Introverted Sensing

[TinyBubbles]

I wanted to start a topic on Si, Introverted sensing because it's one of those functions that I don't really understand (as much as I want to anyway).

Here's a description straight off google. Please share what you think this function means and how it affects your life, or doesn't. Thanks guys

Introverted Sensing* - (Si)


Introverted Sensing often involves storing data and information, then comparing and contrasting the current situation with similar ones.

The immediate experience or words are instantly linked with the prior experiences, and we register a similarity or a difference–for example, noticing that some food doesn't taste the same or is saltier than it usually is.
Introverted Sensing is also operating when we see someone who reminds us of someone else.
Sometimes a feeling associated with the recalled image comes into our awareness along with the information itself. Then the image can be so strong, our body responds as if reliving the experience. The process also involves reviewing the past to draw on the lessons of history, hindsight, and experience.
With introverted Sensing, there is often great attention to detail and getting a clear picture of goals and objectives and what is to happen. There can be a oneness with ageless customs that help sustain civilization and culture and protect what is known and long-lasting, even while what is reliable changes.

 

[Mary Shelley]

What do you think of this one?

Personality Junkie: Introverted Sensing (Si)

 

[YourFavoriteNightmare]

Si. Spanish for yes, completely different in MB.
It's recognition of internal sensation. Think of both Sensing functions. Se is responsible for perceiving external sensations, drinking them in. Si is responsible for perceiving internal sensations, data coming from within the body. Si recognizes the past, how things were. Se recognizes the present and how things are.
I know Si incidentally results in a love of the nostalgic. Visiting the past. Types with Si in their stack love a good dose of nostalgia. Not only does it like revisiting it, but it likes to preserve it with the keeping up with traditions and norms (that can extend into Fe or Te).These types more attached to objects, too, versus a Se user. This is viewed from without Fi (that may influence it the attachment concept there).

 

[Mary Shelley]

I know Si incidentally results in a love of the nostalgic. Visiting the past. Types with Si in their stack love a good dose of nostalgia. Not only does it like revisiting it, but it likes to preserve it with the keeping up with traditions and norms (that can extend into Fe or Te).These types more attached to objects, too, versus a Se user. This is viewed from without Fi (that may influence it the attachment concept there).

This is something I have wondered about--specifically, whether MBTI types that have Si/Fe (xNTP, xSFJ) experience nostalgia and sentimentality in the same ways as MBTI types that have Si/Fi (xSTJ, xNFP).

 

[sassafras]

Sensing is concerned with the bare and data facts. Details, experiences, sensations, physical placement, etc. are the domain of the sensing functions. Introverted sensing, like any introverted function, works with the microcosm of data where it examines the world from the viewpoint of details informing the big picture and automatically filters raw sensate data from the present via past experiences and previously established rules and categorical orders.

Sensing is a perceiving function, therefore, its processing is largely unconscious. You will not be aware of it working nor will you be able to consciously direct it on its own. What I mean is that the info that Si (or any perceiving function) uses is always interpreted by a judging function. In other words, you never just get the raw data. It's always interpreted by or used to interpret decisions made by the judging functions.

As such, how Si is expressed is highly dependent on where it appears in your function line up. I'll offer up some examples.

ISFJs have dominant Si's. The information that Si brings in is filtered via Fe. A rather simplistic example of Si+Fe functioning is seeing something random in a store and being reminded of something a friend had said to you that the both of you found funny. Because Fe likes to express and Si deals with the concrete, you might find yourself buying that thing and giving it to your friend next time you see them. "It reminded me of you and I just had to get it for you (because I know you would have done the same for me and this is in line with the nature of our relationship)." Very classic Si+Fe

ESFJs use auxiliary Si. Their judging function is dominant, so introverted sensing acts as immediate support for the judgments expressed by Fe. Their Fe is guided by a concern with tradition and attention to detail. Fe+Si is typical of a person who, for instance, puts extra care into wrapping a present and who views punctuality as a sign of respect for the other person's time and makes every effort not to cause any inconvenience (and gets irritated when someone else doesn't follow through on the same because that signifies rudeness and may start to recall other instances of how this person was rude to them before).

INFPs use tertiary Si. Their dominant function is introverted and judging, so like ESFJs, their auxiliary function Ne provides the support expressed by their Fi. For example, classic Fi+Ne+Si combo might express a thought pattern like, "Wow, that guy I like from Accounting who never talks to me just smiled and complimented me on my outfit. I wonder why? People only try to make you feel good when they want to get on your good side. Uh-oh. I just remembered I might have let it slip to Mary that I like him at coffee yesterday. Those two are working together on a project. Maybe she said something to him and now he's going to try and make a move. Oh gosh! Do I want him to? I have had such horrible experiences with office romances before..."

ENFPs use inferior Si, so Si isn't really active in decision making. Rather, it passively reports sensory data which is filtered re-actively through and expanded upon by Ne. Ever see a Ne-dominant jump to conclusions? All it takes it one small, sensory prompt (taken in by the inferior Si) and you have Ne+Fi and Ne+Ti go on a brainstorming spree that builds palatial theories from just one small, niggling little detail. An example is the button exercise for creative writers. You sit down with a random collection of buttons and pick one up and try to come up with a whole back story of who the button might have belonged to, what their personality and life story was like, where they are now, etc. all from the little details on the button. Conversely, because the inferior is the ENXP's anima, this could make them overly focused on the details and downright pedantic. You know an ENFP is stressing when it starts obsessing over organization and making lists...

 

[sassafras]

This is something I have wondered about--specifically, whether MBTI types that have Si/Fe (xNTP, xSFJ) experience nostalgia and sentimentality in the same ways as MBTI types that have Si/Fi (xSTJ, xNFP).

I think it's a little difficult to break down, but Fi/Si would most likely look at what those nostalgic objects represent (for example, a television series they watched as a child that reminds them of a time when things were simpler, or how much this series had taught them about life) whereas Fe/Si would look at who those nostalgic objects represent (that same television series they watched as a child, except they remember how they used to act it out in the schoolyard with a friend that they don't speak to anymore).

 

[barbad0s]

So... What is it that you want to understand? How it works and shows up in real life? In each of the Si-using types?

 

[Sriracha]

Ask me a question.

I can understand sociology much better than psychology. I can understand how an environment shapes an individual b/c of experience/history and how past patterns predict future behavior. History repeats itself, over and over again. There is no new behavior today that didn't exist sometime in the past. I remember once as I was holding my colic baby, he was screaming his head off and I felt helpless ... but then I remembered this is nothing new. Women have endured what I was enduring for centuries and they were able to get through it. This thought gave me incredible comfort.

I can remember faces, not names. I can remember how an event made me feel, but I would not be able to recall all the details of it (loss of memory I suppose.)

there is often great attention to detail and getting a clear picture of goals and objectives and what is to happen. I can give somewhat of a better explanation. When we see a goal, we make smaller goals in order to achieve the larger goal. I honestly think this is key in my volunteer work. It is very easy for me to research and collect data so I have the most objective opinion based mostly on fact, emotion or intuition is usually what had inspired the data collection in the first place. I feel most satisfied when I have unturned every rock I could find before making a final decision.

 

[Hazard]

I've always imagine Si as the opposite of Ne. While Ne is about branching off into new possibilities and tangents, Si focused inward with it's tangents on the details we've already experienced and know about. While Ne is about possibilities from the facts, Si is the start of the possibilities that are the facts. It's also similar to Se. While Se is about achieving new details and information, Si more about the details we've already experienced and how they relate to that new information. This makes it so Si users prefer to live with information they already know about and not go pursuing new information, details or possibilities. They prefer to stay at home and do things they already new about rather than go out and explore the unknown.

 

[Mary Shelley]

The first time [MENTION=4423]Sriracha[/MENTION] came into TinyChat when I was there, I was even more of a newb that I am now and immediately asked about type. She either said IxFJ or gave a little history about switching from INFJ to ISFJ, I don't know which. She had this look that said she really knew, though, so I felt bad thinking the environment was so condemning of sensors.

Since she has volunteered to answer questions, I wanted to share my interactions. ISFJ's dominant function is introverted sensing so this has informed some of my present thinking about how the function works.

I think it was [MENTION=6042]Izan[/MENTION] who commented on the beverage she was drinking. She swished it around like a pro, took another sip, then described it in a good selection of descriptive words. Someone had asked what she had been up to, so she started talking about her genealogy project with so much interest and enthusiasm that it overcame my natural boredom with the topic. She had mentioned work so I had asked what she did for a living. My admiration for her quickly grew as she talked doing legal work to help kids in bad situations. It wasn't long before she talked about all the research that went into it and things seemed to click.

Sometimes TinyChat can be a little bit... mature. As I've already been fairly open about sexuality in chat and on the forum, I regularly contribute to steering the conversation into the gutter... often for comedic effect. At times, I've caught Sriracha blushing, face-palming, or shaking her head in disbelief, which is all well and good so long as it's still within the bounds of being entertained, which I'm not always certain about.

Usually TinyChat can be... immature. With recent bouts of foodborne illness, references to poop have become commonplace. Jokes on that topic are also not unheard of. Because she's on cam, I can also watch her facial expressions change in real-time in reaction to this topic. I began to wonder if she more easily recalled both things that were just gross to think about as well as any times in her history in which she was herself or was around others with food poisoning.

In TinyChat, people come and go so someone leaving suddenly isn't necessarily a sign of disapproval or a rage quit. But after a few visits, it seems like Sriracha usually leaves shortly after something was said, probably by me, that made her uncomfortable. So when this seemed to happen again the other night, I really started thinking about it. I like Sriracha and talking with her a lot so I don't like the idea that me being a little too quick with lowbrow humor contributes to her being too uncomfortable to stay to chat. I wanted to apologize so this is as good a place as any. I'm sorry, Sri--give me another chance and I'll try to act more like an adult. I promise.

 

[sassafras]

Ask me a question.

I can understand sociology much better than psychology. I can understand how an environment shapes an individual b/c of experience/history and how past patterns predict future behavior. History repeats itself, over and over again. There is no new behavior today that didn't exist sometime in the past. I remember once as I was holding my colic baby, he was screaming his head off and I felt helpless ... but then I remembered this is nothing new. Women have endured what I was enduring for centuries and they were able to get through it. This thought gave me incredible comfort.

I can remember faces, not names. I can remember how an event made me feel, but I would not be able to recall all the details of it (loss of memory I suppose.)

there is often great attention to detail and getting a clear picture of goals and objectives and what is to happen. I can give somewhat of a better explanation. When we see a goal, we make smaller goals in order to achieve the larger goal. I honestly think this is key in my volunteer work. It is very easy for me to research and collect data so I have the most objective opinion based mostly on fact, emotion or intuition is usually what had inspired the data collection in the first place. I feel most satisfied when I have unturned every rock I could find before making a final decision.

Huh? I'm actually surprised that you identify as a sensor, Sriracha. I wouldn't have guessed Si to be your dominant function at all. Your intuitive preference is screaming at me. SCREAMING.

Look at some of the threads you've started:

• "Post a picture of something that belongs to you that represents your inner child"
• My dog barking at a ghost
• Sensitives, meditating and the paranormal
• optimism vs. pessimism
• How would your parents describe you
• Detachment
• What was the universe thinking when it created...

Also, in discussion, you're very quick to identify the abstract, underlying meaning and you have a passion for things that involve a lot of conceptual analysis. Even in this post, you identify your knack for sociology and your ability to discern how environment shapes individual and your discussions about seeing abstract concepts like goals. That is not something typical Si-dominants enjoy very much.

I'd personally say you're a very good candidate for a classic INFJ... or alternatively, maybe an XNFP, but I'd say the latter just by my intuition.

 

[barbad0s]

Ya

lets devolve thread to talk about one person in detail and tell them they aren't what they think they are

woo party

 

[Sriracha]

In TinyChat, people come and go so someone leaving suddenly isn't necessarily a sign of disapproval or a rage quit. But after a few visits, it seems like Sriracha usually leaves shortly after something was said, probably by me, that made her uncomfortable. So when this seemed to happen again the other night, I really started thinking about it. I like Sriracha and talking with her a lot so I don't like the idea that me being a little too quick with lowbrow humor contributes to her being too uncomfortable to stay to chat. I wanted to apologize so this is as good a place as any. I'm sorry, Sri--give me another chance and I'll try to act more like an adult. I promise.

No apologies!! *hug* I leave because generally I think people bore of me, and then usually I have to tend to family matters. Never in anyway have you made me feel uncomfortable.

 

[Mary Shelley]

No apologies!! *hug* I leave because generally I think people bore of me, and then usually I have to tend to family matters. Never in anyway have you made me feel uncomfortable.

I have yet to bore of you.

So then, if I have not made you feel uncomfortable, tell us who you feel about um... poop and sexual deviance and stuff.

 

[Sriracha]

Huh? I'm actually surprised that you identify as a sensor, Sriracha. I wouldn't have guessed Si to be your dominant function at all. Your intuitive preference is screaming at me. SCREAMING.

Look at some of the threads you've started:

• "Post a picture of something that belongs to you that represents your inner child"
• My dog barking at a ghost
• Sensitives, meditating and the paranormal
• optimism vs. pessimism
• How would your parents describe you
• Detachment
• What was the universe thinking when it created...

Also, in discussion, you're very quick to identify the abstract, underlying meaning and you have a passion for things that involve a lot of conceptual analysis. Even in this post, you identify your knack for sociology and your ability to discern how environment shapes individual and your discussions about seeing abstract concepts like goals. That is not something typical Si-dominants enjoy very much.

I'd personally say you're a very good candidate for a classic INFJ... or alternatively, maybe an XNFP, but I'd say the latter just by my intuition.

When I've tested, I am usually 50/50% with both S/N and T/F. I may not take the test correctly, but after learning coping mechanisms they become habit over time. I remember when I "came out" as a non-INFJ and [MENTION=2578]Kgal[/MENTION] mentioned she always thought I was more of a sensor than an intuitive. What really sets me apart from INFJ is that I do live in a concrete reality and have not much interest in idealism ... which includes idealistic relationships. They don't exist. Love doesn't pay the bills. lol NFs tend to make emotional based decisions, I tend to make decisions on policy, law or written protocol as long as they are fair and in the best interest of the person/situation. I don't like to dream about what I could do ... I actually do it or make goals to achieve it. A favorite quote of mine is "to cross that bridge when it comes" otherwise I feel I am setting myself up for disappointment or worrying about something I cannot control.

[MENTION=3998]niffer[/MENTION] It's no problem. I'm not attached to MBTI, so this thread won't put me into an identity crisis. haha

 

[Sriracha]

I have yet to bore of you.

So then, if I have not made you feel uncomfortable, tell us who you feel about um... poop and sexual deviance and stuff.

Talking about poop is easy, sexual deviance is not. Probably because I have more experience with poop. LOL

 

[sassafras]

Ya

lets devolve thread to talk about one person in detail and tell them they aren't what they think they are

woo party

Or maybe I was responding to someone's illustration of what a Si-type is, and since they were using themselves as an example (and indeed, they said they were open to questions) I expressed my surprise and offered my opinion. That doesn't necessarily have to "devolve" a thread. You can post around the posts you don't want to respond to.

When I've tested, I am usually 50/50% with both S/N and T/F. I may not take the test correctly, but after learning coping mechanisms they become habit over time. I remember when I "came out" as a non-INFJ and @Kgal mentioned she always thought I was more of a sensor than an intuitive. What really sets me apart from INFJ is that I do live in a concrete reality and have not much interest in idealism ... which includes idealistic relationships. They don't exist. Love doesn't pay the bills. lol NFs tend to make emotional based decisions, I tend to make decisions on policy, law or written protocol as long as they are fair and in the best interest of the person/situation. I don't like to dream about what I could do ... I actually do it or make goals to achieve it. A favorite quote of mine is "to cross that bridge when it comes" otherwise I feel I am setting myself up for disappointment or worrying about something I cannot control.

Wow. I never got a Sensor vibe from you... At all. Hence my huge surprise.

The funny thing is, though, I've always understood Ni-dominants to be the more practical NF's because of their inferior Se (much like the INFPs can sometimes look like thinkers because of their inferior Te). Much like their NTJ counterparts, I also don't see INFJs as daydreamers either. However, there could be something else that I'm missing. You and Kgal obviously interact a lot more than you and I do, and I'm sure you've done your fair share of reading into the theory.

Anyway, thank you so much for politely entertaining me.

 

[YourFavoriteNightmare]

Wow. I never got a Sensor vibe from you... At all. Hence my huge surprise.

I know what you meant, about getting a Sensing preference in a person or not. But the introverted functions (Si, Ni, Ti, Fi) can't express themselves on their own. That's the extroverted functions of expertise. Therefore, it would kinda make sense not picking up entirely on a Si, especially in the dom slot. It'd express itself through Te, Fe or Ne. We're much more recognized by what we extrovert. The rules of being online change a lot of things, though, too.

 

[Quiet]

Ask me a question.

I can understand sociology much better than psychology. I can understand how an environment shapes an individual b/c of experience/history and how past patterns predict future behavior. History repeats itself, over and over again. There is no new behavior today that didn't exist sometime in the past. I remember once as I was holding my colic baby, he was screaming his head off and I felt helpless ... but then I remembered this is nothing new. Women have endured what I was enduring for centuries and they were able to get through it. This thought gave me incredible comfort.

I can remember faces, not names. I can remember how an event made me feel, but I would not be able to recall all the details of it (loss of memory I suppose.)

there is often great attention to detail and getting a clear picture of goals and objectives and what is to happen. I can give somewhat of a better explanation. When we see a goal, we make smaller goals in order to achieve the larger goal. I honestly think this is key in my volunteer work. It is very easy for me to research and collect data so I have the most objective opinion based mostly on fact, emotion or intuition is usually what had inspired the data collection in the first place. I feel most satisfied when I have unturned every rock I could find before making a final decision.

I relate to everything you said. Even the experience with the colic baby.