According to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) developed by Isabel Briggs Myers and Katharine Cook Briggs, INFJ is one of the sixteen possible personality types. The four letters in the type code represent different preferences:
- I (Introversion) or E (Extraversion)
- N (Intuition)
- F (Feeling)
- J (Judging)
So, an INFJ in the MBTI system is someone who has the following preferences:
- Introversion (I): They tend to focus on their inner world, gain energy from solitude, and may appear reserved in social situations.
- Intuition (N): They prefer to gather information through patterns and possibilities, rather than relying solely on concrete data or facts.
- Feeling (F): They make decisions based on personal values and empathy, considering how their choices impact others' feelings.
- Judging (J): They prefer a structured and organized lifestyle and tend to make plans and decisions rather than staying open-ended.
However, Jung's original theory of personality does not specifically include the MBTI's J/P (Judging/Perceiving) dichotomy. Jung focused on eight cognitive functions, which can be grouped into four pairs of opposites:
- Extraverted Thinking (Te) - Introverted Thinking (Ti)
- Extraverted Feeling (Fe) - Introverted Feeling (Fi)
- Extraverted Sensing (Se) - Introverted Sensing (Si)
- Extraverted Intuition (Ne) - Introverted Intuition (Ni)
From Jung's perspective, the dominant function is the most conscious and assertive function in a person's personality. The auxiliary function provides support to the dominant function, while the tertiary function is less developed but still plays a role. The inferior function is the least conscious and can sometimes cause difficulties when it emerges.
While INFJ (MBTI) correlates with Introverted Intuition (Ni) as the dominant function and Extraverted Feeling (Fe) as the auxiliary function, the "J" in INFJ stands for "Judging" according to the MBTI. This means that the INFJ prefers to use the judging function (Thinking or Feeling) in their outer world (Extraverted Feeling in this case).
So, technically speaking, a person could be an INFJ in the MBTI system with a dominant Introverted Intuition (Ni) and an auxiliary Extraverted Feeling (Fe) but not necessarily prefer to use the Judging function in their outer world according to Jung's original theory. Instead, they might prefer to use the Perceiving function (Extraverted Sensing or Extraverted Intuition) in their outer world.
Keep in mind that while MBTI is based on some of Jung's concepts, it has evolved over time and includes additional elements not present in Jung's original theory. As such, there can be some variations and interpretations between the two systems.