INFP relying on thinking judgement?

[hopefulmonster]

I used to be about 85% sure I was an INTP but have taken a closer at myself and have noticed many INFP qualities in myself. Most noticeably the messianic drive/grand goal and perfectionism as a result of this. I rely on thinking to make decisions at least 3/4 of the time but am prone to these burst of incredibly intense emotions and have been in many situations when I just feel compelled to help people even when logic dictates otherwise.

I'm starting to think I'm a feeler who was forced into using thinking early on in my development because although I do rely on logic it is always used to assuage my urge to help people and further my grand goal. I've always had a very clear goal in mind even as a small child...I've always wanted to save humanity or at least the biggest slice possible. I'll use logic to acomplish that goal but the goal is still paramount. For example I've always wanted to be a scientist and cure cancer,aging,heart disease etc.

one incident in particular that made me wonder if I could be an INFP was my stay at a psychiatric facility. I got deeply involved in the other patients problems and became their main go to guy for their emotional problems...to the neglect of my own. All the patients reported feeling better after talking to me during group sessions it was like I was on fire. I was able to intuitively understand their problems and give constructive advice...they all reported feeling significantly better after talking to me during group sessions and staff members were amazed at the change in disposition before and after talking to me . In fact I felt a powerful urge to stay when I was discharged so I could continue helping them...I punished myself for days for leaving.

On the flip side of the coin I am usually a typical dispassionate INTP...I always test very strongly as one and agree with the majority of the INTP descriptions I find and friends/relatives all agree they describe me very well they just don't explain the qualities I listed above.

The infp descriptions as a whole don't fit me because they all make infps out to be a wide eyed dreamer living in a world of sunshine and roses but actually start to fit if you ignore this as an unrealistic stereotype.

My current hypothesis is that I'm an INFP with stunted emotional growth who decided to rely on thinking because it was better suited to acomplishing my goals and am just now starting to use F again and that my ego started to rely on my self image as an emotionless bastard hence the test results.

Have any other INTPs or INFPs had similar experiences? It it possible to yo-yo between preferences like this if development is impeded?

p.s. does anyone know of any realistic descriptions of INFP's; that sunshine and roses crap does not fit my demeanor at all. I'm hoping for an INFP equivlent of that great INTP description at intp.org.

 

[Ermine]

I rely on thinking to make decisions at least 3/4 of the time but am prone to these burst of incredibly intense emotions and have been in many situations when I just feel compelled to help people even when logic dictates otherwise.

This describes me well too. I'm a strong INTP, and 9 times out of 10 I use rational thinking to guide my decisions. However, we INTPs have extraverted feeling as our most inferior function. This means that our emotions are largely affected by others. I also am occasionally moved to help people for emotion's sake. That said, this usually doesn't work out well.

Also, you don't have to be an F type to experience strong emotions. Rather, it's more of a sign that you're a T if you have strong emotions in bursts. This would be because we INTPs don't necessarily accept our feelings most of the time, and they get bottled up, and we don't know what do to when our emotions come out in bursts.

I used to questions my type a bit, but when in doubt, it's useful to consider a type's functions, and which functions you use most. I used to think I was something between an INTP (Ti Ne Si Fe), INFP (Fi, Ne, Si, Te), and INTJ (Ni, Te, Fi, Se). However, the order of the functions for an INTP describes me best hands down.

 

[zxc]

hopefulmonster, you sound like an INTP to me. It's not unheard of for an INTP to be compassionate on occasion. INTPs want to save the world too. We're usually just too lazy to bother.

 

[snowyashes]

Well, I think you're an INFP. That's what I am. I, like you, identifiy strongly with INTP... I've never actually tested as one, because I was really, SUPER careful to answer the questions honestly, but one of my friends tested as INTP, so I went to read the profile, and I thought, "Wow... this sounds a lot like me too!" Not as much as INFP, but enought to still be significant. I am fairly confident now that my dad is and INTP, which could explain my highly developed Ti function.

Also, you don't have to be an F type to experience strong emotions. Rather, it's more of a sign that you're a T if you have strong emotions in bursts. This would be because we INTPs don't necessarily accept our feelings most of the time, and they get bottled up, and we don't know what do to when our emotions come out in bursts.

I do agree that you don't have to be an F to experience strong emotions. However, I completely disagree with the part about it being more of a sign that you're a T if you have strong emotions in bursts. I would say it's more of a sign that you're an introvert. (Or it might be more specific than that, but I know that INTPs at least have this in common with INFPs.) It's because INFPs are typically pretty laid back and easy-going, but when someone truly offends you, or when someone crosses the line where values are concerned... well, let's just say that everyone within a few hundred miles is in danger of the fallout. (... Okay, not that bad, but you get the picture, right?) The reason for this is the fact that INFPs tend to kind of roll with the punches and be willing to compromise for others, so people eventually begin to assume that they can just manipulate and take advantage of an INFP's open mind. But INFPs usually recognize this, and there is nothing they hate more than being taken advantage of. This is when they will open up and spew forth a volcano of fury.

Of course, you didn't necessarily specify that you meant negative emotions... But I've found that I tend to be more likely to explode with negative emotions than positive ones.

The "bottling things up" one... INFPs do that as well. We don't usually like to let other people see our extremely intense emotions, because it's almost as if they're weaknesses, and we don't want others to have access to the weapons that could easily destroy us. (I'm not saying they are weaknesses-- I'm simply saying they could be perceived that way.) For me, personally, it's also kind of a test (I just now consciously realized this): we let people have their way most of the time. I mean, yeah, we compromise, but we don't usually insist on having everything exactly our way. So, since we're willing to adapt for other people's comfort, people tend to treat us well. When I give someone the benefit of the doubt, and treat them with fairness and kindness, and they are mean to me or attempt to manipulate me, then honestly, they deserve my fiery wrath. (Which, I can assure you, is extremely fiery, indeed.) This rarely happens to me... but it definitely happens.

Now, I just re-read this post, and, to be fair, it is totally possible that the behaviors I have described here could also be applicable to INTPs, or even to other types. However, this is an INFP's view of them, and if this seems right to you, or more right than an INTP's view, then you may be right that you are not an INTP after all.

It's hard, when you value logic and reason, and despise stupidity and ignorance, to answer the question-- think or feeling?-- without some bias. However, once you reject the idea that just because someone makes decisions based on the emotional impact on themselves and others, they are incapable of using logic and reason, and are somehow less intelligent or have less potential than someone with a dominant "T" function, it becomes much easier to tell which is truly your dominant function.

Here is the website that I read my first INFP profile on; from what I remember, there was no "sunshine and roses crap"-- in fact, I believe that it mostly says that INFPs are deep people, who simply have more intense emotions than some other people, and that that's not always visible on the surface (actually, it usually isn't). www.typelogic.com/infp.html

This website is also great: www.personalitypage.com/INFP.html, and it also has links to pages about career, relationships, and personal growth, which are very interesting. (The relationship page may be helpful in identifying your type, in addition to the overall "portrait.")

I don't know if that extremely long post was helpful or not, but I hope you can find some kind of information that might help you resolve your dilemma. Good luck!

 

[hopefulmonster]

I definitely bottle up my emotions however I hide them from both others and myself. I have very little awareness of my own emotions and many times other people emotions. But I'm not sure if that's because I'm an intp or if I could be some kind of messed up infp that got derailed into using T as my judgement preference early on.

Like the experience in the psychiatric facility...I was able to use feeling very adeptly it just seemed very new very scary and very...right. I recently read gifts differently and they discussed type development and how your environment can cause you to go against your type and use preferences contrary to your type with often terrible consequences for your growth.

Thats why I'm wondering if I'm really an INFP who took up T as his primary judging function...then becoming a psuedo-INTP and am only now starting to"grow" into my proper type. Several relatives have told me that I'm a completely different person then I was about 10 years ago. My mother and great aunt once said something to the effect of what happened to that sweet loving boy we knew.

I used to be very sweet,very thoughtful could not stomach the thought of people being mean to each other etc and now I'm generally very cold and analytical.

 

[Jesin]

[...]

Everything about that post says "INTP".

 

[Perseus]

If under distress you become critical and with a tendency to impulsive action, I would class you down as INFP. A Dragon from bitter waters.

Myself, I become over-emotional but it would need more alcohol than good for my health to make me be impulsive. However, my thinking is not high and I may fail to be resolute, succombing to feeling rather than to pursue rational to the end of the world.

I have 10/12 Intuition and I rely on this (proved in practice) ahead of my Thinking 7/12. If you Intuition was 7/12 and Thinking 10/12, I would expect different behaviour from two different INTPs.

My Intuition is extremely puzzling to all sensors and I do not think it is understood by ENTJs. If the ENTJs have lower Intuition than me, their reaction can be very blunt, hostile and downright harmful to me.

 

[hopefulmonster]

If under distress you become critical and with a tendency to impulsive action, I would class you down as INFP. A Dragon from bitter waters.

Myself, I become over-emotional but it would need more alcohol than good for my health to make me be impulsive. However, my thinking is not high and I may fail to be resolute, succombing to feeling rather than to pursue rational to the end of the world.

I have 10/12 Intuition and I rely on this (proved in practice) ahead of my Thinking 7/12. If you Intuition was 7/12 and Thinking 10/12, I would expect different behaviour from two different INTPs.

My Intuition is extremely puzzling to all sensors and I do not think it is understood by ENTJs. If the ENTJs have lower Intuition than me, their reaction can be very blunt, hostile and downright harmful to me.

Um I'm sorry but whats the basis for all this dragon from bitter waters and 7/12 intuition stuff? Would it not be inherently impossible to measure the boundaries of intuition since it could be described as one's ability to look past the status quo and a test has to have some status quo to base it's self on?

I'm not trying to be insulting but I can't seem to find any rhyme or reason for this animal-type or levels of preference stuff you mention regularly. My psuedo-science detector is going off. I'd like to keep this discussion grounded in MBTI because it seems like a self-consistent logical system...I may have answered my own post right there lol.

 

[fullerene]

I'm not trying to be insulting but I can't seem to find any rhyme or reason for this animal-type or levels of preference stuff you mention regularly.

that's why the Dragon's Lair exists. I feel bad saying it, but only about one out of every few dozen posts he makes makes any sense to me.

I haven't really read this thread much (I just popped in for a second to see what the last post was, and only skimmed your posts), so feel free to ignore this... but I agree with Jesin. Everything about that post that you made right before him sounds INTP.

How old are you? In their early 20s (though I'm sure it's a bit different for evereyone), both INTPs and INFPs are filling out their secondary function (Ne), which finds relationships between vaguely related concepts. I turn 20 next week, and over the past month or two TI and Fi have fused together in my mind so much that I can hardly tell the difference between which process I'm using anymore. Since that's the case, I went with how I always was. My Fi didn't start showing up til very recently, and I always thought it was ridiculous to take anything subjective into account when I was younger... so I think I'm an INTP by nature, and Ne eventually just realized that subjective things are a part of objective reality as well. I will admit, though, that it's tough to tell the difference between an INTP who realizes that subjective experiences are substantive things, and an INFP who very strongly values the truth.

anyway... http://www.geocities.com/lifexplore/jft.htm has legitimate descriptions of all the functions, so you can read about Ti and Fi there, to help clarify which one is dominant in you.

The infp descriptions as a whole don't fit me because they all make infps out to be a wide eyed dreamer living in a world of sunshine and roses but actually start to fit if you ignore this as an unrealistic stereotype.

also, I only know one INFP really well.... but she definitely fits that "unrealistic" stereotype, lol. Nearly everything about your wording and sentence structure and thought process makes me think you're an INTP tho. It's way more "objective" of a line of thought ("one thing that may have made me like this is my stay at a psychiatric facility.... I was able to understand their problems and give constructive advice... my current hypothesis is that..."). Even the fact that you're judging INFP profiles for accuracy and believability is a very INTP thing to do.

 

[Waterstiller]

I always thought it was ridiculous to take anything subjective into account when I was younger... so I think I'm an INTP by nature, and Ne eventually just realized that subjective things are a part of objective reality as well. I will admit, though, that it's tough to tell the difference between an INTP who realizes that subjective experiences are substantive things, and an INFP who very strongly values the truth.

Same here. I had a difficult time figuring out if I was dominant Ti or Fi. Then I asked a few people, including my INFP mom, and they laughed at me. I'm a hopeless thinker who thinks herself stupid.

The "ah-ha!" moment came for me when I realized that I had been often criticized as I was growing up for being too blunt and lacking emotional tact in my communication.

hopefulmonster: I agree with a few others and think that you give off an INTP vibe and that your objective word choices are very Ti. But you might have adapted to the type of communication we'd respond best to, which seems possible if you were socialized male and emphasis on T was forced. What throws me off is your grammar, which is kind of eratic. :shrug:

 

[hopefulmonster]

Same here. I had a difficult time figuring out if I was dominant Ti or Fi. Then I asked a few people, including my INFP mom, and they laughed at me. I'm a hopeless thinker who thinks herself stupid.

The "ah-ha!" moment came for me when I realized that I had been often criticized as I was growing up for being too blunt and lacking emotional tact in my communication.

hopefulmonster: I agree with a few others and think that you give off an INTP vibe and that your objective word choices are very Ti. But you might have adapted to the type of communication we'd respond best to, which seems possible if you were socialized male and emphasis on T was forced. What throws me off is your grammar, which is kind of eratic. :shrug:

I think the poor grammar comes from being a visual thinker. I think to myself in images and non-word symbols so I have to "translate" when I communicate. I've been meaning to pick up some grammar textbooks because it's kind of a sore spot for me but...well I keep forgetting.

I imagine I am a thinker but just had a mini-identity crisis when I realized I can have semi adult emotions.

 

[dbtng_thomas]

I imagine I am a thinker but just had a mini-identity crisis when I realized I can have semi adult emotions.

You've proved you are a thinker. Look how completely you've thought through this question.

But seriously, for me, the point isn't which profile someone tested as. Which MTBI profile offers the most complete explanation for what's going on in your head? That's your main type.

If you feel you are somehow between two types it might be a good thing; perhaps an expression of balance. My personality changed a lot as I grew up; maybe you are watching yourself change. Could mean you have a unique perspective ...

 

[Jesin]

You've proved you are a thinker. Look how completely you've thought through this question.

Not necessarily!

That's the sort of assumption we want to avoid.

 

[snowyashes]

I agree (at least about the "not necessarily" part-- I don't know what Jesin's reasoning is); my reason is that perhaps, as dbtng_thomas also said, your indecision about two types could be an expression of a balance. But hey, at least you know you're not a judger! I hate the stupid personality tests, because they always have yes or no answers or whatever, and I can never decide... I am definitely a perceiver.

But anyway, just because you've thought about something a lot doesn't necessarily mean you're a thinker. Anyone might think about something a lot if they're interested in it. You could be also be any of the feeling types who are interested in self-developement, awareness, and growth. Since you are stuck between INTP and INFP, I don't think this is a realistic indicator of which it is, since INFPs also tend to dwell on things and be interested in self-awarness (& etc). I still think you're an INFP, but that's probably just because I am one.

The important thing is this: who do you want to be? You may have answered this question earlier in the thread, but have you joined any INFP forums? If not, then we may have a clue about which one you'd prefer... and if you don't talk to INFPs as well as INTPs, you're only going to hear one side of the issue, because if you're right on the line, obviously the INTPs are going to want you to be one of them, because everyone knows the world needs more cool people like them. Also, did you try those links I put in my last post? Did they seem a little more realistic to you?

So basically, all I want to say is this: if you want to be an INTP, you've got to be objective! (Am I right, guys? 'Cause if not, tell me....) So if you haven't also asked the INFPs for help identifying your type, you might want to do that, because you may have a lot of stuff in common with them as well which might convince you, which you will never find in an INTP forum. Just... try not to pick a forum that looks too "sunshine and roses"-y. Find one with people who are somewhat less unreasonably cheerful, since you are more likely to relate with them anyway. I've never actually joined an INFP forum, and honestly, I'm kind of nervous to, because I've seen all kinds of nasty things all over the internet (by other types, of course) about how pathetic they are in the forums; but I think it's [hopefully] worth the risk. Just... let me know if you find a good one, okay?

 

[Gorgrim]

if you think about the animal type's it has an understandable meaning of how a personality is. Even if symbolical. A person with a "birds-view" has a bigger, different view, than a mouse has. who is more interested in what's right next to it.

 

[hopefulmonster]

I agree (at least about the "not necessarily" part-- I don't know what Jesin's reasoning is); my reason is that perhaps, as dbtng_thomas also said, your indecision about two types could be an expression of a balance. But hey, at least you know you're not a judger! I hate the stupid personality tests, because they always have yes or no answers or whatever, and I can never decide... I am definitely a perceiver.

But anyway, just because you've thought about something a lot doesn't necessarily mean you're a thinker. Anyone might think about something a lot if they're interested in it. You could be also be any of the feeling types who are interested in self-developement, awareness, and growth. Since you are stuck between INTP and INFP, I don't think this is a realistic indicator of which it is, since INFPs also tend to dwell on things and be interested in self-awarness (& etc). I still think you're an INFP, but that's probably just because I am one.

The important thing is this: who do you want to be? You may have answered this question earlier in the thread, but have you joined any INFP forums? If not, then we may have a clue about which one you'd prefer... and if you don't talk to INFPs as well as INTPs, you're only going to hear one side of the issue, because if you're right on the line, obviously the INTPs are going to want you to be one of them, because everyone knows the world needs more cool people like them. Also, did you try those links I put in my last post? Did they seem a little more realistic to you?

So basically, all I want to say is this: if you want to be an INTP, you've got to be objective! (Am I right, guys? 'Cause if not, tell me....) So if you haven't also asked the INFPs for help identifying your type, you might want to do that, because you may have a lot of stuff in common with them as well which might convince you, which you will never find in an INTP forum. Just... try not to pick a forum that looks too "sunshine and roses"-y. Find one with people who are somewhat less unreasonably cheerful, since you are more likely to relate with them anyway. I've never actually joined an INFP forum, and honestly, I'm kind of nervous to, because I've seen all kinds of nasty things all over the internet (by other types, of course) about how pathetic they are in the forums; but I think it's [hopefully] worth the risk. Just... let me know if you find a good one, okay?

I did try the links...however the typelogic page was the one I had in mind when I complained about the sunshine and roses stereotypes. I'd like to believe that everyone has a creamy center but I realize that some people are just bastard coated bastards.

As to which type I want to be. My self-image of myself is definitely biased towards being an INTP. I would much rather be a thinker then a feeler. That is one of the reasons why I am starting to doubt my thinkerness. I've discovered a bias and logic demands I rexplore the issue!

I was about to join an infp forum yesterday but was kind of horrorfied by what I saw. It was like an AA meeting run by home schooled girl scouts.