[water]

Wanted to share this :

"One of the problems with online testing is that there is no one to ask about the questions, which are sometimes confusing. Just by my first impression based on your difficulty with MBTI testing, I would guess that you are ISFJ or ESFJ. ISFJ would roughly be the equivalent of a Melancholy. A Melancholy with a little Choleric would tend to be ESFJ. My guess is based on my experience with ISFJ's, a group that often tends to over-think everything even though "thinking" is one their weakest functions. I didn't mean that as an insult, only as a statement of fact - Feelers don't think (use logical judgment) very well. This is especially true of some Sensing types because they take everything personally and have a hard time objectively answering questions. Intuitive types, while sensitive, take things in from a more global perspective - how it affects others, how it affects the system, how it affects the global nature of things, etc.

A good friend (Omar) has the same problem as you with these tests, only to a much greater degree. He is a perfect example to use on how the test questions can be misconstrued by your mind set. Although he is a text-book ISFP (Artist), he constantly tests ENTJ (Field Marshal). Here is why.

Omar is a very good musician and an extremely skilled finish carpenter. He entertains people and he has a position of esteem on a construction site because of his skill. He is often in a position to direct others on the job because he needs a certain quality of work from those that preceded him (the framers, drywallers, etc) on the job. He sees this as leadership when it is in fact nothing more than him demanding that everyone else meet his standard of performance. He is not a leader, he is just finicky.

Omar also thinks he is a J-type because he is neat and organized and answers all those Type questions as would a J-type. In truth, he is always late and rarely organized. His house, his music room and his construction sites are always spotless however. This is because any sort of mess offends his highly developed Sensing function. The fact that he wastes endless time cleaning and organizing does not make him a J-type. I left him on a jobsite once and came back 6 hours later to find that he spent the whole day cleaning the site up, sharpening and adjusting his tools and making a detailed schedule of the work he was going to do tomorrow. Of course he wanted to charge me $50/hour his time and could have cared less about the fact that we were now a day behind schedule. It is the difference between a set designer running a crew (as they try to paint a picture/scene for the audience) versus a CEO running a corporation - not the same motivation.

Omar is also a deep intellectual person and therefore must be a Thinking type, according to him. While he is on the surface fairly deep, he is not an intellectual. He is motivated by his Sensing function first and then his Feeling function. He has a desire to learn and is a voracious reader. He has a tremendous recall of facts and figures. What he lacks is the ability to apply logic and figure out the meaning of what he knows. When he is pushed to actually figure something out, he simply can't do it correctly because his logic is flawed. His quest for global knowledge is motivated by his need to impress/entertain people (Sanguine) not by the need to resolve the problems of the world. He mistakenly answers all the MBTI questions related to Sensing and Intuition incorrectly because of this. The common mistake here is to confuse "Thinking" with Intelligence. They are not the same thing. In fact, Feelers tend to me a little more intelligent than Thinkers.

Equally confusing to Omar and almost everyone in the world is the Extroverted/Introverted functions. One can be out-going and still be introverted (me, for example). According to most articles that I have read, it all has to do with how you recharge your batteries. In the truest sense of the work done by Isabelle Myers, it is also (if not more) about how you apply your dominant and auxiliary functions to the world around you. An ESFJ would have their dominant function Extroverted Feeling, caring about the world around them (i.e. remembering birthdays). Their auxiliary function would be Introverted Sensing (the deep personal meaning to the information that they take in thru their senses). An ISFJ would be the total opposite. Their dominant function would be Introverted Sensing (awareness of their surrounding) and their auxiliary would be Extroverted Feeling (concern for others). A great source for a deeper explanation of this would be Isabelle Myers Briggs book, "Gifts Differing." I could probably write another 100 pages on this alone because it is the true meaning of the MBTI is usually neglected by most writers.

This dissertation was not intended as a platform for slandering someone, or to show that one type is better than another. I was simply meant to be a vivid example of how the questions can be manipulated or misunderstood. This is a very common mistake and the reason that most MBTI professionals don't like online tests."

-- David DeVaughn
INFJ

 

[Black Rabbit]

*bump*

Let's talk about typology! We haven't had any discussion on this for the past dozen threads or so. So, instead of starting a new thread I'm adopting this one.

Have you mistyped before you realized you were an INFJ? What makes you so sure you're an INFJ now? Why are you not an ISFJ (type most likely to mistype as an INFJ - I think) or another type?

I'll share my story if you share yours.

 

[Elinor Dashwood]

Damn! Now I'll never know what I am! Noooooooooooo!

Edit: @Troisi, I was so distraught, I skimmed right by your questions! Long story short: I first took the test as a teen and scored ISTJ. Discovered later that this was because my image of myself was skewed because I was measuring myself against my (mentally ill and low-functioning) ENFP mother. Took a ghetto knock-off test online in my early 20s and scored ISFJ, which I related to somewhat, but still found a little off. Read some more descriptions, thought about what S&N really meant and how I think, took a cognitive functions test and a paid legit test online, and scored INFJ. Except that I always doubt myself and rarely feel certain about anything, I'm pretty sure I'm an INFJ.

Now it's your turn, Troisi. Share! Share! Share!

 

[LiteratureNerd]

Why do people always assume that feelers don't use logical thought, when we are perfectly capable of doing so?

Sort of illustrates the lack of understanding of what "feeling" actually means, according to the MBTI.

 

[Frog]

I've scored INxJ on every test I've ever taken. Keirsey insinuates that the major difference between an INFJ and an INTJ would be their cooperative nature, and I tend to be much more cooperative in nature even than I'd like to be. Also, I identify a LOT more with the "You know you're an INFJ" thread than I do with the "You know you're an INTJ" thread, although that's hardly scientific. I do notice some of the INTJ traits in myself, but when push comes to shove I'm a feeler.

 

[Goaty]

I misunderstood the thinking-feeling difference. (And who can blame me? If given the choice between thinking and feeling, most will identify with the thinkers because such a negative stigma is attached to feelings, which, by the way, isn't even related to MBTI theory. Feelers are perfectly capable of thinking logically; we just place emphasis and value on the people first, then logic and reasoning.)

For over a year and a half, I thought I was an INTJ. I took part in their respective forums and actively discussed function theory. However, something never seemed right, like I never felt completely alike the rest of the INTJs, which I later found to be a result of the Te/Fi and Fe/Ti split. Once I realized that I use Ti/Fe and took the test again with an open mind, INFJ was my new type, and it seemed to work for me.

In my most humble opinion, someone should change thinking and feeling into more appropriate, representative categories. The current system is fuel for potential prejudice and mistyping.

 

[wishless]

*bump*

Let's talk about typology! We haven't had any discussion on this for the past dozen threads or so. So, instead of starting a new thread I'm adopting this one.

Have you mistyped before you realized you were an INFJ? What makes you so sure you're an INFJ now? Why are you not an ISFJ (type most likely to mistype as an INFJ - I think) or another type?

I'll share my story if you share yours.

I typed INFP every time I took those tests, and I seriously thought I was one for a while due to a flawed understanding of cognitive functions. Everyone seemed to have a different definition of Fi, so I could always find one that resonated with me. Plus, I identified with the experiences of many self-professed INFPs (many of which, I later realized, were/are actually mistyped INFJs.) However, I never felt quite comfortable with my type for some reason. I eventually sorted out the Fi/Fe distinction, and realized I was the latter since my subjective preferences tended to vary depending on who I felt my "group" was. As for Si and Ni, I focus less on the sensation caused by a stimulus than the "daydream sequence" the stimulus set off in my head. (Side note: I have a hunch that Ni is really the mechanism responsible for Si [need to avoid punishment] and the mechanism responsible for Ne [need for novel stimulation] both being present in one body.)

As for whether I'm sure I'm an INFJ, the answer is "not really." I'm not solid on my understanding of cognitive functions yet, so it remains to be seen whether my designation will change.

Why do people always assume that feelers don't use logical thought, when we are perfectly capable of doing so?

I think feelers are just less comfortable with logic, because logic is inherently about skipping over details. Feelers (especially IxFJs) tend to be more sensitive (in a nervous system sense), which entails greater awareness of subtleties, and greater awareness of the variables that could affect a situation. Tangentially speaking, it also contributes to their focus on "meaning" and "worth," because since they notice more subtleties (other people's feelings, etc.) than others, they're expending more serotonin, which means they have less energy (serotonin) for at-will expenditure. And when you have less of some currency, you're gonna be more careful about how you use it. At least, that's the conclusion I've come to after researching high sensitivity.

 

[Black Rabbit]

Before I divulge, can you guys relate to the Ni + Ti tertiary loop and your relationship with Se? I'm really curious about this.

Edit: I haven't read the OP yet (I probably should have) but I thought I'd save Happy a mb of space or so and reuse an old thread with an appropriate title. So, I'm not supporting anything the OP said, yet.

 

[Emerson]

Slightly unrelated to this, only because I'm not INFJ, but I initially tested as INFP, figuring that it fitted me better, after growing up a fair bit and having a lot more self esteem, I have become much more comfrotable with not being emotional, pretty much I was FP because I assumed that it was required of me to be sensitive and the like at that point in my life, once I grew out of that I was a lot more honest with others and more importantly myself, hence the INTJ...

That was far too much emotion for my likes.

 

[Vivid Melody]

Every time I took the test I got INFJ. My mom read a book about all the types when I was little and also typed me as INFJ (and I thought she didn't know me well). She put all our personality type descriptions on our bedroom doors. She mistyped my brother though for an ENFP instead of an INFP. Anyways, when I read the description I instantly identified with it. You could say because I wanted to but that's not the reason. I read the descriptions for all the other types and none of them fit. For the heck of it I was like well maybe I'm an INFP so I read this article taking a closer look at INFJ's and INFP's and definitely identified with INFJ. I don't know a whole lot about all the different functions or whatever, just the description fit so it "feels" right. Also, I identify with people here more than any other sub forum. It's kind of freaky actually. Also I've always been very in tune with myself (if that makes sense) so it was like there was never really any question for me as to who I was. I've never been confused about it. I guess I could have answered the questions wrong but I thought long and hard about what they were really asking before I answered.

 

[ukinfj]

I thought I was an INTJ and, although I thought the descriptions seemed a little cold, I still had a view of myself as some kind of detached intellectual. It was the people around me who said I was an INFJ and when they took me through the questions and asked me what I really meant when I ticked the box I came out as an INFJ. Since then, I've come out as an INFJ everytime, even if I slightly change my answer on something that I've since thought about.

My reasoning for being an INFJ is exactly the same as @Goaty's. I put people before logic. I LOVE logic, I LOVE debates, I LOVE theoretical thought, but if someone's actually going to get upset about something I'm saying I won't say it. If I do fight back against others' opinion its a "for the greater good" thing, I guess. I have to stick up for people who are being criticised in their absence.

However, my N/T is still borderline. This, I think, is because all of my emotional stuff is about:
a) never upsetting other people and aiming for compassion at all times.
b) strong emotions on my behalf because I put myself in others' shoes and "feel" their pain.
c) easily led (internally) by strong emotions.
d) self-absorbed - and I do show emotions around very select people - generally only a romantic partner and no one else.

My emotional stuff is NOT:
a) volatile - I do not express emotion openly around any but very few people. I never raise my voice, I try not to show worry or upset. My friends used to say I was "dead inside". They were joking and I thought it was funny but my INFP brother was really offended (oh for God's sake, get a thicker skin...:tongue I prefer this image. I don't want to come across emotional.
b) I'm not sensitive to criticism - illogical. All criticism is a helpful way to improve yourself, whether it be malicious in intent or not.
c) I'm not Impressed by emotions over logic - it's a difficult one for me to decide, the whole "is an argument with passion more believable than an argument that uses logic" thing. I think I do prefer logic here but it depends on the argument and the subject. If it's about the shape of the world I don't care how passionate the guy that think's it's flat is!

So I'm on the border, basically. I'm definitely emotional, but I hate being so. However, I do like the fact that my F side monitors my behaviour - I could never be malicious and I always try to ensure that I don't upset other people.

EDIT: You know I was writing all that and I was thinking - I don't know if I do mind upsetting some people - it's sort of a poetic justice thing, does anyone else have this?

I would never call names or bully. That's horrendous. But if there is a horrible bully around and they're getting away with absolutely everything and no one is standing up to them and others are being upset and abused then, being a bit of an empath myself, I generally know what their Achilles heel is and I give it a slight, underhand pinch. It's not really to upset them, it's to show them they're not boss. It's just to level the playing field - then they know they can't get away with as many things as they think they can. It's just a little shock to them, to bring them down a bit to everyone else's level and encourage them to stay within the lines. However, nothing I say sounds hurtful. I just treat them as I would someone who wasn't all high and mighty - hm, it's really hard to explain without an example. I guess what it is is that people like that need to believe they are above others and they have their pawns - so if you want to give them a bit of a shock, you find a situation that could be seen two ways and pretend to be naive. Sympathise with them on a "it's ok, everyone gets picked on sometimes" level - turn it around on them because that's the one thing they hate - they don't want to be seen to be weak. So you suggest that they are just like everyone else. This means you never need to say anything bad about their character, you just confront them with reality....erm....does that make it clearer or worse?

I have no idea whether that's an F or T thing, though!

 

[Goaty]

Before I divulge, can you guys relate to the Ni + Ti tertiary loop and your relationship with Se? I'm really curious about this.

Absolutely. While I am indeed an introvert and need much time to myself, too much time will trigger an Ni-Ti loop. They are nasty -- and eventually lead to terrible, hopeless thoughts about life in general. (But I can hardly complain; I hear that Ni-Fi loops are much worse and often result in existential crises.) When I'm in one of these downward-spiraling traps, I have this insatible hunger to find someone with which I can converse, or, in essence, stimulate my extroverted functions, particularly Fe.

Ironically enough, this pull is what made me doubt my introversion. I thought that I was just a quiet extrovert, a conclusion which failed to take into account the fundamental pull all humans have to interact with others. Introverts spend time with, and often look forward to, other people. The difference is this: introverts seek company to spend energy, while extroverts seek company to build it. Once I realized this, along with the fact that feelers are generally more extroverted than their thinking cousins, I settled on the type of INFJ.

A correct assessment of one's type requires a lot of research. My entire process serves as evidence against the flawed typing arrived at by taking the test merely once. To do so results in mistyped people. The personality theory runs too deep to be confidently tested; introspection is required.

As for Se, I can spend all the time in the world theoretically discussing different things, but when it comes to building a car, fixing an household object, or other random, concrete problems, I find myself to be completely out of my comfort zone. ... I'm just not good at that kind of stuff. :l

And @Troisi, thanks for making this thread. I've been itching to discuss some personality theory.

 

[LiteratureNerd]

I misunderstood the thinking-feeling difference. (And who can blame me? If given the choice between thinking and feeling, most will identify with the thinkers because such a negative stigma is attached to feelings, which, by the way, isn't even related to MBTI theory. Feelers are perfectly capable of thinking logically; we just place emphasis and value on the people first, then logic and reasoning.)

For over a year and a half, I thought I was an INTJ. I took part in their respective forums and actively discussed function theory. However, something never seemed right, like I never felt completely alike the rest of the INTJs, which I later found to be a result of the Te/Fi and Fe/Ti split. Once I realized that I use Ti/Fe and took the test again with an open mind, INFJ was my new type, and it seemed to work for me.

In my most humble opinion, someone should change thinking and feeling into more appropriate, representative categories. The current system is fuel for potential prejudice and mistyping.

People usually get Feeling (in the MBTI sense) confused with emotion, and Thinking mixed up with intelligence, unfortunately. It has more to do with the functions we primarily use to make decisions (though everyone uses both to some degree or another). I am most certainly a feeler by nature, but I don't only use the Feeling function when I think or make decisions - I often test it using my Thinking function (yes, I have one) as well. I can make a more informed decision that way.

I also used to feel embarrased for being a feeling type...even when I first started coming to this forum and saw so much criticism of feelers on some of the thinker forums. Until I realized that both types have their strengths and weaknesses. I was just too focused on my weaknesses to notice my strengths. Through the years, I've also learned that trying to utilize the strengths of both functions in order to minimize the weaknesses is probably more effective than valuing one higher than the other. But that is only my opinion.

 

[psynite]

Absolutely. While I am indeed an introvert and need much time to myself, too much time will trigger an Ni-Ti loop. They are nasty -- and eventually lead to terrible, hopeless thoughts about life in general. (But I can hardly complain; I hear that Ni-Fi loops are much worse and often result in existential crises.) When I'm in one of these downward-spiraling traps, I have this insatible hunger to find someone with which I can converse, or, in essence, stimulate my extroverted functions, particularly Fe.

Ironically enough, this pull is what made me doubt my introversion. I thought that I was just a quiet extrovert, a conclusion which failed to take into account the fundamental pull all humans have to interact with others. Introverts spend time with, and often look forward to, other people. The difference is this: introverts seek company to spend energy, while extroverts seek company to build it. Once I realized this, along with the fact that feelers are generally more extroverted than their thinking cousins, I settled on the type of INFJ.

I totally feel like this regularly, and I feel terrible for doing it. I hide away for the longest time and then suddenly want to be people...my friends are cool with it, they kind of just wait for me to contact them now.

Ah, mistyping. I thought I was an INTJ for the longest time. I never really did identify 100% with Te, but I really didn't want to even consider Fe. Hanging out on INTJ forums, you get a view that feelers are the ones who flip out emotionally and are mushy dimwits. It wasn't until I was trying to understand the T and F functions in more depth did I realize that dominant F =\= emotional wreck, and figured I was an INFJ.

I had trouble typing myself because I was always looking for things to prove my INTJness, cheers to confirmation bias. Boo to ambiguous function terminology (Feeling? Thinking? That is so clear *sarcasm*).

 

[Alaya]

ISTJ/INTJ/INFP

I've gotten those results numerous times, especially ISTJ (which is ironic, because my Si is really lame). And I must say that there are days in which I don't feel INFJ. Sometimes I compare some of the people in this INFJ forum, and I don't seem to relate to anything you guys say (there are exceptions, though). I'm really not that concerned about people, and my main philosophy is not about love, which many of you seem to have in common.

However, when I look at the functions separately, INFJ seems to fit perfectly. So I don't know, I guess I'm just one of those weird types.

 

[LiteratureNerd]

Absolutely. While I am indeed an introvert and need much time to myself, too much time will trigger an Ni-Ti loop. They are nasty -- and eventually lead to terrible, hopeless thoughts about life in general. (But I can hardly complain; I hear that Ni-Fi loops are much worse and often result in existential crises.) When I'm in one of these downward-spiraling traps, I have this insatible hunger to find someone with which I can converse, or, in essence, stimulate my extroverted functions, particularly Fe.

Ironically enough, this pull is what made me doubt my introversion. I thought that I was just a quiet extrovert, a conclusion which failed to take into account the fundamental pull all humans have to interact with others. Introverts spend time with, and often look forward to, other people. The difference is this: introverts seek company to spend energy, while extroverts seek company to build it. Once I realized this, along with the fact that feelers are generally more extroverted than their thinking cousins, I settled on the type of INFJ.

Oh, god, I call this the "Loop of Death." I'm a big-time introvert - I LOVE having time to myself, and I can go days without really needing to be around people. But if I'm isolated for too long, I start getting stuck in that downward spiral myself. And suddenly rationality is completely down the drain. Hate it.

Personality theory confuses me. I tested as INFP all the time until around the time I was 18. And, to be honest, the INFP descriptions fit me very well then. They no longer do...INFJ - which is what I have consistently typed as since (in college psychology classes, career tests, and team building exercises at the office). How does that happen? And what, ultimately, does it mean? Was there just a shift in what cognitive functions I used at some point? OH GOD LOTS OF QUESTIONS. :laughing:

 

[Goaty]

Oh, god, I call this the "Loop of Death." I'm a big-time introvert - I LOVE having time to myself, and I can go days without really needing to be around people. But if I'm isolated for too long, I start getting stuck in that downward spiral myself. And suddenly rationality is completely down the drain. Hate it.

Personality theory confuses me. I tested as INFP all the time until around the time I was 18. And, to be honest, the INFP descriptions fit me very well then. They no longer do...INFJ - which is what I have consistently typed as since (in college psychology classes, career tests, and team building exercises at the office). How does that happen? And what, ultimately, does it mean? Was there just a shift in what cognitive functions I used at some point? OH GOD LOTS OF QUESTIONS. :laughing:

And then throw in various other subtleties of cultural expectations and norms, gender differences, personal values, and Enneagram types, and my brain just shuts down. Perhaps I should just make a four-letter code of my own: G-O-A-T. Hey, it's four letters, right? I should use it. Saves me the headache.

It doesn't help that I have this never-ending desire for closure. Knowing that there is some kind of personality inventory, which I can't seem to fit into, fills me with anxiety. No! You HAVE to fit in there somewhere! Try harder. Try Harder!

Then I just get pissed.

 

[LiteratureNerd]

I am EXACTLY the same way...then I have to remember that nobody completely fits in anywhere. It's so difficult for me to accept thigns that are open-ended sometimes. At the same time, I like things that have open-ended interpretations, alternative possibilities, things that aren't concrete. It's like my intellect is bi-polar sometimes.

G-O-A-T. I like it. I'm a Capricorn...can those be my letters, too? Also, I can be cantankerous and I'll eat practically anything. The only other 4-letter animal I can think of off the top of my head is H-I-P-P-O...and I'm so not a huge water-dwelling mammal.

 

[Alaya]

Maybe we should make up our own letters, ones that define us better. Nice idea guys :laughing:

 

[Gildar]

ISTJ/INTJ/INFP

I've gotten those results numerous times, especially ISTJ (which is ironic, because my Si is really lame). And I must say that there are days in which I don't feel INFJ. Sometimes I compare some of the people in this INFJ forum, and I don't seem to relate to anything you guys say (there are exceptions, though). I'm really not that concerned about people, and my main philosophy is not about love, which many of you seem to have in common.

However, when I look at the functions separately, INFJ seems to fit perfectly. So I don't know, I guess I'm just one of those weird types.

I dont relate with people often here. i relate to what you said though ^^,

Mistyped as ISFJ ISFP and INTJ

order of type switching ISFJ(was a newbie used an online test was told to rethink my position and i did) -> INFJ(didnt feel i belong)-> ISFP(Se's power was overwhelming, Fooled my self with believing i had Fi) -> INTJ(was too cold) -> INFJ (came back. Functions fit perfectly... i dont)