# ENTP/ENFP and extraverted sensing



## BearRight (Mar 6, 2010)

I'm just wondering how does the eight function of ENTPs and ENFPs affect their behavior? I'm talking about extraverted sensing (Se) that is their eight function according to theory. I've been reading that the eight function is a "demon" function. It's the function most hated by an individual, who has a hostile attitude towards it and thinks of it as meaningless, pointless, uninspiring, and even dreadful.

How does this translate into every day behavior of ENTPs and ENFPs? Are ENTPs and ENFPs usually avoiding some particular things in their lives? Are there some common things they generally dislike? If you have knowledge on this, I would love to hear! If you are an ENTP or an ENFP, please tell me what you think of or how you feel about extraverted sensing! Best responses will be rewarded! :wink:


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## Tridentus (Dec 14, 2009)

i don't get that. it's not like i hate sports or something, i love playing sport and i like exercise. there are times when ill see a view, maybe with a sunset, and ill feel that oneness with nature that sensors go on about as well- is that Se?

ooh i suppose when im with friends i HATE walking around. in fact i hate walking nonstop, i go for a jog and enjoy that, but if im on a night out or in town i hate it when we're just walking around and not able to settle on a place to hang out. i have gotten very irritable when i've had to walk around a lot, and my shadow function sometimes comes out and i start complaining. not all the time though, i think that happens when im slightly stressed anyway.


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## Eric B (Jun 18, 2010)

The best way to understand this is that the function attitudes are *perspectives*; not _behaviors_ or _skills_. Any type can engage in any of the process skills. The "demon" is a *complex*, which is an archetypal model of personal experience, that will take as it's main perspective, the "eighth place function".

So ENP's will not necessarily have an aversion to sports and exercise. ESP's will likely be very drawn to it, because the actions tie into their dominant Se perspective, but the likeliness of participating in sports and exercise does not decrease as you go down from SP to NJ to SJ to NP. A lot of NP's may not be much into exercise, but it is not a hard rule.

What the demon archetype is about, is that if something triggers the most suppressed part of your consciousness, which involves the most evil you do not like to imagine in yourself, then this complex will likely involve an Se perspective (current sensory experience; perception of hard facts, etc). It will likely erupt in a very rash fashion, and may involve taking impulsive action you wouldn't likely take when under conscious control, or drawing a hasty conclusion to what you see before you.


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## The Wanderering ______ (Jul 17, 2012)

Wow you know what's funny? How I was thinking about this when I was looking up pictures of Hot Latino Women.


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## All in Twilight (Oct 12, 2012)

The Wanderering ______ said:


> Wow you know what's funny? How I was thinking about this when I was looking up pictures of Hot Latino Women.


And this coming from a guy wearing a scarf to mask his face....yeah, that's funny

I guess this is how my Se works.


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## The Wanderering ______ (Jul 17, 2012)

@ All In Twilight 

Don't be Dissen My scarf and My Latino Fetish.


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## Malkovich (Feb 18, 2010)

I'm terrible at crisis situations that require a lot of immediate physical actions and a lot of awareness of the details in your environment at once. Like cooking if you're fucking up. If the food is burning and you're supposed to take it out of the oven, and sprinkle it with whatever, and close the tap because the water's running, and the onions need chopping, and a pot of stew is boiling... I just freeze, it's too much, I can't think about all of that at once.
I'm also a terrible driver. I simply can't take that much sensory input in such short time and stay focused on the details of the reality, I get overwhelmed. You're supposed to spot some sign hiding in the bushes that tells you to slow down, all while looking at the other cars, the guy pulling out of the driveway, the traffic lights, the pedestrians... it's just beyond me, how are you even supposed to notice it all.

I need to have time to think about what's going on, to plan my course of action, and to calmly do everything I planned out. I also almost can't notice things if I don't expect them first. My process isn't: 1. notice the thing; my process is: 1. have ideas about various things that could possibly be here, 2. notice the things if they're where you predicted they could be. 
Obviously, I'm not blind, I'll simply notice the biggest, most obvious things, I'm talking about the details here.


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## jendragon (Aug 28, 2012)

My body is almost 0% of my self-identity. Almost everything that I prize, that I'm disappointed in, that I identify as being "me" is in my head. I have actually said out loud, "If I need a body, I'll make myself one."

One side effect of this is that I am horrible at being in the moment. It's my weakest skill as an actor, and I have to be working with talented cast mates that I trust implicitly to get there. I've achieved it only once--it was truly transcendent, and I want to find it again, but it's almost impossible to bypass a Christmas tree light brain pattern. It's already everywhere, and at irregular intervals.


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## The Wanderering ______ (Jul 17, 2012)

Malkovich said:


> I'm terrible at crisis situations that require a lot of immediate physical actions and a lot of awareness of the details in your environment at once. Like cooking if you're fucking up. If the food is burning and you're supposed to take it out of the oven, and sprinkle it with whatever, and close the tap because the water's running, and the onions need chopping, and a pot of stew is boiling... I just freeze, it's too much, I can't think about all of that at once.
> I'm also a terrible driver. I simply can't take that much sensory input in such short time and stay focused on the details of the reality, I get overwhelmed. You're supposed to spot some sign hiding in the bushes that tells you to slow down, all while looking at the other cars, the guy pulling out of the driveway, the traffic lights, the pedestrians... it's just beyond me, how are you even supposed to notice it all.
> 
> I need to have time to think about what's going on, to plan my course of action, and to calmly do everything I planned out. I also almost can't notice things if I don't expect them first. My process isn't: 1. notice the thing; my process is: 1. have ideas about various things that could possibly be here, 2. notice the things if they're where you predicted they could be.
> Obviously, I'm not blind, I'll simply notice the biggest, most obvious things, I'm talking about the details here.


I have never had this problem. I can cook multiple things just fine.


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## Malkovich (Feb 18, 2010)

The Wanderering ______ said:


> I have never had this problem. I can cook multiple things just fine.


I don't expect many people do have this problem, I'm just extremely absentminded and bad at Se. I actually love cooking, it's only when it gets completely out of hand that I feel overwhelmed. Perhaps I'm making it sound more dramatic than it is in reality, I'm not noticeably much worse in these situations than an average person, they just make me feel overwhelmed and pressured and inadequate on the inside.


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## WickerDeer (Aug 1, 2012)

Eric B said:


> The best way to understand this is that the function attitudes are *perspectives*; not _behaviors_ or _skills_. Any type can engage in any of the process skills. The "demon" is a *complex*, which is an archetypal model of personal experience, that will take as it's main perspective, the "eighth place function".
> 
> So ENP's will not necessarily have an aversion to sports and exercise. ESP's will likely be very drawn to it, because the actions tie into their dominant Se perspective, but the likeliness of participating in sports and exercise does not decrease as you go down from SP to NJ to SJ to NP. A lot of NP's may not be much into exercise, but it is not a hard rule.
> 
> What the demon archetype is about, is that if something triggers the most suppressed part of your consciousness, which involves the most evil you do not like to imagine in yourself, then this complex will likely involve an Se perspective (current sensory experience; perception of hard facts, etc). It will likely erupt in a very rash fashion, and may involve taking impulsive action you wouldn't likely take when under conscious control, or drawing a hasty conclusion to what you see before you.


I can't really conceptualize the functions well, maybe because i suspect my Te is in the toilet (which is not supposed to be the case for ENFPs, I hear), but I like this idea. The second disclaimer is that I'm not certain of my type.

I think that maybe one way that Se can interact with the negative side of certain complexes was suggested by another PerC member (though I may not have gotten everything he said right), that in the example of the anima complex, a very N man might mingle Se in with his negative projections of women. 

There are examples throughout history of theologians and philosophers spouting bizarre ideas about female sexuality. Succubi and witches seem to embody insatiable sexual appetites (witches were thought to have gotten their powers from copulating with demons and with the devil). These are maybe Se anima inspired demons.

The example of this in the animus complex might be werewolves, or men who are "dogs." Both of these ideas are still alive today, but they aren't as obvious--but I'm sure you've heard people make a comparison between men and dogs as a joke. Personally, I've had dream encounters with negative parts of my animus that appeared as compilations of beast and man, who did not seem to speak or reason.

So these are maybe examples of when Se gets mixed into the negative aspect of our projections of the "opposite sex".

That being said, I am very into communing with nature though it scares me sometimes. I have a hard time understanding the benefit of sports. I can exercise if there is music going on (I love dancing too--but I tend to treat is as a spiritual thing) or if I am listening to an audiobook, otherwise it's just too boring. I also like to use hard facts to back up my arguments or speculations, but they tend to support not inspire.


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## jendragon (Aug 28, 2012)

meltedsorbet said:


> I can't really conceptualize the functions well, maybe because i suspect my Te is in the toilet (which is not supposed to be the case for ENFPs, I hear), but I like this idea.


Theoretical conceptualization is Ti, which is as counter-productive for ENFP as Fi is for ENTP--7th out of 8! Te is conceptualizing the thing in front of you. Does that work better for you?


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## sharshur (Jul 4, 2011)

I'm bad at driving too. It's a miracle I've only caused one accident. I usually stay off the freeway because I get scared. I have to think about my whole route, which lanes I want to be in etc, before I leave. 

I'm not so knowledgeable about functions, so I don't know if this has any relevance, but I hate talking to people who have a strong Se. It doesn't just bore me, it aggravates me to listen to them go on and on about the most mundane details of life as if they have a point.


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## sharshur (Jul 4, 2011)

I was reading another thread and I thought of something else that could be related to this. I always thought it had more to do with gender, but maybe it's more. For me, sexual pleasure has always been in my head. The physical has almost no importance. In fact I've often been dismayed to find that most of the time I'd rather think or fantasize about doing something than actually do it.


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## Meadow (Sep 11, 2012)

I dislike being forced to do anything physical, so I've set up my life such that almost every physical activity I engage in is enjoyable. I own the minimum of belongings so that I'm free to engage in physical, emotional and intellectual adventures, and I do a lot of nature sports since they fall in the enjoyable category. This isn't because I'm young -- it's the lifestyle I've engaged in for many years.


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## MoStoner12 (Apr 24, 2021)

sharshur said:


> I was reading another thread and I thought of something else that could be related to this. I always thought it had more to do with gender, but maybe it's more. For me, sexual pleasure has always been in my head. The physical has almost no importance. In fact I've often been dismayed to find that most of the time I'd rather think or fantasize about doing something than actually do it.


Yes.....this frustrates me so much. The idea of sex is always better than the actual sex....well not better.....but I often find myself not connected to the person. Just the idea having sex with a hot person


sharshur said:


> I was reading another thread and I thought of something else that could be related to this. I always thought it had more to do with gender, but maybe it's more. For me, sexual pleasure has always been in my head. The physical has almost no importance. In fact I've often been dismayed to find that most of the time I'd rather think or fantasize about doing something than actually do it.


i felt this so heavy....


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## IMP INTP (Aug 5, 2021)

Malkovich said:


> I'm terrible at crisis situations that require a lot of immediate physical actions and a lot of awareness of the details in your environment at once. Like cooking if you're fucking up. If the food is burning and you're supposed to take it out of the oven, and sprinkle it with whatever, and close the tap because the water's running, and the onions need chopping, and a pot of stew is boiling... I just freeze, it's too much, I can't think about all of that at once.
> I'm also a terrible driver. I simply can't take that much sensory input in such short time and stay focused on the details of the reality, I get overwhelmed. You're supposed to spot some sign hiding in the bushes that tells you to slow down, all while looking at the other cars, the guy pulling out of the driveway, the traffic lights, the pedestrians... it's just beyond me, how are you even supposed to notice it all.
> 
> I need to have time to think about what's going on, to plan my course of action, and to calmly do everything I planned out. I also almost can't notice things if I don't expect them first. My process isn't: 1. notice the thing; my process is: 1. have ideas about various things that could possibly be here, 2. notice the things if they're where you predicted they could be.
> Obviously, I'm not blind, I'll simply notice the biggest, most obvious things, I'm talking about the details here.


I'm not sure if I'm ENTP or INTP. But I have the same problem when driving specially to places I've never driven to. When it's a path I already know I have no problem. Learning to drive for me was a torture.


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## Electra (Oct 24, 2014)

BearRight said:


> I'm just wondering how does the eight function of ENTPs and ENFPs affect their behavior? I'm talking about extraverted sensing (Se) that is their eight function according to theory. I've been reading that the eight function is a "demon" function. It's the function most hated by an individual, who has a hostile attitude towards it and thinks of it as meaningless, pointless, uninspiring, and even dreadful.
> 
> How does this translate into every day behavior of ENTPs and ENFPs? Are ENTPs and ENFPs usually avoiding some particular things in their lives? Are there some common things they generally dislike? If you have knowledge on this, I would love to hear! If you are an ENTP or an ENFP, please tell me what you think of or how you feel about extraverted sensing! Best responses will be rewarded! 😉


Well, maybe part if my ADHD is caused by supressed Se but sertainly not all of it. The isolation in my childhood started when I grew so much taller then the other kids and were more childish at the same time. So I stopped going out and stayed in the house a lot, drawing, practising music, gaming, reading, playing with my sibling. But being unaware and staying in my head a lot is only part of my ADHD. I get very easily distracted, make "careless small errors" and I assosiate, theorize a lot and I can extremely curious about stuff that most people are not. Its like I see connections allmost all the time. This relates to this and this relates to that. My brain is like a web, if you pull one string, your gonna pull in another too. I have problens regulating time and start or stop with things, and my memory can be unstable. However I actually like sport quite a lot and I wish my friends would too. I really like to dance, ride horses, swim, play ballgames, etc.


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