03 The 8 cognitive roles in-depth explanation (OLD AND OUTDATED)
UPDATE 2021-10-08: THE POSTS ON THIS BLOG ARE SHIT. THEY WERE WRITTEN ONLY MONTHS AFTER I DISCOVERED TYPOLOGY AND I DON'T AGREE WITH AT LEAST HALF OF THE STUFF HERE ANYMORE. I DO NOT REGRET MAKING THESE POSTS BECAUSE WRITING IS A LEARNING EXERCISE FOR ME BUT YOU HAVE TO KEEP IN MIND THAT THEY ARE OLD AND OUTDATED. READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND USE CRITICAL THINKING.
As covered in the ‘Introduction to typology’ article,
everyone uses all 8 cognitive functions, what makes up the different 16 types
is the “role” that each function
plays for each type. It’s like what function goes into what ‘slot’. That’s when
the 8 cognitive roles come in; (they are also known as function positions). Here
is my interpretation of the model. Different experts use different models. Famous
models are Model A (1980) (Ashura Augusta), Model G (2012) (Gulenko), Beebe
Model (1988) (to not be confused with Model B!) Reinin’s Model (19??) (have no
idea why this isn’t called model R), Harold Grant model (~1960) (implies that
we use only 4 functions for some reason), Model J (original 1921, actual 19??)
(Augusta’s interpretation of Carl Jung’s original model), MBTI model (1944) (Isabel
Myers Briggs’ model, again implies that we only use 4 and not 8 functions for
some reason) and many many others. Here is MY model, which is a mix of more and
other various details added by myself, decided upon what makes sense to me.
Look here for a brief overview of the most popular function
models: https://www.reddit.com/r/mbti/comments/50dg6f/overview_of_popular_function_models/?st=j55s67z0&sh=59bbb72d
To not mention the source link every 5 lines and make my
article a big unformatted mess, I warn you that I will steal quote a lot
from these wonderful articles:
http://ojjt.org/2016/03/a-personal-take-on-beebes-eight-function-model/
Dr. Gregory Reinin’s book.
http://i.imgur.com/Z7FEXol.png
(model G)
;
This article will be split into 3 parts: 1. Functional
dichotomies , 2. Blocks, 3. Roles.
Firstly, let us remember the short descriptions from the 01
article; pay close attention because we will need them for the entire length of
this article to make up the actual definitions:
“1st: Dominant role:
Strongest function. The thing you can do perfectly even at 4AM standing upside
down: Strongest function you are most confident in and is used in all areas of
life. Indifferent to praise
2nd: Auxiliary role:
Third strongest function. The helping function. Used to interact with others,
you use it to help your dominant function, other people and yourself. It’s what
we never take but always give to the world.
3rd: Tertiary role:
Fifth strongest function. This is what you take from the world, but never give
back. This is also what you are overconfident in which can cause problems and
is something that “activates” you like fuel, but others have to activate it for
you because it is very hard for the subject to produce it himself.
4th: Inferior role: 7th
strongest function (2nd to weakest). Naturally repressed and very unvalued but
at the same time what completes us. Love/hate relationship with it, people
generally complain about it because they really need it (even though they deny
it at first) but they can’t use it themselves.
5th: Ignoring role:
Fourth strongest function. Area of stubbornness, irritating and tiring to use,
is only used sparingly and when appropriate. Use by others is often seen as
'missing the point'. We often notice it and study it deeply just to do the
reversed of it. When we engage it we do it just so that we prove how bad it is.
6th: Demonstrative role:
Second strongest function. Is often seen as boring or even ludicrous when used
often by others, it is the function we exaggerate and fake the most just
because we don't find it important. Can also be used as ammunition against
those weak at the function due to how mundane and simple the user finds it.
Will often be a trait of the user others recognize in them, but they may deny
this themselves.
7th: PoLR role (short
for Point of Least Resistance): Weakest function. It is the process we ignore
the most and we neglect the most. The area we use the least out of all 8. Use
by others is often seen as “Do what you want with it but don’t make me use it”.
8th: Role role: This is
the 6th strongest function (3rd to weakest). It is often the function we use on
the first impression when meeting new people or when engaging in new
experiences. Others may observe we have an “on off” switch on it, and it is
true because it cancels out our dominant function. Sensitive to insults. What
we are when we aren't truly "us".”
;
1. ROLE DICHOTOMIES
I find this a very important part in typology, while the
first usual 5 dichotomies I described (I/E, N/S, T/F, P/J and p/j) are to split
the TYPES into 2 equal parts, role dichotomies (IMPORTANT NOTE: SOCIONICS CALLS
THEM FUNCTIONAL DICHOTOMIES SO USE THAT IF YOU WANT TO RESEARCH YOURSELF) split
the 8 cognitive roles into 2 equal parts. Here is a brief overview of all of
the basic important ones:
Strong vs. weak:
Strong roles are your dominant, auxiliary, ignoring and
demonstrative. Weak functions are your tertiary, inferior, PoLR and role.
Strong functions generally have
a more sophisticated grasp on information, and can be used practically for the
benefit of oneself and others. Weak functions, in contrast, tend to
oversimplify data, do not usually generate conclusions on their own and tend to
be unreliable in most difficult situations.
NTs will have strong N and T functions, weak S and F. NFs
will have strong N and F weak S and T. STs will have strong S and T, weak N and
F. SFs will have strong S and F, weak N and T. That is because the stronger you
use a function, the reversed of that would get a little stronger too. For
example if I’m an Se dominant, even if I don’t use Si at all, my Si will be
strong because I used a lot of Se so I became good at Se and also at sensing in
general. Simple, right?
Valued vs. unvalued:
Valued roles are the ones in our main stack (dominant,
auxiliary, tertiary, inferior), unvalued functions are the other remaining 4
(ignoring, demonstrative, PoLR, role). Valued functions are generally used more
enjoyable, are more positive and are therefore more “valued”. The functions in
our unvalued roles, by contrast, are disliked by the user and generally produce
negative outcomes (may be short term or long term).
Conscious vs. unconscious (also called mental vs. vital):
Conscious functions are in our dominant, auxiliary, PoLR and
role positions. Unconscious roles are tertiary, inferior, ignoring and
demonstrative. Functions in our conscious roles strive to verbalize information
and formulate observations and form the core of the individual's intellectual
activity. On the other hand, the functions in the unconscious roles tend to
manifest themselves without words in the process of doing things or
inadvertently in the form of spontaneous sentiments/gut feelings.
Bold vs. cautious:
Our bold functions are dominant, tertiary, demonstrative and
role. Our cautious function positions are our auxiliary, inferior, ignoring and
PoLR. Bold functions are used with confidence and more freely while functions
in our cautious roles are used with caution and insecurity, with a lack of
confidence in them. That is because our bold functions are of the same I/E
attitude as our preferred one (if you’re extraverted, they will be extraverted,
if you’re introverted they will be introverted) while our cautious functions
are of opposing I/E attitude to our preferred one, therefore not in the “realm
we dominate” (be it external (Extraversion) or internal (introversion)).
Accepting vs. producing:
Accepting functions are located in the dominant, inferior,
ignoring and role spots. Producing functions are located in the auxiliary,
tertiary, demonstrative and PoLR spots. The task of accepting functions is to
obtain a model of reality, their goal - to understand what is transpiring.
Functions in producing roles are means of changing the reality. They do not
merely reflect the reality, as accepting functions do, but generate an altered,
imagined picture of the world, which serves as a solution of their tasks (they
are tools or even toys, we play with them like building lego blocks or clay).
Inert vs. contact:
Inert roles are dominant, ignoring, tertiary and PoLR,
accepting roles are auxiliary, inferior, demonstrative and role. Inert
functions are rather rigid in their functioning; they are almost immune to
internal changes. They require an external impulse of sufficient strength so
that something in them changes. They are characterized by fairly long response,
and often a fixate on the state to which the external impact has led. Thus they
tend towards relative permanence.
Functions in contact roles are very mobile and able to manage
their state well. It is through these functions that a primary reaction to an
outside impact is developed. They produce an initial processing of information
received, they also generate final decisions. Thus, their activity is
determined by what's transpiring around or current tasks, among which they can
easily switch.
Evalutionary/Situational:
Evalutionary roles contain your strongest and weakest
functions: dominant, demonstrative, inferior and PoLR. Situational roles are
your auxiliary, tertiary, ignoring and role. We make strong judgments about our
evolutionary functions and often are very opinionated with information in their
area of work. Functions in our situational roles are accessed on a case-by-case
basis, so decisions and judgments made in these areas are more or less inclined
to remain constant.
;
2 BLOCKS
We had dichotomies for the 16 types, and I showed you above
the dichotomies for the 8 cognitive roles. (remember: dichotomy = way of
splitting group of contents (Be it types, functions or roles) into 2 equal
parts) Remember tetrachotomies and small groups, which were a way of splitting
into 4 equal parts instead of 2? Well, we can do that with cognitive roles too.
Examples of tetrachotomies of types are quadras, clubs, communications styles,
romance styles, temperament etc. (I showcased in 01: Introduction To Typology).
A “cognitive role small group” is called a block. The most important blocks are
Augusta’s blocks, we create the 4 by combining the valued/unvalued, strong/weak
and conscious/unconscious dichotomies.
Socionics called these 4 blocks ego, super-id, id and
super-ego. They are supposed to be an interpretation of Freudian theory BUT HEY
THEY DIDN’T HAVE SUPER-ID, WELL YOU CAN’T DIVIDE 8 BY 3. Whether the blocks
actually correspond to those Freudian concepts is still left to interpretation
although, even if we can call them however we want, I will still call them by
the most known names to avoid confusion.
Ego –
Conscious, Strong and Valued: Dominant and Auxiliary. The most
apparent part of our personality. Functions in the Ego Block are those which we
actively bring to the world, conducting ourselves and affecting our
surroundings according to them. They represent the parts of our personality
that we identify with, or see as "ourselves" or our identity. They
also represent the primary functions that we consciously prefer to use in the
world.
Key words: Confidence, strength, ego, identity, helping,
skill, goals, main values.
Super-Id –
Unconscious, Weak and Valued: Tertiary and Inferior. The unconscious
needs we find help with from others. They represent the parts of our
personality that we view as attractive and desirable but lacking in ourselves. We
are weakly aware of these functions and do not have much conscious control over
them, but we enjoy having them stimulated by others. They represent the primary functions that we
prefer to receive from the world. We might have a love/hate relationship with
them (Especially in childhood and teens) they are repressed and go berserk
under periods of stress and negativity (in a negative way).
Key words: “Help me”, stress, lack of knowledge, insecurity,
unconscious, repressed, love/hate, envy.
Id –
Unconscious, Strong and Unvalued: Ignoring and Demonstrative. The
rejected approaches. We look down upon functions in the Id Block as the
alternative but incorrect ways of doing what we accomplish in our Ego. They
represent the parts of our personality that we view as easy and effortless, but
lacking in importance or relevance. We often consider them to be either trivial
or private. We do not identify with them or notice them in ourselves, although
they are often evident to others (especially the demonstrative function). What
we often find as "obvious" information, although also wrong.
Key words: Hypocrisy, fakeness, obvious, know it all, seen by
others but not us, skilled but hates it, rejection, dislike, “doing the dirty
work”.
Super-Ego –
Conscious, Weak and Unvalued: PoLR and Role. Functions in our
super-ego block are the least valued functions, often associated with
neuroticism, negativity, pain and hurt. We often wish they never existed anyway
and look down upon those who use them, ironically we are also very sensitive to
insults at them. We view these as expectations society has upon us that we lack
in ourselves. We may choose to try to live up to those expectations (and likely
fail) (we often see that in teenagers who try to be "IN DA KOOL KIDZ
KLUB") or try to reject them altogether, being frustrated and lashing out
at even the slightest signal of this function being pushed down upon us.
Key words:
Pain, suffering, the dark side, frustration, confusion, “wtf?”, hate,
resentment, humiliation, split personality/alter-ego, deceiving “I need to work
on this to self-growth” (when you really shouldn’t), inadequacy.
;
THE EIGHT COGNITIVE ROLES/FUNCTION
POSITIONS OF THE TYPE:
Note: If you
don’t have enough time and/or patience you can just read the “summary” part of
each cognitive role. (Absent in the dominant one though because the description
is very short anyway)
1st: Dominant role (Also known as hero, management or
leading): Strongest function. Most conscious function. Most valued function.
This is the function that you use
every second of your life, your dominant one, the one you get a grasp from the
minute you were born, it's also your strongest and the most valued by you. It’s
your main “way of being”. I don’t have much to add here, other than it is the
true function you can call “ego” or “self”, looking at this process you can
truly say “THIS IS ME”. What you can
do perfectly even at 3AM standing upside down on your hands. It is so powerful that it can be hard
to see it objectively – it’s like a fish trying to evaluate the water it’s
swimming in. It is almost impossible to ignore. At the same time, since it is
so necessary to use this process to even start thinking, we don’t have much
control over it, as in turning it on and off. It always must be on. It is
how we define our identity “I *x* therefore I am” (replace x with the
agenda of your dominant function).
For example, the phrase “cogito ero sum” (To think is to be)
fits perfectly the two types INTPj and ISTPj, Ti dominants. For other types
different principles of existence can be valid: “I am loved, therefore I exist”
(Fe), “I am healthy, stable and have a roof over my head, therefore I exist”
(Si), “I feel, therefore I exist” (Fi), “The world is in order, therefore I
exist” (Te), “I can move my body, therefore I exist” (Se, paralysis in bed or
chair would destroy an ESxPp), I am free therefore I exist (Ne), I am secure
and at peace therefore I exist (Ni).
To make a swordfighting analogy, a dominant “swordfighting”
function would be someone who is in the midst of battle, whose main goal in
life is to fight their way out of it.
Remember this is the reversed of your 5th function
so it will work in disharmony with it and the opposite of your 8th
function so it will cancel it out.
The function in this role/position is: strong, valued,
conscious, bold, accepting, inert and evaluatory. (See definitions above in the
beginning of this article)
2nd: Auxiliary role (also known as creative): Third
strongest function. Second most conscious function. Second most valued
function.
This is the function that supports the dominant, because the
dominant simply can't work without this. If the dominant is a rational
(information-processing) function, it needs an irrational/perceiving auxiliary
to absorb the needed information to process. If the dominant function is an
irrational one, it needs a rational/judging auxiliary so it can do something
with all the information acquired, so you can actually make decisions. This is
always what we give and produce for the world but almost never take back.
The helping function that works flexibly in order to
serve the demands of the dominant function, helping them to be accomplished
well is the one in the auxiliary role. This is the main “tool” you use for the
world. It is always under the leash of the dominant, so it will NEVER be used
alone on its own, instead, it will help the dominant reach its goals. This is
your helping function: it’s how you help both yourself and others, and
generally what people see first in you (especially in the case of
introverts->> because their auxiliary is extraverted).
Unlike the dominant function, this is not required to have a
sense of self and you don’t base much of your identity on it so it doesn’t
require it to be on at all times, therefore you have a little more control over
it, it can be turned on and off “I can build a system or I may not build
a system, it’s my choice”. With the
dominant function, systems, procedures, experiences, models, etc. are made
automatically. With the auxiliary you have more power over it.
Because this is of opposite orientation to your preferred one
(your auxiliary function is extraverted for introverts and introverted for
extraverts) (it’s a cautious function) we can often lose touch of it heavily
and turn to our 3rd function for comfort. This process is commonly
called “dominant-tertiary loops” (loops for short), although I find it a VERY
misleading term since it’s impossible
to just “skip” your auxiliary function like that, you still use it, just in an
unhealthy way. Loops, grips, etc. are just certain characteristics of certain
cognitive roles.
In so called “loops” you OVERUSE (yes your heard that
right) the function in your auxiliary role, in a very negative way to affirm
your dominant, it goes from quality to quantity. Auxiliary Ne in INTPjs, for
example, will look for all ever existing possibilities just to prove them all
wrong. A healthy TiN will look for just enough possibilities (less than in a
“loop”) and use them properly (NOTE: THE LAST PART ABOUT THE AUXILIARY OVERUSE
IN LOOPS IS PURELY SPECULATION AT THIS POINT, TAKE IT WITH A GRAIN OF SALT.
IT’S A NEW PERSONAL THEORY).
An auxiliary “swordfighting” function would be someone who is
aiming to rescue the princess in the castle, for whom swordfighting is a useful
tool to help them reach their goal.
Remember that this is the reversed of your 6h
function so it will work with it in disharmony and the opposite of your 7th
function so it will cancel it out.
A summary of the auxiliary role:
-under the leash of the dominant role
-your tool for the world
-unlike dominant you can turn it on/off
-what we give to the world but never take back
-how we help ourselves and help others
-we might lose touch with it because it’s a cautious function
and make it very negative
The function in this role/position is: strong, valued,
conscious, cautious, producing, contact and situational. (See definitions above
in the beginning)
3rd: Tertiary role (also known as relief, eternal child
(puer eternus), mobilizing, launcher and hidden agenda): Fifth strongest
function. 6th most conscious function (3rd most
unconscious). Third most valued function.
The balancing function of your auxiliary plays this role.
While the auxiliary is something you give but never take back, the function
playing the tertiary role is the area
where you always take from the world but almost never give back.
Because it balances the auxiliary (Which is already a tool in itself, the slave
of the dominant) and not the dominant (like the inferior/4th
function does) it is generally a bit
uncared about. It’s the spot where you are kind of weak, but still,
decently strong enough but you don’t care about it anyway, so you practice it
less than the inferior, which is weaker but its strength is more important to
you than the strength of the tertiary (Which ironically is bigger).
Unlike the 4th/inferior role, the tertiary is something that we still seek help in but
too much is too much. We don't like when people pay excessive/enormous attention to this
function. Long periods of use of the function in the tertiary role is very
tiring (this is the most exhausting/draining/tiring function to use along with
the 5th/ignoring role. Gulenko’s Model G talks about it, and no,
energy drained has nothing to do with strong/weak).
This is the other “tool” you have in your toolbox, and it’s
the one people tend to use when seeking or being immersed in novel or
low-pressure situations. It’s something that you don’t often reach for or seek
out, but that you still value and find pleasurable to use, and that brings
balance to your auxiliary function. It comes out the most in terms of fun or
play, so some theories refer to it as the “child”,
"relief" or "play" role. We could think of it toy function, although of course
it can also be useful as a tool in many situations.
It is the zone of
problems: you have overconfidence in it,
confidence because it’s a bold function and over because it’s a weak function,
therefore we very often overestimate our abilities in it (same way as we do
with our 8th function which is also bold and weak), causing
problems. This area can
be labeled 'the zone of problems': Here people do not understand humor, they
are simply not ready to joke about these issues. As a rule, these jokes cause
somatic reflex of autonomic nervous system, frustration, and stress.
However, just one paragraph above I noted that it’s the
play/relief/childish/toy role, how the hell can we be both serious and
not-serious about it? Have you ever heard the expression " you can dish it
out but you can't take it?" It means you can laugh at others but can't laugh at yourself.
Someone easily criticizes and
ridicules other people in the area of the tertiary role (same with the 5th
function) but does not like it when other people laugh at him or her. Both behaviors are both part of a
child attitude after all, children like to play but are to insecure to try with
real stakes and they are super sensitive to criticism: the tertiary role is
like that. After all it’s our “child”
function. Children also cause a lot of problems and we see that this is
the “zone of problems”. If you are trying to identify your tertiary function
ask yourself: What function do you feel is a child (alternatively, a little
brat) you always have to take care of, otherwise it causes trouble?
It’s the thing that “Activates
us” like fuel. When others provide it for us, our dominant function works
10 times better and faster (not actually 10, that was just a random number, but
it’s definitely a big number). Psychology has a concept of a reference group - a group of significant
people in one's life (first of all parents, then – other respected people) who
evaluate him: “you are good” or “you are bad”. Thus they receive energy from
the society.
A tertiary “swordfighting” function would be someone who is
an office worker by day, but swordfights in their free time as a fun challenge.
Remember that this is the reversed of your 7th function,
so it works in disharmony with it, and the opposite of your 6th
function, so it cancels it out.
A summary of the tertiary role:
-what you take from the world but never give back
-you are “meh” strong about it but you don’t care about its
strength anyway most of the time
-we like receiving help from others in this area but not too
much
-because it’s bold and weak we are overconfident in it,
creating problems
-we never laugh at ourselves using it and take jokes,
criticism and ridicule from others personally in this area but we laugh at
others
-where we are basically childish
-it’s a “relaxation” function
-it’s what “activates us” like fuel
The function in this role/position is: weak, valued, unconscious,
bold, producing, inert and situational. (See definitions above in the beginning
of the article)
4th: Inferior role (also known as suggestive,
dual-seeking, manipulative and anima/animus) : 7th strongest function (2nd to
weakest). 5th most conscious function. Fourth most valued function.
This is the function you use as a counterbalance to your
dominant function. It is useful in scenarios where your dominant function is
not, but immature or unhealthy people often treat it as a threat because it
represents a divergence from the normal way they see, interpret, or interact
with the world. It's generally our
"shadow", the unconscious part of ourselves we don't always want
to accept. Positively, it can be used as a
function to aspire at, to make yourself be a better and healthier person,
brining overall harmony and balance to your psyche.
Negatively, it goes berserk under stress (in a bad way of course). Under negative situations, it
projects itself onto our unconscious (often called “inferior grips”). We become
slaves of the function in our inferior role (As Jung put it), it is very easily
manipulated and generally controls us. Generally, this is sometimes called “the
shadow” of the ego (To not be confused with the four shadow functions!!), be it
the repressed aspect of your personality that hides all your insecurities,
traumas and biggest fears. Even with all the negative aspects of it, it is the
exact part of your psyche you need to work on, to face all your fears and come
to psychological wholeness.
We often have a very love/hate relationship with it
generally. (more hate in teens, more love when getting older, a weird
indifference in early childhood I guess?)
That said, in people who are healthy and open-minded, it can
be essential balancing agent. Think of it as your dominant function being
similar to your dominant hand, but your non-dominant hand can also be strong
and can be necessary to achieving your goals. You wouldn’t try to do things
only with your non-dominant hand, but at the same time someone would be
handicapped if they had it tied behind their back and were unable or unwilling
to use it at all when their dominant hand was occupied or not strong enough on
its own.
The function in the inferior role is very easily manipulated and controlled and is purely dependent on
external sources. Unlike the tertiary function, no amount of outsider help is
“too much”, this is the source of enjoyment and growth. We crave stimulation
and help in this function from others but are incapable of satisfaction in it
alone.
What happens is we can try to (And likely fail) at imposing
this function on ourselves much more than the tertiary (as a result leading the
8th/role function being much stronger than 7th/PoLR),
which is often a process called “Self dualization”: We are pretty strict when
we try to test our limits on this, and criticism from outward sources is never
taken personally anyway. While the first function is about "things I have
sufficient knowledge about", the fourth function is about "what other
people know". Here a person is prone to be guided by others, to lean on
external authority.
An inferior “swordfighting” function would be a rogue who
spends their life sneaking past guards and watchmen, but who is very grateful
to be able to pull out their sword and fight should they actually be noticed.
Remember that this function is the reversed of the 8h
so it works in disharmony with it and the opposite of your 5th so it
cancels it out!
Here is a summary of the inferior role:
-love/hate
-activated under stress negatively
-we have to accept it as our dark side to bring psychological
wholeness
-our non-dominant hand (left hand for most people)
-easily manipulated
-“Where others know”
-can be pretty strict on ourselves in this area
The function in this role/position is: weak, valued,
unconscious, cautious, accepting, inert and evaluatory. (See definitions above)
SHADOW FUNCTIONS: (Also what I beforehand called “unvalued
functions”)
As much as the dominant function is the only function that is
truly attached to your ego and the one that you could truly call “self”, the
other 3 functions in your main stack are still part of your self. Often when we
think about our shadow functions we think of them as an impostor, “this is not
myself”. Through personal observation I found out that the order from 1 to 8 is
not only by preference, but, also by how
much of the function we control. I repeat, not how much we control them but how much of the function we
control. (we control our auxiliary more than our dominant, but the true
question is HOW MUCH OF IT we control)
That said, we often struggle to control our four shadow
functions, so often when we engage in the process of the four shadow functions
we might feel that they control
ourselves. They are often very negative, the source of negative experiences,
how we lash out at others or ourselves. Another negative aspect of it is that
using one of the shadow functions mean replacing one of our functions from the
main stack, (the opposite function), meaning that to use a function in your
shadow stack (actually for the function to use you) would mean that a function
from your main stack would have to be canceled/blocked which is not a very good
thing, disturbing your psychological peace.
Contrary to the valued functions, the shadow functions have
both a “light” conscious controlled side and a “dark” uncontrolled side. The
light side is generally the one described by socionics model A, the dark side
is what John Beebe touched upon (opposing, critical parent, trickster,
daemonic). I will try to explain both.
Giving the swordsfighting analogy again the shadow functions
(5, 6, 7, 8) mean using the same skill but in the opposite direction. So
instead of landing your blow on your opponent, you are purposefully trying to
miss. Instead of dodging your opponent’s attacks, you are attempting to step
into them. In many ways, this feels unnatural and useless, so it is something
you try to avoid doing – HOWEVER, there are instances and times where being
able to do these things can be valuable, and I will show it below.
The shadow/unvalued functions are ignoring, demonstrative,
PoLR and role.
5th: Ignoring role (also known as opposing, observing,
control or argumentative): Fourth strongest function. 7th most
conscious function (2nd most unconscious). Fifth most valued function.
Being the reversed of your dominant function, this is
something you are generally skilled at but find it very tiring to use (it’s the
most exhausting function to use for long periods of time along with the
tertiary/3rd).
It is something we often study
excessively just so that we know how to do the exact reversed of it to show
our rebelliousness (same with the
6th function, main difference is that 5th=insecure, 6=reckless/careless). It’s
something we stubbornly reject when
gave to us from other people, and the only times where we use it in public is
just to prove to others how bad it is. A person has very little use of this
element, as it is the rival image of the base function, representing an
antithetical approach to the same domain. It lies in the subconscious as a persistent annoyance to the individual,
therefore, he or she tries to ignore it.
The “coach” whose function is to drill others rather to
perform itself. It
is commonly referred to as control function because it monitors the surroundings.
It’s the area where we are extremely hypocrite: We often can
(and do) advice others in this area perfectly but since it’s so tiring to use
we never follow that advice ourselves.
The area that we ignore: here an individual demonstrates uncertainty. This part of reality a
person does not recognize, he ignores it; therefore his psychological space is
limited. If elements of this area become apparent in person’s life they are
perceived as pure evil. Each type ignores a certain part of reality, it
bars it from consciousness. Usually it does not see it. Exactly how tertiary
and role are overconfident (bold and weak), the ignoring function (as is the
auxiliary function) makes us feel under confident (cautious and strong), we are
usually skilled at it but too insecure.
The extreme avoidance of this function can make it appear
weak at times. However, when engaged it does not cause the same kind of
psychological stress as a weak function, instead creating a kind of boredom
or malaise.
Regarding the dark/uncontrolled side of this role, this is
rooted pretty deep in your unconscious mind, as some sort of devil’s advocate
in the back of your head telling you
everything you’re doing is wrong, and everything others are doing is even
worse, however, we can turn this critical part of it on and off,
making it more or less an argumentative process since we can choose when we are
critical of both self and others with this function.
We engage in this function when we are argumentative and
stubborn, letting it work on the opposite orientation of your dominant to
get to the destination faster, which is the same for both the dominant and the
opposing. Due to the opposite starting point to your dominant, you will
disagree with everything you’re doing while doing it (you may agree actually,
you’ll just reject the truth, run
away from it or ignore it), but you
are doing it with goal-oriented purposes, like “doing the dirty work”. Someone has to do it, right? Like the
function in your auxiliary role, the ignoring is under the leash of the
dominant function, doing stuff we strongly disagree with in disgust just so we
fulfill the goals and agenda of the function in our dominant role.
In our swordfighting scenario, imagine a dominant
swordfighter who finds himself in the midst of battle – with his child. His
goal is to win the fight, and yet winning would mean an unacceptable sacrifice
(killing his child). So he changes tactics – steps into every attack, misses every
swing – in an effort to alter the scenario as a whole (perhaps the child will
stop attacking when he realizes he’s no longer in danger).
Lastly, I view the fifth function as our escape hatch
– a way to abandon ship if our normal goals because untenable or unacceptable
for whatever reason, when we struggled so hard with the dominant and the other
functions in our valued roles (main stack) until we just say "you know
what? f*ck it! I give up, fck this sh*t, let's see what happens if I bet on
this". It's very dangerous, risky, but often used when we feel like we
have no other option.
A summary of the ignoring function:
-we are skilled at it but hate using it
-we study it heavily just so we do the opposite of it out of
pure rebellion
-we only use it in public to prove to others how bad it is
-uncertainty, underconfidence
- The “coach” whose function is to drill others rather to
perform itself. Monitors the surroundings.
-area of hypocrisy
-information brought from external sources is stubbornly
rejected
-when using it in private you are doing it in disgust just to
fulfill the goals of the dominant easier
-a devil’s advocate in the back of your head telling you
everything you’re doing is wrong
-also when using it in private we often just say “f*ck this
sh*t, let’s just bet on this” – dangerous, but when we feel like we have no
other option, it’s our escape hatch
The function in this role/position is: strong, unvalued,
unconscious, cautious, accepting, inert and situational. (See definitions above
in the beginning)
6th: Demonstrative role
(also known as
witch/senex or critical parent): Second strongest function. Least conscious
function (most unconscious). Sixth most valued function (third least valued).
This is more like an unappreciated/unvalued hidden talent of yours, a thing you are
pretty good at but you are indifferent to it most of the time. This function is
quite easy to use, but is generally seen as useless or not very important in
most situations. You don't avoid it like the 5th one, we often don’t think that
everything you/others are doing is wrong (like the 5th function) but you think
of it like "Ok... Why would I do this? I mean I can... But I have no reason
to do it.".
“But why?” is the main monologue here. You find it pretty useless and
pointless, even though you are amazing at using it. It is the most hidden function from us (Realizing when we use it)
but it is very obvious to other people.
This function is original because we ridicule established conventional methods. At the same time it’s
very inflexible. Not tiresome, just
boring. I wouldn’t call it very original though (just somewhat), it’s
inflexible but productive. However, in this function one “demonstrates”
himself, likes to show off, prove their ability. This can appear as creativity.
The demonstrative is seen as a lazy shortcut and the
individual makes it a pint of personal pride to forgo it's use, socially it
sees the act of voluntarily foregoing the function as a virtue, and this
“social arrogance” makes its use inflexible as the individual already thinks he
got it and doesn’t need any more help. For example a TiN with demonstrative Ni would
say "making assumptions is easy, knowing for sure it's harder but way more
valuable". Or a NeT with demonstrative Te won't bother following the established
scientific method as dogma; they will prove what they know any way it works but
it is inflexible in that it doesn't look to grow, it thinks it already
understand everything there is about the area, makes sense?
The same way the ignoring role “does the dirty work” by using
it just to prove a point of the dominant role, the demonstrative does the exact
same thing, only that instead of disgust and hesitation there is carelessness and recklessness.
You can think of the demonstrative role as a stronger and much easier to use
version of the ignoring role. Here, in the demonstrative function we are very
confident and secure which is the exact opposite of the ignoring where we are
probably the most insecure, so much that we reject and ignore it entirely. But
both represent doing something just to reach a goal of dominant or auxiliary
while silently disagreeing with everything you say (not necessarily
disagreeing, just finding it pointless, “doing the dirty work”).
That way, we often use it (like the ignoring) just for the
sake of filling a dominant/auxiliary purpose, main difference being that it is
much easier to use: We often exaggerate
it to hell, it's the area where we are "fake" just because we
don't even really care about it. Information about the function playing this
role is often "thrown around"
carelessly. This function is used most often in service to others, and for
that reason some call it a gift function. An ExTPp (with demonstrative
Te) will often easily throw around facts and statistics just to win an argument
even though he/she will often not believe what he’s saying anyway, “beat them
with their own logic” is what they are doing, so they can often exaggerate and
easily modify and manipulate the facts (sort of lying, you can see how in this
area they are “fake”) just for the sake of winning an argument or fulfilling
their dominant agendas.
A person uses this element mainly as a kind of game, or to ridicule those who he thinks take it
too seriously. They often intentionally go against its conventional
usage simply to prove a point in favor of their creative function. However,
this function is used quite often in private, to produce information of its
element to support their creative function when focusing on making contact with
the external world.
The demonstrative role represents your big deep
aspirations for life: you can see how that conflicts with its opposite
function: the tertiary, which represents your daily obligatory needs. They
cancel each other out. The more you focus on one, the more the other part is
rejected.
Both the 6th and the 7th function are functions you joke
about. The 7th is more humorous in the sense of like “Oh what is this weird
thing? Sounds like something I suck at, hmmm I’m curious let’s figure out how
this works, WHOOPS I failed HAHAHAHAHA it was stupid anyway”. The demonstrative
is a little serious in a way, as you are joking to try to prove how ridiculous
it is to others. The 7th is to take a break and laugh at yourself. The 6th is
to make others laugh at it, the process itself.
Regarding the dark shadow side of this role, it works unconsciously
feeding the auxiliary without letting the user know. When the auxiliary is
creating its systems, the function in the demonstrative role backs them up
unconsciously, often being a secondary “backup” for the dominant in case the
auxiliary is not working properly. As said, this will be obvious to others but
not ourselves. An IxTJp will value Te systems over Ti systems any day, but
while preferring them (efficiency over accuracy), deep in the unconscious their
demonstrative Ti is creating Ti models to back up the Te. They don’t want to
use them, finding them immature and over-complicated, actually they won’t even
realize they’re there, but they might do without realizing when alone or in
certain situations where Te isn’t enough.
While the ignoring/5th role is like a voice in the
back of your head telling you that everything in this world is horrible, the
demonstrative is the exact same only that we control it less (it’s always
screaming) but it’s also more unconscious (the voice is quieter).
Using the swordsfighting analogy: it's the opposite of the
auxiliary function so it is essentially using your “tool” for the opposite of
the purpose intended. I would liken this to a skilled swordsman teaching his
little girl how to fight, and allowing the child to hit him in order to build
her confidence. Winning “the battle” is not his goal in life, saving the
princess is. That said, he’s skilled enough in swordfighting as a tool to be
able to use it “inversely” for other purposes – in this case, to teach his daughter
how to fight (perhaps to use her abilities alongside his as an even more
effective tool to save the princess).
A summary of the demonstrative role:
-hidden unappreciated talent
-"Ok... Why would I do this? I mean I can... But I have
no reason to do it."
-area of recklessness and carelessness
-social arrogance, “I already know it good so I don’t need
any more help on it”
-often our “toy”
-where we rebel and go against conventional methods just to
show off
-where we are fake and we exaggerate data or cunningly
manipulate and change it
-we make fun of it to prove how bad it is
-deep aspirations and goals for life
-working in the unconscious mind deeply
-what others see in us but we never see in ourselves
-a voice in the back of your head that’s quieter than the 5th
role but shuts up less
The function in this role/positions is: strong, unvalued,
unconscious, bold, producing, contact and situational. (See definitions above)
7th: PoLR role (short for Point of Least
Resistance) (also known as Vulnerable, Brake, deceiving or trickster): Weakest
function. 4th most unconscious function. Seventh most valued
function (second to least valued).
This is the area of ourselves where we most often
say confidently that “this is not me”. Reading the description of the function
in this role makes you confused that it even “is a thing”. Information
presented to us in this area is often met with an “Wtf” response, being out
weakest function it’s almost absent from us, “We don’t speak the language”. Confusion is the key word here.
The function in this role creates a feeling of frustration
and inadequacy. A person does not understand the importance of this element
entirely, and it can easily lead to painful consequences if not adequately
considered.
To compare it with the 5th/ignoring function,
while with the 5th we often think about it and study it intensively
just for the sake of doing the exact reversed, with the PoLR we don’t even
think about it. If we follow the norms of it 100% or not, we don’t care.
Instead of ignored/avoided, the function in the PoLR role is simply unseen.
People using the function in our PoLR role aren’t criticized intensively (like
with the 5th function), but instead treated with a “Ok, do what you
do, it’s your business, I don’t care but please don’t involve me in
this.
Archetypically, this is the “trickster” or the “bad child”,
we might use it for rebellious or “evil” purposes. It has been observed that
children will often use this function recklessly when having very critical
parents.
Everything we do using this process is confusing, “weird” and will cause feelings of ambivalence.
This is also the process we use to solve problems, to get out of negative
situations. Where everything goes wrong we go to this function to “sort things out”. And by that I mean
almost ego disintegration. It causes you to see yourself and others in a false
light and it distorts your experiences so that you misunderstand them and react
to others in an overly critical or defensive way. Basically this is a function that you
have difficulty using, that often misleads you, and that you find to be pretty
burdensome.
Actually the role of the PoLR function in problem solving is
often overlooked. I've seen it called "the second auxiliary function"
a few times but most description focus on the vulnerable/weak aspect.
The Demonstrative/6th and the Tertiary/3rd are conflicting
wants while the Auxilairy/2nd and the PoLR/7th are conflicting approaches to
problem solving. For wants we have basic needs (Tertiary) vs ambitions
(Demonstrative) while for solutions we have confidence (the Auxilary) vs
self-sacrifice (the PoLR).
The function in this role is so weak it feels like it’s created
by scratch by the individual, and for that reason comes the hilarious
part of it: It’s a joke function. Both the 6th and the 7th function are
functions you joke about. The 7th is more humorous in the sense of like “Oh
what is this weird thing? Sounds like something I suck at, hmmm I’m curious
let’s figure out how this works, WHOOPS I failed HAHAHAHAHA it was stupid
anyway”. The demonstrative is a little serious in a way, as you are joking to
try to prove how ridiculous it is to others. The 7th is to take a break and
laugh at yourself. The 6th is to make others laugh at it.
Since it’s part of our 2 weakest functions (4th
and 7th) it is often seen as something you need to work on, a
personal weakness (same with the 8th function but that is for
different reasons), that must be improved, that is why it’s often called the
“Deceiving role”, it deceives us into thinking something is important for us
when we should be ignoring it. (I have no idea why people don’t use that
nickname for the 8th function either but meh ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)
The function in the PoLR role is something that you want other people to take care of for you.
When others try to explain to us and teach us how to use it, we are clingy
about it “uhhh instead of teaching me how to do it, can’t you just like… do it for me instead?”.
The dark side of this shadow role is ambivalence and
confusion: the function that fills this role is often not trusted or seen
as worthy of attention, for when we do engage it, we may make mistakes in
perception or in decision making. Then we feel double bound—trapped between two
bad options. Yet this role can have a positive side as it provides comic
relief. Then we can laugh at ourselves.
In our swordfighting scenario, it’s the office worker who
usually uses swordfighting as a way to blow off steam, but today their
instructor is making them be the test dummy for some new students. They can do
it, but they don’t really want to, and both their lack of effort and lack of
skill can cause them to make mistakes when doing it.
A summary of the 7th role:
-if we take time as an unit of measure then it is the least
attached to our identity
-So weak that we don’t even “speak the language” of this
function. “Is this even a thing?”
-Confusion, ambivalence, “wtf”
-It deceives us into it is something we need to work on
-so weak that it feels like it’s created (from scratch)
-what you want other people to take care of for you
-self-sacrificing risky problem solving, “when things go
wrong”
The function in this role/position is: weak, unvalued,
conscious, cautious, producing, inert and evaluatory. (See definitions above)
8th: Role role (also known as daemonic/devilish):
This is the 6th strongest function (3rd to weakest). 3rd most
conscious. Least valued function. Even though I said that everyone can use all
8 functions, the function in the role position is the only one you can’t fully
use like one would use it in the dominant position. It is almost not even a whole function a person can use, but rather the
image or impression of that function. You can call this a “mask” function, it’s one that you are
forced to approximate or feign in order to fit into society appropriately. Role
Se only uses attack for defending its attacked safety (inferior Si), although
it may appear as aggression at first, for example.
The main
task of this function is to defend our inferior when challenged. Since the
role is stronger, it naturally steps in in situations where the function in the
inferior position couldn’t have made it. When our inferior is not provided
enough by the outside, but we come in situations where we have to use it and
since we hate using the inferior ourselves we turn to the function in our role
role, which, we still dislike using but not as much, we will end up using it.
Which is unhealthy: this could be called cheating!
It’s taking the short route, and extended use of it is destructive. However, too
less is also destructive, think of it as training
wheels on a bicycle, if everyone started like that, without training
wheels, much fewer people would get experts. Extensive use of the inferior is
tiring and hard and the role can save us.
Since it’s
the opposite of the function in our dominant role, it cancels it out. The
dominant and role can’t be both on at the same time. Because of this
opposition, the more one gets carried away with one's 1st function, the more
the role function is ignored or suppressed. People are generally somewhat aware
of this suppression and perceive it as a personal weakness that needs to be
"worked on" in order to meet other people's expectations and achieve
something in society. It is typical for people to periodically work on their
role in order to correct imbalances in their life and improve their weak areas.
However, these attempts are generally sporadic and are forgotten as soon as the
perceived problem begins to go away and the person once again becomes carried
away with their usual lifestyle which is dominated by their ego block. Thus,
development of the function in the role role is more like patching up leaks than building a complete, self-sufficient structure.
An individual often develops it the way an actor is rehearsing is part or a
circus athlete is trained by a coach.
To find
out someone’s role function look at the area where they seem to have an “on/off”
switch.
Even though most schools of thought encourage the development
of the function in this role, I personally believe that it’s a bad thing to try
to voluntarily develop this function because firstly it turns off your dominant
function and secondly it’s low-key cheating yourself to not use the inferior
function.
Since it’s
the last function (least valued), it’s also the one we control the least amount
of, so the less of the function we control, the more (the uncontrolled part)
goes to the unconscious dark side of the shadow functions: and since the role
is the last, then it has the most
negative and destructive dark side. So now that we’re talking about the
dark side of this shadow role, think of it like this: The function playing this
role is only (consciously) used to save us from negative situations,
all the shame and pain and suffering that you would have experienced by using
the inferior role was repressed and kept in the unconscious. The shadow of the
role position hides our biggest fears, traumas and insecurities.
An analogy:
imagine it as when your mother (the negative situation) tells you to clean the
dust in your room (using your inferior), instead you’re too lazy and you just
hide it under the sofa (the role). It is ran away for a moment but doesn’t the
dust accumulate through time, the same way your own negativity comes back to
haunt you? That also explains why you never actually
use the role function and instead just “project it” or “pretend using it”,
you’re not actually hiding the junk under your sofa for the sake of hiding it,
it’s only an alternative for cleaning your room (an alternative for the inferior
function).
Do you know spectate mode in games? Most of the experiences
with the function in the 8th role are like a little trip, a movie so to say and
then you come back to real life with your dominant function thinking "oh damn that was one hell of a
ride". It's like you're viewing from afar, not actually living it, like
the minecraft spectate mode, you can't touch things and destroy/place
blocks but you run around like crazy. After those “trips” we either think “wtf
that was weird” (if the experience was neutral or surprisingly positive), or
“wow… that wasn’t me, I swear it wasn’t my true self. What a ride…” (if the
experience was negative). It’s an on/off switch for a split personality, our dark
shadow alter-ego. Actions (or inactions) taken when we engage in the
process that plays this role are often regretted later, and are
usually destructive of self and others.
The role function is more of a thing you want to not care
about but end up getting very frustrated
when others care about it so you kinda end up caring about it too in a way;
Where you're sensitive to insults but
more like you wish that function never existed so that you could be careless
about it. It’s where we are most sensitive to insults because we get frustrated
that others pay so much attention to it. Zone
of indecency: “People should never do this anyway”, ironically, when
others insult/provoke it we often end up doing it anyway since we’re very
insecure in that area.
Also “there is only place for one person to use that function
and that is me”.
Lastly this is the area of fears, while we very often play
the role of it and try to act like it, and on first meeting people might
actually think that it’s a part of our identity, just thinking of living a life
full of this function is terrifying,
for example types with role Ne might goof around a ton and say random stuff but
the thought of living an unstructured life of randomness (like imagining an
universe where you are just transported from scene to scene doing something
weird different everyday, having literally no sense and being random exactly
like sleep dreams will terrify Se doms), they must stay in touch with reality
(Se dominant) all the time. Or types with role Se (Ne dominants) will often try
to act tough and hardcore but just thinking of a life of danger everywhere where
you have to be tough to survive, gang violence, trap houses, prostitutes and
street life as normal everyday life is terrifying to even imagine.
In the
swordfighting scenario, why would the rogue ever just let an enemy hit them?
The only reason is if they were feinting in one direction to finally make the
lethal hit on the enemy when they least expected it – so in essence, they’re
still using their inferior function (swordfighting) and just pretending that
it’s being used in the opposite direction (anti-swordfighting).
A summary of
the role role:
-We only
‘pretend’ we use it, a “mask”
-It’s used
to save our inferior function. Positively this is our savior in high pressure
situations. Negatively, it’s cheating and cowardly running away from our
problems.
-“ patching
up leaks than building a complete, self-sufficient structure”, we often start
working on it but lose interest quickly
-We often
train it the same way the way an actor is rehearsing is part or a circus
athlete is trained by a coach.
-what we
negatively do when we get carried away and we don’t act like our true selves
“that… wasn’t me I swear”
-I
personally discourage voluntarily developing this function
-where we
are the most insecure and sensitive to insults
-“I wish it
never existed”
-“there is
only place for one person to use that function and that is me”
-we often
try to act like it “play the role” but only imagining living that function as
everyday life is terrifying
-on/off
switch, Split personality/alter-ego
The function
in this role/position is: weak, unvalued, conscious, bold, accepting, contact
and situational. (See definitions above)
Chart for function-roles correspondation (order is just the
one I used (John Beebe model), 1st = dominant, 2nd = aux,
8th = role, etc. (From most to least valued))
TiN/INTP/INTj: Ti Ne Si Fe Te Ni Se Fi
NiT/INTJ/INTp: Ni Te Fi Se Ne Ti Fe Si
NeT/ENTP/ENTp: Ne Ti Fe Si Ni Te Fi Se
TeN/ENTJ/ENTj: Te Ni Se Fi Ti Ne Si Fe
FiN/INFP/INFj: Fi Ne Si Te Fe Ni Se Ti
NiF/INFJ/INFp: Ni Fe Ti Se Ne Fi Te Si
NeF/ENFP/ENFp: Ne Fi Te Si Ni Fe Ti Se
FeN/ENFJ/ENFj: Fe Ni Se Ti Fi Ne Si Te
FiS/ISFP/ISFj: Fi Se Ni Te Fe Si Ne Ti
SiF/ISFJ/ISFp: Si Fe Ti Ne Se Fi Te Ni
SeF/ESFP/ESFp: Se Fi Te Ni Si Fe Ti Ne
FeS/ESFJ/ESFj: Fe Si Ne Ti Fi Se Ni Te
TiS/ISTP/ISTj: Ti Se Ni Fe Te Si Ne Fi
SiT/ISTJ/ISTp: Si Te Fi Ne Se Ti Fe Ni
TeS/ESTJ/ESTj: Te Si Ne Fi Ti Se Ni Fe
SeT/ESTP/ESTp: Se Ti Fe Ni Si Te Fi Ne
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