[clear moon]

I took a functions test and am thoroughly confused.
I consider my type to be INFP, but the functions say otherwise...

Ne - 47
Ti - 41
Ni - 40
Fe - 32
Fi - 28
Te - 19
Si - 17
Se - 14

Can a reserved, quiet and private person (...me?) have an extroverted dominant function?
I'm kind of perturbed that I scored higher on Fe than Fi. The Fi questions on that test seemed kind of stupid and I don't know it's a bad test or if I actually believe Fi is an invalid/lame function. Or maybe I'm just deluding myself and my Fi values logic too much and doesn't want to project the image of a very emotional person. INFPs are supposedly concerned with values, values, values, values this, values that... I question my values to the point that I don't know what they are at all. I am not driven by values.

I've read ENTP descriptions and they don't relate at all to me like INFP descriptions do. I have friends who've scored ENTP on the test and although I think they're great and like being around them, I don't behave like them in the least.

Keys 2 Cognition - Cognitive Processes
This is the test...

I'm guessing these are Fi questions:
13. Remain in touch with what you want for yourself, what motivates you, and what is good.
(I have no idea what I want for myself, no idea what motivates me, and no idea what is "good" or even what the term "good" means. I think maybe my prime motivator is building deep emotional bonds with people I care about. I'm trying to figure all those things out, which is why I joined this forum... doesn't the notion of remaining in touch with what is good seem stupid if I can't even define "good"?)
25. Always remain true to what you want for yourself or others.
(I haven't figured that out yet...)
36. Evaluate what is worth believing in and most important to who you really are inside.
(but who am I inside...? sob...)

I wonder if I'm a really emotional INTP or some kind of mysterious logical (???) INFP...
but most of all, I wonder if any of this personality typology mumbo jumbo matters at all or if it's just an interesting way to kill time... I mean, most people take the MBTI, graze over the description of the type they tested as, agree or disagree and move on with their lives to do more productive things, and yet here we all are...

 

[Vaka]

Don't let the function tests make you seriously doubt your type.
You should know that dominant Ne-users tend to be pretty 'introverted', though.

 

[penchant]

I think I've seen this before around here: someone assuming to be INFP with this type of result on that specific test. I don't remember where though... So yes, unfortunately the test is not very easy to interpret for finding out MBTI type, and possibly not very reliable at all.

The most important thing to understand here is that the test basically probing for you behaviour. However, behaviour is not the same thing as type or preference. No matter which type you are, the type does not determine which functions you use most, or which you use most proficiently. But, when solving problems and day-to-day situations you are more likely to depend more on functions that you are better at, so this is what the test will measure.

Secondly, it is very much possible for an extravert to be shy and withdrawn. This would not be the case naturally, so the person would probably be unhappy about it. But depending on situation, circumstances and upbringing, it is possible. Seeing (form other posts) that you have previously typed as ENFP, I would not rule out you being an Extravert.

If I were to interpret your test resuts, I think some conclusions can be drawn anyway, but this is just tentative, and assuming the correctness of a test result from a test that has proven previously to be unreliable.

You score clearly lowest on Sensing. This could imply that you are a dominant iNtuitive. If so, your possible types, disregarding the test for a moment, are INFJ, INTJ, ENFP and ENTP. The fact that you are high on both Ni and Ne in the test, somewhat supports this. (People tend to score high on both the extraverted and introverted attitude of their dominant, for some reason...)

You say that you have ruled out ENTP, so we'll leave that aside. The other N-dominants are INFJ, INTJ, and ENFP, and even if Paranoid is correct in that one does not need to question one's type based on this kind of online tests, these are the types I would recommend you start checking out if you want to go trying on other types.

The best thing, though, would be to spend some time reading up on the functions, and then come back here to work out how you relate to the different types. ENFP Wiki and http://personalitycafe.com/cognitive-functions/24032-intro-function-theory-more-detailed-descriptions-each-function-attitude.html are generally considered good type descriptions.

Hope that helps... :happy:

 

[vel]

By that arrangement I'd say you're ENTP, functional arrangement of Ne Ti Fe Si. ENTP shadow mode is INTJ, functional arrangement of Ni Te Fi Se. Therefore it is not uncommon for Ne or Ni dominants to also score to have high Ni or Ne. The tests are crap though. Best way to determine your type is to read functional descriptions and determine for yourself which functions you use the most:
ENFP Wiki
MBTI characteristics & 16 Personality Types
Function Attitude

I'm kind of perturbed that I scored higher on Fe than Fi. The Fi questions on that test seemed kind of stupid and I don't know it's a bad test or if I actually believe Fi is an invalid/lame function.

Tell me which exercise comes more naturally to you, dooes your feeling work more like in exercise 1 or like exercise 2?

Exercise 1:
• As you come across the action of any mammal engaged in any activity (including humans), say to yourself, "He/she is feeling ______ because he is needing ______" and fill in the blanks. Guess the mammal's emotion as accurately as you can, by paying close attention to every detail of its behavior and trying to imagine what emotion that you might feel if you were that kind of mammal and acting that way. Guess the need by intuiting the inner calling of the animal that is emerging in the way it's responding to its environment, by recalling a similar need of your own. For example, if you see a Scotty dog sniffing around at a new suitcase, you might guess, "He is feeling apprehensive because he has a need to know he's safe." Or you might guess, "He is feeling curious because he has a need to learn all about the world around him." It depends unpredictably on exactly what you really observe. Key is to watch the mammal extremely closely, so your guess emerges spontaneously from empathizing, and not, say, by consciously reasoning on the basis of something you've read. Your guess must come from the fact that you yourself genuinely feel it. It must come from the heart.
• Try the same exercise on yourself at odd moments: self-empathy. Simply monitor how much you like or dislike something, and what in your nature is being fulfilled or frustrated to cause that feeling of like or dislike. Note that attending to your emotion alone is not enough; you must trace the emotion back to a need that is being fulfilled or frustrated. However, if you're having trouble with this, you might try just consciously noting your emotion for a while, as a starter exercise.

Exercise #2:
• Make a list of people you have some culturally recognized relationship with: different relatives, your spouse or boy/girlfriend, your boss/employees/co-workers, etc., and identify your ritual obligations to them that derive from (or define) these relationships. For example, whose birthday must you remember? Who must you send a Christmas card to? How must you dress at different occasions to indicate your relationship to your co-workers? Whom do you call by their first name and whom by an honorific (even "Mom")? How is it made obvious to all that you have this relationship? How would you feel or how would they feel if someone did not perform their ritual obligations?
• As you come across the action of any person engaged in any activity, say to yourself, "he did ______ because he wants to show ______ relationship." For example, if a man tips his hat to a lady, say to yourself, "He tipped his hat to her because he wants to show that he is loyal to her." If a woman quotes Proust in a conversation, say to yourself, "She quoted Proust to show that she wants to be seen as the expert and she wants others to defer to her authority." This can get very complex and tricky. For example, what does it mean if someone doesn't show up at your baby shower? Does that show that they don't consider you an important person in their life? If a friend you haven't seen in a long time addresses you as "Mr. Tibbs" (assuming your last name is Tibbs), what does that show about your friend's understanding of your friendship? That's an awfully formal way for friends to speak, so it seems like a cold gesture, aimed at showing that he wants to keep you at a distance. See any Seinfeld episode for lots more analysis of this kind.
• Try to get someone to treat you a certain way that defines a role for you. For example, try to get someone to treat you like royalty, or like a disposable slave, or like an expert authority, or like an eager student who wants to learn from them. You will have to, in some way, define a complementary role for them at the same time, through your actions. You can't ask explicitly that they treat you that way, except as a very last resort. You have to get the mutual roles going by, in effect, painting them in the complementary role first so they find themselves naturally playing along and painting you in the role you want. You may find that it's tricky to get painted in a positive role, but it can be done if you give the other person a complementary role that they really like. In effect, an implicit contract is created: you paint them in a role they like, and they paint you in a role you like.