Information Elements and Other Musings

[Alea_iacta_est]

The 8 information elements of Socionics Theory are the fundamental building blocks comprising Model A for each sociotype. They are, not, however, these mystical entities that dwell in your psyche explaining your every action as seen in the Jungian Anarchic System; they are baselines for how sociotypes respond to different types of information and the overall perspective of how information is manufactured. Here, I will discuss the Information Elements, their subsequent Information Aspects (existence independent of the self), and perhaps a few more topics of interests. [that way I don't have to keep making threads for new topics]

First off, I would like to state that the position of information elements in Model A is a dictation of your attention to it. Understandably, you are most aware of the element that is in the Lead Position, which means that your psyche is always looking in that element's sphere of reality. As such, elements tend toward giving the sociotype a type of sense for their respective information. The following are some (not all) examples of "senses" produced by elements.

• A sense of intrigue (whether something is interesting or not)
• A sense of potential (whether something can become or cannot become)
• A sense of promise (whether something will lead somewhere worthwhile or will not)

• A sense of inevitability (whether something is certain or is not certain)
• A sense of feasibility (whether something is real and true or whether something is deceptive and fantastical)
• A sense of importance (whether something is important or whether something is not important; in the context of the situation)

• A sense of tension (whether or not there is group harmony or group discord)
• A sense of togetherness (whether or not there is group unity or group fragmentation)
• A sense of expression (whether or not emotions expressed are powerful in effect or weak in effect; whether or not they are superficial)

• A sense of character (whether or not someone is a certain kind of person)
• A sense of ethics (whether or not an action is tactful or rude)
• A sense of authenticity (whether or not a person is acting true to themselves)

• A sense of capability (whether or not someone or something is physically capable of an action or of holding a position)
• A sense of power (whether or not someone or something is powerful physically or psychologically)
• A sense of energy (whether or not someone or something is active and expansive or inactive and passive)

• A sense of decorum (whether or not someone or something "fits" with their surroundings and environment)
• A sense of taste (whether or not something is pleasant or unpleasant in its effect on people or the self)
• A sense of impression (whether or not something like an event or situation is impressionable or fails to make a lasting impression)

• A sense of pragmatism (whether or not things are running as easily and/or as smoothly as they could be)
• A sense of effect (whether or not actions will produce the correct effect on a situation or system)
• A sense of trade (whether or not things are trading off smoothly; exchange, "quid pro quo")

• A sense of order (whether or not things are logically organized and are clearly defined)
• A sense of correctness (whether or not things are adhering to a hierarchy, be it logical or social)
• A sense of reasonableness (whether or not things seem reasonable or logical)

There are, of course, several other senses associated with each element, and, yes, every person alive can have a sense for every one these things regardless of their sociotypes, but those with a certain element in the leading position will undoubtedly be incredibly more focused on the senses pertaining to that element than other people with different sociotypes.

 

[Pionart]

I definitely agree with "impression" for Si. I often think of my perceptions as being impressions.

 

[senza tema]

These are good, in that they aim at more general descriptions of the IMs. Most of the descriptions I've seen so far of the IMs in the "pure" forum only end up describing them in the ego block. That's actually one of the big issues I have with JCF within MBTI as well.

The only problem with trying to generalize a description across functional positions is that they are vague and difficult to grasp. Examples would be good, but are necessarily limited to functional position. Blergh.

 

[Alea_iacta_est]

These are good, in that they aim at more general descriptions of the IMs. Most of the descriptions I've seen so far of the IMs in the "pure" forum only end up describing them in the ego block. That's actually one of the big issues I have with JCF within MBTI as well.

The only problem with trying to generalize a description across functional positions is that they are vague and difficult to grasp. Examples would be good, but are necessarily limited to functional position. Blergh.

Some functional positions come easier than others with the generalities. For instance, the Vulnerable of xSE can be inferred from these basic generalizations to mean that xSE are fairly impaired at determining what actually is important (they tend toward treating most work that can be done as equal in value rather than stacked in value) and what is directly inevitable due to the nature of the course of events (they tend toward wanting to see the possibility inherent in the situation, they don't like narrowing situations, valuing). Other functional positions, like the Demonstrative, which is a relatively mysterious function in of itself, are much more difficult to apply the generalizations to.

These generalizations were mainly constructed for mental track elements (Ego Block, Super Ego Block), as the "senses" seen in the vital track (Super-Id, Id) are somewhat invisible to the conscious mind, or are, at least, seen as something working in the background, and are therefore harder to even perceive on a cognizant level in the first place.

 

[Alea_iacta_est]

I saw this recently and had a few thoughts of my own that would eliminate some jargon and misconceptions for certain "reduced types" to better represent how the types would actually present. The original article attempted to provide how the Lead and Creative functions operate within each individual type. Without further ado, here are some more intuitive explanations.

(Type Name) -- (Work With and Modify This Area) -- (To Achieve Harmony and Preserve Integrity in This Area)
[Sociotype] -- [Manipulator/Creative Element] -- [Objective/Lead Element]

Alpha:

• ILE Ne:) -- Work with the logical similarities and logical organization of the environment already in place -- To achieve definitive insight into what a situation, idea, or thing could potentially be or could potentially lead to in the mental environment, and to lead them to more ambiguous mental territory that could provide a wellspring of different ideas to capitalize upon.
  
  
• SEI Si:) -- Work with the emotional atmospheres present in the environment and the emotional effects certain objects or people produce -- To achieve a harmonious and psychologically soothing environment that can sustain everyone present, to produce impressions on the people involved in a group atmosphere.
  
  
• ESE Fe:) -- Work with the aesthetics and design of the environment, as well as others' sense of pleasure or taste -- To achieve the production of a profound emotional atmosphere that welcomes anyone and everyone to join in and contribute to the group spirit.
  
  
• LII Ti:) -- Work with the internal potential and ambiguity of meaning present in everything -- To achieve clarity and logicality in the conceptual environment, to define all of the ambiguous potential to make it mean something specific, to systematize it.

Beta:

• EIE Fe:) -- Work with the tendencies and internal psychological state of people through a sort of deep empathy -- To achieve a highly sophisticated emotional environment that conveys an almost communion-like group emotion, to affect those people profoundly (to get an emotional rise out of them).
  
  
• LSI Ti:) -- Work with the straightforward features of everyday life and the universality in meaning of certain signals -- To achieve a higher level of logical organization or understanding/clarity, to build systematic hierarchies that logically put every feature in its place mentally and/or physically.
  
  
• SLE Se:) -- Work with the logical organization of the environment and the structure/hierarchy inherent in everyday life -- To achieve physical whims and desires, as well as to see the bare (straightforward) essentials of the situations, ideas, and places, to open more opportunities.
  
  
• IEINi:) -- Work with the emotional responses and emotional atmospheres present in the environment as well as the changing moods of others -- To achieve a sort of deep empathy into the life or perspective of the people eliciting those responses or participating in the emotional atmosphere, to further their understanding of people (generally or specifically).

Gamma:

• SEESe:) -- Work with the interrelationships between people and their own internal feelings or judgments about the world around them (as well as others' attraction-repulsion to things) -- To achieve their own physical desires or whims, as well as to see the bare essentials in relationships, situations, and places, and to open more opportunities for discovery.
  
  
• ILI Ni:) -- Work with the algorithms and mechanical movements or cycles of the conceptual or physical environment, as well as how things are currently being run -- To achieve a cognitive awareness of the actual true happenings in a specific situations, to determine what is actually going on in before them behind the distortions of reality*.
  
  
• LIE Te:) -- Work with what is actually happening before them that is obscured by distortions in reality*, the intangible dynamics of the environment -- To achieve a mechanical effect on the situation at hand, to steer the current happenings into a better system that will make things run more smoothly and efficiently.
  
  
• ESI Fi:) -- Work with the straightforward, unambiguous meanings present in reality, as well as the bare essentials of the people, situations, or relationships around them -- To achieve a structured assessment of what they like and dislike, their own internal judgments, what they find right and wrong with people, actions, or situations, and what others might like or dislike or find right and wrong.

Delta:

• LSE Te:) -- Work with the straightforward physical effects** things have on their surrounding environment -- To achieve a mechanical effect on the direct situation at hand, to tidy up what is happening currently and make it run smoother or more efficiently, to bring mechanical use out of the effects things have on their environment.
  
  
• EII Fi:) -- Work with the internal potential of people and relationships to become something more than they already are -- To achieve harmonious and pleasant relationships and to provide them with a value system that allows them to internally judge right and wrong, what they like and what they dislike in people or any sort of internal feature or trait that isn't directly observable.
  
  
• IEE Ne:) -- Work with relationships between people and their own feelings about the world around them, what they like and dislike -- To achieve definitive insight into the internal potential of people to become something more than they already are, to lead them to more situations that provide opportunities to achieve their own or others' potential.
  
  
• SLI Si:) -- Work with the mechanical processes occurring in direct reality, the current way things are run -- To achieve an awareness into the straightforward physical effects** actions or objects have on the physical environment, as well as to produce a harmonious way of doing things that requires little physical strain and little complexity.

* =/= change over time (consequence of Socionics being constructed by Alphas), but rather comprises a deeper understanding in what is actually happening in the physical world, not what appears to be happening. Things are not always as they seem to be, there is always something more going on, or there is something that produces a deeper yet intangible or almost invisible effect on everything around it. Predictions are a natural consequence of this perspective, as types are always scanning the essentials of the dynamics of the environment around them (much like how types are always grasping the essentials of static ideas and making them easier to understand, types are always grasping the gists of moving situations and making them easier to understand).

**The Socionics Misconception about is that it is always related to comfort or internal bodily sensations, but that is not so. can be a cognizance of the mechanical effects objects produce on the environment around them, what their presence does for the entire physical system. Driving over one specific spot in a road, for instance, will produce an effect on the road physically, it will wear it down in that one spot. A person struggling with the basic construction of a structure, nailing in planks and boards, for instance, will lead to a less-than-adequate framework that may reduce the structural integrity of the building, and it may be susceptible to collapse.

 

[Alea_iacta_est]

Introversion - Extroversion

Introversion - Dependent on the Self Si:, , , )

Extroversion - Apart from the Self Se:, , , )


Sensory Elements: Se:, )

- Sensation apart from the self, that which can be described without idiosyncrasy of experience.
- Sensation dependent on the self, that which can only be described through idiosyncrasy of experience.

"It is hot outside." (Sensation is removed from the self, "outside" takes the characteristic and trait of being "hot")
"I'm burning up out here." (Sensation is dependent on the self, the effect of "out here" on "I" is one of thermal sensation)

and types can use the opposing diction to describe the heat of the environment, but in cognition, the types observe the feature of heat as something that is apart of the environment, and the types observe the effect of heat in the thermal environment upon them. The same is true for all of the following elements and their respective types.

Logical Elements: Te:, )

- Logic and Knowledge as separate from the self, that which can be described without internal judgement of the information.
- Logic and Knowledge as dependent on the self, that which can only be described by internal judgement of the information.

"The facts point to the conclusion that the man is innocent." (Information is separated from the self, "the facts" are the source of information)
"Based on the evidence, I believe that the man is innocent." (Information is dependent on the self, "I" judges "the evidence")

Intuitive Elements: Ne:, )

- Potential as separate from the self, that which can be described without analysis provided by the self.
- Potential as dependent on the self, that which can only be described with analysis provided by the self.

"I could invent a new language." (Potential is separated from the self, "I" has the potential to invent "a new language")
"It would never catch on, it's pointless." (Potential is dependent on the self, "the new language" is analyzed to be "pointless")

Even though the example does use the pronoun "I", it is dealing with the self in an objective way. Much in the way a user can "objectively" gauge their own physical strength, a user can "objectively" gauge their own potential. All that matters in the example is that potential is separated from the self's analysis of it. The example demonstrates the analysis of potential, that "inventing a new language" would be something that is ultimately futile.

Ethical Elements: Fe:, )

- Ethics and Emotion as separate from the self, that which can be described without internal judgement of expression.
- Ethics and Emotion as dependent on the self, that which can only be described with internal judgement of expression.

"Look how happy everyone is." (Emotion is separated from the self, "everyone" is imbued with the emotional property of "happy")
"I really like this place." (Emotion is dependent on the self, "this place" is judged by the self to be something that is "like[d]")

 

[Mademoiselle]

Excellent highlighting everyone!!