INFP or ENFP?

[Mondo]

Admit you're an INFP already.

muttermutterselfhatingINFPsmutter

It might be worth considering.. especially if male NF's can seem T-ish..

 

[heart]

ENFP - Extraverted iNtuitive Feeling Perceiving

Male ENFPs

Gender differences can be significant for males because the qualities most associated with ENFPs are more traditionally attributed to females: sociability, desire/need to please, intuition, spontaneity, and concern for other people. As a result, when an ENFP male "plays" into those natural preferences of his personality, he can find himself outside the male "establishment."

Ironically, this may set him up to overcompensate and behave in ways atypical for ENFPs -- to be, for example, competitive or overly argumentative.

Seeking group approval, he may get involved with contact sports or other "tough" activities, though he would really prefer to be elsewhere. ENFP males, somewhat more than other F males, may also fall into the trap of physical seduction as a way of establishing their masculinity. Indeed, both male and female ENFPs can be intellectually and physically seductive.

INFP - Introvert iNtuitive Feeling Perceiving

Male INFPs can be seen by others, particularly macho traditionalists, as too gentle, even wimpy. The INFPs' generally passive, live-and-let-live exterior, however admirable, may lack the take-charge quality often associated with maleness -- until they feel that their value system is threatened, that is.

Then, the easygoing ways (of male and female INFPs alike) can give way to harsh rigidity. For staff, friends, and mates who don't understand this characteristic, the INFP can seem, at best, a source of mixed signals -- pliant one moment, rigid the next -- and, at worst, a deep, complex, even somewhat melancholy person who is hard to understand.

When a male INFP marries an Extravert, society may view his mate as domineering and demanding. In actuality, for the marriage to succeed, the mate must quickly learn the limits of her mandate to take charge.

 

[Biaxident]

INFP - Introvert iNtuitive Feeling Perceiving

Male INFPs can be seen by others, particularly macho traditionalists, as too gentle, even wimpy. The INFPs' generally passive, live-and-let-live exterior, however admirable, may lack the take-charge quality often associated with maleness -- until they feel that their value system is threatened, that is.

Then, the easygoing ways (of male and female INFPs alike) can give way to harsh rigidity. For staff, friends, and mates who don't understand this characteristic, the INFP can seem, at best, a source of mixed signals -- pliant one moment, rigid the next -- and, at worst, a deep, complex, even somewhat melancholy person who is hard to understand.

I forgot about this.

It makes me sound like a spineless lump.

I resent that.

INFP's don't have a monopoly on mixed signals.

 

[demimondaine]

bump?

i guess i'm playing this game now, too. i was convinced i was INFP forever, but after taking another look at the functions i use, i think i put Ne before Fi. or maybe, though i have strong Fi, i don't have a definite set of personal values. i'll find myself reacting against other people's behaviors because they don't "gel" with what i think is right, yet i've been violating a lot of my own values as well (fidelity, recently, for one..)

is this an indication of the rankings of my functions?
is this just YOUTH? haha
still forming my values, maybe?

i've been absent from the boards for a long time so i'm not sure how many of you know me and could lend some input here.. but if you've got something, let it out!

 

[demimondaine]

anyone want to weigh in?

had a thought while writing a paper earlier: in order to write at length or organize my thoughts in a paper, i simply MUST talk about it.. even to myself. i pace, talk (silently or not, depending on who is home) to the mirror, sound off against friends and countrymen, etc. i jot things down and write out of order, anything to get it all OUT first, so i can step back and take a good look afterwards.

anyone relate? is this indicative of type, or just an idiosynchrasy?

 

[Thalassa]

anyone want to weigh in?

had a thought while writing a paper earlier: in order to write at length or organize my thoughts in a paper, i simply MUST talk about it.. even to myself. i pace, talk (silently or not, depending on who is home) to the mirror, sound off against friends and countrymen, etc. i jot things down and write out of order, anything to get it all OUT first, so i can step back and take a good look afterwards.

anyone relate? is this indicative of type, or just an idiosynchrasy?

I do that. What you do when you're writing a paper.

And I am extremely talkative, like was a motor mouth as a kid, got in trouble for talking to my friends in class, still as an adult talk a great deal in my college classes in terms of class discussion. I've been accused of doing the thing where I would talk too much and talk over people, but don't do it as much now.


I don't know. It's also something I've deliberated over. I'm just convinced that overall my behavior isn't very INFP-like, no matter how high my Fi is.

 

[BlackCat]

It's not even worth it to try to convince the INFPs that they are what they are. lol

 

[Venom]

It's not even worth it to try to convince the INFPs that they are what they are. lol

would you guess someone like mondo (this thread), who bounced between INFP, ENFP, INTP and ENTP....was INFP all along?





the following isnt directed at you BC:

I get the sense that there is some sort of "baseline theory bias" on typeC:

If they can't fit an archetype, yet insist they are N, then they are tossed into the INFP pile, and any further attempt to re-examine their type, is seen as a futile attempt to escape the INFP label that no one wants. In other words, everyone has to start at the INFP baseline and fight their way above it...

...just a theory...

...maybe im just paranoid

 

[OrangeAppled]

anyone want to weigh in?

had a thought while writing a paper earlier: in order to write at length or organize my thoughts in a paper, i simply MUST talk about it.. even to myself. i pace, talk (silently or not, depending on who is home) to the mirror, sound off against friends and countrymen, etc. i jot things down and write out of order, anything to get it all OUT first, so i can step back and take a good look afterwards.

anyone relate? is this indicative of type, or just an idiosynchrasy?

I tend to do this, except for the talking to other people. Sometimes I do vent to people if I am frustrated, but I don't tend to look to them for ideas. I always talk to myself (and because other INFPs admit to this, I often pretend to be explaining something to someone else in my head ). I'm a big pacer. I must walk or move to think....not sure why. I also write out of order and will just spit stuff out and then make sense of it later.

bump?

i guess i'm playing this game now, too. i was convinced i was INFP forever, but after taking another look at the functions i use, i think i put Ne before Fi. or maybe, though i have strong Fi, i don't have a definite set of personal values. i'll find myself reacting against other people's behaviors because they don't "gel" with what i think is right, yet i've been violating a lot of my own values as well (fidelity, recently, for one..)

is this an indication of the rankings of my functions?
is this just YOUTH? haha
still forming my values, maybe?

I don't always have words for what I value. Sometimes I realize something is important when I react. Fi can be very abstract. A big source of conflict with an INFP is desire vs. values. Sometimes we choose desire and violate our own values. In my life, that tends to validate my original stance. Usually problems occur and I remember why I had that value.

I'm sure ENFPs have conflict of Fi values and Ne whims at times too though.

When people question I/E, I tend to think they are extroverts. However, that's because I am such an expressed introvert that I could never imagine even considering being extroverted.

would you guess someone like mondo (this thread), who bounced between INFP, ENFP, INTP and ENTP....was INFP all along?

I get the sense that there is some sort of "baseline theory bias" on typeC:

If they can't fit an archetype, yet insist they are N, then they are tossed into the INFP pile, and any further attempt to re-examine their type, is seen as a futile attempt to escape the INFP label that no one wants. In other words, everyone has to start at the INFP baseline and fight their way above it...

...just a theory...

...maybe im just paranoid

No, I agree. The whole "INFPs like to change types and are always questioning their type" is a big fat stereotype. Many people question their type who are not INFP, or realize they are not the type they thought they were as they learn more about MBTI. So there are many reasons a person may question their type; but it seems if a person is deliberating between another type and INFP, the sheer fact that they are considering INFP must make them one, in the eyes of other posters anyway. It's very illogical thinking, IMO.

 

[gromit]

If introvert/extrovert is a spectrum, isn't it hypothetically possible to be equally introverted and extroverted? Is it a spectrum? And similarly, though I'm still trying to grasp dominant and auxiliary functions. But, could someone hypothetically have a tie for first place function?

 

[Elfboy]

ENFP for sure. you seem to be a genuinely warm person who likes people and loves conversation. however, most sensors cannot keep up with your ass because you have crazy amounts of Ne making connections all over the place. hence, you choose your friends wisely because you can communicate to your full potential with only a small number of people (many INTJs would probably fit the bill). your introverted traits include: being emotionally and intellectually deep, needing time alone, a deep connection with a small number of friends, and time to reflect on your values and life decisions. these are all traits shared among all the idealist.
PS: I think Keirsey has a point. at least for NFs, E/I really means quite little. there are a number of introverted characteristics that all NFs share as well as a number of extraverted characteristics that many of them share. being an NF automatically makes you like at least moderately both. most well rounded NFs score low on this dynamic, especially as they get older. I'm ENFP but I always score INFP because the introverted answers on the test where easier to relate to because they were less shallow.