[Jungian Cognitive Functions] INTP or INFP?

[Win-chan]

Hey everyone! So, I'm a 9w1 and am trying to figure out my MBTI type. I have it narrowed down to INP but am trying to decide between Ti and Fi. I'm not a very emotional person and don't really understand or think about my own emotions. I rarely cry, maybe like twice a year or something, and if I'm insulted I usually just drop it because, just let it go. I usually avoid thinking about things that could upset me and don't really allow myself to get upset. If I am upset it's very much internal. I live in my head, but tend to avoid how I feel about things. At the very least I don't articulate these thoughts to myself, even if those emotions are there, so I might not realize it. For this reason, I don't relate to much of the INFP descriptions, which state INFPs know how they feel about everything and understand their emotions perfectly and use this understanding to relate to others.

The thing is though that I can be really sympathetic and warm for people and im a great listener for friends going through a hard time. I almost get a "charge" by talking to people about things like emotions and stuff, but only if it's contained. By that I mean if people talk about how they've been feeling in a group discussion type situation rather than a spur of the moment feels drop. The latter makes me feel quite uncomfortable and I won't know what to do. I also tend to try to put myself in other peoples positions but I don't do it necessarily to empathize emotionally, but rather to understand how their situation relates to myself and then understand how I would most likely react or feel. That way I can logically understand the situation they're going through and sympathize with them. I don't get emotional with other people, though.

On the other hand, I have a hard time relating to much of the INTP descriptions because it tends to focus so heavily on science and such, things I don't have an interest in. I understand you don't have to be that way to be INTP but it makes it difficult for me to relate to the descriptions. If I could get a description specific to something like writing, music, or history I'd be very interested. Anyway, I'm not sure if I'm INTP or INFP and was wondering what your thoughts or suggestions are. I'll be asking around in my search. Thanks so much!

 

[RobinSkye]

I see INTP, then.

I think we will get along! I'm also not big into science. Whereas I do like logic and reason, I don't need for things to be perfectly understandable in that way in order to appreciate it. I have high aesthetic sense too. And music is my baby.

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Win-chan]

Hey, thanks for your thoughts! I'm glad I'm not the only (probably) INTP that's not too into science! I can see that it would be a high correlation but in the instance where it's not it can be a little confusing. I think I tend to use an almost scientific analysis when it comes to writing and music (I'm studying composition at college), and I've always been extremely interesting in music theory. It's like my INTP version of science probably, haha!

 

[RobinSkye]

Hey, thanks for your thoughts! I'm glad I'm not the only (probably) INTP that's not too into science! I can see that it would be a high correlation but in the instance where it's not it can be a little confusing. I think I tend to use an almost scientific analysis when it comes to writing and music (I'm studying composition at college), and I've always been extremely interesting in music theory. It's like my INTP version of science probably, haha!

Oh dude, same. I'm all about the theory. I'm also a composer. But I've gotta have an instrument as well, so vocals are my focus. I tell other forumers that and they mistake it for Se, but that's not got to be the case! Some of the greatest musicians are NTs and NFs, like Geddy Lee and Steven Wilson! I also enjoy writing, but it mostly comes out with other purpose beyond simply writing in mind for me. Such as discussing things like this. Lyrics come less easily to me than any other part of a song, so that may say something. Where are you studying, might I ask? I'm going to be a Junior at Lake Forest College (Illinois) in a couple weeks, myself.

 

[Win-chan]

Hey that's so cool!! I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that people thought Debussy was an INTP but I wouldn't say for certain. I like to put instrument groupings together and am really interested in structures, especially phrasing and doing things abnormally but still having a structure. I also like to store away interesting chords so I can insert them in places where they fit nicely! Yeah, I know about that focus part. My instrument is piano and I have to practice four hours a day and it's SO hard for me. Lyrics are also really hard for me, which is why I usually write instrumental I'm not incredibly poetic. I would be going into my sophomore year at BYU but I'm taking time off to go on a mission in the Dominican Republic!

 

[Gawain]

Very T. Thinkers can have emotional lives just as rich and diverse as us Feelers, sometimes even more so. Think Vulcan. They have some emotions so strong that they are overwhelming to humans, but they keep those emotions in check so they can make objective decisions. The only difference is Feelers make decisions based off their emotions more often than Thinkers, and Thinkers try to make objective decisions more often than Feelers.

For instance, during a spur of the moment feels drop, I too would likely feel uncomfortable. But my empathy might also kick in (uninvited, I might add) and make me aware of how much the other person needs someone to listen and understand. And I would find myself listening and doing what I _felt_ they needed, without ever rationally considering it. That's my default mode. While I can make rational decisions, as an INFP, that just isn't the default setting.

 

[RobinSkye]

Very T. Thinkers can have emotional lives just as rich and diverse as us Feelers, sometimes even more so. Think Vulcan. They have some emotions so strong that they are overwhelming to humans, but they keep those emotions in check so they can make objective decisions. The only difference is Feelers make decisions based off their emotions more often than Thinkers, and Thinkers try to make objective decisions more often than Feelers.

For instance, during a spur of the moment feels drop, I too would likely feel uncomfortable. But my empathy might also kick in (uninvited, I might add) and make me aware of how much the other person needs someone to listen and understand. And I would find myself listening and doing what I _felt_ they needed, without ever rationally considering it. That's my default mode. While I can make rational decisions, as an INFP, that just isn't the default setting.

Thanks, Gawain. This is what I perceive to be the first major difference between INFPs and INTPs. An INFP will sit and listen to the issue and often not say more than a word or two, whereas an INTP will often just get involved if he/she feels they can help the situation by suggesting routes, ideas, etc. An INFP will favor moral support while an INTP will continue to favor logic.

I used to identify as an INFP when I didn't know much about MBTI, but then after learning more about functions and how "F" in your code translates to decision based on feelings, not simply having strong feelings about things, my results quickly changed.

 

[Win-chan]

Very T. Thinkers can have emotional lives just as rich and diverse as us Feelers, sometimes even more so. Think Vulcan. They have some emotions so strong that they are overwhelming to humans, but they keep those emotions in check so they can make objective decisions. The only difference is Feelers make decisions based off their emotions more often than Thinkers, and Thinkers try to make objective decisions more often than Feelers.

For instance, during a spur of the moment feels drop, I too would likely feel uncomfortable. But my empathy might also kick in (uninvited, I might add) and make me aware of how much the other person needs someone to listen and understand. And I would find myself listening and doing what I _felt_ they needed, without ever rationally considering it. That's my default mode. While I can make rational decisions, as an INFP, that just isn't the default setting.

Thanks for your thoughts! So when your empathy kicks in, do you actually feel what they feel, or do you just feel bad? Because I feel bad for people having a hard time because I understand that it's hard, but don't necessarily feel what they feel, and I do whatever I think would help them, whether it's listening or trying to give advice (which I have a hard time doing a lot of the time unless I really know what's going on. I'm usually just like "figure it out yourself. I'll just listen and try to help you feel better.")

 

[sacklome]

You definitely sound like an INTP

 

[Gawain]

When I was a kid, I used to occasionally feel what others would feel. It was very confusing, as I wouldn't always realize I was sympathizing with them and it wasn't really my own emotion. Now, I just feel bad for them. I've gotten good at telling the difference between sympathy and empathy, and turning it on and off. So now, when someone shows up on my radar as a threat or an attention seeker, I can just turn off all empathy and sympathy. I used to feel like I was a constant dumping ground for other people to unload their problems. Now that I learned to turn it off, I can turn away people that I shouldn't waste my time on, so I can be emotionally rested and available for those who truly need me. My roommate (an ISFP) does what you do. They listen to others if they can't do anything else and give advice if they can. But they mostly just seem to feel sorry for whoever it is without getting all the extra baggage I used to deal with. We're both really close between ISFP and INFP, but they had a family that distanced themselves more than mine, so I think that's the source of our difference.

 

[Win-chan]

Hmm, so new development, haha. I was at my friend's house yesterday and her sister was watching Project Runway during dinner and so I was watching it, and I just felt so bad for the people who were getting ripped apart! It was actually making me really uncomfortable. Like, at one point the lady was like "The skirt is just terrible. I hate it." And I was just like "Dude what is your problem??" And I just felt really bad for them. Likewise, whenever I watch those "funny" videos of people getting hurt, like falling off a chair or something, I just hate it. It makes me really uncomfortable. Is that explainable through INTP? I feel like it sounds more INFP. I actually usually get INFP on tests, but I never related to the super emotional aspect of it and related more to the logical, Ti side of INTP. I actually took a test between INTP and INFP and got INTP, but that's because it was questions like, "Is 2+2 4?" And INTP would be like "Yeah" and INFP was like "YOU CAN'T DEFINE A 2 LET IT BE WHAT IT WANTS" Not that extreme but there obvious right answers and wrong answers that were INFP. But idk, this made me wonder. Thoughts?

 

[RobinSkye]

Hmm, so new development, haha. I was at my friend's house yesterday and her sister was watching Project Runway during dinner and so I was watching it, and I just felt so bad for the people who were getting ripped apart! It was actually making me really uncomfortable. Like, at one point the lady was like "The skirt is just terrible. I hate it." And I was just like "Dude what is your problem??" And I just felt really bad for them. Likewise, whenever I watch those "funny" videos of people getting hurt, like falling off a chair or something, I just hate it. It makes me really uncomfortable. Is that explainable through INTP? I feel like it sounds more INFP. I actually usually get INFP on tests, but I never related to the super emotional aspect of it and related more to the logical, Ti side of INTP. I actually took a test between INTP and INFP and got INTP, but that's because it was questions like, "Is 2+2 4?" And INTP would be like "Yeah" and INFP was like "YOU CAN'T DEFINE A 2 LET IT BE WHAT IT WANTS" Not that extreme but there obvious right answers and wrong answers that were INFP. But idk, this made me wonder. Thoughts?

Not enjoying seeing others hurt doesn't make you a feeler...

I've been in situations where huge crowds of people are watching a video in which people are just hurting each other for dumb laughs, and I'm the one sitting there going "this makes no sense and is just sad," while all else laugh their asses off. Supposedly, we as humans will like to see others get hurt or find it comical, if we can see ourselves being in the same situation. It's like "haha, they're dumber than me, even!!" I don't think it's type related.

 

[Elektralite]

You sound more like an INTP to me, for what it's worth.

I am an INFP who sometimes types as INTP, but I know for sure I'm INFP. The way I figured it out was looking at the cognitive functions. I know not everyone likes them, but for me they were very helpful. In particular, looking at how I act "in the grip" was the nail in my INFP coffin. When under stress, I act out with my Te - I am cut off from my own system of values and moral compass, I lash out at people's perceived "incompetence" and I make cold (often nasty) judgements about others that I would never make normally.

For INTPs my understanding is that under stress / in the grip they react with their Fe - uncontrollable emotional outbursts, crying, agitated feelings.

Most of the INTPs I've known have been lovely people. Warm, passionate, even gregarious in small groups; I've found they are often strongly committed to fairness and equality (for different reasons to me, but we usually end up fighting on the same side). I'm an academic in the field of literature and I've known many quirky, unique INTP literature nuts, as well as historians, political scientists and philosophers. One INTP I know is so musically talented that he makes a decent part of his income busking on the streets.

Perhaps part of your confusion is in seeing feelings as irrational? They're not (or at least, I don't believe they are). INFPs usually have a highly consistent internal moral code, against which they measure their experiences. So it is feeling-based, but not arbitrary. We aren't airy-fairy overemotional crying machines. (I mean...most of us aren't!!) We are often very concerned with ethics and can be rigorous philosophers.

TL;DR: being logical doesn't necessarily mean you're T, and having feels doesn't necessarily make you F. Think about how you react under great stress. Hope that helps!

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

Your first post would indicate INTP. My thoughts on the part about you not being too interested in science... it's more about how you use your mind to make sense of the world once it's been filtered through your perceiving function, so that approach might itself seem scientific or based in logical analysis, but can be applied against any of a wide range of interests and fields. Anyway, I think science and mathematics are more in the territory of Te (TJs), and even then there is no rule in stone that TJs must be interested in those fields.

I also like making music. I imagine that any INTP willing to follow through (often easier said than done) can put their cognitive tools to great use in constructing music. The intuition might allow them to see a multitude of sonic possibilities, while the thinking function is the tool to create structure. The tertiary Si comes into play allowing them to imagine what might work based on past musical experience, other compositions, etc.

Hmm, so new development, haha. I was at my friend's house yesterday and her sister was watching Project Runway during dinner and so I was watching it, and I just felt so bad for the people who were getting ripped apart! It was actually making me really uncomfortable. Like, at one point the lady was like "The skirt is just terrible. I hate it." And I was just like "Dude what is your problem??" And I just felt really bad for them. Likewise, whenever I watch those "funny" videos of people getting hurt, like falling off a chair or something, I just hate it. It makes me really uncomfortable. Is that explainable through INTP? I feel like it sounds more INFP. I actually usually get INFP on tests, but I never related to the super emotional aspect of it and related more to the logical, Ti side of INTP. I actually took a test between INTP and INFP and got INTP, but that's because it was questions like, "Is 2+2 4?" And INTP would be like "Yeah" and INFP was like "YOU CAN'T DEFINE A 2 LET IT BE WHAT IT WANTS" Not that extreme but there obvious right answers and wrong answers that were INFP. But idk, this made me wonder. Thoughts?

I don't think this makes you less T than F. Would you still be upset if the Project Runway judges had simply been offering objective, constructive criticisms?

 

[RobinSkye]

Your first post would indicate INTP. My thoughts on the part about you not being too interested in science... it's more about how you use your mind to make sense of the world once it's been filtered through your perceiving function, so that approach might itself seem scientific or based in logical analysis, but can be applied against any of a wide range of interests and fields. Anyway, I think science and mathematics are more in the territory of Te (TJs), and even then there is no rule in stone that TJs must be interested in those fields.

I also like making music. I imagine that any INTP willing to follow through (often easier said than done) can put their cognitive tools to great use in constructing music. The intuition might allow them to see a multitude of sonic possibilities, while the thinking function is the tool to create structure. The tertiary Si comes into play allowing them to imagine what might work based on past musical experience, other compositions, etc.



I don't think this makes you less T than F. Would you still be upset if the Project Runway judges had simply been offering objective, constructive criticisms?

Nice. I agree on the Te & scientific/mathematic fields comment, as well as exactly relate to the music composing process.