Ne vs. Ni: Divergent and Convergent Thinking

As the Jungian intuition functions, Extraverted Intuition (Ne) and Introverted Intuition (Ni) draw a lot focus. Many people desire to be intuitives, but it actually doesn’t stop there. The NJs specifically attract many. This is in part due to the way they’re described, and in part due to the rarity statistics. (I’ll withhold my rant on the subject since it’s not relevant.) So, as a result, a lot of people will do a lot of mental gymnastics in order to justify being an NJ type. Recently, I noticed a very specific rationalization that I would like to address in this article. I’ll start by discussing convergence and divergence, as each of these gets associated with an intuition function.

What is Divergent Thinking?

“Thinking divergently, or divergent thinking is an unstructured, free-form way of problem solving in which participants produce many innovative ideas or solutions to a pressing problem.” – an article on Indeed called What Is Divergent Thinking? Definition and Examples.

“Divergent thinking, as we have already seen, involves producing multiple answers through processes like shifting perspective on existing information (seeing it in a new way) or transforming it, for instance, through unexpected combinations of elements usually not regarded as belonging together.” – taken from Science Direct

Essentially, the strengths of divergent thinkers are such things as spontaneously producing many ideas, coming up with unique ideas, creative implementation, originality, seeing things in a new way, being unconventional, and etc. The first article even lists “hosting brainstorming sessions” and “asking what if questions” as ways to encourage divergent thinking. It’s not hard to see why this is often attributed to Ne, as divergent thinking essentially seems to be describing the strengths of Ne.

What is Convergent Thinking?

“Convergent thinking, on the other hand, is a focused and analytical process aimed at selecting the best solution or idea from a set of options. It involves carefully evaluating, comparing, and narrowing down choices to identify the most effective and practical solution to a problem. Convergent thinking is about making decisions and finding the most suitable answer based on specific criteria, often guided by logic, data, and established principles.” – taken from Divergent vs Convergent Thinking: What’s the Difference?

“In contrast to divergent thinking, convergent thinking involves seeing–recognizing the similarity or the commonality of phenomena that appear to be different or combining and joining two or more different observations or ideas together so that they provide additional information, for example, putting the pieces of a puzzle together so they make a complete picture…Unlike divergent thinking with convergent thinking there is usually a correct answer.” – taken from Science Direct

So, convergent thinking is the opposite of divergent thinking. Divergent thinking is free flowing, focusing on seeing as many possibilities as… possible. Whereas, convergent thinking is focused on narrowing to a single answer based on a specific set of criteria. It finds similarities between things that may not appear similar, and forms a single picture. It’s also not hard to see why this is often attributed to Ni, as Ni is often described as being very singular and fixated.

But Here’s The Catch…

Convergent and divergent thinking are thinking processes, which means that the judging functions are getting roped in. Still, it’s accurate to say that convergence is associated with Ni, and divergence is associated with Ne (due to the parallels in the earlier sections), but people mistakenly group the associated thinking processes into those terms. You may think I’m splitting hairs, but this actually matters, and I’m going to explain why.

Intuition is Separate From Thinking

The judging functions (or the rational functions, as Jung put it) act together with the perceiving functions (or the irrational functions) to create a sort of harmony. One needs the other and vice versa. Perception “perceives” and judging “analyzes”. So, if you’re looking to identify a perceiving function, you have to pay attention to what’s happening before the judging functions kick in, or you have to figure out how to separate one from the other.

The Ne and Ni Processes and Misconceptions

As mentioned, Ne is expansive. Ne naturally perceives the abundance of possibilities. However, no healthy or sane individual endlessly perceives possibilities, never to settle on a single one. Sure, some people endlessly spin on certain things, but when it comes to things that matter, people have to actually make decisions. Oftentimes, Ne gets described as an indecisive function, but indecision is not an innate trait of Ne. In fact, NPs can be extremely decisive. They can even settle on a single goal. The key is where they start. NPs starts broad, seeing and exploring the wealth of possibilities, and then they call upon their judging function to narrow those possibilities to something actionable. So, in short, they start broad and then consciously narrow with whatever judging functions they have at their disposal (Ti/Fe or Fi/Te).

Ni, on the other hand, works in the opposite direction. While the instinct of Ne is to see possibilities, the subconscious process of Ni tunnels in on one possibility or vision instinctively. This happens prior to the thinking process kicking in. In other words, NJs land on a single idea and then may have to consciously broaden their perspective to consider other possibilities. Bear in mind, this isn’t the same as an NP who might quickly latch onto a single possibility, and then shortly thereafter jump to another, and then to another. After all, for NPs that can be part of the exploring process. Ni fixates much more than that, settling on one idea, channeling everything they perceive into it, and not wanting to let it go. (The introverted functions tend to be very specific and individualized, making them difficult to be understood by others, and their fixations difficult to let go of.)

To give a practical example of the interplay between Ni and Ne, NPs often want to explore possibilities before starting to narrow, while NJs might become frustrated and dismissive, because they see the NPs as exploring the irrelevant, or deviating unnecessarily from the issue at hand. Some of this interplay can even be see in lower users (ie: Ne in the SJs, and Ni in the SPs).

Enter Convergent and Divergent Thinking

Convergent and divergent thinking represent two opposite styles of thinking, but these thinking styles are conscious and necessary within specific contexts. Certainly, many NPs will be drawn to divergent thinking, because divergence will be a natural strength for them. Similarly, many NJs will be drawn to convergent thinking, because convergence will be a natural strength for them. However, all 16 personality types are capable of both styles of thinking. In fact, someone might actually be drawn to their opposite style of thinking. Meaning, NPs might fixate on convergent thinking as a counterbalance to their Ne, to evaluate and narrow down their options to the most ideal one. After all, someone subconsciously doing divergence, then consciously doing convergent thinking would be extremely practical. Inversely, NJs might fixate on divergent thinking to force themselves to expand their focus to include other possibilities.

In Conclusion…

It’s important to remember that everyone can have goals and dreams. Everyone can be focused and dedicated, fixated on a specific ideal. But we all have specific mental processes supporting these goals. Everyone needs to be able to weigh options, make decisions, and consider possibilities. It’s not about what you can do, but what your default is. What path does your mental process take? Do you do a lot of mental branching before convergence? That’s Ne. Are you almost instantly narrowing, to the exclusion or reduction of other options? Does it take logical analysis to pull options back in? That’s Ni. Ni is reluctant to let go of an idea (stable, singular), whereas Ne doesn’t want to fail to explore one. (After all, what if they miss something?)

By the way, I’m continually looking to connect with people of all personality types to increase my understanding. These days I’m especially looking to connect with EXFJs and INTJs. If you’re interested in discussing type with me or getting asked random personality-related questions every so often, reach out! I’m on Reddit, X, and Discord. (Ask me for a username).