Im on the cusps of an INTP and an INFP..

[wahkimoocow]

what does that say about me? o_O

 

[Anthile]

That either you don't know enough about MBTI or yourself. Most likely, both.

 

[Adymus]

That either you don't know enough about MBTI or yourself. Most likely, both.

I wasn't going to be that blunt about it, but yeah, that.

 

[Dormouse]

That indicates nothing other than indecision. You'll change your mind again, probably tomorrow-ish.

Brace yourself for future bouts of thinking-I'm-an-extrovert, thinking-I'm-a-sensor and thinking-I'm-an-untypeable-God-thing-muahahaha.

Spoiler

Refer to others for serious answers.

 

[Cavallier]

Ouch guys. We get irritated when new people roll into town and ask us to tell them what they are or what their type intricacies mean. It does get a little old.

I blame the way the result is presented. "It's official you are 52% T!!!!!!" Eh, it should really just say, "you have a T preference" or some such. I swear the percentage refers more to how many times you answered more "T" as apposed to more "F" which is rather ridiculous. The best you could hope for is that it means you are well rounded. However, that is not necessarily true either.

Here, read these two and see which you identify with more. These will at least give you a basic background* to work forward from:

INFP Profile

INTP Profile

*( They also give you a background of information commonly known to most of us here. That way you can better understand various members when they discuss these topics. whether or not we agree with this information is an entirely different matter.)

 

[anemian]

Nothing to really worry about. Type testing is barely even a "rough overly generalized estimation".

 

[nexion]

I wasn't going to be that blunt about it, but yeah, that.

It that... somehow mean?

 

[asmit127]

It that... somehow mean?

Not mean, just not friendly. Exactly as it is in fact!


I should add that a recent change in job has given me the same problem as the OP - seems I don't know myself at all and just happened to fall into a satisfying job... The INFP profile above is great, the first paragraph of the second post especially made it obvious what I really am, for all my wanting to be otherwise.

what does that say about me? o_O

Nothing. As stated the tests aren't any use unless you have given real thought to why you do everything you do, but you're unlikely to do this till you've taken the test, by which time you can bias it any way you want... I never tested as an F but when I read about the functions the Ti I was so proud of seems a load of rubbish (no offense). Yes, when I want to appear clever I'm quite capable of coming up with the perfect word to do describe something, but when I'm really comfortable (free to be myself) or when someone says something that goes against my random beliefs I spew crap at an alarming rate, with not a proven fact in sight.

Good luck deciding which you are - ultimately it's your choice

 

[Reptillian]

Have you ever consider the fact that you can part of both as it seems that there's shade of grays in personality and which fits which description?

 

[Tunesimah]

Yeah me too. Curse you Adymus... (or perhaps Thanks are in order...).

I think I've let the description of INTP, as I've read it... which at first seemed to fit so well... almost tarnish who I really am.

I'm really an intensely curious person, and I try to figure out anything that's put in front of me. And I think I confuse playful intuition for thinking...

There are some key moments in my life, when I was younger and before I was consciously aware of type and just acted the way I wanted to, that don't make any sense when viewed at under an INTP lens. They make perfect sense when looked at as INFP. So I say search your past for events that seem to lend themselves either description. This is a time when specifics are better than just general beliefs. How you act, and how you picture yourself acting... I've found these to be quite different.

Also consider how you approach competition. This has always been a contention for me... I can't mentally disconnect and want to compete... I can use it as a spring board to figure things out... but I really hate just pure competition for competition's sake.

All this type stuff maybe less accurate than people make it out to be too. It has the flavor of a rigid, quality system... but it's more or less just an approximation for a much more immensely complicated system.... and it only seems to work as far as people who answer questions tend to filter down into noticeable patterns. Any more meaning put onto it after that is all suspect...

I say this although I keep running back to MBTI searching for meaning. Maybe one day I'll follow my own advice...

 

[Enne]

Why do people become fond of descriptors? The descriptions are biased in accordance to the author's view of how the cognitive functions would behave in a person. You can "blend" the descriptions, sure, because they have little to do with actual study into how the functions are exhibited in people. Why not read about the orders that they appear in themselves, instead of relying on some strangers' external interpretations?

 

[wahkimoocow]

Well yea that was a bit unfriendly.
but whatever.
i took about 6 tests and i have been either an INFP or an INTP
when the results are shown the percent is usually 52% T-- 48% F
or something like that.
i was just wondering if personality type descriptions were out there for people who may be on the "cusps" of the types.
I am only 17 btw, so i may not know myself well enough but these tests seem very interesting.
i just get the feeling that im unwelcomed in this forum.

 

[cheese]

^No no no, they're just trying to say, been there, done that, get with the programme.

A lot of us here have had ambiguous test results. Some of us have got extremely odd ones - I was split along 9 types. Yours is fairly normal. Thing is, ambiguous test results don't mean you're some sort of new breed. They just mean the test is crap and/or you don't know yourself well enough to answer the test (or at least, not in the ways the test-writers were banking on in order to jam you into one of 16 categories). There are a lot of variables test-writers aren't able to account for, plus the system isn't perfect (and online tests are often based on re-interpretations of the MBTI, further skewing the results).

Bottom line: a lot of us have gone through this exact same omgimmaspecialmbtisnowflake! phase, had our bubbles burst by further education, and moved on. What you're getting here is a fairly standard reaction to newbs. But a friendly version. So chill out, look around, search the forums and learn as much as we're up to. Discussion will be more efficient then.

And as far as I know, there are no type descriptions for 'cusp' types, simply because they're not meant to exist in MBTI. What your results tell you is that you see yourself as behaving with low preference for Thinking over Feeling. It doesn't mean you actually use your functions in that manner. Look in the MBTI/Typology forum for more information.

 

[nexion]

Well yea that was a bit unfriendly.
but whatever.
i took about 6 tests and i have been either an INFP or an INTP
when the results are shown the percent is usually 52% T-- 48% F
or something like that.
i was just wondering if personality type descriptions were out there for people who may be on the "cusps" of the types.
I am only 17 btw, so i may not know myself well enough but these tests seem very interesting.
i just get the feeling that im unwelcomed in this forum.

There are not really profiles for "on the cusps" people.

In the MBTI, you answer questions. Each of these questions have a specific percentage for one of the four descriptors. The only reason you are about 50-50 T-F is because you answered about the same questions with T as with F.

Because of this, it is impossible to create a profile for people like these. The questions which deal with descriptors are varied. Who knows which ones you answered F to and which ones you answered T to. So, any profile like this would probably be accurate for a few people, but there would be many holes.

The best bet would to read profiles of both INFPs and INTPs and "pick" what you think you are out of it. That's really the only way. Each of those profiles are generally true for people with strong preferences because they answered close to many of the questions one-sided.

I dearly hope that made sense. I see it so perfectly in my head, but it's where words are involved that I cease to make sense. It makes me wish people could do like vulcan mind melds.

No, I don't think you're unwelcome on the forum at all. Take our cold, desensitized observations and analysis as a welcome.

NINJAEDIT: What cheese said is probably closer to accurate, but whatever, at the least I'm adding another possible dimension.

 

[KazeCraven]

Welcome.

Myers-Briggs theory is only a starting point if you are interested in understanding yourself. But it's fun to take tests about it.

 

[ijustprotectedmyidentity]

inferior Function: Extroverted Thinking

Thinking, as is well known tends to be the least developed function of the INFP. It is appropriately referred to as the shadow of the INFP. For this reason, we notice that the INFP has difficulty performing Thinking oriented functions. They often struggle to assess the situation from an impersonal, rather than personal standpoint. See what needs improvement, as opposed to what is most desirable. INFPs tend to find mechanistical views of the world to be particularly loathsome, exactly the kind that Hegel was fascinated with and Kierkegaard repulsed by

 

[snafupants]

First off, Enne has a badass avatar.

Moving on, I think this is the most illustrative description of the type differences: "Depth of emotional experience for an INFP is analogous to depth of dispassionate thought for the INTP." [from a link someone so generously provided] Applying this to vocation, it seems an INFP would be unhappy working in a heartless bureaucracy (e.g., business, government, academia) as much as an INTP would be displeased with spending time time on perceived wanton emotion (e.g., gradeschool teacher or social worker).

 

[MrSandman]

I had a friend who, for years, thought he was an INTP. He simply felt he'd be happier if he were without transitory thought or volatile feelings. He wanted to be logical, but it turns out he was just kidding himself. Sometimes I wish I were an 'F' rather than a 'T'. He's more motivated than I will ever be, simply because of his fears of failure.