more questions about my type

[psyche]

I'm still not entirely sure of my type. I'm leaning toward eNFj. But there's still the question of whether I'm E/I or J/P.

The functions continue to baffle me; I have not yet found a clear, concise explanation of how they manifest or how they are determined.

Having said that, I read on another thread a description of Fe (pasted below) and I completely identify with it. Does that give any suggestion of what my four-letter type is and/or what the order of my functions would be? Thanks!

"The process of extraverted Feeling often involves a desire to connect with (or disconnect from) others and is often evidenced by expressions of warmth (or displeasure) and self-disclosure. The �social graces,� such as being polite, being nice, being friendly, being considerate, and being appropriate, often revolve around the process of extraverted Feeling. Keeping in touch, laughing at jokes when others laugh, and trying to get people to act kindly to each other also involve extraverted Feeling. Using this process, we respond according to expressed or even unexpressed wants and needs of others. We may ask people what they want or need or self-disclose to prompt them to talk more about themselves. This often sparks conversation and lets us know more about them so we can better adjust our behavior to them. Often with this process, we feel pulled to be responsible and take care of others� feelings, sometimes to the point of not separating our feelings from theirs. We may recognize and adhere to shared values, feelings, and social norms to get along."

 

[skylights]

hey!

so i personally love the cognitive processes website, in case you haven't visited it before. it gives descriptions of the functions and their roles, as well as diagrams of function use and order for all the types.

my guess would be that you're ENFJ, because they are extraverted Feeling dominant and more of an introverted extravert - not necessarily super extraverted and need a good amount of alone time - so if you're kind of unclear on I/E, that might make sense. the other most significant possibility is that you're an INFJ, who has auxiliary (secondary) extraverted Feeling, and dominant introverted iNtuition. both NFP types have dom or aux introverted Feeling, so if you really associate with extraverted Feeling, you're probably less likely to be one of those. though a lot of times introverted Feeling descriptions are really "value" heavy, which i think can be a little confusing for some ENFPs - for me, introverted Feeling is about being able to "read" people and easily making decisions about what matters to me on an emotional/gut level.

--

And now... an attempt to explain the functions

Basically, the two external letters of an MBTI type - I/E and P/J - describe how we interact with the world, while the two internal letters - S/N and T/F - describe the nature of those interactions. Function theory relies on the idea that there are two main cognitive activities people engage in, which are gathering information (MBTI Perceiving) and determining priority (MBTI Judging), and we do these in both the internal and external spheres. Everyone engages in both, but most people tend to rely on one of these more heavily. Then, to go deeper, there are two main ways in which people can gather information (S/N), and two main ways in which people can prioritize (T/F). Again, most people tend to rely on one or the other more heavily. The directions of Extraversion or Introversion (E/I) applied to the preferences (S/N or T/F) within cognitive activities (P/J) are called functions - like "extraverted Feeling", or Fe, and "introverted Sensing", or Si.

So, going to the letters, P and J indicate a person's preference in terms of focusing primarily on information-gathering (Perceiving), or priority-determining (Judging) in the external world. Sensing and iNtuition are called the Perceiving functions, since they describe the way in which you gather information. For a P type, who does more information gathering in the external world, either S or N will be their extraverted function. On the other hand, Thinking and Feeling are the Judging functions, since they describe how you determine priority. For a J type, who does more determining of priorities in the external world, either T or F will be the extraverted function.

More simply:
if P, S/N is extraverted
if J, T/F is extraverted (good way to remember this - if J, then the extraverted function is "just next to" the letter, lol)

Logically, your overall introvert/extravert orientation indicates whether you rely on your introverted or extraverted function more.

So for an ENFJ:
1. N or F extraverted? ENFJ --> F is extraverted; N is introverted
2. Fe or Ni dominant? ENFJ --> Fe is dominant

For an INFP:
1. N or F extraverted? INFP --> N is extraverted; F is introverted
2. Ne or Fi dominant? INFP --> Fi is dominant


Because you need to deal with both inner and outer worlds, and you also need to both gather information and determine priority, your auxiliary function will cover both bases the dominant function does not. For an ENFJ, the auxiliary is N, and it is introverted (Ni), since the dominant function is Fe.

In other words, ENFJ uses Feeling to determine priorities in their external world, supported by information gathered via iNtuition in their internal world. My type, ENFP, uses iNtuition to gather information from my external world, supported by priorities determined by Feeling in my internal world, if that all makes sense.

Typically your dominant function will be what you rely on the most - we often don't even realize we're using it because it's so natural and we use it so much. Your auxiliary function will be more of a "helping" role - not your primary focus, but it informs your beliefs and actions. This page gives a great explanation for the auxiliary.

The rest of the functions follow suit, alternating E/I and then S/N, though how developed each function is can vary widely from individual to individual. For ENFJ, the functions go Fe > Ni > Se > Ti > Fi > Ne > Si > Te. For INFJ, they are Ni > Fe > Ti > Se > Ne > Fi > Te > Si.



sidenote: wow, that was my first time really explaining that! w00t! also somehow i got invested enough in this to use proper capitalization. god forbid.

 

[psyche]

Wow, Skylights -- that's quite an informative response! Thank you for taking the time to write it all out. I'm going to revisit the CF site you posted, and read over your comments a few more times (already did twice) to digest the information. This part of the theory is sooooo confusing for me, which is odd, since I'm very well versed in the Enneagram and believe I know the basic MBTI pretty well, but cognitive functions are really difficult for me to wrap my brain around.

Your explanation was the clearest I've read yet. So, thanks! I'll post again when I've digested more.

 

[skylights]

Wow, Skylights -- that's quite an informative response! Thank you for taking the time to write it all out. I'm going to revisit the CF site you posted, and read over your comments a few more times (already did twice) to digest the information. This part of the theory is sooooo confusing for me, which is odd, since I'm very well versed in the Enneagram and believe I know the basic MBTI pretty well, but cognitive functions are really difficult for me to wrap my brain around.

Your explanation was the clearest I've read yet. So, thanks! I'll post again when I've digested more.

yay good, i'm glad it was somewhat clear! figuring out the 4 letters seems tricky enough sometimes, and then functions are so much more complex. it took me a while to understand for sure, and even while i was writing this out i realized i'd made a mistake and needed to change it around. right now i'm still working on learning about the roles of functions in order. but i think the functions make it a lot easier to confirm your type.

oh! and, here's a pretty decent test on the functions - it's really obvious, of course, but i think it's helpful. the submit button doesn't work, but you can just go through and count your totals to see what you use the most.

 

[psyche]

Skylights, I will definitely check out that test on the functions. I took one test but it didn't seem to yield accurate results.

Thank you for all this information! The first website you posted a link to somehow eluded all my searching over the months.

I have some more questions I may throw at you but will do so when I've digested.