7 Extraverted Intuition (Ne) Stereotypes

I realized the other day that I haven’t actually written a stereotypes article for Extraverted Intuition, or Ne. Granted, I’m generally pretty bad at completing series, so it’s no surprise that there are a million potential holes I could be filling in Practical Typing’s archives. However, while I was mulling over a potential article subject that a fellow Ti dominant requested, this specific hole showed up on my radar, and I decided that it was time to fill the gap. So, here we are.

Typically, right about now, I’d be giving a disclaimer on stereotypes. It would go something along the lines of: stereotypes became stereotypes for a reason. Many are tendencies that have been converted into absolutes, provoking people to mistype, and etc. However, after re-reading the list of Ne stereotypes that I have below, I’ve decided to trash that usual speech. Quite frankly, I find a lot of Ne stereotypes to be born out of ignorance, and/or a desire to excuse laziness or a lack of discipline. I understand that there are some innate Ne tendencies, some of which will be covered below, but many have been taken to an extreme.

Although, I’m not over here trying to make anyone feel bad. As an Ne user, you may relate to some of the stereotypes below, and for most of them, there’s nothing innately wrong with that. There are other factors coming into play like your age, stage of life, and etc. We all have areas in which we might need to grow. However, there are certain traits that have been mistakenly associated with Ne that I see as an insult to Ne users everywhere, and it annoys me to no end when they’re used as one’s primary reasoning for being an Ne user. Your type is determined by your cognitive reasoning, not behavioral tendencies or strength of character.

Huh. Look at that. I think I accidentally gave my stereotypes disclaimer anyways. Well, without further ado, let’s start going over those stereotypes…

The Stereotypes

1. Ne users are innately lazy or inactive

Ne sees external connections, which fuels it’s tendency to produce ideas or see possibilities. (This is why it’s Extraverted Intuition – intuition pointed at the external.) Naturally, idea generation does not demand action. However, what people fail to realize is that Ne is the action-oriented function of an NP personality type. Healthy Ne doesn’t let ideas remain in one’s mind; it prompts the person to try at least some of them out. Dominant Ne users can be quite impulsive and prone to testing out their varying ideas or possibilities. However, because a large part of Ne does happen in the mind, many mistakenly assume that Ne will always remain there, and that NPs are largely inactive. From there, inactive has been translated into lazy, and some who lack the discipline to actually be productive human beings want to blame it on their Ne mind. This is false. Every type has an equal capacity for laziness.

2. All Ne users have ADHD

ADHD is a legitimate issue outside the scope of personality. (Check out Typing Those With Neuro Differences: ADHD to explore this subject further.) I know an INTJ with ADHD. Sure, some ADHD symptoms appear very similar to common Ne traits. However, that is not the same thing as claiming that all NPs have ADHD. An Ne user may be naturally scattered, but that doesn’t mean they can’t concentrate when they want to, or that they can’t keep track of things when they really need to. In contrast, ADHD can severely affect one’s day-to-day life, and have legitimate detrimental ramifications. I sometimes wonder if there are a lot of NPs or perhaps perceivers in general that are mistaken for ADHD because of their greater tendencies toward being distractible.

3. Ne users are flighty and lack follow through

This goes right along with the idea that Ne users can’t set their minds on a single goal, and see it through to completion. The idea here is that NPs have so many ideas that they struggle to settle on just one for any significant length of time. So, they follow their whims from one possibility to another, changing directions faster than you can blink. Ultimately, this is also a character flaw. An NP that has developed their lower functions to any degree will not be like this. Understand that introverted perceiving functions (Ni or Si) give us vision, while extraverted judging functions (Fe or Te) gives us structure or order. An Ne user has Si. Si will help them narrow down their Ne ideas to ones that are achievable, which will give them focus. The extraverted judging function (whichever the NP happens to have) will then help provide the structure and discipline required to actively and continually pursue their goal.

4. Ne users are clumsy or physically incapable

Physical capability is something that is fostered or nurtured. If someone is trained (or they practice a physical skill over and over again), they will be physically capable, regardless of personality type. It’s possible that this stereotype is the result of Ne users being more prone to fostering skills that aren’t physically oriented, but that is not the same thing as saying that Ne users are inherently less capable than other types. I know Ne users that were in the army, in law enforcement, and etc. Ne users are not all clumsy awkward nerds hiding behind their computer screens.

5. Ne users aren’t good at practical skills

This one goes along with misconceptions like… sensors find it easier to clean, or some such nonsense. Once again, practical life skills are learned. Few people (if anyone) enjoy doing chores, but we all at some point have to learn how. This idea that intuitives or Ne users specifically are somehow less capable is absolutely false. They’re just naturally prioritizing a certain type of information. That doesn’t mean they can’t focus on honing practical skills that are either necessary or desirable.

6. Ne users are always happy

The optimistic Ne user. Easily excited, always upbeat, energetic, bubbly, and so forth. Granted, I see these descriptors usually associated with NFPs. Regardless, the idea that NPs will always be optimistic and positive is unrealistic. Everyone can get down, depressed, frustrated and etc. However, that aside, there are actually some Ne users out there that are predominantly pessimistic. I’ve seen it. Ne feeds someone possibilities and connections… Those possibilities and connections do not have to be positive to qualify as high Ne. I’ve seen some people assume that the more worrisome or paranoid side of Ne only surfaces in lower Ne users, but that’s actually not true. Just like there are people out here with unhealthy personalities, there are NPs out there that focus their Ne on negatives, and have to really work to see the positives.

7. Ne users always have brilliant ideas

Lately, I keep camping on this complaint, but the type descriptions out there describe the gold standard for every type. They describe a perfect ideal, a fantasy. In this fantasy, NPs are always brilliant innovators, always coming up with genius ideas and inventions. While it’s common for Ne minds to have an abundance of ideas, this doesn’t mean the ideas will always be brilliant or unique. I knew an INTP who would often come up with ideas for new inventions only to discover that they had already been invented. Of course, an NP could have brilliant ideas. I’m not trying to completely negate that. However, it’s also possible that they won’t come up with ideas in that broader “invention” sense at all, and their ideas will have a much smaller-scale application, like in a troubleshooting capacity at work.

In conclusion…

I made sure to get input from some NPs while I was putting this together, but I don’t imagine I’ve covered every single stereotype out there. That is the nature of these things. I mostly tried to ensure I grabbed the most common, or most misleading. If I’ve missed any major ones (whether true or untrue), I’d love to hear from you!