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- Profile: INFJ
- Revision: 1.2
- Date of Revision: 2 Jan 94
- =============================================================================
-
-
- Introverted iNtuitive Feeling Judging
-
- by Joe Butt (jabutt@sacam.oren.ortn.edu)
-
-
- 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
- Fanny Crosby
- Mother Teresa
- Fred McMurray ("My Three Sons", various movies)
- Shirley Temple Black
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
- James Reston, reporter
- Shirley McClain
- Michael Landon
- Tom Selleck
- Oprah Winfrey
- Paul Stookey (PP&M)
- Angela Lansbury
- U. S. Senator Carol Moseley-Braun (D-IL)
- Billy Crystal
- Carrie Fisher
-
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-
-
- Introverted iNtuitive Feeling Judging
-
- by Marina Margaret Heiss (mmh0m@poe.acc.virginia.edu)
-
-
- 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).
-