3W4? should I get typed professionally?

[MAIPLAYSALOT]

Finding information on infj 3w4 seems to be incredibly limited... beyond this, the mbti/enneagram pairing itself feels almost incompatible. the first time I took mbti I got entj, I read the results and wholeheartedly went with my entire being "yup this me" *laughs in hindsight* and then the second time i took the test (this time in the company of a friend) I got infj, my reaction was not as enthusiastic to say the least. Not because I felt anything negative toward the description I just didn't see myself that way based on how I was leading my life (very type a, goal-oriented, econ major, sga, the whole nine) and it was difficult to reconcile 1-"how could it be possible that I, would be 1 of *inserts whatever percentage* ?" 2- "while how I am approaching things and weighing things align, the shared experiences I'm reading don't seem to" ... fast forward post-burnout or three, a few years of therapy and several mbti tests later (results unwavering) I still wonder if I am actually an infj. I'm not sure if I'm hoping not to be one due to feelings of desiring true belongingness, where i also feel fulfilled by the relationships or skepticism about if i truly am due to it being a much more likely to be an isfj and concerned that I am not seeing myself clearly or if maybe it's difficult to reconcile the weight of what many of my goals require and the misalignment i run into regarding my values... which I'm guessing is a byproduct of 3w4. I have taken the enneagram a few times and have gotten 3w4 and 4w3. more times leaning 3w4, which i completely feel like I identify with.. I just really want to be able to work with mbti/enneagram to assist me with seeing my own blind spots and applying the insights in the best interest of what I'm working towards.... all of this to say, should i get typed professionally?


(sorry if this is kind of long it ended up turning into one long stream of consciousness)

 

[Wyote]

Professionally typing can help you identify things you don't fully recognize in yourself.
A lot of professional typers are kinda scams though and you wouldn't necessarily get anything out of it that you couldn't just read about on your own.
I would suggest reading about all of the types and doing some of your own research on every type.
Being a 3 is a bit unusual for an INFJ but not impossible.
From what little you've said, ENTJ also does seem like a real possibility.
Tests are not reliable and shouldn't be regarded as definitive answers to typing imo.
You can get a variety of answers based on mood/circumstance etc.

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Umai]

Like Wyote says, read around on your own - and many of those "pros" are full of it; cultivate a healthy disdain.

Try to find one or two examples of that combo, maybe from your past, and compare them to yourself.

3w4/INFJ example, I would say:

Also:

But you got to read and soak up lots of material, then you start to get a feel for types. No short cut.

 

[Sorena]

I think taking psychological tests including personality tests requires a great deal of honesty with ourselves ... sometimes we think we have some quality or trait but we don't, we just want to have it ... there are also traits we have, and we do not recognize them only because we wish we did not have them ... that is why the result of these kinds of tests directly depends on the amount of honesty and sincerity we have with ourselves ... It also somehow depends on our mood, sometimes we have a clear mind and can answer the questions with the most possible clarity, but other times we are too confused to know which is which ...

For me, the test took 2 months (once a week, 45 minutes, for 8 weeks) to take because of my complex personality - according to my therapist - sometimes I had to describe my feelings and reactions so that she could distinguish what the answer was.
and also the possibility of her desire to drag more money out of my pocket

 

[John K]

Hey @MAIPLAYSALOT and welcome to the forum.

Most Enneagram 3s are extroverts, so although it's possible to be both E3W4 and INFJ, it's actually unlikely. I agree with the others here that reading and reflection are the good ways to get to grips with your type, and that worked for me, both with MBTI and Enneagram. I found it better to read and reflect when I was exploring my own type rather than depending on the questionnaires. In fact the first MBTI questionnaire I took got me wrong and the reason why is interesting. It's because I took it as part of a course I was sent on by the company I worked for then, and I was very influenced by the prevailing character of the people I worked with rather than my innate self.

Some books describe the Enneagram types in terms of each wing as well as the core type and that is very useful - without it I struggled to identify with any of the Enneagram types at all. The book I used is Personality Types by Riso and Hudson and I certainly recommend it, but it is quite a meaty volume.

 

[Darc]

Oi, I went through this recently, I really wanted to decide on an enneagram type for me for some reason. I feel though that the enneagram can be a little horoscope-y. I read and looked quite extensively online for info regarding enneagram types, and I came across "trauma of all types" and I related to all of them, and have come to realize I probably relate to all of the enneagram types to an extent. No one type really best fits me very well to be honest.

I also have typed as other things too, like I get enfj and entp sometimes, but when I first tested, I got infp all the time and was "professionally tested" and got infp on that too. I think this is the reason why I am a three and test as other types sometimes because I have worked exceedingly hard on changing myself and adapting to the world, which is why I don't seem like an infp even though at my core, I tested high on a function test for Fi, so I am probably an INFP. Whatever that means. I have heard that taking a dominant functions test is a good way to be more certain as to what your type is, so you could try that.

I think determining your type requires a great deal of introspection if you want to be certain, but you must take into consideration that maybe these personality tests are not for you, they are certainly not a science and can be filled with folly as they are only man made and I doubt can be perfect measures for your inherent nature and the sum of your true self. They can only give you insights at best, but you shouldn't let them completely define you. I mean, it depends how much you prescribe to these theories, I suppose that is the question.

You could get professionally typed, but you know yourself best, in the end you don't need a perfect description or label to understand or define yourself best. It can only get so far in understanding your true nature. But you sound pretty conflicted in general, it can take a long time to sort through personal thoughts like that, so I wouldn't feel the need to rush it, though it can be frustrating.

 

[Asa]

Take your time to figure out your Enneagram. When you land on it, it will make sense, and you'll start to see how people's enneagrams influence their MBTI type, too. It can take months or years for some people to find their E or MBTI types.

Take the available online tests and read up on the descriptions you earn. As Thoureh suggested, knowing thyself is key. It takes honesty, sincerity, and self-acceptance to type accurately. It's easy to relate to flattering descriptions of any archetype. When you type accurately, you should relate strongly to the flaws. You must also know yourself well enough to understand your natural traits versus learned or desired ones.

Wait on paying for a test for a few years. While I know quite a few people who've taken the official MBTI test (self included) through work, therapist, or on their own, one of my friends finally decided to pay for it after years of trying to figure out her type. This is because the stereotypical descriptions on the free tests didn't describe female INTJs well, and didn't include descriptions of well-developed Fi. She always earned INTJ on free tests, they just tended to describe a narrow stereotype that didn't resonate. It would have helped if we were sure she was an INTJ and researched function development and gender differences within the type. She would have found her answers there. -- Enneagram tests are similar. If you keep landing on a type on the free tests, read more in-depth descriptions to see if they resonate and remember that the flaws should speak to you, not just the flattering aspects.

 

[TomasM]

... sometimes we think

the amount of honesty and sincerity we have

These two statements bring forth an idea that I've contemplated for a great deal of time over the years. Sometimes we think and sometimes we feel, then there is meditation.

In MBTI we usually "lean" one way or the other in each dichotomy and this measures the influence each has on our functions, yet it does not necessarily reflect the quantity each of us experiences on each attribute of the dichotomy. For example, a person can have a large degree of (T)hinking and large degree of (F)eeling yet still lean towards one over the other even when the other is higher when measured as a single attribute.

How do we come to our conclusions about the dichotomies if me must derive our assessment across both thinking and feeling attributes when these attributes influence the way we identify what is correct about our self? If we come to an outcome where we lean towards one side of a dichotomy wouldn't that clearly influence our ability to answer a question without bias? It's almost as if the MBTI is measuring our level of bias rather than our inherent qualities.

Let me provide another example. If someone has a high level of both S and N and has no lean then they would be an X. If all of their dichotomies were X then the person would likely be considered balanced and well rounded yet it seems likely they would be regularly conflicted between such close balance. Similarly, if someone is extremely imbalanced in all of their dichotomies they would likely only see the world from one perspective and with little consideration from others - thereby creating stress on them and those around them.

This brings me to my point. If MBTI is a measure of bias then how could we ever make an assessment that attempts to catagorically define part of who we are yet lacks the quantity of either attribute? Moreover, isn't bias something that we all seek to remove in most all scientific processes? I think / feel that we almost have to be assessed by a third party to truly gain accuracy yet there is no way to relay all of the information that goes into this discovery to a third party for assessment. It is a conundrum.

I'm not very familiar with Ennegram and have never done an assesment but I suspect bias would also be a factor in self assessment.

Don't get me wrong, I do believe people can come to some accurate assessments with effort, it justs that the nature of our cognitive function being in conflict, bias, or extreme give way to doubt about most peoples ability to be honest or sincere when it comes to their person. People constatntly lie to their self, probably more than they do to others - or so I've been told.

Have a happy day.

 

[Umai]

I guess I'm with the late Claudio Naranjo here, but I think there's something decidedly crass about the commercialisation of the Enneagram. And I think testing for a fixation is sort of like rating artworks on a scale of ten.