5 Relationships With The Inferior Function

Every time we sit down to write a general article on inferior functions, we run into issues, because the inferior function can manifest in a multiple different ways or directions. (5 ways that we were able to think of, to be specific.) The topic can actually be extremely complex… just like people.

People exist at different developmental levels, from a cognitive function stack standpoint. That’s why there’s so much variation within the same personality type. There are certain markers that each personality type should always hit, but how their personality manifests can vary greatly, depending how each cognitive function has developed in their stack. This is why we, at Practical Typing, focus so hard on individual functions and their placements, doing our best to ignore stereotypes and preconceptions of what each personality type should be.

With all that being said, we have noticed some general patterns for how people view or relate to their inferior function, their relationship with it. We’re going to cover these relationships in this article. Of course, as previously stated, where you might fall within these categories is going to be largely based on your development as a person, which is affected by variety of factors like age, maturity, and life experiences. Some people develop their inferior function sooner than others, and some people never develop it at all. Although, bear in mind, that you don’t have to exist solely within one of the categories that we’re about to cover. Our relationship with our inferior can be extremely inconsistent, since it’s typically not a function we have very good control over. Ergo, you can shift between the categories, depending on what’s going on in your life.

1. Suppression

This first one we’re going to talk about is the most well know. A large majority of people suppress their inferior function, especially early on. Essentially, this means that they attempt to completely ignore it and push it out of their lives. Many of the descriptions of inferior functions that are out there to be found and read talk about this tendency. Put very simply, when each type suppresses their inferior function, you see something like this:

• The Ti dominant (with inferior Fe) who lacks all signs of feeling and refuses to infuse people-centric value into their ideas/knowledge
• The Fi dominant (with inferior Te) who lacks structure and fails to form and act upon goals within the real world
• The Te dominant (with inferior Fi) who loses sight of who they are or their sense of self in an effort to complete their goal or adhere to a specific structure
• The Fe dominant (with inferior Ti) who dismisses critical truths and loses sight of who they are in an effort to please people.
• The Si dominant (with inferior Ne) who blocks out new possibilities, resulting in an extreme lack of flexibility
• The Ni dominant (with inferior Se) who is so determined to perceive deeper meaning or trust an abstract impression that they fail to see the evidence right in front of them
• The Se dominant (with inferior Ni) who completely disregards potential consequences and avoids thinking about the future.
• The Ne dominant (with inferior Si) who ignores concrete or experience-based data, resulting in a failure to produce actionable possibilities or an inability to stick to anything in the longterm.

These are probably the most common, or well-known manifestations of each inferior function. People can suppress their inferior function at any age, but it happens most frequently in those who are younger. They simply haven’t developed that far down their stack yet. Other people suppress their inferior function to avoid having to deal with it, because the inferior function tends to be a point of stress, and we all want to avoid stress.

Some people do manage to pay attention to their inferior at a younger age, due to (maybe) being encouraged to do so by their culture or upbringing. If you’re reading this article and you fall within this category, stop ignoring your inferior. It will only hurt you in the long run.

2. Disdain

The next common outlook people have on their inferior is disdain, meaning they hate it. Sometimes a lot. Sometimes a little. In the extreme, this is why you might see an INFP jump on reddit and post about how much they hate ESTJs. (We don’t mean to pick on INFPs. We literally saw this happen.) Some of us tend to get triggered by those who have our inferior function as their dominant, but that aside, what you’ll see is people who (subconsciously or consciously) express or possess a disdain for what their inferior function is about. In the different types, (once again, this is simplistic) it can manifest like this:

• For the Ti dominant (with inferior Fe), it can be a bitterness over any pressure or need to cater to others, whether that mean social expectations or adapting their ideas/knowledge to make them more marketable or people-friendly. This often leads to self-isolation and/or a failure to succeed
• For the Fi dominant (with inferior Te), it can be a refusal to adapt who they are, their dreams, or ideals to the external or real world rules/hierarchy. They may see themselves as rebels and see society as the enemy. (Both identity dominants, Ti or Fi, can echo a similar “You cannot control me” mantra.)
• For the Te dominant (with inferior Fi), it can manifest as disdain for those who cling to counterproductive values, refuse to let go of unrealistic dreams, or refuse to get in line with a common goal
• For the Fe dominant (with inferior Ti), it can manifest as disdain for cold, detached reasoning, for critical questioning or discussions of any kind, or for those who don’t adapt to the group’s values.
• For the Si dominant (with inferior Ne), it can manifest as bitterness over having to adapt or be subjected to new innovation or possibilities.
• For the Ni dominant (with inferior Se), it can manifest as bitterness over having to improvise or support one’s intuitive conclusions with real world data.
• For the Se dominant (with inferior Ni), it can manifest as irritation over people overthinking current situations and delaying or failing to act
• For the Ne dominant (with inferior Si), it can manifest as a disdain for precision, the need to account for details, or any procedure that is deemed old and out of date.

Bear in mind, there are different ways that disdain for a function can manifest, but we’re just trying to give examples to help you understand the concept that we’re putting forward.

3. Insecurity

This relationship can manifest as grip-like behavior. The person can truly be in a grip when manifesting this behavior, or just be overly insecure concerning their inferior function. Sometimes this happens when someone is being forced to focus on their inferior function for some reason. Perhaps they’re trying to develop the function, or are being forced to develop it due to certain life circumstances that they have no choice but to deal with. This stage can be a stepping stone to greater development, or in the reverse, can lead straight into a true grip, if the user becomes overly obsessive about their insecurities. Here are some examples.

• The Ti dominant (with inferior Fe) might get extremely paranoid about what other people might think of them, fearing that the group will never accept them or anything they have to offer
• The Fi dominant (with inferior Te) might feel as if everything is spinning out of their control, feel incapable of dealing with day-to-day responsibilties, and fear that they will never accomplish anything in life
• The Te dominant (with inferior Fi) might get too deeply trapped in self-discovery and evaluation, fear that everyone is judging them or that they are unlovable, or feel incapable of expressing themselves
• The Fe dominant (with inferior Ti) might get too overly self-critical, and fear that everyone thinks they’re stupid
• The Si dominant (with inferior Ne) might get extremely paranoid about potential tragedies or extreme worst-case scenarios that could occur
• The Ni dominant (with inferior Se) might find themselves feeling overwhelmed by reality, seeing escape and avoidance as the only means of relief
• The Se dominant (with inferior Ni) might find themselves extremely insecure about their future, fearing that some looming tragedy is just around the corner or that they will never be able to get their act together
• The Ne dominant (inferior Si) might feel as if they’re drowning in details, and unable to find a concrete means to pursue possibilities

4. Super ego

To be completely honest, the people who fall into this category tend to be extremely annoying to deal with. You ever meet that person with an extremely inflated sense of self? Yeah, that’s this category. Now, I’m not saying that everyone that shifts into this category is always extreme enough to be considered irritating. For instance, an Si dominant might find himself shaking his head at an Si inferior, but not necessarily see them as irritating or annoying. However, other times, you may run across that person who has an extremely inflated view of their ability to use their inferior, and thus likes to flaunt it. Those people can be incredibly irritating to interact with, since they’re never as good at using their inferior function as they seem to think. However, they will certainly try to tell you that they are, and they will certainly try to flaunt it. Here are some examples of how that manifests:

Disclaimer: The key to pay attention to here is that each type inflates their capabilities. It’s not that they aren’t or can’t be capable.

• The Ti dominant (inferior Fe) will believes themselves to be far more charismatic than they are
• The Fi dominant (inferior Te) will believe themselves to be far more organized, orderly, and objective than they are
• The Te dominant (inferior Fi) can see themselves as super desirable and without flaws.
• The Fe dominant (inferior Ti) will see themselves as far more detached, rational, and analytical than they actually are.
• The Si dominant (inferior Ne) will see themselves as far wittier and more creative than they are.
• The Ni dominant (inferior Se) will see themselves as far more observant, adaptable, and in control of their senses than they are.
• The Se dominant (inferior Ni) will believe themselves to be far more perceptive, and good at predicting the future than they are.
• The Ne dominant (inferior Si) will see themselves as far more detailed oriented and precise than they are

5. Healthy/Balanced

This is what you’re striving for. Someone who is healthy and balanced in regards to their inferior function has a balanced and accurate perspective on how capable they are with it, and are actively seeking to improve and develop that function. Being in this category does not measure or assume you are at any specific skill level with that function. It simply means that you are not trapped in any of the earlier categories, and displaying their unhealthy behaviors. However, as stated earlier, you can easily shift into those other categories briefly, and that doesn’t make you unhealthy; you’re only unhealthy if you remain in one of those categories for too long. We’re all human. Insecurities can crop up suddenly, and that doesn’t mean we’re failing. We can cope with those insecurities in a healthy fashion, and not let them control our lives. This article may actually end up being a precursor to future articles on how to develop one’s inferior. For now though, we’ll go ahead and list what it should generally look like if each type is fairly balanced in regards to their inferior function.

• The Ti dominant (with inferior Fe) should be willing to consider (and when necessary, cater to) the feelings of the others, actively seek to find a role within the group, and use their perspective/knowledge to support and strengthen it
• The Fi dominant (with inferior Te) should actively seeking to establish real world goals, adopt support of the external system into their values, and use their values to strengthen and unite the group
• The Te dominant (with inferior Fi) should introspect and form independent values, allow those values to drive them forward, seek to practice empathy, and not allow their goals to smother out individuality
• The Fe dominant (with inferior Ti) should introspect and form an detached view of themselves, maintain perspective on who they are outside of the group, and be willing to allow (or give) criticism and temporary disharmony for the sake bettering themselves and others
• The Si dominant (with inferior Ne) should be willing to consider new possibilities or ways of doing things, find ways to view change in a more positive manner, and not allow the need for perfect precision to prevent forward movement
• The Ni dominant (with inferior Se) should seek to balance their insight with concrete data when possible or necessary, find ways to be more adaptable in the moment, and not allow their vision to be come so unrealistic that it prevents action
• The Se dominant (with inferior Ni) should actively consider the consequences of their actions, and form a actionable vision of what they want to do with their life
• The Ne dominant (with inferior Si) should attempt to account for the details of each possibility, choose one that is applicable to reality, and form an adequately detailed plan before launching into action

In summary…

Dealing with your inferior function can be extremely tricky, but it’s absolutely necessary if you want to grow as a person. We do at some point plan to write more in-depth articles on how to develop each specific inferior function, but the golden rule here is to learn more about how a function is used positively in the dominant position and strive to emulate that. If possible, connect with someone who has your inferior as their dominant (someone healthy, naturally), and use them as a role model for that function.