Do INFJ's appear to be ISTJ's?

YES! My sister is an ISTJ and believes that I (an INFJ) am too. Our mom is definitely ST - since we were raised by an ST, I makes a lot of sense to me.

However, my ISTJ sister can not accept that I am NF because I'm really good at math. Intellect has nothing to do with it. I pare the difference (ST/NF) down to being able to see between the lines and decision-making preferences. My ST sister sticks to the facts and makes her decisions very economically (finance-wise). I tend to see underlying themes and make decisions based on my personal value systems (I'll take a job that pays less but has work that will make me happier).

Being in the military, your BF definitely has incentive to "block out" NF tendencies and give his ST know-how preferential treatment. It takes emotional work to do this (and he may not even think of it as optional), but it's definitely a possibility.
 
oddi said:
Do you identify with the ISTJ profile? Are INFJ men afraid of appearing INFJ to the public? Do many INFJ's appear ISTJ on the surface?
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I find that even the public side of an INFJ can be very different than the ISTJ's.

There are commonalities, I'm sure. My two ISTJ acquaintances (1 male, 1 female) are very "solid" in their public appearance. I assume this is the case because they are scanning the environment and genuinely have nothing to express that would be "in order". I tend to do something similar, but only with people I don't find particularly relatable.

Even in the most basic public persona, I quickly differentiated from my ISTJ and INTJ associates. I use a lot more superfluous words. I talk more, especially when I'm in the mood. I smile a lot more than all the ISTJs and INTJs combined, whether I am being shy or confident. (not an exaggeration).

I like a stable environment. I like to be seen as reliable---in my appointments---but not necessarily consistent. Very strong difference. Nonetheless, I do usually have a sense of routine, but I care much less about functional duties. There are some kinds of "maintenance" that I actually enjoy, such as cleaning and improving a physical environment, but none of this is overarching. I like to keep public space orderly, but private space only generally neat and functional.

Like the ISTJ, I do not care too much about the elegance of my living space.
 
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INFJs can appear like INTJs but I don't think they can really appear like ISTJs, the differences are pretty drastic between those two types.
 
KNelz said:
However, my ISTJ sister can not accept that I am NF because I'm really good at math. Intellect has nothing to do with it.
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+1
 
Maybe I'm an infj that appears as an istj? Hmmmm...
 
Lol. I love Michael Scott. :P
I know I'm about a year late but I want to contribute by saying that I have been consistentlytested as an INFJ but the results show that my N and F aren't high in percentage. I would say that I'm borderline INFJ and ISTJ so I am someone who can appear very ISTJ at times. :]
 
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