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This article is about the Myers-Briggs personality type. For the Socionics ENFj, see Ethical Intuitive Extrovert.


From Jung's work, others developed psychological typologies. Jungian personality assessments include the MBTI assessment, developed by Isabel Briggs Myers and Katharine Cook Briggs, and the Keirsey Temperament Sorter, developed by David Keirsey. Keirsey referred to ENFJs as Teachers, one of the four types belonging to the temperament he called the Idealists.[2] ENFJs account for about 2–5% of the population.[3][4]

The MBTI instrument[edit]

The MBTI preferences indicate the differences in people based on the following:[5]



Type description[edit]

Extraverted feeling types seek continuity through harmonious relationships and collective values. They excel at picking up on values, simply because shared values are what create harmony. Some will profess the importance of tough-minded logic, justice and scholarly debate because their environments have these shared values. They tend to adopt the collective values of those in their social group.

Correlation with Enneatype[edit]

According to Baron and Wagele, the most common Enneatypes for ENFJs are Helpers (Twos) and Achievers (Threes).[11]

Cognitive functions[edit]




Jung and Myers considered the attitude of the Auxiliary, Tertiary, and Inferior functions to be the opposite of the Dominant. In this interpretation, if the Dominant function is extraverted, then the other three are introverted, and vice versa. However, many modern practitioners hold that the attitude of the Tertiary function is the same as the Dominant.[6] Using the more modern interpretation, the cognitive functions of the ENFJ are as follows:[12]

Dominant: Extraverted feeling (Fe)[edit]

Fe seeks social connections and creates harmonious interactions through considerate, enthusiastic, and charming behavior. Fe responds to the explicit (and implicit) wants of others, and may even create an internal conflict between the subject’s own needs and the desire to meet the needs of others.[13]

Auxiliary: Introverted intuition (Ni)[edit]


Tertiary: Extraverted sensing (Se)[edit]


Inferior: Introverted thinking (Ti)[edit]


Shadow functions[edit]

Later personality researchers (notably Linda V. Berens)[17] added four additional functions to the descending hierarchy, the so-called "shadow" functions to which the individual is not naturally inclined but which can emerge when the person is under stress. For ENFJ these shadow functions are (in order):


  2. ^ Temperament
  3. ^ "Keirsey.com Portrait of the Teacher". Retrieved 10 January 2010. 
  4. ^ "CAPT". Retrieved 2008-10-13. 
  6. ^ a b Myers, Isabel Briggs; Mary H. McCaulley (1985). Manual: A Guide to the Development and Use of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (in English) (2nd edition ed.). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologist Press. p. 52. ISBN 0-89106-027-8. 
  11. ^ * Wagele, Elizabeth; and Renee Baron (1994). The Enneagram Made Easy. HarperOne. ISBN 0-06-251026-6. 
  17. ^ "CognitiveProcesses.com". Retrieved 2008-05-21. 

External links[edit]