Individual Interests and Gift Giving Behavior: Fe and Fi values

The Fe Perspective

The general (inferred or extrapolated) usage of the word 'you'. Associations, Mass appeal.

Fe values generally allude to the perspective that any given individual is wholly unified in their attraction or repulsion to their interests or disinterests even though that may not be the case. From an Fe valuing perspective if an individual is known to possess a certain specific interest they are perceived or inferred to also possess interest in anything tangentially connected to their known, original inclinations. Essentially, Fe values are adept at reading between the lines. Practical manifestations of this behavior follow.

Assuming individual A is known to enjoy the genre of horror movies, from an Fe valuing perspective this individual is also believed to enjoy things associated with horror movies such as T-shirts depicting famous horrific scenes or toys relating to this genre. This perception of interests can be expanded to extremes such as; individual A loves the country of Canada so individual A must like anything connected to or associated with Canada ranging from souvenirs to mugs made in China that depict Canada's glory. The Fe perspective can also posses a much smaller scope such as; individual A loves the Transformer toys so individual A must like Transformer TV shows and paraphernalia (or from an expanded extreme; individual A must enjoy all children's toys. Slightly less expanded; individual A must enjoy what is generally perceived as toys for male children). In this sense the 'size' of the Fe valuer's perspective is likely correlated to the 'strength' of their Fe, the degree to which they don't understand Fi, or plain old individual differences. The important point here is that Fe values perceive individuals as having and wanting to display expansive and inferred connections to their interests and also that those interests exist on many levels though they may not all be present on an individual one.

Consequences: The Fe perspective in an Fi environment or interaction

When an Fi valuing type receives a gift from Fe valuing type that is only inferred to be associated with the Fi's interests (not directly connected to) the Fe valuer can be perceived as; overly analytical, misguided, or forced. This leaves the Fi valuer feeling misunderstood (understood incorrectly).

Assuming the Fe valuer is aware of the Fi valuer's feelings in this regard the Fi valuer can be perceived as; overly critical, needlessly difficult, or boring (in this sense meaning lacking in 'depth').

Notes: IEIs and SEIs, possessing demonstrative Fi, are able to access and operate on a specific individual level however will often choose not to as it will feel forced, contrived, or wrote.

Explanation of behavior See footnote

Fe valuing types pay attention to and interact in their external environment which is perceived to largely consist of the dynamic emotional expression of the individuals therein. Fe valuing types perceive rapid fluctuations in expressed emotional states as crucially important when it comes to understanding individual preferences. For that reason they infer internal states from external expression . They perceive internal desires to be as dynamic and changing as an individual's mood. This results in constant extrapolation based on external expression in an attempt to assess internal (inaccessible, not readily apparent) information.


The Fi Perspective

The specific (individual) usage of the word 'you'. Connections, Individual preference.

Fi values decidedly avoid assuming that an individual is wholly and universally attracted to or repulsed by their interests or disinterests and anything tangentially associated therein even if that may be the case. From an Fi valuing perspective if an individual is known to possess a specific interest they are perceived as possessing that interest exclusively until tangential or inferred associations are known to be included as well. Essentially, Fi values take preferences at face value. The practical implications of this assumption follow.

If individual A is known to enjoy the genre of romantic comedies, from an Fi valuing perspective, this individual is believed to enjoy only these films and not paraphernalia associated with them. This perspective can be extremely narrow in scope in that it may not even attempt to include the entire genre of romantic comedies. This can mean that if individual A exclaims their enjoyment of the romantic comedy genre of films after viewing the film Hitch (a romantic comedy) they may then be assumed to be referring to Hitch specifically and not the entire genre despite the individual's general exclamation of appreciation for it. Information regarding individual preferences is taken as directly and simplistically as possible. This assessment is viewed as unvarying by the Fi valuer and can result in redundant presentation of interests (i.e. getting the same person a candle every time an instance to give a gift to that person comes up for years on end because that individual is known to enjoy candles).The important point here is that Fi values perceive individuals as possessing only specific and expressed individual preferences and also that those interests do not exist on an multiple inferred levels even though they may.

Consequences: The Fi perspective in an Fe environment or interaction

When an Fe valuing type receives a gift from an Fi valuing type that is directly and specifically associated with the Fe's interests they may be initially received warmly. However, overtime the repetition of this behavior can seem to the Fe valuer to be; overly simplistic, unimaginative, or lazy. This leaves the Fe valuer feeling incompletely understood (viewed as simplistic or 'one-note' in a hurtful way).

Assuming the Fi valuer is aware of the Fe valuer's feelings in this regard the Fe valuer can be perceived as; impossible to please, needlessly difficult, or demanding.

Notes: SEEs and IEEs, possessing demonstrative Fe, are able to access and operate on a universal or extrapolated level however will often choose not to as it will feel disingenuous or unthoughtful.

Explanation of behavior

Fi valuing types pay attention to and try to satisfy the internal emotional desires of individuals but ignore or, don't acknowledge externally expressed emotion as important when it comes to achieving this objective. It's important to note that the information an Fi type attempts to influence is also inaccessible to them due to its internal nature however the emotional states of others are not assumed to be in flux. For this reason they attempt to interact with a static assessment of an individual's character rather than influence or react to their expressed emotionality.



Footnote: In an aspectonics sense emotional states are "internal," which means they are not explicitly observable in the environment; they must be inferred or extrapolated from the expressed (visible or 'external') behavior of the interactant. This is true of all individuals. The differences between Fe and Fi tactics concerning this lack of internal information is described in their respective 'Explanation of behavior' sections.

For further reading and a more socionicly inclined description see this thread: http://www.the16types.info/vbulletin...Fi-Te-question