Individuation
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posted by Vicky Jo at 3:13 AM
Thursday, June 15, 2006
About Me
- Name: Vicky Jo
- Location: Los Angeles, California, United States
I coach people to identify and develop their natural personality strengths in order to maximize their potential.
Please contact me to arrange a free strategy session -- I would be delighted to speak with you.
Previous Posts
- ADD
- Stress
- Annoyances
- Communication Redux
- Tandem Processing
- Rate Yourself
- Contrasting Ni and Ne
- Contrasting Fi and Fe
- Truth in Humor
- Process, Results, & E-mail Lists
5 Comments:
Wow, this site is facinating! I came to it convinced I was INFJ (simply because I had always tested INFJ), and now I'm 90% sure I'm INFP. I definetly prefer Fi to Fe, have an informing communication style and a behind-the-scenes interaction style. I'm also very absent minded and have wondered many times if I might have ADD.
However, I seem to identify much more with the INFJ descriptions on this page. As a child I had many imaginary playmates and engaged in intense make-believe. Teachers had to remind me to pay attention. I do remember many details about this time in my life, however. I was very shy as a child, but I can't say I sacrificed my own interests to be obedient, as this INFP description says.
I can also relate more to the INFJ adolescent description, in particular becoming more outgoing and more aware of ways to help the underdog. On the other hand I also found myself frequently daydreaming and forgetful of details, as I did as a child.
I'm 26 now and can't say which of the young adult descriptions fits me best - perhaps it's easier in hindsight. Any thoughts?
I'm pretty sure I'm an INFP, but some of my stuff doesn't seem to match up.
As a child I was very outgoing. I always wanted to answer the questions in class and I wasn't afraid to talk to strangers.
My dad told me about a time when I was in first grade where we were at a high school football game and I went and sat next to an old lady who was sitting by herself and struck up a conversation with her.
Another time a group of convicts came over to do yard work for us and I started talking to them through the open window.
Apparently sometime around middle school I became very reserved. I'd changed schools about 4 times within the past 5 years and I developed really bad acne that I believe I inherited from my mother.
Now I'm very reserved and the INFP description fits me almost perfectly.
Is it possible for your type to change?
jkcrosslin,
No, one's type does not change. Think of it like an acorn: an acorn will never produce a pine tree, but it certainly does “develop” over the course of its life into the magnificent oak. Thus, the INFP pattern is likely to look vastly different at different stages of its development (as are all patterns).
Now, there are debates regarding the matter of childhood and type, and frequent speculation about the point at which one's type becomes "solid."
What I do know is that I've heard this comment from other INFPs as well – at least 3 others I can think of right off the bat.
Not being a child development expert (or even a mother, for that matter), I don't know what to tell you. What I wonder, though, is whether: a) the person's experience matches the "facts" (as in, the person's memories matching the story that [say] the person's parents or grandparents might tell about how outgoing the child was); and b) whether as a child there was a *sense* of openness up until extraverted Feeling developed in response to the culture.
Yes, I said extraverted Feeling, which is used by INFPs in an "opposing" way. When I read comments like this, I notice the *lack* of opposing extraverted Feeling, and wonder when that comes into play, since it, too, is part of the INFP schema.
So.... not much definitive there, but lots to chew on I'll bet. :-D
I am a 22 year old INFP and been interested in type since 18 or 19. I definitely see most peers express aspects of their 3rd and 4th function even at my age. I feel like most young children express aspects of their 3rd and 4th function. I expressed both positive and negative aspects of those functions when I was little. I would consistently keep a detailed record of my life (Si) and have tendencies towards nostalgia when I was little, and my INFP friends talked about keeping collections when they were little. Does anyone else think this is true, at least in adolescence?
I have been working through these pages and am now 100% sure I am INFJ. I am 53 years old and reading the stages are pretty much like reading the story of my life. It's really quite extraordinary.
I thought I was INTP for a while but it seems I did that because my Ti became my refuge after a devastating heartbreak. Don't know - doesn't matter now.
Thank you Vicky Jo for the time and energy and care you put into constructing these pages - of course I wouldn't have expected anything less from an INFJ.
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