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An abstract SJ?

Numbers

New member
Joined
Feb 6, 2008
Messages
104
MBTI Type
INFJ
Ok. For years i've been thinking i'm a N, but i'm starting to reconsider.

Recently i've been reading about how SJ's imagine the worst case scenarios and how it keeps them stuck in a rut. I totally do this. I also don't mind repetition since I can just zone out and go into lala (read:imagination) land. My closest friend thinks I have trouble with change (and he's ESFJ). I'm also very unspontaneous and hate surprises.

I've been flip-flopping between thinking i'm INFP and J for years. Could I really be a ISFJ/ISTJ in denial?

If I am SJ then i'm a very imagnative one seeing as how i'm always lost in my head thinking about abstract subjects and theoretical things. Everyday subjects like bills, money, and who won the big game bore me to tears. I'd much rather talk about existence or the usual cliqued N stuff.

I thought the NF temperament fit me well, but reading through the guardhouse I keep seeing threads about inferior Ne and how it conjures up worst-case-scenarios and it got me wondering...
 

SillySapienne

`~~Philosoflying~~`
Joined
Jan 14, 2008
Messages
9,801
MBTI Type
ENFP
Enneagram
4w5
I know an ISTP who in so many ways is far more abstract than a lot of Ns I know.

So, I do believe that an S, well, especially an SP can be quite abstract.

:)
 

NewEra

New member
Joined
Dec 21, 2008
Messages
3,104
MBTI Type
I
The picturing worst case scenario is not limited to SJs. Take a functions test, post your result.
 

Numbers

New member
Joined
Feb 6, 2008
Messages
104
MBTI Type
INFJ
Ok, I tested as a INFP this time. Honestly though, I've taken these tests so many times I can make them come out as anything I want. I believe the results to be pretty much true for me though.

Code:
Cognitive Process	Level of Development (Preference, Skill and Frequency of Use)
extraverted Sensing (Se) 	*******************  (19.5)
limited use
introverted Sensing (Si) 	******************************  (30.4)
good use
extraverted Intuiting (Ne) 	**************************************  (38.5)
excellent use
introverted Intuiting (Ni) 	********************************  (32.3)
good use
extraverted Thinking (Te) 	*******************************  (31.3)
good use
introverted Thinking (Ti) 	***********************  (23.5)
limited use
extraverted Feeling (Fe) 	***********************  (23.4)
limited use
introverted Feeling (Fi) 	*****************************************  (41.5)
excellent use



Summary Analysis of Profile
By focusing on the strongest configuration of cognitive processes, your pattern of responses most closely matches individuals of this type: INFP

Lead (Dominant) Process
Introverted Feeling (Fi): Staying true to who you really are. Paying close attention to your personal identity, values and beliefs. Checking with your conscience. Choosing behavior congruent with what is important to you.

Support (Auxilliary) Process
Extraverted Intuiting (Ne): Exploring the emerging patterns. Wondering about patterns of interaction across various situations. Checking what hypotheses and meanings fit best. Trusting what emerges as you shift a situation’s dynamics.

If these cognitive processes don't fit well then consider these types: ENFP, or INTJ

I think my Si usage may be higher than other INFP's or something?

Bah, I know i'll just flip-flop again on this later. I may as well just give on ever settling on a type. :( I guess that is typically INFP, but i'm sure i'll doubt my type later again anyway. If i haven't figured it out by now...
 

NewEra

New member
Joined
Dec 21, 2008
Messages
3,104
MBTI Type
I
^Looks like INFP to me. That seems like adequate Si for an INFP too.
 

Caligula

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Joined
Jan 17, 2010
Messages
88
MBTI Type
xxxx
Enneagram
-
I can relate to all what you've said there - and I've usually tested INFP but wonder if I'm an ISTJ/ISFJ in denial as well.

I'm not sure if that's helpful but I think it is possible. :)
 

IZthe411

Carerra Lu
Joined
Jul 19, 2009
Messages
2,585
MBTI Type
INTJ
I'm an SJ, never test as as anything else, and I have a good imagination. I seem to be one of the most creative people on my team at work. As much as I am a doer I do come up with ideas as well.

That doesn't mean I'm an N, but it may mean I have some use of iNtuition. Please stop the madness.
 

ajblaise

Minister of Propagandhi
Joined
Aug 3, 2008
Messages
7,914
MBTI Type
INTP
Introverted sensors can have good abstract skills. Abstract reasoning and thinking is as much an introvert thing as it is an iNtuitive thing. Granted the sensors that tend to be the best at abstract thought tend to be Ps, like the ISTP and ISFP.

I've seen some ESXXs with some good abstract skill though, the sharp quick-thinking kind of ESXX. They can get pretty far out, but then just lose steam and interest.
 

IZthe411

Carerra Lu
Joined
Jul 19, 2009
Messages
2,585
MBTI Type
INTJ
Introverted sensors can have good abstract skills. Abstract reasoning and thinking is as much an introvert thing as it is an iNtuitive thing. Granted the sensors that tend to be the best at abstract thought tend to be Ps, like the ISTP and ISFP.

I've seen some ESXXs with some good abstract skill though, the sharp quick-thinking kind of ESXX. They can get pretty far out, but then just lose steam and interest.

I will admit to that, I can only take so much of the abstract, before I need to get back to reality.
 

Numbers

New member
Joined
Feb 6, 2008
Messages
104
MBTI Type
INFJ
I'm an SJ, never test as as anything else, and I have a good imagination. I seem to be one of the most creative people on my team at work. As much as I am a doer I do come up with ideas as well.

That doesn't mean I'm an N, but it may mean I have some use of iNtuition. Please stop the madness.

Yeah, I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that the majority of my thoughts are about abstract subjects (I live in my imagination), not that SJ don't think about abstract things sometimes.

I too hate the N elitism that you see so much of on many personality forums. Sorry if I offended anyone. Like I said, my best friend is an SJ and a lot of the people i'm closest too are as well.

After browsing though the INFPorINFJ site again and reading the part about INFP's and Si I'm convinced i'm just a INFP with a good usage of Si. I'm also at the age where people supposedly develop their third functions.

Here's a good quote about this from the site.

INFPs are often well rooted in the past, with a good memory of things that have happened historically, and are attracted to "collecting" facts. They sometimes have a strong grasp of family and tradition and may have a great deal of familiarity with their family tree or display an interest in genealogy. They may act as the "family historian" at times, knowing who begat whom and how a particular branch is related. They have long memories. I know one INFP who could recite from memory what year of childhood he first spoke or began walking, including details about what hairstyles he wore at different stages of life! Others like to visit the same places frequently, and let their minds drift back in time to recall previous visits. Nostalgia is often engaged, and they enjoy telling stories from their past. (Introverted Sensing is a cultural norm in the U.S., so it seems fairly "typical" to look to the past this way.) One INFP tells how he enjoys his routines, his habits, doing things by rote. He does the everyday chores of maintaining his home, and these keep him in his comfort zone. Similarly, sometimes INFPs will stay at the same job for years because they're used to it -- even when the job stinks. (A friend of mine stayed at a dreadful job for 9 years!) INFPs sometimes display "body wisdom," and their bodies can be barometers for how they are feeling, whether through illness, food allergies, or headaches. They are often given to taking medications to control their physical being in some fashion. (On a Yahoo Group one time when there was a discussion of medications, it was a veritable drugstore! It seemed every one of them was popping pills to control something.) These are all common ways that Si will manifest in the INFP type code.

I suspect that many INFPs believe they are "J's" because they enjoy the predictability of a routine, and imagine that is "J."

(If you're an INFP reading this, perhaps you can share with me some ways in which you manifest your introverted Sensing...)

It was just the worst-case-scenario thing that had me what if'ing.
 

Space_Oddity

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Joined
Oct 12, 2009
Messages
359
MBTI Type
CAT
Instinctual Variant
so
You sound like an INFP to me. I reckon that a lot, if not most, INFPs have a good usage of Si. Actually, yours sounds like quite a normal usage of Si to me.
 

Two Point Two

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Joined
Dec 10, 2008
Messages
200
MBTI Type
INTJ
I don't know. I know that worst-case-scenario-imagining has been attributed to inferior Ne, but what about shadow Ne? What about unhealthy (whatever that means) use of dominant or auxiliary Ni or Ne?

I know I do it, though I don't know where it comes from functionally speaking.
 

Numbers

New member
Joined
Feb 6, 2008
Messages
104
MBTI Type
INFJ
Type analysis: autism spectrum

You're the one with the anime avatar there spergy.



The funny thing about INFP is that everyone I've discussed this with in person thinks I'm a J. Is that common with you other INFP's?

I've been described as controlled, structured, anal, a planner, stubborn, etc. I'm usually not very wish-washy about my thoughts either except for my personality type.

I do, however, have poor follow-though and I procrastinate a lot (as in - almost never finish anything I start and have trouble sticking with anything).

Maybe I should just accept that I'm one of the few who doesn't really fit into the theory well and be done with it.

INFx is about as close to an definite answer as I'm going to get. Really though, does it matter? The two types can be incredibly similar (outwardly) so unless I need to know exactly how my mind works, who cares?

Thanks for all the help.
 

wolfy

awsm
Joined
Jun 30, 2008
Messages
12,251
Isn't SJ itself an abstraction? Wouldn't that make SJ abstract by definition?
 

Illict91

New member
Joined
Sep 19, 2008
Messages
30
MBTI Type
ENTJ
Enneagram
8w7
It works both ways

It isn't just Sensors (S) who are prone to mistake themselves as Intuitive (N) due to certain tendencies e.g. liking to juggle many idea's and concepts, bored with mundane reality.

Many Intuitive (N) types have a well-developed Sensing function, that can deceive them into assuming they are a Sensor (S). I myself have been involved with such a scenario upon being introduced to an MBTI personality test in mid-2007, classified as an ESTJ originally.

The most effective way to understand the S-N dichotomy in terms of personal usage and self-classification, is to admit to the ease and importance placed upon Si, Se, Ni and Ne in both everyday life and major events .
In theory, those with a Sensing/Intuition function in the Auxiliary role should be followed closely by the opposite Sensing/Intuition function in the Tertiary position.
Thereby allowing an individual to have a better grasp on both S-N functions in the long-term during the process of maturity (which could explain some people's situation) as opposed to the Dominant-Inferior conflict apparent in every life situation.

No amount of speculation including my own, will explain borderline S-N attitudes. They should certainly be embraced by anyone to create a balanced and coherent view on the world that is neither superficial or scattered.
 
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