My description of the INFJ | INFJ Forum

My description of the INFJ

88chaz88

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Okay I was typing this out for a friend who typed as INFJ. Thought I might share.

INFJ's in their 20s tend to be very T-like, even though they're an F type. Although idealistic they seek to rationalise and won't stop until they know everything they want to (and that's usually a lot). As such they're information sponges.

They're foremost dominant function is introverted intuition which allows them to seemingly pull answers out of their arse. They do though have a habit of trusting this ability a little too much and are prone to stress if it doesn't work as it should.

They have a tendancy to take a black and white view on people and the world believing that you're either with them or against them. They can be unfailing loyal to those with them and unforgiving to those they view against them. Coupled with their idealsm they don't take well to those that disagree with them.

At best INFJs are idealistic though practical people, extremely knowlegeable well liked. At worst they can be arrogant, combatitive and vengeful.

I don't usually do this but I was feeling ambitious today. Anyone agree/disagree?

Interestingly enough he posted this while I was typing that out:

To be honest I don't think this can be applied with any form of accuracy. Because, at least in my case, it depends on the situation and the day. One day I'll be very emotional and intuitive, the next I'll be pondering, planning and scheming everything. Humans are very rarely the same throughout their lives.

LOL I thought, as both "days" are very typical of INFJs.
 
INFJ's in their 20s tend to be very T-like, even though they're an F type. Although idealistic they seek to rationalise and won't stop until they know everything they want to (and that's usually a lot). As such they're information sponges.

I suppose I agree. This is on the premise that a responsible young person is beginning their independent adult life. It is a time of prioritizing how to achieve success. It is also a time of exploring relationships and gaining experience. I think one of the biggest conflicts of a 20 year old INFJ is truly seeing how shallow the world and people are around them ... and realizing that they too have to jump in that river b/c competition is incredibly high. For the first time, either in college or workplace they have to PROVE themselves to others ... ugh. Did I mention I didn't care much for my 20s?

They're foremost dominant function is introverted intuition which allows them to seemingly pull answers out of their arse. They do though have a habit of trusting this ability a little too much and are prone to stress if it doesn't work as it should.

Hmmm. I'm not so sure introverted intuition gives anyone the ability to pull answers out of their arse. I think this is a learned skill and behavior, not a personality characteristic. You are learning new coping mechanisms to new situations, in which both seems to be very exaggerated (many mechanisms fail, it is finding out what works for you.)

They have a tendancy to take a black and white view on people and the world believing that you're either with them or against them. They can be unfailing loyal to those with them and unforgiving to those they view against them. Coupled with their idealsm they don't take well to those that disagree with them.

I keep backspacing. I disagree, no it sounds more like I agree, no I disagree and so on. lol I'm not so sure I have a stake in your comment. I chose to avoid having friends b/c I still was happy being me ... but others found it unpleasant. So often, many people in their 20s are not too tolerant of others and respectful of their differences. People in their 20s are constantly reaching out to others with the same interests, which usually meant rejection for this female INFJ. I was not unforgiving or hateful of those, I had accepted rejection as a fact.

Did I not take well to those that disagreed with me? Probably, only b/c a "rebellious nature" meant not allowing others to influence me.
 
I'm not sure if I totally agree with the Ni definition but to a certain extent, it can be hard to trace the origin of it's answer. I think a lot of people (not you chaz) think that Ni is very mysterious and gets answers from nothing that are usually right/ a stroke of genius. Remember, Ni is prone to conspiracy theories and it often gets away from us. Think Glenn Beck, sort of. Oil prices rising? It's cause Obama's a Nazi. Lolz.

I sometimes do take a black and white view of things but that is getting better as I enter my 20s. I do take the "with me or against me" route a lot and I think it's gotten me into many arguments, specifically on this forum.
 
I joined a socionics forum and they all think I'm Ti dom.


I definitely agree with what you had to say, Chaz.

As far as the binary thinking, this I am incredibly guilty of.
Especially if I'm being very feelerish and am all caught up
in my emotions. "Never" is an extreme word I often lavish
about on some days.

The other night when I talked to korg he pointed this out to me,
my binary thinking. Of course I wanted to object but I do do
this. I am often saying things such as "I never get enough sleep"
or "I never get to be alone", etc... etc...


It becomes obvious I'm not a Ti dom when my Ni fails and I'm
stuck insisting that I am right and correct in my thinking even though
there is nothing to support what I am saying. I've just gone with
some instinct I felt was correct and when thought about it, in my
limited perception, I felt it was correct and then evidence is shown
that I'm wrong and I'm just like O.O well okay then, you are right.
Sometimes when my Ni fails I realize it myself and then I often have
an argument with my own self.


I would say that though INFJs are knowledgeable, they are only knowledgeable
in areas that are of interest to them.


I may be grudging. If you hurt my feelings extensively and do not
say sorry or show that you are sorry, I probably won't ever like you
very much again.
 
I'm not sure if I totally agree with the Ni definition but to a certain extent, it can be hard to trace the origin of it's answer. I think a lot of people (not you chaz) think that Ni is very mysterious and gets answers from nothing that are usually right/ a stroke of genius. Remember, Ni is prone to conspiracy theories and it often gets away from us. Think Glenn Beck, sort of. Oil prices rising? It's cause Obama's a Nazi. Lolz.

That's why I never said that Ni pulls out a right answer. Also it only "seemingly" pulls out answers. I know it doesn't actually work like this, in fact Ni shouldn't be doing the aswering in the first place, it's just that this is how it appears. It's hard to describe Ni when you either have it as your last function, or don't have it at all. :p

I sometimes do take a black and white view of things but that is getting better as I enter my 20s. I do take the "with me or against me" route a lot and I think it's gotten me into many arguments, specifically on this forum.

Well you know what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? It happens every time an xxFP collides with an xxFJ, and there is nothing as immovable as an xxFJ.
 
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@88chaz88 I've never heard anyone describe Ni well regardless of their functions, lol!

But to answer the question as far as whether or not I agree with the description in the OP the answer is mostly, Although I hate when age is used while talking about type because individuals are so very different in their development and experiences but I'm pretty sure it's just a personal pet peeve of mine since I didn't follow the usual university route and understand why it's done that way. But I can definitely relate to the information sponge thing. I read a ton of non-fiction for that very reason.

I would sort of agree with the description of Ni basically from my understanding of it (and how it works for me) is that it draws metaphors between past and current experiences. Why these things are brought up is the "mysterious" part of it, not the idea itself. like if I'm working with something I will think hey this process relates to this completely different unrelated process a different field in a lot of ways. But why I start comparing the two in the first place I don't really know. I wouldn't say it ever comes up with answers though, just gives me something to ponder the answers come later.

I used to think in very black and white terms (good vs evil) but I have changed quite a lot from that philosophy on life, that change for me came more from spiritual growth than anything else though.
I have always been forgiving however, I give people the same opportunities I would want them to give me if our positions were reversed and if I was truly sorry for something I would want forgiveness.
 
From personal experience, I agree with you. Ti + Fe gives INFJs their emotionally invested but cool and detached nature, which leans ore to detached in their early twenties and late teens.
 
Well you know what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? It happens every time an xxFP collides with an xxFJ, and there is nothing as immovable as an xxFJ.

Hahah yup, I hear ya. I'm INFP and my boyfriend is INFJ. It's definitely.. interesting.
 
Okay I was typing this out for a friend who typed as INFJ. Thought I might share.



I don't usually do this but I was feeling ambitious today. Anyone agree/disagree?

Interestingly enough he posted this while I was typing that out:



LOL I thought, as both "days" are very typical of INFJs.

Absolutely agree!

About the "with us" or "against us", I'm really guilty of this and starting to back off quite a bit and trying to quit assuming other people's motives, particularly if I base it off of intuition, cause when I'm wrong, I'm really wrong. : /
 
INFJ's in their 20s tend to be very T-like, even though they're an F type. Although idealistic they seek to rationalise and won't stop until they know everything they want to (and that's usually a lot). As such they're information sponges.

This suits me down to the ground. A lot of people have thought I was a T and I did too at first because I'm so "rational" about things and I am known for being extremely cynical of my own emotions, though not those of others. I think it's just much easier to forgive others than yourself, so if someone else is feeling jealous when they have no reason to, I can see why and feel bad and try to help - I don't blame them because it makes sense, they're unhappy so I want to help. With me, however, if I feel jealous for no reason I'm angry at myself, which gives me the look of someone who dislikes or ignores emotions. This is true, but it's only my emotions I don't like :) I also come across as straight to the point, opinionated (particularly about politics), knowledgable (even when I'm not - I just speak with such certainty that I sound like I know what I'm talking about - this isn't deliberate, at the time I really do think I know what I'm talking about because it seems "logical" and "obvious" but sometimes I go back and realise I was unintentionally making stuff up on the spot and seeing it as "truth").

They're foremost dominant function is introverted intuition which allows them to seemingly pull answers out of their arse. They do though have a habit of trusting this ability a little too much and are prone to stress if it doesn't work as it should.
Yes. This is probably true of a lot of people, though. I'm not sure INFJs get stressed if they get it wrong (I'm not sure INFJs ever think they actually have got it wrong, when it comes to judging people!) I think the stress comes from the feeling of "knowing" without having evidence that others will understand to back you up. So you feel trapped. A study on people who say they trust their intuition and people who said they trust external evidence found that neither type is more accurate. This is likely to be a result that's close to the truth (and I'm sorry I can't remember where I saw the study). So it's likely that the INFJ only ever thinks they know, although they do seem to be quite accurate, so I think these are essentially educated guesses.

They have a tendancy to take a black and white view on people and the world believing that you're either with them or against them. They can be unfailing loyal to those with them and unforgiving to those they view against them. Coupled with their idealsm they don't take well to those that disagree with them.
The thing you want to change here is "with them or against them". That's more of an ISFJ thing, it's quite tribal. INFJs are tribal in a way, they are still using a lot of Fe, but they don't tend to look at things in terms of friend or foe, because they don't exactly include themselves in the equation. I certainly don't, anyway. I have such an inoffensive character that I know no one is "against" me as such, it would be difficult for me to make enemies. However, I do make quick and harsh judgements about others, and this is the bit you've got right. However, it isn't that I see these people as "against me", I simply see them as "immoral". They're not against or with anything, they're just there, but I choose not to associate myself with them. Not because they will harm me or my friends, necessarily, many of them wouldn't. But because I do not believe their intentions are pure and often they might hurt others (even if it's not people I directly know - but this should never matter). If I gave them my time, I would be allowing them to get away with that, as if it doesn't matter if you have bad intentions. With me, it's simply a case of the good must win out, I will not praise or reward the bad. It's not even punishing the bad, although if there was very good reason to (for the greater good) I might have a go. It's more just not rewarding the bad, so not giving them my attention. Because if things were fair and just in the world, people who are not moral would not be rewarded for their bad behaviour. In the real world, it's the opposite way round and this angers me, but the least I can do is stick to the principle myself.

"Unfalingly loyal" - No. Again, this is very ISFJ not INFJ. The way you can tell between them is because ISFJs think "us and them" and INFJs think "good and bad" in a more abstract way without necessarily attributing it to specific people or types. An INFJ is not unfailingly loyal. They stick to their principles, not to people. This normally comes out as loyalty because the people they choose to surround themselves with are usually those who have already "passed the test" if you like. INFJs judge on intentions and motives. So someone they know can do something bad and they will be forgiven so long as their motives were pure. However, the INFJ will not forgive the "act" and will expect their friend not to justify behaviour that was wrong. They may forgive themselves and they shouldn't best themselves up about it if they're truly good people because they won't do it again, but the immoral act itself cannot be justified. INFJs, by the way, are also known for the "doorslam". They find it easy to cut someone out if they fail to pass the moral test. So they're loyal to a strict moral code, they do not break the moral code, but they are not necessarily loyal to people, because the code means more, if that makes sense. They're not pushovers, basically. It's very difficult to walk over an INFJ because they will see it coming and get out of the way.

"Idealism and not liking people disagreeing with them" - Sort of, but again, don't get confused with the ISFJ. The INFJ does not like to be disagreed with when it comes to morality, because as far as they are concerned there is only one moral code and it's so obviously and naturally true that it is not justifiable to break it. However, I have never been sensitive to people disagreeing with me on anything without a moral dimension. I consider everybody's opinions to be their own and I think debate and disagreement is necessary for progress. I also enjoy being criticised when it comes to non-moral things (I hate being criticised if it's about my character or morality because I find this very upsetting). I'm a writer, and I want people to tell me when there's anything wrong with my work. Me and my ENFJ friend seem to be the only writers (I hang around with a group of them!) who are like this. Everybody else takes it personally if you point out negative areas of their work. I see it as helpful, because my work isn't me. It's my work. And I want my work to be as good as possible, so I need to know how it can be improved.

At best INFJs are idealistic though practical people, extremely knowlegeable well liked. At worst they can be arrogant, combatitive and vengeful.

Yes.
 
reading this makes me not so sure i'm an INFJ.

oh well.