# The 'Leading', 'Supporting', 'Relief' and 'Aspirational'': WHAT DO THEY MEAN?



## SuperunknownVortex (Dec 4, 2009)

I'm not sure how to properly define these words. What does it mean when a cognitive function is:
Leading?	
Supporting?
Relief?
Aspirational?

For example, I tend to notice that Fi is, for me, more so 'supporting' (defined here as "[t]he supporting role is how we are helpful to others as well as supportive of ourselves. ..._n its most positive form, this can be quite like a nurturing parent. In its more negative aspect, it can be overprotective and stunting rather than helpful.") It's as if my Fi judgments are recognized and then expressed more so through action but also words. Here is a positive actual example: my closet friend is graduating and is very afraid. As I sat down, I noticed that I was supportive and encouraged him to explore who he was as a person, what he valued and subsequently what he wanted to achieve afterward.

And then I notice that Te is very 'relief' oriented. I find myself 'giddy' and 'excitable' as I study for my courses because I can be creative in designing my flow charts to help me explain, say, electric fields and forces! I find myself to be excited when I'm introduced or discover means and tools that allow me to be more efficient and productive. And I find myself under a lot of stress feeling compelled to structure my internal and external environments to , as the article suggests, "...distract [myself] and others, getting us off target."_


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## affezwilling (Feb 1, 2011)

From what I understand there is a difference between cognitive development and usage. We all use each of the eight functions, but to varying degrees and different ends. Your primary roles start with your "Leading Role" which is how you typically approach things, your "Supporting Role" is how you process the information collected from your leading role, the "Relief Role" is your crutch that you lean on when your supporting role is failing you, and your "Aspirational Role" is your last resort when your leading role fails. You also have the shadow roles which will either aid or degraid the primary roles. The shadow roles are the "Opposing Role" which will either sustain or degrade the lead role, the "Critical Parent Role" will either lead us to nit-pick or allow give us insights, the "Deceiving Role" draws our attention to things which may or may not be as important as we perceive, and the "Devilish Role" which will lead us into either very destructive or creative habits. Obviously the lead role is the one we are best developed in since we've been using it all our lives. Likewise the support role should be relatively well developed, but other than that the other functions will have varying levels of development depending on how much you use them. Whenever you can use a well developed role things go well, but if forced to use an under developed role then not so much.

For example, an ENTP's cognitive functions are like this:
Leading - Ne
Supporting - Ti
Relief - Fe
Aspirational - Si
Opposing - Ni
Critical Parent - Te
Deceiving - Fi
Devilish - Se

However, as an ENTP myself my functions are developed from greatest to least in this order - Ne > Ni > Ti > Se > Fi > Te > Fe > Si. So basically I'm really good at using my leading, opposing, supporting and devilish roles. I'm good at using my deceiving role and okay with my critical parent role, but if I'm forced to use my relief or aspirational roles everything just goes to hell.

I'm not an expert, but from what I've read, that's about how I understand it. If I'm wrong I wouldn't mind someone correcting me. Hope this sheds some light on things.


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## Angelic Gardevoir (Oct 7, 2010)

Interesting. Does anyone have a link or something that explains how the shadow functions (5th-8th) manifest in each type?

In addition, about the "relief function"...one of the things I enjoy most about video games, especially in RPGs, is advancing. I like upgrading my equipment and learning new, stronger abilities as the game progresses. I find that very fun. What function does this sound like? I don't think it's Te. :mellow:


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## Herp (Nov 25, 2010)

There's always Beebe.

Understanding the Archetypes involving the eight functions of type (Beebe model)


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## SuperunknownVortex (Dec 4, 2009)

So, is it possible that someone may confuse themselves as a particular type because they are more or less 'fixated' on a particular archetype?

In my case I spent most of my young life in a more 'supportive' than 'heroic' role, and that 'supportive' role tended to be more Fi oriented. In retrospect I was fixated on this archetype more than others because of the lack thereof in my own childhood and adolescence. 

Yet I noticed that my 'heroic' role came out through my counseling (so subsequently my growing and working through my own problems and issues) and my work (in my case that was Ne). 



Angelic Gardevoir said:


> ...In addition, about the "relief function"...one of the things I enjoy most about video games, especially in RPGs, is advancing. I like upgrading my equipment and learning new, stronger abilities as the game progresses. I find that very fun. What function does this sound like? I don't think it's Te. :mellow:


Video games are enjoyable regardless of the order of your cognitive functions! =)

Nevertheless to say that's such a fascinating hypothesis. I wonder how the 'relief' function is metaphorically released through enjoyable activities?


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## affezwilling (Feb 1, 2011)

Angelic Gardevoir said:


> Interesting. Does anyone have a link or something that explains how the shadow functions (5th-8th) manifest in each type?
> 
> In addition, about the "relief function"...one of the things I enjoy most about video games, especially in RPGs, is advancing. I like upgrading my equipment and learning new, stronger abilities as the game progresses. I find that very fun. What function does this sound like? I don't think it's Te. :mellow:


The shadow functions (roles 5 - 8) are the same order as the primary functions (roles 1 - 4), but with inverted E / I focus. I guess an easy way for me to remember how they all manifest is this. Your lead (1st) and relief (3rd) roles will have the same focus (extrovert / introvert) as your overall type, your supporting (2nd) and aspirational (4th) role will be the opposite focus. Your preference to either the judging functions (thinking / feeling) or the perceiving functions (sensing / intuiting) will always manifest in either your lead (1st) or supporting (2nd) role as the extroverted function. The relief (3rd) role will be the opposite of the supporting (2nd) role and the aspirational (4th) role will be the opposite of the lead (1st) role

For an ENFP the lead role is Ne, which is supported by Fi. Te is your tertiary therefore you would only exercise it if your Fi function isn't working for you in a specific situation. Think of your support role as your dominant hand. You always write with your dominant hand, but if its severely cramped or broken you would then have to write everything with your off hand. I think the reason you spend so much time leveling is because of your lead role being Ne. Intuition focuses on exploring possibilities, extroversion focuses on applying those possibilities. I know I do the same thing, and having an Ne lead role myself this makes sense why.


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## TaylorS (Jan 24, 2010)

IMO the whole "shadow function" thing is nonsense. The functions are mental forms through which the world is viewed, they are NOT abilities or skills. Ni and Ne or Si or mutually contradictory ways of seeing the world, you cannot have Ni together with Si or Ne in the same psyche. As one gets more psychologically mature one becomes more and more conscious of their Tertiary and Inferior functions. In a 20-something like myself my Tertiary (Ti) is only partially conscious and my Inferior (Se) is still purely expresses itself through the Unconscious Mind.

The Inferior is the Jungian Shadow. When we hit midlife we start to bring the Inferior into consciousness, it is our inner "dark side" that we must come to terms with during the process of what Jung calls "Individuation", becoming a complete human being.


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## affezwilling (Feb 1, 2011)

TaylorS said:


> IMO the whole "shadow function" thing is nonsense. The functions are mental forms through which the world is viewed, they are NOT abilities or skills. Ni and Ne or Si or mutually contradictory ways of seeing the world, you cannot have Ni together with Si or Ne in the same psyche. As one gets more psychologically mature one becomes more and more conscious of their Tertiary and Inferior functions. In a 20-something like myself my Tertiary (Ti) is only partially conscious and my Inferior (Se) is still purely expresses itself through the Unconscious Mind.
> 
> The Inferior is the Jungian Shadow. When we hit midlife we start to bring the Inferior into consciousness, it is our inner "dark side" that we must come to terms with during the process of what Jung calls "Individuation", becoming a complete human being.


I may be misreading, but it sounds like what you're saying is that a psyche can only ever perceive and process the world from a certain perspective and cannot be retrained. To me that's saying you are who you are and you can never achieve being anything different. That seems like a very narrowing and limiting thing. When you break it down the perceiving functions (intuiting / sensing) are simply a method to gather information and the judging functions (thinking / feeling) are a method of processing that information. Everyone is going to have a predisposition for utilizing specific perceiving and judging functions. I'd be hard pressed to believe that people can not learn to gather and process information, or view the world, from more than one capacity though. I could believe that a psyche will only gather and process information in one function (or one functional pairing) at a time, but to be completely incapable of developing the other functions doesn't seem likely to me.

I've also known people who were more complete in their 20's and 30's than others that I've seen well past their midlife. Some people come to terms with their inferior consciousness and "dark side" at a much earlier age and some people never seem to become a full, complete and well rounded human being.


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