# How to distinguish between ISTJ and ISFJ? - help



## Reliability (Jul 26, 2015)

Ok,
So i signed up yesterday because of a very urgent question: Am I an ISTJ or an ISFJ?

Its not, that the answer is dramaticly life-defining but i deal with the MBTI for a year, and have had a lot of discsussions about who i finally am. My family members believe that i am an ISTJ, some frieds say ISFJ and i am just confused and need an advice from as many other personality types as possible. I am German by the way, so please excuse some misstakes 

So i will split up my behaviour in ISTJ and ISFJ key moments, values, or behaviour to give you a better overview

ISTJ:

1. I am absolutly reliable, (watch my username , do things by the book if i say i do it, than i will do every thing i can to fulfill my promise (without any limit like ISFJ often do when emotions are involved)

2. When i help others, than my motivation most of the time is "it is my duity", "they deserve it", "they helped my so it is the least i can come up with" (and no real emotional reasons)

3. I take in account my values all the time but more in the way of justice and honesty. So even when there is a decicion made with logic, i will still not accept it until it fulfills the both values. (So isnt this Feeling an Thinking?) 
Truth and sincere Behaviour is always my first priority and i feel attracted by working environments which include those values, like court.

4. I often make logical desicions, naming logic as my reason background. When it comes to partner work, or working in groups, i am frustrated by people not caring about the exercises or affecting my own results by their uninterested attitude and motivation towards work. In this case, beeing effective is much more important than beeing cooperative and joining the general working style of others. I hate watching myself doing mistakes and love collecting information as a spong  so i am factminded in way and also judge otherones, and myself with justice and not with mercy.

A few things that make my think i am an ISFJ are:

1. I always take critisism personally altough i sometimes know that it is not meant like this, i feel offended. So this makes me seem to be irrational and letting issues touch my heart.

2. I dont have any problems talking about my feeling, showing empathy or hugging others (unlike the ISTJ). In whatever situation i would probably start giving emotional support (after looking what the others need in this situation) and would either reflect than giving practical solutions. I also flush very easily and find a lot of situations embarassing, while others dont. Emotional movies or events, death or touching situations can bring me to tears easily, and everyone is wondering why i am crying, even the extroverted Feelers are. One little sweet scene in a movie, cand come close to me. So Emotions are part of my daily life and behaviour.

3. Although i am ready to go into conflicts, i seek harmony and peace. I dislike discussions or disputes that destroy a harmonic atmosphere. In many situations i would try to avoid conflicts by just letting the other person saying its own oppinion, instead of beginning a fight. But when i know i am right, i would not shut down and i like to proove when i am right.

4. I have this characteristic of "The protector" (so the ISFJ)
When somebody talks bad about one other behind his back, i would protect the secretly attacked person, even if she/he is not there. I try to spread empathy, and in many situations when the ISTP for example gives his own and hart sounding opinion i am trying to involve emotions and showing the other part of the discussed case. Furthermore, I feel responsible for my friends and would stand up for them (even more then for me)

__________________________________________________________________________


Ah, and what just came to my mind: I LOVE carrying the responsibility and love to do work. I realize when others try to push some work on me. Sometimesi keep gentle and nice and just do it for the sace of the group, sometimes i can be really rough and tell others to do it themselves. But the most time my aim is too strong to just drop everything. Thats why i dont like working in groups. No one wats to be responsible ore reliable. Whereas i sometimes unneccecarilly embarass myself because of my reliabilty and honesty.

Aaaaand, i took the test about 30 times (really!) on different websites and most of the time on 16personlities.com
I had been ISFJ (weak feeler) for about 20 times until they modified some questions and put in values like smartness, honesty and justice, so i ended up to be an ISTJ.
But after some changes again, they took out those auestions and i kept beeing an ISFJ ever since.


When you kept reading until here, thanks for yout attention for reading this text beeing far to long anyway

These are only a few things that make me doubtful about my personality type. Please help me!!! 

Best wishes, Reliability


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## Inheritance (Jul 20, 2014)

I think you should take a look at Te-Fi and Fe-Ti.

ISTJs can come over more unemotional due to their Te whereas ISFJs can come over more emotional due to their Fe. Due to their thinking function, ISTJs typically when supporting someone else; does so by offering a solution to the problem. ISTJ's 3rd function is Introverted Feeling and thus they're not a bastion of emotional support. If you want someone to sympathize with you, you'd not go to an ISTJ. ISFJs on the other hand due to their feeling function have little trouble in offering emotional support. They're the people who you can come to when needing someone to give you their condolences.

When it comes to dressing up with fine clothes, the two types typically do it for two different reasons. ISTJs if dressing up does it due to it's efficiency (Te). Afterall, being on good terms at first impression can later lead to the ISTJ being looked upon as competent for the work. ISFJs on the other hand sees it from the perspective that everyone else does it, so why shouldn't they aswell? Their Fe pushes for group harmony, and dressing up inappropriately would ruin such an atmosphere. That's why ISFJs can be seen as though they are always everyone else's person and never really their own. For they live according to external evaluations and usually fear other people critising them for being different. 

That's my understanding at least. Which sounds more true to you?


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## Reliability (Jul 26, 2015)

Thanks for your analyze and help.

For the first one (emotional or non emotional support) i am still unsure because i do the both. When i meet a feeler i would help them with feelings and condolences, when there is a T person i try to give solutions and both of them are natural to me.

Can you recommamd any function-test with the eT or eF?
For the second part i think, both motivations make sense and i would do for the two reasons as well.
How would you think is my personality type after reading my description by the way? And whats your MBTI ?

Reliability


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## Inheritance (Jul 20, 2014)

I currently have my MBTI open as a questionnaire just as yours, thus 'Unknown personality' is equipped.

I also noticed an error in my statement above. ISTJs primary reasons for dressing up is to appear as competent. They're more business like than the ISFJ. They know that if you dress up in a certain way, then you're likely to have given off the 'aura of competence' so to say. In other words, some of the persons you currently surround yourself with may work as contacts in the future. Afterall, with ambition contacts are valauble. ISFJ's primary reason for dressing up is to be liked, to promote group harmony. 

Also in their apperances, ISTJ don't radiate the same extenth of warmth. They come over more unanimated in their facial expressions, making them more robotic than the ISFJ. An ISFJ Fe's radiates more warmth than the ISTJ. It's very typical for an ISFJ to be equipped with a lot of facial expressions. You can for example compare them to actors. 

You may come to like those pages:

Extraverted Feeling (Fe)
Extraverted Thinking (Te) in INTJs & ENTJs


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## Barakiel (May 20, 2014)

@Inheritance is right, although ISTJs are more sure of their feelings than, say, INFPs, because they don't introspect much on them, simply use them in the background of their Te. As stereotypical as it is, Fe users sympathize, they take on others' problems as their own, its why many of them are crusaders, well, the NFJs, at least. Auxiliary and tertiary are harder to pinpoint than primary and inferior, but I'll give it a shot. Are you more willing to call someone morally abhorrent, or lacking in ambition?


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## Simpson17866 (Dec 3, 2014)

My ISTP/ISFP go-to is "ISTPs care primarily about the things that they do with people, ISFPs care about the people that they do things with"

SJs are generally more responsibility-oriented than activity-oriented, but the basic principle is still the same: ISTJs think primarily about the jobs that they do for their loved ones, ISFJs think primarily about the loved ones that they do their jobs for.


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## AllyKat (Jan 24, 2014)

Most of your answers could be true of either ISxJ I think. 

But I think this scenario based questionnaire can be helpful in determining Fi/Fe and Te/Ti differences - http://personalitycafe.com/whats-my...ive-scenario-questionnaire-2-0-self-type.html.

I'd also like to add that, at the end of the day, it's a preference. It doesn't mean you can't have days where you are more ISTJ and days where you are more ISFJ (or at least seem that way). It's just which happens more often than not.


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## Giraffe77 (May 5, 2014)

.


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## Reliability (Jul 26, 2015)

@Inheritance

Yeah, i believe in those mixed-types, not that i saw them anywhere, but it would be natural for a lot of people to stand in the golden middle.

Comming to your example again, i tink i understood the main motivation. Competence and efficiency vs. Group Harmony

Hm.. Yeah it's really difficult for me, because i can radiate a lot of warmth, if i want to. But sometimes i am cold und unapproachable and insisting on my rights without any excuses.
Another troubling fact is, that i am 99-100% turbulent (due to the test at 16personalities.com) so this instable emotions make me appear very vivant and emotional too, just because i am mixed up with different emotional states all the time. Due to this fact, i dont seem like a robot at all, i change my facial expressions frequently and i enjoy theater.

The tip with the cognitive was very helpful though, i have a preference of Te/Fi above Fe/Ti


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## Reliability (Jul 26, 2015)

Hey @Barakiel, thanks for your help as well. I come over as caring, becaus eif the reason i like to do jobs for others, but less because of my deep ivolvings in their social matters.

My feeling is more of the value style (truth and sicerity) than the symathize part.

To your question: i am using both judgements actually. And i even get messed up when someone ignores morals oreis completly incompetent and unmotivated. So both factors can annoy me. I change my preference. Do you think this is normal/okay when you're only ONE type, or is this an indicator for beeing both?


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## Reliability (Jul 26, 2015)

@Simpson17866

Ok, so this is really interesting. In a very short term you described in an exact way some of the different motivations. I think this is also where my problem comes from. This caring side i am showing, doesn't come from the love-> is action to please them, but more action-> shows i want to please and love them. 

This helped a lot, thumb up!


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## Reliability (Jul 26, 2015)

@TMills27

Thanks for your answer as well. 
This is the exact reason i am interested in becomming a öawyer. Everyone tells me, i should use my "weakness" of soreading critic for the even smallest issues, or finding out mistakes an unjust behaviour, inconsistensies for work.

On the other side, social niceties mean a lot to me. I like hering a nice motivation word from working partners, and i also care about to gibe a recognition to others for wjat they have done.
Hm.. It seems like a thing in between for me...


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## polarity22 (Jul 23, 2015)

you sound more J than P. .I'm a P and was married to a J...(i'd like to think i'm a "J expert". but i am still sorta new to MBTI .studying it almost 1 year now)


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## Reliability (Jul 26, 2015)

polarity22 said:


> you sound more J than P. .I'm a P and was married to a J...(i'd like to think i'm a "J expert". but i am still sorta new to MBTI .studying it almost 1 year now)



I am studying it for one year now too haha  but my question actually concerns the F/T part. Yes, i am very J that's true


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## polarity22 (Jul 23, 2015)

Reliability said:


> I am studying it for one year now too haha  but my wuestion actually concerns the F/T part. Yes, i am very J that's true


duh, sorry, i thought you orinally posted J or P. mybad


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## Reliability (Jul 26, 2015)

polarity22 said:


> duh, sorry, i thought you orinally posted J or P. mybad


Ah, never mind


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