INFP vs INTP | How Should I Answer Personality Test Questions?

Listen To The "10 Minute Type Advice" Episode: INFP vs INTP | How Should I Answer Personality Test Questions?

“When I take a personality test, do I answer based on how I act at work—or at home?”

If you've ever wrestled with this question, you're not alone. It’s one of the most common dilemmas for people trying to build self awareness and find their best-fit personality type—especially when you test right on the borderline, like scoring 49% Thinker and 51% Feeler.

This struggle is particularly common for INFPs and INTPs, where that third letter determines more than just a preference—it reveals the foundation of your cognitive wiring and your path to greater self awareness.

Let’s explore this topic through insights from a recent episode of 10-Minute Type Advice by Personality Hacker, where a caller named Carly questioned whether her work behavior was skewing her self-perception and holding her back from deeper self awareness.

The Heart of the Question: What’s “You” vs. What’s Learned?

The journey to self awareness begins with this critical understanding: your behavior isn’t the same as your type. You might be more assertive in personal spaces and reserved in professional ones—but which is closer to your natural self?

As Joel Mark Witt puts it:

“When I’m trying to understand my personality, I’m being asked about myself—not just my contextual behavior.”

This distinction is key for deepening self awareness. Your innate cognitive preferences—not learned behaviors—should guide how you answer test questions and unlock authentic self awareness in your personal growth journey.

A Crucial Fork in the Road: INFP vs INTP

This isn’t about checking a box for Thinking or Feeling. For INFPs and INTPs, that third letter identifies your Driver—your dominant cognitive function in the Car Model, which significantly influences how you gain self awareness and grow.

• INFPs lead with Authenticity (Introverted Feeling)—an inward focus on personal values and emotional alignment.
  

• INTPs lead with Accuracy (Introverted Thinking)—an internal framework driven by logic, truth, and precision.
  

As Antonia Dodge says:

“For an INP type, whether you’re a Feeler or a Thinker is critical—it’s the foundation of your type.”

Understanding this distinction empowers your self awareness by clarifying the lens through which you interpret life and understand your decision-making patterns.

Why Work Might Be Tricking You

Carly’s experience highlights a trap many INPs fall into: mistaking adaptive workplace behavior for personality type. INFPs and INTPs both share Exploration (Extraverted Intuition) as their Copilot, making them naturally curious and adaptive. However, professional settings often push them toward their 3-Year-Old (Inferior) functions—Effectiveness (Extraverted Thinking) for INFPs and Harmony (Extraverted Feeling) for INTPs.

“Most work environments reward Effectiveness or Harmony,” Joel notes. “That doesn’t mean those are your natural strengths.”

When self awareness is filtered through professional expectations, it becomes distorted. Identifying what’s learned vs. what’s natural is crucial to increasing your personal clarity and emotional self awareness.

A Note on Assertiveness: Who Really Speaks Up?

Carly wondered if her tendency to stay quiet at work but speak boldly at home meant she was an INTP. But self awareness isn’t always about how loud or soft you are in different spaces.

“All IP types—INFPs and INTPs—tend to push back when something doesn’t feel right,” Antonia explains. “They just do it differently.”

Where INTPs might hesitate due to fear of conflict, INFPs may stand firm when their values are challenged. Your patterns of conviction—not your volume—reveal the nature of your inner world and shape your journey toward self awareness.

So... How Should You Answer Test Questions?

TL;DR:

Always answer based on your personal life, not your professional persona. That’s the path to true self awareness.

Personality tests aren’t measuring how competent you are at your job—they’re looking for your default wiring. Your honest, instinctual responses—not your workplace adaptations—offer the clearest view of your mind.

Don’t stress about those 49/51 results. Instead, dig deeper into what your cognitive functions say about you and how you can use that knowledge to sharpen your self awareness and empower deeper transformation.

What to Do If You’re Still Torn

Here’s how to build real self awareness if you're stuck between INFP and INTP:

• Study the functions: Go beyond descriptions—understand Authenticity (Introverted Feeling) and Accuracy (Introverted Thinking) in action.
  

• Talk to a profiler: A trained expert can use subtle cues to uncover your type beneath behavioral habits.
  

• Reflect on your “shrug truths”: What seems obvious to you but surprises others? That often points to your dominant function and builds your intuitive self awareness.
  

And don’t underestimate the power of feedback. Sometimes, deepening self awareness means hearing how others experience your energy, patterns, and motivations.

Final Thought

If you’re an INFP or INTP wondering how to answer test questions, know this: you’re not alone. Many introspective, growth-oriented individuals find themselves navigating environments that challenge their natural tendencies. The key to clarity is self awareness—knowing who you are beneath the roles you play.

If you’re ready to take the next step in understanding your type on a deeper level, grab your INFP or INTP Owners Manual today. These in-depth guides are designed to help you not only confirm your best-fit type but also create a clear, actionable personal growth path tailored to your mind’s unique wiring.

👉 Act now—don’t just take the test, master your type. Build the self awareness that transforms your life. Get your Owners Manual here.