Cognitive Functions
If anyone’s interested in functions like myself and wants to learn more or type themselves, I wrote up this easy guide on cognitive functions for beginners to learn and understand. I hope you guys enjoy.
THINKING
Te users are organized and efficient. They easily follow logic, sequence, and organization, and they also rely on the facts in front of them, or from experience. They are more likely to act on their ideas and plans. They want to use their knowledge to accomplish a goal.
Dominant: Manifests as the ability to clearly envision the most effective outcome to any given situation or problem and the ability to set the corresponding plans into action. (ESTJ, ENTJ)
Auxiliary: Manifests as the ability to take concrete, efficient action on the Te user’s analysis of what the best thing to do would be. (INTJ, ISTJ)
Tertiary: Manifests as the ability to source whichever resources are necessary to make the user’s desire a reality. (ENFP, ESFP)
Inferior: Originally manifests as the inability to set one’s external desires or plans into motion. As Te matures, the user finds themselves steadily more able to source the resources they require to make their dreams a reality. They also find themselves developing the ability to express their thoughts to others in a straightforward, logical manner. (ISFP, INFP)
Ti users are excellent problem solvers. Often very clear and concise with their words which can often come off as harsh or critical. Ti users are more likely to be cautious about implementing their ideas into the real world and prefer to just think. They want to use their knowledge to get a better understanding of things, and feed their thirst for knowledge.
Dominant: Manifests as the constant identification of logical patterns that exist in ones external environment as well as a keen perception for any deviations from those patterns. (INTP, ISTP)
Auxiliary: Manifests as the identification of how the logical systems in the user’s external environment could be manipulated to work to their advantage. (ENTP, ESTP)
Tertiary: Manifests as the organization of the user’s pre-existing knowledge in a logical, systematic format. (INFJ, ISFJ)
Inferior: Originally manifests as an excessively critical view of others, as it searches for objective (and often harsh) truths about other people. As Ti matures, the user will find themselves using the objective truths they pick up on about others to nurture and guide others in a positive fashion, rather than manipulating them for their own gain. (ESFJ, ENFJ)
FEELING
Fe is more focused on the people around them. “How would others feel about this?” “How would this affect the group?”
Dominant: Seeks to identify what is moral by identifying what those around them value, and then to enforce those values as a measure of keeping the peace in their external environment. (ESFJ, ENFJ)
Auxiliary: Manifests as the urge to apply one’s understanding of a given situation in a way that will satisfy the needs and desires of others. (INFJ, ISFJ)
Tertiary: Manifests as the ability to pick up on the motivations and emotions of those around the user. The immature Fe user may then take advantage of those feelings by manipulating them in a way that supports his or her own ends. The mature tertiary Fe user will search for a means of incorporating the needs of others into their personal plans and actions. (ENTP, ESTP)
Inferior: Originally manifests as the user being reluctant to dabble with or express emotional concerns, as the user cannot logically make sense of many of their own emotions and therefore doesn’t feel confident in moderating them.
As Fe matures, its user will feel increasingly comfortable making and keeping emotional commitments to others, as they grow more confident in what is expected of them. (INTP, ISTP)
Fi is more focused on their own self and emotions. “How do I feel about this?” “How will this affect me?” “What’s important to me?”
Dominant: Manifests as a moral compass that points its user toward the direction they ought to explore next, based on how they feel about the information at hand. (INFP, ISFP)
Auxiliary: Manifests as a method of reflecting on and assessing how the user feels about their past actions. (ENFP, ESFP)
Tertiary: Manifests as strong, unwavering set of morals and values which the user draws upon to dictate many of their major decisions. (INTJ, ISTJ)
Inferior: Manifests as a general disdain for emotional expression and a fear of being perceived as ‘weak’ by others. (ESTJ, ENTJ)
SENSING
Se lives in the moment and takes in new experiences. They see, touch, smell, and listen to everything going on in their external world. They easily pick up on details and are aware of their surroundings. They are also more spontaneous and likely to take risks.
Dominant: Manifests as the desire to engage fully with the sensory aspects of one’s environment, without any restraint or pause for analysis. (ESTP, ESFP)
Auxiliary: Manifests as the desire to experience and experiment with the sensory aspects that the user has determined to be the most enjoyable or useful. (ISFP, ISTP)
Tertiary: Manifests as the user’s ability to pick up cues from their external environment and react to them with a sense of natural confidence. (ENTJ, ENFJ)
Inferior: Originally manifests as a distrust of the physical world that surrounds its user, or the pervasive belief that one’s intellect can and must be trusted above the sensory information that is available. (INTJ, INFJ)
Si tends to focus on subjective information and contrasts personal experiences and information to new information. Si users easily pick up on patterns and are quick to notice inconsistencies. They are more likely to be cautious and responsible.
Dominant: Manifests as a powerful memory for what has worked well in the past, and the desire to structure one’s life around the traditions and positive outcomes of past experiences. (ISTJ, ISFJ)
Auxiliary: Manifests as the preference to rely on the tried-and-true method when working to accomplish a particular goal. (ESTJ, ESFJ)
Tertiary: Manifests as a proneness to nostalgia, as well as a method of contrasting the new and exciting with the old and the known. (INTP, INFP)
Inferior: Originally manifests as a resistance to tradition or conformity of any sort.
As Si matures, the user will find themselves steadily more able to determine when traditional methods are useful in accomplishing their goals and when they are not, and will begin to feel comfortable integrating tried-and-true methods into their experiences as they see fit. (ENTP, ENFP)
INTUITION
Ne focuses on what could be, and always sees many different possibilities. They often like change and can be a bit idealistic at times. This can cause them to have problems in relationships due to getting bored.
Dominant: Manifests as a seemingly never-ending plethora of theories, possibilities and inventive ideas that the user is constantly picking up on. (ENTP, ENFP)
Auxiliary: Manifests as a plethora of possibilities that arise to support or expand upon a thought or decision that the user has come to. (INTP, INFP)
Tertiary: Manifests as a series of creative solutions that may go into solving a given problem or moving them towards a goal. (ESTJ, ESFJ)
Inferior: Originally manifests as a reluctance to try new ways of doing things, occasionally giving way to anxiety over the unknown. As inferior Ne matures, its user will become more comfortable dwelling in uncertainties and entertaining new possibilities. (ISTJ, ISFJ)
Ni focuses inwards, on the internal world of thoughts, ideas, and concepts. They focus on the big picture more than details. They can sometimes reach random conclusions that seem to come out of nowhere.
Dominant: Manifests as a keen perception for the meaningful connections that exist between the thoughts, concepts, events and occurrences in the Ni-user’s environment. (INTJ, INFJ)
Auxiliary: Manifests as an understanding of how one ought to go about accomplishing his or her goals, based on a keen intuitive perception of how various courses of action are likely to unfold. (ENTJ, ENFJ)
Tertiary: Manifests as the desire to optimize or perfect upon one’s pre-existing talents or skills. (ISTP, ISFP)
Inferior: Manifests as a scorn or distaste for over-analyzing what is obvious or over-planning for the future. As inferior Ni matures, the user may find themselves developing a keen ‘hunch’ for the way things are bound to unfold in the future and will enjoy entertaining these ideas. (ESTP, ESFP)
