Originally Posted by
Pendulum
I haven't been here for very long, but I wouldn't put too much stock in the opinions of others here, not because I discredit them but because sociotype is something very nuanced and deep within, and the more apparent signs that we show to the world are our accentuations and subtypes, which many will mistake for type. That's why it's hard to get a perfect read on someone from just watching how they interact through text, and it's why there's a whole interview process that's full of directed questions and observation of non-verbals and semantics to professionally type someone. I've seen LSIs (Creative subtypes) who superficially sounded like what you'd expect an IxE to sound like and EIEs (harmonizing and normalizing) who sounded like ILIs or LSIs. I've also seen more typical representations, like what you'd usually expect from a type. The point is the way we present ourselves here is just a cover and we shouldn't judge books by their cover, sometimes we're right, sometimes we're wrong.
My advice would be to try to focus on some of the dichotomous differences between these two types and see in which end of the spectrum you fit in. IEIs are positivists, EIEs are negativists. This means one often thinks in similarities and what's present in a situation, while the other thinks in differences, opposites and what's absent. The EIE being a DA type is not just attuned to contradictions, but embraces them and is walking one themselves. Positivists have a more simple way of viewing things, not less intelligent, just "smoother", more solid, less muddled. They're more certain of what they want. Negativists, on the other hand, complicate themselves, often having opposing or conflicting aspirations and desires, or not being sure of what they really want or who they really are. This isn't binary, as in positivists can't feel lost, it's more of an affinity, a tendency. Positivists will tend to focus on the light side of things while negativists focus more on the dark than they would want to.
I find enneagram an interesting compliment to Socionics. As another self-assessed personality test, the type you identify with can say a lot about yourself. Some people defend the idea that you can combine any enneagram type with any sociotype but I think that method just ignores a lot of contradictions caused by some natural overlap and because of that, doesn't help with constructing an image about yourself, which I think is what a lot of us are after, clingling to these system to try to find something that's lost on us. I usually chalk the differences in how people view things in these typologies as philosophical disagreements and POVs but when you read enough descriptions, it gets hard to ignore how often they agree with and compliment themselves between these two systems. Put them side by side and you'll realize how some of them describe the same archetypes.
The point of this all of this is to say that a typical IEI would often identify themselves a lot more with the images of the fairy-like types 9 and sx 7, while EIE tend to identify with the gloomy and internally intensive 4. That's not a rule, especially since, like in all systems, people switch types more often than they switch clothes depending on what they currently feel like. It's just tendencies to help illustrate. As a left-spinning, positivist, Ni+ Fe+ the IEI is just naturally a lighter, more hopeful person. EIEs are not always consciously aware of their emotinal state, they're not all emos, a lot of them are comedians in fact, but there's a darker, more cynical side to them that's hard to not notice when you get to know them.
I also think it's neat to highlight stress resistance. Left-spinning types are more resistant than Right types, and Irrationals are more resistant than Rationals. Couple these together and the IEI is someone who's very hard to shake to the point where they break down. They're incredibly adaptful and good at dealing with new and chaotic situations, stress situations don't throw them off too much. The EIE is on the opposite end of it, a sudden stress can shake their whole foundation and throw them in a terrible internal state of helplessness and self-doubt. They can be good at hiding it up, but they're vulnerable and need a good support system.
It's still a difficult process trying to judge the workings of your inner world but I hope that helps it. There's a lot more to look at but I can't guarantee you it'll be enough to quench the doubts because it really depends on the person lol. If you'd like to find out more the best resource we have available is Gulenko's book, which is where I took a lot of this info from. Good luck figuring yourself out
Looking back on my post I'd say it has a very negativist character to it, a lot of contrasts, talk about differences, approximation of opposites etc etc. Everyone does that sometimes though, it's just part of the natural of analysis and rhetoric but if you notice you do it very often, through many posts, I'd say that's a hint.