Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

The Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) assessment is a psychometric questionnaire designed to measure psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions.

The structure is around the dichotomies, which provide you with four letters, each of which taken from a pair of possibilities: I/E, N/S, T/F, J/P.

There are deeper, more explanatory levels (from Carl Jung's cognitive functions, also called mental processes), which were later adapted and expanded in MBTI theory. There are 8 cognitive functions in total, which are the "building blocks" that determine a person's type:

They split into two big groups:

• Perceiving functions (how we gather/take in information):
  1. Ni — Introverted Intuition
  2. Ne — Extraverted Intuition
  3. Si — Introverted Sensing
  4. Se — Extraverted Sensing

• Judging functions (how we make decisions/evaluate):
  1. Ti — Introverted Thinking
  2. Te — Extraverted Thinking
  3. Fi — Introverted Feeling
  4. Fe — Extraverted Feeling

The four letters (I/E, N/S, T/F, J/P) do not directly name the cognitive functions. Instead, they serve as a shorthand code that indicates:

• which functions a person prefers
• the orientation (introverted or extraverted) of those functions
• the order in which the functions are typically used (dominant, auxiliary, tertiary, inferior)

Dichotomy	Meaning	How it determines functions
I vs E	Introversion vs Extraversion	Determines the orientation of the dominant function (and usually the auxiliary). I → dominant function is introverted (Ni, Si, Ti, or Fi) E → dominant function is extraverted (Ne, Se, Te, or Fe)
N vs S	iNtuition vs Sensing	Determines whether the perceiving functions are intuition-based (Ni + Ne) or sensing-based (Si + Se). N → leads with intuition functions S → leads with sensing functions
T vs F	Thinking vs Feeling	Determines whether the judging functions are thinking-based (Ti + Te) or feeling-based (Fi + Fe). T → leads with thinking functions F → leads with feeling functions
J vs P	Judging vs Perceiving	Determines which type of function is extraverted (directed toward the outer world). J → extraverted judging function is preferred (Te or Fe) P → extraverted perceiving function is preferred (Ne or Se)

All 16 Types and their Top 4 Functions

Type	Dominant	Auxiliary	Tertiary	Inferior	Perceiving axis	Judging axis
INTJ	Ni	Te	Fi	Se	Ni-Se	Te-Fi
INFJ	Ni	Fe	Ti	Se	Ni-Se	Fe-Ti
ENTJ	Te	Ni	Se	Fi	Ni-Se	Te-Fi
ENFJ	Fe	Ni	Se	Ti	Ni-Se	Fe-Ti
INTP	Ti	Ne	Si	Fe	Ne-Si	Ti-Fe
INFP	Fi	Ne	Si	Te	Ne-Si	Fi-Te
ENTP	Ne	Ti	Fe	Si	Ne-Si	Ti-Fe
ENFP	Ne	Fi	Te	Si	Ne-Si	Fi-Te
ISTJ	Si	Te	Fi	Ne	Si-Ne	Te-Fi
ISFJ	Si	Fe	Ti	Ne	Si-Ne	Fe-Ti
ESTJ	Te	Si	Ne	Fi	Si-Ne	Te-Fi
ESFJ	Fe	Si	Ne	Ti	Si-Ne	Fe-Ti
ISTP	Ti	Se	Ni	Fe	Se-Ni	Ti-Fe
ISFP	Fi	Se	Ni	Te	Se-Ni	Fi-Te
ESTP	Se	Ti	Fe	Ni	Se-Ni	Ti-Fe
ESFP	Se	Fi	Te	Ni	Se-Ni	Fi-Te

Brief Traits of Each Function

Perceiving functions (N/S axis)

• Ni — Introverted Intuition: convergent, long-term patterns, future vision, symbolic "aha" insights, sees underlying meaning
• Ne — Extraverted Intuition: divergent, brainstorming, multiple possibilities, "what if?", rapid idea connections
• Si — Introverted Sensing: internal database of past experiences and facts, detail-oriented recall, reliability, tradition, "how it was done before"
• Se — Extraverted Sensing: present-moment awareness, physical/sensory engagement, opportunism, reacts to immediate reality

Judging functions (T/F axis)

• Ti — Introverted Thinking: internal logical consistency, precision, deep system analysis, seeks truth regardless of external usefulness
• Te — Extraverted Thinking: external efficiency, organization, measurable results, "what objectively works", likes structure and control
• Fi — Introverted Feeling: personal values, authenticity, inner moral compass, strong sense of right/wrong for oneself
• Fe — Extraverted Feeling: group harmony, social values, reads and responds to others' emotions, seeks consensus and connection

The four-letter type code is essentially a compact way to identify a person's dominant and auxiliary functions (including their introverted/extraverted orientation), while the full depth of MBTI theory lies in understanding these eight cognitive functions and their stacking order in each type.

I am INTJ.

I had diagnosed Elena as an ENFJ but could have been wrong. It is supposedly a rather ill-matched pairing, but I like to play with handicaps. In July 2025, our I/E and T/F tensions proved too strong for Elena who decided to throw the towel after twenty years of great times together, amidst futile difficulties. My very strong introvertedness I indeed proved insufferable to the also strong extravert E Elena, while my weaker rational side T still also proved too painful to the accute emotional F Elena. So be it.

Links

• On the Wikipedia.