Tips for Remedying J-P Confusion

[Architect]

From a Personality Junkie email I received.

1. Your type’s J-P designation (i.e., the fourth letter of your type) refers only to your OUTWARD (i.e., extraverted) presentation. It indicates whether the first extraverted function in your type’s functional stack is an extraverted Judging function (i.e., Fe or Te) or an extraverted Perceiving function (i.e., Ne or Se). Remember, your first extraverted function can be either dominant (for extraverted types) or auxiliary (for introverted types).

2. If you are an extraverted type, the nature of your dominant function (i.e., its status as a Judging or Perceiving function) will be the SAME as your J-P designation. For example, ENTPs' dominant function, Ne, is a Perceiving function. This makes ENTPs both a P-type AND a dominant Perceiving type.

3. If you are an introvert, the nature of your dominant function will be OPPOSITE your J-P designation. For example, INFJs' dominant function is Ni (a Perceiving function), but INFJs are considered a J-type because their extraverted function (Fe) is a Judging function. In other words, INFJs are classified as J-types even though they are dominant Perceivers (I realize this can be mighty confusing!).

4. P-types are outwardly receptive and adaptable. However, they (especially IPs) are not necessarily messy, disorganized, procrastinators, chronically late, etc. (while such traits are often explainable through a more detailed analysis of an individual and the functions, we cannot confidently predict these things merely through the J-P classification.).

5. J-types are outwardly firm, direct, and opinionated. However, they (especially IJs) are not necessarily neat, tidy, organized, uptight, etc. In fact, as inner Perceivers, IJ types can be quite inwardly open and spontaneous, even if this is not clearly evidenced outwardly.

If you still feel somewhat confused, I encourage you to stick with it, as it can take time for these things to make more sense.

What's amusing is that #4 describes me perfectly. I'm relaxed, receptive and adaptable, but am also neat and very organized. My INFJ wife is firm, direct and very opinionated, but is ... less neat and organized. While she has big dreams to organization, she easily gets overwhelmed.

 

[Valentas]

You are neat and organized because you read "Getting things done"

 

[Architect]

You are neat and organized because you read "Getting things done"

Actually that's true. The underlying reason is because I found that it afforded me greater relaxation and lazyness by being neat. GTD taught me that the easiest way to get something done is to just do it right away. So I pick up after myself as I go, which saves me from a painful necessary cleanup later.

I'm not detail oriented toward my cleanup at all, except when it comes to my computers and office. My INFJ is much better at deep cleaning, I just get 80%.

 

[BigApplePi]

Those five points make sense after reflection. I'm not the master of them though. I have to stop and think.

What I have not thought about is, what if you see an outwardly J person or outwardly P person? What does that say about what type they are?

 

[Wolf18]

I can relate a lot with no. 5 – maybe I am an INTJ. My personal space is usually cluttered, and my stuff is dusty. However, both these things are actually security measures. I know exactly what the layout of my desk is, and everything on the floor is on a certain piece of wood or square of tile, so I know if anything has been touched. The dust is for fingerprints, so I know if any of my stuff has been touched.

Would that be IP or IJ?

BTW Architect, this is the best explanation of J/P I have ever seen. Usually I have trouble making sense of it.

SW

 

[Architect]

What I have not thought about is, what if you see an outwardly J person or outwardly P person? What does that say about what type they are?

Then their first extraverted function is a judging one.

INFJ's appear to be J because Fe (their secondary, their first extraverted function) is a judging function.

INTP's appear to be P because Ne (their secondary, their first extraverted function) is a perceiving function.

This is why we say an INFJ is a J, because the show J to the rest of the world. But on the inside they're quite P. Reverse that for the INTP.

 

[BigApplePi]

Do you just LIKE it that way or do you think it SHOULD BE that way?

 

[Architect]

Do you just LIKE it that way or do you think it SHOULD BE that way?

It IS that way.

One of my backgrounds is in experimental science. I take everything in MBTI as a theory to be demonstrated. Some aspects I determined don't show up in practice, such as the PUM idea that "opposites attract" (both opposites and a-likes attract). Other parts show up everywhere, such as this one and the functional theory in general.

You also have to remember this is a statistical theory, so one contrary example actually proves the point, rather than is a detractor (Gaussian distributions includes outliers).

 

[TimeAsylums]

Spoiler

I thought we were over this already...

link:

Rethinking Judging & Perceiving in IPs & IJs

 

[Montresor]

I always just think about J's having their main perceiving function being introverted in attitude. Not necessarily complicating things just describing the same thing one more way.