# How to find your dominant function - Theory



## spicytea (Nov 10, 2012)

*This is a theory that I have (which mainly applies to myself) on how to find out what your dominant function is.

Please note that this has nothing to with me trying to imitate ESTP's, so please leave that aside and try to focus on the context itself.*
*
[Feel free to give me feedback on whether this theory would be a good use for you or not.]*​
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When I’m with my friends, I _try_ to come off a little ”ESTP like”.
I do know that I can never measure up to the functions that ESTP’s have, that I don’t have as much of.

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I have two Se-dominant friends; ESTP and ESFP. 
I try my best to imitate their “Se” according to how it manifests in them.

The functions for an ESTP are:

*Se - Ti - Fe - Ni*

And an INTP’s functions are:

*Ti - Ne - Si - Fe*

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I _can_ “make it” without my three last functions temporarily BUT I can absolutely not “abandon” Ti.
I feel like I have no firm ground to stand on if I try to make it without that function. I _need _it for my own comfort and to still feel somewhat "reasonable".

So I have *Ti* to support *Se*. Just like an ESTP, which I'm fine with as Ti would still be in my top two functions.

The reason for me not being able to “let go” of Ti is because of a simple reason; it’s my _dominant_ function.

Have you ever tried to be like someone else or tried to imitate someone else’s type and/or functions? 
_(If not, try to think of a scenario where you are trying to do so or actually _try_ doing it in real life.)_
Which function do you feel the _least _comfortable with “leaving aside”?
This might be your _dominant function._


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## pizzapie (Oct 23, 2012)

I think this is a good theory, although if someone knows enough about functions to distinguish when they're using which one over others, they can probably figure out which one is their dominant.

With me, I can't leave my Si out in the cold. Te is difficult for me to push aside, or at least it's more difficult for me to push aside Te to use Fe. I just cannot make myself a people-pleaser. Bossy forever.

I use Fi a lot more than I realize, but Te definetly overshadows it. Se is just kind of there, although it tends to come out more around my ESFP friend because, well, it's her first function.

Si is my one true love. I'll never leave you, introverted sensing <3333 :tongue:


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## spicytea (Nov 10, 2012)

pizzapie said:


> I think this is a good theory, although if someone knows enough about functions to distinguish when they're using which one over others, they can probably figure out which one is their dominant.
> 
> With me, I can't leave my Si out in the cold. Te is difficult for me to push aside, or at least it's more difficult for me to push aside Te to use Fe. I just cannot make myself a people-pleaser. Bossy forever.
> 
> ...


Yeah, you're right. One has to know enough about the functions to be able to distinguish them from each other.
Thanks for your feedback!


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## myjazz (Feb 17, 2010)

pizzapie said:


> Si is my one true love. I'll never leave you, introverted sensing <3333 :tongue:


One of these day's I will grasp Si, to me Si is the mysterious function


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## Herp (Nov 25, 2010)

I think this is an interesting thought.

If I have to pretend to be anything else, the only thing I couldn't leave out there is the 'we need to do it efficiently' standpoint. I can even not give a damn about when, where or how, but it has to be done efficiently, and I will take measures to make it right. I can abandon myself to sloppiness.

I guess that's Te?


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## Glenda Gnome Starr (May 12, 2011)

I have a love-hate relationship with Fi. It's always there but sometimes I need to push it aside, especially when I am with other people. When I'm with other people, I try to use some sort of T function but it's so weak that I usually fail. 
But like you can't push aside your beloved Si, I can never push aside Se. At least, we're not fighting over the same beautiful S function. My Se gives me the world and colors and happiness and it challenges me to meet my world head on. I love my Se function so much!!!!
The Si is there and sometimes it comes out to play and to remind me of the things that used to fill my world. It is a sweet function but kind of unreliable.
The Fe also comes out around other people but I don't use it well and it goes away because it feels badly used.:tongue:



pizzapie said:


> I think this is a good theory, although if someone knows enough about functions to distinguish when they're using which one over others, they can probably figure out which one is their dominant.
> 
> With me, I can't leave my Si out in the cold. Te is difficult for me to push aside, or at least it's more difficult for me to push aside Te to use Fe. I just cannot make myself a people-pleaser. Bossy forever.
> 
> ...


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## pizzapie (Oct 23, 2012)

walking tourist said:


> I have a love-hate relationship with Fi. It's always there but sometimes I need to push it aside, especially when I am with other people. When I'm with other people, I try to use some sort of T function but it's so weak that I usually fail.
> But like you can't push aside your beloved Si, I can never push aside Se. At least, we're not fighting over the same beautiful S function. My Se gives me the world and colors and happiness and it challenges me to meet my world head on. I love my Se function so much!!!!
> The Si is there and sometimes it comes out to play and to remind me of the things that used to fill my world. It is a sweet function but kind of unreliable.
> The Fe also comes out around other people but I don't use it well and it goes away because it feels badly used.:tongue:


I love Se. I feel so much more relaxed when I find myself using it and just seeing things just to see them...it makes everything so much more enjoyable


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## Octavarium (Nov 27, 2012)

I think perhaps a better and easier way would be to notice which function you trust the most. In my case, for example, I know I'm not a feeler because I don't trust my own or anyone else's feelings to guide my decisions; for me to trust anything it has to have a logical explanation behind it, some way I can reason through it. I probably trust intuition over sensing but that's not so pronounced. That's why I believe I'm a thinking dominant despite usually getting a strong N preference and borderline T/F on tests.


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## yumchesspie (Jun 30, 2014)

I feel like I might trust sensing and thinking more than intuition, but I think I naturally use intuition and thinking more. I think I use "compensatory sensing", so to speak, but when I try to remember if I used Si as a child, I can't even remember what I used at all, and from what I've read that points against Si. All I can remember is that I was highly self aware at a young age and was also aware of the qualities of people around me. I knew who was sincere and who wasn't, and I knew the differences and similarities between myself and others. Would this be Ti?


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## 66393 (Oct 17, 2013)

I am presuming this theory is inconclusive because your type has changed from INTP to INTJ - both having a completely different set of functions. For me, the theory itself makes sense, but implementing it seems quite challenging. I am guessing that you were able to narrow yourself down to one function. Your mistake is confusing it with another -Ni. Nonetheless, thank you for sharing it with us. It will hopefully help some find a shortcut from the tiring path they must follow to finding their MBTI type.


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## RedRedo (Jul 8, 2014)

This is an interesting idea. However....

Maybe it's just because I'm new to studying the functions, or because I don't have enough practice trying to be like other types, but when I think of the one thing I can't seem to drop, it's my Fe. While my type is tentative, I'm fairly sure Fe is my weak function. Remembering times when I've tried to step out of my personality, I remember that my very badly developed and untrusted Fe came out an made things extra confusing and stressful for me.

Not sure what if anything that means, about me or about OP's theory.


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