Actually,
it's rather impressive. I've seen Improvisers, Stabilizers, Theorists, and
other Catalysts all mistakenly report as INFJ. Perhaps they scored INFJ on
a test written by Myers-Briggs, Keirsey, or somebody else. They may have taken a
bootleg on-line "test" or had a counselor do an analysis at their workplace or school.
Perhaps they read one of the popular books on Type and chose their code that
way, or they latched onto some artifact and rely on that as
"evidence." Here's an example of putting the cart before the
horse:
How does
one get the information about these personality types? I know I am an INFJ
through my reaction to people's comments here, but how do you get the formal
diagnostics?
It's always interesting to hear the weird paths and rabbit-holes some
people took to derive INFJ as their chosen type.
One of the
earliest questions I ask when meeting other INFJs on the internet is, "How
do you know you're an
INFJ?" Because I don't know what their choice is based upon. It may
just be a regurgitation of a score they got somewhere and don't understand.
They may have picked that code because their friends picked that code, or
because some description "sounds good." They may have pulled the
letters out of a hat for all I know! So I like to test for validity and check
confidence.
You see, a test has never met you, and the results might be off for any of a variety of
reasons. It's a well-known fact that every "test" out there (even the
venerable MBTI!) tends to be
mistaken by at least one letter, and sometimes ALL of the
letters are wrong. And some people don't agree with their result, so they
change a letter here or there to suit, or pick their code from reading an
appealing type description (apparently INFJ descriptions look attractive to many
people, especially with all the emphasis on it being the "rarest type").
The MBTI is
what they call a "Level B" Psychological instrument. You're
supposed to get professional training before you can administer it, or have an
equivalent amount of education. The distributors of the instrument don't
want you taking "the test" without a qualified professional to assist
you, and the qualification training emphasizes that test validation always
overrides test score.
The truth is, people who don't take the instrument
under the guidance of an administrator (as is the case with online quizzes) are
usually too lazy to investigate whether another type code might fit them better,
much less have a clue what other codes to look at! In spite of that
precaution, I've even met people who took the MBTI, validated with a
professional and still got it wrong -- heck, I've met professionals who
administer the MBTI and they got their own type wrong!
The
problem may be exacerbated when folks join a mailing list or bulletin board for a given type (this
problem doesn't apply only to INFJs, you see). Then they get "brainwashed"
about how they should see themselves, and they may get intensely ego-identified with a type pattern that doesn't suit them.
They invest in a group identity about how attractive this type code is, even
while sometimes complaining they aren't "typical" or don't
"relate" to their pattern very well. As
Dr. Linda Berens says, "Type becomes the story people tell themselves about
who they are and the lens used will lead people to confirm what they expect."
The longer someone spends thinking they're a particular type, the more they get defended against any
suggestion that they might have tested inaccurately or mis-chosen.
Sometimes people who claim their preferences the loudest are folks who are the
wrongest!
Feeling
types are especially prone to decide there are "good types" and
"bad types," and of course it then becomes an insult to suggest they
are a type they have relegated to "bad." It can be
very difficult to undo this kind of damage, and I hope you keep an open mind
when you consider what type you really are, or explore the subject of Type.
The simple
truth is,
the only way the outcome of the "test" counts is if you take the time to
*validate* it by reading enough about the types to ensure
it is really "you" -- right, left, and sideways. Better still, use multiple models to discern your
best-fit type!
It should
probably go without saying, if you read
the descriptions of INFJ patterns on this website and things just don't sound like you, I
suggest you take another look at who you are to verify whether INFJ truly fits
you. If it
doesn't, there are 15 other codes to explore that are just as wonderful as INFJ.
I promise you!
Of course,
then there's the opposite problem. Got any idea how many INFJs test as
INTJ, INTP, ENFJ, and INFP? Oy vey! Strap your clarification sneakers on.
* * *
If you are 100% confident your
preferences are for INFJ, would you complete the following poll?
(If your prefs are not for
INFJ or you're not sure, that's okay -- you
may still
view the results by clicking "view results.")
