So I went out with a group of both Japanese and expat friends of various Japanese and English abilities for karaoke tonight and I noticed something. I am extremely submissive when I perceive others to be better than me somehow, but I really dominate quite a bit when I feel confident. Is this an example of aristocratic behaviour? Perhaps Beta aristocracy in particular?

More specifically, I notice a huge difference in my confidence when speaking Japanese based on the level of those around me. Tonight I happened to be the English speaker with the highest Japanese proficiency, and was also much better at Japanese than the best Japanese English-speaker was at English, so I ended up in the role of interpreter tonight, but this is by no means always the case. I find myself acting very energetic, sociable, and almost a bit dominant when I know I'm the best at something like this. I take charge, handle everyone's orders, and pay for all the drinks. Then when I'm with a different friend whose Japanese ability is far above mine (or if I'm with Japanese people who speak English way better than I speak Japanese) I find myself behaving totally differently. I tend to act demure and a bit helpless almost. I end up speaking way less than my language ability might allow and naturally just give up leadership to people who I recognize as clearly above me.

I'm wondering if this is basically the aristocratic dimension at play or maybe more specifically an example of how it works generally for Beta Quadra. Is it common for other Beta types or other aristocratic types to readily seize and relinquish leadership as the social landscape changes?

Other IEIs, do you find yourself alternating between submissive and dominant depending on what you feel your place in the hierarchy is? This is something which I notice myself doing across a wide range of situations, though tonight was specifically with regards to language ability.

P.S. I also notice that I don't really care all that much which role I occupy. I'm perfectly happy taking charge or submitting as the situation allows/changes. This is just a thing I've noticed about myself and was wondering how y'all thought it might relate to Socionics. If you feel it's better explained by something other than the aristocratic dimension or even if you think it might have more to do with Enneagram or something please share. I just wanna know where you think this behaviour comes from!