Lol well, cognitive functions is different from dichotomies. People assume with dichotomies that, because they score one way, they can't possibly use the other way. Just because I score ISTP on most Myers-Briggs personality tests doesn't mean I can't use N or F at all ever. (In fact, I'm arguably actually INTP, and a possible Ti-Si loop might be why I usually score S, but that's another story.)
The most common misconception lies in the j/p axis. For example, people with J can be procrastinators and there are people with P that love adhering to schedules. Similarly, just because you're an I doesn't mean you're a recluse who would rather spend their days holed up in their room than engage in any social contact with another human ever, and not all E types are party animals.
The point of the cognitive function stack is that everyone uses every letter to some degree, and the 4-letter code shows orientation and preference. Your type (and code) is determined by your functional pair.
ENFP, for example:
Dominant Ne (extraverted iNtuition) (ENxP)
So what you're REALLY saying, even though you're disguising it behind bulls***, is this. Do you want to know what writing desks and ravens have in common? Are you sure this is the right decision? Because I have five other possible interpretations, and it would be a shame not to consider them all. I simply know how this works, and what you are really up to. Let's talk about ideas! I want to tell you mine and hear yours! I know this idea doesn't seem related to our discussion, but I think it ties in. I can sum up our concept in a metaphor. I can think of five different things at once! I can pick up your facial expressions and accent without even thinking about it. Let me tell you a story...
Ne is dominant. iNtuition is a perceiving function, and since it's extraverted, that makes your letter a P. Since it's dominant, that makes you E. So ENxP.
Auxiliary Fi (introverted Feeling) (ExFP)
I am happiest when staying true to what I believe and what I want for my life. I know what I want, what beliefs and ideals motivate me, and how I feel about something. This is good, and that is bad. I know you’re only pretending, because I can see right through you. How does this new belief measure up against my life, my goals, and my core values? I believe no one should enforce morality; it should be a conscious choice we make. I care very much about you. I am loyal to you. I have great enthusiasm and many feelings toward you, but I show it through actions rather than words. You don’t have to say anything for me to be able to connect to and understand your meaning. I am okay with silent affection.
Since your dominant function is an extraverted perceiving function (Pe for short), your auxiliary function
has to be an introverted judging function (Ji for short) (Ti or Fi). In your case it's Fi.
Your dominant and auxiliary functions make up your functional pair. ENFP.
Tertiary Te (extraverted Thinking) (ExFP)
Look, I organized all my movies by alphabetical order or time period! My socks are sorted by colors or fabrics. I enjoy having things organized, but have to focus to set up the system. I know this isn’t working right, and I want to fix it. I suspect this project will take me another couple of hours, but I’m going to give myself extra time just in case. Look, either you can prove aliens exist or you can’t, and if you can’t, they probably don’t exist. Let’s talk about this idea to see if it’s even possible, on a factual level. This is why I made my decision. I want to have a plan and follow through with it, but sometimes I forget what time it is or what the steps in the plan were. I probably shouldn’t improvise answers as much.
The tertiary function is always the opposite of the auxiliary function. Te is opposite to Fi. You cannot have Fi without Te.
Inferior Si (introverted sensing) (ENxP)
I haven’t the faintest idea where that paper went. I had it five minutes ago. No, I didn’t remember that it’s your birthday… but I wanted to remember! I did a bunch of research on the Tudor period, but I need to dig up my notes for the details. I don’t want to talk about the past; it hurts too much. Show me how you did it, and then I’ll try it. I’m not a big fan of Christmas family gatherings, but I kind of miss the wonder of Christmas as a child. Don’t tell anyone, but sometimes I long for a normal life and a white picket fence. How… how did I remember the name of that fictional character in the cartoon I used to watch when I was a kid? That’s random!
Similarly, the inferior function is always the opposite of your dominant function. Si is opposite to Ne. You cannot have Ne without Si.
Quotes taken from
http://funkymbtifiction.tumblr.com/cognitivefunctions and direct links from that page.
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Me, I'm most likely INTP:
Dominant Ti - Introverted Thinking is a judging function and is what I lead with, thus making me IxTP.
Auxiliary Ne - With Ji as a dominant function, my auxiliary function must be Pe. The Pe function in my functional pair makes me a P even though I lead with Ji. I am fairly proficient with this function, though I can sometimes skip it.
Tertiary Si - Since I have Ne, I must also have Si. I use it well enough, though I sometimes tend to favor it over my auxiliary since it's oriented the same way as my dominant.
Inferior Fe - Since I have Ti, I must also have Fe. I don't use this very well.
While these might not
exactly describe the way you judge and perceive things, they're a good starting point. It's also difficult to use these to type since these take the function itself and isolate it while in reality the functions interact with each other - Ne in an ENFP might look different than Ne in an ENTP because of the Fi vs Ti filter. There are also more concepts like looping (ignoring your auxiliary function in favor of your tertiary function because your dominant and tertiary functions are oriented the same way and thus feel better to use, can be healthy but sometimes not) and gripping (allowing the underdeveloped inferior function to take the wheel and make you act like an unhealthy version of the other type, in your case an unhealthy ISTJ) and shadow functions (the four functions not in your stack, and there are a bajillion theories on these).
It's up to you to decide how deep you want to dive in and understand your characters. And yourself.
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Enneagram is its own thing (although there are correlations between some types and some MBTI types). It deals with motivations and takes upbringing into account. I can explain the basic structure of the enneagram:
HEART TYPES: 2, 3, 4. Motivation: shame
HEAD TYPES: 5, 6, 7. Motivation: fear
GUT TYPES: 8, 9, 1. Motivation: anger
Each person has one within each of the types within their tritype (that's the three numbers, the 594 of mine). My head type, which I also lead with, is 5. My gut type is 9. My heart type is 4. Rebma appears to lead with a heart type: 2. If I had to guess, she might also use 7 and 1, making her tritype 271
WINGS
The characteristics of a type can vary and they often take on traits of one of the neighboring types, called a wing. For example, my middle number 9 is actually a 9w1. This means that, while I display many of the characteristics of a 9, I also display some characters of a 1 through the lens of 9, moreso than 8. Thus I have 9 with a 1 wing. It's sometimes difficult to distinguish which one is the base and which one is the wing (ex: I had a hard time deciding between 1w9 and 9w1) if they're both within the same type (9 and 1 are both gut types).
Me; 5 balanced (I don't know the shorthand notation for this), 9w1, 4w5
INSTINCTUAL VARIANT
sp - self-preservation, the concern of one's own safety, usually stereotyped to be the most reclusive of the three
sx - sexual, a focus on interpersonal relationships, usually stereotyped to be the most intense of the three
so - social, a focus on standings within larger societal groups
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Some sources.
Enneagram Institute - Learning the EnneagramFree Enneagram TestsFunkyMBTIFiction's Introduction to MBTI Cognitive Functions, contains helpful linksMBTI-Notes Tumblr blog, has good resources
Do you have any compendium for nerds?
