The Cognitive Functions In Each Position: Ne and Si

The cognitive functions, Ne and Si, manifest differently depending on which position they hold within the function stack. In this post, I want to go over the Ne-Si / Si-Ne cognitive function pairs. I will go over each of the combinations, and how the different positions change their role and effect on each personality type. Delving into the function pairs and figuring out how they affect each type was something that helped me out a lot when first getting into the cognitive functions. So, hopefully someone will find this overview helpful. If you’re interested in reading up on how the other cognitive functions manifest in each position (other than just Ne and Si), check out the other articles I’ve written: The Cognitive Functions In Each Position: Ni and Se, The Cognitive Functions In Each Position: Ti and Fe, and The Cognitive Functions In Each Position: Te and Fi.

Cognitive Functions In Each Position: Ne over Si

Ne-X-X-Si: ENFPs and ENTPs

In this case, you have someone who is leading with Extraverted Intuition. This would mean an ENTP or an ENFP. Usually these types are prone to wanting to explore the many possibilities and seek out the answers to the many questions that they naturally have. They are usually very naturally inquisitive, always wanting to know what-ifs and the whys when it comes to the external world and the decisions people make. Instead of taking things at face value, they will likely ask when, where, why, how many, how much, who, what if, etc. They naturally draw lines of connection between the different items and ideas floating around in the external world. Due to seeing so many possibilities, they may find it hard to stick to any one thing for too terribly long. After all, there is always another new exciting thing to ponder just around the corner. Extraverted Intuition in the dominant position can cause the user to work best in bursts of energy rather than in prolonged sessions. Allowing themselves latitude to let their minds wander to other thoughts and possibilities is frequently the best method for them, if their productivity process will allow it. Instead of delving into every topic that they come across deeply and working out every little detail, they will frequently find themselves with multiple interests at a given time. They will usually rotate between diving deep into a given interest (exploring many things about it), and letting their mind gets distracted by the next interest. Due to this tendency, they usually accumulate a broad scope of knowledge covering several different interests that starts out shallow but will grow every time they cycle back to that interest. Instead of laser-focusing on one interest for months on end to accumulate large amount of information on it, they will accumulate it much more gradually over many smaller passes.

X-Ne-Si-X: INFPs and INTPs

In this case, you have someone who has Ne in the auxiliary position, which means an INTP or INFP. Much like the Ne dominants, these types will be highly curious individuals who will be prone to questioning most everything that they come across. However, this tendency will be more subdued and will ultimately be in service to the dominant function. This will lead them to do less leaping than the Ne dominant might, and the questions will be more focused on getting answers that the introverted judging function seeks. This will cause them to close off certain connections and possibilities that a dominant Ne user would have left open due to the judging function’s predetermined or predefined values. These types will probably have more of a tendency to get stuck on a singular interest if their introverted judging function is trying to work out the particulars of how that interest works. However, once that is solved, they will have similar struggles with getting distracted away from that topic once the pull to figure out how it works is gone. This may cause a backlog of unfinished interest as they may feel the need to move one once the dominant function has extracted what it wanted from the interest. In comparison to the Ne dominant, the auxiliary Ne user will have a higher interest in the details and specifics of an interest or topic, and they may become very particular in defining exactly what is meant when discussing said topic. They may become pedantic in the use of terms as a result.

Cognitive Functions In Each Position: Si over Ne

Si-X-X-Ne: ISTJs and ISFJs

Here we have Si as the dominant function, which means an ISTJ or an ISFJ. These types are more concerned with details than with possibilities. Counter to the Ne type, Si wants to gain as much information as possible in order to eliminate possibilities rather than to explore them. They will be prone to gathering a bunch of specific information on a given subject and focusing on it for long periods of time in order to learn all of the details they can. They are more prone to being observers, not wanting to try things out until they have gathered a sufficient amount of information. This ties back to their low adaptability and need to account for any and all unforeseen circumstances. For these types, their personal experience and observations are everything, and they will prioritize it over action or experimentation. Due to the large amount of observations that they make, they begin to see patterns emerge within the information. They, in turn, use these patterns to project out into the future what will happen and how to avoid undesirable results. They will be able to tell you, in detail, why they do things the way they do or what will happen if you make a choice they deem to be too risky. However, due to the low Ne in their stack, this can at times be taken to an extreme, causing them to avoid whole swaths of actions in order to avoid even a small chance of a negative outcome. They will be very sensitive to negative outcomes and be highly motivated to not repeat the same mistake twice. These types will find a large amount of possibilities or unknowns to be overwhelming which drives them to seek stability and reliability in all areas of their lives.

X-Si-Ne-X: ESTJs and ESFJs

Similar to the Si dominant, the auxiliary Si user (an ESTJ or ESFJ) will also want to gather detailed information. However, they will be less prone to just absorbing everything they happen to come across and focus more on information that the dominant extraverted judging function finds relevant or useful. The Si in these users is used more in service to the goals and direction of the dominant function, so it will be less all encompassing. In this way, the auxiliary Si user takes less time to gather information, but as a consequence, is also less thorough. There is less focus as a whole with eliminating possibilities, which makes them more willing to change directions on a whim or if they see what they think is a better path. However, they will still want things to stay relatively stable and will become annoyed with too many distractions or side trails. They will probably find it annoying when things are left too open-ended, but it will not be as overwhelming for them as it is for the dominant Si user. Their first instinct will be to act, making them less concerned with accounting for every detail before getting started on something. Tertiary Ne will be more developed for them, and while far from the level of curiosity found in the higher Ne users, will still give them a healthy urge to experiment, but in more controlled environments. They will often find themselves balancing their perspective between what they have experienced and the possibilities that have yet to be explored.

Conclusion:

So, there you have it. Hopefully, this overview was somewhat helpful in giving you an idea of how Ne and Si in different positions change how the cognitive functions operate within the stack. Let me know in the comments down below!