# How to tell apart an INTJ an an INTP with functions?



## Cineserre (Sep 9, 2014)

Hello  This is a thread I'm making in order to know how to tell apart an INTJ and an INTP. I know they both have totally different functions and I also know those two types quite well: my best friend is INTP and my brother is INTJ. However I have to confess that sometimes, as both types tend to be quiet, it is hard to tell which type a person is; mostly when the person I'm trying to figure out the type has functions from both types 

As an ENFP, I can see that his attention don't scatter on many topics as my Ne does to me, but at the same time, they don't mind thinking/working on several subjects at the same time as a Ni wouldn't like to do. I think he even likes to be stimulated by multiple things like a Ne, but he tends to find reasons to things first like Ni.
Same for Te/Ti. I don't see the "bossy" and "goal-accomplishment" or "I'm always right because here are the facts" thing INTJ generally have, but on the other hand, I don't see the "I want to know everything" Ti users have (and that my best friend obviously have). Plus he is a lot less judgmental than INTP are, I just can't see him having Ti as the dominant function but they don't look having the bossy Te thing. 
However concerning the Fe/Fi thing, they are definitely Fi: very secretive and intimate like INTJ are. He is not used to contacts thing and when he reaches to me to hug me or something this is the biggest event of the day lmao. He doesn't really put harmony on a pedestal and stands by his values.
And about the Si/Se thing, I generally see him remembering memories of the past and laughing about it or such. But he doesn't look "disconnected" like some Si are sometimes, but his memories are really vivid.

So yeah I don't know? It's quite funny to see that, with this many differences in between two types, I still can't know what type he is, and it's driving me crazy :laughing: He sometimes has the weirdo vibe that INTP have but he's definitely more aware of conventions and is more secretive about his feelings than INTP. What do you think?


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## Grandmaster Yoda (Jan 18, 2014)

What if I told you, anything I tell you about telling apart INTPs and INTJs will not be very useful because they are supposed to such rare types?


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## anarchitektur (Feb 11, 2011)

Grandmaster Yoda said:


> What if I told you, anything I tell you about telling apart INTPs and INTJs will not be very useful because they are supposed to such rare types?


They aren't rare, they're just a much smaller percentage of the whole. Usually the statistic cited is that INTPs and INTJs each make up 1.5-3% of the population... so let's say the two combined are 6%. Of 7 billion people on Earth, that's still 420 million. Not exactly unicorns, here.


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## Grandmaster Yoda (Jan 18, 2014)

anarchitektur said:


> They aren't rare, they're just a much smaller percentage of the whole. Usually the statistic cited is that INTPs and INTJs each make up 1.5-3% of the population... so let's say the two combined are 6%. Of 7 billion people on Earth, that's still 420 million. Not exactly unicorns, here.


What if I told you, there are fewer INTPs than Americans?


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## anarchitektur (Feb 11, 2011)

Grandmaster Yoda said:


> What if I told you, there are fewer INTPs than Americans?


I would say I already knew that. Because math.


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## Cineserre (Sep 9, 2014)

I don't understand why you would deny a way of thinking just because of things like few pourcentages. I was just interested in how you would differentiate functions. Anyway.


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## Miuni (Jan 21, 2015)

They probably have those characteristics you mentioned, but as all INTJ/P, they're reserved. I'm and INTJ, and i'm reaaaaaaally "goal-accomplishment", but i never talk about it. It's a personal thing.
Also, age counts, how old are them? I didn't start looking as a "complete" INTJ until I was 17~, because everything before that were just me and my daydreams, and the ocasional "but that doesn't make sense!"

Ask them about their personal morals. Maybe you can spot Fi and Fe (_maybe_, i'm not sure). Also, you can ask them about their ideas and the processes behind them, maybe you can spot the Ni-Te and Ne-Ti. Or better, convice them to tell you about why they're INTP and INTJ respectively.


OffTopic: OMG is that Thorin? DDD


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## CitricBoxer (Jan 3, 2015)

Ti vs Te seems to be the easiest cognitive function to differentiate, at least for me.

Ti is primarily concerned with using logic to order things inside their heads. In INTPs, this typically manifests with abstracting information to organize information into a mental network.

Te is primarily concerned with using logic to order things in the outside world. In INTJs, this typically manifests with creating orderly plans to be executed for an objective.

With that as a starting point, once you start to pick apart the thinking process, INTPs become very distinct from INTJs. INTPs like to say "Well isn't that interesting, this reminds me of..." whereas INTJs like to say "I've already figured this out, and I'm going to..."


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## unoriginal (Dec 22, 2013)

My friend is an INTJ. This dude I used to work with who ended up going crazy and moving to Florida (like actually went crazy) was definately an INTP. They were pretty much the same, except my INTJ friend seems much more optimistic, and ironically less judgemental.


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## ninjahitsawall (Feb 1, 2013)

CitricBoxer said:


> Ti vs Te seems to be the easiest cognitive function to differentiate, at least for me.
> 
> Ti is primarily concerned with using logic to order things inside their heads. In INTPs, this typically manifests with abstracting information to organize information into a mental network.
> 
> ...


Well at least one person I know who's INTP often approaches me with theories. Like he'll start a conversation out of nowhere with a new idea. So in that sense INTP's have it figured out as well, being introverts both types are going to want to sort out their thoughts before they speak. But I think INTJ's have more of a definite goal in mind as they work through something. Like if I have a conversation with the friend I mentioned before, I tend to try to take everything he says as a "point" in itself and sometimes put ideas he addresses together in my head before I respond. I think I also take him more seriously than maybe he does, because I'm really conscientious about staying on topic and not drifting into tangents and stuff. For some reason I imagine INTP's don't appreciate INTJ style tangents. haha.

INTJ's can appear scattered too, but probably in a different way. I imagine INTJ tangents are more like trees (there's a general direction) and INTP tangents are more like bushes (doesn't have to have much relevance.) 








vs. 








INTJ's are a little more like ENTJ's as far as being concerned about "performance", "success", "competence" and such for their own sake.


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## scoobysnack (Jan 26, 2015)

my partner is an INTP..im an INTJ. 
I dont know is its because the traits associated to each type but ill describe the major differences between us. We are very similar tho...
he doesnt care about deadlines or being late and he doesn't worry about time..or being late for events. pretty laid back
I hate being late, i don't like going beyond a deadline, i stress out over having enough time way more than he does

he doesnt over analyze things, keeps it really simple
i over analyze everything


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## 1yesman9 (Jul 10, 2014)

anarchitektur said:


> They aren't rare, they're just a much smaller percentage of the whole. Usually the statistic cited is that INTPs and INTJs each make up 1.5-3% of the population... so let's say the two combined are 6%. Of 7 billion people on Earth, that's still 420 million. Not exactly unicorns, here.


It's still rare... Rare is about percentage, not sheer numbers. Rarity is about how hard something is to find in comparison to something else.


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## 1yesman9 (Jul 10, 2014)

Cineserre said:


> Hello  This is a thread I'm making in order to know how to tell apart an INTJ and an INTP. I know they both have totally different functions and I also know those two types quite well: my best friend is INTP and my brother is INTJ. However I have to confess that sometimes, as both types tend to be quiet, it is hard to tell which type a person is; mostly when the person I'm trying to figure out the type has functions from both types
> 
> As an ENFP, I can see that his attention don't scatter on many topics as my Ne does to me, but at the same time, they don't mind thinking/working on several subjects at the same time as a Ni wouldn't like to do. I think he even likes to be stimulated by multiple things like a Ne, but he tends to find reasons to things first like Ni.
> Same for Te/Ti. I don't see the "bossy" and "goal-accomplishment" or "I'm always right because here are the facts" thing INTJ generally have, but on the other hand, I don't see the "I want to know everything" Ti users have (and that my best friend obviously have). Plus he is a lot less judgmental than INTP are, I just can't see him having Ti as the dominant function but they don't look having the bossy Te thing.
> ...


Why would he express his Ti judgments to you? It's introverted thinking, not extraverted thinking. INTJs are seen as more openly judgmental because their judgments are orientated towards the external world, and based on them. INTPs are seen as quite fluid on the outside, because their extravert their perception function ( Ne ). He also wouldn't express his need to know everything naturally.

Te vs Ti is about goals. Te wants to impact external reality (values productivity and usefulness), and references external reality to make thinking decisions ( facts, empiricism ). Ti wants to impact the user (wants to understand things just to understand them), and users an internal mode of logic to make thinking decisions ( reason without referencing to external facts ).

He's inferior Fe. That means it's his unconcious function and the function he's most averse to. He's supposed to not value harmony, he's supposed to be less intimate/touchy than an INTJs, and very secretive. The difference is he'll subconsciously want to express himself, but will consciously deny it unless he's in an emotional or energetic inferior Fe grip.


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## anarchitektur (Feb 11, 2011)

1yesman9 said:


> It's still rare... Rare is about percentage, not sheer numbers. Rarity is about how hard something is to find in comparison to something else.


It depends on the context. In this instance, 420 million people is not what I would consider "rare." Less common than other types, but not rare.

Like, in the US, a "rare" disease is one that affects about 1 out of 1,500 people, which is roughly .06%. So, when something makes up a fraction of a percent, that's my idea of rare.

Finding 420 million people out of 7 billion is not exactly a needle in a haystack.


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## 1yesman9 (Jul 10, 2014)

anarchitektur said:


> It depends on the context. In this instance, 420 million people is not what I would consider "rare." Less common than other types, but not rare.
> 
> Like, in the US, a "rare" disease is one that affects about 1 out of 1,500 people, which is roughly .06%. So, when something makes up a fraction of a percent, that's my idea of rare.
> 
> Finding 420 million people out of 7 billion is not exactly a needle in a haystack.


If 6% of 100 is considered a needle in a haystack, then 6% of 7 billion is still a needle in a haystack. The 6% of 100 is only considered a needle in a haystack because 94$ of the haystack is not the needle, and that doesn't change when 100 changes to 7 billion.

You can have different values for what you consider rare, but if a percentage is considered rare, then it is always rare no matter what the context/whole number is, because that's how percentages work.

You can consider INTJs/INTPs not rare, but the reasoning is because of what percentage you consider rare, not because there are 7 billion humans on the planet, is what i'm saying. The context/number of humans on planet is irrelevant.

In that case, you can't say stuff like "it's not rare" because that would mean what people considered rare wasn't based on a subjective factor. It'd be something like "it's not rare by my standards, or what I assume to be your standards". I personally consider 420,000,000 rare because of the 6,580,000,000 people in your way.


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## Aiwass (Jul 28, 2014)

As it has already been said, it is quite strange that your brother is an INTJ and doesn't express judgements. Having Te as an auxiliary function doesn't mean you are an ass, but it tipically makes you very quick to express opinions and analyze empirical data in terms of efficiency and coherence. 

INTPs are generally much more logical (they are Ti dominants), yet they may not appear like it because their extraverted function is Ne. As result, they may look flexible, adaptable and even imaginative, although logic always comes first in their internal world.

INTJs are Ni-dominants. Our internal world is intuitive, abstract and we try to translate it into reality by using hard, empirical logic. The result is clear: INTJs generally come off as assertive and resolute, at least superficially.

INTJs and INTPs may share common interests, but their cognitive processes are immensely different from each other.


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## Strelok (Aug 16, 2013)

1yesman9 said:


> He's inferior Fe. That means it's his unconcious function and the function he's most averse to. *He's supposed to not value harmony*


I disagree.


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## TuesdaysChild (Jan 11, 2014)

I can easily spot the difference in my line of work. I work in the legal field and attend many, many expert witness depositions (I know, not ideal for an infp and I loathe it more than I can express, but that's another story) Since NTs naturally magnetize towards professions that would make them experts in some field, I encounter a lot of intjs and intps. With intjs, I find that depositions are quick and efficient. The attorney asks a question, the INTJ answers that question and the day proceeds in that order. Now, intps, on the other hand - and I really do love intps in any other setting - will make the day long and miserable. The attorney asks a question. The intp thinks it's a stupid question and answers what they think is a better question, and in very verbose and winding fashion. Then the attorney simply reasks the original question until they get an answer to that question (which takes several attempts) and the day proceeds in that fashion, around and around and around and around until finally, when my bones are ready to be dead and buried, the day is over.


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## Strelok (Aug 16, 2013)

Ugh, Te users.


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## Cineserre (Sep 9, 2014)

Thanks for all of your replies. It seems clearer for me now. I get it more about the two types, I think he is indeed INTP, but he's really different compared to my best friend, which is interesting in a personal way. @Miuni It was indeed


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