IEI-INFp Subtypes

[thePirate]

Not what I said. What I said is that they "typically" have their emotions in check. Everyone can be unstable emotionally at some point.

But their overall personality remains consistent.


I think this is just quibbling over semantics here. Or perhaps even projecting. Either way, you don't have to agree with me.


We don't always do what feels right. Many people follow social codes because they're "supposed to". I can tell you I can't always do what feels right because I have responsibilities and committments. Annoying, but often a trade-off.


This is what sounds enneagram 4ish. I typically experience identity issues, actually, because I tend to base my self worth on shifting emotional tides. That's what's unstable.

However that element of my personality has always remained rather stable, ie: consistent since childhood.

hmm..

Well, by feels right, I meant people always do what they want. ALWAYS. If something important took hold, you would break those responsabilities. It doesn't even need to be important, you don't have to do anything. No one is TRULY forcing you, eh?


On the level you are talking about, personality appears consistent. That isn't the level where all of this is taking place. I would agree, with what you have said about people typically having their emotions in check. The problem is, it's a choice, how these traits display themselves . You are choosing to base your identity on emotional tides, whether concious or not. If you decided to do something about that, your personality would change. You can do it, now, tomorrow, etc. Most people, in my experience, DON'T do this, however, which is why it may seem like people have stable personalities. Stability/Instability is a CHOICE, not a description of personalities. In reality, it isn't, people just don't experiment, haha.

Edit:

I don't agree with "You can be who you want to be" but for more Zen reasons, and exclusively stemming from the word "want." Desire itself is a manifestation of a personality that will have always been there or has become baited by expectations of others. You already are everything you will ever be. At least in terms of what actually matters, anyway.

LOL, semantics.

Choose/want are pretty much synonymous to me.

Although, wanting would still fit.

Anyway, don't know how I skipped over this, love it.

We are actually on the same page, except expressing it differently. You are right on one level, we always are, which goes back to us being unstable. However, the moment is ever changing, you are everything you will ever be, but that's a choice at any given moment. In other words, you are everything you will be at that moment, until chosen/want differently.

I wouldn't go as far as to say desire is a manifestation of a personality that will have always been there, that's a bit of a stretch. Solid post in either case. =)

[discourse]

Actually I live a very Ni lifestyle. I was wandering that perhaps the Ni- Infp is just dreamy. He likes to be alone. And enjoy the situation. So he seeks out interesting moods around him. And he's intuition of time makes him wanting to follow the meaningful mood and he ends up in strange situation. So he just seeks out interesting possibilities what can turn into interesting experiences. Thats what Ni is to me. And then the Fe comes out and he enjoys it. He likes that he's wanderings will bring him together with special people and he likes to play out those meetings emotionally nice way, with the satisfaction of using hes creative emotions. But the seeking is the most important to him. Because its imaginative. It gives him spiritual experiences. Which he usually feels aesthetically. So he is in he's mind always guessing some wisdom. He just likes to wander around and let he's dreams tell him some life experiencing story. And when he has gained that, he likes to put he's humanitarian insights into artistic form.

[ScarlettLux]

Actually I live a very Ni lifestyle. I was wandering that perhaps the Ni- Infp is just dreamy. He likes to be alone. And enjoy the situation. So he seeks out interesting moods around him. And he's intuition of time makes him wanting to follow the meaningful mood and he ends up in strange situation. So he just seeks out interesting possibilities what can turn into interesting experiences. Thats what Ni is to me. And then the Fe comes out and he enjoys it. He likes that he's wanderings will bring him together with special people and he likes to play out those meetings emotionally nice way, with the satisfaction of using hes creative emotions. But the seeking is the most important to him. Because its imaginative. It gives him spiritual experiences. Which he usually feels aesthetically. So he is in he's mind always guessing some wisdom. He just likes to wander around and let he's dreams tell him some life experiencing story. And when he has gained that, he likes to put he's humanitarian insights into artistic form.

This is beautiful and perfect. Actually, not perfect because I don't think IEIs necessarily enjoy being alone..

I've experienced this myself many times, and seen IEIs do this. All the time, 24/7... searching for meaning, following the mood, enjoying it. Creating a dreamlike story out of in their own minds, and somehow making it fit into a larger framework of their life "epic".

[redbaron]

This is beautiful and perfect. Actually, not perfect because I don't think IEIs necessarily enjoy being alone..

I've experienced this myself many times, and seen IEIs do this. All the time, 24/7... searching for meaning, following the mood, enjoying it. Creating a dreamlike story out of in their own minds, and somehow making it fit into a larger framework of their life "epic".

I agree with Scarlett. Beautiful.

[discourse]

This is beautiful and perfect. Actually, not perfect because I don't think IEIs necessarily enjoy being alone..

I've experienced this myself many times, and seen IEIs do this. All the time, 24/7... searching for meaning, following the mood, enjoying it. Creating a dreamlike story out of in their own minds, and somehow making it fit into a larger framework of their life "epic".

I have some more ideas about the Ni. I know, it's a free conversation going on. Still. I just understood how I use my intuition.

The Ni has free sides: passive, active and existential.

Passive is what I just wrote. It's a poetic dream.

The active side is more important. It's what makes Ni into intuition of time. It's about planing useful happenings into your life. You just know how to get your goals. You know how to plan out some discovery. You know exactly how to calculate when to find the right job with the right people. You know when is the right time for meeting the perfect girl. You are all the time learning how life changes and how to use experience to turn the flow into your plans.

The existential side is about the evolution. You like to observe phenomenons. How they start, grow, finish. And you like to learn better sciences to analyze it. But by doing that, you will become to understand the people and you just know how to change their wrong course back to normal. This combined with poeticality, gives talents in humanitarian fields.

[Sirena]

Please, help me tell the difference between the two IEI subtypes! I've read the descriptions but I'm still not getting a good picture. I know there are IEIs of both subtypes here, so I would appreciate any tips on how you identified this for yourselves. But anyone that has some input would be appreciated, of course!

[1981slater]

The intuitive subtype is quiet and the ethical subtype is cheerful.

The sky is blue and roses are red

[Sirena]

The intuitive subtype is quiet and the ethical subtype is cheerful.

The sky is blue and roses are red

That simple, huh? haha

[Hot Scalding Gayser]

Ni subtype looks more thoughtful/dreamy, less 'outwardly affectionate' - Fe subtype looks more happy go likely, slightly more naturally extroverted etc. Both kinda have that 'noticeable shy INFp grin' and stuff tho.

[Sirena]

Thanks Mimosa, that was very helpful, actually. I appreciate your sharing your observations. I think you made some good connections and according to what you and others have said so far, I would be the Ni subtype. I'm glad you brought up the enneagram because it's a good point that that would definitely influence things and even though I realize I typed myself as "4w5" on my signature, I feel like I know way too little about it to say for sure. The couple of tests I've taken have turned up 4w5 and reading descriptions it makes sense, yet I am hesistant to confirm anything without really understanding it. I'm also very aware of my subjectiveness, which makes me doubt my judgement a lot.

Also, in addition to the outward manifestations of the subtypes, I was hoping someone would touch on information processing, though I realize the subtype thing is pretty debatable in the first place and we're talking about subtleties here. But if someone could go into the information processing differences that lead to these perceptible differences, that'd be cool.

Another one where I know opinions vary, subtype compatibility. For instance, if I find myself more attracted to SLE-Ti's, would this be an indication that I'm more likely to be IEI-Fe? Eh, I know I'm pushing it wanting to go so deep into all this minutia, but yes, I overanalyze EVERYTHING.

lol I've also noticed I tend to write in "broken sentences". My tendency tends to be to say and write things like "Has it always been that way, the way she looks at him?". I was wondering if this could be type-related or maybe just some weird grammar thing I've always had, since it's always been this way with me. I remember teachers making me re-write my sentences in school to the most standard way, like "Has she always looked at him that way?". I also tend to not use common ways to describe things or common phrases. I don't do it on purpose, I guess maybe I just don't pay a lot of attention to actual words? Just something I noticed and thought I'd mention. Blah.

[Creepy-Cyclops]

Sirena, hopefully not to confuse things more, I think you have a slight Fe preference as your sub type.

[Sirena]

Sirena, hopefully not to confuse things more, I think you have a slight Fe preference as your sub type.

What makes you think so, Cy?

[Creepy-Cyclops]

What makes you think so, Cy?

I think so because if you were Ni sub type I would expect to see more T from you. Take for instance users strrrng and kioshi, both INFp but more logical than may be expected for INFp. Although imo they are still both INFp, they are quite strong in Ni sub type I think, I am not sure if kioshi does but I know strrrng types himself as Ni sub, but crazedrat reminds me a little more of strrrng than some other INFp's given that they are both Ni subs of INXp. (Crazedrat types himself as Ni-INFp, indeed, many people I think actually type him as INFp, due to his rather strong sub type the line can seem blurred).

Remembering that functions work in pairs. Stronger N will result in less used F and therefore the N-T link will be used more.

You don't seem massively like an ISFp but I think you seem to show a slight movement towards Si and alpha. Not a big one so your Ni and Fe are both strong, hence why I would be inclined to say you are reasonably balanced but with a slight Fe preference.

I do not know if this ties in with your own experiences and understanding of yourself, applying it to other aspects of your life, you could maybe have a think about it.

[Creepy-Cyclops]

Yes there are a fair few sub type theories around, and I'm somewhat reluctant to contribute to it, even when I made my previous post on this thread.

All I can say is that I think that for instance someone who is very strong in Ni as an INFp-Ni will resemble INTp some more. Whether it's correct or not I don't know or even if there is a point in trying to somehow 'prove' it. What I can say though is that this works for me IRL and I observe it often. For instance, have you ever met someone so strong in their creative function that you can't quite decide if the are say ISTj or ISFj, you just see lots of Se.

Similar example is how some people think Expat is an LSE. Expat types himself as Te sub type so I think he will seem a bit more like an ESTj even though he is an ENTj.

There are lots of theories out there and you can of course only use what works for you, if you (or anyone) uses them at all. I'm certainly not going to push what I think lol.

[pluie]

I actually find the descriptions very good when it comes to the IEIs I know. I have IEI-Fe 4w3 friends, IEI-Ni 4w5 friends and two IEI-Ni 4w3 friends. I don't know any IEI-Fe 4w5, so I can't say how they would be.

The enneatype seem to influences the "feel" of my friends just as much as (or more than) the socionics subtypes. For example, the IEI 3-wings I know are a lot more outspoken about their opinions and seemingly externally more "successful" (carreer, socially, physical presence, economically, etc) than the 5-wings. This is true for both subtypes. The 4w5-wings often are or at least seem a bit lost externally (and when you get to know them, you often have a feeling they could have done a lot better, as they often are really smart, but end up working in boring jobs way below their potential, God knows why they want it, I'd die of boredom, but if I ask, they say it's a way to "escape".). If I compare the IEI-Fe 4w3 I know with the IEI-Ni also 4w3s, I'd say the IEI-Fes are more "flirting" in all settings than the Ni types, and they more often take on a "center of attention" role, whereas the Ni subtypes need more external "help" before letting go and "just have fun" - they seem a bit more "stiff" and "controlled". This might not be a general rule, but it's how it looks to me. The 3-wing is anyways making as big a difference as the subtypes, also in this. The 4w5 wings are much stiffer/more withdrawn than the 4w3 also when only comparing IEI-Nis.

If I compare subtypes and try to isolate them without taking the enneatype into account, the Fe-subtypes I know seem to be more "proactive" somehow, finding things around them they want to "improve", and seem to try and improve it through their image of "perfection". I certainly want to "fix things". The Ni-subtypes (the 3-wing included) seem to be more into "working with reality the way it is". Example: In an organisation where things could have worked better, the Fe-subtypes I know would have talked about how it could be made better, often actively trying to change things, while the Ni-subtypes I know would have talked more about how they bypass the problems. The differences are subtle, but these are small things I have noticed. Not sure this is related to subtypes, or just the way the particular IEIs I know function?

...also not sure this helped in any ways, as it's very subjective.... Posting it like this anyways.

lol.
so what about enfj-fe versus enfj-ni?

got anything for me there?
i'm thinking now i might be infp-fe...

yikes. i'm confused. help me?

[JuJu]

VI can help in borderline cases.

From what I've seen, Sirena, my guess is you're of the Fe Subtype.

The Ni subtype often looks more like Nick, you know, with half-closed eyes, small relative to his face, (see: photos of Albert Camus for examples of that look... It applies to women as well.)

It's easier to show this with pictures... I will post some later when I have some time.

[Sirena]

lol.
so what about enfj-fe versus enfj-ni?

got anything for me there?
i'm thinking now i might be infp-fe...

yikes. i'm confused. help me?

why the fuck are you taking over my thread??

thanks everyone for all the feedback so far. i look forward to the upcoming pics, JuJu!

as for me, i'm still unsure, tbh.

[pluie]

why the fuck are you taking over my thread??

thanks everyone for all the feedback so far. i look forward to the upcoming pics, JuJu!

as for me, i'm still unsure, tbh.

"Sexual Harassment = bad." says Sexual Harassment Panda

[Sirena]

listen plushie......(i forgot what i was gonna say)

[Ezra]

Let me try and have a crack at summarising the subtypes based on all that collected Wikisocion material. Plus, separating the shit from the significant stuff.

Right, I see pointless crap about how they dress and how they talk. However, we can confirm this: assuming at least a decent level of intelligence, IEIs are articulate. But to be completely honest, what intelligent person isn't somewhat articulate? They are also decent enough dressers, but who isn't?

From my own perspective, an IEI-Fes would be more likely to dress to provoke than a IEI-Nis. In fact, IEI-Fes are more provocative in general. They're probably more flirtatious, slightly more outgoing, perhaps more assertive. At the same time, they're probably slightly less reflective and thoughtful than IEI-Nis. IEI-Fes will probably be wordier, more expressive and fanciful in their language if they're linguists or orators or something. With the added extroversion of IEI-Fes comes more sexual forwardness, which is probably lacking in IEI-Nis. Instead, IEI-Nis are probably more interested in spiritual pursuits than Fe creatives. You're probably more likely to find IEI-Fes in social arenas than IEI-Nis. If you have a social Four (most outgoing Four), they're probably more likely to be IEI-Fes than IEI-Nis. IEI-Fes definitely draw more attention to themselves, and probably like it most of the time. IEI-Nis, by contrast, probably don't.

Neither IEI is sexier - it depends on the person. It's pretty much common sense that an SLE-Ti would be more compatible with an IEI-Fe, and an SLE-Se with an IEI-Ni, although this hardly matters, because if you're lucky enough to get in on with your dual for life, you shouldn't be complaining about some shitty insignificant subtypes. I'll settle for IEI-Ni any day.

To be honest, Sirena, if I saw you in a video or something, I'd give you my own opinion and it would probably only take a few minutes. (I think most of subtypes is more about surfaces anyway.) In fact, I've always found that others' opinions (as long as "others" are wise) on something like subtypes (and even types), put a shitload in perspective for you. You instantly recognise stuff, and everything clicks with an "oh yeah, of course!" when you realise that half the stuff you were trying to justify to yourself that is "most likely me", all of a sudden becomes complete bullshit, and the other stuff you said was "just not like me at all" turns out to be you to a T.

[Ezra]

The only thing I disagree with, is the part about spirituality. I don't think the Ni subtypes are any more spiritually interested than the Fe subtypes. At least I've always been very much in contact with that side of myself, and so are the other Fe-subs I know, almost more so than the Ni-subtypes I know, though I don't think this is related to subtypes at all.

Yeah, I myself was a bit dubious on that, but I felt the IEI-Fes were getting all the positive attention so I needed something to even it out a bit.

[Sirena]

Let me try and have a crack at summarising the subtypes based on all that collected Wikisocion material. Plus, separating the shit from the significant stuff.

Right, I see pointless crap about how they dress and how they talk. However, we can confirm this: assuming at least a decent level of intelligence, IEIs are articulate. But to be completely honest, what intelligent person isn't somewhat articulate? They are also decent enough dressers, but who isn't?

From my own perspective, an IEI-Fes would be more likely to dress to provoke than a IEI-Nis. In fact, IEI-Fes are more provocative in general. They're probably more flirtatious, slightly more outgoing, perhaps more assertive. At the same time, they're probably slightly less reflective and thoughtful than IEI-Nis. IEI-Fes will probably be wordier, more expressive and fanciful in their language if they're linguists or orators or something. With the added extroversion of IEI-Fes comes more sexual forwardness, which is probably lacking in IEI-Nis. Instead, IEI-Nis are probably more interested in spiritual pursuits than Fe creatives. You're probably more likely to find IEI-Fes in social arenas than IEI-Nis. If you have a social Four (most outgoing Four), they're probably more likely to be IEI-Fes than IEI-Nis. IEI-Fes definitely draw more attention to themselves, and probably like it most of the time. IEI-Nis, by contrast, probably don't.

Neither IEI is sexier - it depends on the person. It's pretty much common sense that an SLE-Ti would be more compatible with an IEI-Fe, and an SLE-Se with an IEI-Ni, although this hardly matters, because if you're lucky enough to get in on with your dual for life, you shouldn't be complaining about some shitty insignificant subtypes. I'll settle for IEI-Ni any day.

To be honest, Sirena, if I saw you in a video or something, I'd give you my own opinion and it would probably only take a few minutes. (I think most of subtypes is more about surfaces anyway.) In fact, I've always found that others' opinions (as long as "others" are wise) on something like subtypes (and even types), put a shitload in perspective for you. You instantly recognise stuff, and everything clicks with an "oh yeah, of course!" when you realise that half the stuff you were trying to justify to yourself that is "most likely me", all of a sudden becomes complete bullshit, and the other stuff you said was "just not like me at all" turns out to be you to a T.

Interesting. This is the kind of stuff I was looking for. Thanks!

Sometimes it's hard to know what matters and what doesn't as far as the information that's out there and comparisons with other IEIs. Based on this though, I'm not sure I could pick one for myself. Maybe I'm somewhere in the middle? The thing is...it's not that I see myself as halfway between the two. More like I relate completely to both at different times. A good idea would be to look into the enneagram some more. You're right about the correlation you mention about that. I highly doubt I'd be at either of the extremes though, so I'm not sure it would tell me much. (though I think I'd lean towards more introverted than extroverted even for a 4). I know without doubt that I'm a 4, but I haven't gone deep enough to find out whether I'm so, sx or sp. Not sure about wing either, although I've tested as 4w5 before and the description does fit. But again, with me it feels like both are inside me and come out at different times and circumstances.

For instance, I don't feel very outgoing most of the time, yet when I feel comfortable I enjoy making people laugh and may talk non-stop, although I really enjoy listening also but definitely prefer interactions where there's a dynamic exchange of expressions. I say expressions because it's less about the actual words than anything else. I just love the non-verbal exchange that accompanies the words and it's immediately obvious when someone is or isn't receptive to it. Now that I think about it, my comfort level depends on how receptive the other person is to my emotional influence and I can pick up on this right away, even if they're pretending. I didn't realize this before, which always made me feel like I couldn't open up. I need more Fe valuing people in my life!

On the other hand, I would not call myself assertive and feel so reflective most of the time that I can't get out of my own head. I'm very cerebral and have almost an obsession for intellectual pursuits. A thirst for learning, and I don't mean through social interaction. I mean intellectual in the literal sense of the word. As far as being flirty, yes...depending on what I mentioned before about the comfort level. Sexually forward, no. I always prefer to let someone else take the lead here. I prefer my influence to be more insinuated, less direct. I definitely feel power in my influence though, but could never nor would I ever like to be direct/forward and take the reins. Simply, if the other person doesn't respond to it by becoming intrigued and taking control, I become bored or disappointed.

I feel like I'm full of contradictions. On the one hand, I like attention and it excites me. But on the other hand, I shy away from the limelight as much as possible and would rather just remain in the background.

Also, I find myself being more able to explain my Fe than my Ni. I don't think I'm very conscious of my Ni and I'm not sure if that's indicative of subtype or the fact that it's my leading function.

I've thought about making a video before and I'll start working on this, although the thought makes me feel really self-conscious. It would be interesting to get some feedback though. Maybe I'll just send it you, Ez! Yeah, and you're definitely right about getting others' perspective!

[Sirena]

LOL... I can say a bit more positive about the IEI-Nis. I think they somehow are a bit more stable internally. They are typically more intellectual, probably read (even) more than the IEI-Fes, are big thinkers, overall more scientific, I'd say, while the Fe-subs tend to be more into performing for others. Both subtypes are artistic, btw, but I'd say the Ni-subs are more typically writers, while the Fe-subs are more often musicians or actors. However, I write (and paint) so it's not cut in stone.

Ha! I'm not artistic. It's probably one of the biggest disconnects I find between myself and other IEIs, at least as described in IEI descriptions. I appreciate the arts, but I don't have any artistic talent or at least I haven't found it yet. Maybe I was short-handed by God or something because I do feel like I lack a means of self-expression. Maybe I should work on finding and developing that. I think that would make me happier, more realized. I feel trapped inside myself most of the time. Wow, I feel like I'm constantly searching for something that will do this for me, so I become obsessed and pour all my passion into a spiritual pursuit, personality theory, romantic interest, etc. I feel so single-focused sometimes. I want to believe in something so strongly that it becomes my life and gives it a higher meaning. I need to feel passionate about something or I feel dead inside. No one I know is this way though. They're perfectly content living ordinary lives and see me as weird for not being able to do this. As an ungrateful and unsatisfied person.

[Sirena]

I can kind of relate to this. I can't draw to save my life (though I appreciate others' artistic expression), and what fanfic I can write/storytelling really only works best as collaboration with someone else. I CAN write powerful poetry independently, but I have to be riding some kind of emotion for it to make its way outside myself as something concrete and able to be put into words. Otherwise it's all just half-wisps inside...

Until recently I was kind of content to observe this one person's spiritual path (mostly because it was hard to let go of watching hers), and didn't let myself notice how much I NEED to have my own. I realized I couldn't create one of my own while still observing this other one, so I had to choose to abandon hers. And it was painful but extremely freeing...like the terror of freefalling becoming the peace of weightlessness. I wasn't really alive until I was doing this on my own, for my own life.

So where my poetry is on-and-off, and other traditional methods elude me, journaling has been really important to me ever since I decided to go my own way. I have my own little corner of the internet where (I think) no one but a couple people who are close to me pay much attention to me at all, and I like it that way. (I'm stubborn in that I don't like to friends-lock things, but would rather no one was there to see? It's weird.)

Good to know I'm not alone .

However, I on the other hand, could not draw any true sense of satisfaction from someone else's work because I feel like it could never truly illustrate ME, not completely anyway. Well, I guess this is what you're actually saying you realized! So then I do relate. This is what I've done my whole life...try to see myself through someone else's creation but it always falls short, which leaves me frustrated and unfulfilled. Or I guess maybe my point was that the way I express myself isn't artistic and therefore atypical for an IEI. It's one of the reasons I mistyped myself as IEE, because psychology is much more of a passion to me than any type of art and the psychology v. art thing is one of the main cited differences between IEE and IEI. IEE-"the psychologist". Can one be an IEI "psychologist" at heart?

Bleh I don't know what I'm rambling about...

[Mattie]

I love both psychology/sociology and art, and have a natural interest in both. I don't think those sorts of qualities are completely type related, though your natural capacity/interest might be. Maybe you just never really thought about following art and maybe if you do now, you'll find a whole new set of interests waiting for you

[Sirena]

I love both psychology/sociology and art, and have a natural interest in both. I don't think those sorts of qualities are completely type related, though your natural capacity/interest might be. Maybe you just never really thought about following art and maybe if you do now, you'll find a whole new set of interests waiting for you

Yeah, I think you're right. As a matter of fact, I used to write when I was much younger and was told I was a very imaginative and creative writer. For some reason, I just sort of dropped it. I also think of something like photography and can envision how it would allow me to show myself creatively through it.

[Sirena]

I'm not worrying about it too much, tbh. Hell, my degree is in psychology. I freely admit I spent my college education studing psychology to try to get out of seeing a shrink. I wanted to solve everything that was messed up about me for myself, by myself. Didn't truly work though, it kind of half-worked?

But on the other hand, I remember very little about the theory of my psychology education. Now I rely so heavily on my gut instincts and whatnot it doesn't matter so much that I didn't retain a lot of the intellectual things. Except if I try to EXPLAIN my hunches, then it gets sticky. And 9 times out of 10, I won't express them as a result. (Especially if they aren't about me. If they're about me, I have the fall-back of "I know myself better than you do, so sorry but you're wrong." But if there about someone ELSE, I always have to put in the disclaimer language something to the effect of "Well, what I think is this...but I'm not you, so you'd know better than me." I have zero confidence when it comes to assessing others because I don't have facts to back me up. Which is why I suck at this whole typing thing. )

So basically, I think IEI can be excellent self-psychologists of the things they aren't blind to. But we just don't have the same level of interest in doing it with others or wouldn't want to as a career where we have to be accountable for it? (Like, if I'm bored at work since I hate my job, it's more fun to psychoanalyze my co-workers and their life situations. But I wouldn't want to spend time doing it if I had a more entertaining alternative.)




Hehe, and it took me an extra quarter to decide my major. My decision was between psychology and sociology. In the end, the desire to understand myself > the desire to make observations about society.

Not me. My passion is to understand human behavior, as a means to understand myself. I find myself psychoanalyzing others all the time and I enjoy it. I like figuring people out.

I know what you mean about not liking to be accountable though, I always use the disclaimer too and I try to encourage people to see things from within themselves. Also, my purpose is not very practical. It's not to help them get out of whatever situation they are in. It is to help them understand themselves enough to do it on their own. Maybe it's a projection of my life purpose, which understandably some people aren't interested in, since it isn't their life purpose.

I know what you mean. I always feel so very subjective, which makes it nearly impossible to ever state anything as fact. I realize this makes me look very unsure because regardless of the level of certainty I may have, it will very rarely be enough to state it as a fact. While others can happily do so with less certainty.

Making observations about society as a whole is a lot less appealing to me as well.

[Sirena]

Hmm...well, let me turn it around a bit to explain myself better. Do you often find yourself, if you let yourself, obsessing over what someone's actions/words towards you REALLY mean? Because I do that like whoa, but try not to because it just stresses me out. I think that overall "reigning-in" of my tendancy makes me draw back and thus psychoanalysis of others less "for fun" because I have a hard time controlling myself with it in general? Kind of like the "you can't eat just one" of mental potato chips...

YES YES and YES! LOL, I totally get what you mean now. Mine is sort of a sick fascination because even though it drives me crazy, I can't seem to be able to stop myself! I totally get this sense of internalizing it too much to actually "enjoy" it, in the true sense of the word. But I won't avoid that stress and discomfort though. In a way, that's the definition of true enjoyment to me because it makes me FEEL. I guess my mom is right and I do enjoy pain/suffering even if it kills me .

Like, I've already kind of figured out what my parents' typings may be. Just waiting on my relatively unbiased best friend for over 10 years to give me her take on my picks.

haha I relate to this more than you know.

[JuJu]

I've gotten requests to do a VI guide to IEI...

I'll add more photos later, (women--I just want to get permission to use their pictures, you know...)

These people are all my friends, (except for Albert Camus.)

Ni-IEI

My friend Benoit


My brothers and me... L-R: Se-SEE; Ni-EIE; Ni-IEI


Albert Camus:



Fe-IEI

My friend Foster:


BB:

[duality is cringe]

Good to see my hard work and influence is reaching other quadras as well. I hope this becomes a trend.

[Sirena]

Yayyyy!!! Thanks JuJu! I look forward to more pics.

[redbaron]

oh you guys... I love this thread. I so relate to everything... I know, Mimosa, I have those loves occupying unique rooms also, they'll never be forgotten and I still love them...

[Ezra]

Maybe I'm somewhere in the middle? The thing is...it's not that I see myself as halfway between the two. More like I relate completely to both at different times. A good idea would be to look into the enneagram some more. You're right about the correlation you mention about that. I highly doubt I'd be at either of the extremes though, so I'm not sure it would tell me much. (though I think I'd lean towards more introverted than extroverted even for a 4). I know without doubt that I'm a 4, but I haven't gone deep enough to find out whether I'm so, sx or sp. Not sure about wing either, although I've tested as 4w5 before and the description does fit. But again, with me it feels like both are inside me and come out at different times and circumstances.

I relate to most of this, except I've looked at the variants, and know I'm sp/sx. As for Eight, some days you'll look at me and know I'm an 8w7. Other times, if you met me, you'd think I was an 8w9 fo' sho'. I'm probably an 8w7, but I'm pretty healthy, and quite balanced, so it's not all that obvious. Plus, all sp Eights aren't "obvious". Have a look at it some more, and you might even find the answer to your subtype.

In terms of subtype for me, again, I've often thought I was either/or. But when I really get down to it, I'm Ti. I can't remember who it was, but someone said that it was really weird, but they thought I was Ti subtype, even though I was more likely SEE than LSI. But sometimes it happens that way. Like if you thought you were closer to EIE than ILI, that wouldn't mean you were IEI-Fe. Likewise, if you thought you were closer to ILI, that wouldn't mean you were Ni subtype.

To be totally frank though, I think if you don't know what you are, I don't know what else to suggest except looking at Enneagram stuff. Also, you might wanna just take a step back and look at everything from further away. You'll probably find your type then. Don't overthink - that's the worst thing you can do.

Also, I find myself being more able to explain my Fe than my Ni. I don't think I'm very conscious of my Ni and I'm not sure if that's indicative of subtype or the fact that it's my leading function.

FTR, I am more conscious of my Ti than of my Se.

Maybe I'll just send it you, Ez!

Good call.

[Jarno]

The intuitive subtype is quiet and the ethical subtype is cheerful.

Yep.

Intuitive type: the typical dreadlock leftwing person, extremely idealistic.
example: Femke Halsema (dutch leftwing minister)
http://www.pzc.nl/multimedia/archive..._0_986667b.jpg

Ethical type: the easy going, humor type.
no example available...

[Sirena]

oh you guys... I love this thread. I so relate to everything... I know, Mimosa, I have those loves occupying unique rooms also, they'll never be forgotten and I still love them...

I know, I was thinking about this yesterday as I was reading what Akra and Mimosa were writing and kept thinking I'm the same way. I get addicted to a person and they become my whole world and no matter how much my family keeps telling me I need to stop because I shut everyone else out of my life while I'm with them and after it's over I'm devastated. It's like my life was taken away from me, literally. So yeah, they've made it their goal to change this about me (yet almost 25 years later I'm still this way!). They still keep telling me time and time again "you need to stop feeling so deeply, we've come to the conclusion that you enjoy pain because you do this to yourself so don't expect people to feel sorry for you." And I'm like "mmkayyyy ". Except my dad, he's never said that.

[redbaron]

I am not at all completely sure I'm Ni subtype. I relate to everything that's been said for both sides here. I guess when I was younger I was more in my head. But as I've gotten older I've become distinctly less intellectual in a way and more social, more interested in people. Yet I always felt I had it in me to be that way, only I didn't feel safe enough to express it or something. I remember I had a great third grade classroom with a teacher I loved, and she described me to my parents as "a social butterfly" which totally surprised everyone. I don't think I talked to a single soul in kindergarten. Anyway, I think everyone's more aware of their creative function regardless of subtype. Because that's the function we tend to use for the advancement of our base function (which is so much a part of who we are that we don't even see it and tend to take it for granted). I also know an SLE who seems to be a mix of the subtypes. He's probably Ti but not necessarily.

I suppose I said nothing new here but whatever.

[pluie]

Thanks Mimosa, that was very helpful, actually. I appreciate your sharing your observations. I think you made some good connections and according to what you and others have said so far, I would be the Ni subtype. I'm glad you brought up the enneagram because it's a good point that that would definitely influence things and even though I realize I typed myself as "4w5" on my signature, I feel like I know way too little about it to say for sure. The couple of tests I've taken have turned up 4w5 and reading descriptions it makes sense, yet I am hesistant to confirm anything without really understanding it. I'm also very aware of my subjectiveness, which makes me doubt my judgement a lot.

Also, in addition to the outward manifestations of the subtypes, I was hoping someone would touch on information processing, though I realize the subtype thing is pretty debatable in the first place and we're talking about subtleties here. But if someone could go into the information processing differences that lead to these perceptible differences, that'd be cool.

Another one where I know opinions vary, subtype compatibility. For instance, if I find myself more attracted to SLE-Ti's, would this be an indication that I'm more likely to be IEI-Fe? Eh, I know I'm pushing it wanting to go so deep into all this minutia, but yes, I overanalyze EVERYTHING.

lol I've also noticed I tend to write in "broken sentences". My tendency tends to be to say and write things like "Has it always been that way, the way she looks at him?". I was wondering if this could be type-related or maybe just some weird grammar thing I've always had, since it's always been this way with me. I remember teachers making me re-write my sentences in school to the most standard way, like "Has she always looked at him that way?". I also tend to not use common ways to describe things or common phrases. I don't do it on purpose, I guess maybe I just don't pay a lot of attention to actual words? Just something I noticed and thought I'd mention. Blah.

Yeah, it would/should be "Has it always been that way-- the way she looks at him?" I believe

Is that my EJ temperament? or not type-related? i'm pretty precise about that sort of thing, usually.

[betterthan]

0.o

So IEI and IEI goes KABOOM? Nooo. lol

But how? What happened ?

It's so yummy right now. I wish it was like this forever. I love the IEI-Ni that I know so much. And I miss him so much when he's not around.

I felt like I had lost myself, like all the radness had been zapped out of me, and I had become blank and dead and fake in a sense. With everyone else, to some extent, I have to tweak and suppress myself. Then when I am with him, that melts away and I am my crazy, hyperactive, shrinky self again (!)(This happens when I am around ESTps too but I hardly ever am so...) & finally with him I find a relationship with the same depth of feeling, the same high, the same adoration as all my relationships used to have.

We just love each other something ridiculous! I can't imagine him not in my life 0.o and we barely know each other!

It's the same with ESTps only. Everyone else, I feel I could be with out, I might miss them a lot but I wouldn't need them there.

[betterthan]

I'm not sure subtypes exist.

I think it more depends on where the person is and what there mood is. & enneagram type too.

[Sirena]

I want to have an IEI and an SLE in my life! Such a bittersweet existence that would be! *sigh*

I had the most AMAZING experience with an IEI years ago. To this day, he feels like the only person I've ever met that shared my soul. I met him during a vacation in Miami; we didn't live in the same state :frown:. Still don't. Being separated from him felt like having reached heaven, then being expelled to hell. I had NEVER felt that way. Nor have I ever since . This was 12 years ago! I still think about him to this day and relive the moments in my mind. The feelings. It's an indescribable feeling. From the moment we saw each other, that was it. We didn't sleep, eat. Nothing. And what we did do, we did together, but tbh there was nothing outside of the two of us that was remotely appealing. Whatever we did, we didn't really do. We went through the motions, but it was still a world made up of the two of us. The funny thing is, I don't even recall our topics of conversation, for instance. But I remember the emotions. To go through your life knowing that no one gets you and only feeling connected with others through very rare glimpses. Then to find someone who IS you. . We loved each other, but I find that the word "love" doesn't truly describe what we were to each other. I've loved many people, but what we had makes the word love implode from within because it breaks every boundary imposed by that word. It wasn't romantic, although it was. But it was so much more. We didn't even kiss! Only we were capable of understanding each other's essences, so only we had a real opportunity to love "the person"...in its entirety. And how could we not! We couldn't. I've found this to be such a rare thing, it makes me sad to think it might never happen again. . Melancholy.