Being confident of your type

cool

Odyne said:
I think that this was the greatest factor in my type confusion.



Being female, and having been raised by an ESFJ mother, having an ISFP sister, with the only male figure in my life is an INTP, played a huge factor in my F development making me appear another type than I am.

It certainly helped me achieve a balance between the two ends of the spectrum though. =)
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I think its very interesting how people when raised in certain families can affect your free expression of your personality
 
I'm not sure at all :( waaaa heeeeeeeelp....

E... I have to admit I am quite shy when around people I don't know... But maybe that has other roots. Although I can speak to random strangers on a more individual level, but not always... I have to feel as if I can expect them to be nice and reasonable. When spontaniously asked to speak in public in huge crowds I often have no problems just doing it, it almost feels like second nature.
I do hate being alone though. 1 day is already over the limit, I become extremely depressed and feel I have to be with people, preferably many and.. people I don't know too well (but not compleeete strangers).
N... Okay I'm veeery honest here, I don't know much about the difference between N and S. Something to do with the way you think... about being able to see details? Or patterns? was it not? But I tested N, sooo..
F... Feeeeeliinnggzzzz, harmony is so important! Communication~~> understanding people is sooo important. Communication is such an art. You can use the same words but say something compleeeeetely different, it's the nuances! I mean in the end we live in a society which... as far as I can remember full of people, hehe.

P... I am not organized when it comes to personal planning.... work schedules... buuuuut when people set times to meet up somewhere... I'm usually* punctual because I wouldn't want to dissapoint them.... People can get very angry because of this! (but meeting up without a set time also works right 0.o, like.. if you say... "Yea I'll be there like around so and so... I'll just call you when I'm there Kay"?)

The function I'm most uneasy about is really N~~ Does anyone like really understand what's with it? I remember reading about it but it's quite vague in my memory.
 
Oranguh said:
I'm not sure at all :( waaaa heeeeeeeelp....

E... I have to admit I am quite shy when around people I don't know... But maybe that has other roots. Although I can speak to random strangers on a more individual level, but not always... I have to feel as if I can expect them to be nice and reasonable. When spontaniously asked to speak in public in huge crowds I often have no problems just doing it, it almost feels like second nature.
I do hate being alone though. 1 day is already over the limit, I become extremely depressed and feel I have to be with people, preferably many and.. people I don't know too well (but not compleeete strangers).
N... Okay I'm veeery honest here, I don't know much about the difference between N and S. Something to do with the way you think... about being able to see details? Or patterns? was it not? But I tested N, sooo..
F... Feeeeeliinnggzzzz, harmony is so important! Communication~~> understanding people is sooo important. Communication is such an art. You can use the same words but say something compleeeeetely different, it's the nuances! I mean in the end we live in a society which... as far as I can remember full of people, hehe.

P... I am not organized when it comes to personal planning.... work schedules... buuuuut when people set times to meet up somewhere... I'm usually* punctual because I wouldn't want to dissapoint them.... People can get very angry because of this! (but meeting up without a set time also works right 0.o, like.. if you say... "Yea I'll be there like around so and so... I'll just call you when I'm there Kay"?)

The function I'm most uneasy about is really N~~ Does anyone like really understand what's with it? I remember reading about it but it's quite vague in my memory.
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This is a very inefficient way of finding out your MBTI type.

http://dissonance.my3gb.com/mbti.html
http://keys2cognition.com/explore.htm
 
oooh yay ty :)

Well apparantly it's still enfp :D that's good news I guess but this whole graph is kinda confusing

Cognitive ProcessLevel of Development (Preference, Skill and Frequency of Use)
extraverted Sensing (Se) ***************************** (29.3)
average use
introverted Sensing (Si) *********** (11.3)
unused
extraverted Intuiting (Ne) **************************************** (40.9)
excellent use
introverted Intuiting (Ni) ************************************** (38.6)
excellent use
extraverted Thinking (Te) ************ (12.1)
unused
introverted Thinking (Ti) ************************ (24.4)
average use
extraverted Feeling (Fe) ************************************** (38.8)
excellent use
introverted Feeling (Fi) ******************************************** (44.8)
excellent use
I am aware that there are cognitive functions and stuff, but I am not really in depth with their definitions and such :P. But this is more detailed than 4 letters I guess ^^.
 
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I took my first mbti test in college but couldn't be bothered to tell if I tested INTJ or not. I took another one about 10 years ago and tested INTJ. I studied a tad bit and lost interest. I recently revisited the idea of personality types and tested as INTJ again. I don't really doubt that it is my personality type. I figure that I'm not really a feeler if I can look at my sister crying (shes a cryer) and think, what a waste of perfectly good energy (not in a mean way). One of my driving interests has been to try and understand/interpret emotions and their context so I feel that my F function is better developed than most Thinkers.

The tests provide a good starting point but I also agree that the theory is a bit complex to not do some homework. An understanding of how the functions work or are defined enables you to put yourself into one category versus another. I still feel that I a bit of a novice about the whole thing and I've read at least 3 to 5 books that touch on the subject. I think you have to want to know and do the work to find out to feel confident. I also agree with the if you take more than 3 seconds to answer a question, you aren't being spontaneous enough to go with your gut feeling and are overthinking it.
 
A potential problem that I've been noticing when I occasionally take the test is that now that I know a good bit about MBTI, it's hard not to immediately recognize a question as "J/P" or "F/T." I don't think that it influences the results of my tests personally (I tested INFJ the first time before knowing about MBTI, and have always since then with slight variations in J expression), but I can foresee people that want to be a certain type subconsciously using it as an answer key of sorts.
 
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What's dangerous is not mistyping oneself, but using one's MBTI personality type to make decisions in real life.

Everybody should be bearing in mind the impossibility of accurately defining or categorising personality. MBTI is a nice theory that seems to be fairly accurate, but I actually worry that there is a possibility knowing my personality type could influence my decisions or behaviour. This isn't healthy. It's like changing the way you think or act because you saw a psychic or read a horoscope. No one is an INFJ. However, many people have INFJ. This is a very important distinction. The main problem is that each cognitive function is a grouping. There is no such thing as a binary opposite and yet MBTI theory is full of them. I'm not saying it's a load of shit, it's a useful tool for grasping society and the world and, frankly, it's interesting, but it should never be seen as anything more than an approximation. Imagine how many millions of tiny signifiers, processes and differences must be intrinsic to Fe. Fe is a massively broad description of a grouping of behaviours and preferences and can never be absolute. Fe will (and has to be) used differently by each individual. To say that person a and person b are INFJs is like saying person a and person b are caucasian. They may both be caucasian but that does not mean they have the same colour skin.

Do you see what I mean? Do not see the MBTI as scripture. This is not a theory to follow. This is a theory to grasp academically but it should not be used in real life. If you want to know what you should do with your life, how to be happy, or what you enjoy, just consider how you are comfortable. It takes a while to learn how and where you are comfortable. I thought I wanted to be a journalist for years but I have learned through job after job that I simply feel uncomfortable if I am not rewarded for my actions. That reward, to me, is the sense of having done something, rather than simply keeping a process maintained. To me, that means feeling that I have changed something for the better, which in my case means that I would like to be on the political side of a charity. I am not a case worker, I do not want to help the individual (though I want others to do that!) I am a campaigner behind the scenes through debate and discussion and raising of the issues to promote fairness. I did not learn this through the MBTi, which would peg me as a "counsellor". Make your decisions through life experience, please.

And for those who want to understand whether they are an INFJ. One thing you may want to consider is the extent to which you use Ni. Ni is the dominant function of an INFJ. If your results show that your N is low, it is probably that you are not an INFJ. Se is the inferior function and Ni is the dominant function. If you are an INFJ, you should have a strong N. When it comes to F and T, frankly, INFJs use both of these quite a lot, depending on their age. If your T is very low, you may want to consider whether you could be a type that has T as its inferior function, like an INFP, for example.
 
justeccentricnotinsane said:
What's dangerous is not mistyping oneself, but using one's MBTI personality type to make decisions in real life.

Everybody should be bearing in mind the impossibility of accurately defining or categorising personality. MBTI is a nice theory that seems to be fairly accurate, but I actually worry that there is a possibility knowing my personality type could influence my decisions or behaviour. This isn't healthy. It's like changing the way you think or act because you saw a psychic or read a horoscope. No one is an INFJ. However, many people have INFJ. This is a very important distinction. The main problem is that each cognitive function is a grouping. There is no such thing as a binary opposite and yet MBTI theory is full of them. I'm not saying it's a load of shit, it's a useful tool for grasping society and the world and, frankly, it's interesting, but it should never be seen as anything more than an approximation. Imagine how many millions of tiny signifiers, processes and differences must be intrinsic to Fe. Fe is a massively broad description of a grouping of behaviours and preferences and can never be absolute. Fe will (and has to be) used differently by each individual. To say that person a and person b are INFJs is like saying person a and person b are caucasian. They may both be caucasian but that does not mean they have the same colour skin.

Do you see what I mean? Do not see the MBTI as scripture. This is not a theory to follow. This is a theory to grasp academically but it should not be used in real life. If you want to know what you should do with your life, how to be happy, or what you enjoy, just consider how you are comfortable. It takes a while to learn how and where you are comfortable. I thought I wanted to be a journalist for years but I have learned through job after job that I simply feel uncomfortable if I am not rewarded for my actions. That reward, to me, is the sense of having done something, rather than simply keeping a process maintained. To me, that means feeling that I have changed something for the better, which in my case means that I would like to be on the political side of a charity. I am not a case worker, I do not want to help the individual (though I want others to do that!) I am a campaigner behind the scenes through debate and discussion and raising of the issues to promote fairness. I did not learn this through the MBTi, which would peg me as a "counsellor". Make your decisions through life experience, please.
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cannot stress this enough. only a primitive and feeble system at trying to,define oneself. It's interesting, well-done, and can be accurate but don't take it as gospel. It's a mere tool.
 
Why is Knowing Your Personality Type so Important?

Knowing your 4 letter Personality Type is extremely powerful when it comes to understanding yourself and others. There are hundreds of books written about Personality Type that you can access to boost your personal growth and your success.

If you have the wrong Personality Type, all of this information is useless.

Thus if you want any of the following, then making sure you have the correct 4 Letter Personality Type is critical:

* You are looking for insight into which careers you might be good at
* You would like insight into your strengths and weaknesses
* You want to achieve more and be more successful
* You want to be happier
* You want to know how to sell to others better
* You want to know how to be more persuasive
* You want to have better relationships
* You want to know how to get along with others better
* You have trouble getting along with a person and you want help figuring out what to do

Personality Type systems will help you to achieve all of those things, but only if you know your Type. Otherwise, all of the information will be inaccurate.
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I guess that may be if you choose to define your existence by typology. I'd rather gain this knowledge by going out into the world, getting to know people, and getting my ass kicked by life a few hundred times than to gain it by intensely studying typology and Jung though. I mean, if I gain that understanding I want some stories to go along with it.
 
I'm sure that I'm an INFJ - I've taken an MBTI eight times under supervision for work and study. Got INFJ six times and INTJ two times. The reason for my getting INTJ is probably that my enneagram type is one with a wing of nine. All that being said, MBTI is - in my opinion - just the little nudge that sets the ball of self-improvement rolling. Have a great day all!
 
Every time I take a personality test I get ENFJ. E being borderline. However I know for a fact I'm introverted. INFJ descriptions seem to fit me perfectly. My brother and his girlfriend are both INTJ and they feel that INFJ fits me best as well. The thing is though. When I do Cognitive functions tests All of my cognitive functions are pretty much if not exactly at the same level (Always High). Excluding Se which is always extremely low compared to the others and Te which is only slightly lower. I don't understand this. How can Si Ni Ne Fe Fi Ti be even?
I've taken every test I could find, made sure I was unbiased and completely true to myself. I've asked others if they thought I acted differently then how I answered... Yet it's always the same... does anyone have any suggestions or actually know why this could be? Is it a bad thing?

It's driving me crazy...
 
Silver Tongue said:
Every time I take a personality test I get ENFJ. E being borderline. However I know for a fact I'm introverted. INFJ descriptions seem to fit me perfectly. My brother and his girlfriend are both INTJ and they feel that INFJ fits me best as well. The thing is though. When I do Cognitive functions tests All of my cognitive functions are pretty much if not exactly at the same level (Always High). Excluding Se which is always extremely low compared to the others and Te which is only slightly lower. I don't understand this. How can Si Ni Ne Fe Fi Ti be even?
I've taken every test I could find, made sure I was unbiased and completely true to myself. I've asked others if they thought I acted differently then how I answered... Yet it's always the same... does anyone have any suggestions or actually know why this could be? Is it a bad thing?

It's driving me crazy...
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Be calm! loll

Seriously...do you honestly think that you have to fit a certain profile? Anyone here could take the same test day after day and get different results simply because of how they are feeling that day. And although you may feel that you are unbiased, we being the self-centered creatures that we are will always cheat on certain answers unconsciously. You have been affected by outside influences that you may or may not realize are affecting you....something someone said, some event, hell even the weather changes a person's outlook for that day or week...these things can change how we behave.
You are who you are....you don't need a test to tell you who that is. If you say you are INFJ based upon reasoning and research that you have done, the opinions of your friends and family, then I agree with you. I could take that test certain days and be completely different in certain areas...but what are you the most consistently?
The answer to that question will answer your question.
 
The thing is not to forget the big picture for a second. Why is an INJ saying this? Because in order to identify with a type, you need to know it inside and out. Don't study yourself. Study the profiles. Look at the cognitive functions and define them to a T. See how the relationships between them play out, good and bad. Strengths and weaknesses of that type. If you aren't sure of something, or even if you think you are, bring it up with other typologists. And if you have trouble deciding between absolute truths (I see that a lot) like "I'm decisive." "I'm more realistic than conceptual." Then take a word test. Interpret the words however you like and apply them to yourself. www.similarminds.com under Psychology Tests is incredible with not only covering multiple personality systems (including one he created who's INTP on the MB...said that somewhere) and their profiles, concisely put. I strongly suggest trying the any of the "Word Test" Or "Word Choice" tests or some similar wording.

Personally, I struggled between INTP and INTJ. (classic INP or INJ, I know) But I had to look at the stack, and a long, hard look at myself and how I, me, myself, works. Somethings I thought were another function entirely. An example is how I'm concerned somewhat to how I look to people, my image, how they perceive (key word right there) me. I attributed this to Fe, a Judging function. Haha! No. It's Se, a Perceiving one (thats where the key word fits). Se is concerned with status and all the lovely luxuries that come with it. Money is another troupe with INJs.
When it came down to it though, it was the Fi versus Fe. Because they are so low in the stack for both INTP and INTJ, it's harder to identify. I collectively realized Fi was my Feeling influence. I deal with things emotionally on my own and it works much better and more comfortable than extroverting it. I rarely show anger, in fact, it's physically difficult to spontaneously "lash out" when upset. Like my muscles contract and won't move at all. I don't know. *shrugs* And...I'll just copy and paste it because I tend to butcher it. The second sentence...
"As INTJs become more aware of their Fi, they get better acquainted with their personal feelings and values. They discover that truth does not merely reside at the level of universals (Ni-Te) but also in the felt experience of the individual (Fi)."
From http://personalityjunkie.com/the-intj/ Page 2.
This is how that quote applies. One of my INTJs and I both have trouble accepting emotions. Sounds quite stupid because they exist no matter whether you agree with them or not, but we do. They are virtually purposeless, can be very ugly and people are hopelessly irrational when it the height of one. Positive and negative emotions. That's Ni-Te, more specifically Te, That and our underdeveloped Fi when younger, and partially in general human nature, caused some real hurt feelings. Additionally, we both are very calm no matter the situation. Example: I had a conflict with one of my parents last night. They got heated, very heated. It bothered them so much I wasn't responding emotionally at all. I apologized multiple times and sincerely meant it. "Well, you don't act sorry." "I'm not going to get all emotional though doing so. Crying and shaking because I'm so grieved." Haha, it's been said I just stare back at people like I'm watching tv. Reverting back to dominant Perceiving. xD
INTPs, if emotionally attached to the situation, will go from minimal emotion to warp 9. If not, they will remain calm more or less but just completely withdraw from the situation. INTJs go into dom Percieveing (Ni) and take everything in straight through there. INTPs will go straight to their dom Judging (Ti) and will pick up right away on any inconsistencies or fine points/words, etc. They are still Judging but are totally gone from it. I'm not INTP, so I apologize for the vagueness there but I have seen the pattern of this.
 
There are 16 Personality Types, and picking the wrong type is like putting diesel fuel into a car that takes regular gasoline (petrol, for you Brits). The wrong type of fuel just won't work right and you will damage your engine.

Having the wrong Personality Type will waste your time and result in you getting bad information about yourself.
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What a strange concept. How can something mislead me about myself?

I knew what I wanted to do in preschool and showed strong signs of all my future pursuits, values, and beliefs prior to high school. They were in my play, in my friendships, in my fantasies, in my writing, in my family... how could I not know? The problem has always been translating it to something tangible or with real-world value.
 
I have honestly no idea anymore... and need to seek professional help. When I read all these type descriptions and see people talk about these concepts and type people with the fluidity of knowing 2+2=4, it really impresses me. Or maybe they could be just putting on the show of confidence that's all the rage.

When I first took the tests I always scored INTP... and I was actually really confident in my type. This was when I was in college getting a math degree... and before I realized how messed up emotionally my childhood was. INTP fit well with my idea of myself at the time... but probably not with my true self...then cracks started to form... and I thought I was INFP. Which fit but not really my passion for Math... and well it seemed sort of strange to be an INFP... it fit if I ignored a couple of aspects of my personality.

I actually am most confident in my lead function being an intuitive function now... and being really introverted and really soft hearted and (harmonious) when it comes to people sends me to INFJ thinking. Or maybe some sort of ENP type... with enough psychological problems to twist it into an unrecognizable form.

This uncertainty drives me insane... Probably why I like math since I can know with certainty all the various things there is to know... well with enough certainty so I can show off my math skills to teenagers...
 
I just want to point out that enjoying the upkeep of a to-do list and enjoying proper planning and organization are not mutually exclusive of each other. You could dislike writing a to-do list but enjoy planning every facet of your day. After all what did J-types do before writing was a social norm?

Myers-Briggs is a test that is all about preference and cognitive functions. One would assume that it is easy to determine this by observation of one's extroverted auxiliary behavior, but particularly for introverted types this may only be a cog in the machine. For best accuracy you would have to uncover the motivation behind the auxiliary function to determine your permanent alignment between judging or perceiving.
 
MegaPixelMusic said:
I have honestly no idea anymore... and need to seek professional help. When I read all these type descriptions and see people talk about these concepts and type people with the fluidity of knowing 2+2=4, it really impresses me. Or maybe they could be just putting on the show of confidence that's all the rage.
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The worst thing to do to be confident, IMHO, is seek professional help. The reason is the uncertainty about type is half because people assume there is one objective system, and in fact there is tremendous divergence in the different typology schools on how functions-stackings look, and so on. The biggest problem with professionals in my experience is they'll try to sell it as if you were confused because you've been looking at lesser sources...when in reality the issue is that there isn't some kind of room for absolute consensus.

Jung allowed stackings like NiTi>FeSe; Myers started off with just the aux opposite attitude to dominant (which diverges from orthodox Jung), and then later adopted Grant's stance where the tertiary is also assumed in the same attitude as dominant (this is the standard INFJ = NiFeTiSe). Then there's Beebe who uses Grant-stackings+his spin on the von Franz statement that Jung thought the biggest opposition in understanding is in between opposite attitude same functions dominant types....where he considers an opposing complex to every one of the 4 Grant stackings elements.
Then there's socionics.

Seriously, people have to realize that if you want an empirical personality system, the Big 5 comes somewhat close, but the hardest empiricism is found in fields like physics, not soft sciences.
The Jungian system and its offshoots are more metaphysically and philosophically based than scientifically, and as we well know, philosophy rarely achieves the consensus science seems to, because on some level, you can only offer good or better arguments -- rarely knockdown certainty.

Find a system that works for you and think through other systems deeply to see how they relate/are different and that's that! I settled on some version of NeTi after a while, and I am confident it describes me well, but I also think that happens to be so -- other systems may work better for others.
 
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