4 Types That Mistype as the INTP

The INTP is a highly regarded and desirable personality type, making people prone to mistype as one. As many personality enthusiasts are aware, the typology community often falls prey to bias. Intuition and introversion specifically tend to get preference, and even thinking to some degree. As a result, personality tests are often over-eager to divvy out INXX type results, and people are often overeager to latch onto that label.

INTPs specifically are often described as philosophical, innovative, analytical, unconventional, logical, independent, intellectual, and even brilliant. It’s no wonder that the INTP type is often coveted among personality enthusiasts.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with mistyping. After all, personality theory is often a means for self-exploration. It’s extremely common for people to realize they’ve been typing incorrectly, and shift to a new personality type, as their self-awareness and knowledge of personality theory grows. My aim for this article to provide some direction as to what type to look into next, if you’re feeling uncertain about being an INTP.

Below, I’m going to list off the most common personalities that mistype as an INTP, give a brief overview as to why, and provide links under each section to further elaborate on the mistype. I’ll make sure to include each personality type’s cognitive function stack in each section so that you can easily reference and compare it to the INTP’s stack, in order to understand the differences that I’ll be explaining.

The 4 INTP (Ti-Ne-Si-Fe) Mistypes

ISTP (Ti-Se-Ni-Fe)

I suspect that ISTPs are the most common type to mistake themselves for INTPs. After all, they both share the same dominant function, Introverted Thinking (Ti). Many personality descriptions lean heavily into Extraverted Sensing (Se) stereotypes when describing the ISTP. They often make ISTPs out to be the equivalent of a slightly more introverted ESTP, rather than the Ti dominants that they are.

ISTPs often feel abstract, due to Ti-Ni, and view themselves as calculated, rather than impulsive. Sure, they may be prone to figuring things out on the go, but it’s rarely to an extreme degree. Bear in mind, not all Se users are athletic or into extreme sports. Not all ISTPs are mechanics. Unfortunately, these common stereotypes often confuse ISTPs, who often lean into more Ti oriented hobbies. Some may go a more concrete route, like crafting or mechanics, while others may be more interested in coding, developing, or even psychology. The latter will often mistype as an INTP.

To explore this mistype further: INTP vs ISTP: Am I auxiliary Se or Ne? and What Extraverted Sensing (Se) Isn’t

INFP (Fi-Ne-Si-Te)

People heavily associate intelligence with thinker types, especially the INTP. This is unfair to the rest of the personality types, since intelligence is separate from type. You can be any type and be intelligent. In contrast, INFPs are often described as overly emotional, weepy, and sensitive. So,
the intelligent and analytical INFP may read both descriptions, and find themselves relating far better to the INTP. This will especially be the case for the INFP, that is extremely private with their emotions and leaning into their inferior Te. After all, many INFPs, with their dominant Fi, can come off cold around others, rather than possessing the characteristic warmth that people expect from a feeler. The key to distinguishing these two types often lies in determining their perspective on identity and their connection to their emotions.

To explore this mistype further: INXP/ISXP: Am I a Ti or Fi dominant? and Do Ti Users Lack Identity?

ENTP (Ne-Ti-Fe-Si)

ENTPs often mistype as INTPs, which is completely understandable. An ENTP has the exact same cognitive functions as the INTP, only in slightly different orders. They both even have the same overall preferences (Ne > Si and Ti >Fe), which can make the two types seem similar. As a result, the ENTP that is socially introverted will often mistype as an INTP.

People often make the mistake of assuming that extraverts in typology (or cognitive extraverts) will also be social extraverts. That is not the case. Extraversion simply orients one to the external world, people or no people. It’s actually really easy to outlet Extraverted Intuition (Ne) in classically introverted ways, such as the internet. After all, Ne likes exploring possibilities and ideas, which is easy to do without involving people.

To explore this mistype further: ENTP vs INTP: The Differences and Extraversion in Typology.

EXTJ (Te-X-X-Fi)

I can’t really narrow this one down further to a specific personality type, whether ESTJ or ENTJ. All I know is that I’ve been seeing a trend lately where Extraverted Thinking (Te) dominants mistype as Ti dominants. This probably seems hard to imagine, but it has a lot to do with misconceptions surrounding Te. EXTJs, due to dominant Te, are often described as ambitious, decisive, goal-oriented, orderly, cold-hearted, etc. Naturally, EXTJs can be all these things, but not all are. If I’m not careful, I could write an entire article in this section, so I’m just going to share a few brief points, and then give you links to further resources if you’re interested.

• EXTJs do desire structure; that is true. However, some are not extremely proactive in establishing that structure themselves. They will often feel lost without a goal, but can still struggle to form one.
• Some EXTJs are more harmony-oriented or socially anxious, rather than bold and abrasive.
• Many EXTJs view themselves as social introverts, finding people to be frustrating and unreliable.
• Many EXTJs have a decently developed extraverted perceiving function (Ne or Se), and see themselves as more impulsive and adaptable. It’s actually quite common for extraverted types to be generally more adaptable than introverted types, even when the extraverted type is a judger and the introverted type is a perceiver. Remember, extraverts focus on the external, while introverts detach into their minds.
• Many EXTJs relate to the general traits that both IXTPs and EXTJs share as dominant thinkers.
• Some EXTJs will fixate on their lack of Fi, not realizing that this fixation actually suggests that they have inferior Fi. (People often fixate on their inferior function, due to insecurity.)

To explore this mistype further: 5 Similarities Between the EXTJs and IXTPs, 11 Differences Between Te and Ti Users, Downside of Introverted Thinking (Ti): An Example, 5 Differences Between Te and Ti Logic, Objectivity vs. Subjectivity, and 5 Relationships With The Inferior Function