The Short Version
The third letter of a Myers-Briggs type, T or F, describes how you prefer to make decisions once you’ve taken in information.
- Thinking (T) types tend to decide by stepping back and analysing: what’s logical, consistent and true, regardless of who is involved.
- Feeling (F) types tend to decide by stepping in and weighing values: what matters, and how the outcome will affect the people concerned.
Both are rational ways of reaching a judgment. The letter shows which one you trust first, not which one you’re capable of.
What Thinking (T) Means
People with a Thinking preference look for the objective logic of a situation. They often:
- Analyse pros and cons and look for cause and effect
- Apply the same principles or rules to everyone
- Value fairness in the sense of consistency and impartiality
- Give direct, task-focused feedback
- Want a decision to be correct even if it’s unpopular
A Thinking type’s natural question is: “What makes sense here?”
What Feeling (F) Means
People with a Feeling preference look for the human and value side of a situation. They often:
- Consider how a decision will land with each person involved
- Weigh individual circumstances and exceptions
- Value fairness in the sense of compassion and treating people as individuals
- Pay attention to tone and keeping relationships intact
- Want a decision to be right in terms of what they and others care about
A Feeling type’s natural question is: “What matters most here, and to whom?”
Thinking vs Feeling at a Glance
| Thinking (T) | Feeling (F) | |
|---|---|---|
| Decides mainly by | Logic, criteria, consistency | Values, impact on people, harmony |
| Idea of fairness | Same standard for everyone | Account for the person and situation |
| Persuaded by | Evidence and sound reasoning | What’s important and who it affects |
| Feedback style | Direct, focused on the problem | Tactful, mindful of the relationship |
| Possible blind spot | Overlooking how a decision feels to others | Avoiding necessary but unpopular calls |
What T and F Don’t Mean
The labels are easy to misread, so it’s worth being explicit:
- Feeling doesn’t mean emotional. In Jung’s original sense, feeling is a way of evaluating, of judging something’s worth. A Feeling type can be calm and composed. A Thinking type can be very emotional. The letter is about the basis for decisions, not how much emotion you experience or show. See Carl Jung’s psychological types for the original idea.
- Thinking doesn’t mean more intelligent. Feeling types reason carefully too. They just give values and people more weight in the reasoning.
- Thinkers aren’t uncaring. Many show care through solving problems, being honest, or treating people consistently.
- Feelers aren’t pushovers. When a core value is at stake, a Feeling type can be extremely firm.
Which Types Are Thinking and Which Are Feeling?
| Thinking types | Feeling types |
|---|---|
| ISTJ, ESTJ, ISTP, ESTP | ISFJ, ESFJ, ISFP, ESFP |
| INTJ, ENTJ, INTP, ENTP | INFJ, ENFJ, INFP, ENFP |
In the MBTI Manual’s US data, more women than men report a Feeling preference, and more men than women report Thinking. That’s a pattern in group averages. It tells you nothing about any one person, and plenty of people go against it.
Try It: How Would You Decide?
Think about what your first instinct would be in each case:
- A team member’s work is late and below standard, and you know they’ve had a hard month. Is your first thought “the work needs to meet the standard; let’s set a clear plan,” or “let’s find out what’s going on with them before anything else”?
- Choosing between two job offers. Do you start with a spreadsheet of salary, prospects and commute, or with which place feels right and fits what you care about?
- A rule would produce an unfair result for one person. Do you lean toward keeping the rule consistent for everyone, or making an exception for the individual?
- A friend shows you their creative project and asks for your opinion. Do you first point out what could be improved, or first respond to what they were trying to do and what’s good about it?
Most people will answer some each way. Look at which instinct comes faster and feels more comfortable, not which answer you think is “better.”
Two Kinds of Thinking, Two Kinds of Feeling
The cognitive function model splits each preference into two forms:
- Extraverted Thinking (Te): organises the outside world for results, through goals, plans and measurable outcomes. Lead function for ESTJ and ENTJ
- Introverted Thinking (Ti): builds an internally consistent understanding of how things work. Lead function for ISTP and INTP
- Extraverted Feeling (Fe): tunes in to shared values and the emotional atmosphere of a group. Lead function for ESFJ and ENFJ
- Introverted Feeling (Fi): judges by a private set of personal values and a sense of authenticity. Lead function for ISFP and INFP
This is why an INTP and an ESTJ can both be Thinking types yet reason in quite different ways.
When Thinkers and Feelers Work Together
T–F differences are a common source of friction at work and at home, mostly because each side can read the other’s style as a character flaw. A few habits help:
- Thinkers: acknowledge the human side briefly before going into the problem. “I can see this has been stressful” costs nothing and changes how the rest is heard.
- Feelers: say plainly what you value and why it matters, rather than expecting it to be obvious. Logic-minded colleagues often respond well to a stated principle.
- Both: remember that the other person is usually aiming at the same goal, a good decision, by a different route.
T/F is one of four pairs that make up a type. To see how it combines with the others, read Myers-Briggs personality types explained. For the decision letter’s neighbour, see Judging vs Perceiving.