While others may be inclined to see the INFJ’s tentativeness as excessive or unnecessary, it makes perfect sense when one considers their innate sensitivity. I’ve talked to many INFJs who were afraid trying new things as children, such as trying unfamiliar foods or going on rollercoasters. As children, INFJs are often more timid and react more strongly (e.g., crying) to stimuli that registers as unproblematic for those of other types. On the one hand, it can cause them to be more easily overwhelmed or overstimulated.

This sensitivity can be a double-edged sword for the INFJ. Their nervous systems are wired to be more sensitive and permeable to all sorts of stimuli-both inner and outer. INFJs also tend to be highly sensitive persons (HSPs). Highly attuned to the attitudes and emotions of others, they develop great confidence in their ability to read people, which one INFJ described as “peering into the soul.” They can readily discern whether an individual is being genuine or phony, authentic or inauthentic. While young INFJs are often academically precocious, some of their greatest strengths-emotional, social, and moral intelligence-are commonly overlooked or underappreciated. INFJs are known for their perspicacity and intuitive insight, adept at seeing through surface appearances in order to grasp deeper psychospiritual realities.

The INFJ personality type is commonly thought to be the rarest of the 16 personality types, constituting little more than 1% of the general population.

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