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Why INFPs Get Confused With Other Types: INTJs (and Vice Versa)
One of the major aspects that INFPs and INTJs have in common is that they both seem to have a pretty solid stereotype going for each of them. INFPs are seen as this constantly daydreaming, but awkward person who is lovable, heroic, and pure and will chase after butterflies, trying to feed it and become their friend, while an INTJ will look behind a glass window in the attic and make plots, some more plots, and some schemes, usually revolving around doom.
However, people and well-written characters obviously have blurred lines, so these stereotypes are often put to dust. Sometimes an INFP can be mistaken for an INTJ and vice versa. I blame one thing (mostly): Introverted Feeling.
Introverted Feeling is a tricky little thing to identify if you don’t possess it. It is oftentimes misunderstood and perceived to be selfish, self-centered sense of feeling and it can be hard to gauge the levels of it. For instance, there are numerous INFPs (like myself) who try their best to use a pokerface while in social situations (say a party where they are completely lucid and sober) and can come off as cold and maybe calculating, which can give way into tricking people they’re an INTJ. The INTJ is so stereotyped to be this rigid figure that the moment they seem to show empathy or wanting to help someone, they can be pegged as an INFP because “introverted feeling”.
Ultimately it comes down to how well you know the person in question. If someone knows an INFP really, really well, there’s a very good chance they’ve let their guard down and are talking about their emotions and general thoughts on it in a very well-structured manner (as well structured as an INFP gets on such topics that mean the world to them). This being a Tertiary Function, an INTJ is a lot more awkward in this regard if you know them really well, as they still believe in hiding their innermost emotions, which comes off as rather childish or strange to others because their actions may be contradictory. I keep meeting INTJs who will take on some kind of cause (read: rescuing animals, mostly cats) that brings out this sense of emotion or feeling that can bring out for people to peg them as an INFP. I like to bring up Elphaba from Wicked (the book) as someone who was a clear thinker but took on a cause that meant to her, albeit indirectly, when it came towards the treatment of Animals, which is why many people believe she was a Feeler.
And then there’s Extroverted Thinking, which can come off as a foreign concept to younger INFPs, especially teenage INFPs. An INTJ is great at coming up with endgames and solutions much better than an INFP would and based on my experience with people with a strong Te, they love to talk about their discoveries and practical matters that have a meaning to them (not to mention that they’ll imagine creating problems, whether real-life or academic and figuring out a solution they could muster and all of the ways they can solve it, which is not something that’s forever in the mind of an INFP as they have 50 bajillion other matters that aren’t totally that). Meanwhile an INFP, which has Te as an Inferior Function, uses the function in a very primitive manner, oftentimes vocalizing their more complicated thoughts out loud in hopes of gaining some kind of understanding of this logic related topic. I think this is why an INFP could undertake more logic based topics such as Calculus, Chemistry, Physics, Cartography/Geography (I have a huge interest in the latter) maybe because of the challenge it presents which can bring out people to think they’re got INTJ-leveled empirical thinking skills.
I should also bring up the whole INFPs don’t like to play social games thing once more. INTJs are weird about it through an INFP standpoint. They won’t be directly social with others, instead, they’d rather just watch things from afar and be pulling the strings. In fact, they like to be ahead of the loop or the one running the place while an INFP is running away from the place.
I don’t know if this is applicable to other INFPs but I believe the aspect of school and/or note taking is indicative as well. I went through my school notes back in September and I noticed every subject had a pattern after the school year got going and I noticed something interesting about them: I tended to randomly write/sketch what I always feeling for every class all the time, whether it was pride (English), confusion (econ), and all-out end of the world despair and bloody murder (my 11th grade precalc class…long story, it involved him stealing my cookies and eating them in front of the class). In fact, my notes were basically a mini diary of how I was feeling at that moment in time. Meanwhile I notice that an INTJ will just stare at the teacher as they talk because “lolz I know everything” or if they do take notes, they do these their own notes where they try to bypass a given system.
So yeah. If you have anything to add at this point about more differences, feel free to.
I drew a short comic making fun of “my own kind” for their weird displays of genuine affection inspired by a kind of funny video on INTJs and “how to tell if they like you” that I found:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FHpWyMydUE
(I think it’s pretty good, but that’s just my opinion.)
I've been waiting to type Mello since day one since coming back to the site in July. When he first appears in Death Note, I was laughing at the stern pronunciation of his speech, his haircut, and t...
A large majority type Mello from Death Note as ENFP because he is intelligent but impulsive.
Here, in one package, is a great MBTI blog (also) and a great article explaining why Mello is actually an ESTP.
Also, it’s a great reminder of some common MBTI-related fallacies.
- Intuitives are not more intelligent than sensors. Intelligence is independent of MBTI. MBTI shows preferences. Intuitives prefer to focus on theoretical concepts, while sensors prefer to focus on pragmatic ideas.
- Feelers are not necessarily more emotionally expressive than thinkers. Mello with his combination of dominant extroverted sensing and tertiary extroverted feeling is more likely to react to the moment and express his feelings than a introverted feeling dominant, who tends to keep all their strong feelings hidden.
1. Makoto’s dominant function is extroverted feeling (Fe). Makoto is arguably the most comfortable character to be around. Always smiling and agreeable, Makoto has a natural concern for the welfare of the people around him. While Nagisa has an infectious Se-dominant enthusiasm, Makoto has a reliable, steady warmth that is characteristic of Fe-doms. This characteristic makes him and other Fe-doms excellent teachers.
Fe-doms can be very concerned about how others perceive them. Makoto, as the only Fe-dom in his friend group, is the most socially conscious and thus must often restrain his crazier friends (e.g. keeping Haru out of inappropriate water).
2. Makoto is a judging type. Fe-doms are either ENFJs or ESFJs, both judging types. Even if that were not the case, Makoto has many judging characteristics. He is cautious and scheduled, unlikely to follow any spur-of-the-moment impulses.
3. Makoto is an introverted sensing (Si) user. Makoto is strongly impacted by the past, comforted by routine, and uncomfortable with the far future.
Makoto was so strongly affected by the death of the old man in his youth that unlike Haru and Rin, who are not Si-users, he bore a lingering fear of the ocean. Si-dom and aux users particularly rely on precedent, and tend to be risk-averse.
Both seasons of Free! open with Makoto stopping by Haru’s place before school. This daily ritual gives Makoto a sense of security that Si-doms and auxes like to cultivate.
Finally, Makoto is uncomfortable with planning very far into the future. While ESFJs are great planners, theoretically their tertiary extroverted intuition (Ne) makes them worriers, giving weight to even unlikely disasters and making them uncomfortable about planning too far ahead. Unlike ENFJs, whose introverted intuition (Ni) naturally build ideal futures to work towards, ESFJs prefer to focus on the here and now.
While Makoto could also possibly be an ISFJ, his Fe is so prominent, and it does, at least in one instance, trump his Si (he chooses to swim in the ocean, despite his fears). ESFJ seems to be most accurate.
With thanks to Hycocritical truth teller on personalitycafe.
1. Nagisa is definitely an extrovert. Talkative and energetic, Nagisa is the most outgoing of the swim club members. He approached the standoffish and awkward Rei, and won him over with sheer persistence. He enjoys making friends.
2. Nagisa is definitely a feeler. Nagisa's silly act can be seen as a way to make everyone feel included and at ease. Although he may seem like an airhead, he is very attentive to people's feelings. For example, in episode 6, Nagisa pretended to be the Iwatobi penguin because he had noticed that Makoto seemed sad. Along with Makoto, Nagisa is one of the kindest characters in the show, never becoming seriously angry, always seeking to put the people around him at ease.
3. Nagisa appears to be a perceiving feeler. Compared to Makoto, who is a judging feeler, Nagisa is much more spontaneous and whimsical. He is full of new ideas and is always ready to leap into the next crazy adventure.
4. He seems more of a sensor than an intuitivie. He enjoys most throwing himself into the twists and turns of life, rather than contemplating abstract ideas that are far removed from the here and now. This is particularly demonstrated in episode 9 when he turned avoiding Rei into a game.
The main difference between an ENFP and an ESFP is what primarily excites them. ENFPs love throwing around ideas and thus seem a little eccentric. ESFPs love throwing themselves into new situations--immersing themselves in life--and thus are among the most extroverted extroverts. Of course, there is always some overlap, but type is dictated by primary preference.
1. Rei naturally gravitates towards facts and precedent. While Rei is frequently typed as an INTJ, it is important to note that Rei learns through straight memorization of facts, acquiring as much data as possible in order to be infallible. This is a sign of introverted sensing (Si). An INTJ, on the other hand, is more comfortable with making generalizations, and is more interested in plotting and strategizing for the future, rather than meeting a previously established standard.
2. Although he is a nice person, he can seem rude initially because he does not naturally seek to please the people around him. He is a thinker rather than a feeler. When he first met Nagisa, he bluntly told him, "I already joined the track team. Goodbye."
Like most thinkers, he is also unafraid of conflict; he confronts Rin and is not afraid to fight back because maintaining emotional harmony is not his primary concern.
3. He has some difficultly expressing emotion.
4. He is regimented and hard-working. Rei is easily the most hard-working individual of the Iwatobi Swim Club, sacrificing sleep to learn new strokes in Season 2. He is clearly a judging type.
5. Rei frequently thinks out loud. This is a sign of extroverted thinking (Te), the auxiliary function in ISTJs. Te users easily express--and frequently prefer to express--their thoughts out loud to clarify them (whereas introverted thinking (Ti) users have an intensely personal thought process that they prefer not to express).
6. Finally, Rei wears glasses. Although irrelevant in real life, in anime, the tsundere, glasses-wearing character stereotypically possesses many ISTJ traits (see also: Ishida Uryuu from Bleach, Yuki Nagato from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya).
1. One of the most complicated characters in the show, Rin has changed a lot since middle school. Before he moved to Australia, he was very warm and friendly; in fact, he taught introverted Haru to open up. As tumblr user makupsyndrome proposed, Rin was likely suffering from depression following his experiences in Australia. He exhibits symptoms such as dwelling on the past, distancing himself from loved ones, mood swings, and apathy. Past Rin is thus the more accurate reflection of Rin's true personality.
2. Rin is extroverted. Episode 10 of season 1 provides the most information about who Rin used to be: he introduces himself boldly and directly, enjoying the impact he makes on his class. On the first day, he tries to befriend Makoto and Haru, talking with them energetically. Rin seems naturally an extrovert who became introverted due to depression, though he also seems to have quieted down with age. He is still much too focused on his friends to be an ISTP, though, who are known to become immersed in personal projects and fall out of contact with people altogether.
3. Rin has always been competitive and slightly aggressive. He is unbothered--and in fact, excited--by conflict. Rin enjoys solving disagreements head-on, with contests, which he is forever challenging his friends to. He is also unafraid of telling people what's on his mind and arguing with them, though sometimes he neglects their feelings. While some may consider Rin an ESFP because he is very emotional--crying when he loses races, swimming relays for romantic reasons like friendship--compared to a very typical ESFP like Nagisa, Rin is more aggressive. ESTPs can be emotional, and tertiary extroverted feeling (Fe) may mean their feelings are visible and just under the surface. However, unlike ESFPs, many ESTPs have difficultly expressing their feelings (Rin definitely does).
4. Rin appears to be a sensor rather than an intuitive. Rin has no interest for theory or impractical things and he is happiest when he is out doing things. He is very strongly an extroverted sensing (Se) user; he lives for the excitement of the moment. He truly comes alive when he is in the midst of a new challenge.
5. The only extroverted type with extroverted sensing and thinking is the ESTP.
First of all, let me tell you that I am definitely not a doormat who will do anything she’s told to do and I have quite a lot of personal charm and opinions of my own, that most of them are shaped from my experience. I am a feminist, imaginative and creative- and also, an ISFJ.
Kyon is conventional the way Haruhi is not. The straight man to Haruhi's madness, Kyon seems almost completely Haruhi's opposite.
1. While every MBTI type is capable of appearing normal, the most notable aspect of Kyon's normalcy is his at least passing respect for social niceties. Although he is uncomfortable with both Haruhi and Nagato the various times he was alone with them in the first two episodes, he insists on making small talk.
This appears to be a sign of Fe, which is concerned with how others are feeling and doing what is socially accepted to put others at ease.
However, he does not exude pleasantness like a Fe-dominant or auxiliary individual does (e.g. Koizumi). He can be quite snappy.
2. Kyon is also more focused on the tangible and conventional than Haruhi. He repeatedly suggests she give up her quest for mysteries and pursue normal high-school activities, like joining a sports club or getting a boyfriend. He thus seems to be a sensor.
In fact, even when surrounded by aliens and time travelers, Kyon is refreshingly focused on the ordinary. After the battle with Asakura, after making sure she is not injured, he notes that Nagato looks cuter without her glasses.
3. He is generally relaxed. Kyon takes Haruhi's crazy ideas in stride. He is neither terribly punctual nor very controlling. He appears to be a perceiver.
4. Kyon's strong use of introverted thinking (Ti) makes him an excellent narrator. A random excerpt from his internal monologue from episode 5, when Ryoko Asakura tries to kill him: "What is this? Why is she pointing a knife at me?...I don't understand. Someone come and explain this to me!...Kill me and see Haruhi's reaction? Haruhi sure is popular. If so why do I have to die?"
Even in a life or death situation, Kyon is trying to figure out why things are happening, as opposed to Ryoko's motivations and whether he agrees with them (Fi), or the best strategy to get out of the situation (Te), or Ryoko's feelings and how to best placate them (Fe).
5. He appears to be introverted. He does not concern himself with making many friends or acquaintances, and his Ti is more observable than his extroverted sensing.
Thus he is an ISTP.
6. As an ISTP, Kyon really is the exact opposite of Haruhi.
Haruhi is an ENFP, so she uses Ne, Fi, Te, and Si in that order.
As an ISTP, Kyon uses Ti, Se, Ni, and Fe in that order.
Kyon's functions are in opposite directions (introverted thinking versus extroverted thinking, for example) and almost perfectly reversed compared to Haruhi's. The type with the most perfectly reversed functions would be an ESTP (Se, Ti, Fe, Ni).
Given that ESTPs are extroverted though, they may appear more similar to Haruhi--e.g. have a similar amount of energy and be similarly outspoken--than ISTPs. Thus being an ISTP seems to make Kyon the perfect opposite of Haruhi.
1. Haruhi's defining trait is her love of the eccentric. She constantly searches for the unique and the unusual; from her introductory demand that only time-travelers, aliens and espers contact her, to trying out every club. Normally withdrawn, she comes to life when she is generating new ideas and planning for her club.
This seems to be a sign of dominant or auxiliary extroverted intuition (Ne), which loves to expound on the possibilities generated by external stimuli.
2. Haruhi is occasionally inconsiderate of other's feelings because she is so absorbed with her own ideas. She forces Kyon to help her with the club, kidnaps Mikuru Asahina, and walks into the Computer Research Society and demands a computer as if she deserves one.
When they refuse, she takes compromising photos of the club president and threatens him with them.
This kind of strategic, as opposed to emotional, manipulation seems to suit a strong thinker rather than a feeler.
3. So I initially typed her as ENTP, however Haruhi herself is very passionate and idealistic. She expresses great frustration with most humans because they are ordinary. In fact, everyone annoys her because they don't match her expectations. This deep, brooding passion is a sign of introverted feeling, Fi. Her complete lack of respect for social conventions also appears to be Fi.
Fi has the capacity to be very self-centered, because it is an inwardly focused function, primarily concerned with how things resonate with one's own feelings and values.
An ENTP would have tertiary extroverted feeling (Fe), which manifests as the kind of smooth charm associated with EXTPs (think Kisuke Urahara from Bleach).
4. She seems to prefer Te to Ti.
Were Haruhi an ENTP, her auxiliary function would be introverted thinking (Ti) which seeks to make logical sense of the world. Kyon's internal narrative is a good sign of Ti; he calmly observes and criticizes constantly--it's what makes him a good narrator. Haruhi, however, does not care about whether the unusual things she is looking for make sense, she is seeking an emotional rush. When she does appear to use a thinking function, it is extroverted thinking (Te), which organizes people and manipulates information to get what she needs at the moment. Where Ti seeks overarching logic and understanding, Te seeks to get things done quickly. Haruhi is more of a get-things-done-quickly kind of person.
5. Haruhi appears to be an ENFP rather than an INFP. The only dominant or auxiliary Ne and Fi users are ENFPs and INFPs.
Although Haruhi occasionally appears introverted, she ultimately enjoys incorporating people into plans that she makes up as she goes along. She appears to thus have dominant Ne and to be more extroverted than introverted. Her strong Te is also consistent with ENFP.
1. Yamazaki is hard-working and structured. He has a clear goal of creating a video game and starting a company, and he works hard to achieve his dream. He sets deadlines for himself and is very disciplined. He thus seems like a judger.
2. He is very honest. This trait makes him unpopular, but also a good friend. At the end of the year party, he offends his classmates by criticizing the quality of other video games, and boasting that he could do better (episode 9). But he also plays a pivotal role in helping Tatsuhiro face reality and shape-up. In episodes 17 and 18, while INFJ Misaki offers Tatsuhiro emotional support, Yamazaki lays down the hard truths about online relationships and the marketing scheme Tatsuhiro was tricked into. Yamazaki thus appears to be a thinker.
3. He is not concerned with making many friends. Instead, he likes the company of only a few people, and prefers to spend his time working instead of socializing. He is thus an introvert.
4. He is unconventional and unconcerned with tradition and societal values. He is an otaku with a huge collection of figurines and dating simulation games. He is shunned by his classmates because of his unconventional interests, but he does not care.
Similarly, he revolts against his family's desire that he take over the ranch, and instead pursues video game design. This seems to contraindicate Si-dom.
5. He believes change is an improvement. Unlike Si dominants who prefer not to fix what isn't broken, Yamazaki likes to think about how things can be improved. He wants to create a better dating simulation game and is excited by Tatsuhiro's new ideas.
6. He strikes the INTJ "I am god" pose. See image above. See also, Light Yagami, Lelouch vi Britannia.
1. Misaki is introverted. She does not seem to have many friends and acquaintances besides Tatsuhiro. While she is congenial and seems to get along with people easily, she prefers to focus on a few important relationships.
2. She is focused on helping people and making them happy. She describes herself as a kindhearted girl who likes to help people. We initially see her walking around with her aunt, spreading awareness of the hikikomori condition. She volunteers to help Tatsuhiro by pretending to be his girlfriend and she always goes above and beyond, helping him clean his room, making him food, and lying for him, though it makes her uncomfortable. She is very self-sacrificing, forgiving and kind.
Though Tatsuhiro often treats her badly, she forgives him. When he doesn't show up for counseling in episode 15, for example, she says, "He looked like he was busy working on something. I'll let it go."
Because she is able to sympathize so strongly, she seems like a strong feeler. Because her decisions are primarily based on helping others feel at ease, she seems to use extroverted feeling (Fe).
3. She is punctual and reliable. Unlike Tatsuhiro, she is always on time to counseling sessions. She always has an organized plan for each session. She thus seems like a judger.
4. Her counseling focuses on psychological theory and philosophy. Although she dispenses practical advice and offers practical assistance, she is particularly enamored with theory. Her decisions also seem to be based on eerily accurate intuition more than past experiences. She thus appears to be an intuitive, making her an INFJ.
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