First off, you are not alone. Many people labor for months, even years, before they are confident in their type designation. There are countless others who think they know their personality type but have actually mistyped themselves. It is therefore unsurprising that there is so much confusion and disagreement about the characteristics of the various types.
In going about identifying your type, it doesn’t hurt to take a few of the free online personality tests, such as the one included on this site. This can give you a ballpark idea of your type, perhaps narrowing it down to two or three possibilities. You might also read a few type descriptions or “profiles,” which may be somewhat helpful. The problem with many type profiles is they provide rather generic descriptions based on the Myers-Briggs preferences (E, I, S, N, T, F, J, P) instead of focusing on the functions (Si, Se, Ni, Ne, Ti, Te, Fi, Fe). In my view, it is impossible to accurately identify your type without sufficient knowledge of the functions.
Let’s say, for example you are trying to decide whether you are an INFJ or an INFP. While these two types may seem quite similar at first glance, sharing three of four preferences, they actually share NONE of the same functions. In considering their respective functions, there is a fairly obvious difference in the way INFJs and INFPs use Feeling. INFJs extravert their Feeling (Fe), readily expressing their emotions and opinions. In many ways, INFJs “feel out loud.” INFPs’ Feeling function, by contrast, is inwardly directed (Fi). Being warm and inviting does not come naturally to INFPs. They may learn to mimic Fe warmth, but doing so often feels “fake” or “forced” to them. INFPs generally prefer to work through their emotions independently rather than processing them aloud with others.
Some personality types have the same functions, differing only in the degree to which they use and prefer those functions. For example, both ENTPs and INTPs have Ti, Ne, Si, and Fe in their functional stack. For individuals who are clearly Introverted (I) or Extraverted (E), deciding between these two types may be relatively straightforward. For those who less confident in their E-I preference, it again helps to think about the relevant functions. In this case, one must decide whether Ti or Ne is his dominant function. Believe it or not, this is not that difficult to do. While ENTPs and INTPs both use Ne and are outward Perceivers, ENTPs structure much of their identity around their Ne, whereas INTPs do not. Since Ne is a Perceiving function, ENTPs natural mode of operation is to seek stimulation from the outside world. Therefore, they are naturally oriented to “play” more so than “work.” Because their Intuition is extraverted, INTPs are also considered Perceivers, but their favored mode of operation is one of inner-directed judging by way of their Ti. Hence, INTPs are more interested in rationally ordering their thoughts and their lives than they are in “playing” or “having fun.” So even if appearing outwardly similar to ENTPs, INTPs tend to take themselves, not to mention life in general, more seriously than ENTPs. Utilizing their Ti, INTPs take a work-oriented approach, trying to control life rather than passively allowing it to unfold or affect them. When methodically using their dominant function (e.g., formulating inner rules, decisions, and objectives) INTPs feel like controlling, Judging types. In effect, they ARE Judging types. They just don’t show it outwardly (see this page for more on this). This is one reason why INTPs commonly mistype themselves as INTJs.
As illustrated in the above examples, by understanding which functions you prefer and regularly utilize, including their ordering in the functional stack, it will be easier for you to accurately identify your personality type. This is why the type descriptions on this site are founded on and described in terms of the functions of each type.
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