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[Si] Give Real Examples of Si Thinking or Behavior

Mal12345

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Above all, his development alienates him from the reality of the object, leaving him at the mercy of his subjective perceptions, which orient his consciousness to an archaic reality, although his lack of comparative judgment keeps him wholly unconscious of this fact. Actually he lives in a mythological world, where men, animals, locomotives, houses, rivers, and mountains appear either as benevolent deities or as malevolent demons. That they appear thus to him never enters his head, though that is just the effect they have on his judgments and actions.​

Based on this description, particularly the italicized content, it sounds as if Jung is describing someone who is drunk or delusional. For sure, the latter tend to talk to or at times yell at objects as if these had some kind of invisible personal affect on the Si-dominant psychology, e.g., humanizing and then damning the lamp post for jumping in the way of the car and denting the front bumper. But for the most part, these effects remain inside the personal, not advertised to others in any blatant fashion. They arise behaviorally via defense mechanisms such as projection and displacement, and at times paranoia, thus hiding their true source from others but, most importantly, from the Si-dominant psychology.

Ne-inferior is the source not only of the madness but, indirectly, of the reason for the defense mechanisms. Si-dominance feeds into the controlling element in human psychology, either via personal relationships (husband/wife, mother/father, etc), or impersonal work relationships (supervisor, general, etc.). The method is to control others, and thus control the Ne-inferior, that chaotic destroyer lurking beneath the Si-dominant psychology. Chaos and control constantly battle within this psychological type, and control wins the day as long as the external world continues to obey the Si-dominant will (expressed via Te or Fe).

In general practice, the Si-dominant psychological takes personally things that weren't intended to be taken personally. If you make a mistake on the job, thus violating the supervisor's order, the ISTJ supervisor will act as if it was an affront to him or her personally. (This may or may not be intentional.) The ISFJ husband or wife will, consciously or unconsciously, interpret every action of the loved one as if it directly impacts the relationship, and moreover, had to have been either an intentional attack or compliment to the relationship, and thus, to the will and desire of the ISFJ psychology. There are no such things as slips or mistakes, either to the ISFJ or the ISTJ - you are to be punished for all your "attacks" and rewarded for all your "compliments," no matter how unintentional you claim them to be.

The ISTJ/ISFJ psychological develops a black-and-white, all-or-nothing, perfectionistic view of reality, most severely with regard to the world around this type. But it is not without its share of exceptions for itself. These types do hold themselves to the highest of standards, at least insofar as they try to put on appearances to others. On the inside, however, they feel deeply imperfect because the symptoms of the Ne-inferior cannot be repressed entirely out of consciousness, and leak out in the form of rationalized personal exceptions to the high standards. The outer personality of the type is diametrically opposed to the inner personality. The bully, on the inside, may not have repressed gay desires, but rather has a fear of not living up to the high standards of the protective archetypal father-figure at the pinnacle of the male hierarchy (whether God the Father or your real father). This internal fear of not living up is then externalized as homophobia - a fear of appearing weak to others, a desire to see one's external toughness mirrored in the fearing eyes of others - while on the inside subconsciously fearing to be psychologically exposed to the weakness that actually exists. Because no soul in the world is invulnerable to those deep feelings which are labeled "weak" and take the psychological form of the Ne-inferior.
 

Mal12345

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This can include Si as an auxiliary type. Does anybody have real-life examples, let's say, from a boss/supervisor's behavior, or an SO?
 

Aleph

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I was interested in this topic too..I guess Si is considered too boring? xD
Just joking. I'd like to know real life examples of every function and I don't see anything useful. Lots of unrelatable Ni/Ne exemples because everyone's an intuitive, also "real life" examples sounds a little too "S" . Just joking again, I'll subscribe to this thread in case something interesting pops out :)
 

Ene

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I hope this is the sort of real life thing you are looking for.


An ISTJ I know was working at the college library. His boss was also an ISTJ and the reception was, too. Things were wonderfully ordered and reliable in their little corner of the campus. All the rules meant what they said and were applied to everyone equally and there was never any mention of "tact" or protecting the "feelings" of the college students. If you took equipment out. You brought it back or paid the fine. End of story. ISTJ loved going to work and loved his very precise and predictable work environment. He liked knowing exactly what was expected of him and felt confident that the boss "had his back." They were of the same mind.

Then the boss retired. The college hired a new head librarian, a new boss. He was sloppy. He left stuff all over the counter in the break room. His desk looked like a tiny tornado blew freshly across the top of it every day. He was overweight and had a problem with controlling his appetite. His handshake felt like a fish and his voice was syrupy. He believed rules were only suggestions, so he only enforced them when there was no danger of insulting the head of another department. The ISTJ secretary was driven to health problems because she simply could not work under such an unpredictable person. The poor ISTJ guy suddenly felt very much like he had just been dropped off on an alien planet, because the new boss was his extreme opposite, and there was now no one who saw through his eyes. This guy held a vastly different value system, so of course he was out to get him. Every decision the new boss made became another step in the conspiracy against ISTJ. To make matters worse, the new boss hired and promoted staff in positions "above" him on a constant basis and the only thing he was consistent about was telling the ISTJ that he needed to be more "people-friendly" and less clinical and dogmatic. He might as well have said, "I hate everything about you."

Finally, ISTJ could take no more so he confronted the head librarian with accusations of "You don't like me. You are deliberately making things hard on me." Not long after that, the ISTJ took a leave of absence to pursue his own higher education but when he returned to his job, the new boss told him that his services were no longer needed. And the ISTJ was distraught to see a large guy at his station, eating and equipment scattered hither and tither. It was a massive blow to the ISTJ's self-esteem.
 

Duffy

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I agree with the OP.

The commonality in the ones I'm thinking about is in their need to control their environment, and subsequently, the people in their environment. I notice an interesting dichotomy in ISxJs, and that's the struggle between knowing and not knowing. Would accuse others of incompetence, but seem to struggle with it in themselves more than others. An ISFJ I know tends to overthink things (inferior Ne?), and to reduce stress would indulge in cleaning and knitting. Has a strong independence streak, but I sense in this same person, a desire to submit and to be told what to do and be dominated.
 

Mal12345

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I agree with the OP.

The commonality in the ones I'm thinking about is in their need to control their environment, and subsequently, the people in their environment. I notice an interesting dichotomy in ISxJs, and that's the struggle between knowing and not knowing. Would accuse others of incompetence, but seem to struggle with it in themselves more than others. An ISFJ I know tends to overthink things (inferior Ne?), and to reduce stress would indulge in cleaning and knitting. Has a strong independence streak, but I sense in this same person, a desire to submit and to be told what to do and be dominated.

I would say tertiary Ti for the ISFJ who overthinks things. An ISFJ I know has a tendency to analyze politics. She enjoys watching political talk shows like the Maclaughlin Group. Her Si is given over to irrational beliefs, but they are under conscious control and choice versus unconscious control like an inferior function or a shadow function. Ne-inferior is demonstrated in the desire to control that unconscious impulse toward chaos, yet the type (ironically) creates chaos in their social lives, particularly with those close to them. My ISFJ father liked to quietly create family chaos and then reign it in again.

I have a ton of such examples.
 

VagrantFarce

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I found this, which I quite like:

Socionics - the16types.info - Jungian Functions in Interpretation of J. H. van der Hoop

The instinctive introvert is ruled by his emotions and impulses. These form the subjective side of instinctual life, just as sensation represents its objective side. The attention of the introvert is not directed primarily to the source of sensation (as communicated to {31} him through his sense-organs), but to its so-called “feeling-tone”, and to his own impulses. It depends upon the extent to which he is stirred, whether a given experience will make a big impression on him, not upon the intensity of the sensation itself. This aspect of susceptibility to emotion may occasionally, under certain conditions, prevail in anyone, but here it dominates all the other functions. Inherited disposition and early experience have produced a certain susceptibility to impressions and a certain need for emotional experience, and in these cases the whole mental life is directed by these two factors. Adjustment along these lines may, under favourable circumstances, provide for such people a satisfying existence, so long as these needs are met. Since in most cases there is little external evidence of this inner satisfaction, the lives of these people may sometimes appear to others as anything but happy, arousing compassion, for which there is no real reason.

Children of this type are frequently noted for a certain gentleness and receptiveness, but also for periods of timidity and monosyllabic reserve. There is something a little vague and passive about them. They are attached to people in their environment who are kind to them. They love nature, animals, beautiful things, and an environment with which they have become familiar. Anything strange or new has at first no attraction for them; but they offer little active resistance to it and soon learn to accept the good in it. They are often friendly and easy to get on with, but a little lazy and impersonal. When older, too, these people usually give an outward impression of being reserved, quiet, and somewhat passive. Only in rare cases, for example, in artists, does the distinctive and personal quality of their inner emotion come to expression. In other cases, however, their whole behavior reveals their peculiar characteristics, although it is not easy to define these.

People of this type have well-developed sense-organs, but they are particularly receptive to anything having lasting value for human instinctual needs. This lends to their lives a certain solid comfort, although it may lead to somewhat ponderous caution, if instinct becomes too deeply attached to all kinds of minor details. The advantages and disadvantages of this type are well brought out in the reserved and conservative farmer, with his care for his land and his beasts, and his tendency to carry on everything, down to the smallest detail, in the same old way. The same is true of the sailor. He also shows a passive resistance to anything new, which can only be overcome by absolutely convincing experience. Other examples of this type are the naturalist, devotedly observing in minutest detail the lives of plants and animals, the lonely collector of beautiful {32} or interesting things, the worker in applied art, and the painter, who manage to express a deep experience in the presentation of ordinary things. In their own field these people are usually very much at home, having a good mastery of the technical side of their calling, but without regarding this as any special merit. They accept both what they can, and what they cannot, do, as simple facts, but they tend on the whole to under-estimate rather than to over-estimate themselves. Pretense and bluff in others may irritate them to the point of protest, which is probably connected with their own difficulty in understanding their own potentialities and worth. These people usually strike one as very quiet and somewhat passive. Except in relation to persons and things in their own immediate sphere, to which they are bound by their instinctual reactions, they show little inclination to activity; they never readily depart from their routine. If anything gets in their way, they put up a peculiarly passive resistance, although under exceptional circumstances there may be an outbreak of wrath. If their environment is not favorable, they will nevertheless try to adapt themselves to it; in such circumstances, they are inclined to regard their emotions, in so far as they differ from other people’s ideas, as morbid. At the same time, they feel extraordinarily helpless and inferior. Or they may turn away from the world and give themselves up entirely to their own emotions. Where this is the case, they see any adaptation to other people as a mere pretense, and may develop remarkable skill in belittling the motives and ideals of others.

The development of reason also follows the same lines here as the general attitude to life. Facts are its point of departure, and particularly certain fundamental facts, which are subjected to exact and thorough investigation. Observations and ideas are matter-of-fact and clear. There is nothing contemplative about people of this type. Moreover, they prefer to stick to the familiar, and find it difficult to adopt anything new. This is connected with their need to see things in a clear setting. If they can bring themselves to accept anything new, they tend to occupy themselves with it until it has become absolutely clear to them. Here is revealed the obstinacy of instinct, with its ever-renewed attack until it has learned to control its object. Circumstances, however, have to be favorable. In more abstract matters, they find it difficult to form an opinion of their own, and follow those authorities {33} which, by a knowledge of facts, give them the impression of being thorough. Even so, they do not feel any confidence, and are easily upset if drawn into discussion in this field, or if the value of their authorities is questioned. On the other hand, they have few prejudices, and their view of things is calm and temperate.

Feeling may also make itself felt here, in which case it is, by the influence of instinct, attached to concrete objects. But the emphasis does not rest on the object, as with the extravert of this type, but on its feeling-tone, on the reactions of the subjective personality. Here there is something compulsive in the reaction. It appears as something unalterable, and the feelings which arise therefrom are also experienced as something unavoidable, and are accepted with a certain fatalism. The attitude is, “I was born that way, and I cannot change my nature”. As a result, those people and circumstances are sought out which are congenial to them, and no attempt at adaptation is made if this search is not immediately successful. Feelings are therefore specially developed within a personal sphere to which the individual is attached and which reminds him of home. Within such a sphere, these people may occasionally be able to emanate a certain warmth and cosiness around themselves, and their love is frequently concentrated on beautiful things and on animals within this sphere. If they do not succeed in creating such a personal sphere for themselves, they may become very depressed and unhappy. In the realm of sex their feelings are strongly colored by sensual manifestations, with the result that they may become deeply attached to the object of their attraction. This predominance of the sexual instinct causes sexual attraction to play a larger part in their sentimental relationships with the opposite sex than is the case with people of other types. Masculinity and femininity are accordingly strongly emphasized in the emotional life of such people.

As regards intuition, it is a concept which this type of instinctive individual also finds very difficult to grasp, and he regards its activity in others with misgiving. He cannot take it seriously. At the same time, the intuitive views of leading spirits on matters, for example, of religion and politics are accepted by him, provided they appear in traditional form. The somewhat passive attitude towards life of these people then exerts an influence, in that factors of predestination and fate are likely to play a large part in their philosophy. This latter is not much affected by their personal life, since abstract vision and practical adaptation are for them two entirely different things. This lack of a comprehensive {34} vision, and their introversion, stand in the way of a satisfactory external adaptation. They are less able than the extraverts of this type to make use of helpful circumstances, and in this respect they have, as a rule, to get help from others, who, recognizing their good qualities, manage to find an environment for them where these can come to expression.
 
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