The ISFJ Personality Type – Personality type ISFJ
The Judger element of the ISFJ personality type means that Feeling is extraverted with this personality type and Sensing is Introverted. The preference for them in their processing is how they decide and come to conclusions (judgements) which in this case is through Feeling rather than Thinking.
Their preferred attitude and their preference for directing and receiving energy is Introverted rather than Extraverted, so they Introvert how they take in information (their Sensing). Introverted Sensing is therefore their dominant preference and this will display itself in their personality:
Realistic, practical, specific and concrete
As Introverted Sensing is their dominant function so Feeling (rather than Thinking) is their next preference. They Extravert their how they decide and come to conclusions (Feeling) which leads to them being:
Thoughtful towards others, cooperative, sensitive and kind
Their personality dynamic is therefore Introverted Sensing with Extraverted Feeling. Their third preference is Thinking and their inferior function is Extraverted Intuition.
ISFJs may feel stressed in the following situations and they should watch out for:
- When they have no time to prepare and are experiencing unrelenting change
- When they don’t have a clear sense of direction
- When they defer their own needs to meet those of other people
- When they see others ignoring facts, givens and common sense
- Times when the future seems unclear, there are no well defined outcomes or when the future looks undesireable
When you are with an ISFJ they will respond best to you if you:
- are experienced, practical, organised
- use tried and tested methods
- make use of their own experiences from similar situations in the past
- give them clear step by step instruction with procedures that you can prove have a history of success
Is ISFJ not you? See all 16 types
Being an ISFJ
Profile 1
I spend a lot of time with my sister and so am going to determine her metaprograms
My sister is an Introvert.
The obvious fact that makes me think she is an introvert is that she does not talk much. She dislikes social gatherings, in fact whenever there is a networking event, she would rather I attend it. Laura enjoys her own company, loves to sit at the back in meetings (I at times make her sit in the ‘near’ front when we are together) she is a good listener, this means I can talk and talk, give ideas, and she will listen and give me good feedback.
She is a sensor.
What amazes me is that she actually reads a magazine cover to cover. Fact/figures and data are her thing, and this comes in handy in the running of our business (our books are in order). The intuitor side of her that I can pick out is the love of puzzles.. unlike me she actually buys sudoku books and solves the puzzles. She is more grounded and this complements me.
Between Thinker and Feeler
She is a Feeler. She is available to help/be of service to others whenever a situation arises. (I think at times she forgets her self) She is driven by her feelings and values most of the time. The Thinker pattern that she has is that she enjoys clarification and logic.
Lastly I think she is a Judger.
Her approach to life and stuff is structured to the desired goals she has set. At 24, she left employment to try her hand in business, she is responsible and has chosen not to have a boyfriend currently as she pursues her journey to financial stability. In addition she does not like surprises. The Peceiver side of her loves to explore unknown territories at times.
Profile 2
My wife is an: Introvert; Sensor; Feeler; Judger
She is particularly strong in the Feeling category and has all the qualities described in the notes in spades. Very caring (ex-Playgroup assistant, now works in the NHS); very empathetic to peoples’ feelings; overly sensitive in my (cold) opinion; extremely associated in current matters and definitely comes off worse when we have debates / discussions. I do now feel slightly bad about this because I can quite happily argue convincingly from any point of view and sometimes do so just to see what happens. As you’ve described, she does become personally involved in such arguments and just can’t comprehend some of the positions I adopt. Her best friend is quite similar and it’s a bit like shooting fish in a barrel when we three have a debate. Unfortunately my middle and youngest children are Thinkers and also enjoy winding her up by taking her all over the place with bizarre logic and non-sequiturs.
Profile 3
My Husband is an Introvert, he would rather deal with one thing at a time, he thinks before he speaks and has few close relationships, to recharge his batteries he would rather spend time alone.
He is a sensor – this is reflected in his middle management job with which he deals a lot with facts and figures on a daily basis, he deals with the task at hand and examines things in detail. He lives in the now with little forward planning, he is interested in the facts rather than how this can be used in the future.
He is a Feeler, very Kinesthetic and aware of his feelings and others. He is a ‘go with’ person, happy to put others before himself, I believe that he would rather be perceived as fair caring and sensitive rather than reasonable and logical – I shall investigate this though…….so as not to mind read!
He is a judger, liking fixed patterns, organisation and plans. Punctuality is important to him as is routine and order; he would prefer to work on a planned ordered project rather than to work on something more flexible.
Profile 4
On the whole I’m an introvert, though maybe not as introverted as I thought. I definitely get my energy from, and crave, time and space alone. My favoured activities to switch off are activities alone. I’m reflective and think things through. I’d rather make my way to events alone (rather than car-sharing) and, once there, put off my arrival until I know I’ve avoided the dreaded “reception drinks” before the main event. In social situations I can flex to be more extroverted – I’d rather avoid these situations (e.g. networking events etc) but, once in them, I can be sociable, even a hugger!!! I do like to organise parties but like these on my territory rather than outside of it!
I think I would fall on the middle-ground of sensor/intuitor scale though probably tend to tend towards Sensor. Before making a decision I like to know all the information – I’m not a fan of winging it! At work, I could lose myself in the ‘doing’ and had to remind myself to look up and take a longer-term view.
I’m definitely a Feeler. I find it difficult to be detached from decisions – I would definitely consider the impact on others and want to be seen as caring and sensitive, nice. I crave harmony and peace. At work, I liked to be acknowledged and appreciated… this carries over into my home/family environment.
I think I’ve changed since I did the Myers briggs last time. I was a perceiver before but now I feel I fit the Judger profile better. I am highly organised, I love lists, I panic about being late and it frustrates me when others are late. I would often like to get to a decision – I don’t like loose ends.