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(File Last Modified Fri, Oct 25, 2002.)


The hierarchy of functions

The two strongest functions

Among the four letters of a personality type, the first and the last letter are referred to as attitudes, the middle two letters are referred to as functions:

    Perceiving Function: (S) Sensing  -- (N) Intuition
    Judging Function:    (T) Thinking -- (F) Feeling

Regardless of one's personality type, everyone uses all four functions to some extent in daily life. However, each type has a ``hierarchy of functions.'' This hierarchy ranks your functions from strongest to weakest. Although you grow and change and develop your abilities over time, your hierarchy of functions stays the same throughout your life.

The hierarchy rank of functions is as follows:

    #1 Dominant Function (the strongest)
    #2 Auxiliary Function (the next strongest)
    #3 Third Function (opposite of #2)
    #4 Fourth Function (opposite of #1)

The role of dominant function

For each type, there is one function that is the most important characteristic of that type, which is called the dominant function. Just like the phenomenon that a ship needs a captain with undisputed authority to set its course, people need some governing force in their makeup. They need to develop their best process to the point where it dominates and unifies their lives. In the natural course of events, each person does just that. If a person is to be really effective, his dominant function--S,N,T or F--must have clear sovereignty, with opportunity to reach its full development.

The role of auxiliary function

For people to be balance, they need adequate (but by no means equal) development of a second process, not as a rival to the dominant process but as a welcome auxiliary. If the dominant process is a judging one, the auxiliary process will be perceptive. If the dominant process is perceptive, the auxiliary process will be a judging one. An extreme perceptive with no judgment is all sail and no rudder. An extreme judging type with no perception is all form and no content.

In addition to supplementing the dominant process in its main field of activity, the auxiliary also carries the main burden of supplying adequate balance (but not equality) between extraversion and introversion, between the outer and inner worlds. For all types, the dominant process becomes deeply absorbed in the world that interest them most, and such absorption is fitting and proper. It assures that they can do their best function at their best level, and it lays claim to the almost undivided attention of their best process. Therefore, the less important matters are left to the auxiliary process.

For extraverts, the dominant process is concerned with the outer world of people and things. For introverts, their dominant process is engrossed with the inner world of ideas. Introverts are reluctant to use the dominant process on the outer world any more than necessary because of the predictable results. If the dominant process, which is the most adult and conscientious process, is used on outer things, it will involve the introverts in more extraversion than they can handle, and such involvement will cost them privacy and peace.

Difficulty of seeing Introvert's dominant function

In the extraverts, the dominant process, being extraverted, is not only visible but conspicuous. Their most trusted, most skilled, most adult way of using their minds is devoted to the outside world, and tends to be immediately apparent.

With introverts, the reverse is true. The dominant process is habitually and stubbornly introverted. Most people see only the side introverts present to the outer world, which is mostly their auxiliary process.

The result is a paradox. Introverts whose dominant process is a judging function(S or F), do not outwardly act like judging people. What shows on the outside is the perceptiveness of their auxiliary process, and they live their outer lives mainly in the perceptive attitude. Similarly, Introverts whose dominant process is a perceiving function(S or N) outwardly behave like judging people.

How to find the dominant function

The JP preference reflects (only) the process used in dealing with the outside world. The extravert's dominant process shows on the JP preference. If an extravert's type ends in J, the dominant process is a perceiving one, either S or N. For introverts, the exact opposite is true. The JP preference in their type reflects the auxiliary instead of the dominant process.

The dominant process for each type is as follows:

        I(S)TJ    I(S)FJ    I(N)FJ    I(N)TJ
        IS(T)P    IS(F)P    IN(F)P    IN(T)P
        E(S)TP    E(S)FP    E(N)FP    E(N)TP
        ES(T)J    ES(F)J    EN(F)J    EN(T)J

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