The same type, completely different persons

Candice_XX

Candice_XX

Regular Poster
MBTI
INFJ
Enneagram
<3
I recently did the MBTI test and it turned out that I am INFJ. That's ok, it's scarcely accurate.
So I persuaded some friends to do the test and it was all the way impressing until my cousin did it.
He types as ENFJ, but he has nothing in common with the description. He said it was partly true but missed a big part of him. In fact, the four letters are chosen well but the outcome is just not right at detail.
It happens that I know another ENFJ, my very close friend and he is completely into his type. So I know how an ENFJ is. And they are completely different.
For example, my cousin has no patience with ineffective people and is a little bit careless of being pleasant but my friend is extremely tolerant with everyone and service-oriented.
How can this be explained?
Is it usual to have so big differences in similar type?
 
People may share the same cognitive preferences, but have very little in common. Sometimes the descriptions are dead on and other times they are complete bull. Not everyone fits into that neat little box the descriptions create. I don't trust the tests much. I read and made sure I understood the theory behind the test and made my decision that way. If you doubt your cousin is an ENFJ read up on the type and the preference order of the cognitive functions. That should help.
 
Sometimes personality tests can be inaccurate, because a person's answers are influenced by their environment. Not only are we inclined to identify preferences based on how have believe we should be, but we also may have adapted characteristics to conform to our circumstances. As well people can just be messed up and their issues can cause them to appear to the outside world (or even themselves) as different. Personally, I tend to act like an ENTP when I am interacting with people I don't know/am uncomfortable with, and I wouldn't be surprised if someone who didn't know me well typed me as such.
 
Neuropedia said:
Sometimes personality tests can be inaccurate, because a person's answers are influenced by their environment. Not only are we inclined to identify preferences based on how have believe we should be, but we also may have adapted characteristics to conform to our circumstances. As well people can just be messed up and their issues can cause them to appear to the outside world (or even themselves) as different. Personally, I tend to act like an ENTP when I am interacting with people I don't know/am uncomfortable with, and I wouldn't be surprised if someone who didn't know me well typed me as such.
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BTW: ur a sensor
 
Thank you all for the replies.
As a newbie and very keen on the results of the test I think I tended to categorize people but I have to keep in mind that I have to get to know their personalities, not their type.

DevilDoll said:
I don't trust the tests much.
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Yes, but I was excited that this one is a scientific tool. Much better than astrology for sure :)

o_q said:
I personally don't trust most people who take the test.
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Yes, that can be the case... (I am building on what middle 1 and Neuropedia said to conclude that) If you have to answer questions you have to know yourself, otherwise the results will not depict you right. It's a vicious circle... The road to self-knowledge can be very tricky...


PS: I will keep an eye on my cousin. As he is young, I think that will be a life-time project!
 
o_q said:
I personally don't trust most people who take the test.
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I personally don't trust people who don't trust people who do take the test.



It all depends on the type, bro.
 
Candice_XX said:
Thank you all for the replies.
As a newbie and very keen on the results of the test I think I tended to categorize people but I have to keep in mind that I have to get to know their personalities, not their type.


Yes, but I was excited that this one is a scientific tool. Much better than astrology for sure :)


Yes, that can be the case... (I am building on what middle 1 and Neuropedia said to conclude that) If you have to answer questions you have to know yourself, otherwise the results will not depict you right. It's a vicious circle... The road to self-knowledge can be very tricky...


PS: I will keep an eye on my cousin. As he is young, I think that will be a life-time project!
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I have seen people type themselves the way they WANT to be seen, which is a very common issue. Also, the more you take the test the more familiar you become with it and it becomes easier to manipulate it into saying whatever you please.

I see the entire search for ones type as a discovery process. I certainly got to know myself better over the years it took me to settle on a type. It's very interesting and quite fun. Read into the theory behind it. You'll love it.
 
[MENTION=2096]DevilDoll[/MENTION] has raised a great point, in that most of the online descriptions and quizzes are going to be full of complete bluff.

Personally, I find that most xxFJ descriptions are full of shit. They make them up to be completely dependent on people's approval. They make Extroverted Feeling to be almost an extremely passive cognitive function that will yield automatically to any people. In fact, Fe will always be accompanied by Ti, and thus will always be skeptical about accepting everything that is thrown their way.

[MENTION=3521]Candice_XX[/MENTION] , I have one question. What description did this ENFJ read? And what parts did he disagreed with?
 
@Jorje My cousin did not explain extensively why it did not fit but I' ll give you an example:
The test describes "They understand and care about people, and have a special talent for bringing out the best in others. ENFJ's main interest in life is giving love, support, and a good time to other people. They are focused on understanding, supporting, and encouraging others. They make things happen for people, and get their best personal satisfaction from this."
Well, yes why not, he is not a bad person at all but ...No, that's not his main interest. He doesn't get a personal satisfaction from that.
I don't know what is his main interest, focus and satisfaction but that is partly true.
He has feelings and he is sensitive. But he can be stubborn and seems he doesn't care to not hurt others. He supports his friends but i do not think that he can get other peoples' needs or that he tries to meet them. He is not bad but he doesn't got that talent. He is also very practical guy and organises his life putting his priorities above most of other things. He is not interested in psychology, he is interested in administration. How can he be an ENFJ?
I was thinking that he is an ENTJ but the test showed a very high F rate. Maybe he is a boderline ESFJ and ENFJ. Maybe his lifestyle does not reflect my stereotype or I don't know him well. Who knows?
And I am not an expert (yet).
 
DevilDoll said:
I have seen people type themselves the way they WANT to be seen, which is a very common issue. Also, the more you take the test the more familiar you become with it and it becomes easier to manipulate it into saying whatever you please.
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Yes, this is rather tempting. And i've done so too many times to count.

There's also the tendency to want to type yourself the way others see you. So, if there's a common conception by everyone that you're a particular type, then, at least in my cases, you begin to feel obligated to type yourself based on their perceptions assuming they are correct.
 
DevilDoll said:
I don't trust the tests much.
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o_q said:
I personally don't trust most people who take the test.
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Both of these. I think the second should be fairly obvious, so then there's the first.

The main problems with the test is that it only deals with dichotomies and uses confusing words and ambiguities. Put simply, the dichotomies themselves only determine the preference of the cognitive functions, and though people who are Exxx may have a tendency to be more outgoing, make more friends, and talk a lot, but it is not necessarily true. The only real purpose of the E/I dichotomy is to determine the orientation of the functions. The functions, actually, are infinitely more important than the type itself and the description. If you learn about the cognitive functions and understand when and how each one is being used, it makes typing much more accurate.

Then there are the descriptions... it is almost sure that you will find things you will agree with on the MBTI type descriptions, because the descriptions are so vague and some things in a type description can be true (or warped true, the forer effect) for several different types. This will be most evident, I think, when two types with only differences in the J/P dichotomy are looked at (I had been entirely unsure of INTP or INTJ for a long time).

The test just isn't very accurate.

Personally, I don't really trust the MBTI system as a whole, and so don't use it, but if you were going to intensively study it, do so using the cognitive functions, not the type descriptions or dichotomies. The functions determine the letter type, not the other way around.
 
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