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[MBTI General] How similar are INFP's and INTP's?

Into It

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The dominant function is different, Fi vs Ti, but the secondary "extroverted intuition" should lead the thinkers down similar paths or along similar patterns. There is a lot of typology information out there, and some of it is contradictory, but I did read somewhere that INFP's and INTP's are remarkably similar. I think it is in Kiersey's "Please Understand Me." In my personal experience, I have found them to be somewhat similar in that they spend a good deal of time in somewhat detached reverie, and because I am an NF, I do tend to focus a bit more on the emotional states of people than others may.... And I find INTP's to be total softies, though supercilious ones will usually point out your foolishness, which is embarassing and helpful.

They appear so different in some ways, and yet so similar in others...perhaps it's as if they are drawn to the same questions and yet go about the analyses very differently. I guess I just like thinking about this contrast.

What do you think about these two types compared to one another? Who would be better suited to answer this question, an INTP or INFP?
 

Lady_X

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i'm confused about the softness i see in intps because if you listen to them they act like it's not there kinda...what is that?
 

Into It

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It appears that there's another thread just like mine up right now...hmm. Lady X, it is so pleasant to find you here every time I sign back on.
 

Rebe

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They appear so different in some ways, and yet so similar in others...perhaps it's as if they are drawn to the same questions and yet go about the analyses very differently. I guess I just like thinking about this contrast.

What do you think about these two types compared to one another? Who would be better suited to answer this question, an INTP or INFP?

Just as INFJs and INTJs are very similar in some ways and very different in others.
Uh, who is better suited to answer, a batch of INTPs and a batch of INFPs? :D Doubt one single person will be helpful.

I think a big similarity is that we are both Fe-retarded, judge internally and 'perceive' externally from our Ne.
 

Lady_X

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It appears that there's another thread just like mine up right now...hmm. Lady X, it is so pleasant to find you here every time I sign back on.


i like when you sign on :smile:
 

copperfish17

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i'm confused about the softness i see in intps because if you listen to them they act like it's not there kinda...what is that?

Could you be talking about INTP (Ti-dom) detachment?

From one awesome INTP profile:
Now looking specifically at first the Ti, the principle of detachment even encompasses how an INTP views himself. He may analyse his own thought processes as if his mind and body were separate from his conscious self. In wanting to understand his reactions to things, he may treat himself, even his own thoughts, as subjects for experiment. At the extreme end of the scale, where Ti is very dominant, the ultimate goal of understanding the world with total clarity must be achieved through total detachment from everything. Fortunately, Ti never dominates over the other 3 preferences to such an extent that such an unhealthy state is reached.

Admittedly, I do the bolded quite often.
 

INTP

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Imo intp and infp are like different ends to the same pole, the middle part that we share mostly is the Ne and Si and the ends of the pole are Fi and Ti and we like to keep ourself on our end of the pole most the time and rarely visit the opposite end of the pole

i'm confused about the softness i see in intps because if you listen to them they act like it's not there kinda...what is that?

The soft part is somewhere really deep, so it doesent get to the surface easily. Its quite same with infp and Te, you can see that they clearly got some of it since they must have made rational decisions or want rational things to keep the balance a bit, but when you listen to them they act like its not there kinda.. :D
 

BlueGray

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Could you be talking about INTP (Ti-dom) detachment?

From one awesome INTP profile:


Admittedly, I do the bolded quite often.

That description is so amazingly detailed and accurate. I wish I knew where to find similar descriptions for other types.
 

InsatiableCuriosity

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Could you be talking about INTP (Ti-dom) detachment?

From one awesome INTP profile:


Admittedly, I do the bolded quite often.

I too identify with that statement very strongly - I always examine why I feel like I do or if I could have approached something in a different way. It is second nature to analyse cause and effect in my self and others in a very detached way. :)
 

Salomé

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The dominant function is different, Fi vs Ti, but the secondary "extroverted intuition" should lead the thinkers down similar paths or along similar patterns. There is a lot of typology information out there, and some of it is contradictory, but I did read somewhere that INFP's and INTP's are remarkably similar. I think it is in Kiersey's "Please Understand Me." In my personal experience, I have found them to be somewhat similar in that they spend a good deal of time in somewhat detached reverie, and because I am an NF, I do tend to focus a bit more on the emotional states of people than others may.... And I find INTP's to be total softies, though supercilious ones will usually point out your foolishness, which is embarassing and helpful.

They appear so different in some ways, and yet so similar in others...perhaps it's as if they are drawn to the same questions and yet go about the analyses very differently. I guess I just like thinking about this contrast.

What do you think about these two types compared to one another? Who would be better suited to answer this question, an INTP or INFP?

Why would we be drawn to the same questions? Even people of the same type aren't all drawn to the same questions.
You probably think we appear similar because you connect with us via Ne, and you perceive similar energy levels and interaction styles, or intellect perhaps. But this is a superficial assessment.
In some areas (like relationships) INTPs more closely resemble ISTPs than any NF.
Also, I think you guys have a habit of trying to fluff us up a bit. Kinda like putting a fluffy cover on a toilet seat lid (wth do ppl do that?). We're probably harder/colder than you like to imagine.
 

Lady_X

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Why would we be drawn to the same questions? Even people of the same type aren't all drawn to the same questions.
You probably think we appear similar because you connect with us via Ne, and you perceive similar energy levels and interaction styles, or intellect perhaps. But this is a superficial assessment.
In some areas (like relationships) INTPs more closely resemble ISTPs than any NF.
Also, I think you guys have a habit of trying to fluff us up a bit. Kinda like putting a fluffy cover on a toilet seat lid (wth do ppl do that?). We're probably harder/colder than you like to imagine.

you are so funny :)

i don't think you guys are like nfs and i don't mean to sound like i'm fluffing you up...but there's something very genuine and pure feeling there to me that seems specific to your type....and maybe it comes from that detachment... not sure....and don't even really know how to say it.
 

Salomé

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you are so funny :)

i don't think you guys are like nfs and i don't mean to sound like i'm fluffing you up...but there's something very genuine and pure feeling there to me that seems specific to your type....and maybe it comes from that detachment... not sure....and don't even really know how to say it.

You are such an idealist! ;)

I think what you perceive as pure and genuine is perhaps just the absence of agenda. We shouldn't really be admired for the things we don't have. :)
 

Lady_X

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You are such an idealist! ;)

I think what you perceive as pure and genuine is perhaps just the absence of agenda. We shouldn't really be admired for the things we don't have. :)

right...that is such a good way to put it. i like that. :smile:
 

Rebe

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I agree with Lady X. An INTJ told me that he is completely clueless (naive) about human interaction and motivation. I think that's the same way with INTPs. I sense that you guys are, of course, hard-core thinkers but there is also this pure, genuine quality. No complicated emotional bullshit, no messed up hidden agendas, you express what you want, you expect back exactly that. Like ISTPs in relationships, but a tiny bit 'softer' vibe because of the Ne. Also the inferior Fe puts INTPs and ISTPs in danger of over-Fe over things that you can't always figure out logically, such as relationships so in those moments so in those moments, you guys are warm-er.

I confuse male INTPs and male INFPs. Both are socially awkward, sort of abstract and spacey looking, but capable of charm. Both critical and analytical, but about different areas. Also, INFPs can appear just as cold, not all, but some. I like to think I appear cold...sometimes but my best friend thinks I am like a fluffy animal. :doh:
 

Salomé

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I don't think I'm clueless or naive about human motivation or interaction. It's a system, like any other, capable of being studied and figured out with sufficient interest. Our approach is intellectual because we don't seem to have much of a "social instinct" but that doesn't mean we can't understand it. Perhaps we even understand it better than most? Keirsey is INTP, after all. And we can make good psychologists/psychiatrists - with a focus on problem-solving, rather than nurturing. People often ask my opinion about others, because I'm pretty shrewd most of the time.
Just because we break the rules, doesn't mean we don't understand them.
 

sculpting

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I would suggest on the surface they may seem similar at first as both are reserved and quiet.

However the biggest similarity I see has less to do with Ne and more to do with Ti/Fi.

From what I have percieved: Ti/Fi both seem form rules sets grounded in Si. The rule sets are both very complex and detailed and can be somewhat static in nature.

To change the ruleset with new information may be difficult for both. For the INTP, it requires data? For the INFP i think it may be much harder as the FiSi rule was formed based on observations of what is right/wrong/good/bad/painful/pleasurable growing up.

However the Ti or Fi rules seem to function very well in their specific domains.

It is almost like a Ti rule is a precise line and Fi is a 3D cylinder or very think fuzzy branch. Ti rules work very well on precise highly specific problems but not so well on exceptionally fuzzy people problems. Fi rules dont work well on highly precise problems but work very well on complex, confusing people problems.

But just my perceptions, so no offense intended.
 

INTPness

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...there's something very genuine and pure feeling there to me that seems specific to your type....and maybe it comes from that detachment... not sure....and don't even really know how to say it.

I know what you're saying here. Many people have told me this. I think Rebe touches on it pretty well here:

I agree with Lady X. An INTJ told me that he is completely clueless (naive) about human interaction and motivation.

For me personally (can't speak for all INTP's), this is part of it. But, it's much more of this:

I think that's the same way with INTPs. I sense that you guys are, of course, hard-core thinkers but there is also this pure, genuine quality. No complicated emotional bullshit, no messed up hidden agendas, you express what you want, you expect back exactly that.

Lady X mentioned that it might be the "detachment" that gives off the pure, genuine vibe. I think this is true, but indirectly. The best way I can explain it is that I'm so interested in whatever I'm analyzing or learning at a given moment (Ti), that I just don't care about all the hidden agendas, manipulation, emo games, and other side shows. I just don't have an interest in tending to those things. I know they go on, but frankly they disgust me and they're nowhere near as much fun or interesting as learning, researching, reading, analyzing, etc.

As an example, I had an ex who would get off work and want to tell me all of the "bad things" that people said to her all day and how they have bad attitudes, and they do this wrong and that wrong, and blah, blah, blah. I understand the importance of being there for someone you care about, but if I can be honest here, I just wasn't interested. If it's that bad, get a new job so that you (and we) can be happier. Fix the problem and let's move on to happier days. I'm not going to spend my time and my energy on things that are (a) senseless = they bare no fruit, (b) there's a solution to them but you don't want to apply the solution, you'd rather just wallow in your misery and bring me down with you. I don't have time for it. I want to keep life simple, uncomplicated, and pure. That stuff clouds my vision.

An ENFP that I knew also said that I was very genuine and didn't deal with complicated stuff. I think it was the Ti she was seeing. It's been said that Ti has a way of "trimming away all of the fat" of a given situation. We can look at a situation and immediately separate "what really matters" from "what doesn't matter at all". The stuff that doesn't matter at all - we don't want to hear about it or get caught up in it. Waste of time. We want to focus on what matters.

I remember a first date I went on once. We were talking and it was becoming obvious that the girl had been done wrong in the past and was putting up a strong, defensive front (maybe to test me, I'm not sure). At one point, she said something like, "Men are just jerks! They're all just complete jerks!" I just remember saying something like, "If that's the label you're going to place on me, then we might as well end this date right now. There's no point going forward. But, I've heard some really good things about you and I'd like to get to know you more so I can see those things. I have some things that I'm sure you'll enjoy about me too."

It's a way of disarming her (go ahead and put the gun down), hopefully putting her at ease (I'm genuinely interested in knowing you), but also being blunt and saying, "This is a first date. Either cut the crap and let's enjoy each other's company, or let's get the check and I'll drive you home - no hard feelings."
 

Salomé

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To change the ruleset with new information may be difficult for both. For the INTP, it requires data? For the INFP i think it may be much harder as the FiSi rule was formed based on observations of what is right/wrong/good/bad/painful/pleasurable growing up.
You're using tertiary Te to figure out Ti and Fi. That's probably why you are so wrong.
Ti isn't remotely interested in rules. Neither is Fi. Both are concerned with principles. The principles of systems vs personal principles.
Rules change, principles do not.
 

Poki

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You're using tertiary Te to figure out Ti and Fi. That's probably why you are so wrong.
Ti isn't remotely interested in rules. Neither is Fi. Both are concerned with principles. The principles of systems vs personal principles.
Rules change, principles do not.

Rules are a protection/barrier/etc of principles. They just kinda float around each other, but repel the second they touch.
 

sculpting

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You're using tertiary Te to figure out Ti and Fi. That's probably why you are so wrong.
Ti isn't remotely interested in rules. Neither is Fi. Both are concerned with principles. The principles of systems vs personal principles.
Rules change, principles do not.

Thank you for the correction-you are quite right.

Would personal "principles" be considered the same as personal "values"?
 
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