The 16 personality types and their four letters
“I’m an INFJ.” Those four letters come from a way of sorting personality into sixteen types. It grew out of Carl Jung’s theory of psychological types, and combines four pairs of preferences into sixteen types.
The four letters
| Dimension | The two sides | What it asks |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | E Extraverted / I Introverted | Do people recharge you, or does time alone? |
| Information | S Sensing / N Intuitive | Do you trust concrete facts, or patterns and possibilities? |
| Decisions | T Thinking / F Feeling | Do you lead with logic, or with people and values? |
| Lifestyle | J Judging / P Perceiving | Do you like plans settled, or options open? |
Each pair is a preference, not a switch, and many people sit near the middle on one of them. Introverts have days they want to go out too.
The -A and -T
The free 16Personalities test adds -A or -T to your type: A (Assertive) is more self-assured and even-tempered; T (Turbulent) cares more about results and is driven to improve. riffos accepts your type with or without it.
Four families of types
- NT (INTJ, INTP, ENTJ, ENTP): logic, systems and long-range strategy.
- NF (INFJ, INFP, ENFJ, ENFP): values, meaning and people.
- SJ (ISTJ, ISFJ, ESTJ, ESFJ): duty, order and reliability.
- SP (ISTP, ISFP, ESTP, ESFP): the present moment, action and experience.
Don’t know your type?
Take the free 16Personalities test first; it takes about ten minutes. When you fill in your details on riffos you can go and take it, then come back and pick your result; what you have entered is kept.
Reading type alongside your chart
Your personality type describes your preferences and habits now; BaZi and astrology describe what you were born with. They look from different angles, and where they agree is worth noticing. A 丙 fire day master with the sun in Leo who tests as ENFJ, for example, is pointed towards warmth and openness by all three. The riffos report sets these side by side.
Personality types are for understanding yourself. They are not for hiring, screening or judging other people.