Starting to think that MBTI is just BS!!!! | INFJ Forum

Starting to think that MBTI is just BS!!!!

Scarlet

Scarlet

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Oct 13, 2009
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Seriously, I get more and more frustrated! I am not INFP and I am not INFJ, but I have to be one of the two! I need to stop reading about this, because I'm getting more and more confused!

At first I thought I am INFP, then I thought I'm INFJ and now I don't know anymore! The INFP profile fits me, except that I am not laid back, free spirited and open. I am structured, always plan ahead and I like closure. I want to know exactly how things work and what's expected of me.

On the other hand (and it's difficult to explain in english, it's not my first language), I am not THAT meticulous and rigid. I am a LITTLE bit laid back, but only with family, never with other people. And then it's only with little things. I never let go of my routine with my children for instance, but I will go to bed with make up on if I'm too tired to wash my face. My mother is also INFP or INFJ, but she will never let ANYTHING go! It doesn't matter if it's 12pm and she is deathly tired, she will still wash her make up off, brush her teeth etc etc. I hope this example makes sense!!

It's so complex and difficult to explain! I need to mention better examples, but I don't have time (as usual) to really sit down and do what I want, being a mom of 3 toddlers.

MBTI is putting people in boxes, and you can't put people in boxes! (Although I wish you could!). I am mostly Melancholic, with about an even amount of Choleric and Sanguine and very little Plegmatic. Can someone please explain MBTI vs the 4 temperaments??? I want to know how it works and I don't find satisfactory answers on the Net.

It would be much appretiated!!
 
I agree with you because I take the whole MBTI with a grain of salt because it does put people in a convenient box. People were never meant to be in a box, we can change over time, our ideas may take on new meanings, but the MBTI doesn't allow for that sort of flexibility. My advice is not to let things like this test tell you who you are and what you're supposed to be nor should you let it bother you to the point where you begin to question if what you're feeling is more "P' than "J". Ask youself "Does it really matter?" I've taken this same test a few times and have tested to be an INFJ and an ENFJ, this MBTI is not scientifically based and a lot of psychologists don't believe in it. I tend to view it as entertaining and it may explain a teeny bit of my preferences but I'm an inidividual, all of us are and categories are fine for books or cd's but not when it comes to classifying one's personality.
I hope this helps and whatever you do, be yourself, don't let some silly test dictate what you're supposed to do or what your moods should be like. You are who you are and if you're happy with yourself, that's all that matters. :mf:
 
People on this forum seems to love putting people in little boxes, ironically they all seem to act according to their own box
 
I like the cognitive processes and looking at them individually. But the types in general just piss me off. I don't feel like I fit any of them, so you're not alone.
 
I don't think I fit into any one type. It used to annoy me, but I'm pretty much okay with it now. I actually like that I can't be pinned down. How boring would that be?
 
MBTI is still not defined well enough (that's up to us). These "boxes" may turn out ot be as wide and vague as "color of you hair", and allow for much greater variations in character, than we currently acknowledge.

Usually first impressions about it and first results from the tests are correct. It also helps to review your self during childhood.
 
The distinctions between INFJ and INFP are pretty hard to tell, as we have the same temperament...you should also take into account that INFJ's are said to have the weakest J's..MBTI is still being perfectioned..nothing new..besides, the search of this is what sort of makes it fun, we are constantly changing and as humans we might not always be the same, even though we might have patterns there are at times when we behave differently and even within the types we are still different because everyone is special in their own way..among the functions we have percentages..are you slghly I? are you slightly E? is your T more polarize? as well as functions as well, did you score hiegher on Fe than Fi? how about Ti vs Te? it is possible to be an INFJ without a specific order of functions..or at least what I think..now you see theres tons of different factors..just keep on searching!!
 
Sithious said:
People on this forum seems to love putting people in little boxes, ironically they all seem to act according to their own box
Click to expand...

yep! if one INFJ acts a certain way they all do

If one ESTJ is an asshole, all of them are assholes!

I do think the MBTI is a useful tool, but not to be taking too seriously
 
This came to mind:

Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes made of ticky-tacky,
Little boxes, little boxes,
Little boxes, all the same.
There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one
And they're all made out of ticky-tacky
And they all look just the same.
Click to expand...

... but then, my mind is quite strange.:couch2:
 
All lof you get back in your little boxes! You must perfectly conform to one of 16 universal archetypes!

There is no way that the 6 billion people on this planet could be perfectly divided into 16 categories. The MBTI represents a major generalization. That being said, the value of the MBTI is it identifies trends in behavior patterns. It is fairly consistent at this as most people will obtain the same personality type or one very close to it every time they take the test and it is fairly accurate as most people self report that the test does a pretty good job of generally describing them.
 
Just remember that the MBTI types are very basic and generalized. There are hundreds of millions of people with each type, so there is going to be a lot of overlap and distinction within each type. They're nothing more than trends in perspective and generalizations about how people think. Every type has the capacity to do things that every other type can, because we're all human. MBTI types are based on preferences, and therefore trends in behavior, not limitations or absolutes.

No one fits a type.

A type fits the individual.

MBTI types are not boxes so much as they are garments. They're not a set of limitations to hold you in. They're broad personality trends that move with you, not against you. And in this analogy, there are 16 sizes. One of them is probably going to fit you better than the others. Some people can wear two or more of these sizes comfortably because that person is between sizes. I'm one of them myself. My best fit type seems to be INFJ, but I can also wear ENFJ, INFP, and even ENFP. The reason I think I am an INFJ is that a few more of the traits for INFJ match up with me than the others, even though all of them have a lot of traits that fit me and not every INFJ trait fits me.

From what I have read, you seem more like an INFJ than an INFP. You seem to see the big picture but can't explain it very well, and you seem motivated by how you feel about things should be. Just because you are not always industrious doesn't mean you're not an INFJ. I've known INFJs to be very "P" with things that don't matter, especially with respect to themselves. You also want very much to define things, and you're trying to figure out exactly which type you are, which are also INFJ traits.

INFJs have a strong P. We just lean toward J.
 
lol... the most annoying aspect of MBTI is how religiously people follow it. Moreso an intellectualized astrology and as much as I have a tendency to overthink and be analytical, I've been making a conscious effort to not be so. When I hear(read) people going on and on about Fe, Ni, blah blah blah, it just reminds me of those astrology nuts that know when to paint their toenails which color on which month or whatever.

ALTHOUGH... I believe it is accurate and a useful system on personality, I FEEL people take it way too seriously and use it more as a crutch and security blanket (Linus syndrome xD) in desperate efforts to 'know' themselves as if it were the only way. Which is making me question my remaining time here, as I notice there seem to be quite a few of these kinds of people here or at least the impressions I'm getting.
 
Not one group of people can be exactly defined. We are all different.
 
transcendentalethos said:
lol... the most annoying aspect of MBTI is how religiously people follow it.
Click to expand...

True facts. At best, MBTI, even Jungian theory, is psuedo science, and only applicable to the vaguest of personality description. It is supposed to be broad and inclusive of more variables than anyone can consider, so it is interesting when taken as a very generalized map of perspective, and nothing more.

I think the most interesting thing about this forum is that the INFJs do a lot of "Do you do this too?" It is one of the more interesting similarities we seem to have. INFJs are a paradox. Even Jung postulated that they likely don't exist because Ni and Fe are two functions that should not be able to support each other. According to the theory, Ni makes an indivudual very 'different' and Fe makes an individual want to be accepted. Put these two things together, and we have a personality that seems fascinated by finding others that are similar, which creates a desire to find out how similar because we also have as much a need to classify (Fe) as we do to understand everything exactly as it is (Ni).

I think this is what is causing the appearance, and in some cases an honest, astrology factor. Kind of ironic, really. Our type is inclined to make more of this stuff than there actually is, which then questions if there is anything to this at all. We seem to want things to be all or nothing when they are usually just a case of trends.
 
Ticky-tacky! LOL, isn't that the theme song to 'Weeds'?

Von Hase said:
True facts. At best, MBTI, even Jungian theory, is psuedo science, and only applicable to the vaguest of personality description. It is supposed to be broad and inclusive of more variables than anyone can consider, so it is interesting when taken as a very generalized map of perspective, and nothing more.

I think the most interesting thing about this forum is that the INFJs do a lot of "Do you do this too?" It is one of the more interesting similarities we seem to have. INFJs are a paradox. Even Jung postulated that they likely don't exist because Ni and Fe are two functions that should not be able to support each other. According to the theory, Ni makes an indivudual very 'different' and Fe makes an individual want to be accepted. Put these two things together, and we have a personality that seems fascinated by finding others that are similar, which creates a desire to find out how similar because we also have as much a need to classify (Fe) as we do to understand everything exactly as it is (Ni).

I think this is what is causing the appearance, and in some cases an honest, astrology factor. Kind of ironic, really. Our type is inclined to make more of this stuff than there actually is, which then questions if there is anything to this at all. We seem to want things to be all or nothing when they are usually just a case of trends.
Click to expand...

That's quite a description. I think the fact that INFJs are so full of contradictions can help drive them towards identifying further contradiction within themselves and in the world. This could result in a pattern of speech or decision-making that strikes others as wishy-washy, even when the INFJ knows (s)he has made a firm decision on something without resorting to evidence of absolutes in language or gesture. This tendency of mine drove a couple of STJs in my life around the bend!

I actually tend to think of well-developed INFJs as somewhat holographic. The way their social analysis can shift (colour but not shape?! wow. I'm reaching!) is almost too perfect to look at for very long without me wanting to take that apart as well just to see how they did it. If they're a reflection of anything, that very something never seems tangible to anyone else.

Did Carl Jung identify himself as an INFJ, or was it the MBTI historians who did so later? I think he secretly knew he was doing a little bit to unwrite not only his core type description with the contradictions Von Hase mentioned, but also his theories as a whole. He knew they couldn't possibly be scientific, and that could contribute to why those who aren't as interested in empirical/social psychology (or mistake MBTI for science) must think he shot himself in the foot.
 
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To each their own; MBTI isn't for everyone.

I personally think that everyone can fit a type (how good that fit is though depends on the person). People can agree or disagree with me as they please. The point for myself is I see it as working for everyone.
 
MBTI doesn't define who you are. It just means you fit a broad category, because you identified with those things. You aren't a different person just because you took the test, and it classified you as something. It's simply meant to help people perhaps learn more about themselves. You could be just really balanced in J and P, or they overlap each other just a little bit, but you can't really notice. I've labelled myself as an INFJ, but I have lots of INTJ-ish phases.

Don't be trippin over this shiz. MBTI is supposed to help you, not frustrate you because you MUST fit one type.:m165:
 
Okay good, I'm not going to try to put myself in a box anymore. I know for sure that I am mostly Melancholic (Idealist) and that's enough to know. I thought MBTI was very detailed and correct, I didn't know it was not be taken so seriously. I want to start studying next year (again!) and I don't want to make a mistake (again!). That's why I'm on this temperament search! Trying to find the real me!
 
You can read more about type mapping to temperaments here.

Regarding J/P difference - it's not about organizing or being sloppy. According to type theory you're J if your judging function (feelings) is extroverted and perceiving function (intuition) is introverted. And you're P if it's in reverse. You should answer the following questions for yourself: do you prefer to watch things from a distance and not interfering (J preference) or do you like active involvement by asking questions, taking things apart (P preference)? When you get an emotional reaction do you feel better keeping it inside (P preference) or letting it out / blowing off (J preference)?

And you're right about boxes - type is just a stereotype and does not really tell who you are. But it has certain advantages you can use.
 
Character and behavior traits are not the best way to measure the MBTI, as we can adapt to our surroundings and generally must adapt as rarely do we live in an environment where there is no stimuli influencing us.

If you haven't already, I would just take a cognitive functions test, and go off on that.

Here are two tests

http://www.keys2cognition.com/explore.htm

http://www.cognitiveprocesses.com/assessment/develop_old.html

Hopefully they may provide you with the peace you have been looking for, if not, understand the MBTI is a sliding scale not a box.
 
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