Humankind has always been curious about different personalities and how we become who we are. Thus, people have come up with various explanations in their efforts to understand the nature of this process. They have tried categorizing people into certain personality types according to their behavioral traits. This practice is called "personality typology". One of these many methods of personality typology is the Jungian Cognitive Functions.
Found by Carl Gustav Jung, the father of analytical psychology, the Jungian Cognitive Functions have become the most popular among the different methods of personality typology. It consists of eight cognitive functions: Introverted intuition (Ni), extroverted intuition (Ne), introverted sensing (Si), extroverted sensing (Se), introverted thinking (Ti), extroverted thinking (Te), introverted feeling (Fi) and extroverted feeling (Fe). These functions have sixteen different possible stackings. Each person can have four main functions and four "shadow functions". The variations in the order in which these functions are stacked create different personality types, which form the well-known MBTI personality types. But the two rules are that the functions need to be ordered in either one of these ways: Extroverted, introverted, extroverted, introverted or introverted, extroverted, introverted, extroverted. The second rule is that you can only have one of the two subtypes in your main stack out of the four main functions (intuition, sensing, feeling, and thinking). For example, if you have extroverted feelings as one of your four main functions, you can't have introverted feelings in there as well. So, let's start with the meaning of the function orders!
1- Dominant Function: Your dominant function is the first one in your stack. As you can infer from its name, it is the function that you use the most and feel most at ease using.
2- Auxiliary Function: This function comes after the dominant function in your stack. It's the second most used function and balances your dominant function in terms of extroversion and introversion. So, if your dominant function is extroverted your auxiliary needs to be introverted and vice versa. This balance applies to every consecutive function in your stack.
3- Tertiary Function: The tertiary function is the third one in your stack. It's a bit complicated to understand because using your tertiary function isn't as easy and effortless as it is with your dominant and auxiliary so you don't tend to use it as much. But when you do, it provides you with a fascinating experience because it's a bit of a new territory.
4- Inferior Function: Your inferior function is the fourth function in your stack. It requires the most effort to use among your main four functions. But like the tertiary function, it can be quite fascinating to use because it provides you with a new perspective in life, new feelings, and new sensations. Unfortunately, though, you can't always channel it even despite wanting to.
5- Opposing Role Function: This function is the first one in your shadow functions stack, meaning that it's not one of your four main functions. Your opposing role is the opposite of your dominant function in terms of extroversion and introversion. For example, if you have introverted intuition as your dominant then your opposing role is extroverted intuition. Your shadow functions feel foreign to you and mostly in an unpleasant way. You don't feel comfortable using them. They show up when you're acting in an unhealthy manner. The opposing role is activated when your ego feels threatened as a defender against the threat. But whereas your dominant function is used maturely, the opposing role is more paranoid and passive-aggressive. When used, it can make you feel dull.
6- Critical Parent Function: This is the second of your shadow function stack and is the opposite of your auxiliary function, just like your dominant and opposing role functions. As can be inferred from its name, this function acts like a critical parent's voice inside you. It destructively criticizes you. It causes you to be harsh and condescending towards yourself and your environment.
7- Trickster Function: The trickster function is your seventh function, the third in your shadow function stack. It is the opposite of your tertiary function. The function you have as your trickster represents the things you have a low awareness of and the skills you lack. It also represents the opposites of the principles you have thanks to your tertiary function. When you encounter users of your trickster function, especially as their dominant, you tend to be critical of their ways. And when you're forced to use your trickster, you may feel uncomfortable and irritated.
8- Demon Function: The demon function is the last of your functions and the opposite of your inferior function. It's the one that feels the most foreign to you. The demon represents your biggest flaws and will show up when you're in an unhealthy mental state. While not using it in your daily life, you may start using it when you have to defend yourself against someone by attacking them personally. When you encounter dominant users of your demon function, you tend to criticize them and not get along with them. But this function can also be a means for personal growth if one manages to recognize it and improve themselves.
That's all you need to know about the order of the functions! Well, what about the functions themselves? What do they all represent? Let's take a look!
1- Extroverted Intuition (Ne):
The extroverted intuition function, also shown as Ne, is essentially all about possibilities and different perspectives. Users of this function are always seeking patterns and relationships between disparate elements. They are great at seeing all the different possibilities in every aspect of life. They are all about exploration and discovery and are fascinated by learning about how things work. Because the more they learn, the more they can connect the dots, so to speak. Ne focuses more on what "could be" rather than what "is". It makes its users innovative, thus they tend to excel at "thinking outside the box".
2- Introverted Intuition (Ni):
The introverted intuition function, a.k.a. Ni, is perhaps the most complicated function. It has proved itself to be quite confusing for the personality typology community. And so, the users of this function, especially as their dominant, are usually perceived as "mysterious". One thing that is for sure is that Ni seeks hidden and deeper meanings behind everything. This makes Ni users great at understanding metaphors and symbols. Ni also focuses on patterns, like Ne, but there is a fundamental difference between the two: Ne likes to discover patterns for the sake of discovering different possibilities whereas Ni searches for patterns to reach the bigger picture, to understand the grand scheme of things. It is more focused on the bigger picture than all the tiny different possibilities. Users of Ni also tend to be prescient because they love predicting the outcome of situations, just like watching dominoes fall. In fact, they tend to be better at predicting the future than most people, causing them to appear almost psychic at times. This is because they are very detail-oriented, meaning they pay attention to things most people ignore, and they always search for hidden and deeper meanings. This also makes them future-oriented people in nature, always focusing on "what will be". Ni users are also quite driven by inspiration. They tend to be idealistic and usually have a vision they strive to achieve.
3- Extroverted Sensing (Se):
Extroverted sensing, or Se, relies on the sensory world, unlike the previous two functions. Users of Se prefer to experience life through their senses and the data they gather from the real, concrete world rather than their internal worlds. They are more objective at perceiving the real world compared to the intuitive types. This makes them quite the realists. They don't rely on information from others or premonitions, instead, they gather the information they need by experiencing the external world themselves. They are also quite good at noticing details, especially physical ones like body language. Another thing about Se is that it's all about the "now". So naturally, its users tend to live in the moment, focusing on "what is". This leads to a desire for constant joy, adventure, and living life to the fullest.
4- Introverted Sensing (Si):
Introverted sensing a.k.a Si is also a sensory function and relies on concrete facts like Se. But Si focuses more on personal experiences and uses them as a guide in life. Si users tend to compare their past experiences to new ones, deciding how to react to a situation based on what they learned in their past experiences. Thanks to this habit, they are quick to notice inconsistencies and changes in their environment and are good at recognizing patterns. This nature of theirs has led to the common misconception that Si users are all overly traditional or rule-following. While they may have such tendencies, this isn't always true.
5- Extroverted Feeling (Fe):
Extroverted feeling, otherwise known as Fe, is one of the two feeling functions. Its ultimate goal is harmony. While personal values and ideals are a big part of Fe users' lives, like they are for most of us, their priority is ensuring harmony in their environment. They don't like conflict and try to stay away from it as much as possible. Their nature gives them the tendency to be people-pleasers. They tend to prioritize others' needs and wants over theirs. They are all for "the greater good" and everything else comes second to that. But that isn't to say that they won't fight for what they believe in when they need to. They are as passionate as anyone else about their values and can stand their ground if put on the spot. They also tend to be very persuasive with their arguments. This is mostly because they are so focused on the greater good, they argue their points in such a way that makes their points seem like they are in the best interest of everyone. Another important point about Fe users is that they excel at reading others' emotions and empathizing with them. This skill also comes in handy in terms of emotional manipulation as well.
6- Introverted Feeling (Fi):
Introverted feeling, Fi in short, also places a lot of value on ideals and ethics like Fe. But the key difference between the two functions is Fi prioritizes authenticity over harmony. Fi users aren't afraid to go against the norm or create conflict to maintain their ideals. For that reason, they tend to be highly individualistic. One surprising thing about Fi users is that they are less likely to try to impose their beliefs onto others than Fe users. While Fe users may try to influence others' opinions to reach harmony, Fi users will keep their opinions to themselves as long as their freedom isn't violated.
7- Extroverted Thinking (Te):
Extroverted thinking, also known as Te, is one of the two thinking functions that operate based on logic. Te is the function focused on external data and objective judgment. Te users prefer making decisions via empirical evidence, analyzing pros and cons, and looking at cause and effect. This makes them very decisive and organized. Naturally, they are very good planners and tend to feel the need to manage their environments. Te users usually hate procrastination because they are result-oriented and want to reach an outcome as soon as possible. For that reason, their way of thinking is always result-oriented as well and they always strive for the maximum efficiency possible.
8- Introverted Thinking (Ti):
Introverted thinking, also shown as Ti, is also logic-based like Te. But what sets aside this function from extroverted thinking is that for Ti, facts and other external data aren't enough on their own. Ti users are independent thinkers. They don't accept universal truths just because they are considered universal truths. They feel the need to judge for themselves. Only after considering a piece of information and understanding the logic behind it can they truly accept a fact. Because they are so skeptical and inquisitive, their thought processes tend to be quite long but interestingly enough, they pride themselves on their neatly organized thought process. Ti users aren't so result-oriented as Te users and so, most of the time, it takes them longer to get things done. The "how" is more important to them than the "what", unlike extroverted thinkers. Introverted thinkers are also more prone to procrastination.
And that's it for the Jungian Cognitive Functions! Even though none of the methods of personality typology have been able to cover all the various, complex types of personalities in the world yet, the Jungian Cognitive Functions sure do a good job. So, which functions resonate with you?