Put a face on it — selfies?

There are 8 different modes or functions of processing and thinking according to Carl Jung. Each person has a different order of preference in which functions are used, with 1st being the dominant and most used and 8th being least used. It relates more to what modes of perceiving the person naturally uses and not what they aspire to, or may think they use, and this can cause confusion in MBTI testing.

The 8 functions are introverted/extroverted feeling, introverted/extroverted sensing, introverted/extroverted thinking, and introverted/extroverted intuition. There is a ton to learn when it comes to understanding the functions, and I advise looking into those functions thoroughly. It has been a while since I researched, so I'm not confident in correctly describing these functions right now. But, I can say that if a person's first (dominant) function is Introverted, that person is an introvert and draws energy from within themselves and thus enjoys being alone. If the dominant function is of the Extroverted flavor, that person primarily draws energy from the outside world and other people.

The first four functions are what any person will use most of the time. Using the bottom half will be a chore or feel unnatural, but still possible. Back to Extroverted Feeling (Fe). This function deals with connecting with others rather than drawing from one's own emotions. "In contrast to Te, Extraverted Feelers (i.e., FJ types), wear their emotions, as well as their opinions, on their sleeves; one typically need not guess about what an FJ is feeling." Here, FJ stands for "Feeling-Judging."

So the INTJ has Extroverted Feeling as their 4th (inferior) function. When accessing emotions, they naturally use it externally, but because it lies in the 4th spot, they use it more aspirationally or as a tool than as their primary mode of operating. It is certainly not something they have to avoid, but somthing that proved an escape from their primary modes of thinking (which would be Introverted Intuition and Extroverted Thinking). Introverted Feeling is the INTJs 8th function. The 8th function is always the least developed function. The INTJ uses Introverted Feeling (Fi), yes, but is more disconnected from it than for any other type. This is why you see them speak so objectively about emotions, as they really don't feel enough to care about an uncomfortable truth. They just speak the truth, and this often can come out as cold. Many INTJs I've seen use the word "human" rather than "person" in a natural process of stripping internal feelings from speech. "Person" is apparently too feely and emotional; only "human" is objective. Though that isn't true to most of us, it seems to be that way for them.

/r/intj Thread Parent