5 Introverted Sensing (Si) Stereotypes

To continue on with the series, I’m going to cover some common Introverted Sensing, or Si, stereotypes. If you’re interested in reading previous function-based stereotype articles, check out 6 Extraverted Thinking (Te) Stereotypes, 5 Extraverted Feeling (Fe) Stereotypes, 6 Introverted Feeling (Fi) Stereotypes, 7 Extraverted Intuition (Ne) Stereotypes, 7 Introverted Thinking (Ti) Stereotypes, and 8 Extraverted Sensing (Se) Stereotypes.

Introverted Sensing is probably the cognitive function that has the least positive stereotypes attached to it. I’m not saying there’s none, but this cognitive function tend to be undervalued or underestimated a lot. Of course, there are exceptions to this, but overall, within the typology community, I often see people avoiding being labelled as an Si user, or labeling people they don’t like as Si users. (Of course, people are usually talking in personality type codes when they’re doing this.) Anyhow, I’m going to cover some basics on the function, and then get right into the Si stereotypes.

What is Introverted Sensing (Si)?

Introverted Sensing, or Si, is an introverted perceiving function which is concerned with introverting or in-taking sensory information for the purpose of being prepared for whatever may come next. Si users absorb the sensory information from their life experiences, and internally recreate these experiences in a detailed-manner. As a result, they tend to have a high standard for what they want out of an experience, and tend to quickly convert mistakes into lessons in order to avoid repeating them in the future. Si users tend to value consistency, predictability, and security.

Who are the Si users?

The Si users are any SJ type, which means ISFJ, ISTJ, ESFJ, and ESTJ. For the purpose of this article, I’m not including the lower Si users, which are the NPs. This article really only applies to the high Si users. The NPs will be afflicted by a completely different set of stereotypes since Ne is essentially an opposite to Si, a yin and yang relationship, so to speak.

Disclaimer

Before I get into this, I want to give a quick disclaimer. Stereotypes do exist for a reason. Many are tendencies that have been converted into absolutes, provoking people to mistype. Some people will relate to these Si stereotypes, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. However, there may also be a significant number of individuals out there who do not relate to the common Si stereotypes. This article is primarily being written for the benefit of those individuals, to help clear up confusion and doubts. However, anyone looking to deepen their understanding of Si can certainly benefit from this article, and hopefully will. My desire is for people to understand the core attributes of Si, rather than just focusing on some stereotypical ways in which it can surface.

The Si Stereotypes

1. Si users are stuck in past and are not future-oriented

Oftentimes, the personality type descriptions describe the SJs (especially the ISJs) as focused entirely on the past, and even living in it. While this can happen, an SJ that does this is actually unhealthy. Unfortunately, this stereotype was most likely propagated due to these extreme and unhealthy examples. (Extremes are always much more memorable.)

Si (along with Ni) is actually a future-oriented function. The past comes into play because Si users consciously access their past experiences to gains solutions for their present problems. They essentially use the past to plan for the future. SJs are very much concerned with being prepared and maintaining security, which requires one to think ahead and plan. Many SJs actually live in the future, in a sense, in their desire to achieve a very specific life outcome.

2. Si users have perfect memories

This is a misconception that has spread among the cognitive function enthusiasts. The easiest way to explain Si is often via the detailed memory approach. The general idea is that Si users are concerned with gathering detailed information in case they might need it later. As a result, they can call upon an endless depth of knowledge, and remember their past in great detail. However, while this explanation can reveal a tendency in Si users, making them a bit easier to identify, they don’t actually have the perfect memories that this makes it sound like they do. Memory is affected by far more than just personality, such as physical health, brain capacity, etc. No one can remember every single moment of their lives, or every tiny piece of information that they come across. People remember what’s important to them (ie: what they value), not everything.

In reality, Si users value concrete and detailed information. A certain strain of Si users may memorize a vast range of knowledge for the sake of preparing for every potential unknown, further boosting the memory stereotype, but not all will take this approach. Si itself does not directly correlate to memory. Rather, as explained earlier, Si users recreate reality inside their minds (which tends to give them very specific preferences and high expectations for their experiences). However, their internal recreation is actually not guaranteed to be accurate, since memory can fail or be idealized. (Remember, Si is subjective.) Some Si users may be convinced that their memory is completely accurate, while others may see their memory as more error-ridden. Either way, an Si user can have flaws in the mental picture that they’ve stored away.

3. Si is the function responsible for nostalgia

Si makes one prone to looking to the past in order to glean life lessons, learn from experiences, and seek information for decision-making. Si in and of itself is not emotional, or based in emotion. Si does not place emotional value on memories. The feeling functions are responsible for placing emotional value on things, which ultimately makes sentimentality and nostalgia tied more closely to feelers.

Now, admittedly, you can’t get sentimental or nostalgic unless you’re thinking about the past. Ergo, the personality types that tend to be the most prone to sentimentality or nostalgia are feelers with at least tertiary Si or higher. (In other words, ISFJ, ESFJ, and INFP). NFJs and SFPs will be less so. (Of course, I’m speaking in tendencies, not absolutes. You can easily be an exception to this rule, since it’s not actually a rule.) Generally speaking, most people get sentimental from time to time, especially as they get older. (Kids have few memories to look back on, so very little to get nostalgic over.) Thinkers as a whole are less likely to be nostalgic (due to devaluing emotions), and that includes the STJs. There may be a strain of STJ that is, depending on how in touch they are with their lower Fi. However, an ISTJ or ESTJ can easily not be prone to nostalgia and struggle to relate to this Si stereotype as a result.

4. Si users are boring and unimaginative

There is a general belief out there that Si users can’t be creative, innovative, interesting, and etc. I find this to be rather ignorant. First off, what one deems boring is extremely subjective. Second, Si users do have Ne in their stack. They can tap into it. A confident and developed Si user may be willing to share the product of their Ne more freely with others, while others may reserve it for close friends or family. Either way, it’s highly likely that if you come across a “boring” Si user, you just don’t know them well enough yet.

5. Si users are closed-minded to new things

Si users, especially the dominants, are cautious and careful people. They trust what has been proven to work over and over again, which is why they value past experience so highly and can be extremely skeptical of something that is new and unproven. However, that does not mean they will be closed off to trying out new experiences or implementing new ways of doing things. This is going to depend entirely on how developed that lower Ne is. An ISTJ or ISFJ with suppressed Ne will be closed off to anything new. However, your average SJ will probably just need to hear solid reasoning for why the new thing is better or worthwhile, observe that a detailed/realistic plan is in place, time to think it over, and time to prepare. (Of course, the extent of all this depends entirely on how significant the new thing is. Minor stuff may require little to no convincing or preparation.)