# INFP turned ENTJ? Type my brother



## DankJewel (Apr 6, 2013)

Hi there,
I'm puzzled about what my 22 year old brother's type could be. As a kid, he was quite introverted and shy, and spent a lot of time reading about random topics. He has always loved writing and is a very poetic guy. He's also always been very disorganized, a classic P. From this description he seems like an INFP. But as a teenager, he became a lot more extroverted and interested in other people's opinion of him. He's pretty aware of his environment, the trends, and people's perceptions, and moulded himself to fit in. In high school he was the lead in the school play and the school president--overall a confident and popular guy. He stood out as his own unique person, but was still "cool". He's known among his friends and family for being argumentative, and can beat nearly anyone at any debate. He's able to remember huge amounts of information without much effort, and really values knowledge for the sake of knowledge. In university he studied journalism and global politics, a degree well suited to his need to be involved and present where things are happening. He still strikes me as an NF, even though his journalism degree and his current work appear to have made him far more businesslike and efficiency-focused. He is a great leader and could be perceived as a corporate ENTJ guy, although I know at the root he's a total romantic who has a very soft spot for people in need (not to say that ENTJs don't). 
I used to think he was an ENFP, and I still think that sort of works for him, but the introversion of his childhood confuses me..I'm also intersted in the ENTJ persona he sometimes projects and how that could relate to NFP-ness. 
What do you think?


----------



## randomshoes (Dec 11, 2013)

@DankJewel
I think his development suggests introverted perceiving function then extroverted judging function, so IxxJ. Your description of him in high school makes me think he was building Fe, so that's IxFJ. IxxJs lead with a perceiving function, so they're not necessarily particularly organized, especially compared to an ExxJ.

Reading about a lot of different topics and valuing knowledge for the sake of knowledge sounds classic Si user, so my current guess is ISFJ. ISFJ sounds like a great type for a journalist, because they start with information (Si), relate it to society, other people, and their audience (Fe) and then check it for internal logic and come up with an explanation. 

ENFPs generally have the opposite trajectory that your brother had. That is, we tend to seem extraordinarily extroverted as children and then draw progressively inward.

Let me know if you think I misunderstood something about him.


----------



## DankJewel (Apr 6, 2013)

I'm not sure how to use this forum/thread system so I don't know if you'll be notified with this response...But thank you for thinking that over for me. I had never considered that he could be an ISFJ, although it makes sense considering cognitive functions. It's the MBTI letters that throw me off, and particularly his temperament, which seems very NF. I really think he's an N. He's one of those people that makes me question whether we all fit with MBTI.


----------



## randomshoes (Dec 11, 2013)

DankJewel said:


> But thank you for thinking that over for me. I had never considered that he could be an ISFJ, although it makes sense considering cognitive functions. It's the MBTI letters that throw me off, and particularly his temperament, which seems very NF. I really think he's an N. He's one of those people that makes me question whether we all fit with MBTI.


Why do you think he's an N?


----------



## DankJewel (Apr 6, 2013)

I think he's an N because he enjoys theories. He can easily bounce around abstract concepts. As a kid he was clueless about his external environment. He's not particularly sporty, although he played soccer quite competitively. I guess also because I'm an NF and we can dive into some nice juicy NF domains quite comfortably with each other.


----------



## randomshoes (Dec 11, 2013)

DankJewel said:


> I think he's an N because he enjoys theories.


Eh, that's a pretty simplistic definition of intuiting. Plenty of people like theories.



> He can easily bounce around abstract concepts.


This isn't really exclusively intuiting either, although it's possible he's INFJ.



> As a kid he was clueless about his external environment.


This is introversion, pure and simple.



> He's not particularly sporty, although he played soccer quite competitively.


Sensing doesn't mean sporty. Se users are often physically active in some way, but not Si users.



> I guess also because I'm an NF and we can dive into some nice juicy NF domains quite comfortably with each other.


What are NF domains? Because SFs can be quite comfortable with NFs, particularly if they have the same P/J orientation.


----------



## DankJewel (Apr 6, 2013)

I see what you're saying...you've got some good points there. I would just be really puzzled if he wasn't an N. Maybe it seems like that because my parents are ISTJs, and during family discussions the directions he would lead the conversation would often just leave them quiet with little to add. It felt like a clear S-N divide, less so than a F-T divide. I'll check in with him about what he thinks about ISFJ.


----------



## randomshoes (Dec 11, 2013)

DankJewel said:


> I see what you're saying...you've got some good points there. I would just be really puzzled if he wasn't an N. Maybe it seems like that because my parents are ISTJs, and during family discussions the directions he would lead the conversation would often just leave them quiet with little to add. It felt like a clear S-N divide, less so than a F-T divide. I'll check in with him about what he thinks about ISFJ.


Have him take a look at INFJ too.


----------



## DankJewel (Apr 6, 2013)

will do


----------

