Very good topic!
The topic of Ti’ers throwing around “you’re stupid†easily has come up before, and it actually seems to me like TJs are more inclined to throw a “you’re stupid’ at someone than a TP is. Not ALL TJs- but among people who get argumentative, I think TJs act this way more than TPs. It’s almost like a point of pride with TPs- as if s/he who comes up with the most pointed jab which is both completely relevant to the argument at hand and illustrates the other person’s flaw in logic most effectively (usually with some exaggerated little caricature of it)…..wins! “You’re stupid†is the least effective way to do this though- they may
think “that’s stupid†or “you’re stupidâ€, but it seems (to me) TPs are more likely to actually say something more specific and context dependent. Or maybe those are what Orobas is referring to, and all ‘Ti barbs’ just sound like “you’re stupid†to Te’ers?
Or maybe I just don’t understand what’s meant by ‘Ti barb’.
TJ's are the most directive or task focused (being both "directive" in the Interaction Styles, and "structure focused" in Keirsey's temperaments, both of which represent forms of "task" as opposed to "people" focus), so that's why they come off that way. I always used to wonder about TP's being portrayed like that. It seems to be overgeneralization about T's; especially NT's.
TP's will be either directive + motive (STP) or informing + structure (NTP), so this will temper those "barbs". Especially for the NTP's, who are on the informing side in social interaction. They'll shoot out the barbs when you say something
really stupid (and they go into conative "structure-focus" mode)!
FJ's will also be a similar mix of people/task, and FP's will be the diametric opposite of the TJ's; both informing and motive focused, or least overall "directive". (Pointed out on this site, though it does so outside of any temperament and Interaction Style premise:
http://www.rogerbissell.com/achillestendencies/atachilles.html).
Obviously, Te will lead to a very task-focused approach, while Fi will be very people-focused. (You would think Fe would be the most people-focused, but the J aspect of it introduces a measure of task focus as judgment is externalized. Fi focuses purely on the personal side of things. As the site points out, all TP's are extraverting is a perceiving function (P), so the T's task focus will also be tempered).
So I came to wonder, what does it mean for the "most friendly" EFP's to have the "most directive" Te in third place?
That's where we get this:
9. Emphasize Te stuff-our external world is Te structure, not Fe structure, thus if you can focus on what we owe others in a tangible way, you’ll make more progress.
That's interesting, because it explains part of what I've figured, and would sft how the Supine temperament tends to "use tasks to serve people". (The FP's are where the pure Supine, Supine/Sanguine combo's, and the pure Sanguine would be found. "Wanted" behaviors are all high, or "people-focused").
The tertiary and inferior (as the same author pointed out in a further version of his theory) are basically more "vulnerable" areas, so Te will support Fi, and
go along with the typical Fi "people-focus". Only when really stressed will Fi/Te manifest the more aggressive way it is being described.
Likewise, for the "most directive" TJ's, Fi simply backs up their task-focused Te agenda, making them all the more directive. THIS is where stuff like "stubbornness", "to hell with everyone else" attitudes etc. often generally ascribed to Fi will more often surface. It will be more about defensiveness or safeguarding of turf than for an FP.
I believe these generalized characterization of Fi are likely the result of T-preferring theorists projecting their own experience of the function on to it.