Cognitive Functions and

the MBTI
By Serdar
The MBTI

 INTJ  ENTJ
 INTP  ENTP
 INFJ  ENFJ
 INFP  ENFP
 ISTJ  ESTJ
 ISTP  ESTP
 ISFP  ESFJ
 ISFJ  ESFP
The MBTI

 Introversion or Extroversion

 Sensing or iNtuition

 Thinking or Feeling

 Judging or Percieving
Introversion

 Gets energy by being alone and reflects/thinks more with their internal
world
Extroversion

 Gets energy from active involvement in social situations and understands

and thinks better in groups
Sensing

 Pays attention to physical reality and pays attention to details. Likes

practicality.
iNtuition

 Cares more about the internal world than the outside one. Likes solving
problems by thinking. Pays more attention to the bigger picture.
Thinking

 Makes decisions using basic truths and principles regardless of the

situation’s context. Tries to be impersonal and logical while choosing
Feeling

 Makes decision by weighing what people care about and the points of
views of the people involved. Tries to be caring and considers peoples
emotions more than what makes sense
Judging

 Prefers a planned and orderly way of life and likes having organized
environments. Feels comfortable when a decision is made and likes control.
Perceiving

 Prefers a flexible and spontaneous way of life. Likes to adapt to the situation
rather than organizing and planning for it.
MBTI

 INTJ- Scientist  ENTJ- Executive

 INTP- Thinker  ENTP- Visionary
 INFJ- Protector  ENFJ- Giver
 INFP- Idealist  ENFP- Inspirer
 ISTJ- Duty Fulfiller  ESTJ- Guardian
 ISTP- The Mechanic  ESTP- Doer
 ISFP- Artist  ESFJ- Caregiver
 ISFJ- Nurturer  ESFP- Performer
Not perfect
Cognitive Functions
Dominant Auxiliary tertiary Inferior
Shadow functions
Dominant

 Your natural first impulse to every situation

 It comes so naturally that you don’t think or notice yourself using it
 It is the function that develops first and is the most powerful function you
have
 It is the core of what defines you
Auxilliary

 The second strongest function

 It supports your dominant function and is the function that you use when
dealing with other people and external situations
 Together with your dominant function, they make up 90% of your
personality
 This is the function that you have to develop if you want to grow as a
person

Tertiary

 It is the function that is the least interesting to individuals

 You don’t start developing this functions until mid-life (the reason why most
mid-life crises happen)
 Does not appear in your type
 You do not feel comfortable using this function
Inferior

 The most unconscious function you have

 Always your weakest function
 You call for this function the most when you are in a stressful environment
 An unhealthy person is most probably using their inferior function to deal
with it, which makes the situation worse
 It comes up without conscious intention and tries to overtake the dominant
and auxiliary
 It is not developed until late-life and should be used In short spurts, not
regularly
Now a paragraph about each
function
Ni

Life's about ideas. Ever since I was born, I noticed patterns. Ideas formed
through the way I perceived these patterns, and it was the only way I could
understand things. So I started collecting these patterns, and I used them to
make a single framework that could explain everything. Every time I gathered
information, I stored it here. And it became so vivid internally that eventually
ideas just came to me, out of their own devices, as if from the subconscious.
My private internal world.
Ne

Life's about possibilities. The world is full of possibilities. It's not about what's
there, it's about what could be there. The world shouldn't be limited by the
way we currently define it, it could just as easily have been accustomed to
very different normative values. I'm not bound by what is currently considered
normal and acceptable. Why restrict yourself? We can be so much more if we
choose!
Si

Life's about moments. Our past experiences. These moments are facts. These
experiences are all that's real. We live, we die. It's simple. The important thing
isn't the destination, it's to enjoy the ride. I rely on my past experiences,
because that's what I am: I am a product of my environment. We all are. I am
my body. Right now, I can feel life coursing through my veins. That's how I
know it's real
Se

Life's about the present. That's where we are right now. The past is in the past,
just let it go people, it's irrelevant! The future will come, don't bother with it. Just
look here: right now...what do you see? What do you want to do? Let's just do
it! I scan my environment, I see what we can do with what we have at
present, and I do it. That's how life works.
Ti

Life's all about logical principles. Laws. The laws of physics, the laws of
philosophy, etc. All separate systems, yet all important. That's what governs our
world. So I take these laws as they are. I don't judge them, I don't try to relate
to them. That would make them wrong, because laws need to be very
impartial and factual. And I develop a sketch of the various system. For
example, I have a sketch that determines the laws of physics. And another
sketch for the laws of philosophy. I add to it constantly with new data.
Te

Life's about the facts. The facts are defined by what we know to be true, what
we see. It's either right or wrong, there is no grey. It's about certainty. What do
we know? That's what is true. Everything else is speculation. I collect facts
based on what I see and what I know to be true (which is based on factual
information that is present). I speak of what I know. Certainty is important to
me, I like knowing where I stand.
Fi

Life's about morality. Who we are and what our values are. Everything one
does should be done through the values one believes in. Actions speak louder
than words. Your values will shine through in whatever you do. Tradition,
kindness, consistency, and helping those in need. Never be selfish. Ask yourself:
Is my heart ugly or is it pure? If it is pure, then you are doing it right.
Fe

Life's about people. Their emotions are my emotions. Every person is unique.
Every person is important. People make up the environment, they form the
basis of the world. We are united through our diversity. I love harmony, I love
giving people positive emotions to feel, because their happiness is my
happiness. Live, laugh, dance, play, enjoy, embrace! Yes, embrace everything
around you, embrace everyone you meet. It's a beautiful place, and if it's not,
then we'll make it beautiful.
 ENTP – Ne-Ti-Fe-Si  INTP – Ti-Ne-Si-Fe
 ENTJ – Te-Ni-Se-Fi  INTJ – Ni-Te-Fi-Se
 ENFJ – Fe-Ni-Se-Ti  INFJ – Ni-Fe-Ti-Se
 ENFP – Ne-Fi-Te-Si  INFP – Fi-Ne-Si-Te
 ESTJ – Te-Si-Ne-Fi  ISTJ – Si-Te-Fi-Ne
 ESTP – Se-Ti-Fe-Ni  ISTP – Ti-Se-Ni-Fe
 ESFJ – Fe-Si-Ne-Ti  ISFJ – Si-Fe-Ti-Ne
 ESFP – Se-Fi-Te-Ni  ISFP – Fi-Se-Ni-Te
 Ne

 As a dominant function, Ne manifests as a seemingly never-ending

plethora of theories, possibilities and inventive ideas that the user is
constantly picking up on.
 Auxiliary Ne manifests as a plethora of possibilities that arise to
support or expand upon a thought or decision that the user has
come to.
 Tertiary Ne manifests as a series of creative solutions that may go
into solving a given problem or moving them towards a goal.
 Inferior Ne originally manifests as a reluctance to try new ways of
doing things, occasionally giving way to anxiety over the unknown.
As Ne matures, its user will become more comfortable dwelling in
uncertainties and entertaining new possibilities.
Ni

 As a dominant function, Ni manifests as a keen perception for the

meaningful connections that exist between the thoughts, concepts, events
and occurrences in the Ni-user’s environment.
 As an auxiliary function, Ni manifests as an understanding of how one ought
to go about accomplishing his or her goals, based on a keen intuitive
perception of how various courses of action are likely to unfold.
 As a tertiary function, Ni manifests as the desire to optimize or perfect upon
one’s pre-existing talents or skills.
 As an inferior function, Ni originally manifests as a scorn or distaste for over-
analyzing what is obvious or over-planning for the future. As inferior
introverted intuition matures, the user may find themselves developing a
keen ‘hunch’ for the way things are bound to unfold in the future and will
enjoy entertaining these ideas.
Se

 As a dominant function, Se manifests as the desire to engage fully with the

sensory aspects of one’s environment, without any restraint or pause for
analysis.
 As an auxiliary function, Se manifests as the desire to experience and
experiment with the sensory aspects that the user has determined to be the
most enjoyable or useful.
 As a tertiary function, extroverted sensing manifests as the user’s ability to
pick up cues from their external environment and react to them with a
sense of natural confidence.
 As an inferior function, Se originally manifests as a distrust of the physical
world that surrounds its user, or the pervasive belief that one’s intellect can
and must be trusted above the sensory information that is available. As Se
matures, the user may find themselves feeling steadily more in tune with the
sensory world that surrounds them, and more able to trust it as a pervasive
force.
Si
 As a dominant function, Si manifests as a powerful memory for what
has worked well in the past, and the desire to structure one’s life
around the traditions and positive outcomes of past experiences.
 As an auxiliary function, Si manifests as the preference to rely on the
tried-and-true method when working to accomplish a particular
goal.
 As a tertiary function, introverted sensing manifests as a proneness
to nostalgia, as well as a method of contrasting the new and
exciting with the old and the known.
 As an inferior function, introverted sensing originally manifests as a
resistance to tradition or conformity of any sort. As Si matures, the
user will find themselves steadily more able to determine when
traditional methods are useful in accomplishing their goals and
when they are not, and will begin to feel comfortable integrating
tried-and-true methods into their experiences as they see fit.
Te

 As a dominant function, Te manifests as the ability to clearly envision

the most effective outcome to any given situation or problem and the
ability to set the corresponding plans into action.
 As an auxiliary function, Te manifests as the ability to take concrete,
efficient action on the user’s analysis of what the best thing to do
would be.
 As a tertiary function, Te manifests as the ability to source whichever
resources are necessary to make the user’s desire a reality.
 As an inferior function, Te originally manifests as the inability to set
one’s external desires or plans into motion. As Te matures, the user
finds themselves steadily more able to source the resources they
require to make their dreams a reality. They also find themselves
developing the ability to express their thoughts to others in a
straightforward, logical manner.
Ti

 As a dominant function, Ti manifests as the constant identification of

logical patterns that exist in ones external environment as well as a
keen perception for any deviations from those patterns.
 As an auxiliary function, Ti manifests as the identification of how the
logical systems in the user’s external environment could be
manipulated to work to their advantage.
 As an auxiliary function, Ti manifests as the organization of the user’s
pre-existing knowledge in a logical, systematic format.
 As an inferior function, introverted thinking originally manifests as an
excessively critical view of others, as it searches for objective (and
often harsh) truths about other people. As Ti matures, the user will find
themselves using the objective truths they pick up on about others to
nurture and guide others in a positive fashion, rather than
manipulating them for their own gain.
 Fe
 As a dominant function, Fe seeks to identify what is moral by identifying
what those around them value, and then to enforce those values as a
measure of keeping the peace in their external environment.
 As an auxiliary function, Fe manifests as the urge to apply one’s
understanding of a given situation in a way that will satisfy the needs and
desires of others.
 As a tertiary function, Fe manifests as the ability to pick up on the
motivations and emotions of those around the user.
 As an inferior function, Fe originally manifests as the user being reluctant to
dabble with or express emotional concerns, as the user cannot logically
make sense of many of his or her own emotions and therefore doesn’t feel
confident in moderating them.
 As Fe matures, its user will feel increasingly comfortable making and
keeping emotional commitments to others, as they grow more confident in
what is expected of them.
Fi

 As a dominant function, Fi manifests as a moral compass that points its

user toward the direction they ought to explore next, based on how
they feel about the information at hand.
 As an auxiliary function, Fi manifests as a method of reflecting on and
assessing how the user feels about his or her past actions.
 As a tertiary function, Fi manifests as strong, unwavering set of morals
and values which the user draws upon to dictate many of their major
decisions.
 As an inferior function, Fi manifests as a general disdain for emotional
expression and a fear of being perceived as ‘weak’ by others. As Fi
matures, its user will begin to identify the role their own personal morals
play in their lives, and allow those morals to take on a greater role in
their decision-making process.