How to tell how all your functions work together?

So, basically I've been reading and found each type, even with the same function but in a different order, has them interact differently. I was wondering how this comes across in behaviour, thought processes and decisions?

If you've successful bridged your dom-inf functions using the two aux, then the ego is working. And by "bridge", I mean that you've allowed some expression of your inferior function through the auxiliaries without slapping the dominant function in the face.

@nonnaci You sorta lost me there, man. INFX auxiliaries? As in Fe and Ne?
@tine It seems difficult to even imagine at first how they all interconnect. It's quite a bit to explain outside of tidbits. I say to start with a person's T and F. These are how people reason. It's like the foundation/anchor beneath N and S. N and S are like the eyes; they gather the details.

Take celebrities like Kurt Cobain of Nivana and Karen O! of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.





Both observe Feeling, but they observe it in different ways. If your interest is deep, you could pick out by analyzing them that Cobain has a "soft" and independent demeanor compared to Karen O!'s "soft" engaging demeanor. When I say soft, I'm indicating Feeling. Cobain observes Introverted Feeling while Karen observes Extroverted Feeling.

Feeling is a form of observing how people understand one another and coordinate themselves. Cobain and Karen use Feeling differently. Cobain's independent touch means he comes off as less concentrated on maintaining an 'appeal.' He has individual ideals of how to coordinate people. Karen's engaging touch means she comes off as concentrated on conducting herself according to an implicit order of people coordination. It's like an established order. Can you see it? Also, since Cobain's use of Feeling is dominant, he builds off of it from the start. Since Karen's use of Feeling is auxiliary, she observes it through N or S eyes, meaning she envisions Feeling a certain way.

That's just one example. To further differentiate the two:

Fi-doms will have ideas based on how they independently sense the world functions (not to be confused with having an independent mindset, which I think too many people confuse it for. Not the same phenomenon!). They operate based on what they would do rather than what should be done to make people feel respected. It's like opening a door for someone because you want to do it vs. opening it because it's considerate. That's a rough example!

Fe-doms will have ideas based on an order that they are observing that is functionable. This is what makes Feeling as logical as Thinking. It judges what is done, or how it would be done. Fe will determine what would be done by what swiftly contributes to survival on a group perspective, rather than doing something while paying more attention to your independent ideals. Fe does not say "they do this, so I'll do this, too." They say "this has worked and people function well by this system. it's valuable." Thus they observe such things as if others are comfortable, suffering, in need of assistance, etc...

Fi-auxiliaries and Fe-auxiliaries will have the same tinge of demeanor to them, but filtered through different functions (Te+Fi, Ne+Fi, Ti+Fe, Ni+Fe, and so on...). It's not very simple to explain. Took me years to put it together myself, and I had to make a lot of mistakes.

@Le9acyMuse

I'm treating the tertiary as another auxiliary function. The theory is that the unconscious self (e.g. expression of complexes) is channeled through the inferior function because it is most undifferentiated due to the repression by the dominant. Directly orienting the ego towards the inferior function will usually result in problems as it
a)estranges the dominant function (the ego concept of identity is mostly derived by the dom function)
b)will come out poorly due to its archaic qualities (concretism and participation mystique)

Use of the two auxiliaries will help buffer the unconscious influence from reaching the dominant while giving it another function to "attach" to. e.g. If I'm Ti-Se-Ni-Fe and my two auxiliaries are somewhat differentiated, crap from my unconscious (e.g. anima complex) may look like archaic "emotionalism" from inf-Fe if it ever overrides the dominant function Ti. To prevent this, Ti+Se can look for physical qualities of this "person of interest" to figure out what is causing this awkward feeling in order to rid itself of the projection. Ti-Ni can look within and identify patterns of behaviors that would of caused this phenomenon, e.g. the current state of mind was due to x,y,z factors from past relationships or from upbringing/childhood/dreams...

So how do you know these functions are working well together? Its a combination of adaptation to both outer and inner worlds through the ego functions that generate a sense of "fulfillment".

EDIT: I can give an INFJ (Ni-Fe-Ti-Se) example perhaps? You meet someone and get this mad/overwhelming attraction to say the person's perfume due to inf-Se (all or nothing). To prevent implosion, you use Ni-Ti to rationalize that the person despite the attraction does not meet your criteria for a relationship due to "imagined" motives. You use Ni-Fe to rationalize that despite the attraction, you can become friends with said person for here "imagined" qualities rather than get into a relationship.

Originally Posted by nonnaci

I'm treating the tertiary as another auxiliary function. The theory is that the unconscious self (e.g. expression of complexes) is channeled through the inferior function because it is most undifferentiated due to the repression by the dominant. Directly orienting the ego towards the inferior function will usually result in problems as it
a)estranges the dominant function (the ego concept of identity is mostly derived by the dom function)
b)will come out poorly due to its archaic qualities (concretism and participation mystique)

So, you're saying the two auxiliaries should be as minimally differentiated as possible by the dominant function? What is the process of differentiation, imbalance?

Use of the two auxiliaries will help buffer the unconscious influence from reaching the dominant while giving it another function to "attach" to. e.g. If I'm Ti-Se-Ni-Fe and my two auxiliaries are somewhat differentiated, crap from my unconscious (e.g. anima complex) may look like archaic "emotionalism" from inf-Fe if it ever overrides the dominant function Ti.

Also, when you say "buffer," describe to me what is happening; you mean to say the unconscious influence is protected, or is the dominant function protected from the unconscious influence?

To prevent this, Ti+Se can look for physical qualities of this "person of interest" to figure out what is causing this awkward feeling in order to rid itself of the projection. Ti-Ni can look within and identify patterns of behaviors that would of caused this phenomenon, e.g. the current state of mind was due to x,y,z factors from past relationships or from upbringing/childhood/dreams...

Whoa, when did we start talking about "people of interest"? lol Sorta popped outta nowhere there. So, for an ISTP, if the unconscious, which is channeled through his/her inferior function (Fe), is allowed to override Ti, it means the ISTP is simply making a bad decision? I thought we were talking about healthy and unhealthy cognitive functioning. Not that making bad decisions is healthy, but you're not always unhealthy when a bad decision is made (I'm just rationalizing what made me confused). Are we talking about cognitive health or the cognition behind choice?

So how do you know these functions are working well together? Its a combination of adaptation to both outer and inner worlds through the ego functions that generate a sense of "fulfillment".

EDIT: I can give an INFJ (Ni-Fe-Ti-Se) example perhaps? You meet someone and get this mad/overwhelming attraction to say the person's perfume due to inf-Se (all or nothing). To prevent implosion, you use Ni-Ti to rationalize that the person despite the attraction does not meet your criteria for a relationship due to "imagined" motives. You use Ni-Fe to rationalize that despite the attraction, you can become friends with said person for here "imagined" qualities rather than get into a relationship.

I was wondering about your use of the "ego." I follow. So, what you're explaining is a process on the level of the id, ego and external world? I had been doing thinking on this recently. Are Extroverted functions at all related to the ego? Likewise, are all Introverted functions at all related to the Id? I've noticed that Introversion is more egotistical and self-centered than Extroverted uses, which depend on the external world rather than ideals.

Originally Posted by tine

So, basically I've been reading and found each type, even with the same function but in a different order, has them interact differently. I was wondering how this comes across in behaviour, thought processes and decisions?

I don't think MBTI has gone to explore functional combinations. In socionics there is something called Reinin dichotomies that go over how different groupings of functions produce difference attitudes. This is a table of all the reinins and a research report done on what kind of internal attitudes manifest with different combinations.

Originally Posted by Le9acyMuse

So, you're saying the two auxiliaries should be as minimally differentiated as possible by the dominant function? What is the process of differentiation, imbalance?

Now concerning the amount of differentiation of the two auxiliary functions with respect to each other. First, the suppressive relationship between the dom and inf exists because the ego identifies itself through the modality of the dom function. Whether the same can be said about the two auxiliaries is a different matter as they matter less to the ego-identity. Thus, my opinion is that two auxiliaries can be equally differentiated so long as they are both less differentiated than the dom. Taking this assertion further, one can surmise that the more differentiated the dom function is, the more leeway it gives the two auxiliaries to differentiate (akin to the removal of a variable from an equation). Sure the two auxiliaries may be both equally "minimally differentiated" on one side of the spectrum, but what I'm interested is in the other side (how differentiated can they both become with respect to the dom function).

Also, when you say "buffer," describe to me what is happening; you mean to say the unconscious influence is protected, or is the dominant function protected from the unconscious influence?

The latter where the eruption from the unconscious through the inferior function overrides the ego (dom function). Obsessive thoughts, neuroses, hysteria come to mind that almost take control of one's thoughts. The auxiliary functions act as buffers against the influence of the erruption when this happens. e.g. Hysteria for an extroverted perceiver dom may be prevented if his/her two aux-judging functions are differentiated enough to recognize "whats really going on" rather than being caught up in the moment.

Whoa, when did we start talking about "people of interest"? lol Sorta popped outta nowhere there. So, for an ISTP, if the unconscious, which is channeled through his/her inferior function (Fe), is allowed to override Ti, it means the ISTP is simply making a bad decision? I thought we were talking about healthy and unhealthy cognitive functioning. Not that making bad decisions is healthy, but you're not always unhealthy when a bad decision is made (I'm just rationalizing what made me confused). Are we talking about cognitive health or the cognition behind choice?

Ah, it was an illustration of adaptation towards an unconscious that has erupted. It was meant to contrast with examples that deal with adaptation towards external phenomenon.

I was wondering about your use of the "ego." I follow. So, what you're explaining is a process on the level of the id, ego and external world? I had been doing thinking on this recently. Are Extroverted functions at all related to the ego? Likewise, are all Introverted functions at all related to the Id? I've noticed that Introversion is more egotistical and self-centered than Extroverted uses, which depend on the external world rather than ideals.

Think of the ectopsyche and endopsyche as two layers ontop of the sphere of the unconscious self. The former concerns the set of T-F-S-N functions that handles conscious facts whereas the latter deals with memory, shadow, emotion/affects, invasion. The ego pertains to consciousness or mostly the top layer and a bit of the second. Extroverted dom function for example would be part of the ego and the person's mindset/sense of self would defined by its relation to the outer world. Introverted dom are also part of the ego but would define the world with respect to the self. My opinion is that egoism is rooted in energetic levels between external vs internal datum and the thresholds needed to cross into consciousness Benziger » THE PHYSIOLOGY OF TYPE: INTROVERSION AND EXTRAVERSION. If Pi dom, every external object triggers a long series of associations and imaginations that leads to a divergence of information where later judgment is done over subjective vs objective facts (one held by you, the other by everyone else). If Ji dom, the depth of the person's sphere of reasoning may be completely decoupled with that of the external world.

Let's see...

I'll take one type as an example. Let's say, ISFP:

Fi
Se
Ni
Te

Fi is the dominant, and a judgement function, so it creates a certain structure of what is 'good and bad' (an ethical code very subjective to itself - usually developed through experience). It will use this to judge anything that Se 'sees' (as a perception function, Se takes information from the immediate, external environment). Fi will judge this information against its ethical code, deciding what is worth its time (appreciating the good or despising the bad).
However, if Fi finds it difficult to judge the information put forward by Se, over a period of time it will switch to Ni to perceive - looking for hidden meaning. This can surface as seeing wrongs and rights that aren't actually there and reassuring itself that it will know what's wrong and right when it sees them. Ni acts as a buffer for the 'real world' (Se) which may be too much for the Fi to contain and judge.
Te comes into play when Fi struggles to judge and manage itself. Te organises the external environment according to a set of 'rules' that regulate what the Fi will have to deal with. With the environment organised, the Fi can perceive it through Se or Ni, but will always feel secure in the fact it's ordered and can't hurt its value system.
Te can get out of control and repress typical Fi, however, leading to the ISFP losing its ethical code in return for critical nitpicking at the environment (the thing that's threatened it) and the people who don't follow the rules who must be 'evil or bad'. It defends itself with this logical standpoint ('If I can't know what's right or wrong, these laws will tell me').

I think that's right, anyway. Please correct me if I'm wrong.