It is rightly said that positive feelings come from being honest about yourself and accepting your personality. Various personality types react to different situations in different ways. According to Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, there are total 16 personality types. One of them is the INFP personality type.
Attributes of INFP personality type
The INFP personality type is idealistic, creative, and imaginative. These people are highly emotional and have a deep love for music, nature, and arts. They love to explore the people around them and have excellent bonding with them. The INFP personality type is also called mediator personality.
Empathetic
The INFP types are very non-judgemental in nature and give a patient ear to others’ life stories. They are compassionate and always willing to help. Empathy is one of their best qualities.
Truthful
Being honest and truthful comes naturally to the INFPs. They are keen on expressing themselves and are very truthful. Many writers, poets, painters are of mediator types. They want to make the world a better place.
Intuitive
Most INFP personality type people are introverted and intuitive. They believe their intuitions and follow them. They are not concerned about mundane routines and look at the bigger picture or better purposes.
Helpful
The INFP type of personalities are sensitive to other people’s needs or sufferings. They value relationships and always extend a helping hand. Doing the right thing is their passion.
Strengths and Weaknesses of the INFP Personality
The INFP people have unique strengths. They are loyal and very devoted. They care for everyone in their circle and form long-lasting bonds. They value virtues. The mediators are idealistic and hence, an inspiration to those around them.
Though strong in nature, they have their weaknesses, too. The INFP personalities have the tendency to be excessively idealistic. This may not always be practical. They take offense easily. In their quest to look for a bigger picture, they may lose sight of smaller details.
Cognitive functions of the INFP personalities
According to psychologist Carl Jung, the four components of personality are- thinking, feeling, sensation and intuition. Each of these cognitive functions is then directed inward or outward people. They are called introverts or extroverts. Some cognitive functions of the INFP personalities are as follows.
- Dominant: Introverted Feeling. INFPs channelize their emotions inwards. Though they have very profound emotions, they do not express them freely or outwardly. Consequently, they are perceived as detached or self-centered.
- Auxiliary: Extraverted Intuition. The INFP personalities have high imagination. They explore threesixty-degree possibilities before making a decision. By using their intuition, they expand their thinking and look at the larger picture.
- Tertiary: Introverted Sensing. The INFP people have a great visual sense. They have a vivid range of memories associated with deeper feelings and replay these memories in their minds and experience them again and again.
- Inferior: Extraverted Thinking. This type of cognitive function enables understanding and organizing the world objectively and logically. This ability stands out in stressful situations when INFPs start focusing on details and logical thought processes.
Personal and professional life
The INFP personalities want people in their personal lives to be ideal too. This can be a bit difficult for their partners. They care for their loved ones from the bottom of their heart. Being introverts, they sometimes tend to express less, which may affect their relationships.
On the career front, they tend to be very artistic, imaginative, and visionary. Some of the best careers for them are artists, designers, psychologists, writers, bloggers, social workers, counselors, and so on.
Difference between INFP and INTP
The people INTP type are deep thinkers, privacy loving, and independent-minded people. They are ambivert. The main difference between the INTP and INFP personalities lies in the way they handle emotions.
With their special attributes, INFPs can face all types of challenges and emerge winners. They are loved by all. To enhance their capacities and strengths, they should work on their weaker areas and build new skillsets.
