Acorn Risc Technologies StrongARM CD-ROM/Acorn Risc Technologies StrongARM CD-ROM.iso/software/amusing/wimpdd/!WimpDDLI_Docs_INFJ

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Profile:  INFJ
Revision:  1.3
Date of Revision:  26 Apr 94
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              Introverted iNtuitive Feeling Judging

             by Joe Butt ([e-mail])


Beneath the quiet exterior, INFJs hold deep convictions about the weightier
matters of life.  Those who are activists -- INFJs gravitate toward such a
role -- are there for the cause, not for personal glory or political power.

INFJs are champions of the oppressed and downtrodden.  They often are found
in the wake of an emergency, rescuing those who are in acute distress.  INFJs
may fantasize about getting revenge on those who victimize the defenseless.
The concept of 'poetic justice' is appealing to the INFJ.

"There's something rotten in Denmark."  Accurately suspicious about others'
motives, INFJs are not easily led.  These are the people that you can rarely
fool any of the time.  Though affable and sympathetic to most, INFJs are
selective about their friends.  Such a friendship is a symbiotic bond that
transcends mere words.

INFJs have a knack for fluency in language and facility in communication.  In
addition, nonverbal sensitivity enables the INFJ to know and be known by
others intimately.

Writing, counseling, public service and even politics are areas where INFJs
frequently find their niche.


Famous INFJs:

Nathan, prophet of Israel
Aristophanes
Chaucer
Goethe
Robert Burns, Scottish poet
U.S. Presidents:
     Martin Van Buren
     James Earl "Jimmy" Carter
Nathaniel Hawthorne, author, poet
Fanny Crosby, (blind) hymnist
Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Fred McMurray ("My Three Sons", various movies)
Shirley Temple Black, child actress, ambassador
Martin Luther King, Jr., civil rights leader, martyr
James Reston, newspaper reporter
Shirley McClain, actress (_Sweet Charity_, ...)
Piers Anthony, author ("Xanth" series)
Michael Landon, actor ("Highway to Heaven," "Little House on the Prairie")
Tom Selleck, actor ("Magnum, P. I.," _Mr. Baseball_)
Oprah Winfrey, talk show host
John Katz, critic, author
Paul Stookey, folk singer (Peter, Paul and Mary)
Angela Lansbury, actress ("Murder, She Wrote")
U. S. Senator Carol Moseley-Braun (D-IL)
Richard Gere, actor (Pretty Woman_, _Sommersby_)
Billy Crystal, actor, comedian
Carrie Fisher, actress (_Star Wars_)

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              Introverted iNtuitive Feeling Judging

       by Marina Margaret Heiss ([e-mail])


INFJs are characterized by their strong sense of values, of right and wrong.
These differ from those of the SJs in that they are *humanitarian* in
orientation, rather than traditionally *societal*.  Like INFPs, INFJs are
extremely idealistic, but INFJs are vastly more practical, with a strong
grasp of organization and detail which reflects itself in all of their
undertakings, whether political movements or company social events that must
satisfy a wide range of employee needs.

INFJs tend to question and examine their own motivations constantly.  In
moderation this is admirable, but some go so far as to decide that any
"selfishness" (which often translates to taking care of themselves instead of
others, for once) in their desires is completely unacceptable.  Needless to
say, this can cause a great deal of stress for the INFJ in question, which
they sometimes resolve in a rather convoluted manner:  by deriving a Higher
Principle from the "selfish" need.  ("It's not OK to object to the proposed
menu for the company dinner dance because I don't like it *myself*, but it
*is* OK to do so because it's not nutritous, or doesn't take into account
ethnic preferences, vegetarians, etc." -- all of this subconscious.)

Like all NFs, INFJs care deeply about people, both as individuals and in
terms of humanity as a whole.  INFJs are notable for their exceptionally
strong empathic, even psychic abilities, which can sometimes cause them
discomfort and even pain in their dealings with others.  Perhaps because of
this, INFJs truly open up to only a few intimate friends--usually very
long-term relationships or obvious "soul mates."  Paradoxically, INFJs often
appear to be extroverts to most of the world; they are almost always
friendly, sympathetic, and interested in people, and sometimes positively
charismatic.  This can be puzzling and disappointing to those (usually I's)
who are drawn to them in search of a non-surface friendship, and find they
just can't get very far.

Their combination of empathy and strong verbal skills make them natural
writers, especially of fiction or of non-fiction requiring a restrained
emotional tone.  (I think Kiersey tags INFJ as "The Writer")  Counseling and
psychiatry are classic INFJ professions, but you also find them fairly often
in higher education, especially in the liberal arts.  In the 9-to-5
environment, INFJs make talented and congenial employees and co-workers, and
often-inspiring managers.  They all may suffer, however, with the tendency
many Fs have of backing down to avoid confrontation, even when this is a
strategically bad move.

I'd like to add a couple of famous INFJs to Joe's list:  Florence Nightingale,
and, on the fictional side, Agatha Christie's detective Miss Marple (although
she masquerades as an ISFJ).

=============================================================================

From: [e-mail] (Jon Noring)
Subject: My comments (was Re: INFJ Profile)
Date: Wed, 7 Apr 1993 20:18:45 GMT


Thanks, Joe, for posting this.  I'd also like to get other's profiles as
well.  How about it Marina?

[The following has been slightly edited from the original post.]


[e-mail] (Joe Butt) writes:

>                  Introverted iNtuitive Feeling Judging
>
>Beneath the quiet exterior, INFJ's hold deep convictions about the weightier
>matters of life.  Those who are activists--INFJ's gravitate toward such a
>role--are there for the cause, not for personal glory or political power.

Yes, that's me alright (see below).


>INFJ's are champions of the oppressed and downtrodden.  They often are found
>in the wake of an emergency, rescuing those who are in acute distress.
>INFJ's may fantasize about getting revenge on those who victimize the
>defenseless.  The concept of 'poetic justice' is appealing to the INFJ.

How did you know this about me?  :^)

I would describe myself as always focusing on the underdog.  I highly admire
people who are not highly thought of or appreciated by mainstream society yet
who hold strong convictions and have made great societal contributions.
Examples include Buckminster Fuller, and Nikolai Tesla.  I never appreciate
negative comments about anybody (though I've been guilty myself of having
made negative comments.)

Though I believe in order, and the need for rules or guidelines, I do not
like rules to reign supreme, rather I prefer them to be guidelines.  There's
always exceptions, gray-areas, etc. in life that rules and procedures can
never completely cover (sorry NT's and STJ's).  For example, I am a staunch
advocate of jury nullification, that is, the power a criminal jury has in
rendering a verdict based on their conscience as well as on the facts.  If I
served on a jury, and I felt the law was unjustly applied in the case under
consideration, I would not hesitate to vote not guilty (and to convince the
other jurors of my beliefs in this area) even if the facts showed the defendant
to be clearly guilty.  I would presume that most INFJ's would support Jury
Nullification once they understand what it means (feedback here?), while SJ
and maybe NT personalities would oppose it (though it is a jury's perogative
to do that if they want according to many court rulings over the years).


>'There's something rotten in Denmark.'  Accurately suspicious about others'
>motives, INFJ's are not easily led.  These are the people that you can rarely
>fool any of the time.  Though affable and sympathetic to most, INFJ's are
>selective about their friends.  Such a friendship is a symbiotic bond that
>transcends mere words.

When a salesperson is trying to sell me a product or a program, I switch into
my Norwegian skeptic mode.  My stare could melt steel.  "Show Me, I'm From
Minnesota" is my motto.  Salesmen do not like to try to sell me something for
sure - I'll make sure they'll earn every penny if I buy.  I have a real love-
hate relationship with salespeople (and being an Amway distributor I am one!).

What Joe says about friendships is also true.  I do not form many friendships,
I am very selective, and those I do are generally with other 'NFs', especially
ENFP's.  (To me, a friendship is a special thing - I have many acquaintances,
but few friends - other personality types use the word 'friends' for what I
would describe as 'acquaintances'.)  Unfortunately, not many men fall into the
'NF' category, so all of my closest friends are women.  And the word
'symbiotic', though I'd like Joe to expand upon what he means, does seem to
fit the bonds I form with my friends (as I understand the word 'symbiotic'.)


>INFJ's have a knack for fluency in language and facility in communication.
>In addition, nonverbal sensitivity enables the INFJ to know and be known by
>others intimately.

I'm not as strongly fluent in language as Joe describes here.  I did not even
learn to talk understandably until I was five, and until my fifth grade in
school I was tested as mildly 'retarded'.  Of course, I changed rapidly
after that, getting a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering when I was 26 and have
a measured IQ of about 145-150 (not bragging, IQ doesn't mean that much - just
relating this to show everybody where I've come from).  Anyway, verbal is not
my strongest area, but this may be due to the verbal part of my brain not being
that highly developed (I have had real difficulty in learning other languages -
I have to work harder at it than most people and I don't retain them very
well.)

Concerning the sensitivity - I'd say it is more "openness".  My close friends
have described me as being very open, empathic, accepting of others, non-
judgemental, etc.  Usually with most people I meet I get down to a more
personal level right away.  Those who are comfortable with getting down to a
feeling level will begin telling me things after a short time that they
wouldn't even tell their therapist (more than one friend has said this to me)!
A close woman friend of mine said I was "the most dangerous man alive" :^) ,
because of my ability to get down to a very personal, feeling level with most
people I interact with (she really referred to the fact there are many lonely
and unhappily married women whose husbands are "non-feeling" men, but that's
another story that does not belong in this post.)

Unfortunately, this "ability" scares away a lot of people as well, especially
men (another reason I don't make many men friends - most feel uncomfortable
with my probing on a feeling level - no drinking beer with the boys and talking
about the 49ers for me, let's talk about *real* stuff like dreams, goals,
desires, feelings,etc.).  I'm learning to temper this side of me so I don't
come on too strong with people who prefer to stay on a more "superficial"
(word not used in a derogatory sense), non-feeling level.  I'm definitely not
the macho type, and find the macho image almost repulsive (don't know if this
is an INFJ trait among men).


>Writing, counseling, public service and even politics are areas where INFJ's
>frequently find their niche.

My career path went in the direction of mechanical/chemical engineering.  I
chose this path because I am exceptionally good in mathematics and science,
and, more importantly, I had a "dream" to make great contributions in the area
of alternate energy conversion - this is the side of me to make an 'activist'
contribution as Joe describes above.  I did not become an engineer to become
an engineer (figure that one out.)  But lately I have grown "tired" of this
area (been stymied from my goal) and am looking to make a change.  Counseling
of some type (like personality typing!) greatly interests me, and I may make
such a switch in that direction fairly soon.  I'm also very ambitious, and
have launched several business endeavours (Amway, Fred's Chips, etc.)  I also
would like to write a best-selling book (one of my long-term dreams).


>Famous INFJ's:
>
>Nathan, prophet of Israel
>Aristophanes
>Chaucer
>Goethe
>Martin Van Buren
>Nathaniel Hawthorne
>Fanny Crosby
>Mother Teresa
>C. S. Lewis

I've always like C.S. Lewis' writings.  Now I can see why.

>Shirley Temple Black

I've always liked her.

>James Earl "Jimmy" Carter

No wonder I voted for him.  :^)

>Martin Luther King, Jr.
>James Reston, reporter
>Shirley McClain

I've also been fascinated with Shirley McClain, but I've wondered about her
"flying off the deep end" lately.  But in retrospect, many of my peers think
that I've "flown off the deep end" as well, particularly with my interest in
vacuum or zero point energy extraction (see alt.sci.physics.new-theories).
Remember, my heroes are Buckminster Fuller and Tesla, visionaries who were
and still are not fully appreciated for their significant contributions and
their unrecognized genius (not to say I fall in their category - I've got to
accomplish something great first.)

>Michael Landon
>Tom Selleck
>Oprah Winfrey
>Paul Stookey (PP&M)
>Angela Lansbury
>Billy Crystal
>Carrie Fisher

I've always liked Landon, Selleck, Crystal, and especially Carrie Fisher.
Now I see why.


One last point, "Please Understand Me" by Keirsey and Bates makes mention
that INFJ's have complex, almost convoluted personalities.  Let me say that
there is some truth to this.  It seems like everyday I discover something
about my personality I never realized before, and others who observe me say
the same thing.  That is, I don't have a completely predictable personality.
It almost seems as if the 'NF' side does not always go well with the 'IJ'
part, so the complexity seems to stem from the tension of this interaction.
Comments?

Have fun picking this apart.  I look forward to your observations of the
INFJ personality.

Jon Noring