# From Your Understanding, Who Is Better At Reading People- Fi or Fe?



## soop (Aug 6, 2016)

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## Aelthwyn (Oct 27, 2010)

I dunno, but from my personal experience with people I feel like Fi can be really good at 'getting' individual people. I think Fi really values each person's uniqueness and keeps a sharp eye out for the 'true self' of people. I feel like sometimes Fe people can feel a little more... surfacey or prone to jumping to conclusions about a person's feelings or motivations based on what they expect or what seems true for most people in general but... kind of miss some of the individual details...? I know I know that's a stereotype or cliche or whatever but, at least with some Fe people, I find that while I'm enjoying their warm genial easy conversational flow they are good at creating I find myself feeling like they're connecting with what they imagine me to be more than what I really am, while with many of the Fi people I know I feel like I'm more truly seen. 

_Theoretically_ speaking - 
1. Introversion is associated with depth, thus perhaps Fi delves deeper into a person's many layers. 

2. At least when we're talking Fi Dominant/Auxiliary people, I think because Fi is processing information from an External Perceiving function - that is, they are Ps who tend to hold things open for constant refining and updating of their understanding - they are perhaps a little more likely to amalgamate all the different bits of information available to them about a person, thereby creating a more full and nuanced picture. 

3. I think Fi may be a little less likely to declare they are certain about a person's type (because introverted judging tends to keep it's judgments to itself), while Fe may be more likely to make a definite statement about what type they believe someone is, however I'm not sure this reflects their actual ability to understand people.


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## Red Panda (Aug 18, 2010)

This is a very multi-faceted issue I think. Because the types who are good at reading emotional reactions may be bad at reaching a deep understanding and vice versa. Every type has a blind spot. Fe can read the broadcasted emotional state more easily than Fi, but what is being broadcast may not always accurately reflect all the nuances of the underlying emotions and depending on the person they may not accurately broadcast either. This is why I think Fe people understand other Fe people more easily while they have a difficulty with Fi people, regardless of the function stack. Fe is more emotionally expressive than Fi and gives better feedback to someone else with Fe. And this is why FJs are perceived by Fi types as presumptuous when they assess us.


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## blackpants (May 3, 2017)

Fe. its extraverted feeling for a reason.

Fi users are more focused on their own feelings rather than the feelings of other people.


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## OliveBranch (Aug 30, 2017)

It depends on what it is, Fe tends to be better at navigating social situations and have a clearer understanding of both the nuances and generalizations that come with that. But Fi is better at understanding people on a deep and personal level, whilst Fe is more focused on reassurance and support. Fe may try to relate and connect, but it doesn't necessarily look at someone's individual personhood, and compare it to their own. They differentiate people, and would most likely not think "what if I were them, or what would it be like to be them?" Fi is more accepting, and will only protest when their own moral issue is being threatened, but Fe tends to be a lot more critical, sometimes oversimplifying a person's situation, especially if the Fe isn't developed.


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## Heat Mirage (Jan 28, 2010)

OliveBranch said:


> It depends on what it is, Fe tends to be better at navigating social situations and have a clearer understanding of both the nuances and generalizations that come with that. But Fi is better at understanding people on a deep and personal level, whilst Fe is more focused on reassurance and support. Fe may try to relate and connect, but it doesn't necessarily look at someone's individual personhood, and compare it to their own. They differentiate people, and would most likely not think "what if I were them, or what would it be like to be them?" Fi is more accepting, and will only protest when their own moral issue is being threatened, but Fe tends to be a lot more critical, sometimes oversimplifying a person's situation, especially if the Fe isn't developed.


You _might_ be able to get away with saying something like that about some individuals with inferior Fe (talking from experience here and even then this is a bit much, lol), but that's waaaaay off when it comes to those with Fe higher in their stack, at least in my experience. Saying Fe is mediocre at empathizing or understanding people on a personal level is absurd to me. While I can't speak to whether Fi is "better" at those things or not, what you're saying about Fe is more than a little incorrect, I think.


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## brightflashes (Oct 27, 2015)

Turi said:


> I don't know.. in my head it makes more sense the perception functions would be what is "reading" people.


This was my initial thought, too. I've known some Se and Ne doms who are both excellent at reading me while INFJs, for example, are constantly missing the mark (and have such a good track record that they won't believe me when I say they're wrong and they accuse me of trying to hide my true feelings/thoughts). ENFJs are even worse, in my experience.


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## Red Panda (Aug 18, 2010)

brightflashes said:


> This was my initial thought, too. I've known some Se and Ne doms who are both excellent at reading me while INFJs, for example, are constantly missing the mark (and have such a good track record that they won't believe me when I say they're wrong and they accuse me of trying to hide my true feelings/thoughts). ENFJs are even worse, in my experience.


That makes sense in addition to my post, which is why I think is based on more functions rather than one. I think above all it's a matter of being socially skilled & mentally healthy. I used to be bad at reading people when I was socially anxious because I never trusted my intuition/sensing and was too focused inward as socially anxious people are.


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