INFP or INTP - keep getting different results on this

[Grantus]

Hi all, It seems I cannot determine if I am INFP or INTP even after taking several tests.

I generaly tend to be more rational, which leads me to INTP and "thinking over feeling" and I use reason to solve almost all everyday troubles and problems and I feel very comfortable doing this. But once I get to something really big, like relationship decisions or similar things, I let my feelings take over.

I also cannot really identify with the "cold-rational" side of INTP - while I like doing things for a reason and have carefully weighted all pros and cons, I am a big dreamer, with at least a part of my mind almost constantly lost in my other worlds - and I write fantasy and sci-fi stories set in those worlds.

One of my theories (but I am no expert, so it can very probably be completely wrong) is that I am INFP who learned to manage his everyday life with reason, because everything is, admit it, a bit easier if you do so For a complete info, I would also like that I am, honestly, a really highly intelligent person which could also add to the "camouflage of reason" theory.

Anyone could help with some insight into this?

Thanks!

 

[Luke O]

Hi all, It seems I cannot determine if I am INFP or INTP even after taking several tests.

I generaly tend to be more rational, which leads me to INTP and "thinking over feeling" and I use reason to solve almost all everyday troubles and problems and I feel very comfortable doing this. But once I get to something really big, like relationship decisions or similar things, I let my feelings take over.

I'll answer this from the POV of an INTP (as if I could really do anything else...)

Relationships can be difficult for me sometimes, especially if I feel I'm pushed into a corner. I wonder if it's more of an introversion issue, dealing with interpersonal stuff when I really don't want to.

Question - how do you argue with other people?

I also cannot really identify with the "cold-rational" side of INTP - while I like doing things for a reason and have carefully weighted all pros and cons, I am a big dreamer, with at least a part of my mind almost constantly lost in my other worlds - and I write fantasy and sci-fi stories set in those worlds.

Me too. If the real world can't hold my attention, I'll tend to drift off into my own mind. I've made up many different fantasy/sci-fi environments too. And wrote some of those down (they suck). Have you ever had feedback about your stories?

One of my theories (but I am no expert, so it can very probably be completely wrong) is that I am INFP who learned to manage his everyday life with reason, because everything is, admit it, a bit easier if you do so For a complete info, I would also like that I am, honestly, a really highly intelligent person which could also add to the "camouflage of reason" theory.

Anyone could help with some insight into this?

Thanks!

I hope I haven't made things worse... Would be interesting to see what any of our resident INFPs think too.

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Grantus]

Thanks for the first reply!

As far as relationships go, I feel pretty fine, both in intimate and professional ones. If I argue, I try to "beat them down" with mix of logical arguments and slight emotional manipulation and I really enjoy debating and arguing as long as it stays constructive. I literally break down when facing demagogy, blind ideology, fanaticism etc.

As for my stories - I have received feedback several times and it was quite positive, with a mention that I care too much for details and sometimes get lost in descriptions and little storylines for longer-than-adequate time

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

do you identify with any of the experiences or insights shared by the author of this site?

 

[Grantus]

do you identify with any of the experiences or insights shared by the author of this site?

Actually with a lot of them. I feel very connected to my closest ones - my spouse, my parents and 2-3 closest friends. But I feel isolated from the rest of the world, that is true. On the other side, when I have to communicate, when I have to stand in front of people, I have no problem with that. And looking at various definitions of INTP, I still see the archetype of "I am a robot which has a brilliant brain but can't understand human feelings" a lot, which I definitely cannot identify with. I am empathic, I understand human emotions well and my relationship with my soon-to-be-wife is a really deep emotional connection.

But there is chapter 5 on the site you have posted, which explains this pretty well so, maybe, I start to lean closer to INTP. And it is true that I can be really emotional only among my closest, those whom I trust completely...

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

Actually with a lot of them. I feel very connected to my closest ones - my spouse, my parents and 2-3 closest friends. But I feel isolated from the rest of the world, that is true. On the other side, when I have to communicate, when I have to stand in front of people, I have no problem with that. And looking at various definitions of INTP, I still see the archetype of "I am a robot which has a brilliant brain but can't understand human feelings" a lot, which I definitely cannot identify with. I am empathic, I understand human emotions well and my relationship with my soon-to-be-wife is a really deep emotional connection.

But there is chapter 5 on the site you have posted, which explains this pretty well so, maybe, I start to lean closer to INTP. And it is true that I can be really emotional only among my closest, those whom I trust completely...

No one said INTPs can't be empathic or empathetic. I would focus not on whether or not you experience empathy but rather how your empathy is experienced and expressed.

Congratulations on your engagement, btw.

 

[Grantus]

Thanks for your insight - it is true that my empathy is more of "I analyse other peoples feelings, behavior etc. and from this I put together the picture of the other person's current emotions. Which sounds a lot INTPish...

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

"I analyse other peoples feelings, behavior etc. and from this I put together the picture of the other person's current emotions.

Yep, sounds like possible Ti backed with Ne

I'm probably wrong though.

 

[Rampant]

Rather than strengths, what would you consider a cognitive/typological weakness?

 

[Siúil a Rúin]

How much emotional content can you process? How big is your 'emotional bandwidth'? Can you process significant amounts of pain in yourself and others? Can you spend time thinking about emotionally uncomfortable topics, feel along with it while thinking, process it, solve problems, share experiences?

I've lived most of my life with Fi and Ti doms and this is the biggest telling difference. I have yet to meet an INTP who can process much emotions. They tend to shut down, deflect, go directly to the rational world. They do not walk through the pain, but divert around it. A striking example is a relationship talk with my ex who started analyzing the differences in our conceptual semantic spaces. Fi-doms like my mother and sister can chat on the phone about the horrors in the world, actually feel the pain of those they care about while talking analytically about it, then hang up the phone and face the next thing in life. If you take a Fi-dom who is intelligent and has lived a difficult life, then you will encounter an emotional bandwidth of almost super-human levels.

 

[Rampant]

How much emotional content can you process? How big is your 'emotional bandwidth'? Can you process significant amounts of pain in yourself and others? Can you spend time thinking about emotionally uncomfortable topics, feel along with it while thinking, process it, solve problems, share experiences?

I've lived most of my life with Fi and Ti doms and this is the biggest telling difference. I have yet to meet an INTP who can process much emotions. They tend to shut down, deflect, go directly to the rational world. They do not walk through the pain, but divert around it. A striking example is a relationship talk with my ex who started analyzing the differences in our conceptual semantic spaces. Fi-doms like my mother and sister can chat on the phone about the horrors in the world, actually feel the pain of those they care about while talking analytically about it, then hang up the phone and face the next thing in life. If you take a Fi-dom who is intelligent and has lived a difficult life, then you will encounter an emotional bandwidth of almost super-human levels.

Same, I find they (and I) get tired very quickly, but they're more apt to see emotion as noise. Or at best, an input to alert them something is wrong and then from there, the procedure is largely rational.