Guide: Jungian Cognitive Functions | Personality Psychology

Se takes in as much sensory information as possible from the environment to determine the next best course of action. If it fails, a backup will quickly be consulted and launched head-first into the real world.

Se rapidly and automatically scans the immediate environment for possible opportunities or threats. It is proactive, quick to react, and insanely adept in emergencies.

Ni seeks to understand the entire state of affairs as a cohesive whole, to make predictions of what the future will (not may ) be like.

Flashes of creative brilliance and thorough understanding come to Ni, which appears strikingly different from any other function. It’s supremely difficult to vocalize how said realizations have surfaced from the complex workings inside the mind.

Ne is all about new ideas, abstract connections, and a stream of never-ending “What if? ” statements.

To an outsider, Ne appears wild, frenzied, and slightly nuts. During conversation, Ne readily jumps from one tangentially related idea to the next.

Ti propagates and filters incoming information and sifts through inconsistencies with critical thinking. It is always open to debate, although notoriously difficult to convince or persuade. Inductive reasoning is preferred to deductive reasoning.

Ti is able to formulate larger patterns and laws to explain the unpredictable and fluctuating nature of reality.

Moral judgements, stone-hard values, and clear likes/dislikes are what fuel Fi. It’s fiercely protective of people and ideas it holds dear and perceives to be meaningful or important.

Fi’s value system may take years or decades to fully mature and solidify. Introverted Feeling appreciates consistency and ethicality. It can put itself in someone else's shoes, therefore understanding the meaning of empathy.

At the core, Fe picks up cues from the environment to know how to act in order to feel the reassurance they crave from external approval. Fe can also be a master actor, with its imitative superpowers. Fe seeks to belong to the larger collective.