#intpvsentp

Hey dischorde,

MBTI can be quite overwhelming at first! When I first found out about it, I didn’t even know what the hell I was getting in to. I’ll try and be as concise as possible, because I know you INTPs value simplicity more than I do, but bear with me because I am an ENTP and we over-explain EVERYTHING! :)

It may seem that the only difference here is that one is introverted and one is extroverted but in the mbti theory it is a little more complicated than that because we have cognitive functions to take into consideration. I won’t go into the functions because they are more often than not, really confusing, especially when you first get into mbti. But if you want to know more I can make a separate post about it, just let me know!

ENTPs and INTPs are actually less similar than you would think.

ENTP: talkative, charming, ambiverted, quick-witted, less logical, more people oriented, lazy extrovert, more willing to open up to strangers, SUBJECTIVE, more idea-oriented, prefer alone time with other people, prefer debating ideas to help their understanding

INTP: independent, quiet, reserved, analytical, introverted, accurate, more logical, less people oriented, lazy introvert, will only open up to the people they like/trust/know really well, value truth, OBJECTIVE, more detailed-oriented, prefer alone time ALONE, prefer researching ideas to help their understanding

INTPs need everything to make sense. On an eternal quest for truth. They will not form a conclusion until they can be 100% sure it is accurate, more willing than ENTPs to second guess themselves to discover truth, to be right. Very intellectual personality who surprisingly don’t do as well in school in comparison to their intellectual level. It’s not that they can’t get good grades, but are often considered lazy (ENTPs are very lazy as well) Accuracy and simplicity are very important to INTPs. They are internally oriented, so stuck in their own head that they easily can come across as detached and oblivious. Easily labelled as loner. 

In comparison to ENTPs who like things that make sense but don’t need them to. They don’t need to be 100% accurate because they like to just think of all the possibilities rather than stick to one possibility and prove it to be true. They tend to think of everything that could be true and kind of just stop there. They don’t easily see things through until the end unless they are very motivated which is not often for ENTP.  ENTPs speak before they think and get a bad reputation for never shutting up and INTPs have a filter, what comes out of their mouth was well thought out and concise.

When it comes to social behavior, INTP is much more closed off and quiet in a crowd of unfamiliar faces, where ENTP will attempt to come across as charming(and they usually succeed). INTP is less aware of social norms and the feelings of others where ENTP is almost to a fault, aware of how every person in the social situation is feeling, easily picking up on when others feel uncomfortable and anxious. 

You sound pretty much like an ENTP to me.

I do enjoy spending time with people [then I turn into the goofy one], but I’m kind of a picky person if it comes to choosing whom to befriend and I enjoy my time alone

This is not a sign of introversion. Being an extravert doesn´t necessary mean that you have a lot of friends or that you don´t enjoy spending time alone. I am an extravert and I prefer my own company over other´s in a lot of situations, and I have a few close friends. Being an Introvert means that you prefer under stimulating environments, like dark rooms and quiet places, and being extraverted means that you prefer over stimulating environments, like crowds and noisy places like cafés. 

I’m good at coming up with astounding ideas, but never ever put them into life.

The trademark of the ENTP.

I’m rational, but not as cold. 

The letter “A” doesn’t really make sense in Myers-Briggs. Ambiversion would be defined as having your dominant and auxiliary functions, in this case Ne and Ti, equally developed. But even if your Ne and Ti is equally developed, you still have your tertiary and inferior function. So if your Fe is more developed than Si are you an ENTP, and INTP if the opposite is true.Ne is extraverted in a bit different way than most people are used to think about extraversion, so many ENxPs mistype themselves as introverts.

continue a debate until I’m either proven right or wrong. Summarized, I feel like I’m not compassionate enough to be an ENTP but not introvert enough to be an INTP. Based on this, which one do you think I am? Thanks a lot in advance! (I looked through the entire intp vs entp tag but identified with both INTP and ENTP stereotypes)

It seem like you´re an ENTP from the information given, but I can´t tell for sure. What I meant by that socializing comes naturally to me was a bit vaguely explained and not necessary toinclude. I did not mean that socializing is something that is naturalfor me and not for him, but that it is more natural to me than forhim. But don´t use this to type yourself; it was just an example of the differences Icould find between myself and another individual that I thought could help some NTPs´ I/E-compass needle to tilt more to the right direction.

Being compassionate is more of a character trait thana personality trait, and trying to find your personality type by comparingcharacter traits is doomed to fail. 

Yes, the first letter represent introversion and extroversion. The thing with ENTPs is that a lot of us feel we´re in the middle of the I and E scale, and therefore a lot of ENTPs call themselves ambiverted. This is due to a misunderstanding that extroversion=socializing. To be extroverted simply means that you gain energy from the outer world. Another thing is that ENTPs (and ENFPs) are extroverted in a “different” way than other extroverted types. We draw energy our from intense conversations and ideas, and after a while we need to draw back to reflect upon what we have experienced (not to gain energy). This is why we are often called the introverted exrovert.

Everything you listed is typically for both ENTPs and INTPs, and that can be very confusing. Both types think a lot about complex and abstract theories, and they love to share it with other people. ENTPs are probably better at the last point, and tend to do it more often, but it is very hard to determine where to draw the line between how much INTPs and ENTPs like to share their ideas. 

I think the best way to divide the E and I is to look what differences it makes when Ne and Ti are placed in different orders in the cognitive function stack (Ti>Ne and Ne>Ti), and the differences in their third function(Si/Fe). 

ENTPs use Ne as their dominant function, which gives them new information and draws them in total different directions all the time, so they use Ti to reflect upon how this new information and perspectives change how they see a concept/idea or even how they understand the world. A lot of ENTPs misinterpret this reflection as introversion. INTPs, on the other hand, use Ti as their dominant function so their primary focus lies on concepts and knowledge, while their Ne expands their knowledge into new ideas and gives them new perspectives. Both types can use their auxilary function more than their dominant for a period of time, but after too much brainstorming about ideas the INTP need to go back to their Ti world of knowledge and concepts, and ENTPs need to go back to their ideas after spending too much time inside their Ti world.

Then we have the tertiary functions: Fe and Si. This is probably the easiest way to distinguish E and I. ENTPs use Fe as their tertiary function, which is an extraverted function focusing on other people. This makes the ENTP better at picking up how other people feel, which often leads them to be better at communicating and understanding other human beings. INTP have Si as their tertiary function, which is a function that focuses on personal physical experiences. This makes the INTP better at using what they have learned and experienced when developing new theories and understanding concepts.

It is normal for NTPs to shift between E and I. I used to doubt whenever I was INTP or ENTP when I first heard about the Myer Briggs types, but I found out ENTP was the type that described me best, so I decided to stay with it (but I didn´t understood why before learning about cognitive functions). One of the most common misconceptions about introversion and extroversion is that extroversion means being social or drawing energy from socializing, which is wrong for ENTPs. I discovered that the most effective way to distinguish Between the E and I is to look at their tertiary function. I met an INTP one time and decided to be aware of the differences in our communication style. After a few hours I had noticed that he used his Si more than me by regularly telling about earlier experiences, but it did not look like he perceived the mood and how other people reacted to something he said in the room as I was.

Here are a few links about differences between ENTP&INTP which might help:

ENTP & ambiversion

ENTP traits

XNTP?