[krisp]

I'm new to all this personality stuff.

I did the 16 type tests linked to on this site - and got INFP. Have done it a few times in the last week or so. And it makes sense to me, mostly, even if I think I want to be a little more E.

Some of the negatives things people have written about INFP make absolutely no sense to me. But many things are so true!

Tonight, I just tried the Socionics test, and first got xNFj, with some conflicts. There was a weird decider question, I couldn't for the life of my make a proper choose between the options it offered - they were equally applicable to me! So, I picked one anyway, and it said ENFj, and then I didn't gel with what it summarised about that type. So, I went back and made a decision on the conflicts, and changed my choices so there was no more conflicts between the YES and NO. So, now it says it said INFj.

Is this normal with other INFPs? I'm clearly NF. But, I'm not sure about I or E. And, I'm not sure about P or j.

I think I'm naturally mildly Introverted. So am I an Introvert that is an Extrovert trying to emerge? I still have a need to be recognised, and I would love to be able to get up and speak in front of people. My confidence to speak up is held back by a feeling that others won't care what I have to say! I mean, I lack self confidence with communication. But, I have a high confidence that I have valuable things to say. So, it's not that I think what I want to say is not valuable, it's just that I don't think others will necessarily want to be told by me - and I'm not sure of the best way to communicate. I mean, people can work out things for themselves - who am I to tell them new things? Does this confusion make sense?

I get terrible anxiety when public speaking. I can do it sometimes, but sweat terribly, and once I 'froze' up with anxiety - and needed to be 'rescued'. Is that because I am an introvert, or because my Intuition and Feeling are too strong and prevent me from acting extrovert like I want?

Also, not clear on the P or j thing. I can be quite scientific and good at maths and engineering type things, I think I'm logical when I want to be. I can think through extremely complex issues and have layers of thoughts that include a range from concrete to very abstract - and I can also consider feelings and other peoples emotions in my thinking. I think of it as like big picture type thinking, but built bottom up to the top. I also have the ability to switch at will towards fantasy and emotional/spiritual and break free from the logic that is used in common reality, but even that is just a different type of reasoning.

I do procrastinate, and others might see me as disorganised, even though I know where all my things are - I'm just organised in my own way - based on a priority of time and effort! So, these things make me think I am P, but can act J very easily when I choose. Does that seem right?

[laxlax10289]

Ahhh... let's see.. let's start with the differences between Socionics and MBTI.
As I don't know you, and your description of your problem is pretty common-fold for beginners, you should learn the proper theory, and then reevaluate.

MBTI syntax is XXXX while Socionics is XXXx.
The difference is that last letter.
In MBTI, the last letter (J/P) means that your foremost extraverted function is a Judging or Perceiving.
In Socionics, the last letter (j/p) means that your main function is a Judging or a Perceiving.

Ex.
MBTI - ISTP functions are TiSeNiFe
Socionics - ISTp functions are SiTeNiFe NeFiSeTi

Notice that I wrote 4 functions for MBTI, and 8 for Socionics.
This is because MBTI believes that we primarily function with 4 functions, while the remaining 4 we use 'under extreme stress'.
On the otherhand, Socionics believes that we use all 8 functions, in decreasing strength.

Why Socionics is inaccurate:
1.
If you look at the 2 strongest functions for ISTP (TiSeNiFe) and ISTp(SiTeNiFe NeFiSeTi) respectively, you will notice that they are different. ISTP is TiSe, while ISTp is SiTe. On the other hand, ISTP TiSe is the same as ISTj TiSe.

Contrary to popular belief, for introverts, simply flipping the last letter WILL result in the most accurate translation between MBTI and Socionics.

2.
Looking at the functions for ISTP (TiSeNiFe) and ISTj (TiSeFiNe FeNiTeSi):
If you look at the first 4 functions of each, you will notice: For MBTI ISTP, there is 1 introverted judging, 1 extroverted perceiving, 1 introverted perceiving, and 1 extroverted judging. On the other hand, for Socionics ISTj, there are 2 introverted judging, and 2 extroverted perceiving.

It doesn't make any sense for you to introvert both methods of judging, and extrovert both methods of perceiving.

[laxlax10289]

Moving onto your question...

Certain moods, or environments will influence your answers to the questions for the test.
If you decided to take the test in a 'study mood', in which you did alot of thinking and dealt with alot of theory, you may tend to choose more of the Thinking answers.

If you decide to take the test in a 'hyper, excited, or friendly' mood, you may tend to choose more of the Perceiving and Extroverted answers.

Since you think you could be either INFP or ENFj (MBTI ENFJ),
let's just consider all of the NF possiblities: INFP, INFJ, ENFP, ENFJ.

INFP (FiNe), INFJ (NiFe), ENFP(NeFi), and ENFJ (FeNi).

Research what Ni Ne Fi and Fe mean, and then determine:
Which of these describe my thoughts most?
Which second?

Also consider, scenarios of which you are alone, when you are with close friends, and when you are with strangers.

[cyamitide]

If you are INFP in MBTI (Fi-Ne-Si-Te) then you're likely an INFj or EII in Socionics (Fi-Ne-Si-Te). These two share the same functions, just that Socionics and MBTI don't assign the last letter J/P the same way (J/P in Socionics doesn't mean the same thing as it does in MBTI). That's why in Socionics the last letter is written in lower-case to distinguish it from MBTI.

I've posted some more Socionics-MBTI type correlations here: What is Socionics? how is it different from MBTI? is it Legit?

If you want others who have studied Socionics to help you settle on type you can make a thread in this forum: What's My Type? - the16types.info Socionics Forums

[krisp]

The switch with P and j (for introverts) matches pretty close to what I tested, so that is a bit indicative.

Thanks for the answers and links to help me search more.

[cyamitide]

Yeah J/P is switched for introverts. Though some people will tell you it's just a myth and yadda yadda. Don't listen to them, will save you a lot of headache. If you are 90%+ sure Fi-dominant in MBTI then you're likely Fi-leading in socionics: INFj or EII.

[krisp]

Thanks for the advice. Following cyamitide suggestion, I have started a new thread. I started it under Whats my Personality Type on this site, as I don't have an account on the referenced other site.
My new thread is Am I really an INFP?
Am I really an INFP?

[cyamitide]

from that description I think you sound INFP, check out INFJ forum also see where you feel more at home ... INFPs and INFJs mis-test as one another quite frequently