How to Tell a Mediator (INFP) and an Adventurer (ISFP) Apart

Why INFPs and ISFPs Get Mixed Up

Sometimes two personality types can appear alike on paper, and if the light shines on the description exactly right, the nuances can become blurred. For example, it can seem like people with the INFP personality type (Mediators) – who are Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, and Prospecting personalities – are just more contemplative versions of the ISFP personality type (Adventurers) – who are Introverted, Observant, Feeling, and Prospecting personalities – and ISFPs merely more practical INFPs. In a way, that’s the difference between the two in a nutshell. But each personality type is decidedly distinct from all the others, including the two we’re discussing here.

To make the differences more apparent, we dug up examples from our various polls to illustrate where these personality types vary. Of course, citing one piece of research doesn’t mean that we only used a singular poll to set the types apart, but because of space, we chose just a few survey items to illustrate the differences here. So the charts below should be viewed as examples that represent other, similar poll results. Let’s start with how the two personality types are alike.

How INFPs and ISFPs Are Alike

The pivotal characteristic that makes INFPs and ISFPs so much alike seems to be their shared sensitivity.

• INFPs and ISFPs are perhaps two of the most sensitive of the 16 personality types. If either of the two happens to be Turbulent, this sensitivity becomes intensified. The upside of this sensitivity is that they usually care about other people a lot. The downside is that they may suffer from hurt feelings more often than others or hesitate to act to avoid rejection.
• These two personality types tend to form friendships that are close but not necessarily extensive in number. Both INFPs and ISFPs tend to be good friends to the handful of people they let inside their inner circle.
• ISFPs and INFPs lean toward being creative, and they feed this creativity with their open-mindedness and curiosity.
• Stress can be a problem for both personality types. Due to their sensitivity, they often regard themselves as vulnerable, and feeling exposed can create a sense that many situations in their lives are dangerous, or at least something to worry about.
• Both are prone to people-pleasing. These personality types tend to project their sensitivity onto other people. Their projections can make them excessively careful about anything that they think might hurt someone else, whether the pain that they fear causing is real or only a reflection of the INFP’s or ISFP’s own perceived vulnerabilities. Often, this sensibility goes beyond just making sure that nobody gets hurt to trying excessively to keep others happy.
• Low self-esteem has a higher probability of being an issue with either personality type, regardless of Identity. While, of course, those with the Turbulent Identity will struggle more with self-esteem, almost by definition, Assertive INFPs and ISFPs are likely to struggle more than most other Assertive types due to their increased sensitivity.

How INFPs and ISFPs Are Different

So, we have established that there’s a lot that INFPs and ISFPs share. But let’s look at some of the things that distinguish one from the other.

The core of any differences between INFP and ISFP personality types involves the different ways in which each regards practicality. The Observant trait of ISFPs looks to that which can be effective in concrete terms. On the contrary, INFPs often call into service their more speculative imagination and focus less on the concrete. The following chart is a stark illustration of how these sensibilities play a role in the lives of each.

Let’s look at some of the different approaches to the more practical aspects of life that come into play with these personality types.

What You See Is What You Get vs. Reading Into Things

Occam’s razor is the principle that advises its adherents not to complicate matters more than necessary. Occam suggested looking to the simplest and most obvious explanation for anything until there is a reason to look further.

Between INFPs and ISFPs, ISFPs are the personality type more likely to be followers of Occam. INFPs are more likely to let their imagination populate their thinking with what-ifs and other forms of speculation. They are constantly making connections between what might appear to be disparate things, and they tend to be more abstract.

For example, 51% of INFPs say that other people often describe their method of solving problems as overly complex, compared to 31% of ISFPs. This poll would suggest that ISFPs feel that they have a more minimalist, direct approach to handling problems than INFPs. The following chart shows INFPs’ tendency to read into things in movies and songs, while ISFPs are more content to enjoy things straightforwardly.

To further the case, the chart below suggests that attempting to extrapolate philosophical material from the stuff of life has less appeal for ISFPs than it does for INFPs. ISFP personalities are less likely to dig deeper into the meaning of things, preferring overtly available information.

More Hands-On (ISFPs), Less Hands-On (INFPs)

ISFPs tend to deal with material objects more than INFPs, who are more likely to work with ideas. While not all ISFPs are artistic craftspeople, individuals manipulating material objects into art sometimes serve as the archetype for this personality type.

Metaphorically, imagine INFPs as poets who deal with deep, obscure meanings using symbolic words and verbal images, rather than ISFPs, who might take a brush to canvas to reflect their world in a more photorealistic fashion. Both might create imaginative pieces, but one is prone to using a more tangible medium, and the other finds more abstract ways to express themselves.

ISFP Practical Kindness vs. INFP Idealism

By virtue of their shared Feeling personality trait, both ISFPs and INFPs are likely to be moved by the plight of others. But when it comes to their generosity and caring, ISFPs again show more practicality.

Rather than just giving money that a charity or person might waste, ISFPs are more likely to want guarantees that they are using the contribution effectively and addressing the presented needs. It would be unfair to say that INFPs spend their charity money foolishly, but they’re likely to ask fewer questions and assume more goodwill.

According to our research, INFP personalities are also more likely to admit to being impulsive, which may come into play when faced with a chance to give. As a result, they may take less time to ponder all the ramifications of their contributions.

ISFPs want concrete results and may be warier of intentions until they receive certain assurances. This hard-nosed approach can make ISFP personalities appear less generous, although they may be just as willing to give after receiving assurances. INFPs can put an almost romantic spin on their idealism, making the criteria for their giving less exacting and perhaps giving the appearance of the INFP being more generous.

The chart above loosely suggests that INFPs are more likely to consider themselves freer with their generosity than ISFPs do. However, this may be less about raw generosity than different degrees of practicality and a greater concern for effectiveness: generosity + idealistic imagination versus generosity + prudence.

How INFPs and ISFPs Think About Time

To discuss human temporal awareness and divine eternity, Saint Augustine argued that the future doesn’t exist because it hasn’t happened yet, and the past doesn’t exist because those bygone times have already evaporated. And following this logic, the present is a fleeting thing that doesn’t exist because the present becomes the past the moment it happens.

Augustine hinted at what Einstein would one day say: our subjective concept of time is misleading. The meaning behind the ticking of the clock is all perception and constructs. So much for mindfulness, right?

Observant personality types like ISFPs are more likely to focus on what we call the present. Intuitive types like INFPs are more likely to explore the future and past with the vehicle of their imagination.

In addition, INFPs are more concerned with the future’s potential than ISFPs, who prefer to deal with what’s right in front of them, as shown in the chart below.

ISFPs are more likely to say that they focus on a conversation rather than letting their minds drift away from it. (That said, the majority of both types say that they often allow their minds to wander while talking to someone else.) INFPs are more likely to follow their imagination instead of fully listening, and where does our imagination take us besides the past or the future?

And while a solid majority of both personality types tend to appreciate nostalgia, INFPs are a bit more likely to find that they are sentimental about the past. INFPs likely put a more romantic spin on the past, making it a bit more appealing or dramatic, while ISFPs look back in time through a more realistic lens.

Reticence and Fear in INFPs and ISFPs

While both ISFPs and INFPs tend to be more reticent about many things in life than the average responders to our polls, INFPs report being fearful of things a bit more than ISFPs do and are more likely to admit that they have irrational fears. They tend to anticipate problems more than ISFPs do because their imagination can so easily create them. ISFPs are a little more likely to let their sense of apprehension be guided by the more realistic and benign lessons that experience typically teaches.

This anticipatory fear sometimes makes it difficult for INFPs to try new things. This type of fear can also create more worry for them in ways that affect their lives and keep them from progressing as they might want to.

INFPs and ISFPs: Still More Alike Than Not

While we specialize in categorizing people according to their personality types, we’d probably find that everybody is more alike than not if we were to quantify and compare every aspect of being a person. However, some of us are a bit more alike than others. This alikeness is fairly strong between INFPs and ISFPs. But on closer inspection, their worldviews and styles for approaching life have some pronounced differences.

Similarities produce a sense of connectedness, and wise people see differences as an opportunity to complement their native styles. We all do better when we open our hearts and minds to those who are like us and those who are different from us.

Let us know how this fits with your experiences with ISFPs and INFPs in the comments below.

Further Reading

• 4 Ways Mediators (INFPs) and Adventurers (ISFPs) Make Great Work Buddies – And 1 Way They Might Not
• So You’re Dating a Mediator (INFP)
• The Courageous Adventurer (ISFP)
• Unlikely Leaders: Mediators (INFPs) at the Visionary Helm