[Traditional Enneagram] 'Introspection'

[Schrödinger's Name]

I was not sure whether to post this here or in 'general psychology', but since there possibly are some differences between certain enneagram types I decided to post it here.

Ironically, I am making this thread because I feel like I have not been 'introspective' at all lately (making me doubt my enneagram type). Then I started to wonder what introspection even is and what it is to other people. First I'd like to ask what comes to your mind when you hear the word 'introspection'. What do you think about when someone asks you if you are introspective?

I put these questions in a spoiler because they may influence the answer/thinking process of the previous question. (That's why it's important to think about that question before reading the following questions.)

How often do you do it? Daily? Weekly,..?
What causes you to introspect?
Is it always a conscious process?
Do you consciously decide to introspect?
Is it something you do especially after something (emotional) happened?
Is introspection mostly about emotions?
What kind of thoughts/feelings do you experience whilst introspecting? How do you end up feeling afterwards?

These questions are just a 'guideline' to provoke some thoughts. More questions/additional information would be great.

Clear/detailed examples (of the introspection process/what causes it) are very welcome (read: give me examples, thank you).

 

[Peter Deadpan]

This is, for better or worse, my area of expertise. I apologize in advance if I write a 12 chapter book about it when I return later.

 

[Luminous]

I was not sure whether to post this here or in 'general psychology', but since there possibly are some differences between certain enneagram types I decided to post it here.

Ironically, I am making this thread because I feel like I have not been 'introspective' at all lately (making me doubt my enneagram type). Then I started to wonder what introspection even is and what it is to other people. First I'd like to ask what comes to your mind when you hear the word 'introspection'. What do you think about when someone asks you if you are introspective?

Analyzing/thinking about/going over/ruminating on one's self, behaviors, emotions, thoughts, patterns, situations, habits, etc.

I put these questions in a spoiler because they may influence the answer/thinking process of the previous question. (That's why it's important to think about that question before reading the following questions.)

How often do you do it? Daily? Weekly,..?
Generally multiple times daily.

What causes you to introspect?
The nature of who I am. It's what I do. Feeling uncertain somehow, trying to figure something out, or trying to work through something will cause more.

Is it always a conscious process?
The decision to do it? No, not at all. Actually doing it? Probably not.

Do you consciously decide to introspect?
Occasionally, but generally no, since it's just in my nature to do so.

Is it something you do especially after something (emotional) happened?
Yes.

Is introspection mostly about emotions?
They play a huge role, but they play a huge role in my life. But it's also about those other things I listed. It can be about my past actions, looking back and seeing why I felt some way or thought or did something. It can be about recognizing patterns of behavior within myself, making connections between emotions or actions or thoughts or situations.

What kind of thoughts/feelings do you experience whilst introspecting? How do you end up feeling afterwards?
I think it's easier for me to say that I would feel off of I was unable to spend enough time doing it, rather than to say it makes me feel any one way. I might realize something that makes me feel good or bad, or reinforce those feelings through turning them over or wallowing.

These questions are just a 'guideline' to provoke some thoughts. More questions/additional information would be great.

Clear/detailed examples (of the introspection process/what causes it) are very welcome (read: give me examples, thank you).
I'm not entirely comfortable giving detailed examples.

I do think the withdrawn types are more likely to spend a lot of time with this (4, 5, 9), along with those stronger in sx. Perhaps 1, in needing to keep congruent. Not to say the rest don't, of course, though some are more likely to avoid the introspection of negative (or positive) emotions about the self.

 

[Opal Star]

Even though I am an enneagram 1, I can be quite introspective. This could be due to my 5-fix in tritype.

I'd say that 4 and 5 are the most introspective and 3 and 7 are the least introspective.

 

[Peter Deadpan]

Introspection is associated with Fi, Ti, Si, and Ni. The most introspective people are those who lead with Fi/Ti and Si/Ni (in either order, but I'd imagine the Fi/Ti dominants to have a slightly better grasp on self than Ni/Si). No, not "looping", but "sleep processing". This means going over known information (Ni, Si) in relation to the self (Fi, Ti).

Extroverts can also be fairly high in sleep processing, but not as a primary mode of operation like IxxP or IxxJ "jumper" types (what most call "looping").

This is my shorter, impersonal answer. I'll still come back to answer the other questions, subjectively (I always say I'll do this and then never get around to it, but I really want to this time, so you can harass me if I don't).

 

[Saturnal Snowqueen]

How often do you do it? Daily? Weekly,..?

Daily. It's weird knowing people don't do it daily...thanks withdrawn triad. I'm always thinking about like who I really am or what my feelings are, but some days it goes deeper than others.

What causes you to introspect?

It just happens?? It's how my brain works yo.

Is it always a conscious process?

Almost always, yes.

Do you consciously decide to introspect?

If there's something big on my brain, then yes, but generally it just happens without me having to decide.

Is it something you do especially after something (emotional) happened?

Oh definitely.

Is introspection mostly about emotions?

Sure, introspection helps sort out all thoughts but if there's less focus on emotions I think there is less clarity in the end.

What kind of thoughts/feelings do you experience whilst introspecting? How do you end up feeling afterwards?

I reflect on my past experiences a lot, what I cherish but also what I regret. My mind becomes like a TV show, where the people in my life become characters, or they're like my audience and I'm the star of the play. "And everything was like, and I was like." In my most introspective moments(the something big on the brain), it feels melancholic and yet simultaneously calming. It's like some sort of mind cleansing.

 

[Morpeko]

First I'd like to ask what comes to your mind when you hear the word 'introspection'. What do you think about when someone asks you if you are introspective?

Self-reflection. Thinking deeply about one's own thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.

How often do you do it? Daily? Weekly...?

I can't help but do it daily. I'm really self-centered and I can't help but think how pretty much any event I experience relates directly to me, how I deal with it, and how it affects me. I like to stay in tune with whatever I am thinking and feeling at most given times. Every night before I go to bed, I think introspect, it's a great (or maybe not so great, depending on how negative my introspection is) way to end the day.

What causes you to introspect?

Both big and small events. Basically anything can cause me to introspect.

Is it always a conscious process?

Not always. A lot of the time I can't help it. I just think about how things affect me and what I think of things.

Do you consciously decide to introspect?

Like I implied earlier, sometimes it's conscious, like when I do it at night. Other times, after I experience something, it happens unconsciously. Of course, right after the moment something happens, it won't be as developed as when I force myself to really think about something, but it is still introspection.

Is it something you do especially after something (emotional) happened?

Of course I have to do it whenever something big and emotional happens. I can't help but to take some time to process it and withdraw from the world.

Is introspection mostly about emotions?

About half emotions and half thoughts. I am definitely feelings-oriented but also interested in logic. It's important to think about the process between why I decide to do things or why they happen to me, not just how they make me feel.

What kind of thoughts/feelings do you experience whilst introspecting? How do you end up feeling afterwards?

Most of my introspection makes me feel more like shit because I don't perceive myself to make very good decisions a lot of the time... It can be quite uncomfortable to dig deeper into my negativity and why things are the way they are in my life. But sometimes I feel accomplished for figuring new things about myself. I don't ever really feel good about introspection, but it's definitely a valuable learning process that I do find crucial to do regularly.

These questions are just a 'guideline' to provoke some thoughts. More questions/additional information would be great.

 

[Earl Grey]

First I'd like to ask what comes to your mind when you hear the word 'introspection'.
Knowing one's self and one's own inner workings- that describes it succinctly. People seem to define it as either a state or a process.

What do you think about when someone asks you if you are introspective?
I get confused. I usually am not quite sure what they are referring to or what they might mean, so I fail to answer.

It's not an uncommon input from others that I am introspective, but it always surprises me, because it's not something I put conscious thought to (which to some is probably a point against introspection to begin with). I find that whatever people see as 'introspection' within me refers to my cautious and structured thinking when approaching matters- I think things through, and it's not common for anyone to catch me off-guard or to present me with things I hadn't thought of or somehow missed. I am not quite sure why or how that comes across as 'introspection' specifically instead of cautiousness and thoroughness, which would seem more accurate.

An aspect of this that is surprisingly more minor and less common, is people referring to my knowing my own likes and dislikes as a sign of introspection. I suppose it would be, and is closer to the contemporary understanding and connotations of introspection than the above example.

How often do you do it? Daily? Weekly,..? What causes you to introspect?
I used to meditate more frequently. I tend to enjoy making quick decisions, and meditation is a compensatory period for that where I look at the things I've done and how things turned out, and if I had done what was in my opinion the best thing I could have done in those situations. It really does not happen that frequently- perhaps just once a month. It's a bit like an informal business meeting with just yourself where you assess the month's work and how things turned out. It needn't have had a catalyst, necessarily.

Is it always a conscious process? Do you consciously decide to introspect?
As with the above answer, yes.

Is it something you do especially after something (emotional) happened?
This is my blind spot. I tend to ignore the emotional aspects of anything, be it from myself or others.

Is introspection mostly about emotions?
As is evident with me, if what I do could be called introspection, no. This could also account for the confusion others seem to have when observing me- they call me introspective, but are surprised when they realize I am emotionally dense.

What kind of thoughts/feelings do you experience whilst introspecting? How do you end up feeling afterwards?
There is usually a sense of satisfaction, at times discovery. I do not do it for the emotion, but have discovered that it is grounding and has a calming effect. It is the sense of cleaning up a room and seeing everything where it belongs, and knowing I did things right.

 

[Coriolis]

First I'd like to ask what comes to your mind when you hear the word 'introspection'.
A process by which one analyzes oneself in order to gain greater self-knowledge.

What do you think about when someone asks you if you are introspective?
If they don't know me well, I will think them rather nosy and wonder why they are asking. I do consider myself introspective, moreso than most I suspect.

How often do you do it? Daily? Weekly,..? What causes you to introspect?
There is a sense in which I have an almost constant undercurrent of introspection in my thought processes. By that I mean I am always evaluating what I am thinking, why and how I am thinking it, what it means for my priorities and values, etc. I will do it more deliberately and with more focus perhaps a couple times a month, more if I am facing difficult or important decisions, or if I have been bothered by something that I cannot wrap my head around properly.

I, too, used to meditate regularly as one form of introspection. That was usually more open ended than the deliberate introspection I do now. I found it useful if only for helping me feel more grounded and relaxed, and should return to the practice.

Is it always a conscious process? Do you consciously decide to introspect?
See above. The constant background process is semi-conscious.

Is it something you do especially after something (emotional) happened?
I don't know. As I mentioned, the main catalyst is an important decision, or the sense that my thought processes on some important topic are muddled and need sorting out. I tend not to pay much attention to the emotional aspects of either, though I suppose some internal sense of worry, foreboding, or urgency might help to prompt it.

Is introspection mostly about emotions?
Perhaps for some people, but not for me. It is primarily a way to sort out my thinking and priorities, to resolve conflicts and inconsistencies, to get in touch with what is important to me and why, my own strengths and weaknesses and how best to manage them.

What kind of thoughts/feelings do you experience whilst introspecting? How do you end up feeling afterwards?
It can be a bit frustrating because it is often not itself a logical process, or at least deliberate logical processing goes only so far. I can follow trains of thought, check cause and effect relationships, and that is useful, but there is an element of it that simply requires the thoughts to align themselves and become clear. This looks like Ni connecting directly to Fi and spewing out some revised vision that can then be vetted by Te/Se for consistency with reality and workability.

How I feel afterwards depends on how much progress I made. Sometimes, I don't feel like I learned much at all, and am left feeling frustrated, and knowing I will need to revisit the issue. If I do sort it out, I feel reassured and more confident and prepared.

 

[Schrödinger's Name]

Thanks @ everyone for the responses. Though I still have not found the answer/information I am looking for*... Reminds me of how frustrating it is that no one is ever able to experience life as someone else. We only have this sack of meat and then we die. Hmn.

I'll read the answer again (sometime), maybe I'll ask some extra questions.

*Yes I know, maybe I should've asked better questions then. The answers are still very abstract, making it hard for me to form a clear picture of what exactly happens in your mind.

 

[RadicalDoubt]

First I'd like to ask what comes to your mind when you hear the word 'introspection'.
The ability to look inside oneself and contemplate/reflect upon internal philosophies, emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in order to gain greater understanding of yourself and also incite self improvement.

What do you think about when someone asks you if you are introspective?
I think about my (lack) of ability to identify "self" and connect to the more emotional aspects of introspection, but also how my definition of introspection (and my perspective on my own introspection abilities) may compare to theirs as to adequately answer their question. I generally consider myself introspective with philosophy or thought processes, but very much not in terms of emotionality or general preferences for example. Generally, I think of myself as introspective (or with a tendency to introspect), but not necessarily good at it if that makes any sense at all.

How often do you do it? Daily? Weekly,..?
Probably daily, if not a good portion of the time (I am not in a constant state of introspection, but I am self absorbed in the sense that I am often reflecting on my own behavior, responses, and generally enjoy contemplating philosophy in a way that could relate to introspection... I am also constantly disappointed with myself, which increases this tendency). Understanding myself and my emotions are fairly challenging for me, so I tend to do so a lot more often than is probably good by default.

What causes you to introspect?
Having too much time on my hands haha, really anything. But also being prompted by comparative behavior or notions I don't understand about myself. For example, I was speaking to a friend the other day and he brought up the notion of "plutonic love" that one feels for friends and how when friends tell you they love you, they actually do. Since I didn't understand that, I went and contemplated my own memories and tried to understand mechanically how plutonic affection works. I do this often when people describe their emotional experiences a) Because I don't understand my emotional experiences in full and b) people often provide me new perspectives to understand and deal with my experience more fully. There are other triggers for introspection as well that I haven't fully identified.

Is it always a conscious process?
Kind of? It depends on how I'm doing it. I don't always consciously choose to introspect, but when I do it's directed by me since it mostly involves me analyzing and manipulating possible avenues of understanding. Sometimes, when I make up my stories or plots to entertain myself, I have realized I am unconsciously analyzing my emotional experiences or ways of thinking from the third person, so I guess it's not always fully conscious.

Do you consciously decide to introspect?
Not typically, introspection comes on like intrusive thoughts do sometimes. I'm not always able to stop a trail of introspection either. Sometimes I can introspect consciously, like right now I'm looking at my behavior to answer these questions, but realistically it seems to be always prompted, even if that prompt is just "doing nothing and unconsciously filling that empty space."

Is it something you do especially after something (emotional) happened?
It often occurs in situations where I am probably feeling emotions or think that I should, but not exclusively. Sometimes I just analyze my thought patterns/general thought patterns for fun and of course the story making thing I just do all the time, although I guess that gets more vivid after an emotional experience.

Is introspection mostly about emotions?
It doesn't have to be. Thought processes, ways of viewing things, and dissection can be at the forefront of introspection, I think the key aspect of it is that the focus of it must be channeled to or from the self. Most people tend to strongly associate it with purely emotional introspection which is why I have a difficult time describing myself as such (ie. I am pretty emotionally closed off and dense).

What kind of thoughts/feelings do you experience whilst introspecting? How do you end up feeling afterwards?
With conscious introspection, there's a lot of "whys" and mechanical deconstruction of whatever I'm introspecting on. My introspection can be somewhat comparative, "this person, when presented with this scenario, thinks or feels like this, how is that similar or different than your experience," again because I struggle greatly identifying the more emotional edge of introspection. I don't really "feel" a lot during the process unless I'm introspecting about something that triggers me to feel very angry or emotional with something, it's kind of more dethatched like I'm viewing myself as someone entirely separate from myself, akin to birdwatching or looking at a simulation. How I feel afterwards also follows that theme...

 

[Tina&Jane]

I tend to think of it as a type of self-analysis. It’s taking the time to check back in with yourself, really sitting and reflecting on thoughts that in some way have you as the central focus. Whether this is reflecting on decisions you’ve made, reactions to different situations, values/beliefs, dreams for the future, etc. The range of subjects can be pretty broad, but in my mind the key thing that makes introspection distinct form other forms of thinking is that the subject always relates back to the self in some way. I also tend to distinguish between introspection and ruminating. I think both are types of self-analysis, but consider introspection to be a healthy process that leads to greater clarity and understanding about yourself with limited judgment, and ruminating feeds into negative thought patterns, involves harsh judgements and self-statements, and can make you feel worse about yourself overall. I think that there's this tendency to view introspection as this deeply brooding experience (sometimes I think of someone staring moodily out a window), but it's not necessarily always this intense and not always linked to emotion.

I think that introspection can come more naturally to some people than others. Some people might cycle back to self-analysis consistently throughout the day without being fully aware of it. For other people, it might be an area of weakness that they need to consciously work on. If they’re motivated to do so, they might set aside specific times during the day to introspect, and if they really struggle with it, might even need some outside guidance or framework for how to go about introspecting. If I’m looking at this within the context of MBTI, I’d say that people with a dominant introverted function might find introspection more natural than those with dominant extroverted functions, but this might not always be the case. Extroverts with a strong connection to their auxiliary function might introspect more naturally than an unhealthy introvert, who might be more prone to rumination.

I would consider myself to be an introspective person at this point in my life, but I don’t remember being that way as a kid or a teenage. I was always curious about things, but not about myself specifically. I got into MBTI sophomore year of high school after taking a test, and while it definitely piqued my interest and made me more curious about myself, I didn’t really start heavily introspecting until I was a freshman in college and started journaling. I don’t really know what changed, maybe just natural brain development, but it does come pretty naturally to me now. The only times when I feel disconnected from the process is if I'm very stressed (usually about work) and focusing too much on what's happening outside myself. Also, stress tends to lead to rumination and any self-analysis I do is likely to be negative, doubting, and self-critical.

Also want to come back and add that if you've been feeling like you haven't been introspective lately, it might help to set some time aside for yourself during the day and ask yourself why this might be the case. What's been going on in your life lately that's preventing you from getting in touch with yourself? Do you feel content with what's going on in your life, or is there something that you want to change? If you want to change something, how are you going to go about doing that? Are you excited about the prospect of change or does it it frighten you? Why? Journaling sometimes helps with this. These are just suggestions, but even the fact that you've been noticing your own lack of introspectiveness lately could be considered introspection in some form.

 

[Kasper]

First I'd like to ask what comes to your mind when you hear the word 'introspection'.
Deliberate self analysis when alone.

What do you think about when someone asks you if you are introspective?
Don't expect anyone to ask me that, I expect it's pretty clear to most that know me that I'm a deep thinker focused on self awareness. So, nothing I guess, I just say "yes".

How often do you do it? Daily? Weekly,..?
Pretty much any time there isn't some external focus taking most of my attention i.e. working, watching a movie etc.

What causes you to introspect?
Curiousity, a search for understanding and awareness, a desire to know myself and grow.

Is it always a conscious process?
Yes.

Do you consciously decide to introspect?
No. It's a natural focus I have always had.

Is it something you do especially after something (emotional) happened?
Very much so. One of the ways that I can be clear on my thoughts and feelings is to introspect before and after difficulties.

Is introspection mostly about emotions?
It's not compartmentalised, emotions are generally part of introspection as is knowledge and awareness. I view thoughts, feelings and actions as intrinsically connected, all aspects require analysis when introspecting.

What kind of thoughts/feelings do you experience whilst introspecting? How do you end up feeling afterwards?
Anger is a pretty core emotion for me as a 9 so that get's airtime, otherwise, it's generally neutral outside of feeling as though I've achieved some clarity.


Your second post indicates you want to know what's happening physiologically as we introspect. For me it's primarily monologue, I have aphantasia - a complete lack of the ability to visualise, talk, hear, taste, touch etc within my minds eye, therefore introspecting generally involves me saying thoughts out loud to work through them.