# Shadow Functions?



## bookbutterfly (Jul 15, 2012)

I must admit that I'm still pretty new to the idea of cognitive functions, but I'm especially confused by shadow functions. I took the Keys 2 Cognition test, and I noticed that it said that two of my shadow functions are pretty well-developed. (I think I'm an INFJ, and it said my top functions were Fe Ni Ne Fi.)

I don't really get how and when shadow functions get developed and or emerge. Or is it just this test mistaking some of my "real" functions for cognitive functions that are actually my shadow ones (e.g., Ni values that may look like Fi)? I've heard from Wikipedia that shadow functions come out when you're stressed, but I only notice that I get caught in my inferior grip when I'm stressed (of course, I'm not a hundred percent sure right now that I'm an INFJ). So...just what are shadow functions and how do they play out in a given type?


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## Ellis Bell (Mar 16, 2012)

Shadow functions are the functions of a person's opposite--or near opposite--type--and, as you've mentioned, they come out when a person is stressed. The personality characteristics of that type that are considered negative come out more. They play out differently for the different types. For example, when I'm stressed, I turn into an ESTJ; I become extremely short with people, hyper-critical, authoritative, bossy (also doesn't help that Te, which is the dom function for ESTJ, is strongly developed in me). This is an oversimplification of things, since i haven't explored the topic as much as I've been intending.


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## bookbutterfly (Jul 15, 2012)

kasthu said:


> Shadow functions are the functions of a person's opposite--or near opposite--type--and, as you've mentioned, they come out when a person is stressed. The personality characteristics of that type that are considered negative come out more. They play out differently for the different types. For example, when I'm stressed, I turn into an ESTJ; I become extremely short with people, hyper-critical, authoritative, bossy (also doesn't help that Te, which is the dom function for ESTJ, is strongly developed in me). This is an oversimplification of things, since i haven't explored the topic as much as I've been intending.


Hm...that's interesting that you note that your shadow function Te is actually pretty well-developed for you, although your dominant function is Ti, because for me, I'm trying to figure out whether I really use more introverted or extroverted intuition, and introverted and extroverted feeling. When I'm stressed, I think I do use Te as well (I can snap, but in the next instance, I'll feel really guilty about it)....hm.


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## LiquidLight (Oct 14, 2011)

Shadow functions are not what people think they are. They are unconscious processes, not conscious functions like the ones that makeup your personality. 

If you want to jump down that rabbit hole, one of the best resources around for a fantastic explanation of shadow functions is @Eric B's thread http://personalitycafe.com/cognitiv...volving-eight-functions-type-beebe-model.html and his personal website. Really great stuff.

Also I would read https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=...om/FreeArticles/Evolvingthe8functionmodel.pdf


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## BooksandButterflies (Jul 26, 2012)

Just realized my shadow function is ENTJ. Which is my Dad's type. Kind of scary really. Not trying to insult you ENTJs. My Dad just isn't the nicest guy in the world, that's all.


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## bookbutterfly (Jul 15, 2012)

@LiquidLight: Wow, thank you so much! Those links were really helpful.

I've been sort of questioning whether I'm an INFJ, but if I understand the shadow functions correctly, I'm pretty sure I am. There was a really, really stressful time a few months ago when all of a sudden, I was flood with past memories and experiences--not good ones (Si?). I ended up just breaking down crying. I think about a few weeks later, I had this dream that actually alluded to some tiny detail from an old online chat I'd had with one of my closest friends about four years ago. I'd completely forgotten about all the little things my friend had talked about in this chat, but in my dream, those details were manifested...and then used symbols to stand for them. Is it common for shadow functions to emerge in dreams, perhaps sometimes in conjunction with your primary functions (the symbols sound very Ni to me)?
@PinkPizazz: I'm sorry.  Isn't it odd how the shadow functions add up to some other type that seems completely unlike yourself? I think my shadow type is ENFP...I know some ENFPs, and I feel like they're very opposite from me, ha!


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## LiquidLight (Oct 14, 2011)

> Isn't it odd how the shadow functions add up to some other type that seems completely unlike yourself? I think my shadow type is ENFP...I know some ENFPs, and I feel like they're very opposite from me, ha!


Well this is the problem with Shadow functions as most people conceptualize them. How do you know that these are really 'shadow functions' (really complexes) and not just parts of your normal personality that you don't pay any attention to or don't think exist? That's why Beebe ties the complexes to these functions to give you cues, like the opposing personality (when you feel opposed you may find yourself acting out in x way) or the Trickster (I feel life is playing tricks on me when x happens). Otherwise you would have no idea whether or not this was just your alter-ego as it were (not the correct term but you get the idea) or really specific shadow processes. Everyone has a conscious personality (who they think they are) and an unconscious personality (who they don't think they are but really are as well) and sometimes its tough to separate the two. Every Dr. Jekyll has a Mr. Hyde and the more unaware you are of Mr. Hyde, the more influence he will have (which is why we pay particular attention to the things like the inferior function). What Beebe was proposing with his idea of shadow functions is a way to focus on those parts of ourselves that seem 'not me' normally so that we don't project those things as things only other people do (but drive you nuts) but rather recognize those qualities in ourselves, so we can 'withdraw the projection' and grow as individuals. 

Its not really as simple as, I'm an INTP and when I get mad or stressed I become an ENTJ, because as Beebe points out, these processes don't have a hierarchy (so there are really no shadow function types so to speak) which is why on a CF test, which measures behaviors and attitudes and then tries to infer functions, you may end up with function use that doesn't fit the normal MBTI model. Beebe would explain an INTP scoring high on Te for example, as a person who felt 'opposed' a lot but this begs the question, how do we know that the person is not really a Te-type? That's where tests fail us because they don't have the intuition to be able to read a person's true character they can only regurgitate what we put in, and if we don't know ourselves, the test will not do any better.


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## bookbutterfly (Jul 15, 2012)

Wow...that's really insightful, @LiquidLight. Thank you. I was questioning this because on the Keys 2 Cognition test, my cognitive functions end up looking like this in order from most used/developed to least: Fe>Ni>Si>Ne>Fi>Te>Ti>Se. Now...keeping in mind I'm personally kind of stressed about things at the moment, my Si is pretty darn high, but I do notice that when I do use it (at least, when I *think* I am...when I recall past experiences, though that just seems like plain memory recall to me), it's very painful for me. On the "What's My Type" subforum, someone said that I don't seem very Ni, but much more Ne.

Shadow functions just seem so confusing to me. Which one is the real us? When do they come up? And why is it that one cognitive functions like the Keys 2 Cognition one, it can look like those shadow functions are more or less developed and seem to belong to another type? (For example, using your INTP example, he or she could take the test and come out as Ti>Ne>Ni>Te>Fi>Si>Se>Fe or something like that--the INTP functions are all tucked in there, and the shadow functions are hanging out in the back like this: Ti>Ne>Si>Fe>Te>Ni>Se>Fi, though I must admit that the idea of cognitive functions in order does make it sound like it should be that way, but I know that's not how it works... )


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## Eric B (Jun 18, 2010)

The purpose of the K2C test is not for the functions to come out perfectly like Ti>Ne>Si>Fe>Te>Ni>Se>Fi. Type is the dominant and auxiliary only, so those at least we would expect to be strongest. The order of the others says nothing about type according to Beebe's model, however, Lenore Thomson's theory may explain like in your example, Si being so strong ("left-brain alternative" to Ni) and Se weakest (truly "inferior"). This is very common on that test, and perhaps reflects a behavioral manifestation of the functions, rather than levels of consciousness. So in her model, the "shadows" were placed between the preferred, and primary non-preferred pairs of functions.
In any case, if it's true that you have Ni>Fe, then that suggests INFJ, regardless of the order of the others.

This recent post I made gives another reason the results might not come out in order:
http://personalitycafe.com/cognitiv...s-does-each-question-refer-2.html#post2757566


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## Eric B (Jun 18, 2010)

_


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## bookbutterfly (Jul 15, 2012)

Eric B said:


> The purpose of the K2C test is not for the functions to come out perfectly like Ti>Ne>Si>Fe>Te>Ni>Se>Fi. Type is the dominant and auxiliary only, so those at least we would expect to be strongest. The order of the others says nothing about type according to Beebe's model, however, Lenore Thomson's theory may explain like in your example, Si being so strong ("left-brain alternative" to Ni) and Se weakest (truly "inferior"). This is very common on that test, and perhaps reflects a behavioral manifestation of the functions, rather than levels of consciousness. So in her model, the "shadows" were placed between the preferred, and primary non-preferred pairs of functions.
> In any case, if it's true that you have Ni>Fe, then that suggests INFJ, regardless of the order of the others.
> 
> This recent post I made gives another reason the results might not come out in order:
> http://personalitycafe.com/cognitiv...s-does-each-question-refer-2.html#post2757566


Thanks! This is really helpful...it'd make it a heck of a lot easier if functions came out perfect like that! Apparently for myself, my own functions are jumbled up, and that's lending to a bit of confusion over on one of the subforums as to whether I'm an INFP or INFJ. So going by cognitive functions for me is not really helping.  Although...I do score Fe>Ni, which seems xNFJ, not xNFP (but I know I'm an introvert, haha, not an extrovert).

Hm...can Enneagram make your "shadow types" come out stronger? I'm a 1w2-2w1-6w5, and I'm sure the Type Six head fix does make me sometimes seem more like a sensor, particularly an SJ (with Si). And do you think the reason Si comes out strong is because of Ni? I kind of feel like one of the few INFJs that use Si once in awhile (but when I do, the outcome isn't always pretty...), and someone suggested that maybe because I use Fi and Ne, my "ideal type" is INFP, but I'm not so sure about that... I know for sure that I never test highly as Se, and if I do use it, it's NEVER consciously.

BTW, the post you linked to is really helpful--I completely agree about some of those questions. One of the questions that I knew reeked greatly of "Fi" was the one about ones "internal values". And even though I gave that a five, I knew that that could very well come from Ni, not just Fi.

Basically, they need to figure out how to test cognitive functions better. ;D


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## LiquidLight (Oct 14, 2011)

> Hm...can Enneagram make your "shadow types" come out stronger?


No because the enneagram is still only paying attention to your conscious personality. If you feel that you're never using Se, that either means, you're an INJ who is really un-self-aware or your not an INJ but rather a Ne/Si type like NP or SJ. Se is the inferior function of INFJs, and though they may have a hard time recognizing Se in themselves, it, to a certain degree should still register on some level, even if you just projected it aspects of other people that you don't like. 

If you are a Ni-dominant (INJ) you should almost never recognize Si. This, even as a shadow process, would be so buried in your unconscious, you would probably only recognize the effects of it on your life, probably over a long period of time, rather than specific episodes. Ni as your dominant function must have sovereignty as the sole form of introverted perception (you can't have another introverted perception function competing, you'd be a crazy person) that's why Si must be the furthest thing repressed. 

Internal value systems wouldn't come from Ni, that's specifically what the feeling function deals with, but its much more complex than saying "because I value a certain thing it must use Fi." In reality our value systems are messier and more complex than most tests like to deal with, so you have to be able to figure out, how much of what you value is the result of say prevailing attitudes, upbringing, socialization and how much of it is really coming from an internal barometer. It's a bit trickier to figure out than most people think.


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## bookbutterfly (Jul 15, 2012)

LiquidLight said:


> No because the enneagram is still only paying attention to your conscious personality. If you feel that you're never using Se, that either means, you're an INJ who is really un-self-aware or your not an INJ but rather a Ne/Si type like NP or SJ. Se is the inferior function of INFJs, and though they may have a hard time recognizing Se in themselves, it, to a certain degree should still register on some level, even if you just projected it aspects of other people that you don't like.
> 
> If you are a Ni-dominant (INJ) you should almost never recognize Si. This, even as a shadow process, would be so buried in your unconscious, you would probably only recognize the effects of it on your life, probably over a long period of time, rather than specific episodes. Ni as your dominant function must have sovereignty as the sole form of introverted perception (you can't have another introverted perception function competing, you'd be a crazy person) that's why Si must be the furthest thing repressed.
> 
> Internal value systems wouldn't come from Ni, that's specifically what the feeling function deals with, but its much more complex than saying "because I value a certain thing it must use Fi." In reality our value systems are messier and more complex than most tests like to deal with, so you have to be able to figure out, how much of what you value is the result of say prevailing attitudes, upbringing, socialization and how much of it is really coming from an internal barometer. It's a bit trickier to figure out than most people think.


Huh...well, I've been seeing a lot of articles and threads about how there is some correlation between the types. Like I said, my head fix is Six, but that is commonly associated with sensors (particularly Si); however, I see a lot of Intuitives on here who even have Six as their top type. I'm actually still not entirely sure I grasp all the cognitive functions, and when I see Se, I picture a stereotype of it. But if I understand correctly, does Se allow you to be more in the moment and think on your feet clearly even if you're under pressure? Because then, I most definitely use Se. (I ask because my dad, an Se-aux, is also very much like this. Sorry if this isn't the right thread to ask about individual functions!) Actually, I really relate the most to the INFJ Se Grip as well as the occasional feeling of disembodiment and such...

I'm actually not even sure I grasp what Si is...I only know that it's associated with familiarity, routines, and past experiences, and that Si-dom users tend to be very sensitive to sensory details or experiences, or something like that. I'm not so sure I do that...everyone recalls their past, but you can't say that's Si. From what I understand and read on here of Ni, it *can* work like Si, but only in the sense that it looks at the past (sometimes unconsciously) to examine underlying patterns into the future...which basically describes what I do. (And like you mentioned with Fi--everyone has a value system, even ENTJs who have inferior Fi, so we can't say our values stem from that. For me personally, I find that my values come mainly from how I was brought up, what my parents taught me, my religious (and sometimes political) beliefs, some experiences in which I've observed in other people what one should NOT do, et cetera.


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## Eric B (Jun 18, 2010)

bookbutterfly said:


> Thanks! This is really helpful...it'd make it a heck of a lot easier if functions came out perfect like that! Apparently for myself, my own functions are jumbled up, and that's lending to a bit of confusion over on one of the subforums as to whether I'm an INFP or INFJ. So going by cognitive functions for me is not really helping.  Although...I do score Fe>Ni, which seems xNFJ, not xNFP (but I know I'm an introvert, haha, not an extrovert).
> 
> Hm...can Enneagram make your "shadow types" come out stronger? I'm a 1w2-2w1-6w5, and I'm sure the Type Six head fix does make me sometimes seem more like a sensor, particularly an SJ (with Si). And do you think the reason Si comes out strong is because of Ni? I kind of feel like one of the few INFJs that use Si once in awhile (but when I do, the outcome isn't always pretty...), and someone suggested that maybe because I use Fi and Ne, my "ideal type" is INFP, but I'm not so sure about that... I know for sure that I never test highly as Se, and if I do use it, it's NEVER consciously.
> 
> ...


Although we all use the term "using" of functions, sometimes it's best to get away from that, as it often clouds the issue of what functions really are. They are not gears or skills-sets, as that language implies. The K2C test is based on a notion of functions in terms of "skills-sets", and that is what I have come to believe that while as LL says, the lower shadow functions are furthest from consciousness, the K2C will pick up _behaviors_ (manifestations of "skills") associated with them, and hence, they will come up "strong".
So again, you should not worry about the other six being "jumbled up".



bookbutterfly said:


> I'm actually not even sure I grasp what Si is...I only know that it's associated with familiarity, routines, and past experiences, and that Si-dom users tend to be very sensitive to sensory details or experiences, or something like that. I'm not so sure I do that...everyone recalls their past, but you can't say that's Si. From what I understand and read on here of Ni, it *can* work like Si, but only in the sense that it looks at the past (sometimes unconsciously) to examine underlying patterns into the future...which basically describes what I do. (And like you mentioned with Fi--everyone has a value system, even ENTJs who have inferior Fi, so we can't say our values stem from that.


 Yes, anyone can do any of these _behaviors_ associated with the functions, but what makes a *differentiated* _function_ is what we tend to pay attention to more. A person who prefers Fi (or has a well developed tertiary or inferior) will be more "in touch with" their internal values (I go into that in the link), and allow its perspective to shape their decisions. An Si perspective will pay more attention to recollections and other stored tangible data, and Ni will instead pay more attention to stored conceptualizations of the data.


> For me personally, I find that my values come mainly from how I was brought up, what my parents taught me, my religious (and sometimes political) beliefs, some experiences in which I've observed in other people what one should NOT do, et cetera.


 That sounds like Fe, because you are drawing your values from the environment. Both Fi and Fe deal in "values", but Fi references the subject, and Fe essentially merges the subject with the object, so you draw from the object.


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## LiquidLight (Oct 14, 2011)

Just piggybacking off of what @Eric B just wrote because I think he sums it up nicely, I wrote about Si and its misconceptions on this http://personalitycafe.com/istj-forum-duty-fulfillers/106976-can-you-help-me-understand-si.html thread at the bottom it might help clear some things up. 

Also yes there may indeed be correlations between MBTI and Enneagram types, but both are measures of your conscious personality. Shadow functions would relate to _unconscious_ factors. Parts of yourself you would largely have no idea even existed (that's why they're called shadow). This is why its sort of dubious to 'test' for shadow functions outright because that would require conscious awareness (which of course wouldn't make these shadow processes), so the best the test can do is just report back what you put in and basically leave you to make sense of it. 

When most people talk about values, they are really talking about worldview and morals. Two things that aren't really the domain of the feeling function. The Feeling function deals with values, but on a much more primal level. At its most basic the Feeling function tells us whether or not we like something. It makes a value judgment based on how we react to something emotionally. Like/dislike, ugly/beautiful, tasteful/tasteless, significant/insignificant, worthwhile/worthless, are all measures that would largely be handled by the Feeling function. And we would discern these things either based on an internal standard or an external standard. 

Worldview and morals are more complex. In fact we might actually call them to a degree complexes (a group of ideas about a subject). These are informed by upbringing, religion, socialization, culture, your own ideas, etc., but are not necessarily always directly able to be linked back to a specific function (there's some literature out there that says otherwise, but I'm not sure how much faith i'd put in that. These things are in real life very complex, and I bet you would probably have a hard time figuring out the complex web of influences that have shaped you to this day with pinpoint accuracy. It's a bunch of different things, not something as simple as "I have Fe," or "I use Fi," as a lot of people like to claim. Certainly Fe or Fi will influence these things like a Fe-type might be more disposed to think something is pretty because everyone else agrees that it is, you see this commonly with standards of beauty, but even this might be taking it a step too far, because there's nothing to say someone's internal standard of beauty isn't the same as the external standard. It's just that when referencing beauty the Fi-type looks inward first. So its much, much harder to figure out than a lot of people like to think (you hear people say "i follow my own drumbeat therefore I'm Fi." Maybe. Or perhaps you're just rebelling against set external standards (which would still be adhering to them).


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## bookbutterfly (Jul 15, 2012)

@EricB:
Wow, thanks! Yes, I see what you mean...I thought the fact that those functions were all jumbled up meant that maybe I'd developed out the shadow functions or something like that, but that makes sense now.
What you say about Ni, paying attention to stored conceptualizations, makes a lot of sense to me. I think I've heard that Ni is the function most in touch with the unconscious, which sounds like it goes with that.
Apparently I have a pretty strong Fe...someone on here said I sound like I use Fi, but I don't really see how. 
@LiquidLight:
I must say that your Si post is AMAZING. I understand it so much better now--thank you! I really liked the example you had of Se and Si art--it's funny, because my Si-dom mom and I were talking about art, and she said that she preferred paintings that were really abstract and out there (she loves Picasso's Guernica), and I said I can appreciate the more abstract art, but my favorites are the more realistic paintings, like from the Renaissance, Rococo, Vermeer, Velazquez's Las Meninas...and especially if there is symbolism in the paintings (like in Las Meninas), I love it even more. So...I guess that'd be a pretty typical divide between Si-Ne and Ni-Se?
And as an Fe-user, I'm *probably* more easily bound to say I like something if everyone else says they like it, only because I don't want to offend anyone or strike up an argument about it. Paradoxically, I do like to think I'm not one to jump on the bandwagon...HA.


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## Eric B (Jun 18, 2010)

I forgot to mention, I still see Enneagram types as corresponding more to temperaments and Interaction Styles rather than functions. They don't always seem to line up like that, but that's what they look more like.


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## LiquidLight (Oct 14, 2011)

@Eric B not to derail the thread but I was reading this article Jung.org on shame and guilt and it really I think spells out just how much of our dispositions are, like Beebe notes in his theory, influenced by unconscious factors other than functions. I get the feeling that so many people say "I'm organized because of Te," which is sort of what MBTI propagates, and it would seem, especially from a clinical perspective that there is much, much more going on beneath the surface. I found it interesting that, for example, many people's views of God and religion are essentially their parents since the parents are the people who generally introduce us to the concepts of God and religion. That for most people, what they conceive as religious sin is actually their parent's ideas about bad behavior, and in fact the guilt and shame that can arise from this (like not living up to a parent's expectations) are 1) much stronger than the effect of committing an actual religious indiscretion (since these will always be filtered by how we were initially exposed to these ideas) and 2) influence our outer behaviors and attitudes much more than people are aware of. I think for some people its easier to just say "I'm an INFP" than to deal with their worldviews and ideas, which I think is what Beebe was really after with the 8-function model. Getting people to look past the obvious and into the places that aren't so readily noticed (like what do we feel opposed by, and when am I apt to think life is playing tricks on me and how might I project these things).


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## LiquidLight (Oct 14, 2011)

> and especially if there is symbolism in the paintings (like in Las Meninas), I love it even more. So...I guess that'd be a pretty typical divide between Si-Ne and Ni-Se?


You could make a case for that being Se-Ni, but again like I was just saying, you want to look deeper and try and figure out _why_ you like the more realistic work, not just identify that you like it (that's only step 1).


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## Cetanu (Jan 20, 2012)

LiquidLight said:


> Well this is the problem with Shadow functions as most people conceptualize them. How do you know that these are really 'shadow functions' (really complexes) and not just parts of your normal personality that you don't pay any attention to or don't think exist? That's why Beebe ties the complexes to these functions to give you cues, like the opposing personality (when you feel opposed you may find yourself acting out in x way) or the Trickster (I feel life is playing tricks on me when x happens). Otherwise you would have no idea whether or not this was just your alter-ego as it were (not the correct term but you get the idea) or really specific shadow processes. Everyone has a conscious personality (who they think they are) and an unconscious personality (who they don't think they are but really are as well) and sometimes its tough to separate the two. Every Dr. Jekyll has a Mr. Hyde and the more unaware you are of Mr. Hyde, the more influence he will have (which is why we pay particular attention to the things like the inferior function). What Beebe was proposing with his idea of shadow functions is a way to focus on those parts of ourselves that seem 'not me' normally so that we don't project those things as things only other people do (but drive you nuts) but rather recognize those qualities in ourselves, so we can 'withdraw the projection' and grow as individuals.
> 
> Its not really as simple as, I'm an INTP and when I get mad or stressed I become an ENTJ, because as Beebe points out, these processes don't have a hierarchy (so there are really no shadow function types so to speak) which is why on a CF test, which measures behaviors and attitudes and then tries to infer functions, you may end up with function use that doesn't fit the normal MBTI model. Beebe would explain an INTP scoring high on Te for example, as a person who felt 'opposed' a lot but this begs the question, how do we know that the person is not really a Te-type? That's where tests fail us because they don't have the intuition to be able to read a person's true character they can only regurgitate what we put in, and if we don't know ourselves, the test will not do any better.


Oh yeah, I remember this.
My Fe is my trickster and my Si is my demon.
Explains why I think people try to trick me often and when I'm alone in an uncomfortable place my external world turns into a fucking nightmare.


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