The Actual Age of Function Development

[Pionart]

I've been trying to piece this together for a while now, and I think I have the answer.

The usual story I see is something like: the dominant develops in early childhood, the auxiliary in adolescence, the tertiary in the 20s and 30s, the inferior from the 40s onwards.

That's incorrect.

Actually, each stage is roughly the same length, though it can vary depending on what happens in the person's life.

I would guess that as an infant the dominant function isn't yet present, but still presents quite early on.

Then the auxiliary would appear probably some time in primary school, the tertiary in high school... maybe 5-10 years per function as an estimate?

Then they keep developing. Mid-life would mark the change from the 4th function to the 5th, and it keeps developing down to the 8th, and after that I'm not quite sure.

But a stage can potentially last for decades.

See, to pass from one stage to the next, something must prompt to change. It must be clear to one that their current mode of operation is not serving them and they need something new.

Often the transition from one stage to the next can be traumatic, perhaps initiated by actual trauma, as one's worldview undergoes a major shift.

So if someone is in a stage... and they are rewarded for being in that stage, they identify with that stage, they see no reason to change, then they will stay like that for what could be a long time.

And there is likely a minimum time a stage can take, probably some small number of years, because the function has to be mastered within that time until it has run its course.

So don't buy into the typical picture that is painted, it doesn't work like that.

!


You may be asking "Why should I believe you?".

The obvious answer to that is: don't believe me - try it for yourself.

Divide your life up into stages. Don't think of it in terms of functions at first, just try and think of a few turning points which marked dramatic shifts in your behaviour.

Then, try to figure out what characterised each of these stages. What aspects of cognition were added, what were you focusing on?

Then map that focus onto a cognitive function - do the stages match up with the function order of your type?

That's what I did: at first I was trying to start with a function order and map that onto my life, but I could only see the truth when I started with my life first, not the model.

It's also helping me to understand where other people are at in life. Now not only my own development but that of other people has fallen into place.


So have a think about it. What were the major stages of your life? What characterised them?

 

[hurl3y4456]

I agree that there are infinitely many scenarios such that a particular person will develop each functions at rates r1 to r8....These scenarios are dictated by the infinitely many potential paths that could be chosen....That is, the degree of function development is a function of external influences....Suppose one is placed within environment X such that the proportion of Ni users close to 1...Let person y who is a dominant Se user be placed within environment X. It will follow by adaptation, that inferior Ni will be developed at a higher rate relative to a scenario in which person y is placed in an environment consisting predominately of Se users.....It should be the case that Se users work in synergy, so the function is accelerated depending on the influence zones. Now, the polarity of Ni and Se would cause person y to be lonely due to lack of synergy, however, survival permits adaptation which tends to facilitate the need to adjust to the social network.

Also, if a person is stressed for an extended period, the inferior function may be utilized to a greater extent which facilitates development....Yet, the stress indirectly affects cognition negatively and tends to reduce events/unit time....So, the functions will be developed proportionately at a slower rate under immense stress although the inferior will be the lead.

 

[Pionart]

I agree that there are infinitely many scenarios such that a particular person will develop each functions at rates r1 to r8....These scenarios are dictated by the infinitely many potential paths that could be chosen....That is, the degree of function development is a function of external influences....Suppose one is placed within environment X such that the proportion of Ni users close to 1...Let person y who is a dominant Se user be placed within environment X. It will follow by adaptation, that inferior Ni will be developed at a higher rate relative to a scenario in which person y is placed in an environment consisting predominately of Se users.....It should be the case that Se users work in synergy, so the function is accelerated depending on the influence zones. Now, the polarity of Ni and Se would cause person y to be lonely due to lack of synergy, however, survival permits adaptation which tends to facilitate the need to adjust to the social network.

Also, if a person is stressed for an extended period, the inferior function may be utilized to a greater extent which facilitates development....Yet, the stress indirectly affects cognition negatively and tends to reduce events/unit time....So, the functions will be developed proportionately at a slower rate under immense stress although the inferior will be the lead.

One addition that I'll make to this is that if an Se dominant is born into an environment consisting primarily of Ni dominants, then they'll still go through the Se, Ti/Fi and Fe/Te phases before they reach the Ni phase. They'll still make use of Ni before that, and to a greater degree than most other Se dominants, but until they enter that phase of life, it won't quite be a conscious/constantly active function. That's my hypothesis, anyway.

An open question associated with this is: if there is constant pressure on the inferior function since early in life, will this speed up the reaching of the 4th phase? An associated closed aspect of this is that once they get to the 4th phase, they are more likely to spend an abnormally long period of time in it.

(to answer my own question: if there is pressure on the 4th function, then the 1st is receiving less validation, so they'll be quicker to move from the 1st to the 2nd, and since there is more motivation to get to the 4th, they will find it easier to move from the 3rd to the 4th, but whether they will also be inclined to move more quickly from the 2nd to the 3rd is something I'll leave open)

 

[tommyc]

I came to use my tertiary function of Ti more as grew up - but thats also consistent with normal mental development through adolescence, gaining sophistication and critical thinking. Im not sure about Fe - Ive had past points where Ive utilised it more or less. I wouldnt say it outlived its usefulness and I moved on from it.

I agree with you in the sense that I feel more balanced and developed now than as a teen, and Im in a place now where Im using Ni, Fe, Ti, and Se in my day to day. Function fulfillment, as it were.

 

[Pionart]

I came to use my tertiary function of Ti more as grew up - but thats also consistent with normal mental development through adolescence, gaining sophistication and critical thinking. Im not sure about Fe - Ive had past points where Ive utilised it more or less. I wouldnt say it outlived its usefulness and I moved on from it.

I agree with you in the sense that I feel more balanced and developed now than as a teen, and Im in a place now where Im using Ni, Fe, Ti, and Se in my day to day. Function fulfillment, as it were.

Hmm, so you would say:
- you may have developed Ti as an adolescent, but the things associated with it may be standard to that stage of development
- you can't say that you've necessarily become less Fe overall during this time, but rather that that varies
- you use not only Ni, Fe and Ti, but also Se, which would be fairly unlikely given the ages of development that I indicated.

Well, certainly we all become more sophisticated in one way or another, but for now I will stick to the hypothesis that the main cognitive faculty which is developed, as far as the 8 cognitive functions go, would be consistent with the person's function order.

For example, an ENFJ, according to that hypothesis, would become more environmentally aware during adolescence, perhaps getting into sports, alcohol, "cool" culture, or the likes, and develop the kind of logical thinking associated with Ti at an older age compared with the INFJ. Of course, to firmly establish that a broad survey would need to be conducted, but for now I'll go on what my theorising is pointing me towards.

Regarding Fe, or any function, being less relevant as we get older, I would say that that's true of my life. I was less social in high school than I was in primary school, and I've been less mathematical/philosophical in my 20s than I was in my teens (well, with the philosophy, it hasn't totally gone away, but the focus has been more on the experience of the world rather than just intellectualising it). So I'm kinda... generalising from one data point, which is an approach which can have merit (if you dissect one of a particular species of an animal to find out its anatomy, you'll probably be able to determine roughly the anatomy of most of that species), but also can be an incredibly flawed approach. So whether it applies here can only be determined through a broader investigation.

Regarding Se: to what extent do you use Se? How do you see Se in yourself?

 

[tommyc]

Regarding Se: to what extent do you use Se? How do you see Se in yourself?

Well, I currently have a very active job - Im a bike courier. I cycle like 9 hours a day. After years of boring studying, awkward customer service jobs, and stifling mind-numbing office work, this has been a revelation. It may not be type related, but I do feel more fulfilled and arguably thats because Im using more Se (and Si) than ever before.

 

[Pionart]

Well, I currently have a very active job - Im a bike courier. I cycle like 9 hours a day. After years of boring studying, awkward customer service jobs, and stifling mind-numbing office work, this has been a revelation. It may not be type related, but I do feel more fulfilled and arguably thats because Im using more Se (and Si) than ever before.

Sorry, I misread your post. I thought you said "now, as a teen", but you actually said "now than as a teen" so yes conscious Se would be expected.

Do you relate to having a high level of environmental awareness, i.e. most of the time are quite aware of what is going on around you? If so, was this the case when you were younger?

 

[tommyc]

Sorry, I misread your post. I thought you said "now, as a teen", but you actually said "now than as a teen" so yes conscious Se would be expected.

Do you relate to having a high level of environmental awareness, i.e. most of the time are quite aware of what is going on around you? If so, was this the case when you were younger?

Im not sure if thats something which has developed, but I certainly rely on it a lot more now. If Im not environmentally aware for most of the day I get hit by a truck.

Ive probably always had a reasonable capacity for Se - always enjoyed sports, for instance. But I never needed it as I do now.

 

[Pionart]

Im not sure if thats something which has developed, but I certainly rely on it a lot more now. If Im not environmentally aware for most of the day I get hit by a truck.

Ive probably always had a reasonable capacity for Se - always enjoyed sports, for instance. But I never needed it as I do now.

Well, I've heard that a lot of the time, when a person is driving a car for instance, they're not actually that environmentally aware. Rather, they're disassociated/daydreaming/whatever, and the environmental awareness is more subconscious and becomes conscious when it needs to. So I do feel that a person could also ride a bike for hours without being aware of the environment to a degree that could be called fully conscious.

I remember that when I was 19 and was learning about typology, I clearly identified myself as an intuitive because of how frequently I would zone out from the environment. But then when I was 21 I noticed that... whoa, I'm now constantly aware of the environment. So hence why I say that my Se didn't become fully conscious until my 20s. In my teens I was generally lost in thought, and now I seldom am. There could be other explanations for that, but I currently put it down to a growth in Se, such that Se is now more fully a part of me.

I'm still not into sports, but when I was younger, I would often throw or kick a ball and it would go off in a totally different direction than intended, whereas now I can more easily focus and get the ball to go where I want it to go. I'm also more mindful and can meditate more easily. As a teen I tried to meditate but I couldn't focus on my breath for longer than, say, a minute, but now I can focus on my breathing, or my environment, or whatever, for as long as I need to. Though, that could also be explained by a more disciplined approach manifesting through maturation, rather than Se per se.

 

[SearchingforPeace]

I started a thread on a similar topic awhile back, Function Development

 

[Pionart]

I started a thread on a similar topic awhile back, Function Development

Regarding that: I would say that once the inferior function is conscious, then the shadows, as they are called, of the dominant and the auxiliary will be developed.

However, this insight would need to be seen in light of the multi-type hypothesis. According to my hypothesis, an INTJ for instance, will frequently or perhaps always have a secondary type of INTP, meaning that their Ti and Ne develop early on, but to a lesser extent than the Ni and Te. So it may be that by the time the inferior function is made conscious, that all 8 functions have a decent level of consciousness. Though, a secondary type's dominant function may be weak enough to be subconscious, rather than fully conscious.

I also wonder whether the 5th-8th functions are truly "unconscious", or if they do indeed become conscious, with respect to the configuration of the primary type, once those stages are underway.

 

[mgbradsh]

I agree with some of your points and did disagree with others.

I think you’re right, function development isn’t necessarily tied to age, I think it’s more likely tied to experience. Which makes a lot of sense.

I disagee with order though. I would say that function, and indeed personality development is much more holistic. All functions are developing all the time, some at faster rates, some being utilized more than others, but all showing growth with every new experience. Our personality is not just functions at work, it’s more than the sum of its parts, it’s everything working together in concert to attain information, analyze it, and make decisions.

 

[tommyc]

Well, I've heard that a lot of the time, when a person is driving a car for instance, they're not actually that environmentally aware. Rather, they're disassociated/daydreaming/whatever, and the environmental awareness is more subconscious and becomes conscious when it needs to. So I do feel that a person could also ride a bike for hours without being aware of the environment to a degree that could be called fully conscious.

I remember that when I was 19 and was learning about typology, I clearly identified myself as an intuitive because of how frequently I would zone out from the environment. But then when I was 21 I noticed that... whoa, I'm now constantly aware of the environment. So hence why I say that my Se didn't become fully conscious until my 20s. In my teens I was generally lost in thought, and now I seldom am. There could be other explanations for that, but I currently put it down to a growth in Se, such that Se is now more fully a part of me.

I'm still not into sports, but when I was younger, I would often throw or kick a ball and it would go off in a totally different direction than intended, whereas now I can more easily focus and get the ball to go where I want it to go. I'm also more mindful and can meditate more easily. As a teen I tried to meditate but I couldn't focus on my breath for longer than, say, a minute, but now I can focus on my breathing, or my environment, or whatever, for as long as I need to. Though, that could also be explained by a more disciplined approach manifesting through maturation, rather than Se per se.

Interesting... having given it some thought, I think Se has always been a big part of my life. I have a kind of love/hate relationship with Se stuff. When I was a kid, my main pastime was football (soccer in American parlance). Playing it, watching it. I was kinda obsessed, I didnt want to do anything else. I was also quite adventurous, enjoyed heading off by myself, exploring new landscapes, clambering over rocks, finding my own trails.

On the other hand I hated tech class, making stuff. Any kind of hands-on craft stuff I just couldnt stand. Now I can make shelves no problem. I enjoy fixing stuff. I also meditate regularly.

Other than sports, I was always a lot more Ni than Se. Indeed sports for me was not all about Se, I liked it a lot for the competitive aspect. Also there was a fantasy element: Id often kick a ball by myself, pretending to be my favourite players. Similar with exploring: I liked the feeling of being some great adventurer. Otherwise, I found any hands-on stuff really objectionable. I was always daydreaming in class. Much preferred reading a book to a walk in the woods, looking at flowers. A little bit head in the clouds.

As you say, Im not fully environmentally aware even now. Im often daydreaming when Im riding my bike. Im rarely fully present with my surroundings. Actually Ive figured so much stuff out about life when working, when cycling. But Se is certainly very active too, perhaps in a less conscious way.

I meditate now, but thats not pure Se for me. Its a combination of awareness and letting go of thought - disengaging Ti first and foremost. It feels like I desengage most of my functions actually, whilst maintaining a gentle state of awareness.

In conclusion it seems that... Ive spent a lot of my life looking for ways to engage Se (in other words, ways to engage physically with the outside world). But Ive always needed a kind of push, an incentive to do so. Id say Im more comfortable using purely Se now, but Im still pretty detached from my surroundings.

[Edit] If I could choose to be another type, itd probably be a philosophical ISTP. An action-oriented doer capable of reflection.

 

[Pionart]

All functions are developing all the time, some at faster rates, some being utilized more than others, but all showing growth with every new experience. Our personality is not just functions at work, it’s more than the sum of its parts, it’s everything working together in concert to attain information, analyze it, and make decisions.

I'm not disputing this.

i.e. all 8 functions developing at basically all times is not inconsistent with the idea that stages are characterised by a specific function.

 

[lunalum]

My two cents is that if a linear pattern of function development does exist, it would be very individually variable. Like there are probably a fair sized chunk of people who never really "develop" their tertiary or inferior" and on the other end there are extremely introspective individuals who could be developing their teritary/inferior in early adulthood.

Your pattern seems plausible enough but its just a really hard thing to confirm, especially if there is a lot of nonlinearity, with like people redeveloping and more thoroughly developing their aux. in their 40s and then exploring the inferior, and stuff like that.