand up very well to more than a very general analysis.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

My ex-girlfriend claimed she was an ambivert. I think she was xSTP, but I might be wrong about that.

 

[Mal12345]

My ex-girlfriend claimed she was an ambivert. I think she was xSTP, but I might be wrong about that.

And I know a guy who is tested XSTJ. I brought up the ENFP as a definite example of an ambiverted personality, but anybody with an X in the first position would also be an ambivert.

 

[Mal12345]

Now that you've brought that up, I believe there are two types of ambiverts (and this is a theory I had thought up 20 years ago): Those who flip from one state to another (I to E, and back to I again, etc.), and those with true ambiversion, a combination of traits that maintains a steady state and can truly therefore be called ambiversion.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

Now that you've brought that up, I believe there are two types of ambiverts (and this is a theory I had thought up 20 years ago): Those who flip from one state to another (I to E, and back to I again, etc.), and those with true ambivert, a combination of traits that maintains a steady state and can truly therefore be called ambiversion.

Well, how do you distinguish one from the other? That is, how do you know if someone's the first kind or the second kind.

 

[Mal12345]

Well, how do you distinguish one from the other? That is, how do you know if someone's the first kind or the second kind.

You've got to get to know someone really well in order to view their traits over time and how they change. And also be knowledgeable about which traits to look for.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

You've got to get to know someone really well in order to view their traits over time and how they change. And also be knowledgeable about which traits to look for.

Oh, there was always kind of this distance between me and my ex. I rarely felt that gap close... so I have no idea if that was one or the other. I probably wouldn't be in another relationship like that.

 

[Mal12345]

Let's say, for example, my XSTJ friend who is deeply thoughtful, likes to ponder the nature of humanity and the universal traits shared by all people. He is very studious, very intelligent, and can plow through a lot of books with depth in little time.

And then he will be out with the rodeo doing rodeo things such as roping calves, and being extremely extroverted in my view.

- - - Updated - - -

He has definite Si traits, but then again he has Se traits. That's how I would put it.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

Let's say, for example, my XSTJ friend who is deeply thoughtful, likes to ponder the nature of humanity and the universal traits shared by all people. He is very studious, very intelligent, and can plow through a lot of books with depth in little time.

And then he will be out with the rodeo doing rodeo things such as roping calves, and being extremely extroverted in my view.

You would count roping calves as an extroverted activity? You don't have to be particularly social for that.

 

[Mal12345]

You would count roping calves as an extroverted activity? You don't have to be particularly social for that.

He's extremely social too.

 

[Mal12345]

If you want to define E and I merely in terms of sociability (which it is not just that), then yes this XSTJ is very sociable; on the other hand, he is also capable of blanking out the social realm entirely in order to concentrate on intellectual matters where he doesn't want anybody around to bother him. And he's quite passive-aggressive.

 

[Norrsken]

Chocolate vanilla? No, you're an Oreo cookie.

But seriously, extroversion is merely a spectrum, I think.