Am I an Intuitive or a Sensor?

Generally speaking, this is the wrong question to be asking. There are some similarities between the dichotomies (N, S, T, F), but as a whole, they are not very reliable when defining your personality type. You see, there is this misconception out there that in order to be able to have an abstract thought, you must be an intuitive; or in order to perform practical tasks on a daily basis, you must be a sensor. This is false. That is not what personality type measures.

Forget the dichotomies and the sliding bar percentages. You are not 49% N and 51% S. You are not an ambivert… Or better yet, every healthy human being is an ambivert and the term is completely irrelevant to typology. The 16 personalities ultimately tie back to Carl Jung who thought up the 8 cognitive functions, and those are what this whole thing is based on. You have a specific set of cognitive functions that go in a specific order. I have seen people make statements like “I agree that this person is a sensor, but how about ISFP instead of ISFJ?” I always cringe when I hear/read questions like that because switching that P to a J completely alters the entire cognitive function stack. Those types are actually significantly different, in spite of what one might think. Likewise, I’ll see “Am I an INTJ or INTP?” People also frequently confuse the INFPs and the INFJs. The list could go on. I get why it’s happening, but in reality, it shouldn’t be happening.

General Overview

First, if you are brand new to the 16 personalities, there is one basic thing that you need to understand: Intuition in this context is not really intuition in the classical sense. Wipe the definition from your mind and allow your research on typology to reform it.

Intuitives in the typology sense tend to have a preference for abstraction. This means they prefer the theoretical, or seeing beyond what’s actually in front of them. Now, this doesn’t guarantee that they’ll be good at making predictions or reading other people. That’s going to depend on other factors. This also doesn’t mean that if you like fantasy or sci-fi then you’re an intuitive. Society is so drenched in entertainment these days that everyone tends to like those things. There’s more to intuition than that. This also doesn’t mean that a sensor can’t read between the lines or theorize. Being a sensor doesn’t mean you can’t be intuitive, just like being an intuitive doesn’t mean you can’t be grounded and realistic.

Sensors tend toward seeing the world or reality as it is. This means that they tend to be more grounded than intuitives. Of course, this doesn’t mean that intuitives can’t be practical, successful human beings. Sensors also prefer things to be straightforward. They value concrete information, although this doesn’t mean that they’ll be able to rattle off a bunch of facts, figures, and detailed information. However, being a sensor doesn’t mean that you’ll never be absentminded, or that you won’t be physically clumsy.

The key thing you need to remember is this: every intuitive has a sensing function, and every sensor has an intuition function.

The Vastly Different Perceiving Axes

Now here’s the catch: there are two types of intuitives and two types of sensors. Those with Extraverted Intuition (Ne) have Introverted Sensing (Si) to balance them, and those with Introverted Intuition (Ni) have Extraverted Sensing (Se) to balance them. Those are the two axes: Ne/Si and Ni/Se. You can’t have both types of intuition or sensing, and both types look vastly different from each other. In reality, INFPs and INFJs look drastically different from each other. Fiction may have blurred the lines. Mistypes may have blurred the lines. But in reality, there is a clear distinction between these two types. Same goes for the INTJs and INTPs. Etcetera, etcetera. Ne/Si does not look like Ni/Se. You really can’t just group all intuitives together or all sensors together and expect them to seem alike. Certain types of sensors will relate far more to certain types of intuitives then they will to some of the other sensor types. The same can be said about the intuitives.

Se sensors will probably find themselves relating more heavily to the Ni intuitives then the Si sensors. On the other hand, Si sensors will probably be able to relate much better to the Ne intuitives then they will the Se sensors. Of course, you can reverse all of those statements and apply them to the intuitives. Remember, cognitive functions are about how we think, and if you’re on an entirely different axis than someone else, the two of you don’t think alike.

(If this seems like a foreign language to you, check out our cognitive functions overview page.)

So, with all this being said, the real question you should be asking is…

Do I fall within the Si/Ne axis or the Ni/Se axis?

Don’t read into which I listed first. Si/Ne. Ne/Si. Whatever. Once you’ve narrowed down your spectrum to, for instance, Ne/Si, you can then narrow it down to intuitive or sensor based on whether or not you’re showing more signs of Si or Ne.

Note: Some people do seem to know definitively if they are an intuitive or a sensor, generally speaking, without knowing which functions they actually use. However, it’s also common to see certain people convinced that they are intuitives when they are actually sensors. Even though I’m a sensor, I have had people try to peg me as an intuitive. Perhaps it’s because of bad intuitive stereotypes, or the extreme Se stereotypes. Perhaps my Ni is well developed. Hard to say. I do feel very much like an intuitive at times, and I know other sensors who feel similarly. Being able to dabble in the abstract realm does not make you intuitive automatically. We can all learn how to use our intuitive (or sensor) side. Overall, it’s best not to assume you fall within a general dichotomy, and instead focus on the cognitive functions.

Ne/Si Axis

The Ne/Si axis uses concrete details as a springboard for possibilities. Ne is divergent. Si will store away vast amounts of details which Ne will use to make connections and generate possible outcomes. As a result, those who fall within this axis tend to like gathering a variety of information on subjects that may not be immediately or perceivably useful to them. Ne/Si is a more concrete axis, and these users tend to think more in words, which is why it tends to be easier for them to produce words to explain their thoughts. They may be prone to over-explaining or sharing an overabundance of information in an attempt to get their thoughts across precisely.

The focus on the details that Ne/Si users possess should produce a more specific memory. However, high Ne users, depending how well their Si is developed, may or may not have a very specific memory, but they will have a desire for the details and an awareness of the need for them. (Note: an Ni/Se user may realize that they’re bad at details if it’s pointed out, but they’re less likely to care since their mind isn’t naturally aware of Si.) However, high Ne users are known for remembering very specific and obscure details that are overall useless. This is the result of bad Si. In addition to a randomly specific memory, high Ne users may get hyper-specific about certain routines or tasks in their life.

In contrast, specificity for a high Si user will be a way of life so they’ll tend to be routined and consistent in the way they do things. High Si users should display signs of Ne use, but it’ll be milder and possibly limited to their intimate circle of friends and family. They’ll instead focus more on remembering the details of past outcomes and using Ne to foresee future possible scenarios to begin preparations for. Bad Ne use tends to manifest as catastrophizing (imagining endless bad and unrealistic scenarios). Both high and low Ne users may fall into this trap when stressed.

Ne/Si users ask “what if?”, question everything, and speculate about what could be. (The better the Ne, the more this will happen.) They’ll naturally call out patterns in the external world, and connect details together. Sometimes these patterns will be very small, spinning off something minor, like how two words sound the same or using someone’s “I wanna know” as a launching pad for singing the song from Tarzan. Conversations with a high functioning Ne user may seem very scattered at times because of their constant tendency to call out connections that others may not naturally notice, or may deem obscure or irrelevant.

Ni/Se Axis

Ni/Se users perceive details in the moment which they then tie into a single, underlying concept. Ni is convergent. Se gathers data in the moment which Ni then stores away as an impression or pattern. Those who fall within this axis tend to focus specifically on data that they deem to be immediately useful. Essentially, they need to recognize an applicable use case for the data, or they will discard it as unnecessary. Ni/Se users may struggle to produce small details from their past, simply because their memory is not naturally that specific. These users tend to struggle to produce words to adequately explain their thoughts due to their abstract storage function (Ni). As a result, they’re prone to speaking less whilst searching for a concise way to get their point across.

An Ni/Se user will tap into Ni memory (probably subconsciously) to compare current data to past patterns in order to carve out a single path forward. They’ll draw from all lessons learned and patterns stored away to determine how to approach any given situation. Ni/Se users will not generate many possibilities, but will naturally form one based on the lessons or themes stored away in Ni. (They may draw multiples in effort to have backup plans.) This will allow Ni/Se users to approach life in a single minded way, primarily focusing on how to react to or navigate the situation at hand. Bad Ni will hone in on one negative future, and manifest has paranoia for that specific outcome. Low or bad Ni use tends to result in a fear of the future or general preference to avoid thinking about it.

A lack of preference for details results in Ni/Se users being more prone to focusing on the gist or general idea of something. They probably won’t care if every single detail is correct, as long as the purpose of function has been achieved. They tend to prefer to cut through all of the excess information, and get straight to the point. This doesn’t mean that they’ll never produce long-winded explanations, but it’ll probably only happen when necessary. These users tend to struggle with accidentally withholding relevant information, because they failed to adequately explain what they were thinking or only shared their conclusion or end result.

While I did state that Ni/Se users have a lack of awareness for the details, the exception to this tends to lie in observation. The higher the Se use, the greater focus the Ni/Se user will have on the details of the moment. The higher the Ni user the more they’ll fail to recognize the details of the moment, and will focus more on the impression the current moment gives them. In other words, they’ll attempt to perceive the implications of what’s going on around them, as their past impressions subconsciously (probably unbeknownst to the user) hint towards a hidden interpretation or future outcome.

In conclusion….

I didn’t necessarily intend to go so in-depth into each axis, but perhaps on these descriptions alone, you’ll have a good idea as to which perceiving function you prioritize. I hope you found this article helpful!