# INFP or ISFP?



## Saturn

My problem is probably fairly common: am I ISFP or INFP? I apologise in advance for the long post, and thank you for reading it...

When I did the MBTI test 18 months ago through my employer, I was ISFP. Subsequent online testing always resulted in INFP, but Happy's thread about the top ten misconceptions about MBTI has made me question that - and I was already torn between the two types before then.

For quite a few months I was satisfied that I was INFP, and I felt right at home among them on Globachatter; now I feel that the sensing side is more apparent. Or perhaps I am a well-adjusted ISFP, which I believe sometimes incorrectly come out as INFP in the MBTI Indicator.

At best I can only explain how I feel by saying that I am perfectly balanced between them, but I don't think that is adequate.

My rambling here is indicative of intuition, I know; and I do like words, which is typical of INFP. I do also daydream a lot about how the present reality could be different, but it tends to be a specific area of my reality and not about a big political or social cause - though I do detest any form of dictatorship or any encroachment on an individual's personal freedom. On the other hand, I do not worry about the blight of those on the other side of the world to the point that it moves me to action, but I do wish things could be more equal around the world. I also know that is unworkable, which is my sensing side coming through.

I absolutely love physical beauty, whether of a person or a landscape (sensing); I also love people's internal beauty, vulnerability and tenderness (intuition?). I love to nurture people (intuition?), but only those that are interested in me as an individual - which I think is more of a sensing trait in the context of an ISFP. I like theory if it helps me with something specific, e.g. to write a better essay on literature or to understand personality types with a view to enhancing my experiences with people. On the other hand, I love to ponder our existence and contemplate what is beyond the universe (if it is finite - who knows?), which is more indicative of intuition.

I am even more confused about my type because one of my best friends tested ISFP by doing the proper MBTI Indicator at work. He is very similar to me, but he is more sporty and socialises more with a wider group of people. He also mends my bike for me, which I am hopeless at, so those two things make me think I am INFP. Or maybe I am just closer to the N side than he is. He is adventurous, reserved, practical, and mostly very closed off except in isolated moments - which screams out ISFP to me.

My room is a mess and I love perfection, but I am never satisifed, which is INFP all the way.

I could go on like this for pages, but I'll stop here. 

At the moment, I think I am actually ISFP according to the theory. But then why am I obsessing over the theory if I am ISFP?

HELP ME PLEASE


----------



## Linesky

Hi there. I'm not sure if I can help you because I also think there isn't that much info out there about ISFP's right away, 
but maybe you can try to examine your Tertiary function, since it's supposed to be a development (around your teens or as you grow up) that _doesn't happen unnoticed_. 

An ISFP's Tertiary function is *Ni*.
"Foreseeing implications and likely effects without external data; realizing “what will be”; conceptualizing new ways of seeing things; envisioning transformations; getting an image of profound meaning or far-reaching symbols."

It's often described as inner intuition that comes to you: it's hard to pin down, but it "speaks" to you and comes from within yourself initially. It usually implies a vision on something.

An INFP's Tertiary function is *Si*.
"Reviewing past experiences; “what is” evoking “what was”; seeking detailed information and links to what is known; recalling stored impressions; accumulating data; recognizing the way things have always been."

Si is like internalizing / collecting and keeping a stock of data.


----------



## cardinalfire

Saturn, you appear to share some similar things with me. I have only taken the test on free online versions and have frequently come up as ISFP and INFP, usually a percent more on the former, and like you I like the theory when it's applied to me. I also haven't read any of the theory, nor want to just yet. I may take the 'proper' test at some point though not right now.


----------



## Brie

Have you tried reading the personality portraits yet?


----------



## firedell

Jooooooooooin us. ;]


----------



## Saturn

I'd love to be ISFP, but I need to be certain I belong to the tribe. I think it will take time. I guess the first test I did is more accurate, but the INFP description fits me so much. On the other hand, the ISFP one fits me too. I think my love of language is INFP and my love of delighting the senses is ISFP. I'm not an artisan, but I love to cook for people I care about - which is another string in the ISFP bow, I think.

By the way, ISFPs, if you're upset, what is is best way for someone to help you? My ISFP friend and flatmate just came home and he'd clearly been crying, and I strongly suspect it's over a girl who keeps leading him on then knocking him back. I think he wants to know I'm there for him, but I don't think he wants to make a song and dance over it. I was thinking I'd just let him lead any conversation and behave as if it's all right, and maybe give him a quick man hug. We just had a slug of scotch together, then he went to bed. My INFP traits are hard to contain and I just want to help him so badly...


----------



## Grey

Have you tried considering beyond interests and activities? What matters is not that you cook or you play baseball, but why you do so. That will point you further to your best fit type.


----------



## Dichotomy

Saturn said:


> I absolutely love physical beauty, whether of a person or a landscape (sensing); I also love people's internal beauty, vulnerability and tenderness (intuition?). I love to nurture people (intuition?)


I don't think this makes any difference, actually. Do you largely ignore the surrounding environment in a haze of thoughts or day-dreams, but then really look at beautiful things that do capture your attention?


----------



## Saturn

Hmm... Well, when I'm on a communter train and I can't move, I drift off into my own world most of the time. At other times, I'm keenly aware of what's going on around me.

I think if I'm in a familiar environment I'm more inclined to daydream, but if it's new I open my senses.

I do feel more INFP, quite honestly, but I think I'm an extroverted one compartively speaking.


----------



## Grey

Have you ever considered the thought that you might be an ENFP? Although the extrovert preference may seem a bit much for you, ENFPs are often known as the 'introverted extroverts', along with ENTPs, of all of the extroverted types.


----------



## Saturn

Grey, thank you so much. I saw the links to greenlightwiki you posted in another ISFP/INFP thread, and consequently I am in no doubt that my secondary function is Ne.

I understand now why the mindset of looking for certain S or N traits is misleading: we all use everything everyday.

I always see possibilities and readily make associations with everything I see or experience. That is Ne working: a dynamic view of everything. That's me. I am INFP. The cloud does mean there might be thunder; it's not just a cloud which is blocking the sun from my face.

The Ni description utterly baffled me. Now I understand even more why ISFPs are so difficult to know well and understand. I still love ISFPs, though.

That is closure.


----------



## cardinalfire

Saturn said:


> Grey, thank you so much. I saw the links to greenlightwiki you posted in another ISFP/INFP thread, and consequently I am in no doubt that my secondary function is Ne.
> 
> quote]
> 
> What is greenlightwiki?


----------



## Saturn

Ne
Se

Try the links above and you'll see. This is helpful. If you're ISFP, you will have Se in the secondary position and Ni in the tertiary; if you're INFP, you'll have Ne second and Si third.


----------



## Kevinaswell

INFP hands down.


----------



## JEFFISWHO

Hello... I would like to join this small conversation a bit - I think I may be ISFP, though as many times as I have taken the MBTI I have NEVER tested positive for sensing and ALWAYS for intuition. The more I advance in years, however, the more I think that must not be true. It's hard to pin down why, except that when I'm being perfectly honest with myself, intuition seems to be to be some kind of "magic" that I often feel when I am purely reflective, but the rest of the time is fleeting. That fleeting sense of meaning is very frustrating. The demands of the present and the past always interfere with my deeper philosophy, to the point where I often just give up contemplating anything at all. I must be very sensitive to "external" stimuli, whether of the senses or "possibilities" though, which constantly change my mind about who I am and what my identity is, in relation to the world and to others. That sense of constant change and not being able to hold on to meaning tends to define me. Wouldn't a more primary sense of intuition have a more solid form? 

As for the future, I tend to do things I've done before, albeit in slightly different ways, which frustrates the heck out of me when I am genuinely trying to make progress in my life. I try something new only to find I'm still on old ground. This makes me think I must be "S" rather than "N", despite many "facts" to the contrary - language ability, the ability to study abstract concepts, the ability to do well in school, etc. There are so many MBTI stereotypes, of course, which differ widely depending on what you read. 

They always say "S" or "N" is what you prefer rather than what you are.... if you are frustrated with your life you are probably favoring one over the other. In an ideal world, I say to myself, I would spend every day reading books and listening to philosophical conversations and YET, and YET the stereotype of the "feeler" is so strong and I don't readily feel other people's feelings at all. In the end I throw my hands in the air because the MBTI has been interpreted in so many ways it has almost become irrelevant. I read one thing and it's immediately contradicted by someone else's interpretation. 

(Side note: reading this again, I contradict myself and say to myself, NO, I would NOT rather spend every day reading - I would ideally like to spend equal amounts of time contemplating reality and affecting it with my actions.)

We all "sense" things. We all think abstractly as well. To some extent. Really, the only thing I could ever find to "explain" me was a book on Cognitive Styles which states one style is the mediator/facilitator type who BALANCES intuition and sensing equally based on how their brains are wired. Those of us who are confused sit right in the middle doing both more or less equally. This is why I can be engrossed in the beauty of nature at the same time I am contemplating theoretical physics (if I so desired) or why the past, present and future are more or less equal to me albeit in a very abstract way, at the same time as I am very much engrossed in my cup of coffee and feeling grounded in my body. 

Even with that dichotomy, and knowing very well how "S" and "N" work FOR ME, and even knowing how they work IN THEORY, depending on what type description I read I could very well be "specifically" INFP or ISFP. It makes me wonder how these writers select the details for their very individualized type descriptions. This meme has become such that the type descriptions may actually match the preferences of the writers rather than any kind of objective truth. 

In the end it can be fun to contemplate the possibilities of identity but I would rather do something in the world to prove it - which does make me more of an "S" then doesn't it? Or would it make me INFJ? But no, INFJs are said to be mystical, and I always feel grounded. Except when I'm tired and I'm channeling a dream state and writing hallucinatory poetry. But the rest of the time I'm very grounded. Except when I'm singing opera. Or reading MBTI. Or contemplating Middle Eastern politics, or thinking about how the rain represents both a metaphor for planetary cleansing and a much needed source of energy for biomes. Or getting frustrated with the lack of political progress in the country. Or trying to keep track of various schedules. See? That sounds nothing like INFP yet I always test for INFP... 

I contemplate revising the entire psychological system - from top to bottom. Although the Friesens have already done it, more or less, which requires I study neurology, and I have begun to do that but it takes a while since I'm always reading scores of different topics simultaneously. 

I guess I've said enough... any ideas what type I am? Ha ha ha.


----------

