[MBTI General] IFP and INJ children

[tovlo]

I definitely connected more with the IFP portrait because, although there is much overlap between the two descriptions, my achilles heel - extreme sensitivity - was evident very early on. Also, I tended to be flexible and easygoing vs. stubborn as a child.

This is my situation as well.

I also procrastinated and even today would prefer to work, walk, breathe, and live at a much more leisurely pace than I am often required to.

I don't think I really procrastinated as a child. As an adult I think my natural pace is more driven and focused than leisurely.

The INJ child seems much more focused and self-confident than I believe I was. I do not believe I was a focused or driven child at all. I believe I was exceptionally compliant and my internal world was the occupation of my attention in a floaty, unconcerned about my external environment sort of way. I interacted with the external world in a mostly silent yet intensely observant sort of way.

I have very little memory as a child of interaction with other people that was not incidental. Meaning, I didn't seek out connection with other people really I don't think. Not even to ask "why?". I wondered and was curious about many things as a child, but I pondered them internally and have no recollection of seeking information outside of myself other than through the exploration of fictional worlds in books or television/movies.

I was a personally disheveled child and my physical belongings and space were always in a state of chaos, which I was mostly unaware of unless other people drew my attention and sense of shame toward them. I was neither a good nor a bad student and I don't recall being particularly concerned about education at all as a child other than where my observations might have led me to quiet pondering.

In that recollection of how I was as I child, I really don't see myself clearly in any of the childhood descriptions. I am most closely represented by IFP, I think, though I doubt my childhood experience would really resonate with the childhoods of other IxFP's. I don't know though.

 

[tovlo]

May be reckless and irresponsible with money (children with money!?)

You may be suprised. My 5 yr old neice just received $50 for her birthday and when my dad asked her what she was going to spend it on she gave him a sassy look and said, "I'm saving it!", in a manner that indicated she thought the answer was so obvious my dad should have been ashamed to even have asked. Apparently she's quite responsible with money.

 

[tibby]

That was like a specific description of me as a child - the INJ one. I'm just laughing here by myself reading this I mean obviously it's not 100% descriptive - but yep, that was me.

"They like structure and are unsettled by chaos or unplanned events " "They are unsettled by change, and don't usually adapt well to new situations

I needed to know Everything in advance or I'd just freak out.

"Once they have made up their mind about something, they can be very stubborn about it"

I guess it's a bit of a pride thing too, but mainly a "principle". If I had decided something I'd stick to it no matter what and there was nothing anyone else could've said or done to change my mind.

"They have vivid imaginations"

Been hearing this since the 1st grade, and it's true, I've been writing&drawing fiction and fairytales since I was 7.


"After a long day of school, the INJ may head to their room to spend some time alone."

Just a few things I picked up It's funny, cause that's excatly what I used to do when I was little, I used to go to my grandparents house, say hi and go to the toy room and shut the door and come out "recharged" 30 mins later And they thought I was nuts.

"They are rather self-centered, and may be unaware of how their actions or words affect others "

I definately relate to this. I still don't understand how I developed my Feeling function and became an INFJ - I just feel like as a child it's like it was missing completely, or then I just hid it very well. I'm surprised I didn't turn out INTJ, to be honest.

 

[Siúil a Rúin]

I fell in the middle. Overall the INJ was closer except for being certain and "bossy". I didn't impose much on others, but I was also the youngest and just tagged along my older sister. I did always seem older for my age in behavior, not appearance. Quite a bit of the INP applied except I was never messy. Even as a little kid I used to pack the family car for vacations. I could make almost any amount of stuff fit into any sized space. It was like a super power.

 

[violaine]

Even as a little kid I used to pack the family car for vacations. I could make almost any amount of stuff fit into any sized space. It was like a super power.

^That is soo cute.

Strongly INJ for me, though I was extremely sensitive the way an IFP child is described. (Yeah, killer combo, lol).

 

[Kestrel]

I was definitely an INJ child. But I grew up in a turbulent household and was under alot of stress when I was really young. So I think I was actually EXXP until about age 8. After things settled down, I more or less had all the traits listed around age 10 or 11. It was definitely weird being an extrovert at some point in my life...

 

[01011010]

INJ, all the way.

 

[sade]

From those two.. Very high INJ, the profile made me stop and gape at some stuff for awhile. The IFP did hold couple of good points too.
I was a quiet, serious and highly independent child.
And this: "INJs love to come up with ideas, and naturally want to put their ideas into some kind of structure or plan. They want to do this on their own, with little or no direction. They highly prize their ideas and their competence at performing their projects, and are threatened by someone giving them too much direction. This is almost an insult to the INJ, who bases a great deal of their self-esteem on their independence." ..would get me highly, highly upset. Stupid INT dad..

I had a rather rough childhood with personality though, seeing as I had (I'm pretty sure) an INTx father who wanted me to be and think just like him, so my actions were guided by his rules and expectations and my fear of him, rather than my natural tendencies.

I find it really amusing that I always said our problems really began when I turned 13, and according to those profiles that's when I would have picked up the F that conflicted with his T!

This is very much my own experience too. Our problems started around 13, it was like a switch was turned.

 

[cascadeco]

Eh, most of the INJ strengths fit, but many of the weaknesses don´t. Same can be said for INP. Actually same can be said for some of the ISJ traits as well. So is mbti rather like horoscopes where you latch onto things that fit you because they´re rather generic in the first place?

hehe. Anyway, when I went the route of trying to determine my mbti type by looking at how I was as a kid, well...it didn´t get me very far at all.

 

[quietmusician]

They basically took my childhood and pasted it online. It definitely fits me well.

 

[Cimarron]

Hey, thanks for the links, by the way. I've seen that site before, but must have missed that section. Very interesting stuff...

 

[the state i am in]

this is a greatly helpful reading. apart from their actual behavior descriptions, following a sense of the developmental model they put into place and using the cognitive function understandings floating around make a lot of sense to me. i find it very helpful for accurate typing as well. the new project is always the best and most interesting, etc.

it's really valuable to me to get a sense of the shared inj roots. no wonder i hit it off with intjs so well. subspecies and so on.

also it explains middle school, high school, and college. development of new functions tied to life experiences, cultivation of cognitive skills, personality integration and balancing, etc.

 

[Wiley45]

The IFP description is almost exactly what I was like as a child.

 

[whimsical]

yeah I'm a mix of both for sure with maybe a slight lean towards the inj child portrait

 

[PeaceBaby]

(But I did ask "why?" alot as a younger child; for which I unfortunately was punished.)

I would ask "why" questions a lot too - why couldn't I play at someone's house, why do we have to go to bed at 7 - my father would say, "Because I said so, that's why". And that was that. Or else.

Assertiveness became a huge challenge for me. Still can be hard.

IFP is closer, but I always feel annoyed at the emphasis on the supposed IFP lack of logic / objectivity in these descriptions. I may have strong emotions, but I have relied on the use of logic all my life, as a child too. Why does having feelings somehow = a lack of logical capability?

I can read / perceive the stated / implied meanings clearly. I don't think an INFP wrote this description, for sure.

 

[BlackCat]

Yeah the stereotypes of IFPs being bad at using logic in general really REALLY make me angry. It's just stupid in general, why would anyone accuse two personality types at just basically being stupid? Do the EFJs get the same treatment with inferior Ti? I don't see that as much on the web as the IFP inferior Te being bashed.

 

[PeaceBaby]

I agree blackcat, I think it stems from a general fear of emotions, and does our present society really teach people how to channel their emotional energy effectively? Show them how to get in touch with it? Nope.

And re-reading my post above, I am passionately revealing my thoughts on the topic. There seems to be a general derision towards being a sensitive, emotional person in our world.

 

[BlackCat]

My Te isn't bad... really. But it's touchy. This subject is touchy. I've gotten in COUNTLESS arguments with people over inferior Te... I'd say most people are biased due to really bad type profiles saying that we are bad with logical reasoning. Agreed on the fear of emotions thing.

 

[PeaceBaby]

I am touchy on that too ... inferior Te seems like a bigger bash against someone than inferior F. People with Fi / Fe as inferior functions seem to generally shrug emotions off as unimportant; strange because I certainly don't think Te is unimportant. Perhaps as we grow up, our societal / school structure requires the development of critical thinking, and therefore we (IFP's) are forced to gain a certain competency. And we can sense how it is valued, so we assign it a high value too.

But ya, it really fires me up to imply I can't be logical just because I have EMOTIONS too ...

 

[Orangey]

I never appreciated the implication that IFPs were illogical either, but mostly because it doesn't really make sense. I mean, INFPs are in general very smart by the typical standards, and I just don't see how they could accomplish that with a significant logic deficiency.