[Redpoint]

I'm brand new here, so maybe this has been discussed, and if so, please point me to where. As an INFP I'm being told that my thinking function is inferior. Really that sounds a bit insulting, so I hope it doesn't mean what it sounds like. I'm well-educated, an editor, a great scrabble player, and was decent in math and logic, so I am capable of critical and logical thinking. I definitely favor and use my feeling judgement, and am not interested in business, math, economics, analyzing numerical data, and prefer words and ideas. Can someone describe what inferior external thinking really means, with real-life examples. (I've read blurbs but that's not enough).



Thank you!

[WanderingThoughts]

What it means is that our thinking function is what comes out when we're under stress most of the time. So while under normal circumstances we operate with our other functions (Fi, Ne, Si), when we're stressed, we start using Te, but in an underdeveloped way, because it's the inferior function for the INFP personality type. (Te is Extroverted Thinking.) Each personality type has a different inferior function.

Te has to do with objective logical thinking, and refer to outside sources to logically prove things (as opposed to making things fit their own logical "framework"). So, an INFP in the grip of Te in an argument might feel compelled to prove their statements with evidence from other sources, but the fact that they're under stress usually means they screw up, unless their Te is well-developed. (For instance, you'll be arguing with facts, but you'll word something wrong and somebody else notices it, which gets you more flustered and makes you make even more mistakes, spiraling downward as stress and frustration increase.)

You'd have to ask an expert on the Te function for a better explanation, but "inferior function" is not an insult! It's just a fact of the MBTI personality types. And if you develop your inferior function, it becomes less inferior, so to speak.

[Shorttail]

As an INFP I'm being told that my thinking function is inferior. Really that sounds a bit insulting, so I hope it doesn't mean what it sounds like.

It means exactly what it sounds like. ;3

[cyamitide]

I'm brand new here, so maybe this has been discussed, and if so, please point me to where.
Thank you!

Descriptions of inferior functions: Form of Inferior

Inferior thinking in INFPs mostly means problems with acting confidently when needed, issues with being authoritative, with giving orders, with displaying assertive and aggressive behavior, and instead always being too nice to others, too meek, not speaking up, etc. and the passive-aggressiveness that results from this.

[Wellsy]

Dont use the words meanings that you always have in this scenario of MBTI as they have their own meanings in this topic.
Simply I think of feeling as subjective and thinking as objective.
Feeling function doesnt make one more emotional or emotionally unstable, it means we feel things more predominantly. Things have to feel right and we can sometimes go against what others think is logical in accordance to what is right in our minds.
Thinking tends to be distant and look at things from afar. Ive read someones post on here something along the lines that INFP's have Extraverted Thinking and since its our inferior function we have issues with competency. I dont know how true it is but it rings a bell with me, its the source of the perfectionist nature, the place where there is an intellectual insecurity. Wanting to know things and know them well, to do things well.
Both Feeling and Thinking functions are a kind of logic and people have their preferences but a bit of both is a nice balance to try and not be biased and suffer from that bias

[Redpoint]

"Inferior thinking in INFPs mostly means problems with acting confidently when needed, issues with being authoritative, with giving orders when needed, with displaying aggression, always being too nice to others, too meek, not speaking up, etc. and subsequent passive-aggressiveness that results from this."

I relate to this! Thanks. I'm still trying to wrap my head around this idea of inferior extroverted thinking.

One snippet I gleaned is that INFPs can use their inferior functions to relax. Ie. to straighten out the house using S. Housework usually makes me more stressed, and is better left avoided :) but I can get into a wonderful, comfortable zone playing Scrabble against the computer, using pure abstract thinking, without the stress of interpersonal dynamics. Editing a page, or tweaking type has the same effect--relaxation.

[ThatOne]

"Inferior thinking in INFPs mostly means problems with acting confidently when needed, issues with being authoritative, with giving orders when needed, with displaying aggression, always being too nice to others, too meek, not speaking up, etc. and subsequent passive-aggressiveness that results from this."

I relate to this! Thanks. I'm still trying to wrap my head around this idea of inferior extroverted thinking.

One snippet I gleaned is that INFPs can use their inferior functions to relax. Ie. to straighten out the house using S. Housework usually makes me more stressed, and is better left avoided :) but I can get into a wonderful, comfortable zone playing Scrabble against the computer, using pure abstract thinking, without the stress of interpersonal dynamics. Editing a page, or tweaking type has the same effect--relaxation.

I found housework curiously relaxing. I cleaned the walls one day during the holidays because I was bored, and for some reason I enjoyed it. Can't say I'm always as motivated to clean my room, though. In fact... I'm hardly ever motivated to do much at all.

[thompidoo]

I have been thinking about the whole inferior thinking thing too - for a brief moment or two I was thinking that perhaps I am not INFP and instead might be INTP, since I can be quite logical and rational when push comes to shove. But then it hit me, while I was doing the dishes and thinking deeply on the matter. The crux of the matter is that thinking only ever becomes my modus operandi when push comes to shove. What I mean is that most of the time, I use my feelings to guide me, but a lot of people, including my wife, regard feelings as being less of a guiding force than pure, hard facts and logic, so I am often forced to justify my feelings or gut instinct with facts. I can be quite good at this, in fact, when the two are used together, I can be very persuasive. I tend not to look at issues objectively from multiple standpoints though because for me, my thinking serves to justify my feeling. For me, the first preference will always be feeling, and my thinking, no matter how well I develop it, will serve the needs I feel.

[cyamitide]

Inferior thinking is one of the reasons that INFPs get attracted to types who have strong Te like INTJ, ENTJ, and xSTJ. They naturally complement INFP's most painful function and take on related tasks onto their shoulders. INFPs complement the weak Fi that these types have, making these types be good matches for INFP, friendship or otherwise: Love Types INFP

[Redpoint]

I can relate to the description of what it means to have inferior thinking under stress, and I know I have preference for Fi. But-- when it comes to weakness, I really think its my sensing. I don't like things much, I care little about figuring out how they work, and much less for arranging them neatly. Dealing with details of physical objects drives me crazy and is my weak spot. Pure abstract thought, that's a pleasure. Thinking related to decisions with people, not so much, (but I'd rather do that than organize a closet.)

I retook the test and came out as an intj, which happens 33 percent of the time. Then I read what it means to have inferior sensing, and that wasn't me at all--under stress, to get obsessed with details of things, etc. So I do believe I am an infp, and I also own the inferior thinking under stress bit, as well as quite decent abstract thinking (not intuition) when it comes to reason without interpersonal problems (chess, scrabble, etc).

If I am rambling, here is the crux: Does anyone distinguish abstract reasoning skills (T) from reasoning related to people and the world?