Reality is Here and Now, Proven There and Then
It seems to me that Jung indicates that the mental functions of type operate in conscious, adaptive, and unconscious ways. For example, we might force our mind’s eye to pay attention in a particular way (conscious) or might might find that we are naturally using a mental function to address a situation that has just emerged (adaptive). At times we project meaning or perspectives on to a situation and only later on reflection realize the unconscious operation of a function was at work.
Jung gave us a fabulous way to think about our personality intelligence by outlining ways of perceiving and judging our experience. In the next four blogs, I want to simply explore the eight functions and their value to us through a variety of frames of reference.
Perceiving functions serve to provide information that is both actual and possible. By their very definition, perceiving means receiving, taking in, and seeking information about experiences and situations. One’s entire evaluation of a situation is based on the perceptions of what is involved. Any bias or limits in perception inherently affects the judgment of what is going on and what to do.
Sensing is about the gathering of concrete, verifiable, realistic information that forms a sense of what really is in front of us. This function in an overall perspective finds sensory data very stimulating as it provides a positive, reliable, and provable state of affairs. Sensing actively rejects ambiguous, unverifiable, vague information as it literally has no “stickiness” to sensory anchors such as what can be concretely seen or heard, or touched and repeated. Essential to basic human activities—all bodily needs are addressed through sensing—this perceiving process. Those who prefer Sensing in its various forms are attracted to words like concrete, specific, measurable, hands-on, provable, reliable, standard, method, reliable, realistic, methodological, procedure, “tried and true”,and practical.
Se – Extraverted Sensing
Focusing on what is immediate and present
When Se is a preferred process, individuals are fully participating with their environment and those in it. The driving principle of this kind of perceiving is to have a clear and unambiguous awareness of what is going on in the tangible, concrete world. Typically experiencing a richness and depth of sensory information, individuals with this as a preferred process have a time horizon of “what is” at the moment and pay less attention or show an awareness of a longer time horizon about “what could be.” Quickly and stealthy adjusting to changing conditions, Extraverted Sensing keeps individuals informed of the realistic situation in which they find themselves.
Individuals with this as a strong process tend to enjoy careers that require immediate, physical and active engagement such as Emergency Medical Technicians, Public Safety, Sales in quick paced industries, Emergency related professions, Physical Therapists for athletes, or Recreational Management.
As a general rule for those individuals for whom Se is not preferred but activated, this mental process allows for knowing what is currently in front of you such as physical barriers, specific indicators of direction, and immediate conditions which must be managed. When scanning your physical environment, you are using Se to get a full sense of the setting and of all that is in it. This function keeps us informed about what is happening around us right now.
Si – Introverted Sensing
Determining what is actual through comparing past with present, cataloging details for clarity
When Si is a preferred process, individuals are determined about having reliable and verified information on which to construct a realistic picture of their world. The driving principle of this kind of perceiving is to verify what is reliable information that has practical use. Details are determined through a relentless comparison of past and present experiences and with enough repetition a clear sense of what can be depended on and what is of pragmatic. Systematic and methodical, Introverted Sensing engages in repetitive testing of information to anchor an overall orientation to what is provable and historical in a situation. Taking sensible action based on factual data that has been meticulously collected is a key source of comfort and satisfaction.
Individuals with this as a strong process tend to enjoy careers where systematic data gathering and methodical processes are standard such as Accounting, Nursing, Mechanical related vocations, and pragmatic hands-on careers like Dentists, Hygienists, Information Technology (programming), Geological or Archeological sciences, or Public Service Manager.
As a general rule for those individuals for whom Si is not preferred but activated, this mental process affirms what is known and encourages internal clarity about situations and experiences. This mental process enables the typical individual to have a catalog of information on which to build an understanding for the future. You use this mental function when anchoring information for later recall and use.
Every effort has been made in the Pearman to access the way these mental functions work for each individual. To understand more about the assessment, see:
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