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Any other “tame” ENTPs?

3K views 25 replies 12 participants last post by  Enistery 
#1 ·
It sometimes seems like a lot of stereotypes about ENTPs are about how they can be maybe cynical and sarcastic and edgy or whatever. But, I cannot relate to many stereotypes I see at all. However, I am very much an ENTP. I base every single one of my actions of of my personal logic Ti framework. I never act on emotion. Yet, very often I could easily be mistaken as an ENFP by others. Because, outwardly, I may seem to be an ENFP. I’m super positive, optimistic, joyful, and agreeable. (Although I have always loved friendly debates and been attracted to sites like debate.org)

About the debating though, I am extremely non-confrontational and agreeable so I have been avoiding ever debating more controversial subjects these past few years.

Anyways, sometimes I feel like a wolf in sheep’s clothing because on the inside I really am a cold, hard, logic driven person. But, I make the logical choice to be more like an ENFP because it’s a more joyful life hahaha.


Can any of you relate or am I the only “tame” ENTP?
 
#3 ·
ENTPs tend to be socially ambiverted, but generally have little or no fear of conflict or confrontation.

If you're using Ti as a dominant function then you're probably not an ENTP, you're probably an INTP/ISTP.



Ne is the dominant function of ENTPs and ENFPs.

That's a thoughtful perspective. And you provided a fantastic resource! Really, thanks for sharing that. I loved reading it.
Anyway, I do indeed use a lot of Ti... however... my use of Ne far overshadows Ti. Like by a lot. Let me explain.
  • "tend to have difficulty describing their thought process in words (because it is more experiential than strictly analytical, with ideas always being a work in progress)"
This was stated as one of the downsides Ti dominants face. But, the thing is... I use Ti. I don't live and breathe Ti. So, I can explain my thought process. Because I consciously use Ti. I'm not unconsciously driven by it. But, on the other hand, I live, breathe, love, and die for Ne. Ne is my brain. It would be absurd for me to every think I'm not and Ne dominant in every single way. I experience Ne so intensely that I could never escape it even if I wanted to. But I can turn Ti off. Because it's just like a tool I use. I can set it down.

On another note, I'd be a super bizarre INTP because I am by no means introverted. I mean, I'm not necessarily social but I require a massive amount of external stimulation. For example, during the quarantine I had to stay alone in the house a few days at one point... and every drop of energy and life fled my body after a day. I couldn't even get out of bed I was so drained from being alone. So... that would be quite a strange quality for an INTP to have.

Also, about my non-confrontational quality... I don't fear confrontation. I actually do enjoy it. But I like being liked by the people I like even more. (But my nemesis in high school... I enjoyed confrontation with him)

And I would explain my lack of stereotypical ENTP cynicism and edginess (assuming this is even true?) as the result of my super usual upbringing and major influence from all the ENFPs in my life. I mean, I know I could have it in me if I wanted too hahahah but I don't want to

Final note: I am extremely ENTP. Just a non-stereotypical one. I think of myself as more similar to ENTPs from history like Leonardo DaVinci for example
 
#5 ·
Based on visual typology there are actually a lot 'hippy like' agreeable ENTPs about. Fe can manifest as either controlling the social environment or adapting/blending in. As long as your a Ne doms and employ Ti/Fe judgement your ENTP.
 
#8 ·
Stereotypes about ENTP are enforced by those who usually write the most about personal development and are without surprise the least able to reason and think critically about it. And what is more alien to them than the most capable personality of all... The very distorted image of what ENTP is supposed to be starts with a distorted image of extraversion which has to fit their irrepressible disbelief in the non interoceptive nature of reality. So most people here aren't ENTP anyways since the MBTI is part of the problem.
 
#9 ·
All the entps I've seen on the forum since I returned are pretty tame. When I was first in the forum there were much snarkier and sassier entps on this forum who would often either debate with extreme sarcasm or often troll people.
 
#11 ·
Even ENFPs can have some bite to them, so don't let that being a determining factor in typing. I would say I'm rather tame and "hippy like". Our Fe usage is quite noticeable and is in fact a good differentiating factor between us and ENFPs once you understand the different between Fe and Fi. I often have a big smile in pictures, but as a 7w6 part of me is wanting things all light and happy and fluffy, so I'm using my Fe to influence the mood. Fi types generally accuse Fe types of putting on smiles, but I don't think it's usually that conscious.
The thing I've had to watch out for is my sense of humor, which may sometimes be inappropriate, especially since every is so damn sensitive anymore.
 
#14 ·
This is very true. I made a long post about it already, but it stands worth repeating, ENTPs are just as sensitive as any type to criticism, it's just the way they handle it that's different. ENTPs are more concerned with when you criticize functions they're not as "good with", so typically ENTPs with a weaker Ti function who are either younger or just held back emotionally, will respond aggressively to any perceived "threat" to their personal understanding of a thing. They don't welcome dissonance, they don't appreciate having to flex their Ti and build it up. They'd rather just explore new information endlessly or stir up new situations wherever there's "fun" to be had, by throwing rocks at society's bee hives or trolling psychological websites, not having to actually stop and think or feel or engage in any form of judgment/reflection of any sort, entirely convinced that people who do so are "stupid" anyway, and that there's literally nothing "True" in the cosmos anyway, so why would you... etc, etc. We're all familiar with the picture of an unhealthy ENTP at this point I'm sure, since they're actually quite common on the internet.
 
#12 ·
I mean, ENTPs are technically extroverts, but also introverted thinkers; introverted thinkers, based on Jung's description of being preoccupied inward towards subjective ideas, and caught up in their own ideas, strike me as the type that would naturally display varying levels of disagreeableness ranging from merely one who expresses disagreements for the sake of expressing useful information in a polite way, to one who viciously attacks those who contradict them.
For most introverted thinking types, Dom or Aux, maturity brings balance between the internal thought structure and awareness of one's feelings and the feelings of others.
 
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#13 ·
The stereotype of ENTPs as being debaters gets overblown a lot, to the point of absurdity even, creating misconceptions among people that ENTPs actually seek out situations to engage in argumentation on their own. While that may certainly be true and there might even be a positive correlation with being an ENTP and being interested in debates, I personally feel that kind of competitive attitude can be better modeled and explained through other aspects of general psychology or abnormal psychology, rather than attributing it to something as fundamental as a personality trait.

What I have noticed, especially in myself, is that we want two things: we want new information and we want information to make sense. That's the Ne-Ti filter, in that order. New information, makes sense, gets accepted by the ego - else, rejected or provisionally accepted. Meaning, any information that is "new" in that it has some unseen "potential" in it that's worth making sense out of (engage Ti), gets sent through the filter process. Once Ti makes sense out of it, the information is categorized away for later, or discarded if it fails to meet my personal standards of sense-making.

When someone makes a statement about a subject that I know a thing or two about, it triggers my Ne-Ti, "does that make sense, or did I miss something when I explored it? what is this person saying, does this information match up with my information" and I start doing a comparison, exploring the potential of the subject or the statement that was made, and analyzing it for validity. If it's at least valid, then it's at least possible, and so I will give it some credit and even compliment the person for being clever and having thought of something I missed. If it's not at least valid, then either they missed some bit of Ne information, or I did - ONE of us missed something - and so one of us is not making sense (Ti malfunction), and my Ti will not let the issue go until it is resolved in some way that makes sense. If a resolution that makes sense cannot be reached, then the issue becomes a persistent problem that lingers in the back of my head, and whenever it comes up I want to either avoid it or finish exploring it to get rid of that dissonance.

I only argue to be rid of cognitive dissonance. When I was younger, I argued more because my Ti was not as well developed and I was not as good at argumentation or analysis. Once I got older, I literally studied debate strategies and critical thinking for years in order to improve my Ti and avoid the many pitfalls that come from jumping to conclusions too quickly, or biases that lead to time wasted digging in the wrong places. Also, having a less developed Ti means I will misunderstand whoever I am speaking with and think they mean one thing when they mean another, creating misconceptions that further waste time during a discussion. With lead Ne, nothing aggravates me more than wasting time exploring concepts that don't need to be explored because we're already gone over them or they "should go without mentioning because they're so obvious."

These days, I argue very little. I don't feel as threatened because my Ti is a lot stronger. I know I'm right because my knowledge lines up with decades of life experience and research and study. That kind of confidence allows me to rightfully dismiss accusations or conjecture that I would've entertained with an argument in the past - I might've felt the need to defend my conclusions and beliefs unconsciously, and thus been compelled to argue or nitpick with a person, not so much to correct them, but to test myself, test my own knowledge of a thing. Now, I know what I know in my bones, and I'm more curious about understanding age differences and noticing the subtle way you grow up and change into an adult around the start of your 30s. It's probably a thing for ENTPs to "mellow out" as they get older, I imagine. It certainly happened to me.
 
#16 ·
The stereotype of ENTPs as being debaters gets overblown a lot, to the point of absurdity even, creating misconceptions among people that ENTPs actually seek out situations to engage in argumentation on their own. While that may certainly be true and there might even be a positive correlation with being an ENTP and being interested in debates, I personally feel that kind of competitive attitude can be better modeled and explained through other aspects of general psychology or abnormal psychology, rather than attributing it to something as fundamental as a personality trait.
Interesting. As I'm getting past a lot of childhood traumas and getting into an environment in my relationship in which I feel comfortable expressing myself without feeling continually repressed or censored, I find I don't mind argumentation.
I actually have a long history on the debate forum, and looking at my old threads, am actually a pretty good debater.
It's one of the many considerations I'm taking into account while wondering if I'm actually an INFJ or even a feeler.
 
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