INFP or ISFP? Creating a thread at last...

[Flush]

I've been thinking about this constantly for the last couple of weeks, so I decided to finally create a thread.
(I'm a 17-year old guy from Sweden, my english isn't great)

I'm not sure where this "what if I'm ISFP?"-thing came from, but it's really been bothering me. I think it has to do with the fact that I took a personality test for about 5 months ago (when I was new to the MBTI) and came out ISFP, with 1% on the S. Since then, I've tested INFP, and the INFP profile fits me incredibly well. What's the doubt about then? Well, I suspect that I've been biased towards N the last times I've taken the test, and that I was only completely unbiased in the beginning.

Every description of the intuiting preference fits, and the S doesn't, but I still can't stop thinking about this, so I'll just explain how I look at things.

What's on my mind?
I'm constantly in my head, thinking. Mostly, I'm thinking about myself and ways to improve, how others see me, how I should change in order to make relationships work better. I also think very much about other people and try to figure them out, to avoid getting mad at them when it's only a matter of a misunderstanding.
I've spent a lot of time thinking about the universe as well, the mind-boggling size of it all and the absurdness of our tinyness in relation to all that. I've thought a lot about moral as well, and that sort of thing.

Artistic?
I've never been good at depicting reality, since I can't remember what things look like. I like to express myself in other ways though, mostly by writing. If I'd paint, I'd just create a mixture of colors in order to evoke a certain feeling. I enjoy music very much, because it helps me zone out. I played the clarinet for eight years, but found it boring and quit. Regret it now, though.

Sports?
I've always been good at running, jumping and climbing, and I enjoy it a lot. However, I dislike team sports, since it involves so many people and because you're not able to do things at your own pace. If you're climbing, you decide when and how to do it, which I like.
I hate competing.

Fact vs. Theory
When I was a kid (about 5-13) i was incredibly interested in records of any sort. I knew the highest mountains, the longest rivers, the tallest buildings and so on. I was also interested in geography and knew everything about earthquakes, volcanoes, clouds etc.
However, that's not as appealing to me now as it was then. Nowadays (as my presence at the forum indicates), I'm more into psychology of different kinds (personality disorders, MBTI, dream interpretation etc.), and have a tendency to dig deep into every subject I find to be of any interest. My mother explained this tendency to me a while ago, and I hadn't thought about it before, but then discovered that it's true.
I've read about 10 books about NLP, a couple about cold reading, a couple about dream interpretation, 10 about MBTI and type theory etc. in a couple of months. I'm not trying to measure anything by listing the books I've read, but I think it shows my interest in these kinds of things, and that I not intend to learn about each subject in only a brief manner.

For a while I thought that I was NT, due to my thirst for knowledge, but I came to the conclusion that it probably has to do more with the NF's aspiration (according to Keirsey) to be a sage.

Clean/Messy? (if that has anything to do with it...)
I like to keep things in order, and not having stuff lying around. Everything is in alphabetical order and has it's place. When it comes to wiping the dust off things etc., I couldn't care less.

Random info
I'm extremely impractical and don't like to do things with my hands. My favorite subjects in school are maths, physics and psychology. I tend to be completely unaware of my surroundings. I HATE telephone interruptions when working with something, and tend to be "in the subject" long after the interruption took place.

I feel like this post is saying "please confirm that I'm INFP", but yeah... I'd like you to just tell me what you think, and if there's something in my writing style that resembles a specific type in some way (my limited english might make it skewed, though...), point it out.

Ask questions if you like.

EDIT: I'd like to add that the article by Linda Berens about the artisan temperament often mistaken for intuiting was what really got me thinking.

 

[SolitaryPenguin]

I tend to be completely unaware of my surroundings.

That's the one bit that stood out most for me.

I was on the fence about the N/S split for a while too, but the more I realized just how in the moment I was constantly living, the more I realized that I am an evil Sensor. In relation to the quote, I am constantly aware of everything that is around me. The people in my office think I am a freak because I hear/see everything that goes on in very astute detail, and can usually remember it and recount it months or years after it happened.

Also, the doing stuff with your hands thing is huge with me. I love to get into things and make them work with my hands, it's very tactile and satisfying.

Other than that stuff, I got nothin. You sound N-ish to me.

 

[Domino]

For the record, your English is very good.

Also, Penguin is an evil Senser. I have my pitchfork at the ready.

 

[Jeffster]

For the record, your English is very good.

Also, Penguin is an evil Senser. I have my pitchfork at the ready.

We'll take your pitchfork before you even know we're there because you're too busy dreaming about what you're gonna do with it.

 

[booyalab]

I've been thinking about this constantly for the last couple of weeks

INFP

 

[Jeffster]

INFP

But, yeah, most of what you posted there seems to come off INFP. We can sometimes be easily confused with each other, especially if you're a real hardcore "F" like I am. For most of my growing up, the "Fi" was the only thing that ever surfaced, I was so introverted that no one but those extremely close to me would have ever been able to see the "Se" that was lurking beneath. When my mom originally read "Please Understand Me", she thought I was INFP. And I can understand why, because even with my own mother, I buried the sensing function, and I wrote poetry and seemed to live in my mind a lot the time. It was only as I matured and stopped being so damn afraid and reserved all the time, that you could start to see more of me and figure out I was S and not N. I suck at explaining this, so I'll just quit now. Plus I'm hungry.

 

[SolitaryPenguin]

I pretty much lived in my head growing up because I felt like I had to. I never really wanted to be there on purpose. I wanted to be doing "stuff".

Once the independence of adulthood kicked in, and I stopped giving a crap about what the rest of the world thought of me, the real me came out.

 

[runvardh]

But, yeah, most of what you posted there seems to come off INFP. We can sometimes be easily confused with each other, especially if you're a real hardcore "F" like I am. For most of my growing up, the "Fi" was the only thing that ever surfaced, I was so introverted that no one but those extremely close to me would have ever been able to see the "Se" that was lurking beneath. When my mom originally read "Please Understand Me", she thought I was INFP. And I can understand why, because even with my own mother, I buried the sensing function, and I wrote poetry and seemed to live in my mind a lot the time. It was only as I matured and stopped being so damn afraid and reserved all the time, that you could start to see more of me and figure out I was S and not N. I suck at explaining this, so I'll just quit now. Plus I'm hungry.

You did a good job to me.

 

[Flush]

That's the one bit that stood out most for me.

I was on the fence about the N/S split for a while too, but the more I realized just how in the moment I was constantly living, the more I realized that I am an evil Sensor. In relation to the quote, I am constantly aware of everything that is around me. The people in my office think I am a freak because I hear/see everything that goes on in very astute detail, and can usually remember it and recount it months or years after it happened.

Well, I'm aware of what's being said around me. I like to listen to people in order to create an "overview" of them in my head. Because of that, I can easily quote things that were said a long time ago. I see myself as I quiet observer of the social activity going on around me, but completely oblivious to the actual surroundings (not people).

I feel like I haven't written anything that would indicate me being an ISFP. Yet, that's what I've been "worrying" about for so long. I think that Vicky Jo describes this pretty well on her website (INFJ or INFP.com):

"If there are inconsistencies, they will want them reconciled. They will consult other websites, other books, even their friends. They will integrate these many outputs. (Something like "My friend said I'm a J" will carry as much weight as anything I write here, regardless of their lack of experience.)"

So I settle for INFP. In fact, I've tested as INFJ two times more than ISFP. But that's another story

 

[Jeffster]

I pretty much lived in my head growing up because I felt like I had to. I never really wanted to be there on purpose. I wanted to be doing "stuff".

Once the independence of adulthood kicked in, and I stopped giving a crap about what the rest of the world thought of me, the real me came out.

Yes. EXACTLY. I think a lot of the problems I had growing up were caused by my feeling so cooped up within my own internal feelings, and fear of letting anyone get to know me or of following all those crazy impulses I was feeling so strongly.

You did a good job to me.

Thanks. Sometimes when I'm typing here I definitely feel like there's someone looking over my shoulder saying "that's stupid...you're just coming off stupid right now..."



Here's another good test:

Are you interested in reading a forum topic called "What are the different effects of reversed process pairs?"

A) Why yes, that sounds fascinating. I would like to read this and then perhaps journal my thoughts on it.

B) Not unless the "pairs" we're talking about are in the boob area.

Answer key:

A) INFP
B) ISFP

Glad I could help.

 

[Flush]

Here's another good test:

Are you interested in reading a forum topic called "What are the different effects of reversed process pairs?"

A) Why yes, that sounds fascinating. I would like to read this and then perhaps journal my thoughts on it.

B) Not unless the "pairs" we're talking about are in the boob area.

Answer key:

A) INFP
B) ISFP

Glad I could help.

Hmm... According to this test, I'm INFP.

By the way Jeffster, I was wondering (just of plain curiosity), how important is personal growth to you on a 1-10 scale?

 

[Jeffster]

Hmm... According to this test, I'm INFP.

See, you could've saved yourself some time if you'd come to me first. More people should realize that.

By the way Jeffster, I was wondering (just of plain curiosity), how important is personal growth to you on a 1-10 scale?

What do you mean by personal growth?

 

[heart]

My guess for you Flush is INFP and ennegram 5w4.

 

[entropie]

I havent read any post here, so I apology, if I say anything that has been said before.

Just wanted to say that you have to see the one special function namely N or S in combination with the other three. If you read some personality descriptions about infp and isfp, you will figure out that these are two completly different characters.

Guess these descriptions would be the best way to start with ones search

 

[Flush]

What do you mean by personal growth?

Well, growing as a person. I just thought it would be interesting to compare since it's so important to me. I constantly try to think of ways to "improve" and be a better person, to mature.

I havent read any post here, so I apology, if I say anything that has been said before.

Just wanted to say that you have to see the one special function namely N or S in combination with the other three. If you read some personality descriptions about infp and isfp, you will figure out that these are two completly different characters.

Guess these descriptions would be the best way to start with ones search

Here's the silly thing. I'm absolutely aware of that and I've been spending great amounts of time reading about the functions and how they interact with each other. I've read several descriptions of each of them in order to be able to spot them IRL and to make sure that I actually am INFP, as I've tested so many times.
BUT this whole N/S thing was just a stupid feeling that came out of nowhere, and since then I've been reading every ISFP and Se description with a huge confirmation bias. I had nothing concrete (by that I mean something obvious in my personality) that I could link to Se, just this feeling. And to get rid of it I thought I'd post here to here it from you.

 

[Jeffster]

Well, growing as a person. I just thought it would be interesting to compare since it's so important to me. I constantly try to think of ways to "improve" and be a better person, to mature.

Hmmmm..I dunno how to put that on a scale, exactly. Seems kinda abstract. But really, I DO think that's important to do, but I definitely don't do it constantly like you say you do. I think more often I think of what better actions I could take when a certain similar situation comes up again. Now, a great deal of the time, I end up not doing the better action and ending up in the same place as before but I do try to think of things like that. I think I have matured in many ways, especially being a father. I take that responsibility seriously, so I do evaluate myself as a father, probably close to every day. Hopefully that answered your question.

 

[Chuckie P]

snip...

You sir, are definately an INFP.

Always thinking, always looking deeper. Those two things are the prime hallmarks of the traditional (if there can be such a thing) INFP. I know it, because I'm constantly within my own head, always thinking, always connecting more dots to more dots.

 

[Dali]

INFP.

 

[milti girl]

Your post was like me reading about me
INFP

Edit: Are you a worrier? I'm beginning to worry about my type now.