INFJ

[ Butch-ish | Genderqueer Transboy | INFJ ]

INFJ is my personality type from the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) test, which I took online at HumanMetrics. I took the test five times and got slightly different numbers each time, but my scores on the fifth time (which struck me as being the most accurate) were I:100, N:89; F:67; J:67. (The Myers-Briggs is supposed to score on a scale from 0-70. This is just testament to the fact that taking an online test is NOT the same as taking the real one, even though an online test may be almost as accurate as the real thing.)

For more information on the Myers-Briggs test, just how it works, etc., go here.

My Four Preferences:

I: You prefer to focus on the inner world of concepts and ideas. N: You tend to focus on the future, with a view toward patterns and possibilities. F: You tend to base your decisions primarily on values and on subjective evaluation of person-centered concerns. J: You like a planned and organised approach to life and prefer to have things settled.

Introvert:	iNtuitive:
Energy: directed inward toward concepts and ideas Focus: wants to understand the world Attitude: reserved and questioning, subtle and impenetrable Orientation: forethinkers Work environment: quiet and concentration-oriented, wants time to be alone, interests have depth	Focus: patterns, innovation, expectation, future achievement Orientation: change, rearrange life Work environment: prefers adding new skills, looks at the "big picture," patient with complexity
Feeler:	Judger:
Focus: human values and needs, people, tact, harmony Work environment: naturally friendly personal, treats others as they need to be treated Contribution to society: loyal support, care and concern for others, zest and enthusiasm	Attitude: decisive, develop a plan, be right, self-regimented, purposeful, exacting Work environment: focus on completing task, makes decisions quickly, wants only the essentials of the job

INFJ specifically:

Succeed by perseverance, originality, and desire to do whatever is needed or wanted. Put their best efforts into their work. Quietly forceful, conscientious, concerned for others. Respected for their firm principles. Likely to be honored and followed for their clear convictions as to how best to serve the common good.

Academic subjects significantly preferred: art, English, music
Careers/Professions preferred: counselor, writer, politician

From Type Talk by Otto Kroeger and Janet M. Thuesen (a must-read if you're into this stuff):

"INFJs are gentle, compassionate, and accepting, yet given to streaks of extreme stubbornness. When INFJs are committed to an ideal or cause, the stubbornness surfaces. These otherwise compliant, reserved individuals become extremely rigid and demanding of themselves and others, when pursuing a goal in the external world... INFJs are dreamers whose genius, caring, and concern can be an inspiration to many other people. In almost any interpersonal activity, from a board meeting to an intimate family gathering, the INFJ's quiet strength is felt by others. Their hope, aspiration, and caring have limits, however, and those limits can be invoked by the INFJ at any given moment. Such limits may have no apparent relationship to external events, and may leave others feeling frustrated, confused, possibly even deprived."

"INFJs often have, without formal training, skills in group dynamics. Almost psychically, they are aware of various levels of interaction between and among people. However, such awareness remainds largely their own, and efforts to make these observations known to others can be frustrating to INFJs."

"Though they may maneuver themselves to receive affection, INFJs may be quite sparing in dispensing it to others because of their naturally Introverted manner. For the INFJ, talk is cheap, and the resulting sparsity of their communications can have a negative effect on relationships at work and home."

"INFJs' longing for harmony is such a driving force that they sometimes create tension in their relationships by working so determinedly to eliminate it. They would do better to work out tensions within themselves than to focus on external conflicts, because they often carry very heavy burdens. In some ways, this fosters a sense of martyrdom typical of Feelers generally. The INFJ goal of harmony is particularly difficult to achieve because the model for it is rarely articulated, though the drive toward it is nonetheless unrelenting."

"The INFJ parent strives to be stimulating, resourceful, and helpful in everything. A young spirit is considered a terrible thing to waste. Toward that end, if a child shows interest in any kind of self-development, no matter how different from the preferred activities of the INFJ parent, that interest would still be encouraged. To the best of their abilities, the INFJ parent will provide whatever is necessary to foster growth."

"As children, INFJs are frequently very complacent. Except for the stubbornness exhibited around values they prize, their love of harmony, coupled with a general curiosity and hunger for knowledge, makes them compliant children and excellent students. Learning enriches the mind and the INFJ learns very early on that his or her mind is the gateway to the world."

"Wherever the INFJ is, there is work, particularly if the work offers some opportunity to grow and learn. As managers, INFJs are fairly open and very interested in both the people and the product."

 

From David Keirsey, taken from http://www.geocities.com/lifexplore/:

"INFJs focus on possibilities, think in terms of values and come easily to decisions. The small number of this type (1 percent) is regrettable, since INFJs have unusually strong drive to contribute to the welfare of others and genuinely enjoy helping their fellow men. This type has great depth of personality; they are themselves complicated, and can understand and deal with complex issues and people.

"It is an INFJ who is likely to have visions of human events past, present, or future. If a person demonstrates an ability to understand psychic phenomena better than most others, this person is apt to be an INFJ. Characteristically, INFJs have strong empathic abilities and can be aware of another's emotions or intents even before that person is conscious of these. This can take the form of feeling the distress of illnesses of others to an extent which is difficult for other types. INFJs can intuit good and evil in others, although they seldom can tell how they came to know. Subsequent events tend to bear them out, however.

"INFJs are usually good students, achievers who exhibit an unostentacious creativity. They take their work seriously and enjoy academic activity. They can exhibit qualities of over-perfectionism and put more into a task than perhaps is justified by the nature of the task. They generally will not be visible leaders, but will quietly exert influence behind the scenes.

"INFJs are hard to get to know. They have an unusually rich inner life, but they are reserved and tend not to share their reactions except with those they trust. Because of their vulnerability through a strong facility to introject, INFJs can be hurt rather easily by others, which, perhaps, is at least one reason they tend to be private people. People who have known an INFJ for years may find sides emerging which come as a surprise. Not that INFJs are inconsistent; they are very consistent and value integrity. But they have convoluted, complex personalities which sometimes puzzle even them.

"INFJs like to please others and tend to contribute their own best efforts in all situations. They prefer and enjoy agreeing with others, and find conflict disagreeable and destructive. What is known as ESP is likely found in an INFJ more than in any other types, although other types are capable of such phenomena. INFJs have vivid imaginations exercised both as memory and intuition, and this can amount to genius, resulting at times in an INFJ's being seen as mystical. This unfettered imagination often will enable this person to compose complex and often aesthetic works of art such as music, mathematical systems, poems, plays, and novels. In a sense, the INFJ is the most poetic of all the types. Just as the ENTJ cannot not lead, so must an INFJ intuit; this capability extends to people, things, and often events, taking the form of visions, episodes of foreknowledge, premonitions, auditory and visual images of things to come. INFJs can have uncanny communications with certain individuals at a distance."

Just NF:

INTUITIVE-FEELING PEOPLE (INFJ, INFP, ENFP, ENFJ) open to the nonconventional see facts and details as part of larger picture express themselves in new and unusual ways adapt to new circumstances process oriented highly interested in beauty, symmetry, and form enjoy exploratory activities focus on future

Temperament in Leading for an NF Manager:

catalyst--spokesperson--energiser

Focus: the growth needs of an organisation Abilities: communicates organisational norms, makes decisions by participation; is personal, insightful, charismatic Beliefs: people's potential is organisation's strength, organisation must utilise worker's talents Values: autonomy, cooperation, harmony, self-determination Appreciates in self: high energy, ability to value others, unique contributions Needs: approval Irritations at work: impersonal treatment, criticism, lack of positive feedback Irritates others by: taking emotional stands, moralistic positions, getting overextended, creating dependencies Pitfalls as manager: sweeps problems under rug, plays favourites, others' priorities before their own, too anxious to please

Myers-Briggs vs. Keirsey Temperament

The "just NF" part of my Myers-Briggs code can also be classified as my temperament according to the Keirsey system of measurement. NF is the code that corresponds to Idealist on Keirsey's charts. (The other temperaments are: Guardian, which is anyone who has SJ in their Myers-Briggs code; Rational, which is anyone who has NT; and Artisan, which is anyone who has SP.) The four temperaments actually do break up into 16 subcategories, which largely correspond very well with the Myers-Briggs, but Keirsey mostly focuses just on the four temperament types. I took the Keirsey test before taking the Myers-Briggs, and when I found out that they're actually two different tests, I wanted to find out what made them different.

Basically, the Keirsey system looks at ways that you behave or deal with things in a way that would be noticeable to other people, at least on some level. The Myers-Briggs focuses more on how you process things internally, whether or not other people can recognise it in you. I prefer the Myers-Briggs, even though it's obviously much harder to accurately measure internal processes as opposed to noticeable traits, because it's easy to learn to exhibit traits that aren't really in your nature. A lot of the stuff I've read has disclaimers about that. Also, when trying to categorise themselves with the Keirsey method, most people find themselves in multiple categories - more so than with the Myers-Briggs. This is because it's a lot easier for your behaviour to vary over a wide range than your mental processes, even though those obviously will change a bit given the situation.

I thought these guidelines for using the Myers-Briggs were good, so I'm throwing them in here.

Because the MBTI is a powerful tool, it is important that you follow these ethical guidelines whenever you use the MBTI:

• Type preferences are best used to understand oneself first and then to understand others.
• Resist stereotyping or pigeonholing individuals based on their MBTI type. Keep in mind that within each MBTI type you will find a wide range of human behaviour.
• Remember that the MBTI indicates preferences, not behaviour. People often use behaviours that are not based on their actual preferences to adapt to specific situations.
• Avoid using the MBTI alone as the basis of selection for team membership or team task assignments. Remember that the MBTI sorts preferences; it doesn't measure abilities.
• Use the MBTI as a starting point for discussion and understanding, not as an end in itself. The purpose of the MBTI is to help people recognise their own gifts and to value those of others. It can prompt valuable discussions among team members and lead to more effective working relationships.

Sites referenced:

TypeLogic
LifeExplore
Similar Mines
Personality Types
The Personality Page
Keirsey Temperament Website
The Keirsey Temperament Sorter
HumanMetrics Jung Typology Test
Myers-Briggs Personality Types in Famous People

Other stuff referenced:

Understanding Yourself and Others: An Introduction to Temperament by Linda V. Berens, Ph.D. Telos Publications, Huntington Beach, CA, 1998.
MBTI Team Building Program: Team Member's Guide by Sandra Krebs Hirsh. Consulting Psychologists Press, Inc., Palo Alto, CA, 1992.
Type Talk by Otto Kroeger and Janet M. Thuesen. Dell Publishing, New York, NY, 1988.

[ Butch-ish | Transgender | INFJ ]

This page was last on: Friday, 01 February 2002.