Centres: heart triad
The core neurosis of image types revolves around the idea of needing to earn love. Instead of being loved for who they are, they come up with constructing an identity and the next thing that happens is that they look for affirmation of their image games. This validation is mistaken for genuine love and appreciation. The defense mechanism has nothing to do with questions as to who they really are. If anything, heart types usually avoid “who am I” like the plague. This includes 4s as their supposed self-awareness is about overfocussing on negativity.
Their construct is what they offer and how they want to control other people’s perceptions of them. For 2s, it’s about the self-image of being a moral and loving person, which is offered to the outside world for validation. 3s construct a self-image of someone who is always developing and improving themself. For 4s the validation is a paradoxical one as they seek this in terms of what they are not. People not understanding them affirms that they lack something and this suffering is what they use to get validation and sympathy.
