Summary of the 8 Psychological Functions (Cognitive Functions) of the 16 Personality Types - Basic Knowledge Edition

As common knowledge for the personality typologies introduced on this site, I will briefly explain the "eight psychological functions," which are the psychological tendencies and fundamental elements.

Introversion and extroversion

When describing a person's characteristics, you might use terms like "introverted person" or "extroverted person" on a daily basis.

Here, we will discuss introversion and extraversion.
Extroversion (E) <—> Introversion (I)
These are considered to be opposing elements.

Sensation and Intuition

We are constantly repeating the cycle of "receiving information, judging it, and making a decision."

Information reception (Perception) involves two tendencies: sensing and intuition.
Sensation (S) <-> Intuition (N)
We consider these to be opposing elements.

Thoughts and Emotions

Judgment involves two tendencies: thinking and feeling.
Thoughts (T) <—> Feelings (F)
We consider them as opposing elements, as shown above.

They are opposites, yet complementary.

Some of you might think, "It's far too simplistic to say that thoughts and emotions are opposites."

In reality, individuals possess elements of both introversion and extroversion, sensing and intuition, and thinking and feeling. For example, depending on the time and situation, they may focus their attention introvertedly on the workings of their minds or behave extrovertedly.

However, it is quite difficult to simultaneously satisfy both characteristics that are considered to be at opposite ends of the spectrum. And when we look at it over a long period of time, we often find that one tendency is stronger than the other.

In personality type theory, it is believed that differences in personality are determined by which trait is prioritized or preferred.

Introversion and extroversion, sensing and intuition, thinking and feeling are not mutually exclusive; rather, one function requires the other.

A bias towards one side can be both an advantage and a disadvantage.

As long as you are able to utilize your strengths, it is desirable to continue doing so. However, if you start to experience problems and make many mistakes due to distortions in perception caused by biases in your psychological tendencies, then it becomes necessary to re-evaluate your approach.

Eight psychological functions

Regarding the four tendencies of sensing, intuition, thinking, and feeling, we consider two directions (orientation) – introversion and extroversion – and distinguish them as follows:

Introverted Feeling, Fi
Extraverted Feeling, Fe
Introverted Thinking, Ti
Extraverted Thinking, Te
Introverted Sensing, Si
Extraverted Sensing, Se
Introverted Intuition, Ni
Extraverted Intuition, Ne

By considering the order in which these psychological functions occur and the influences they have on each other, we can define types and describe the characteristics of each type.

Since the definitions of the eight psychological functions can vary depending on the type theory, I will only mention the common fundamentals here.

Extroverted Sensing/Se
Perception of material and physical reality in the surroundings
At that time, we can grasp the information we can obtain from our five senses in more detail.
We become more aware of things we can observe and touch directly, and the changes that occur as a result.

Introverted Sensing/Si
Perceptions of material and physical reality through personal knowledge
Facts derived from memory and experience, internal sensations
Compare past facts and accumulated experience with the information you have at hand.

Extroverted Intuition/Ne
Hypotheses inferred from the external world and surrounding circumstances, and perceptions of virtual reality
Ideas Many possibilities
Conceptual understanding of relationships and patterns

Introverted Intuition/Ni
Perception of hypotheses inferred from personal impressions
Foresight and Outlook
Combine related elements into a single image.

External emotions/Fe
Judgment and evaluation based on the feelings and cultural norms of those around you.
Appropriate evaluation of interpersonal relationships
Form social connections while being considerate of others.

Introverted Feeling/Fi
Personal judgments and evaluations based on natural emotions and their impact on oneself and others.
Value assessment of importance; consider who wants what.

Extraverted Thinking/Te
Judgment and evaluation based on the correctness of external circumstances, surrounding conditions, and cultural norms, as well as the correctness of systems.
Efficient organization

Introverted Thinking/Ti
Personal judgment and evaluation based on natural correctness and the correctness of the system.
Analysis in light of theoretical frameworks and principles

16 personality types

Now, Jung believed that "an individual develops one of the eight psychological functions most, and a second psychological function develops to balance it with introversion-extroversion and perceiving-judging. The other psychological functions, having properties opposite to the first and second, develop more slowly."

*Classification of psychological functions↓

At this point, you should have been able to consider 16 different personality classifications.

The first psychological function is extroverted judging, and the second psychological function is introverted perception.
Tel.

The first psychological function is introverted judging, and the second is extroverted perception.
TiSe TiNe FiSe FiNe

The first psychological function is extroverted perceiving, and the second psychological function is introverted judging.
Seti Sefu Neti Nefu

The first psychological function is introspection, and the second is extroverted judging.
SiTe SiFe NiTe NiFe

However, it seems that Jung did not consider these 16 types when he wrote his theory of personality types.

This attitude may have been justified, because, in truth, we cannot provide a clear, evidence-based explanation for how the remaining six of the eight psychological functions follow each other.

Later, several personality type theories were derived from these eight psychological functions.