justeccentricnotinsane
Community Member
- MBTI
- INFJ
Sorry, can't seem to stop coming up with conclusions this weekend.
Fe is empathy, feeling the feelings of others, merging with others.
I mirror to an extent that is so obvious it is pointed out by other people.
Mirroring is where you literally take on the same body position, expressions, hand gesticulations as others. You also begin to speak like them - everybody has a pace and unique rhythm to their language. Often they also use formulas within the way they structure their sentences (particularly when telling jokes, they may use the same formula again and again) and memes.
The mirrorer, depending on the extent to which they mirror (everybody does it to a certain extent unless they have a personality disorder, though it is usually very subtle) will copy all or some of these.
Mirroring is entirely unconscious, the person who does it does it without knowing. However, some people teach themselves to do it deliberately as a manipulation technique - because it tends to make others feel comfortable and accepted.
One type of mirroring that nearly everybody does is smiling when others smile and yawning when others yawn. The reason for mirroring is that it encourages socialisation - it is a way of bonding intuitively that keeps human beings together and able to defend themselves in groups.
When I mirror, like I say, it is exact. When someone crosses their legs I will do it at around the same time. When somebody puts their hand behind their head, so do I. I may also finish their sentences or speak to them in their language unconsciously. It stands to reason that they would also feel the way someone else does through this total mirroring. It also makes sense why I (and I assume most people) will literally feel a tingle shoot up the nerves of my toe through my leg if I see someone stub their toe. There are neurons on our brain, discovered through research with primates (who also mirror) which light up when people see others take a certain action. They cause the brain to take the same processes it would if you were literally taking the action yourself. In some, this characteristic is stronger than others and can lead to actual movements of the body rather than the brain kind of semi-copying without making the movements itself. Like I say, totally evolutionary, necessary for tribalism and rearing young. I'll see if I can find a link to that study if people are interested.
So, this is Fe right? I wondered whether it could be Fe plus Ni? Whether Ni has an influence? The only reason I ask is because Si+Fe does seem to behave differently - it is almost more selective and more about close bonds within a particular group rather than a less selective and more aimless empathy.
Any thoughts?
EDIT: Also - is this were the "mind-reading" phenomena of INFJs comes in? If you are literally mirroring another, you are able to experience their experiences to a certain extent - so could this lead to knowing intent and motivation? And then being able to make a moral judgement.
Here are some links for those interested in the phenomenon
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110728103139.htm - as you can see from this article, my mirroring often reflects badly on me. I am generally seen as the lowest in the hierarchy, and I believe this may be part of the cause. I do not actually do or say differently from nice people, but people may think I'm odd, contradictory etc. I unconsciously mimic EVERYBODY (as far as I know - people I don't like have pointed it out, you see) although this does not stop me from making immediate good or bad judgements of them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirroring_(psychology)
And this is that study http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=mirroring-behavior
AHA! - http://web.media.mit.edu/~anmol/TR-584.pdf - Ni+Fe
Fe is empathy, feeling the feelings of others, merging with others.
I mirror to an extent that is so obvious it is pointed out by other people.
Mirroring is where you literally take on the same body position, expressions, hand gesticulations as others. You also begin to speak like them - everybody has a pace and unique rhythm to their language. Often they also use formulas within the way they structure their sentences (particularly when telling jokes, they may use the same formula again and again) and memes.
The mirrorer, depending on the extent to which they mirror (everybody does it to a certain extent unless they have a personality disorder, though it is usually very subtle) will copy all or some of these.
Mirroring is entirely unconscious, the person who does it does it without knowing. However, some people teach themselves to do it deliberately as a manipulation technique - because it tends to make others feel comfortable and accepted.
One type of mirroring that nearly everybody does is smiling when others smile and yawning when others yawn. The reason for mirroring is that it encourages socialisation - it is a way of bonding intuitively that keeps human beings together and able to defend themselves in groups.
When I mirror, like I say, it is exact. When someone crosses their legs I will do it at around the same time. When somebody puts their hand behind their head, so do I. I may also finish their sentences or speak to them in their language unconsciously. It stands to reason that they would also feel the way someone else does through this total mirroring. It also makes sense why I (and I assume most people) will literally feel a tingle shoot up the nerves of my toe through my leg if I see someone stub their toe. There are neurons on our brain, discovered through research with primates (who also mirror) which light up when people see others take a certain action. They cause the brain to take the same processes it would if you were literally taking the action yourself. In some, this characteristic is stronger than others and can lead to actual movements of the body rather than the brain kind of semi-copying without making the movements itself. Like I say, totally evolutionary, necessary for tribalism and rearing young. I'll see if I can find a link to that study if people are interested.
So, this is Fe right? I wondered whether it could be Fe plus Ni? Whether Ni has an influence? The only reason I ask is because Si+Fe does seem to behave differently - it is almost more selective and more about close bonds within a particular group rather than a less selective and more aimless empathy.
Any thoughts?
EDIT: Also - is this were the "mind-reading" phenomena of INFJs comes in? If you are literally mirroring another, you are able to experience their experiences to a certain extent - so could this lead to knowing intent and motivation? And then being able to make a moral judgement.
Here are some links for those interested in the phenomenon
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110728103139.htm - as you can see from this article, my mirroring often reflects badly on me. I am generally seen as the lowest in the hierarchy, and I believe this may be part of the cause. I do not actually do or say differently from nice people, but people may think I'm odd, contradictory etc. I unconsciously mimic EVERYBODY (as far as I know - people I don't like have pointed it out, you see) although this does not stop me from making immediate good or bad judgements of them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirroring_(psychology)
And this is that study http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=mirroring-behavior
AHA! - http://web.media.mit.edu/~anmol/TR-584.pdf - Ni+Fe
Last edited:
). I don't know if i do the same even while talking to a person , i think that it could be even if i could be totally unaware of it. 
). Think of mirroring as just being "body language" - the way we sit with another person tells us a lot about how we feel about them yes? Generally, if we like them, we do what they do. 
Maybe later!