What, exactly, is the difference between a Standard INTJ and the subtype Objective Personality has chosen to call a "Jumper"? In what way will respecting Introverted Feeling over Extraverted Thinking affect the traits and behaviors of the INTJ?
This article will unravel the hazy intricacies of the INTJ Jump. It will take you all the way from take-off to landing. You say "Jump" and we say "where to?" and "where from?" and possibly also "how far?"...
Where did we Land?
Ok, so we've made the Jump. We've packed our bags and waved goodbye to the woods, the fields and the little rivers of our beloved NT-homeland. And now... yes, now what? Where we at, exactly? Well, not in Kansas, as someone famously put it...
Nope, this is NF-country. Hippie-country. Or, in somewhat more flattering terms, Diplomat-country.
Here we will find ourselves roaming the flowering hillsides of human nature in the idealistic company of the INFPs (Mediators/Healers), the INFJs (Advocates/Counselors), the ENFPs (Campaigners/Champions) and the ENFJs (Protagonists/Teachers) of this world.
And perhaps we won't feel entirely out of place amongst the herds of ENFPs randomly picnicking on the golf courses, the distressed ENFJs telling them off and making sure everyone's got a plate, the non-conformist INFPs smelling the flowers under the cork trees and the all but naked INFJs preaching the true meaning of life from their hermit caves in the cobalt mountain ranges rising like ginormous throngs of molars in the distance.
At the very least, we should feel a certain kinship with the Introverted citizens of this insightful, spiritual and helpful nation.
But then again, perhaps not. Jumping doesn't turn us into an INFJ or an INFP, it just nudges us in that direction, possibly giving us some INFJ-like and/or INFP-like qualities.
INFJ-like
The INFJ comparison is probably the most justified. The INTJ share the Observer axis with the INFJ and the "only" post-Jump differences between the types are the switched orientation and Savior stack positions of the Decider functions (T & F: E <--> I, 2nd <--> 3rd).
INFP-like
The INFP comparison is, perhaps, a tad more far fetched, but, provided your Introverted Feeling function is strong enough we should be able to catch glimpses of INFP-like behavior. After all, Introverted Feeling is the dominant function of the INFP. It is, simultaneously, the "core" of the INFP and the INTJ Jumper "Green Card" to NF-land.
How Far did we Jump?
Ok, so we've managed to put this merry circus on the map, but how far into NF-territory have we come, exactly? We'll have to do some introspection and go over a few concepts in order to determine our precise location and find out exactly how the Jump has changed* us...
*Jumping is most probably not a "change", but an aspect of type that we're either born with or not.
What's the same?
Often, the very first thing we spot in a type is whether he/she is an (Single) Observer or a (Single) Decider. Is their top function an Observer function (Oi or Oe - Si/Ni or Se/Ne) or a Decider function (Di or De - Ti/Fi or Te/Fe)? Is their major beef in life with Things and Fear (Observer) or with People and Pain (Decider)? INTJs, with their Intuition driver, are Observers. Jumping doesn't change this.
The Single Observers (IxxJs and ExxPs) are divided into Gatherers (Extraverted - ExxPs) and Organizers (Introverted - IxxJs) - this is part of a concept called "The Human Needs". The INTJ is an Introverted Observer (Introverted Intuition driver): a chaos-fearing, "chapter-talking" Organizer, responsible for organizing and narrowing down abstract information. Jumping doesn't change this.
What's changed?
Ok, so we're entering a grey area here. Both the INTJ Standard and the INTJ Jumper are Introverts. Introverted Intuition still reigns supreme on top of the INTJ function stack. But the INTJ Jumper is more Introverted than the "vanilla version". We're not going to go over the details just yet, but we'll get there. Stay tuned.
Now. The real change, of course, is that the 2nd Savior function of the INTJ Jumper is now Introverted Feeling instead of Extraverted Thinking. You could actually, depending on how you look at it, make a case for the INTJ Jumper actually being a kind of INFJ. An I Ni Fi J (compare to the regular INFJ: I Ni Fe J). But, like I said, that depends. Thinking is still higher in the stack - a more "powerful muscle" if you will - but less respected, and less exercised.
So... this is where things gets complicated. Because we're not just switching Thinking for Feeling here. We can't just jot down the specs of our "new tool" and be on our way. These are the middle functions we're talking about and whatever happens we're still going to be relatively balanced here. The descriptions of Introverted Feeling and Extraverted Thinking represent the extremes of a spectrum and we're not really approaching any one of them. It's going to be a mixed bag.
Side note: As we've mentioned, the INTJ Jumper can be said to show signs of INFJ- and INFP-like behaviors. A similar "leaning" towards another type can be seen in the INTJ Standard, but towards the more Extraverted ENTJ. The more Extraverted the INTJ Standard, the more leaning towards the ENTJ.
Ok. So... Mixed bag. Fine. But before we continue, and before we hone in on our actual position on the T/F spectrum, let's take a detour! Let's study the Trans-Decider-Land Railway in its entirety, all the way from Thinking to Feeling - and every little station in between!*
*Mid-axis, that is. We'll be covering the extremes, but the longest journey available to the INTJ will, of course, be second to third function.
Ok, so Introverted Feeling is the new tool, but what exactly is Introverted Feeling? And what is it to the INTJ Jumper? Well, at its core...
...it's Feeling...
In the MBTI world, Feeling isn't feelings. It's not emotion. Feeling can use feelings as a dataset, but Feeling, like Thinking, is a rational decision maker. It's a Decider function. Where Thinking makes its decisions based off of Reasons, Feeling makes its decisions based off of Values.
...and it's Introverted...
Yes. Functions, not people are Introverted: War of the Worlds: The Real Difference between Introversion & Extraversion.
Compared to the Extraverted functions, the Introverted functions are more personal and subjective. They're not really present in the moment or in physical reality for that matter. They create and inhabit our "inner worlds". They prefer known information. They narrow down. They already have their own way of doing things. They don't pile (like those sloppy Extraverts thank you very much), they stack. Whatever they happen to deal in - be it reasons (Ti), values (Fi) - Introverted Deciders (Di), data (Si) or patterns (Ni) - Introverted Observers (Oi) - they stack and systematize and usually come to respect the internal world view that they've built more than our shared and objective, external reality.
Let's indulge in a quick birds eye view of the Introverted Deciders before locking down on our Fi-target here...
Di
We've already established that the primary Human Need of the INTJ was, and still is, Organizing. But we should recognise that what actually has changed with our Jump is our secondary Human Need. Switching the orientation of our Savior Decider from Extraverted (De) to Introverted (Di) has switched our secondary Human Need from Tribe to Self: Di is what OPS calls "Self above Tribe".
If a Lead-De needs the opinion of 10 people before they can make up their mind, it takes 10 people to pry an idea from the dead body of a Lead-Di.
Di is identity. It's depth. It's uncompromising. Perfectionistic. It's about earning respect, about recognition. Acknowledgement for Self. It's about avoiding what it considers to be "group think/vibe" or "herd mentality".
It's putting your own oxygen-mask on before helping others.
Di's are built to challenge the Tribe with their firmly held ideas/values. Often to the point of breaking away and starting a new "Tribe". Often their firmly held beliefs and unwavering confidence is inspiring to others. People get on board.
In the process of acquiring power, Di is often your friend (in the wild, Savior Di's are often found in CEO-positions, running companies). But when taken too far (failing to balance your inner Di-dictator with some Tribe perspective: De), the Tribe will eventually rebel (examples of which are readily available: Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon, Tesla etc.).
Anyway... do we have a lock yet? I think we do.
Fi
Introverted Feeling (aka "Authenticity") is the "mother" function. We think it safe to say that all functions, eventually, will have to answer to Fi. It's our core. The "hearth" of our beings. It's a fire which, well tended, can translate into a near unstoppable, passionate drive that can take on almost any challenge - because it comes from within ourselves and is, by definition, well nigh impervious to outside influence and the impersonal constraints of logic.
A downside to this, of course, being a calling too personal. What if no one gets on board with our passion because no one understands? Like that alternative version of Braveheart where Mel Gibson didn't have an army and just ran about screaming "Freedom" from glen to glen for two and a half hours and not even Danny boy was there...
And, even worse: if, for whatever reason (depression comes to mind), our fire is dwindling, we only have ourselves to turn to for help, because the external world doesn't have the power to influence our Fi.
But let's not grumble, let's whistle... and take a look at the technical side of Fi!
Introverted Feeling focuses on the subjective values and emotions of the individual. It's all about staying true to oneself, about identity and following your inner moral compass. And Self-amusement... 😎
When making a decision, Introverted Feeling, being Di, will consult Self first and consider the external value-spectrum of the Tribe second. Fi is asking the question "what do I like?".
"What is valuable to me?"
Ok... so that's Fi... but this was a duet, right? We're getting more of this stuff, and less of... Te, right?
Good old Extraverted Thinking. Whatever happened to us? Was it me? No? You? Glad we can still be friends... 😉
But how well do we actually know each other? What exactly is Extraverted Thinking? Well...
...it's Thinking...
Sort of self-explanatory this one? Thinking tries to make logical decisions without the interference of Feeling (quite the challenge actually). It's a Decider function. Where Feeling makes its decisions based off of Values, Thinking makes its decisions based off of Reasons.
...and it's Extraverted...
Compared to the Introverted functions, the Extraverted functions are less personal and more objective. They're anchored to the present moment and to the physical reality we all share. They prefer new. They want to keep things open. They want to explore new ways of doing things. They don't stack (like those boring Introverts thank you very much), they pile. Whatever they happen to deal in - be it reasons (Te), values (Fe) - Extraverted Deciders (De), data (Se) or patterns (Ne) - Extraverted Observers (Oe) - they gather all onto an ever growing, refreshing pile of assorted information and experiences.
Let's indulge in a quick birds eye view of the Extraverted Deciders before locking down on our Te-target here...
De
De is Tribe above Self.
If it takes 10 people to pry an idea from a Lead-Di, a Lead-De gets the opinions of 10 people before making up their mind.
De is Tribe perspective. It's breadth. It's about compromising and being open to the external spectrum of ideas or values, and to the new perspectives and experiences of the Tribe and the external world. It's about getting stuff done to the objective standards of physical reality.
It's putting everyone else's oxygen-masks on before your own (don't try this at home... or in an airplane for that matter).
Right...
Te! 💪
Te
Extraverted Thinking (aka "Effectiveness") focuses on the objective reasons of the Tribe, on the external spectrum of ideas that can actually be shown to work in reality.
And... when faced with a problem, we're probably best off taking a good look at the external spectrum of ideas before attaching ourselves too much to our own. Not least in the realm of business. Whatever you're trying to achieve, chances are it's been done before and if you want your ideas translated into products that work for everyone and make lots of money there really is no way around it.
But what if your idea actually is special and the world just doesn't know or understand the need? What if what the world actually needs isn't for you to align with the Tribe, but to stick to your guns? Einstein probably wasn't paying much attention to the Tribe when working on his theory of general relativity. Spending years and years of your life working on an idea that's so complicated you need help proving it mathematically is quite a bold move. What if it turned out to be wrong? This is not the Te way. But this time - as we all know - Ti (and Ne, and a very high Intelligence Quotient) turned out to be the tool for the job.
So... in summation... when making a decision, Extraverted Thinking will consult the Tribe first and consider personal reasons second. Te is asking the question "does this make sense to everyone?"
"Will this work for everyone?"
Ok, we've studied the most ambitious itinerary there is, but we know we won't be making that trip. We won't go all the way from Thinking to Feeling, because we started somewhere in between. And since we know we won't go as far as the end destination of pure ("1st function") Feeling anyway, we will have to look at all the stops linking the most "Thinky"- to the most "Feely" INTJ.
Alright... so... what stops are those exactly? What exactly is it that decides how much more we're going to use Introverted Feeling and how much less we're going to use Extraverted Thinking?
That would be the Animals. Because all INTJ Jumpers are Sleep first and all INTJ Standards are Blast first. That's the connection between the Animals and Jumping. And that affects the rest of the Animal-stack. But we're getting ahead of ourselves. Read on.
The Animals
In order for the upcoming discussion to make sense we have to be familiar with the Objective Personality concept of Animals: "Sleep", "Play", "Blast" and "Consume".
An Animal is a combination of two cognitive functions that together create a behavior.
From Extraverted to Introverted the OPS Animals arrange as such:
Play
(Extraverted Decider + Extraverted Observer)
Expending energy, Working, Doing, Showing off
Blast
(Extraverted Decider + Introverted Observer)
Teaching, Controlling, Starting, Bragging
----------
Consume
(Introverted Decider + Extraverted Observer)
Learning, Taking in more, Respecting info, Filling
Sleep
(Introverted Decider + Introverted Observer)
Preserving energy, Processing, Introspecting
The "flavors" of the Animals are stipulated by the Cognitive Functions inherent to each type and the flavors specific to the INTJ (to the all of the xNTJs and xSFPs actually) are as follows:
ST Play – Se + Te
Exploring the concrete data/facts in terms of Tribe reasons
NT Blast – Ni + Te
Communicating organized, abstract patterns in terms of Tribe reasons
----------
SF Consume – Se + Fi
Gathering concrete data/facts of Self value resonance
NF Sleep – Ni + Fi
Organizing abstract patterns in terms of Self value resonance
Not unlike the four Cognitive Functions, the four Animals create a stack, the order of which dictates our behavioral preferences and our position on the Introversion/Extraversion-spectrum:
* Keep in mind that the re-arrangement of size and position in the illustration above is just for the sake of illustrating the concept of Animals. It doesn't mean that the functions actually change order.
So, now we can see, that what's commonly known as one type (the Myers-Briggs INTJ) and what we now know as two types (the INTJ Standard and the INTJ Jumper) can effectively be divided into eight distinct subtypes, each with their own unique behavioral profile. Quite the range to something most know as only one type! Quite the difference between the most Extraverted of the INTJ Standard-subtypes and the most Introverted of the INTJ Jumper-subtypes!
So... in order for us to determine which of these four INTJ Jumper subtypes is our "stop" on the INTJ Jumper-journey, we need to figure out the order of our Animal stack. In what order are we expressing the behaviors of Play, Blast, Consume and Sleep? Are we the more balanced, less Introverted SB/P(C) - having a readier access to our Blast and Play Animals, making interaction with the Tribe somewhat smoother? Or are we perhaps on the other extreme - are we one of the "Double Introverts", the INTJ Jumpers having two Introverted Savior Animals (Sleep and Consume): the SC/B(P) or the SC/P(B)?
Or perhaps the SB/C(P) in between?
The order of the Animals dictate the activation (extent of use - and with time, hopefully strength/skill) of our cognitive functions. For the Double Introverted SC/B(P), for example, Sleep (Ni + Fi), Consume (Fi + Se) and Blast (Ni + Te) together activate Ni and Fi twice, making these functions "Double Activated" (resulting in more exercised and most probably stronger "muscles" here).
A Sample
Since the descriptions of each and every one of these subtypes must be a result of a comparison to another one of the subtypes we're not going to be able to describe them all. Too many permutations. So we will have to make due with a sample....
We'll take a look at the extremes again. Probably the most rewarding approach given the circumstances...
SC/B(P) vs. BP/C(S)
Ok, here we go! In one corner we have the most Introverted of the INTJ Jumpers, the self-absorbed and self-aware arch-mumbler of Subjective-town: SC/B(P)! In the other, the most Extraverted of the INTJ Standards, the still-won't-go-to-bed-after-four-heart-attacks work-machine of Helpless-inner-child-ville: BP/C(S)!
DING!!
Err... ok, so... what's changed? Obviously, we've gone from Savior Te to Savior Fi, but that's true for all INTJ Jumper vs. INTJ Standard comparisons. In all of them we're going to see an increase in individualistic behavior, prioritizing Self (Fi) above Tribe (Te). We're going to see more decisions based on the emotion-/value dataset, the INTJ Jumper will, to a greater extent, do what they want to do, rather than what the Tribe needs them to do in order for things to work.
But let's take a look at the Animals here. Individual functions are quite hard to spot in the wild anyways. All INTJ Jumpers lead with "Sleep" (Preserving energy, Processing, Introspecting). INTJ Sleep is NF-Sleep. It is made up of Introverted Intuition (Ni) and Introverted Feeling (Fi). This means that the behavior we will spot first and/or most frequently from the INTJ Jumper is organizing abstract patterns in terms of Self value resonance.
Compare this to the lead NT-Blast (Ni + Te) of the INTJ Standard: communicating organized, abstract patterns in terms of Tribe reasons. The state of choice for the INTJ Jumper is introvertedly processing valuable, known abstract patterns, while the equivalent for the INTJ Standard would be to extravertedly mediate abstract patterns that would help get things working for the Tribe.
But we want to get into the specifics of these particular subtypes here. The Sleep/Blast-ratio is the same across all INTJ Jumper/Standard comparisons. The differences lie with the last three Animals. The second Animal of our INTJ Jumper is SF-Consume (Se + Fi): gathering concrete data/facts of Self value resonance. This means that whenever this Jumper is done processing he/she is going to start taking in concrete information relating to whatever he/she finds valuable. So, if he/she likes cheese, perhaps he/she would watch a documentary on cheese? It's a thought...
Compare this to the second Animal of this particular INTJ Standard, ST-Play (Se + Te): exploring the concrete data/facts in terms of Tribe reasons. So, when the INTJ Standard is done lecturing his family on the concepts of dairy farming, instead of laying about on the sofa watching Wallace and Gromit, he/she would probably make an excursion to the cheese factory for some good old "learning by doing".
So... what time is it by now? Most of the day spent I would say. This is where these two types would probably meet at the front door, the Jumper on his/her way out to Blast the insights from the documentary to his/her friends, the Standard on his/her way in to watch the documentary.
And that's probably how their days end, because the Jumper probably wouldn't make it past the lecture to an actual back-and-forth (past monologue to dialogue) with the Tribe (Play). And the INTJ Standard probably wouldn't make bedtime. There'd be precious little processing (Sleep) between documentary watching and falling asleep in front of the television.
Ok, so we have the details, we know that the reason for that big Fi-bubble on the SC/B(P) is double activated Fi (Sleep (Ni + Fi) + Consume (Se + Fi)) and for that big Te-bubble on the BP/C(S) is double activated Te (Blast (Ni + Te) + Play (Se + Te)). Looking at the other 6 types there aren't really any comparison we could make that would mean a greater leap when it comes to Thinking/Feeling use.
The only thing that could add to the T/F-gap between these two subtypes at this point would be the coin of masculine vs. feminine. But that doesn't really have anything to do with Jumping.
Ok. Long post. Let's round off with something stupid.
SC/B(P) FF
Wakes up at noon. Ponders grand plan of world domination in bed. Reads up on doomsday-devices. Ponders some more. Has breakfast and com-links headquarters to advice minions. Goes over plan again. Does 200 push-ups because leotards are cool. Tweaks plan until perfect down to the last detail and sets it in motion. Trips over a minion and sets off alarm.
I'm not yet Supreme Ruler of the Universe and they know it!
(Perception of self and perception of others' perception of self align well with reality).
SC/P(B) FF
Wakes up at noon. Ponders grand plan of world domination in bed. Reads up on doomsday-devices. Ponders some more. Goes to headquarters through secret passageway to have a chat with the minions. Answers "improvise" when asked for orders. Goes over plan again. Does 200 push-ups because leotards are cool. Tweaks plan until perfect down to the last detail. Sets it in motion, but forgets to brief the minions and ends up trying to rob a bank disguised as a seemingly paraplegic horse.
I'm not yet Supreme Ruler of the Universe and they know it!
(Perception of self and perception of others' perception of self align well with reality).
SB/C(P) FF
Sleeps in. Ponders grand plan of world domination in bed. Com-links headquarters to advice minions before breakfast. Sets plan in motion, but trips over a minion and sets off alarm. Reads two paragraphs on mind-controlled lasers behind bars. Ponders some more. Does 100 push-ups because leotards are cool.
I'm not yet Supreme Ruler of the Universe, but they don't know that, do they?
(Perception of self align pretty well with reality. Perception of others' perception of self - not so much.)
SB/P(C) FF
Sleeps in. Ponders grand plan of world domination in bed. Com-links headquarters to advice minions before breakfast. Goes to headquarters through secret passageway to have a chat with the minions. Successfully robs a Pizza Hut. Does 100 push-ups because leotards are cool. Places the "Doomsday-Devices Weekly" on top of the untouched pile of intelligence reports in hope of someday reading.
I'm not yet Supreme Ruler of the Universe, but I am to them!
(Perception of self align pretty well with reality. Perception of others' perception of self - not at all.)
BS/C(P) MM
Wakes up at sunrise. Suits up and com-links headquarters to brief minions before breakfast. Ponders grand plan of world domination. Sets plan in motion, but trips over a minion while distracted by an open book on mind-controlled lasers. Aborts mission, but calls up the minions to give them a lecture on proper minion conduct. Does 50 push-ups because leotards are cool.
I guess I'm not the Supreme Ruler of the Universe yet, but they don't know that, do they?
(Perception of self somewhat aligned with reality. Perception of others' perception of self - not so much.)
BS/P(C) MM
Wakes up at sunrise. Suits up and com-links headquarters to brief minions before breakfast. Ponders grand plan of world domination. Goes to headquarters through secret passageway to have a chat with the minions. Gives them a lecture on proper minion conduct. Successfully robs a Pizza Hut. Does 50 push-ups because leotards are cool. Places the "Doomsday-Devices Weekly" on top of the untouched pile of intelligence reports in hope of someday reading.
I guess I'm not the Supreme Ruler of the Universe yet, but I am to them!
(Perception of self somewhat aligned with reality. Perception of others' perception of self - not at all.)
BP/S(C) MM
Hardly slept at all. Suits up, goes to headquarters through secret passageway to brief minions before breakfast. Pulls Barry up on stage and asks him about his weekend. Annexes Crimea. Ponders grand plan of world domination. Does no push-ups because leotards have no pockets and why should I do the push-ups anyway, I've got minions for that. Places the "Doomsday-Devices Weekly" on top of the untouched pile of intelligence reports in hope of someday reading.
Sure looks like I'm the Supreme Ruler of the Universe and they all know it!
(Perception of self loosely tied to reality. Perception of others' perception of self not at all.)
BP/C(S) MM
Didn't go to sleep. Suits up, goes to headquarters through secret passageway to brief minions before breakfast. Pulls Barry up on stage and asks him about his weekend. Annexes Crimea. And Russia. And China. And Africa. Why stop now? Why do anything? Who am I? Does no push-ups because leotards have no pockets and why should I do the push-ups anyway, I've got minions for that. Reads two paragraphs on mind-controlled lasers. Falls asleep on magazine.
I'm the Supreme Ruler of the Universe! And they all know it! ...Right?
(Perception of others' perception of self loosely tied to reality. Perception of self not at all.)
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