Have you ever experienced this: At some point, the behaviors or thoughts you show are very different from your usual personality. For example, you who are usually introverted and sensitive suddenly become extroverted and confident; or, you who are always idealistic and creative, instantly become realistic and critical. These may be your shadow function and personality are quietly playing a role.
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What exactly is the shadow function personality? How is it formed? What impact will it have on character and development? How can we correctly understand and apply it? This article will take MBTI and Jung’s eight-dimensional theory as the cornerstone and INFP as an example to explore these issues in depth.
PS This article is for readers who have a basic understanding of the concept of Jung 8D (MBTI cognitive function). If you have not yet come into contact with relevant concepts, you can read the article MBTI Cognitive Function: Understand the way you think and how you think, or find information on your own.
What is Shadow Function Personality?
MBTI (Miles-Briggs Personality Type Indicator) is a personality test based on Jungian psychology. The personality of a person is divided into 16 types, each type consisting of four letters, representing the preferences of four dimensions:
- I (introversion) or E (outtroversion): It reflects whether an individual tends to acquire energy in the internal world or the external world.
- N (intuition) or S (feeling): Reflects whether an individual tends to acquire information in an abstract concept or concrete fact.
- F (emotion) or T (thinking): Indicates that individuals tend to make decisions about personal values or logical principles.
- P (perception) or J (judgment): Shows whether individuals tend to maintain an open attitude or pursue an orderly structure.
Jungian Cognitive Functions is a more in-depth personality theory, which believes that everyone has eight psychological functions:
- Introverted Intuition (Ni): Use internal insight and intuition to understand the essence and meaning of things.
- Extroverted Intuition (Ne): Explore the possibilities and potential of things through external stimulation and association.
- Introverted Sensing (Si): Experience and review the details and actual situation of things through internal feelings and memory.
- Extroverted Sensing (Se): Rely on external senses and actions to enjoy and participate in the current real things.
- Introverted Feeling (Fi): Evaluate and express the importance and personality of things based on internal emotions and values.
- Extroverted Feeling (Fe): Adjust and coordinate the harmony and sociality of things based on external feedback and norms.
- Introverted Thinking (Ti): Construct and verify the accuracy and consistency of things through internal logic and analysis.
- Extroverted Thinking (Te): Use external data and efficiency to organize and implement the effectiveness and objectives of things.
Jung Badi pointed out that everyone has a dominant function, an auxiliary function, a third function, and an Inferior function, which constitute the Conscious Personality. The positive function personality is the most commonly used and natural psychological function in an individual in daily life, reflecting personal personality and preferences.
The opposite of the positive functional personality is the shadow functional personality. Shadow function personality is a psychological function that appears in an individual in a stressful or crisis situation that is opposite or conflicting with the positive function personality, reflecting the subconscious and unconscious parts.
The formation of shadow function personality originates from some of the individual’s suppressed or ignored psychological functions. Because they are not fully developed and used, they will express their existence and needs in distorted or over-excessive ways in specific situations, which will have adverse effects.
The specific conversion rule of shadow function personality is to replace the first and last letters of a personality with opposite letters to obtain shadow personality. For example, the shadow function personality of INFP is ENFJ. In this way, the individual’s male function and shadow function form a one-to-one correspondence, as shown in the following table:
| Bolster function | Shadow function |
|---|---|
| Fi | Fe |
| Ne | Ni |
| Si | Se |
| Te | Ti |
Next, we focus on analyzing the shadow functional personality of INFP, analyzing its characteristics, advantages and impact on INFP.
What is the shadow function personality of INFP?
INFP belongs to the idealistic and creative personality type, with introverted emotions (Fi) as the dominant function, extroverted intuition (Ne) as the auxiliary function, introverted sensation (Si) as the third function, and extroverted thinking (Te) as the disadvantage function. Their positive surface functional personality characteristics are as follows:
- Fi: Have strong personal values and moral values, make decisions based on one’s own emotions and beliefs, pay attention to authenticity and independence, and have deep empathy and understanding of oneself and others.
- Ne: Have rich imagination and creativity, explore the possibilities and potential of things from different angles and levels, be willing to try new things and experiences, and be full of hope and longing for the future.
- Si: Have keen feelings and memories, obtain information and inspiration from one’s own experience and habits, attach importance to comfort and safety, and are sensitive to and appreciate beautiful things.
- Te: Have a certain amount of logic and efficiency, obtain guidance and support from external data and standards, value ability and achievements, and dare to resist and criticize unreasonable and unfair things.
The shadow function of INFP is ENFJ, with extroverted emotion (Fe) as the dominant function, introverted intuition (Ni) as the auxiliary function, extroverted sensation (Se) as the third function, and introverted thinking (Ti) as the disadvantage function. Their shadow function and personality characteristics are as follows:
- Fe: Have a strong sense of social responsibility and pay attention to interpersonal relationships, make decisions based on other people’s emotions and needs, attach importance to one’s own influence and leadership, and have high expectations and requirements for yourself and others.
- Ni: Have profound insight and foresight, obtain information and direction from internal intuition and inspiration, pay attention to goals and meaning, and have a clear and certain vision and plan for the future.
- Se: Have active senses and action, gain fun and challenges from external stimulation and opportunities, attach importance to freedom and change, and be passionate and expressive about beautiful things.
- Ti: Have a certain logical and analytical ability, draw conclusions and evidence from internal rationality and criticism, focus on correctness and independence, and have a skeptical and refuting attitude towards unreasonable and inconsistent things.
The shadow function of INFP usually occurs in the following situations:
- When stress or crisis: tend to use sex to seek support and recognition from others, or use you to formulate unrealistic goals and plans, or use escaping reality to seek stimulation, or use tide on one’s own emotions and values.
- When bored or curious: tend to participate in social activities and groups, or explore novel and profound topics and theories, or try new and adventures and experiences, or analyze complex and interesting questions and puzzles.
- **When growing or developing, **: tend to improve communication and collaboration skills, or expand your horizons and thinking skills, or enrich your life and experience skills, or optimize your decision-making and problem-solving skills.
The impact of INFP’s shadow function personality on INFP has two sides:
- Positive impact: It helps to supplement and balance the positive functional personality, enable INFP to better adapt to different environments and situations, improve diversity and flexibility, and increase the potential and opportunities for growth and development.
- Negative impact: It may interfere with and conflict with the positive functional personality, make INFP feel confused and out of control, reduce efficiency and stability, trigger pressure and contradictions, and affect physical and mental health and happiness.
How to give full play to the advantages of shadow function personality?
Shadow function personality is not a bad or wrong personality, but an important part of personal personality and has its own value and potential. By correctly understanding and applying it, you can give full play to your advantages rather than being troubled by them. The following are some methods and techniques for INFP to help understand and accept shadow functional personality, understand its characteristics and advantages, observe emergencies and reasons, regulate expression and application, achieve coordination and unity with the positive functional personality, and promote self-growth and development.
- Recognize and accept shadow functional personality: INFP should first realize the existence and function of shadow functional personality, not deny or suppress it, accept it as a part of the personality, understand its characteristics and advantages, respect and appreciate its contribution and value, and not regard it as a threat or enemy, but as a resource or partner.
- ** Understand the emergence and reasons**: Pay attention to the situation under which the shadow function personality emerges and the reasons behind it, such as stress, boredom, crisis, curiosity, growth, development, needs, desire, lack, excess, adaptation, resistance, help, harm, etc. Through understanding, we can better understand our own psychological state and needs, as well as the motivation and purpose of shadow function personality, and achieve effective control and management.
- Regulate expression and application: Adjust expression and application based on the characteristics and advantages of the male functional personality and shadow functional personality, as well as one’s own psychological state and needs, and achieve coordination with the male functional personality. Specifically, INFP can adopt the following strategies:
- Use the personality of the male function to guide and restrain the shadow function personality: With the help of the male function personality, especially the dominant function Fi and auxiliary function Ne, guide and restrain the shadow function personality, especially the dominant function Fe and auxiliary function Ni, so that it follows its own emotions and beliefs, imagination and creativity, avoid blindly catering to other people’s emotions and needs, or stubbornly pursue the execution of goals and plans, prevent the shadow function personality from being overly or distorted, and bring discomfort and dissatisfaction to oneself or others.
- Supplement and balance of the yang-faced personality with shadow function: Use shadow function personality, especially the third function Se and disadvantaged function Ti, supplement and balance of the yang-faced personality, especially the third function Si and disadvantaged function Te, to enhance life and experience ability, as well as decision-making and problem-solving ability, not overly relying on and sticking to one’s own feelings and memories, or ignoring data and efficiency, thereby improving diversity and flexibility, and increasing growth and development potential and opportunities.
Conclusion Shadow Function Personality is an important part of a person’s personality and has its value and potential. By correctly understanding and applying it, you can give full play to your advantages rather than being trapped in it. This article takes INFP as an example to explain the definition and formation principle of shadow functional personality, analyze the characteristics, advantages and influence of INFP shadow functional personality, provide methods and techniques to help INFP understand and accept shadow functional personality, understand the emergence and reasons, regulate expression and application, achieve coordination with the positive functional personality, and promote self-growth and development.
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