So you know your Myers Briggs type 4 letter code right? Great!

Understanding the cognitive functions that your personality type uses can help you understand yourself better.

If you’re not very well versed in MBTI typology and would like a starting point with a simple explanation of what the cognitive functions are, you’ve come to the right place.

Let’s dive right in!

The 4 Perception functions

Introverted intuition (Ni) is used to –

Theorize: To form a framework of ideas about something.

Extroverted intuition (Ne) is used to –

Conceptualize: To discover a new way of looking at something.

Introverted sensing (Si) is used to –

Recognize: To identify someone or something from a previous encounter.

Extroverted sensing (Se) is used to –

Cognize: To perceive or become aware of physical sensory data in the present.

The 4 decision making functions

Introverted feeling (Fi) is used to –

Individualize: To consider the inner harmony of an individual

Extroverted feeling (Fe) is used to –

Harmonize: To consider the harmony of a group

Introverted thinking (Ti) is used to –

Organize: To employ structure and consistency

Extroverted thinking (Te) is used to –

Actualize: To take action to make a goal a reality.

Well there you have it folks! Hopefully this gives a brief simple explanation of what each function is.

It’s great to go in depth with understanding the functions, but it’s also nice to have a basic view of what each one is, to have an easy frame of reference to return to.

It’s especially nice when you are learning about other personality types who lead with different functions.

p.s. here’s a graphic for all the types with their functions.

Written by J. E. Ayee, author of The Beauty Of Difference.