# Fi vs. Fe – Sensitivity to the Judgment of Others



## nujabes (May 18, 2012)

Fe is more of an empathetic function, recognizing an emotion and then internalizing it to further understand it.
Fi seems to be more of a protection of the sense of self, guarding against unrequested or unwarranted criticisms.

At least, that seems to be how Fe works for me as an ENTP and how Fi works for my best friend as an ENTJ. I once told him he had no balls and he snapped and punched me in the face. I then (much later) felt bad about having caused that kind of emotional response and he explained that he felt his personal space had been invaded.


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## SalvinaZerelda (Aug 26, 2010)

_Who do you think is more prone to be sensitive to the judgment of others – a person with introverted feeling (Fi) or a person with extroverted feeling (Fe)?_

I think INFPs hurt more deeply as a result of judgements.. when you judge an INFP, you are questioning their entire being..
Some INFPs might ass-kiss just to protect themselves, but would be secretly opinionated..
INFPs can be chameleons, for sure.. 
INFPs prefer to judge themselves..

I think Fe would be more happy to help other people, and so would probably want to make people feel comfortable and protected.. Only then could a Fe user feel happy..
So I think Fe users half expect to be judged, and this is their reason for adjusting their behavior..


_Who is more eager to please others and thus has more difficulty living his or her own independent path?_
I say this depends on the circumstances.
Fe needs to please others to live independently.. Lol.. so as long as Fe is doing what they believe in, they'll be okay.
Fi has more difficulty following their independent path in a way because of the challenges in their way.. they can be their own worst enemy....


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## Kabosu (Mar 31, 2012)

I consider myself Fe > Fi, but I don't think that has to do with sensitivity level at all. I think so because usually I behave according to my environment, i.e. "what's appropriate for the situation." Even long before I looked into the types, I always noticed how when with an older and more refined bunch, I tend to generally act more mature and adult-ish, while with a more whimsical crowd or where people are a lot younger, I act more childlike. It sort of just seems natural.

It seems like others have mentioned weaknesses in Fi/Fe relating more with the inferior function than the dominant. Can cognitive loops have an effect? I don't know how common those are, but it seems like sometimes it's mentioned on these parts.


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## MariaPapoila (Sep 23, 2011)

Great insights from you all! After much pondering, I'm officially an INFP! Yey!


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## Jewl (Feb 28, 2012)

MariaPapoila said:


> Great insights from you all! After much pondering, I'm officially an INFP! Yey!


Just a bit of a warning: it is easy to see yourself as an INFP, especially in the way they are usually described. Fi can sound more attractive than Fe sometimes in the way it is portrayed. Also, INFPs are commonly portrayed as being extremely sensitive to criticism - however, so are other types. ENFPs, for example. ESFJs certainly can be. I know ENFJs can be as well. Lots of types can be. So it's hard to tell when focusing on this matter.


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## Arrow (Mar 2, 2012)

gingertonic said:


> *Fe is more of an empathetic function*,


How did you come to that conclusion? 



> recognizing an emotion and then internalizing it to further understand it.


That sounds like Fi because the emotion is recognized (I understand the emotion and how I feel about it) and then internalizing it to find meaning and purpose within the emotion felt. Fe is more about referencing outside information and then adhering to it. Fe believes in the external because it does not trust the internal in regards to feelings.


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## nujabes (May 18, 2012)

I genuinely enjoyed this right here. So rare.



Arrow said:


> How did you come to that conclusion?


I'd like to direct you to the second part of your post:



Arrow said:


> That sounds like Fi because the emotion is recognized (I understand the emotion and how I feel about it) and then internalizing it to find meaning and purpose within the emotion felt. *Fe is more about referencing outside information and then adhering to it.* Fe believes in the external because it does not trust the internal in regards to feelings.


Fe is a more empathetic function because it tends to seek harmony and connection in its relationships, thus being more sensitive to others' emotions and more likely to harmonize with them in order to understand them and further strengthen the relationship.


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## Arrow (Mar 2, 2012)

gingertonic said:


> Fe is a more empathetic function because it tends to *seek harmony* and connection in its relationships, thus being *more sensitive to others' emotions* and more likely to harmonize with them in order to *understand them* and further strengthen the relationship.


That's not necessarily empathy though, that's much more in line with _sympathy _or in lesser magnitude simply just concern or acknowledgement. 

I also think you are giving too much weight to referencing emotions/decisions and automatically meaning that one is going to empathize/sympathize with those same emotions and or judgments. 

Fe just references the outward emotion and shines light on the perceived emotion, judgement or reaction. It doesn't necessarily care for the person's emotions or the person's problems automatically (that's a person's own subjective choice or decision which is separate from the cognitive function). Sympathy and Empathy are choices made by the person indirectly based off the critera set forth before them. One cognitive function doesn't lead another to any one conclusion any more then another cognitive function does. Fe and Fi -- feeling judgments are not emotions they're still very much judgments based on what one personally feels is good or bad. 

Also Fe does not necessarily mean understanding - it's just referencing others reactions to things and taking those external judgments into account which can possibly lead to action. What the person does next with them is entirely up to them.


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## nujabes (May 18, 2012)

Arrow said:


> That's not necessarily empathy though, that's much more in line with _sympathy _or in lesser magnitude simply just concern or acknowledgement.
> 
> I also think you are giving too much weight to referencing emotions/decisions and automatically meaning that one is going to empathize/sympathize with those same emotions and or judgments.
> 
> ...


I'm being too concise unfortunately. I have a logic thread that connects Fe to higher probabilities of empathy but its all wonky because I'm too tired to un-Ne it. Basically, because Fe as a judging function bases decisions on things like emotion, empathy is an internalization of emotion, Fe is more likely to be empathetic than because it focuses on that internalized emotion to make a decision.

I'm not great at explaining Fe though. Just one of those times my ENTP brain-to-english language converters is insufficient. Should take care of that over the weekend though.


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## Arrow (Mar 2, 2012)

gingertonic said:


> Basically, because Fe as a judging function bases decisions on things like emotion, empathy is an* internalization of emotion*, Fe is more likely to be empathetic than because it focuses on that* internalized emotion* to *make a decision*.


I'm still not understanding how you are reaching this conclusion. Fe utilizes external judgments it doesn't internalize by itself, it's an extroverted function. It uses external or objective criteria from others to make decisions on what is good or bad and how to respond -- if a person actually does that is up to the individual. What you are expressing at least the wording of the idea -- internalizing feelings within oneself to make choices or decisions is Fi in nature. Fi is the cognitive function that references the self, the subjective experience and uses that to make choices. Fe does not reference the internal judgments or own subjective feelings to make choices.


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## nujabes (May 18, 2012)

Arrow said:


> I'm still not understanding how you are reaching this conclusion. Fe utilizes external judgments it doesn't internalize by itself, it's an extroverted function. It uses external or objective criteria from others to make decisions on what is good or bad and how to respond -- if a person actually does that is up to the individual. What you are expressing at least the wording of the idea -- internalizing feelings within oneself to make choices or decisions is Fi in nature. Fi is the cognitive function that references the self, the subjective experience and uses that to make choices. Fe does not reference the internal judgments or own subjective feelings to make choices.


I'm probably inserting bits of Ti into this. There probably isn't any evidence that when Fe references an external emotion it will also internalize it to further understand it. That might just be how I use my Fe.

/fail


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## Feana (Jun 12, 2012)

The result of my cognitive functions test was Fi>Fe>Ne>Ni>Si>Ti>Te>Se. Since I have an excellent use of both introverted and extraverted feeling, I wondered, what this means for me personally? Why do I care for others? Am I doing it because of my value system or because of others? As you can see, it's the same with Ne/Ni for me. Is that a strange order of the cognitive functions, is it possible at all to have this order, or did i do something wrong? Since I'm not a native speaker, I'm thinking of this possibility as well...


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## Swordsman of Mana (Jan 7, 2011)

I can't speak for all Fi users, but for me, judgment from others tends to roll off my back as either
- "hmm, they're right, perhaps I should change that"
or more frequently
- "pfft! they're stupid. whatever"


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## Ace Face (Nov 13, 2011)

Swordsman of Mana said:


> I can't speak for all Fi users, but for me, judgment from others tends to roll off my back as either
> - "hmm, they're right, perhaps I should change that"
> or more frequently
> - "pfft! they're stupid. whatever"


Agreed.

Also, the only time I actually get worked up about someone else's opinion is when it's an opinion of someone I really care about. I don't develop a lot of really close relationships with people, but when I do, their opinions can really rip me apart.


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## Swordsman of Mana (Jan 7, 2011)

Swordsman of Mana said:


> I can't speak for all Fi users, but for me, judgment from others tends to roll off my back as either
> - "hmm, they're right, perhaps I should change that"
> or more frequently
> - "pfft! they're stupid. whatever"


looking at this again, I think this has more to do with being an ExxP and E7 than being Fi/Te.


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## Ace Face (Nov 13, 2011)

Swordsman of Mana said:


> looking at this again, I think this has more to do with being an ExxP and E7 than being Fi/Te.


Are you sure? It seems a lot like the nature of Fi/Te to me in that one is considering the outside, objective view and making his own evaluation on it.


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## Ace Face (Nov 13, 2011)

Swordsman of Mana said:


> looking at this again, I think this has more to do with being an ExxP and E7 than being Fi/Te.


Nevermind, I get what you're saying  No need to explain.


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## LibertyPrime (Dec 17, 2010)

:\ hmm I really suck at Fe and I'm very sensitive to the judgment of other people. This tends to mostly come from 6w7 and my self doubts. I mainly only doubt my logic and intelligence (thou I realize that often I'm right and my logic is sound).

We could trace it to inferior Te in the MBTI and low preference for T in general. It isn't that I can't think logically or that i am less intelligent, it has more to do with being uneasy abut using it, basing things on it. So when I get criticized for it, then I question what i was thinking. Is it right, is it wrong, where are my sources for credibility and how do I back it up.

Other then that no. I tend to be very if not overly confident in what I feel is the right thing, how one should be and I tend to oppose / go against general consensus very often, call it criticism rolling off my back or what have you, I don't give an inch when it comes to interpersonal stuff, morality and such things associated with Fi / have 0 problems standing up to society, breaking the rules and doing unpopular things if I must.

Also real criticism doesn't effect me much. It is as @Swordsman of Mana and @Ace Face said. I either accept it and learn or reject it because I think I don't want to go where that particular suggestion will lead.

The shit kind of criticism or just plain being an ass, pushing my buttons does affect me, pisses me off in a very very bad way.


*
...the one thing that really gets to me is when I know I'm wrong and someone tells me I'm wrong. Then my superego kicks me really hard and I tend to drop dead instantly. Guilt, shame and a very shitty / depressive masochistic state of mind takes over.*


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