Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To think that INFJ is a made up thing?

143 replies

beautyandtheflleced · 25/02/2023 12:54

Quiet and introverted type ?
A future date described himself as this in his profile.
What are the dark sides ?
Sounds a bit wanky or is it a thing ?

OP posts:
2DemisSVP · 25/02/2023 14:53

Here’s a version of MB designed for teenagers. Most students seem to really enjoy doing it - as per PP, it’s like doing a Mizz or More magazine survey. This one links to careers that might be suited to your personality type, and sometimes it’s just easier to be directed where to start your research than to start from blank piece. But obvs all the usual caveats apply, as they would for any sort of test.

icould.com/buzz-quiz/

you get an animal , rather than a 4 letter code ….

BertieBotts · 25/02/2023 14:53

2% - 1 in 50. And higher than standard percentage on MN going by previous threads.

Plus the INFJ is in the title. If you see something that relates to you you're much more likely to click on it.

ThisWOMANWontWheesht · 25/02/2023 14:49

INFJ is supposed to be the rarest of those 16 personality types

Despite which, there seems to be tons of them on this thread!

MotherOfHouseplants · 25/02/2023 14:49

I put people who are very fixated on their Myers-Briggs personality type in the same category in my head as people who are very into astrology, as much as that would probably incense both groups. I think both are probably about as accurate as each other and subject to a heavy dose of Barnum-effect confirmation bias. I have no problem with them as tools for people to have a better understanding of themselves but rather like other people’s dreams, I don’t want to hear about them.

OutofEverything · 25/02/2023 14:45

Yeah it is made up bollocks. It is as accurate as those personality quizzes Jackie used to have.

KimberleyClark · 25/02/2023 14:43

Myers Briggs is a load of cobblers. No evidence or science behind it at all.

BertieBotts · 25/02/2023 14:42

I am quite fascinated by Myers-Briggs although wouldn't take it as gospel. I think you really need to understand the four pairs before you can type people or be typed, though.

But essentially it's just picking four axes with which to judge people - you could just as easily say:

Do you prefer Tea or Coffee?
Cat or Dog person?
Prefer Summer or Winter?
Are you Messy or Tidy?

Then say, ooh, I'm a CCSM - A coffee-drinking, cat lover, warmth seeker who is disorganised!

And DH would be CDWT - what amazing insight!!

It doesn't really matter what axis it is - if you present two opposites, the majority of people will lean one way or the other. In fact I'm not especially bothered about winter or summer as I prefer spring and autumn. But if pushed then I would lean towards summer.

I thought basically everyone on MN is INFJ though.

NowDoYouBelieveMe · 25/02/2023 14:39

INFJ is supposed to be the rarest of those 16 personality types, but also the most 'desireable' - it means the person is sensitive, caring, intuitive, an idealist etc.

I think there are online tests that are geared towards giving the user that result. As there are lots of people claiming it now.

Men are putting it on their profile to attract women who don't know better.

I have an acquaintance who previously said to me they were told by a psychologist that they have narcissistic traits (and I can believe that). They did one of these online personality tests and got INFJ and were very boastful about it, trying to get everyone else to do it so they could tell them their result.

So I don't think it's accurate and at worst it's manipulative.

Tread carefully. I personally would avoid.

EducatingArti · 25/02/2023 14:38

I'm an infj and have found it useful for getting a clearer sense of myself and understanding why I feel and do certain things. I don't think it is that black and white though and clearly a group of infjs would not be identical.
I'm not sure if I would put it on a dating profile, but wouldn't necessarily be put off by it. I think I'd be intrigued to meet another infj and see what they were like.
I know I will have met other infjs already but not anyone who has actually acknowledged themselves as this. I would find it interesting.
They might be a self obsessed bore ( I don't think I am) or they might be just quite aware of different types of personality and how they see the world differently!

Emelene · 25/02/2023 14:38

I’m an INFJ too, found it really helpful and insightful personally.

TheBelmont · 25/02/2023 14:37

INFJs love Myers Briggs because it provides a kind of justification for why they behave and feel the way they do, when most of their lives they have felt like outsiders.
ESTPs think it’s all bollocks because they can’t imagine anyone feeling or thinking differently to the way they do.

Fairislefandango · 25/02/2023 14:34

A person who feels the need to declare their ‘type’ is someone I’d avoid tbh.

Me too. It's understandable that teenagers love it - they are at that age where they're desperate to define and label themselves and find a tribe to belong to.

I find all types of personality quizzes ridiculous tbh, regardless of how allegedly reputable they are. If you understand enough about yourself to answer the questions in the quiz, what use is the label it spews out at the end? Utter bollocks imo.

BatildaB · 25/02/2023 14:33

Sorry on my phone, that was supposed to be a reply @ReneBumsWombats

re @ThisWOMANWontWheesht - yes people can lie or inflate themselves, that’s true of any self-report tool, and yet they are widely used and often reliable. In fact an advantage of Myers-briggs over big 5 is that it can make both of two binary traits sound like ok things to be!

Tgif2023 · 25/02/2023 14:32

INTJ married to an INTJ. We did the personality test for a joke but it was a very long test and we were losing the will to live by the end of it. I wouldn't place any importance on it. DH jokes that it means we are both weird.

BatildaB · 25/02/2023 14:30

To an extent, but there are patterns which are solid enough that ‘personality’ is both something we find very useful as a daily concept and that psychologists can have a career in studying. The tool under discussion falls somewhere in between the those two ways of thinking and talking about personality. If it was that nebulous from one moment to the next we wouldn’t have such a clear concept of people having different personalities, which they certainly do.

ThisWOMANWontWheesht · 25/02/2023 14:28

BatildaB · 25/02/2023 14:22

Starsigns are arbitrary, personality typing is a summarising and synthesising of information that you provide. It isn’t hard-nosed rationality not to see a distinction!

It's not objective information though: much of it will be wishful thinking and/or will vary with mood.

If someone else who knew us well were to answer the questions on our behalf - to answer as others see us -the result may be somewhat different.

Underminer · 25/02/2023 14:27

I wouldn’t put it on a dating profile, but I am INTJ. Some people use these on their Twitter profile too, seems like they value conversations around and attach importance to it enough to put it centrally on their info.

ReneBumsWombats · 25/02/2023 14:26

BatildaB · 25/02/2023 14:22

Starsigns are arbitrary, personality typing is a summarising and synthesising of information that you provide. It isn’t hard-nosed rationality not to see a distinction!

Personalities are full of contradiction and complexity and subject to influence from whatever surroundings they happen to be in.

kc431 · 25/02/2023 14:24

FinallyHere · 25/02/2023 13:36

www.16personalities.com/intj-personality

I'm ENFP and find it really useful to know about friends, family and colleagues.

Things like whether they are

  • energised by being with others or need time alone to recharge.
  • comfortable or otherwise with spontaneity
  • big picture or details people
  • logical or gut feel decision makers

If I don't know their 'type', I'll ask them in other words. Ultimately, I'll assess them according to their actions.

I wouldn't pick someone based on their type, but I would adapt my expectations about what was comfortable or a stretch for them, according to what they tell me about eg their need for solitude.

The basis in Jung-personality types is I think sound. Issues arise if it were used for selection. I have come across lots of people who have been incorrectly typed, especially at work, because the self they 'present at work ' is not representative of their true preferences.

eg DH at work is very comfortable explaining the logic behind his decisions. Now I know him so much better, I know that he makes decisions based on gut feel and then adds the logic because that's what people expect at work. I noticed this when we were looking to buy a house. I had s list of must haves and nice to haves, scored each potential purchase on those criteria. DH said either I like it or I don't like it for each house.

So helpful to understand differences in a neutral way.

But…..you can’t just box everyone in. For those 4 questions, I’m both, depending on my mood and the occasion. I love socialising and big parties but I also love spending the weekend on my own. I love making plans and sticking to them but equally I like doing spontaneous things on the weekends/holidays. And some decisions are very logical and weighing up pros and cons whereas others I’ll just go with what I want at the time. The answers would vary so much depending on the context.

BatildaB · 25/02/2023 14:22

Starsigns are arbitrary, personality typing is a summarising and synthesising of information that you provide. It isn’t hard-nosed rationality not to see a distinction!

ThisWOMANWontWheesht · 25/02/2023 14:22

ReneBumsWombats · 25/02/2023 14:20

Everything you read about Libra will be spot on for you as well.

Exactly, that's my point.

It's subjective validation.

FeinCuroxiVooz · 25/02/2023 14:20

yes it's a little bit wanky, but if it's communicating quickly whether or not they are likely to be a good match for you then it's doing its job. no point wasting time dating a boy who looks pretty but has a personality you can't stand.

obviously there are more than 16 personality types and trying to have a simple classification system like this is a little silly, but it can communicate broad concepts quickly.

"I" means he considers himself to be an introvert
"N" means he reckons he is quite intuitive
"F" means he focuses more on feelings and emotions than rational thought
"J" is the slightly oddball one because it's supposed be be where you are on the scale between "Judging" and "Perceiving" and you'd probably need to do quite an extensive training course to work out why that's significantly different from being basically a mishmash between axis 2 & axis 3, and by my understanding I would expect most people with N and F as their 2nd and 3rd letter to go with P as their 4th. But for whatever reason he reckons that in decision making he's more in the J direction despite all that intuition and feeling.

If it's offputting then by all means don't engage, the idea of profiles is as much about ensuring the bad matches are directed elsewhere swiftly as they are about attracting good matches.

ReneBumsWombats · 25/02/2023 14:20

ThisWOMANWontWheesht · 25/02/2023 14:19

I'm a Pisces, and everything I read about what says about me is spot on.

It's still bollocks.

Everything you read about Libra will be spot on for you as well.

ThisIsCringe · 25/02/2023 14:20

ThisWOMANWontWheesht · 25/02/2023 14:19

I'm a Pisces, and everything I read about what says about me is spot on.

It's still bollocks.

Whereas my star sign doesn’t describe me at all and is vague and generalised. Horses for courses

ThisWOMANWontWheesht · 25/02/2023 14:19

ThisIsCringe · 25/02/2023 14:13

I’m an INFJ and it describes me perfectly, even all the negative things that a previous poster outlined 😂

I'm a Pisces, and everything I read about what says about me is spot on.

It's still bollocks.