Intuitive-Ethical Introvert
IEI – INFp – Esenin (Lyricist)
The IEI’s principal value in this world are the invaluable gardens of his own imagination, with the aid of which it is possible for him to penetrate into the past and future, to feel the surrounding world in its wholeness, to understand the dynamics of present events, and furthermore – to inspire people to any necessary undertakings.
Descriptions of the Strong Functions:
Ni – Program function. Introversion of IEI's intuition dictates that his consciousness is submerged in modeling of processes of time. His thoughts sail, flow, easily going forward and backwards in time. In contrast to ILI, the IEI is focused on ethics, and therefore he is less concerned with the problems of the material world and production; his interests lie in the development of people's emotions, relations, and potential.
He internally observes everything as in constant motion: children – run, adults – work, some actions are undertaken, rivers – flow, heavenly bodies – move in the sky… for the IEI, time constitutes a kind of aether into which everything is submerged. A dreamer and romantic, the IEI is easily separated from reality and taken by his thoughts into the land of images and insights, from which he derives enjoyment and meaning of his existence. He's drawn to literature containing elements of the fantastical and breathtaking adventures. He imagines himself participating together with heroes of the novels, giving himself up to periods of creative imaginings. His mind, as a rule, focuses on something that is sublime and elegant – he may think of a journey around the world aboard an ocean liner (alongside a refined public), of an alluring cottage with a fireplace and white piano, of beautiful transcendent love…
However, the IEI is also able to sense the imminence of events, to catch the barely noticeable currents of attitudes and dynamics within society. He can feel the precise moment in time when action must be taken; mostly vividly he feels the imminence of crisis situations and danger, at which time he becomes very agitated and disturbed.
He is adept at noticing people's characteristics, idiosyncrasies, abilities and potential, and is drawn towards capable individuals (sometimes for his own purposes). With respect to his own abilities and talents there is an internal, frequently secret, conviction that he exceeds others in his spiritual aristocratism, viewing himself as a member of an elite of humanity, but usually he does not openly demonstrate this perception.
Introverted intuition in the leading bloc impedes him seeing himself from the outside. He finds it difficult to objectively evaluate his behavior, and is inclined to justify himself in everything. His inclination to distance himself from reality and difficulties in self-appraisal can lead to egocentrism and excessive submersion in his own world.
Fe – Implementation of the program. After he discovers the hidden patterns and undercurrents of the events, IEI attempts to emotionally influence people around him, in order to direct them to appropriate actions. He knows how work with people's moods and impressions to incite necessary reactions, but he does not accomplish this through force, but rather through persuasion, and sometimes with an emotional surge that signals to others that he will perish as a brittle, delicate entity if help does not arrive and his requests are not fulfilled! He finds it difficult to enact the necessary measures himself – pragmatic activity is not his strongest suit – therefore he tries to orient others around him to take action. IEI is easily inspired in favorable climate, but also very easy to offend – sometimes a negative intonation or reproachful gaze is all that is needed to put him into negative mood for the rest of the day.
He is confident in his correctness, and if those that surround him do not react to his signals and fail to follow through with necessary actions, IEI’s exasperation and emotional fervor can reach such a degree that, for a long period of time he will not calm down, and continue to ardently try to prove his point to all.
He enjoys being in center of attention when in the company of familiar to him people. Knows how to behave himself appropriately – to smile, to give a compliment, to support another’s remark, to be polite and accommodating.
If IEI enters a period of melancholy and disappointment, and this is not a rare occurrence, he will then isolate himself. When the dark period is over, he will once again emerge bright and alert, with positive expectations of the future and of his life. If he is in luck and finds himself in a loving and supportive atmosphere, his best qualities are revealed: the ability to be compassionate and to provide moral support. Being keenly perceptive of the moods of people around him, he – when in elated spirits – is ready to offer warmth and sympathy.
Possessing high impressionability, the IEI sensitively responds to all forms of art. He especially loves music and poetry, sometimes creates his own artwork, writes music and stories. He enjoys attending concerts and art exhibits, manifests natural literary gift.
Descriptions of the Weak Functions:
Te – Painful function. Distancing into the realm of his images and contemplations helps the IEI to hide from reality that often proves to be too harsh and cruel for him.
His professional activity and productivity are unpredictable, since his capacity for work highly depends on his internal state: short flashes of energetic activity alternate with periods of prolonged inaction. As a rule, he his energy drive is lowered, and he therefore he finds it difficult to continuously exert himself. The inherent to him asthenia – perceived weakness, exhaustion, and low energy – is frequently compensated for by the need for a prolonged night sleep. For this very reason, without the necessary moral support, he frequently finds himself at a lower social position than would correspond with his abilities. Thus IEI is prone to regard energetic people, whom hold a higher social status, with a secret sense of envy, to consider that life has wronged him, and, involuntarily trying to justify himself, he seeks external factors that could be faulted for his misfortunes. Meanwhile, he comforts himself in the fact that his high sensitivity and brittleness of psyche, refinement of his principles and ideals, do not permit him to act by the same methods as others. Thus, he justifies his own passivity by viewing himself above the surrounding world, thereby psychologically shielding himself. He finds it difficult to accept responsibility for everything that happens to him. He prefers to lay responsibility on external factors, especially if things are going badly. IEI rarely takes up routine work of any kind, and if he does he may try to shirk from it and carry it out negligently.
Si – Role function. In everything that concerns his health and appearance, IEI tries not to appear worse than others, to adhere to the same standards that exist in society. It should be noted, that he has an innate proclivity to dress in good taste, with elegance and refinement, even if his financial situation is modest. The female IEI can arrive an hour late, but will show up in great form, in an elegant dress with tastefully selected accessories (giving preference to darker tones of clothing rather than bright and colorful).
IEIs do not invest a lot of effort into managing their finances. He may overspend or save money without knowing what to do with it. Often IEI cannot resist purchasing beautiful and elegant things that do not have any utilitarian purposes, even if his finances do not suffice; it is difficult for him to concern with something as prosaic as money, when it is desirable to amuse himself by any means possible.
IEI often is a follower or an individualist and rarely a leader. Favorable conditions for his activities – a clear-cut regulation of his actions, preferably, in some creative sphere. He finds it difficult to manifest initiative, to conflict with others, thus he often prefers to go with the flow abiding by the norms of the society in which he lives.
IEI at Work and at Home:
Variable and indecisive, not keen on taking responsibility, not only for others but also for himself, IEI prefers not to occupy leadership positions. If, nevertheless, fate forces him into such a position he can successfully manage strategic tasks. He tactfully interacts with his subordinates, uses emotions to successfully influence those around him, and himself seeks milder relations. It is better if he is put in charge of a small group.
For IEI love and family are significant values in his life. He is capable of feeling deeply for others; for years he may remember and sympathize with his significant other even if he has been rejected. Frequently in his imagination he endows another with romantic qualities, which that person in reality may not possess.
At home, he finds it difficult to occupy himself with domestic tasks – this is his enemy number one. If you strictly and scrupulously demand that he carries out his domestic responsibilities, in this manner you will not attain anything besides embitteredness; in such cases he may even provoke fights and arguments. In order to resolve such issues in an acceptable manner, IEI attempts to shift the chores onto others, often by demonstrating his helplessness so that others aids him; for this purpose he tries to influence weak points of other people. When this doesn't succeed, IEI may unexpectedly conduct himself in a sharp and harsh manner, although with unfamiliar people he remains invariably civil and gentle. Only in special cases, such as when IEI experiences the feeling of love towards his significant other, he can mobilize his internal forces and invest sufficient energy to carry out the burden of domestic concerns on his own volition.
IEI loves to host guests at his home, tries to prepare a beautifully arranged table – for him this is more important than food itself, for the celebratory meal is merely viewed as a means of pleasant contact and conversation. No matter what he is occupied by, in regards to others, he will introduce the element of fantasy: the reception of guests, instructions, handicraft… IEI is not interested in treating himself in the same lavish manner – he will only do it for enjoyment of others. For example, he rarely prepares a fine meal for himself and feels satisfied with a dinner consisting of bread and jam (if it happens to be immediately available in the refrigerator).
Summary of functions:
1. The dreamer and romantic, IEI is easily separated from reality, knows how to sense events, to notice their dynamics. He sees the concealed potential within people, his inner essence, is capable of proposing new ideas in areas of interest.
2. Knows how to influence the moods of others, to cause reactions deemed necessary by method of an “emotional surge”, but not by pressure, he readily manifests warmth and participation. Loves to speak about the moral problems, about the norms of behavior, he calls those near to him to acknowledge his observations.
3. His fitness for work is unpredictable as it depends exclusively on his mood. He frequently possess low energy and therefore finds it difficult to force himself to work. Formal hierarchy, structure, organizing, systematization … all these only serve to irritate and tire him, he doesn’t see the “living soul” in these, which is necessary to motivate him.
4. He ably feels the beauty, harmony, and commensurability in the world, but badly manages practical tasks; poor at performing repetitive chores and following precise procedures; may overspend money and look down on what he deems as "penny-pinching".
Professional Assessment:
The most favorable work for the IEI can be found in the realm of humanitarian activity. This can be work in music, literature, art studies, work in the printed press, journalism, conducting television and radio transmissions and interviews. Sometimes representatives of this type are found successfully working in the field of mathematics.
Possible careers:
- Counselor / Psychologist
- Doctor / Psychiatrist
- Nutritionist / Alternative Health Care Practitioner
- Professor / Teacher
- Pharmacist / Chemist / Biologist / Physicist / Mathematician
- Sociologist / Political Scientist / Anthropologist
- Job Analyst / Career Counselor / Organizational Consultant
- Editor / Translator / Novelist / Poet / Playwright
- Musician / Photographer
- Architect / Graphic Designer
- Social Worker
- Environmental Lawyer
- Clergy / Religious Work
- Speech Pathologist / Audiologist
- Librarian
Relations:
Potentially Favorable:
SLE (ESTp), LSI (ISTj), EIE (ENFj), SEE (ESFp), ILE (ENTp), LII (INTj), ESI (ISFj), IEE (ENFp)
Potentially Adverse:
LSE (ESTj), LIE (ENTj), ESE (ESFj), SLI (ISTp)
See also:
Wikisocion - IEI profiles
IEI observations
IEI in pictures
Type examples in videos
Socionics Type Tests
Typing Questionnaire (including photos and/or a video in your questionnaire thread tends to increase the number of replies and accurate typings)
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