Warning: internet trash folklore ahead
At a work dinner last night, a lovely lady whom I mentally typed as an ESFJ confessed to being in love with getting flowers and elaborated on the joys of it at length… Just like I was told they did on some less than credible website. Coincidence?!
Albeit the Myers Briggs Type Indicator is quite unscientific and given way too much credence, it can be great fun. So I collected the in no way scientific (but hugely useful) internet-folklore findings on MBTI that resonated with me here.
How to know if they like you for each MBTI type:
ENTP: prove themselves by arguing and arrogance
ENTJ: criticise
ENFP: smile more than usual
ENFJ: try to be perfect in front of you
ESTP: get awkward
ESTJ: become very attentive and turn into great listeners
ESFP: make fools of themselves in an endearing way
ESFJ: brag
INTP: troll
INTJ: stalk
INFP: nobody really knows
INFJ: it’s a secret
ISTP: confront and act direct
ISTJ: make a lot of intense eye contact
ISFP: blush
ISFJ: throw little glance and smiles
What word do the MBTI types use to describe someone they like:
INTJ: Kind
INTP: Obliging
ENTJ: Charming
ENTP: Magnanimous
INFJ: Sweet
INFP: Compassionate
ENFJ: Giving
ENFP: Bubbly
ISTJ: Helpful
ISFJ: Sensitive
ESTJ: Helpful
ESFJ: Warm
ISTP: Unassuming
ISFP: Affectionate
ESTP: Welcoming
ESFP: Generous
How to quickly understand each of the 16 MBTI types:
INTJ: logical, methodical, skeptical, intimidating
INTP: intellectual, calm, unaware of their surroundings
ENTP: analytical, charming, irresponsible, distractible
ENFP: warm, inspiring, disorganised, in need of constant approval
ENFJ: passionate, charismatic, manipulative
ENTJ: strong, authoritative, intense
ESTJ: responsible, hard-working, obsessive
ESFJ: bubbly, respectful, shallow
ESFP: flamboyant, brave, reckless
ESTP: confident, brave, crude
ISTJ: realistic, have high standards, stale
ISFJ: kind, conservative, obsessive
ISFP: considerate, artistic, self-pitying, manipulative
INFJ: patient, understanding, complicated
INFP: idealistic, sweet, emotional, in need of constant approval
My sources? An merged assortment from Tumblr and Pinterest, the cradle of modern science. (Seriously, the original posts are mostly gone, so I can’t even credit them properly). If you are the original author and wish to be credited, please let me know.
In the mood for some mind games? You can try it too.
The trick is to start with T vs F. That should be obvious.
Then move on to J or P: do they prefer certainty and clarity or do they like spontaneity and open options?
S vs N: are the down-to-earth, practical and pragmatic or do they prefer thinking about the future?
E vs I can be very hard, but it is probably the one that matters the least.
Let me know how this horoscope works out for you 😉
A millennial's musings 
when I took the M-B (ENTJ), I was struck by the fact that I was a flaming M-B extrovert, but that the other categories were near ties (one was a tie, having an even number of test items). I have read that people should also consider their personality preferences for those nearby variations, but with 3 of the 4 being near ties, I have a great many profiles to choose from … a cherry-pickers delight!
LikeLike
Interesting. I’ve done the test a few times and I’ve come out as an ENTP lots of times. Once as an INTP recently. When I was in college, I was something else I think, some for of a TJ (I did it on paper, so I will get those notes down from the attic someday!) It’s very handy being slap bang in the middle – like you seem to be as it probably means you are quite adaptable to others!
LikeLike
Thank you for the post… I question the scientific validity of mbti very often, yet find myself automatically typing any new person I become acquainted with..It’s a fad that’s as good as a mind game..But I must say, I can agree to whatever is given for my type (INFJ) here. Sometimes, the mbti works too well for it to be just a pseudo psychology.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Exactly how I feel about it! I think I only know one INFJ and she fits the description pretty well. Sometimes we can come upon things that aren’t based on science we can articulate, but that do possess predictive value (e.g. https://thinkingclearly.co/2016/12/21/management-consultants-now-selling-neuroscience/) I think MBTI is a very crude version of that!
LikeLiked by 1 person
When I take the MBTI test, I’m always ISTP or INTP. A few % difference on the S/N traits each time. I relate equally to the ISTP and INTP typical profiles. They say INFJs are rare but I know far too many. All of my friends are INFJs, except one.
LikeLike
So interesting! I’d never heard of people who are close on the S/N trait. I find that I change from E to I when my mood is low, but S/N – that’s really cool!
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is so above my brain tonight, Martina. Heading off to bed soon.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love the style of your blog! 🙂
LikeLike
I’m pleased to see that eventually INTJ was at the top of the list (where we belong 😉). I have used this in team building sessions but find it quite frequently backfires. Instead of looking at someone’s unique combination, we tend to see polarities “I am an I and you are an E, no wonder we don’t get along”.
BTW, I do find being a very strong I to be a challenge in this world. The rest of my combo happens to put me amongst men (as proven out when I took this in business school), so invariably I conclude that I am weird or something to be fixed. I much prefer StrengthsFinders of all of these profile type things. How’s that for a logical, pragmatic summary? I was a brave I to post a response 😊
LikeLike
For sure, the polarity is emphasised. For me, however, it just reminds me that we’re more different than I sometimes care to remember and explains a lot in people’s behaviour. I will have a look at the StrengthFinder! MBTI is surely full of limitations. I love INTJs and I don’t think I’ve met very many female INTJs, so this is really cool!
LikeLiked by 1 person
A boss once required us to take this test. I was then paired off with my opposite to share an office. It worked out well and we are still friends many years later.
LikeLike
Ha! Excellent. My opposite would be an ISFJ – which happens to be the most common of types, so I better get used to making it work out well 🙂
LikeLike