Revision: 1.4

Date of Revision: 30 Jun 94

 Extraverted iNtuitive Feeling Perceiving

by Joe Butt (jabutt@sacam.oren.ortn.edu)

ENFPs are friendly folks. Most are really enjoyable people. Some of the most soft-hearted people are ENFPs.

 ENFPs have what some call a 'silly switch.' They can be intellectual, serious, all business for a while, but whenever they get the chance, they flip that switch and become CAPTAIN WILDCHILD, the scourge of the swimming pool, ticklers par excellence. Sometimes they may even appear intoxicated when the 'switch' is flipped.

 One study has shown that ENFPs are significantly over represented in psychodrama. Most have a natural propensity for role-playing and acting.

 ENFPs like to tell funny stories, especially about their friends. This penchant may be why many are attracted to journalism. I kid one of my ENFP friends that if I want the sixth fleet to know something, I'll just tell him.

 ENFPs tend to be global learners. Close enough is satisfactory to the ENFP, which has often driven me to distraction in dealing with my daughter about such things as piano practice ("three quarter notes or four ... what's the difference?" Surprisingly, she's very good at math, but it's been a painful learning process ... sees the patterns but tends to overlook the details.)

 Friends are what life is about to ENFPs, more so even than the other NFs. They hold up their end of the relationship, sometimes being taken advantage of by less caring individuals. Being around people energizes ENFPs and some have real difficulty being alone, especially on a regular basis.

One ENFP colleague, a social worker, had such tremendous interpersonal skills that she put her interviewers at ease during her own job interview. She had the ability to make strangers feel like old friends.

ENFPs sometimes can be blindsided by their secondary Feeling function. Hasty decisions based on deeply felt values may boil over with unpredictable results. More than one ENFP has abruptly quit a job in such a moment.

Extraverted iNtuitive Feeling Perceiving

by Marina Margaret Heiss (mmh0m@poe.acc.virginia.edu)

[The following comes partially from the archetype, but mostly from my own dealings with ENFPs.]

General: ENFPs are both "idea"-people and "people"-people, who see everyone and everything as part of an often bizarre cosmic whole. They want to both help (at least, their *own* definition of "help") and be liked and admired by other people, on both an individual and a humanitarian level. They are interested in new ideas on principle, but ultimately discard most of them for one reason or another.

Social/Personal Relationships: ENFPs have a great deal of zany charm, which can ingratiate them to the more stodgy types in spite of their unconventionality. They are outgoing, fun, and genuinely like people. As SOs/mates they are warm, affectionate (lots of PDA), and disconcertingly spontaneous. However, attention span in relationships can be short; ENFPs are easily intrigued and distracted by new friends and acquaintances, forgetting about the older ones for long stretches at a time. Less mature ENFPs may need to feel they are the center of attention all the time, to reassure them that everyone thinks they're a wonderful and fascinating person.

ENFPs often have strong, if unconventional, convictions on various issues related to their Cosmic View. They usually try to use their social skills and contacts to persuade people gently of the rightness of these views; this sometimes results in their neglecting their nearest and dearest while flitting around trying to save the world.

Work Environment: ENFPs are pleasant, easygoing, and usually fun to work with. They come up with great ideas, and are a major asset in brainstorming sessions. Follow through tends to be a problem, however; they tend to get bored quickly, especially if a newer, more interesting project comes along. They also tend to be procrastinators, both about meeting hard deadlines and about performing any small, uninteresting tasks that they've been assigned. ENFPs are at their most useful when working in a group with a J or two to take up the slack.

ENFPs *hate* bureaucracy, both in principle and in practice; they will always make a point of launching one of their crusades against some aspect of it.

From: M17257@mwvm.mitre.org (Ellie Blackwell)

Subject: ENFP Profile-Kiersey

Date: Tue, 10 Aug 1993 12:24:42 GMT

This is what I received as an analysis of my own type after taking the Kiersey test. After reading the ENTP profile, I still think I stick to this one, but I'm definitely torn between the two.

For ENFPs nothing occurs which does not have some significance, and they have an uncanny sense of the motivations of others. This gives them a talent for seeing life as an exciting drama, pregnant with possibilities for both good and evil.

This type is found only about 5 % of the general population, but they have great influence because of their extraordinary impact on others. ENFPs strive toward the authentic, even when acting spontaneously, and this is usually communicated non-verbally to others who find this characteristic attractive. ENFPs, however, find their own efforts of authenticity and spontaneity always lacking, and berate themselves for being so conscious of self.

ENFPs consider intense emotional experiences vital; when they have these, however, they are made uneasy by a sense of being there but with a part of themselves split off. They strive for congruency, but always see themselves in some danger of losing touch with their real feelings, which ENFPs possess in a wide range and variety.

ENFPs exercise a continuous scanning of the environment, and nothing out of the ordinary is likely to escape their attention. They are keen and penetrating observers and are capable of intense concentration on another individual while aware of what is going on about them. Their attention is never passive or casual, never wandering, but always directed. At times ENFPs find themselves interpreting events in terms of another's "hidden motive", giving special meaning to words or actions. While ENFPs are brilliantly perceptive, they can make serious mistakes in judgment, which works to their discomfort. These mistakes derive from their tendency to focus on data that confirm their own biases. They may be absolutely correct in their perceptions but wrong in their conclusions.

Because they tend to be hypersensitive and hyperalert, they may suffer from muscle tension. They live in readiness for emergencies; because they have this facility, they assume this is true for others. They can become bored rather quickly with both situations and people, and resist repeating experiences. they enjoy the process of creating something--an idea or a project--but are not as interested in the follow-through. People get caught up and entranced by an ENFP. Yet this type is marked with a fierce independence, repudiating any kind of subordination, either in themselves or in others in relation to them. They do tend to attribute more power to authority figures than is there and give over to these figures an ability to "see through them".

While ENFPs resist the notion of others becoming dependent or having power over them, their charisma draws followers who wish to be shown the way. ENFPs constantly find themselves surrounded by others who look toward the ENFP for wisdom, inspiration, courage, leadership, and so on.

ENFPs are optimistic and are surprised when people or events do not turn out as anticipated. Often their confidence in the innate goodness of fate and human nature is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

ENFPs have remarkable latitude in career choices and succeed in many fields. As workers, they are warmly enthusiastic, high-spirited, ingenious, imaginative and can do almost anything that interests them. They can solve most problems, particularly those dealing with people. They are charming and at ease with colleagues; others enjoy their presence.

ENFPs are outstanding in getting people together, and are good at initiating meetings and conferences, although not as talented at providing for the operational details of these events. They enjoy inventing new ways of doing things, and their projects tend to become a cause, quickly becoming personalized. They are imaginative themselves, but can difficulty picking up on ideas and projects initiated by others. Once people and projects have become routine, ENFPs are likely to lose interest; what MIGHT be is always more fascinating that what IS. They usually have a wide range of personal and telephone contacts, expending energy in maintaining both career and personal relationships.

ENFPs make excellent salespeople, advertising people, politicians, screen or play writers, and in general are attracted to the interpretive arts, particularly character acting. People-to-people work is essential for ENFPs, who need the feedback of interaction with others. ENFPs may find it difficult to work within the constraints of an institution, especially in following rules, regulations, and standard operating procedures. More frequently, institution policies and procedures are targets to be challenged and bent by the will of an ENFP. In occupational choice, ENFPs quickly become restless if the choice involves painstaking detail and follow-through over a period of time. Variety in day-to-day operations and interactions best suits the talents of ENFPs, who need quite a bit of latitude in which to exercise their adaptive ingenuity.

As mates, ENFPs tend to be charming, gentle, sympathetic, and nonconformist. They are not likely to be interested in the less-inspired routine of daily maintenance and ever will be seeking new outlets for their inspirations. As parents, ENFPs are devoted although somewhat unpredictable in handling their children, shifting from a role of friend-in-need-rescuer to stern authority figure. They may not always be willing to enforce their impulsive pronouncements, but leave it to their mates to follow through. A mate of an ENFP can expect charming surprises: extravagant generosity punctuated by periods of frugality. Independent actions regarding money on the part of an ENFPs mate are not ordinarily welcomed. ENFPs generally are the ones in charge of the home, and a conflict-free home is desired, almost demanded. The ENFPs home may contain extravagant luxuries, while necessities may be missing. They are not always interested in saving for the future.

ENFPs are characteristic in their pursuit of the novel, their strong sense of the possible, and outstanding intuitive powers. At the same time, they have warmth and fun with people and generally are unusually skilled in handling people. Their extraverted role tends to be well developed, as is their capacity for the novel and dramatic.

At midlife ENFPs may need to give particular attention to their physical health Work with various media may be pleasurable. They also need to discipline themselves against beginning too many projects and making commitment to too many people. ENFPs certainly need to relax, to decrease the number of hours invested in work, and turn to recreational activities.