Example INFP profiles

Profile 1 – INFP

Introvert/ Extrovert

I find this one, by far, the hardest of them all to determine exactly where I am and would suggest that I am generally right in the middle. There are times when I am an extreme Introvert and there are times when I am quite the opposite. Sometimes I need to recharge on my own and other times I prefer it with people around me.

I think it is fair to say that when I was younger, then I was very introvert as a rule, but as I have grown older, I have changed in many ways to become more towards the extrovert. I can easily pick out traits and characteristics from both sides of the ‘divide’ that relate to me – therefore I am saying that I’m on the introvert side of the middle.

Sensor/ Intuitor

I don’t have time for facts! I understand that they can be important, but you can analyse them over and over again without ever coming to a decision as to how we should move forwards. I am much more interested in what they tell us as a whole.

This has been the case for as long as I can remember in that I can get quite frustrated with people who meticulously plan every detail as I just feel the need to get the big picture, use it and move on. This is true in both my professional and personal life.

I used to have an IT Technician reporting to me who was an extreme Sensor, and the people in the open plan office outside would love it when he came into my office for a meeting as they said that they always got the feeling that the office turned into a pressure cooker that was likely to explode with my frustration as he fed me fact after fact when all I wanted was an answer to a ‘will it work if we did this?’ question.

Therefore I am an Intuitor

Thinker/ Feeler

This is, again, a pretty easy one for me in that I am a Feeler. I am very empathetic with people and will always consider their feelings in any decision that I make.

I tend to go with the flow and am very careful not to hurt other people’s feelings if I can help it – if I disagree with someone then I will weigh up in my mind whether it is important to put my view across or not, and if it is, I will go to great lengths to find the most sensitive way that I can do that.

I strongly believe in fairness and justness in the world and get upset when I can see that someone is not being treated with such values. Billy Bragg once sung about having ‘socialism of the heart’ – I have always loved and related to that line.

However, there has always been times when I have had to force myself to act like a thinker – particularly when as a company director and some of the decisions that I had to make were cold hearted, such as redundancies etc – I was able to do this but did find it hard and would spend many sleepless hours trying to ‘humanise’ the way that I would do it. There are some who would say I did well and others, not so well.

Also, being a parent, it is necessary to act like a thinker at times and make decisions that are not going to be popular. Never easy but always necessary.

Therefore I am a Feeler.

Judger / Perceiver

I think that I am generally a Perceiver here, although I can see elements and traits within the judger side that relate to me.

If I was to embark on a project, I would draw up a very vague plan and probably rarely refer to it, if at all. I like to keep my options open.

I am also a stickler for time keeping and occasionally have a need to sort out everything into labelled boxes, which does not last for too long and things soon become haphazard again.

I am probably less of a perceiver when it comes to my work life and more of a judger. I have always worked in Operations and organisation is an important part of the day-to-day side of that; but whenever I have had a project, or something more future orientated, I will slip into the perceiver mode more.

Therefore I am a Perceiver.

Profile 2 – INFP

I did a Myers-Briggs type indicator fairly recently for university and got the type ‘ISFJ’ which means Introvert, Sensor, Feeler, Judger. However, after this module they don’t seem very conclusive.

Firstly, I would say that I am definitely introvert because I need the time alone to recharge after seeing people. If I don’t recharge alone I feel exhausted! I scored an 89% preference to introversion over extroversion.

I would say I am more an intuitor than a sensor because I enjoy working things out, doing puzzles and understanding how things work. Although, I would say that I am a sensor in some contexts as I prefer to be in the now and focus on the task at hand. I scored a 1% preference to sensing over intuition.

I’d agree with my test and say that I am more a feeler than a thinker. I tend to make decisions based on my values and I can sometimes take things personally. I scored a 38% preference to feeling over thinking.

Lastly, and probably the most difficult, I would say I am a perceiver. I scored a 22% preference to judging over perceiving, however, a lot of the order, punctuality and organisation seems to come from not wanting to seem rude than from being a judger type. This perhaps even confirms the above feeler type. I would hate to show up late to anything, however, I would be fine with someone else showing up late. So, as a meta-program I believe I am more a perceiver.

Profile 3 – INFP

I’m an Introvert for sure. Thinking about when I recharge my batteries I really need to be alone, to be silent, to think and reflect. I am generally an introvert, although if I am with a familiar group of friends I would become more extrovert, I am very much the party planner, but only in that sense otherwise I validate internally, external validation really doesn’t mean much to my sense of achievement, I am internally focused, listen well and have a few close relationships. I’m definitely not a hugger. Oh god, I can’t handle a hugger in the room!

Intuitor. I would definitely need to know the relationship between the ideas and how they can be used in the future, otherwise what is their worth to me? I am very future orientated, hence my love of goals, and how they all fit in to build my future, not my now. I like puzzles and abstract ways of thinking, ideas and theories and as much as I would love to be able to focus on a task at hand, I can’t even finish cleaning one room before I start on the next.

Feeler. It is far more important for me to be thought of as fair, caring and sensitive than reasonable, logical and objective. Although I run on my own sense of logic, I go with the flow and adapt easily, my decisions are based on my values and feelings. I rarely tell people when they disagree, although that’s usually because I cannot see the worth in it, if I think they have the flexibility to consider my opinion I would. I’m not good with decisions or disassociation.

I am very much a perceiver. I love to explore unknown territory, keep options open and flexible, adaptable so that I can change to fit the context. I am creative and spontaneous and utterly useless at order and sequence or needing closure. I fit the world, and I cannot follow a list to save my life! I lose them or they need adapting so much they become worthless to that current moment of spontaneity. More like a child in awe of what life is going to bring next.