- by Baby [INFp]
If the INFp had a theme song, it would go thusly:
“Vado, ma dove? Oh dei!
Se de’ tormenti suoi, se de’ sospiri miei
Non sente il ciel pietа.
Tu che mi parli al core
Guida I miei passi, amore;
Tu quel ritegno or togli
Che dubitar mi fа.”
**
“I go – but where, o gods
since for his torment and my pleas
Heaven offers no pity?
You who speak to my heart,
Guide my steps, dear love;
Ease that uncertainty,
That urges me to doubt.”
- LORENZO DA PONTE (1749-1838)
The INFp is perpetually caught within that “pondering repose of If” that Herman Melville wrote of in Moby-Dick. He is forever in doubt. He never truly feels at ease with the ways of this world, its people and its circumstances. It is not that he does not understand things – but that he doubts his own understanding. In fact, he is capable of an understanding on a far more visceral level than his peers are. He “feels” that he has understood something rather than “knows” that this is the case. True understanding for an INFp is forever linked with the word “revelation.” He will never claim to have deduced an understanding, but will instead say that the truth was “revealed” to him.
INFps are distinguished by their sense of humor. Their humor is spontaneous, cutely ironic, and oftentimes rather random. They may put on a facade of being under the influence of any number of substances, and as a result may appear childish, out-of-touch, and spacey. This is actually a defense mechanism to distance themselves from a contrived existence. When acting like this, they are most likely thinking: “You people take yourselves way too seriously.” They may seem estranged from reality, but they in fact dwell on a far more significant plane in their own minds. Internally they understand full well the gritty undertones of life, but see the world within the context of an overarching, transcendent framework that liberates him from the trappings of the workaday world. They have their eyes on “bigger issues” at hand.
At their core, INFps cannot bear being disliked – they would rather die beloved than live despised. In social situations, they tend to take on the role of a pacifist – averting conflict, to the point of putting themselves in the middle of an argument. They rarely like taking sides unless they truly believe they are acting nobly. They want to be thought of as wise beyond their years (and they often are), sometimes taking on the role of a learned sage come down from the mountaintop after having spent fifty years observing the ways of his fellow men. They can become great at debate if the topic is one they care about, but will often turn to impressive and pensive rhetoric as opposed to solid factual evidence when making their case.
Sometimes, they fall prey to annotating their own life in their heads. In their own minds, they are the stars of an eternal epic. When they aren't acting stoned, they want to appear elegant and important. Their entire demeanor will reflect this. Their speech and movement will often be impressive and exciting. Because of this somewhat dramatic notion, they can be quite sensitive. Offending an INFp is equivalent to offending no less than a prophet of God! (Not really, but you get the idea.) A spurned INFp will not usually concentrate on ways to hurt the offender. They are fundamentally gentle souls. However, they may brood for quite some time on how they themselves have been hurt. These people truly make an art of wallowing in their own misery. In fact, it can lead them to beautifully creative measures: INFps will often write poetry or create music and art when in these moods.
The INFp cannot abide formality when it estranges people from their own human nature. When confronted with such an environment, they revert to the old adage: “No one’s shit smells better than anyone else’s.” Pomposity annoys them for the same reason people who “take themselves way too seriously” do. INFps can take to rebelling against the contrived establishment, but their rebellion will usually manifest itself in less traditional ways. Instead of picketing and protesting, the INFp will write scathing poetry and prose, or turn to the truth and transcending power of music and art.
The habitations of INFps are, more often than not, visibly disorganized – messy even. However, they can be quite good at cleaning up when expecting company. They will not only clean up, but place impressive objects (oftentimes, their own artwork) “on display.” This is an extension of the elegance they wish to convey.
In appearance, they may become preoccupied with the emotional situation, and can often neglect the physical situation. As a result, inactive INFps can look “underdeveloped.” However, INFps generally do not dislike maintaining well-built bodies – they can take on a fondness for physical activity, especially when it promises a more attractive figure. (This applies to both male and female INFps.) It must be noted, though, that they will not focus on their physical health. Physical well being is merely a small facet of life – it will never become a focal point for an INFp. Despite this, they will often pay special attention to the way they dress. They don’t “dress to impress” exactly. They dress in order to convey – they are fond of wearing solid colors but will settle for anything that can be described as “striking” – in an understated way, of course! Their own insecurity forbids them from making an ostentatious show of dress. They are often attracted to countercultures, but will tend to create their own aesthetic interpretation of the fashion. “Hippie chic” and “ghetto fabulous” need no better model then an INFp.
The INFp is subtle in movement and speech. They desire to get under your skin, as opposed to forcing themselves upon you. They use their eyes as a vehicle of expression. Their smile often betrays what they really feel – it is shy, slightly sly, but warm and significant. They may appear unsure of themselves, but have a very charming shyness about them. Though INFps are quite shy, they are not internally anti-social. Deep down, they want to be at the center of an interesting, exciting social circle of bohemians, artists, and like-minded people. Among introverts, they can become restless when others will not take the initiative. Among extroverts, they can feel overwhelmed and reclusive.
A key word for this type is “empathy.” INFp children will often be the ones to ask their parents why they did not give the homeless man his spare change, or why that woman is crying. They are quite nurturing as parents – often because they can so clearly remember their own parent’s insensitivity. They are remarkably affectionate, but will never smother their children. INFp parents tend to be the most open-minded and tolerant of parents. They are not the type of parent to set down hard and fast expectations of Ivy League colleges and high-paying clerical jobs. An INFp child is devastated if their parent expresses disappointment and many INFps have horror stories of their own unhappy upbringing. For this reason, they tend to identify with their children rather than with their own role as a parent. Their credo on this subject: “The greatest thing I can hope for as a parent is that my child is content with himself, and noble in character.” The fact is, the INFp parent hopes for their child what they hope for themselves, but never seem to achieve (though, doesn’t everyone?).
INFps are genuinely selfless in relationships – if they love you, they will never act on it unless they are sure you want them to love you. As a result, dating can present many stumbling blocks (especially for the males of this type). True hopeless romantics, they want a storybook love life. However, they can be incredibly insecure. As a result, most will never take the first initiative. (Or the second, or the third, or the… you get my drift.) The INFp desire to be romanced, to be taken into love gracefully, rather than wandering in tentatively like everyone else. They desire strong partners, who love them genuinely, who will practice tolerance, and will not be afraid to lead the way when they themselves are unsure. They enjoy their sexuality – but with a fragility unlike others in the “Dramatic” category. They secretly want to be dominated, but only if their partner genuinely desires to dominate.
INFp by Function
Ni
![Introverted Intuition](images/smilies/Ni.gif)
Fe
![Extroverted Ethics](images/smilies/Fe.gif)
Si
![Introverted Sensing](images/smilies/Si.gif)
Te
![Extroverted Logic](images/smilies/Te.gif)
Se
![Extroverted Sensing](images/smilies/Se.gif)
Ti
![Introverted Logic](images/smilies/Ti.gif)
Ne
![Ne2](images/smilies/Ne2.gif)
Fi
![Introveted Ethics](images/smilies/Fi.gif)
Possible mistypes
Because of the structure of various function, it is not uncommon for a person to be confused or undecided between various types and even between the usage of various functions. The following is a functional description of various types that an actual INFp may become confused or undecided between.
ENTp - An INFp may find him or her self actively undecided between the ENTp type and his or her native INFp type. Because the sixth function of the INFp is Ti, it is not uncommon for one to confuse the second creative function (Fe) for that function. When this occurs, an INFp may have problems deciding between those ethical and logical functions. In even more complex situations, an INFp may demonstrate what appears to be a false lack of Fi, which corresponds to the fourth weakest function of the ENTp. In this instances, the way to discern between these two types and to choose the correct one is to determine whether you actively use Ni or Ne. If you use Ni more than you use Ne, you are an INFp. If you use Ne more than you use Ni, you could really be an ENTp.
INTj - An INFp may confuse him or her self for a INTj for the same reason that one would confuse his or her self for an ENTp. If you use Ni more than you use Ne, you are probably an INFp. If you use Ne more than you use Ni, you could really be an INTj.
INTp - An INFp usually becomes confused between this type and his or her native INFp when he or she has decided upon being an introvert, determined self as a perceiving type, and has been having some influence from the sixth function, while not really being sure if that function is introverted or extroverted. In this scenario, instead of a INFp confusing his or her self for an ENTp the extroverted or introverted type has been substituted. In this instance, the way to discern between these two types and to choose the correct one is to determine whether you actively use more Ti or Te. If you use Ti more than you use Te, you are probably an INFp. If you use Te more than you use Ti, you could really be an INTp.
ENFp - Because of the influence of MBTI, some new to socionics theory may ignorantly think that the correct way to switch between introverted and extroverted types is to simply switch an E to an I or an I to an E. This is not the correct way to switch back and forth between the two in socionics. If you are an ENFp in MBTI with an emphasis on expressing Ni and Fe, your actual socionics type is either an INFp if you choose to stay a perceiving type or ENFj if you find that you might want to consider being a socionics judging type . On the other hand, if the above INFp description does not relate to you and you functionally express Ne and Fi, ENFp is still an option, though be warned that socionics does not totally follow the same logic as MBTI does when determining J and P nor do the same stereotypical rules apply when attempting to determine introversion and extroversion. If you are familiar with MBTI, the possibility of having to type yourself totally different than MBTI should be a definite expectation.
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Am I INFj or ENFP? (Video typing)
If you’ve settled on SEI-Fe (and I completely agree with that as your Sociotype), then you should know that your best match is an ENTP-Ti. I know
Adam Strange Today, 02:01 AM