1) What is your type? INFP
2) -How does your feeling function help you in social situations?
I don't really think it helps me at all. At most, I empathize pretty easily with people in one-on-one conversations which deal with serious issues. In group settings & lighter conversations, I can actually find it extremely difficult to relate to anyone. I don't gel easily with people. Feedback from others is that I seem aloof & disinterested. Internally, I feel awkward & timid & disconnected.
At best, it helps me understand people more than interact with them.
-Does it make you more focused on other people's feelings?
I am more aware of how I feel emotionally, and I know what I would prefer, IF it's significant enough for me to have an opinion on it.
I do pick up when other people feel uncomfortable, embarrassed, or some other sign of their own internal disharmony. Interpersonal dynamics go over my head a lot though. My actions/attitude is little affected by people around me; I'm not focused on making people feel good or feel any way at all. I have little desire to affect people; it doesn't even occur to me. The exception here is that I sometimes feel drawn against my will to listen to someone who is emotionally distressed, IF they come to me.
-Does it make it easier to tell how someone is feeling?
Yes, in the sense that I have a grasp of nuances of emotions & the way people work. I'm also good at grasping "feeling lines of reasoning". I understand why someone holds a certain opinion without agreeing with it. I think T types have a harder time with this. I can accept that people feel differently & that it doesn't make their reasoning inferior to mine. There's an ability to see the person as a whole, so that the reasoning is not separate from the person & their other attributes. It allows you to be a lot more understanding. You take into account what is unsaid as much as what is said. I don't jump to conclusions about people though; I may suspect they feel a certain way for a certain reason, but I leave the door open for other possibilities until they clarify what it is.
3) Describe how you experience empathy/sympathy. When you see someone sad, how do you respond? What do you want to do for that person?
I intellectually identify how they feel & why that is, even if I've never been there myself. I don't reach out to people though. Sometimes I feel bad about this. Most of the time I have no idea what to do/say. I'm not a nurturing type. I won't hug you, cry with you, tell you "everything will be okay". That is not my brand of comfort. I am also unlikely to be affected emotionally myself unless the situation directly involves me and a feeling I have myself already.
If someone comes to me, then I mostly just listen. I really, truly, listen to people when they talk. I don't think about myself. I don't think about what to say to them. I absorb all they say. Then, once I get a clear picture of their feelings & their situation, I often help them clarify their feelings & the issue. I'm very calm when I empathize with people. I think the fact that I don't "mirror" their emotions calms them down.
I guess I'm an emotional problem solver. I try to piece the puzzle together to make some sense of it, so the person can walk away feeling like they've taken a step closer to solving their problem, mainly by getting
emotional clarity. I don't solve problems for people so much as help them sort out their feelings so they can solve them. I suggest different ways of seeing things, so the person might find an otherwise overlooked possible solution.
Oh, and I easily feel embarrassed for people, even if they are not embarrassed (
especially if they are not...?). This is not in response to social gaffes, but public displays of feelings & emotions which seem very vulnerable or mushy gushy. It's like they are naked & internally I'm saying, "put some clothes on, put some clothes on!!!" and looking away in horror as they expose themselves. But in more private situations or subtle forms, the same vulnerability can be beautiful & courageous even. This is why I compare it to nudity, I guess....
4) How does this video make you feel? You may choose a different video/song if this one doesn't do anything for you.
It didn't do anything for me....I'm not sure what you're looking for here? Are you asking what music & images evoke a reaction from me?
It's hard to explain that in words... Stuff that is sappy or sentimental can actually annoy me though.
5) Take the holiday test. Where do you stand on this?
I'm not a fan of holidays. I do find them commercial, materialistic, and obligatory, but I'm not one to rain on other people's parades either. I don't look down on people who enjoy that stuff as long as they don't push it on me.
I admit I like some of the aesthetics. Xmas lights are nice. I don't see why we need special occasions for this stuff... I have string lights in my apartment year round. I turn them on when I feel like it.
6) How do you feel about social norms and traditions? Should they be respected? Are there times when you think people should ignore them?
I DON'T dislike norms/traditions just because they are norms/traditions, nor do I think they should be respected just because they are norms/traditions. I don't tend to judge things in relation to that criteria.
There are times I think it's fine to ignore them, but I don't go out of my way to be rebellious (in a weird way, doesn't that give such things influence over you?). I'm so oblivious to some stuff that it doesn't even register enough to bother me. I mostly resent these things when I feel they prevent me from meeting a need of mine, keep me from expressing myself authentically, or when they repress other people unfairly. They often blindside me then; the repressiveness of these things dawns on me one day, and I feel this resentment towards something now I grasp it. Before, I was probably going along with my head in the sky, oblivious that my obliviousness was harming me.
I do respect them when I see they serve a useful function, mostly result in good, and mostly protect the needs of other people (including me). I think traditions which are about bonding can be nice, like family traditions of getting together certain times of year. I understand this is why people like holidays (regarding the above), but there's a line most have passed now where many are more repressive & demanding on people than anything.
7) What do you think about this
I enjoyed that the first time I read it. I think there is some truth in it, but it's mostly poetic & not a good way to type yourself or others. I don't think Fe/Fi are always dichotomous either. I think there's a lot of ground they both cover.
8) What is your opinion on the idea that Fe is more shallow than Fi and Fi is more selfish than Fe? Is this a misconception, or do you think there's some truth to it?
I think the wording shows bias; any truth to it is distorted by using language with heavily negative connotations. I wouldn't call Fe shallow, but I'd say it often has breadth where Fi has depth. I wouldn't call Fi selfish, but I'd say it's often more focused on intrapersonal dynamics than interpersonal, but that includes other people's intrapersonal dynamics.
9) What do you like best about your feeling function?
I like that I am reasoning person. I heavily identify with being iNtuitive, but I am still primarily a rational person. I like that I have a high self-awareness, a strong understanding of how people work internally, and clear picture of what is good for me & necessary for happiness. I feel like I know how to make sense of stuff that is inconsistent. I also like that I am a creative person, which I associate with my Fi function. There's a drive to reach those ideals, to express them, to imbue others to strive for their ideal, and it's a motivating factor nothing external could replicate. I like that I have an inner passion, a kind with real principles behind it.
10) Is there anything you envy about the other feeling function?
I envy the social ease of Fe. I envy that it's appreciated more by others. I envy that it's often more pragmatic & therefore productive. I envy that it, uh, is less
vulnerable (I was going to say "deep" too...there's my bias showing
). It seems way easier to express, more easily accepted by others as valid/normal, and generally less complicated. I realize not all Fe types are like this nor do all Fi types lack this, but these are associations I make with people who use Fe.