We all have certain personality traits that make up our personality type.
Some people are introverted while some are extroverted. While one person might adhere to what is told to them by others, another will follow their gut intuition. Decision-making can be based on either logic or emotion.
These are some of the key elements of the Myers-Briggs personality types.
The Myers-Briggs personality test is built upon the belief that people fall into one of two sides of the spectrum of four main personality traits: extroversion or introversion, thinking or feeling, judging or perceiving, and sensing or intuition.
With 16 different personality types, it’s normal to wonder which is the most common. Likewise, you may be wondering which is the rarest.
The INFJ is the rarest personality type.
The Myers and Briggs Foundation explains that “all types are equal, there is no best type.” Despite this truth, there are some personality types that are more common than others.
We all have differences, but it’s those things that make us each unique and special in our own way — and as the rarest type, the INFJ might just be the most unique.
According to the Myers & Briggs Foundation, the INFJ personality type makes up only 1.5 percent of the population.
What are the INFJ personality traits?
Their core characteristics are introversion (I), intuition (N), feeling (F), and judgment (J).
Since these traits are not static for any type (we all change behavior from time to time), it makes sense to say that INFJs can be contradictory.
Despite their introverted nature, they are actually very people-oriented.
Similarly, they are not always pushed by emotion and can see the value in rational thinking.
They also switch between thoughtful consideration and spontaneity depending on the situation at hand.
Because of their ability to balance both sides of the spectrum, INFJs are sometimes hard to understand.
Once you begin to grasp who they are as a person, they seem to flip the script.
There’s no predicting what this personality type will do — most of the time they don’t even know what they’ll do.
Jane Granneman, the author of The Secret Lives of Introverts: Inside Our Hidden World, tells us that the dominant function of an INFJ is introverted intuition. In other words, they “subconsciously notice patterns” throughout the world around them.
Due to their secondary function, extroverted feeling, they are moved toward people.
As a result, their subconscious attention is put on the patterns of human nature.
This makes INFJs highly intuitive when it comes to the character of others.
Most people can’t understand where this sense of intuition comes from, therefore, they don’t recognize its power.
Nonetheless, “the INFJ may know something without quite being able to put their finger on why or how they know it.”
Since they can read others well, an INFJ might expect the same from the people close to them.
While this might not be possible for other personality types, the INFJ is capable of getting into someone’s head and figuring out what makes them tick. This unfortunately sometimes comes with a strong emotional toll.
They don’t just understand someone else’s emotions, but also feel them with the person.
Highly empathetic, the INFJ can even “absorb the emotions of a stranger.”
There’s a chance that if an INFJ sees someone crying on the street, they will become overwhelmed with sad emotions.
Obviously, this empathy becomes much stronger when they know who the person is, like a parent, child, friend, or significant other.
Another special trait that an INFJ holds is long-range forecasting abilities.
Similar to their talent for having a strong intuition, these personality types are good at predicting the future based on previous experiences.
Although they don’t have psychic abilities, they find it easy to see what could be. This is generally based on their subconscious insight and high intellect.
