The Unique Mental Powers of the INFJ, INTJ, ENFJ and ENTJ Personality Types
Today we’re going to take a close look at the four personality types characterized by their use of Introverted Intuition (Ni). These personality types are known for their insight and their ability to see the future implications of current actions. Next week we’ll discuss the Sensing Perceiving personality types (ESFPs, ESTPs, ISFPs, and ISTPs).
Not sure what your personality type is? Take our new personality questionnaire here. Or you can take the official MBTI® here.
The INFJ
Dominant Function: Introverted Intuition (Ni)
INFJs are driven by an inner vision of how things will play out in the future. They are compelled to look “behind the scenes” at the reasons why things happen and the abstract connections between all things. They enjoy complexity and solving unusual problems; in fact, this desire for complexity tends to lead them down unusual, untraveled paths. Anything that’s already been done holds very little interest to them. They are much more concerned with discovering new things or finding a deeper insight that has been missed by others. They are highly attuned to patterns, symbols, and theoretical possibilities.
Auxiliary Function: Extraverted Feeling (Fe)
This is the function that helps INFJs to find an outward expression of their Ni insights. It connects them with the world around them and gives them a “social network” for support. INFJs who repress Fe can be extremely guarded, afraid of intimacy, and unaware of the intricate differences between people. INFJs who develop Fe are known for being caring, compassionate, generous, and expressive. They are often empathic and able to understand even the smallest emotional variations in their environment. They understand easily where other people are coming from and they strive towards peacemaking and the maintenance of harmony.
Tertiary Function: Introverted Thinking (Ti)
This is the function that helps INFJs to evaluate their insights and feelings impersonally and critically. When INFJs repress Ti they can struggle to set appropriate emotional boundaries with others, or they can fail to achieve their goals because they haven’t critically analyzed their plans. INFJs with healthy tertiary Ti are independent, highly analytical, and inwardly analyze their beliefs and insights to check for inaccuracies, biases, and any data that isn’t “clean”.
Loop Warning: It’s important for INFJs not to bypass their auxiliary function (Fe) and get into a “Ni-Ti loop”. When this happens they can get stuck in endless over-analysis that leads to no productive output. INFJs are at their best when their functions all work together in harmony. Fe-Ti should work in tandem with Ti serving Fe. Ni/Se should work in tandem with Se giving objectivity to Ni insights.
Inferior Function: Extraverted Sensing (Se)
It’s important for INFJs to accept Se as part of their psyche. When they do this they balance their insights with objective reality and can be more productive and realistic. Healthy inferior Se functioning gives INFJs a sense of practicality and realism. They are able to enjoy the moment, notice the beauty of the world around them, and find tangible ways to express their thoughts. If Se is repressed or triggered for a very long period, or if the INFJ is experiencing chronic stress, they may experience a “Se-uprising”. When this happens they tend to become reactive, rushed, impulsive, or self-destructive. Sometimes this manifests as excessive eating, drinking, or exercising. Other times it shows up as trying to control the environment through obsessive cleaning, organizing, or ridding their environment of “germs”. When this is happening INFJs tend to feel as though their direction in life is lost, that they are “trapped” without escape, and their thinking feels murky and convoluted.
With time and development, Se can become an asset to the INFJ. When they explore insights, they can look at the practical realities in tandem with their vision. They can take moments to enjoy what’s happening around them rather than getting lost in endless thoughts. They can be more realistic about their expectations.
Read This Next: 10 Things You Should Never Say to an INFJ
The INTJ
Dominant Function: Introverted Intuition (Ni)
INTJs are skilled at anticipating future outcomes and understanding where things will lead. They are compelled to look “behind the scenes” at the meaning and abstract connections behind all things. They enjoy complexity and solving unusual problems; in fact, anything that has already been discovered or learned holds very little interest to them. They tend to think in symbols and images that have profound meaning. They focus predominantly on the distant future and the big picture.
Auxiliary Function: Extraverted Thinking (Te)
This is the function that gives outward expression to the INTJs insights and visions. It is also what connects them with other people and makes them both supportive and supported. Te is focused on organizing and implementing systems that make life run more efficiently. INTJs are good at coming up with strategic plans, delegating to get a job done, or finding flaws that are slowing down a process. Te is impersonal and analytical which means that when INTJs have a decision to make they tend to look at the objective facts and weigh the pros and cons.
Tertiary Function: Introverted Feeling (Fi)
When INTJs have healthy Fi development they become more empathetic, accepting, tactful, and aware of their own personal values and emotions. INTJs who resist Fi development tend to be more insensitive, controlling, or prone to black-and-white judgments. Fi gives INTJs an increased awareness of what’s meaningful to them, what their “gut” is telling them, and whether or not they are living in congruence with their beliefs. They pause before making decisions to decide if what they are about to do feels right to them on a personal level.
Loop Warning: It’s important for INTJs not to bypass their auxiliary function (Te) and get into a “Ni-Fi loop”. When this happens they can become conspiracy theorists without objective evidence to back up their claims. They also tend to be self-pitying and self-righteous when in a loop. INTJs are at their best when their functions all work together in harmony. Te-Fi should work in tandem with Fi serving Te. Ni/Se should work in tandem with Se giving objectivity to Ni insights.
Inferior Function: Extraverted Sensing (Se)
Since Se is inferior to Ni for INTJs, it can be easy for them to repress it in favor of Ni insights and perceptions. When INTJs develop Se (in moderation), they balance their insights with objective reality and can be more productive and realistic. Healthy inferior Se functioning gives INTJs a sense of practicality and realism. They are able to appreciate tangible reality, notice the beauty of the world around them, and find concrete ways to express their thoughts. If Se is repressed or triggered for a very long period, or if the INTJ is experiencing chronic stress, they may experience a “Se-uprising”. When this happens they tend to become reactive, rushed, impulsive, or self-destructive. Sometimes this manifests as excessive eating, drinking, or exercising. Other times they try to control surroundings through obsessive cleaning, organizing, or disinfecting. During these moments INTJs tend to feel as though their direction in life is lost, that they are “trapped” and don’t know how to escape. Their thinking becomes cloudy and unclear.
With time and development, Se can become an asset to the INTJ. When they explore insights, they can look at the practical realities in tandem with their vision. They can take moments to enjoy what’s happening around them rather than getting lost in endless thoughts and perspectives. They can be more realistic about their expectations.
Read This Next: 10 Things That Excite the INTJ Personality Type.
The ENFJ
Dominant Function: Extraverted Feeling (Fe)
ENFJs have an innate grasp of social structures and the values of the communities and people around them. They quickly identify social “rules”, things like etiquette, obligations, and how different actions will cause very particular emotional reactions for people. They develop a fine-tuned awareness of the emotions and needs of others and they work hard to create a feeling of inclusivity and social cohesion. They are strategic about creating a life that is in line with their values and that meets the needs of the people most important to them.
Auxiliary Function: Introverted Intuition (Ni)
ENFJs are quick to spot the underlying or symbolic meaning behind things. They are interested in foreseeing implications, grasping patterns, and noticing potential. ENFJs often use Ni to foresee the potential of the people around them or hidden gifts and talents. Healthy Ni development for ENFJs means that they are reflective before jumping to conclusions, their strategies are more effective, and they have very astute insights. Repression of Ni can result in ENFJs being impatient or having insights that lack accuracy because reflection time hasn’t been given.
Tertiary Function: Extraverted Sensing (Se)
Extraverted Sensing gives ENFJs an appreciation for what’s real, current, and practical. It gives them a sense of fun and adventure and lets them adapt to life with resilience rather than getting stuck on an idea that may not be realistic. Se helps ENFJs to tune into the beauty in the world around them and appreciate the opportunities and adventures that present themselves. Repression of Se can lead ENFJs to being impractical, overly idealistic, or perfectionistic.
Loop Warning: It’s important for ENFJs not to bypass their auxiliary function (Ni) and get into a “Fe-Se loop”. When this happens they can become superficial, overly-impulsive, overly-competitive, restless, and emotionally volatile. Ni and Se should both be respected and accepted into the psyche, working in tandem together with Se in the service of Ni. In the same way, Ti (the inferior function) should work in tandem with Fe (the dominant function). ENFJs must be careful not to repress their auxiliary function so that these loops don’t take place.
Inferior Function: Introverted Thinking (Ti)
Introverted thinking gives ENFJs the ability to impersonally critique their strategies and find the most logical methods. With healthy Ti-development they become more self-sufficient, analytical, and aware of accuracies and inaccuracies in their own thinking. The problem with the inferior function is that each personality type can be tempted to repress it in favor of their dominant function. When ENFJs repress Ti for too long, they can struggle to have self-confidence because so much of their decisions lie on social approval. They can also become unaware of their own biases. During cases of extreme stress or chronic triggering/repression of Ti, ENFJs can experience a “Ti-uprising”. When this happens, ENFJs feel increasingly pessimistic, disconnected, and drained. They tend to feel critical of themselves and the people around them and easily see flaws in other people’s thinking. Usually expressive and warm, they suddenly become aloof and unsympathetic, looking for reasons to blame others or themselves for the pain they are in. They can become obsessed with finding the truth or sifting out inaccuracies in their thinking.
With time and development, Ti can become an asset to the ENFJ. When they make decisions they can consider the needs of others along with the impersonal pros and cons. They can vet out inaccuracies in their thinking and be open to critique without feeling defensive. Development of Ti should be done in small steps though. Overuse of Ti can lead to increased stress and overwhelm.
Read This Next: Understanding ENFJ Feeling
The ENTJ
Dominant Function: Extraverted Thinking (Te)
ENTJs appreciate having a linear plan and structure for their lives. They are good at logically organizing and streamlining processes so that they are effective long-term. They enjoy setting goals and creating sequential plans to achieve those goals. They evaluate everything in terms of productivity and output, and they are constantly wired to see flaws in systems that are slowing things down. They value objective logic in every decision they make and they make excellent leaders because of their determination and natural strength at managing people and procedures.
Auxiliary Function: Introverted Intuition (Ni)
ENTJs are quick to spot the underlying or symbolic meaning behind things. They are interested in foreseeing implications, grasping patterns, and noticing potential. They often use Ni to foresee the potential of systems, organizations, and strategies. Healthy Ni development for ENTJs means that they are reflective before jumping to conclusions, their plans are more effective, and they have very astute insights about the progress and potential of something. Repression of Ni can result in ENTJs perpetually jumping to conclusions or coming up with plans that work in the short-term, but don’t stand the test of time.
Tertiary Function: Extraverted Sensing (Se)
Extraverted Sensing gives ENTJs an appreciation for what’s real, current, and practical. It gives them a sense of fun and adventure and lets them adapt to life with resilience rather than getting stuck on a goal and vision that may not be realistic. Se helps ENTJs to tune into current opportunities, experiences, and details. Repression of Se can lead ENTJs to being impractical, perfectionistic and out-of-touch with details that can come back to haunt them.
Loop Warning: It’s important for ENTJs not to bypass their auxiliary function (Ni) and get into a “Te-Se loop”. When this happens they can become superficial, overly-impulsive, overly-competitive, restless, and volatile. Ni and Se should both be respected and accepted into the psyche, working in tandem together with Se in the service of Ni. In the same way, Fi (the inferior function) should work in tandem with Te (the dominant function). ENTJs need to be careful not to repress their auxiliary function so that these loops don’t take place.
Inferior Function: Introverted Feeling (Fi)
Introverted feeling is focused on maintaining congruency between espoused values and actions. ENTJs who respect Fi and don’t suppress it have integrity, compassion, and are unwaveringly true to what they believe is morally right for them. However, because Fi is the inferior function, ENTJs can struggle to accept it and may repress it in favor of Te objectives. When this happens, ENTJs can become hypocritical, arrogant, devaluing of emotions, and insensitive. ENTJs who are experiencing chronic stress, who repress Fi for too long, or who have their Fi “triggered” too frequently can experience “grip” stress episodes. During these episodes Fi “takes the wheel” and ENTJs feel lost, lacking in confidence, and unable to solve problems or complete tasks. These episodes are extremely disheartening to ENTJs and they may find themselves fed up, depressed, vindictive, and overcome by a feeling of helplessness. They tend to complain more than usual during these times without realizing it and may completely retreat from others to avoid having a public emotional outburst.
With time and development, Fi can become an asset to the ENTJ. When they make decisions they look to their values and morals rather than just the impersonal facts. They can vet out incongruencies in their behaviors and are more compassionate to the hurts and sensitivities of others. Development of Fi should be done in small steps though. Overuse of Fi can lead to increased stress and overwhelm.
Read This Next: 10 Things You’ll Relate to if You’re an ENTJ
What Are Your Thoughts?
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