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Cognitive Functions: my understanding (reposted.)

If any of this should be inaccurate, or of there are any inconsistencies, or questions, or if anyone has feedback…let me know. I’m open to changing my mind and learning more, what follows will just be what I think right now.

My current understanding of cognitive functions

MBTI is about​ cognition, and cognition is absorbing (P) and processing (J) information. This can be done in multiple ways varying between two generalised extremes for each:

Absorbing information can either be done through direct use of the senses (S) or through considering context and interactions, drawing information from what these imply (N.)

Processing information is done either through the application of logical principles and facts (T) or the application of moral principles and convictions (F)

These can be further divided into introverted (I) meaning subjective/inward focused or extroverted (E) meaning objective/outward focused.

Additionally, introversion uses internal processes whereas extroversion uses external processes - introverted peeceiving uses information gathered to inform their awareness whilst extroverted perceiving uses information at hand, and introverted judging develops systems, modifies them, or pushes their boundaries to suit personal requirements, whereas extroverted judging works within a system, with tools provided by the system, to achieve its goals.

Thus we have the functions: Si, Se, Ni, Ne, Ti, Te, Fi, Fe.

Now, as to each of these functions and what they mean.

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Cognitive Functions: Feeling Functions

Fe

Fe is an extroverted feeling function, and a judging function. This means Fe objectively seeks to apply moral guidelines and convictions in the making of decisions. Which means that Fe bases its ideas of right and wrong on what others say and do, how they behave and how they may be influenced, making use of the paired function Ti to analyse the minutiae and come up with various moral stances taking into account whatever variables may present themselves. Attempting to process something, Fe will take into account the feelings of others, both from what they say and from what Fe can read of them, as well as considering how everyone may be affected, and making a decision based on all available information. The same action may be judged as right or wrong depending on various circumstances, and Fe is always prepared to take more information into account and adjust its view. Fe deals with conflicting values by analysing the details and finding points to differentiate one situation from the other, or finding compromises. High Fe is generally quite adept at reading the feelings of others through much practice, whereas lower Fe may simply think it can read others’ feelings well, when in fact it’s simply projecting its expectations. High Fe is also often more adept at dealing with emotions than lower Fe, as high Fe has a stockpile of expected behaviors to rely on, both with themselves and others - this may, however, come across as 'hollow.' Lower Fe is unsure of how to respond or what to expect, both when experiencing a feeling or dealing with someone emotional. Fe in general and low Fe in particular is also generally less sure of its own identity, having spent more time reacting to the emotional states and needs of others than examining their own.

Fi

Fi is an introverted feeling function, and a judging function. This means that Fi subjectively makes decisions based on moral principles and convictions. Which means that Fi forms ideas of right and wrong - partly with the assistance of Te which objectively evaluates information and actions, and partly through attempts to maintain consistency in moral views - and will always try to act according to those ideas of right and wrong. Processing a situation, Fi will seek to remain true to its convictions. Fi does not like to compromise - a thing is as it is and to try to view it otherwise is to lie to yourself. Fi also tends to rank everything by value. A certain moral guideline or goal is more important than another and if two convictions conflict, the more important wins out. In high Fi, these hierarchies can often be well defined and have a certain consistency, whereas low Fi may seem arbitrary and vague about values. High Fi is also associated with a strong understanding of identity - a high Fi user has spent a lot of time examining themselves and learning their own values. Low Fi may be unsure of who they are or how they came to be as they are, and may seem somewhat mercurial. Fi users in general have less interest in people the less they identify with those people - for lower Fi, the association with a person needs to be stronger - and may come across as self-absorbed or selfish, though this is not always the case. In healthy Fi, there’s often a “Live and let live” attitude. Lower Fi may try to “correct” others, or may have an attitude similar in effect but not in spirit to the above - “Not my circus, not my monkeys” where rather than assuming each person knows what’s best for themselves, they take the view that as they don’t care about this person, this person is on their own.

Fi vs Fe: Fi judges based on internal processes - how does this affect me? What’s my read on this? Fe judges based on external processes - how does this affect others? What’s their response to this?

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Cognitive Functions: Thinking Functions

Te

Te is an extroverted judging function, and a thinking function. This means Te objectively processes information through use of logical principles and facts. Which means that Te will attempt to determine the validity of information by examining sources and make decisions based on effectiveness. Attempting to understand something, Te will research every aspect of that thing, extracting the relevant information and compiling it into a theory of how the subject works - Te has a preference for inductive reasoning. They’ll determine validity of their sources first by the effectiveness of the information (according to Te you can’t argue with results) and secondly by the amount of sources that agree. Any inconsistencies can be overcome if a source provides results. In a debate, a Te user will always prefer to examine an opponent’s sources - if the sources are deemed valid by the above standards, Te will generally concede that the opposition must have a point, at least to a degree, and will attempt to determine “ranks” of validity. However, Te will be very unlikely to actually admit to being wrong without their own sources being discredited. A high Te user will be more capable of comparing the validity of sources and as such will be more capable of forming effective theories. A low Te user may be more prone to accepting poor sources and as such may accept falsehoods as facts, and defend them fiercely, as low Te will often justify its sources unless utterly discredited. Alternatively, low Te may simply refuse to recognise the validity of any opposing information.

Te is associated with Fi, as a subjective moral view better aligns with objective facts, and does not require an examination of the individual reasoning of any group or person.

Ti

Ti is an introverted judging function, and a thinking function. This means it subjectively processes information through use of logical principles and facts. Which means that Ti will attempt to “make sense” of things through analysis and extrapolation and make decisions based on what makes the most sense. Trying to understand something, Ti will first refer to the information it already accepts as true (the logical framework,) attempting to determine the necessary information by examining and extrapolating from information already available to preserve consistency - thus Ti has a preference for deductive logic. If this fails, Ti will take information gathered through perceiving functions, compare to the logical framework check for inconsistencies or flaws in logic and then either discard the information or add it to the framework. In a debate, Ti will prefer to examine an opponent’s logic to find flaws in reasoning. Alternatively, Ti may wish to examine the opponent’s sources - if those sources are facts from which the opponent drew their opinion, a Ti user will wish to see if they draw the same conclusion, and if the sources are others who offered a conclusion, a Ti user will wish to determine the validity of such sources by examining their logic for fallacies and breaks in consistency.

A high Ti user will likely be adept at spotting flawed logic and can therefore generally easily disregard flawed information, and build a reliable logical framework. High Ti will be capable of breaking down a thing to its most basic principles and using these to simplify and understand it. A low Ti user may be less adept at this and, as such, more prone to accepting poor reasoning as accurate and flawed theories as facts. Low Ti is prone to making a theory more and more complex in order to explain away inconsistencies and fallacies.

Ti is associated with an objective moral view (Fe) as this avoids inconsistencies.

Ti vs Te: Ti makes judgements using internal processes - if these are the facts, what’s the logical conclusion? Te makes judgements using external processes - if this is the question, what answers are available, what solves the problem?

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Cognitive Functions: Intuitive functions

Ne

Ne is a perceiving function, is extroverted and is intuitive. This means Ne absorbs information objectively through observation of context and content. Which means that Ne considers reality to be a mass of interconnected bits of information, each influencing the other, and Ne seeks to discern this influence through identifying connections and relying on past experiences (Si) to provide insight - either into the information under observation or into something similar, or something connected. Ne then creates various possibilities and will slowly whittle these down. As an objective perceiving function, Ne is not comfortable treating its ideas as certainties until proven and as such will generally consider every possibility equally until evidence elevates one over others - and even then may generate more possibilities and end up giving them equal consideration. High Ne will often eliminate the truly ridiculous shortly after considering it. Low Ne, may get caught up imagining more and more possibilities or, alternatively, shut itself off to even likely possibilities as baseless nonsense. Ne enjoys novelty, a result of its manner of branching out into ever expanding possibilities - each new experience opens up a world of new options to the Ne user. Ne is most comfortable when able to imagine and explore, and create a world inside its head.

Ni

Ni is a perceiving function, is introverted, and intuitive. This means it absorbs information subjectively through observation of context and content. Which means Ni sees observable reality as a veneer hiding deeper meanings. Offered new information (by use of Se) Ni will seek to understand how this fits into a greater pattern, drawing both on experience and on the context of the information, and from this will attempt to create a projection of a possible future. Ni is always living in the future, taking every new bit of information into account for what effect it will have, or as confirmation of their expectations. High Ni will accurately judge the effect of information on their projections and can come across as eerily prescient. Low Ni, however, may over- or underestimate information and form a very skewed perception of the future. Ni is also given to experiencing “eureka moments” when a bit of information falls into place and they extrapolate from this a new detail that had previously been obscured to them. These moments, along with having their expectations confirmed, are among the greatest sources of pleasure for Ni users. Ni is most comfortable in situations where it has all the information and knows what to expect, and perhaps particularly if nobody else does - Ni does love its mystique.

Ni vs Ne: Ni examines content and context internally - what does x mean in terms of all of this? Where is this going? Ne examines content and context externally - how does x interact with all of this? What’s the result?

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Cognitive Functions: Sensing functions

Se

Se is a perceiving function, a sensing function, and extroverted. This means Se absorbs information objectively through the direct use of senses. Which means Se takes reality as is, no expectations or complications. Each experience is treated as unique, and it deals with these experiences purely through observing the facts and a making use of its insight into the information being absorbed, for which it uses Ni. A high Se user can accurately assess information being absorbed, its insight being limited to what it can immediately discern, allowing the user to accurately perceive many details and form an idea of what their role is on a larger scale. A low Se user may miss or misinterpret certain details, and as such may misjudge the relevance of these details, due to imbuing them with far more meaning than necessary. Se takes pleasure in experience - anything new or a more extreme version of what previously gave them pleasure. Se does not need familiarity to feel comfortable, merely awareness of its surroundings.

Si

Si is a perceiving function, a sensing function, and introverted. This means it absorbs information subjectively through the direct use of their senses. Which means its view of reality is coloured by its experience of reality. It forms associations between experiences and sensory information and expects consistency - the same information means the same experience. That connection is formed using Ne, which is paired with Si. In a high Si user, these connections will be more reliable - the user will accurately perceive which details lead to which experience. In a low Si user it becomes less reliable - the user may expect an experience to reoccur based on details that have nothing to do with the experience. Similarly, a high Si user may be better able to discern between physical experiences and emotional experiences that can, sometimes, cause a physical sensation - low Si thinks it’s sad when it’s really just hungry. Because Si expects a correlation between sensory input and experience, it may be more comfortable in orderly surroundings, partially because its easier to assess information and partially because order often accompanies effectiveness. Si also seeks comfort in the familiar, because it knows what to expect.

Si vs Se: Si examines sensory information internally - what information they’ve already gathered in total, looking for a trend. Se examines information externally - what data is available in the moment, aiming for the most accurate assessment.

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About the Author

I work in security, I love reading, I try to be a writer, and I suck less at math than I thought I did. I fucking love science.

I'm fairly certain I'm a Ti dom. Used to be sure if Ne auxiliary, not entirely confident anymore. Working on it.

Enneagram probably cp6w5 or 5w6.

Ask whatever you want to know.

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Officially moved!

My old blogs will continue on here. Needed a fresh start.

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MBTI: Cognitive functions (my current understanding)

If any of this should be inaccurate, or of there are any inconsistencies, or questions, or if anyone has feedback…let me know. I’m open to changing my mind and learning more, what follows will just be what I think right now.

This will be the main post - I will then reblog this post with each of the cognitive functions, so that they all can be kept in the same place, which seems the easiest thing to do on mobile.

My current understanding of cognitive functions

MBTI is about​ cognition, and cognition is absorbing (P) and processing (J) information. This can be done in multiple ways varying between two generalised extremes for each:

Absorbing information can either be done through direct use of the senses (S) or through considering context and interactions, drawing information from what these imply (N.)

Processing information is done either through the application of logical principles and facts (T) or the application of moral principles and convictions (F)

These can be further divided into introverted (I) meaning subjective/inward focussed or extroverted (E) meaning objective/outward focussed.

Thus we have the functions: Si, Se, Ni, Ne, Ti, Te, Fi, Fe.

Now, what is each of these functions?