Extroverted Sensing & Introverted Intuition Mistyping

There has been much confusion in identifying the irrational elements of Extroverted Sensing (Se) and Introverted Intuition (Ni) in Socionics. Too many people conflate Se ego types with Se super-id types. Theoretically, this is a very large stretch, but why does this continue to happen?

It is because there are fundamental misunderstandings between Ni and Se, and how they are presented in type. Most of the confusion comes from falsely attributing aspects of behavior to Se, and excluding motivations that are Ni driven. It is my chief aim to sort this out before everyone who is too difficult to sort out gets typed as SEE – which, in most cases, has been clearly wrong.

In other words, if we don’t know what you are, you must be SEE.

Disclaimer: Before we begin, you must forget what you know about MBTI, or risk doing the most blasphemous thing you can do — which is becoming a Pan-Jungian.

So let’s get into it…

What is Extroverted Sensing?

Extroverted Sensing is the static perception of space and an object’s influence on that space. For example, let’s say you’re in a board room. Technically, the person who called the meeting should be responsible for ensuring that the objects in the event room, including the participants, remain in proper order. However, when all the participants enter the room, the space has now become an invisible war zone. Everyone’s unique influences are now conflicting with each other. As a result, someone other than the meeting organizer can directly or indirectly impact the outcome of the meeting in ways that were not intended.

But what about outside of the room? Is this person still influencing what’s going on? It depends.

If you take the President of the United States, for example, he has an influence on the remainder of the White House, regardless of whether he is in the room or not. It almost certainly can be “felt.”

The perception of such impact or influence is the ability to metabolize Extroverted Sensing information. The more obvious and clear this is, the higher the dimensionality of Extroverted Sensing.

Extroverted Sensing can also be depicted as possessing an acute awareness of body language, power dynamics, tonality, physical stature, movement, and applied force. Keep in mind, these properties in of themselves are not exclusive to the Extroverted Sensing realm. Rather, Se is the perception and understanding of the effect that these properties have in the present moment.

In other words, everyone uses their five natural senses…

Anyway, when obvious influences in a given space, called “forces”, come into contact with one another, they will begin to clash and/or contend with each other naturally. Eventually, one will prevail over the other and will have the most influence on that space. And as such, one who consciously perceives this battle effectively will see conflict as a way of life. The byproduct is that they will have the drive to expand their own influence to become a more prominent contender, for this is where they draw significance.

What being an Se ego does not mean is that you will always successfully impact that space in the manner that you wish. Although Se-egos train and practice to have the most influence, and as such, are the most prepared to win — it does not mean that they will.

“He lost the war? …Must not be Se.”
No. Dumbass….Just no…

That being said, there are very common misconceptions about Extroverted Sensing or (Se) in Socionics. Primarily, the idea that aggression, anger, violence, or just being an asshole is associated only with Extroverted Sensing. Though these attributes can fall into the domain of Force (another term for Se), they aren’t necessarily exclusive to that domain. When it comes to identifying type, we have to look beyond the behavior itself and look at the motivations.

Extroverted Sensing Motivations

As we discussed earlier, types that have strong Extroverted Sensing, or “Force”, will display motivations behind their actions that are centered around expanding their influence and making an impact. Reactions are a product of environment and upbringing. Recognizing behavior that is derived from true motivations is the best method of accurately depicting type.

An “angry” person does not necessarily value or even utilize high dimensional Extroverted Sensing. Likewise, a depressed person isn’t just an IEI with an Enneagram 4 fix. Reactions to temporary conditions do not indicate type. Motivations that manifest consistently over time, does. To recap:

Se-ego types aren’t necessarily confined to those who are…

• …good at sports
• …angry
• …loud
• …violent
• …criminals
• …chill af, bro
• …total dicks
• …in charge
• …hyper-aggressive
• …bullies
• … “stupid sensors”
• … druggies
• …and so on

Two behaviors may look the same, but the motivations may be entirely different. The question we should really be asking is why?

I don’t want to discredit these ideas’ origins. You will find that a lot of Se-ego types dominate these areas, with the exception of a few listed above. However, it is not a true diagnostic sign that they are Se valuing types, let alone a type leading with Se. Similarly, you will find that many women work in the nursing field, but this does not mean that all nurses are women. Learning to differentiate from this reasoning is paramount to becoming more accurate in your application of the theory.

Introverted Intuition

Introverted Intuition (Ni, White Intuition, or Telos, often abbreviated as “T”) is a dynamic, irrational element that metabolizes information regarding the aspect of “Time.”

This information has classically been associated with the mystical archetypes, the paranormal, flashes of insight, and even magic (like seeing the future). So, let’s scratch all that and start over…

As we’ve learned, Se pertains to the influence of objects on the space around them right now. Introverted Intuition uses this information to accurately interpret the course of events over time.

It is dynamic, so it is always moving, taking “slices of time” and overlaying them on top of each other to create a picture of reality.

Let’s look at the “bigger picture”…

When we look at this picture above, you can imagine introverted intuition (Ni) creating this picture of reality by seeing how events on this bridge transpire over time. The details of the vehicles aren’t really visible, so one must spend time to reflect on what is actually happening. As a result, it may conclude something of much higher purpose than just listing the cars and other objects on the bridge. In one sense, it’s a very realistic snapshot determining what something really is. The focal point isn’t on the physical properties. Rather, it focuses on what it was and will be in a series of continuing moments of reflection.

(Thank you Lao Tzunami for helping me understand this).

One’s focus is on interpreting how events all tie together in their course of the future. The subject must select which properties carry the most significant impact on time while also ruling out that which is insignificant.

Just as the clashing of forces becomes a way of life for those who value Extroverted Sensing, the overlay of trends in a “time-lapse” sense draws out those who value Introverted Intuition. Reflecting on what it all actually means thus becomes a critical aspect of life.

Does that mean that types with Introverted Intuition are…

• …shamans who will use ancient magic to heal you?
• …wise?
• …mystics who would rather sit in the woods and look at birds?
• …writers of romance novels?
• …poets or lyricists?
• …interested in astrology or the occult?
• …are smart?
• …staring at people like they don’t exist?
• …spaced out? Yeah..
• …little bitches that can’t stand up for themselves?
• …passive?
• …peace loving?
• …avoid conflict?

No! And typing this way is just going to make you look like a complete fool.

Typing Diagnostics: Identifying Introverted Intuition and Extroverted Sensing

I am a huge fan of the Theory of Triads by Ibrahim Tencer. I think it really helps identify / narrow down potential personality types.

The theory essentially identifies the weaker and unvalued elements within a type inside of a Quadra. For example, you may see the EIE not really display any sign of Introverted Logic or even a liking toward it on the surface. So the manifested values are Fe, Ni, and Se. The value of Ti is unmanifested and hardly noticed.

So this is how you can stop fucking this up….

1.) Get rid of stereotypes and the amateur recognition of “functions.”
2.) Learn how information elements manifest differently in each Socionics type
3.) Refer to the Theory of Triads to help you reduce confusion

For example, If you are alternating between IEI or SEE, or ILI and SLE, then likely your answer is “neither”, or your understanding of the elements is fucked up. Why? Because you are seeing both the supposed suggestive and the supposed base elements. According to the Theory of Triads, you will not see the suggestive function as a manifested valued element. Meaning it is practically invisible. So if you think you’re seeing it, again, you should be asking, “why is this occurring?” or, “what does this really mean?”

In summary, you cannot type someone simply because you see a behavior. Truly understanding the element and how it drives a behavior is key to reaching an accurate conclusion.

Do not take things at face value.

Read more about different Socionics types…

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