How Functions Work: Inferior Fe (ISTP/INTP)

The inferior function is the hardest to understand and describe. It embodies the part of us that we are least accepting of. Although we are often unaware of its activities, it would be inaccurate to describe the inferior function as “weak” because all of our core functions are powerful in their own way. The power and force of the inferior function actually comes from the mistaken assumption that it has no power. We underestimate the inferior function at our own peril.

The Role of the Inferior Function

As you develop, it is natural to become more dependent on the dominant function and unwittingly repress the inferior function in order to give the dominant function as much conscious control over life as possible. However, the dominant function cannot handle reality on its own without feeling increasingly overextended as you push it to the upper limits of its strengths while turning a blind eye to its weaknesses. As you press down harder on the inferior function and resist its perspective, it will gradually feel too constricted and its repressed energy will begin to “leak" into your conscious mind in the form of inexplicable urges or compulsions, especially when you feel frustrated or emotionally vulnerable.

When you rely too heavily on the dominant function for extended periods of time, the functions below it cannot work in a healthy way, and the inferior function remains deeply submerged in the unconscious mind as you keep repressing that perspective in favor of the dominant function. As the dominant function becomes stretched beyond its capabilities, you will feel increasingly stressed because there will be many life problems that you cannot handle with such a narrow and limited perspective. When life stress depletes your focus and mental energy to critical levels, the dominant function will “burn out” and cause you to lose control of yourself, and this then allows the primitive impulses of the inferior function to “erupt” from the unconscious and take over your conscious mind, a.k.a. being “in the grip” of your inferior function. The degree of reactivity of the inferior function will be related to the force with which you repress its activities. Because the inferior function’s view of the world is the opposite of what you are used to, you will unconsciously resist that perspective even as it floods your consciousness. This results in a distorted view of reality and the weaknesses or destructive side of that function will manifest. By releasing the pent up energy of the inferior function, you can find some temporary relief from stress; however, the extreme out-of-character or destructive behaviors that arise can often exacerbate the problems that were causing the stress to begin with, which can potentially create a negative pattern of destructive behavior.

According to function theory, the psyche is a self-balancing mechanism. When the inferior function erupts, it is sending you a message informing you that your psyche is out of balance because you are directing most of your mental energy to the dominant function. This means that there is a positive side to the inferior function in terms of telling us where we need to grow and improve in order to rebalance ourselves. Learning to use the inferior function appropriately will recalibrate energy distribution so that your psyche can establish better equilibrium. Therefore, instead of repressing the inferior function, we should gradually learn to be more aware of it and less resistant towards it. Although you cannot use the inferior function as your main approach to life like a dominant function, you can learn to respect it for its strength and power. As you come to understand the value of the inferior function and the advantages it can bring you in daily life, its power to disrupt your conscious mind will gradually fade. You will then gain a new perspective for understanding life, which will lead to more adaptive and effective behaviors.

Inferior Fe

Ti-doms can use Fe consciously for tasks that require attention to relationship maintenance. For instance, when forming a friendship, one would need to know when to express gratitude or appreciation in order to keep the other person content. However, since Fe is the opposing force to Ti, Ti is very prone to overriding and repressing Fe and misunderstanding its fundamental nature. While Ti-doms can use Fe in very simplistic ways, they cannot fathom using Fe as a “main approach to life” like a dominant function, and therein lies the main source of psychological conflict.

Ti focuses on formulating elegantly simple rules and principles; it dissects how things work in order to understand how to navigate a situation in the most precise, self-sufficient, and effective way. When Ti-doms rely too heavily upon Ti, they will identify with Ti’s activities, using their own mental model of the world to construct the foundation of their identity. Because of this, Ti will continually feel threatened by the Fe perspective because Fe has the potential to disrupt or shatter one’s ego-image. Fe is focused on maintaining relationships and social harmony through voluntary adoption of collective social values and mutual obligations. But Ti tends to misinterpret Fe as being restrictive, weak-minded, overdependent, or giving up self-determination. Ultimately, Ti forcefully rejects the Fe perspective because it fears that being open to social influence negates the possibility of independence and self-sufficiency and, without existential independence, one becomes a witless follower who is easily manipulated/brainwashed into stupid behavior. Thus, unhealthy or immature Ti-doms do their utmost to reject Fe in order to protect their ego-image as an “independent or unbiased critical thinker”.

However, when Ti-doms rely too heavily upon Ti and suppress Fe, they will develop an overly reductive and indifferent view of the world. Instead of using Fe appropriately, Ti will use Fe to confirm its own critical judgments and narrow-mindedness about other people/society. In other words, Ti-doms will develop a maladaptive tendency to dismiss the importance of forming a strong bond between oneself and the world, unable to recognize the full impact they have on others. When Ti is not functioning in a healthy manner, Ti-doms will be more prone to acting obliviously or insensitively and this will lead to a build up of feelings of alienation or social incompetence, especially when they are unable to maintain healthy long-term relationships or connect emotionally with others when they desire to.



No function can be fully suppressed, so inferior Fe will leak into consciousness in strange ways. Proper Fe desires a strong sense of emotional connection with others and is completely comfortable with seeing one’s reality as largely structured by social influences and obligations. This can create an underlying sense of claustrophobia or guardedness in Ti-doms because Ti fundamentally requires the freedom to understand reality from an impartial and unbiased perspective. Thus, when Ti becomes overextended, Ti-doms may exhibit somewhat desperate attempts to push back against social structures/influences as a way to reinforce its own independence and defend against the demanding and consuming nature of Fe. For example, they might: resist committing to relationships, sabotage relationships when people get too close for comfort, reject calls to be socially responsible or behave in accordance with social norms, rebuff attempts to solicit empathy/sympathy, retreat from social life because of being overwhelmed by its unpredictability, perceive any kind of emotional/social influence as corrosive and to be avoided/counteracted, point out logical flaws or emotional weaknesses in an attempt to correct what they believe is “wrong” with people, start useless debates/arguments in order to prove/verify that their beliefs are “fact”, provoke or manipulate people (as a poor substitute for their inability to connect via generating positive feelings), be overconfident in their ability to read people, believe that human behavior can be reduced to one simple cause, arrogantly excise any information that they deem “irrelevant” regardless of how it affects others, overlook/neglect important details about how others feel or what they expect, and so on.



However, this means that Ti has not understood the real source of its own unease and so the underlying conflict remains unresolved. Ti sees Fe as the “enemy” rather than as an important and helpful part of one’s own psyche. The longer this conflict between Ti and Fe goes on, the greater the likelihood of succumbing to “the grip”. Ti might try to resist a grip experience by projecting its own difficulties outwardly onto others. Not wanting to turn a critical eye on itself, Ti might blame others for its own failure to engage with Fe, e.g., by judging other people as being too “stupid” or “irrational” and/or criticizing social activities as being too exhausting or complicated. On one hand, Ti-doms crave connection with the Fe world and unconsciously desire to have the social grace and social support of the best Fe-doms; on the other hand, they resent themselves for this desire and then withdraw defensively, creating an unconscious wall between themselves and outside influence, all the while ignoring the real problem. The more they resist the pull of integrating well with the social world, the more they will feel bound and restricted by a sense of mounting social expectations.

Ti-doms can be emotionally triggered in a variety of ways, such as: getting (unwittingly) caught up in interpersonal conflicts, feeling out of place or insecure or awkward in social situations, being pressured to express their preferences or loyalties in emotional/sentimental terms, having to deal with people who seem strongly “emotional” or very demanding, feeling controlled or “manipulated” by others, communicating with people who are perceived to hold “biased” opinions or not caring about “facts”, not having enough time for solitude and pursuing personal interests/activities, feeling pressured to make decisions or choices without enough time for proper factual analysis, having to adhere to seemingly arbitrary rules or restrictions, having their personal space or personal responsibilities taken over by others without warning or consultation, being treated unfairly, being unheard or undervalued, being excluded from important decision-making discussions, having to rely on people who are less skilled/competent, tight deadlines or onerous supervision, time-wasting busywork, feeling pressure to extravert too much.

When they become stressed and mentally fatigued to the point where Ti can no longer maintain its dominance, unhealthy Fe urges will finally erupt from the unconscious, driving Ti-doms to surrender to Fe in a negative or destructive manner. The ways in which these psychological urges manifest behaviorally are often unique to the individual and the circumstances. When the gates to outside influence open and blur the strict demarcation between self and others, confusion starts to creep in to erode their usual self-assuredness and self-control. They might: be uncharacteristically sociable and outgoing, be inappropriate or obnoxious in social situations, or snap/whine at others. Losing the capacity for impartial and detached analysis, they become messy, distracted, or confused in their thoughts, resulting in incoherent and even forgetful actions. This can prompt them to overemphasize detachment or analysis to an even greater extreme, perhaps becoming obsessive about proving some insignificant detail, solving an impossible problem, or continuing debates long after others have lost interest. As these behaviors tend to produce friction or discord, they might withdraw from social life in an attempt to regain self-control. When unable to re-establish equilibrium, they can become inexplicably hypersensitive to the opinions of others, misinterpreting innocuous actions as signs of dislike, disapproval, or rejection, which may in turn make them feel irrationally compelled to fish for affirmation or validation. They tend to lose control over self-expression, either finding it difficult to express ideas clearly or expressing too much and perhaps becoming harsh, needy, or even violent when extremely overwhelmed.



In order to properly avoid a grip experience, it is essential that Ti-doms learn the real value of the Fe perspective and the advantages it can confer. For Ti-doms, successfully emerging from a grip experience usually requires that they have some time to reflect and personal space to compose themselves away from social/work responsibilities. It is important that they not be pressured into talking about how they feel when they are not prepared for such a conversation. Ti-doms can also engage in productive Fe-related activities that require a positive focus on relaxed connection with others or channeling their energy into personal passions. Whatever activities are chosen, they should accomplish two goals:

to release and expend Fe energy in a way that consciously emphasizes its worth and usefulness, rather than resisting it or being consumed by it

to decrease the dominance of Ti, thereby allowing it to relax and regain its natural flexibility and good judgment

Because access to the inferior function is extremely difficult to achieve due to its opposing nature, the auxiliary function must also be used to relieve psychological pressure whenever possible:

ISTPs can use Se-related activities to improve their ability to engage flexibly with the external world through being adventurous and learning more about new people and experiences outside of themselves (in order to view the world more objectively).

INTPs can use Ne-related activities to improve their ability to engage flexibly with the external world through creatively pursuing positive opportunities for improvement and exploring new people and experiences outside of themselves (in order to view the world more optimistically).

Ongoing type-related development for Ti-doms:

develop a better understanding of Fe as a decision-making Judging process by using it to understand relationships, rather than misinterpreting Fe as an emotion-based process to be avoided



understand that not everything in life can be explained by simple logic; people, including yourself, act irrationally at times and that’s okay

understand that feelings/emotions are simply a source of inner guidance that help you stay in touch with your own well-being

when you feel insecure, acknowledge and process negative emotions instead of trying to push them away; give yourself space to feel things and ask yourself honestly what those emotions are indicating



use Fe consciously to show appreciation and gratitude to others

use Fe adaptively to respond empathetically to people by thinking about how your words/actions might affect them (i.e. analyze the situation from other people’s point of view)



use Fe to support Ti by learning the benefits of social connection, teamwork, and belonging

understand that feeling/passion should support intellectual life



understand that people, including yourself, are interdependent and give each other much needed help and support



build up your people skills and seek deeper relationships with people

do not use superficial relationships to cover over loneliness



reflect on how your relentless need for independence and rationality affects you and the people around you

make efforts to genuinely understand and build up the natural strengths of Fe; observe healthy Fe-doms and learn to appreciate their style

envision, recall, or experience real-life scenarios where Fe is more capable or effective than Ti at handling reality, so that you can learn to consciously and comfortably choose the most adaptive behaviors



Read the Type Development Guide for more detail about personality growth and self-improvement (mbti-notes.tumblr.com/development)

adapted from: Was That Really Me?: How Everyday Stress Brings Out Our Hidden Personality. Quenk, N. 2002. & I’m Not Crazy, I’m Just Not You: The Real Meaning of the Sixteen Personality Types. Pearman, R. Albritton, S. 1996.



related: dominant Ti, Fe / auxiliary Se, Ne

Learn more about Type Theory (browser link):

mbti-notes.tumblr.com/masterposts#guides

