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As
has been repeatedly stressed on this website, a "test"
cannot tell you who you are. The only results of any personality
assessment that are valid are the ones that have been thoroughly
validated according to your own personal experience.
As
it happens, there are a number of "lookalike" types -- types
that commonly mis-type as another. So it's important to pay
especially close attention to these. While it may be only one
letter different, it makes a dramatic difference in whether or not a description genuinely "fits."
One
of the most common "lookalikes" is INFJ and INTJ. I
wish I had a nickel for every INFJ who believes they have INTJ
preferences; or for every INTJ who believes they have INFJ
preferences.
Given
that I work with so many different models of personality type, I'm
going to lean into those now to highlight the differences between
these two particular types, since it is such a common
misunderstanding.
Temperament
INFJs
have the Catalyst temperament, while INTJs have the Theorist
temperament. Their core needs are different, their values are
different -- and so are the skills and behaviors you might see in the
outer world. Just a little bit of delving into the differences
in Temperament is the fastest route toward discerning which type
pattern is the better fit. (Brief Temperament descriptions and
their core needs may be found here.)
INTJs tend to display a scientific bent, while INFJs tend to display a
humanistic bent.
An
important distinction between INFJs and INTJs is that the
"intelligence" or "skill-set" INTJs excel at
is Strategic, followed by Diplomatic; while for INFJs the order is
reversed: Diplomatic, followed by Strategic. So INTJs
typically consider Logic first, people second; while INFJs tend to
consider people first, Logic second.
Interaction
Styles
INFJs
and INTJs share the same interaction style, which contributes mightily to the
misunderstanding -- however, there are slight differences within the way
the style gets expressed. But if you're new to type, those
distinctions are likely to be too ambiguous to comprehend at this
stage of the game. Either way, both type patterns will naturally
"anticipate" (which is sometimes conflated with either
Strategic or Diplomatic intelligence in the Temperament model).
Dichotomies
If
one relies on the MBTI dichotomies, it is all too easy for
"Fs" to imagine they are "Ts", and for
"Ts" to imagine they are "Fs." The only way
to get beyond this misunderstanding is to delve into the
eight-function model and explore the cognitive processes in greater
depth.
Cognitive
Processes
Here
again, as with the Temperament model, the differences come into better
focus.
INFJs
and INTJs share the same dominant cognitive process: introverted
iNtuiting (Ni). This is commonly called
"foreseeing." Thus, both INFJs and INTJs are both
interested in synthesizing, integrating, conceptualizing,
understanding complex patterns, and focusing on the future.
Where
the divergence occurs is around the auxiliary process. Here's where
Thinking and Feeling pop into view.
INTJs
have a preference for extraverted Thinking as their auxiliary
process. Thus, they are given to "segmenting" -- which
includes measuring things with objective criteria. They will
naturally calculate how long something will take, how soon the next
event will occur, and enjoy telling you about these
measurements. They like organizing for efficiency,
systematizing, structuring. Their tendency is to provide you
with their rationales: "The reason I'm late is because it
took me 15 minutes longer on the freeway than it normally does.
I was only able to maintain a speed of 25 mph, compared to my normal
speed of 40 mph." And so forth. These rationales and
measurements are very important to INTJs. They especially love
to predict how long something is going to take, and their wristwatch
is probably among their prize possessions. They collect trivial
facts constantly, and can probably tell you all the contents of their
medicine cabinet -- including the proper names for all their
pharmaceuticals. Just ask them about their computer -- they'll
tell you the processor speed, memory size, hard disk capacity,
operating system version, and network capabilities. Chances are
they've even memorized the Periodic Table of Elements.
INTJs
like to work with challenges that occur in the moment -- the ones
right before their eyes. If you want to see an INTJ in top form,
watch them respond to changes in travel plans. If a flight gets
cancelled or delayed, they will rapidly move from Plan A to Plan B, and so
on, until they exhaust all possible contingencies. Even if they
fail to salvage the situation, they relish trying to solve the
immediate problem. They like to "get their hands
dirty," so to speak. If there is a computer malfunction,
they are inclined to grab the mouse and take over the keyboard so they
can start "trying things out" right away to fix the
problem. They can clean a house faster than a tornado if
company's comin' -- just don't expect them to remember where they put
things after company goes home!
INFJs
have a preference for extraverted Feeling as their auxiliary
process. Thus, they tend to be "charming" and are given to "connecting" -- which
includes maintaining an extensive web of
relationships. They are given to adjusting to and
accommodating others, deciding whether something is appropriate or
acceptable to others. For instance, one INFJ experienced a great
deal of stress on a message board when some political bashing
started. There was an implicit assumption that everyone on the board
was a member of a particular party, when in fact this INFJ knew
members of the opposing party were present. It caused her no end of
stress that these people were being maligned by the bashers, even
though there was no apparent conflict. Other INFJs maintain
internet blogs and "connect" with others in cyberspace, and maintain
their web of relationship via that means. If she were to dine
with others, she would be concerned that the food appeal to everyone's
tastes, there are no food allergies, and that the price is within everyone's budget (if it's a restaurant).
INFJs sometimes speak in the "Royal We" -- meaning they feel
qualified to say what the group needs or wants. They may take on
the role of spokesperson for the entire group, and experience
the group as an "entity" unto itself (rather than a
collection of individuals). At the same time, INFJs typically know
what each member of the group personally likes or dislikes. She knows
who's married to whom, who's pregnant, which friend has the deadbeat
brother-in-law, which cousin is the reformed alcoholic, and whose mother just died a month ago. She
knows this data off the top of her
head, and can rattle it off without a blink. (If she's reading
this now, she probably thinks it's no big deal -- doesn't everybody do
that?) If it's not this
kind of information to do with relationships, then it might be about something similar, such
as how others like their clothing, or their artwork, favorite colors, or whatever
peccadillo is unique to that individual. At Christmas, INFJs are
good at picking out suitable Christmas gifts and remembering which
niece likes Dora and which niece is into Cinderella. INFJs can
be sponges for such trivial data and habitually collect them (often
unconsciously) so they can better "consider
others" with the information. Sometimes they are more
protective of a person's likes and dislikes than the person is
themselves!
Moving
through the personality pattern, we now come to the tertiary process. And it is
precisely this process that often confuses people as to whether their
preferences are for "F" or for "T," because it
will be the opposite of whichever was their auxiliary. Take
careful notice about which of the following descriptions fits you
better.
In
the INTJ pattern, the tertiary process is for introverted
Feeling. Thus, they habitually consider importance and worth,
clarify values, and decide whether something is of significance and
worth standing up for. ("This doesn't match our priorities
so we should refuse that assignment.") They have a strong sense
of what's important to them or the project. Sometimes they can
be seen as "selfish."
In
the INFJ pattern, the tertiary process is for introverted
Thinking. Thus, they habitually analyze. They devote
energy to deciding whether something fits a framework or model, and
will often clarify definitions to get more precision.
("Let's define our terms before we get more deeply involved in
this conversation.") They enjoy categorizing, and figuring
out underlying principles. Sometimes they can be seen as
"critical."
Overall
It's
been my observation that naive clients sometimes find
"truth" in their MBTI results, even when the descriptions don't fit
perfectly. It's a touch of the Barnum Effect -- and is entirely
understandable. After all, the assessment got so much right --
it seems unreasonably nitpicky to reject some of the details, especially
when a misidentification around the auxiliary can usually be *stretchhhhhhhed*
to fit the tertiary. Thus, it's extremely worthwhile to take a
close look at both the auxiliary and tertiary processes to match how
well they truly fit and match your real-life experience. Is your
Feeling preference introverted or extraverted? Is your Thinking
preference introverted or extraverted?
If
that exercise makes your eyes glaze over (in spite of how powerful it
can be), I encourage you to revisit
the Temperament model yet again. Using the Temperament targets in
the UYAO
Temperament book, it's relatively easy to match your *behaviors*
with those listed on the Temperament targets to see which pattern truly fits
you best.
Audio
Following
is an
informal discussion between an INTJ and INFJ (my husband and me),
discussing the similarities and differences between our respective
types. It runs a little longer than 1 hour, and the file size is about
8MB. Click "Play" to hear it now, or use the link to download it
instead.
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