This article will look at the cognitive functions of the MBTI personality type of ENFPs by discussing each function in detail. The article will also comment on the concept of cognitive functions and provide a brief introduction to the ENFP personality type.
What Are The Cognitive Functions of an ENFP Type?
The four cognitive functions of the ENFP type are listed below:
- Ne: Extroverted Intuition
- Fi: Introverted Feeling
- Te: Extroverted Thinking
- Si: Introverted Sensing
We will look at each cognitive function in detail, however, we will first explain the concept of cognitive functions and introduce the ENFP personality type to you!
What Are Jung’s Cognitive Functions?
The 8 cognitive functions were proposed by the famous Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung to define the nature of a person’s personality and it is these different functions that make up different combinations of the MBTI personality types.
The four personality scales (each scale goes in two opposite directions) determine how you gain energy, process emotions or organize time. Nonetheless, Carl Jung proposed that the two scales of thinking and feeling and sensing and intuitive could be expressed in an extroverted or introverted function to produce the following:
- Extraverted Sensing (Se)
- Introverted Sensing (Si)
- Extraverted Intuition (Ne)
- Introverted Intuition (Ni)
- Extraverted Feeling (Fe)
- Introverted Feeling (Fi)
- Extraverted Thinking (Te)
- Introverted Thinking (Ti)
The cognitive functions ‘stack’ shows which cognitive function is used most often or predominantly by the individual:
- Primary/Dominant: comes naturally to the individual
- Auxiliary: Supporting function, connected with creation and job choice
- Tertiary: where individual improves
- Inferior: activates under stress, generally avoided out of self protection. Check the ENFP Si Grip.
Now that we understand the concept behind cognitive function and what exactly they are, let us take a quick look at the ENFP personality before we focus on it’s cognitive functions.
What Is The ENFP Personality Type?
This is the personality type that is extroverted, intuitive, feeling and perceiving hence they are also known as the Campaigner; these individuals are full of energy and quite vibrant. They like to pursue the bigger things in life and are generally hopeful and want goodness for others as well.
These individuals are very sociable and like to attend events not just for the sake of partying but to meet new people, learn about them and form new emotional bonds; this is mostly due to the feeling function they possess hence they receive much satisfaction from any experience that stimulates it!
Furthermore, these personality types are quite insightful hence they do not just view the world through what is observant but also try to see beyond the face value of things. They are also of the opinion that everything is connected however, they view these connections more through the lens of their emotions rather than logical thoughts and systems.
The campaigner is an interesting personality that can surprise others. It is easy for them to both focus on what their idealistic mind pushes them to work towards while also grabbing opportunities to socialize. However, sometimes these individuals get frustrated in their attempts to understand what people actually want.
The Cognitive Functions of ENFP Personality Types.
Extroverted Intuition – Dominant Function
This is one of the dominant functions of the ENFP personality through which they are able to understand the relationships that exist in their world. Using their insight, they are able to see what relationships or emotions exist between people, situations and experiences. This personality is also good at abstract thinking and they are able to relate it with their external world which allows them to better understand others and navigate their way through situations.
This function is very useful for the Campaigner because they use this insight to collect information for their theories, research and to construct frameworks that are relevant to their area of interest which usually revolves around the society. The Campaigner is interested in the goodness of people and they aim for idealism; this function helps them further this cause.
The pairing of extroversion and intuition allows ENFP types to think across various contexts; they are able to understand the principles that govern one situation or the other and relate them as well. This helps them perform better in social situations and propose better ideas for problems.
It increases the emotional intelligence of these individuals; they are not only able to collect information through their external senses through interacting with other people but also through their intuition that lets them see what is going on beyond the curtain!
Introverted Feeling – Auxiliary Function
This comes into play when they make decisions. The ENFP personality type depends more on their emotions when they are determining what to do in life with regards to others, their career choices or life events. They want to be true to their own selves and look inside to see what gives them comfort and peace in the long term.
It is very important to them that their outer and inner world are congruent. This means that they should do what they want to do and feel at peace. Hence they may not always go for the logical option but the right option for them keeping in mind their internal state, desires and needs – especially those of the heart.
Even when it comes to others, these extroverts think in terms of feelings for others. They may take into consideration the feelings of the person, their desires and needs as well as their fears and then decide what must be done. They take a holistic view of life that not only considers what is going on in front of one’s eyes but also at the back end.
It must be noted that this function does not represent the well of feelings inside an ENFP personality. However, it determines how the person makes a decision. They will not only look at the facts, logic or evidence when it comes to judging a situation but the overall emotions, feelings and story that underlie the situation as well. Hence they are more subjective when it comes to making a decision – this may make things more complex but it takes into account each and every factor that is likely to have an effect on someone or something.
Extroverted Thinking – Tertiary
This is an interesting function that the ENFP has where they may think aloud – if not literally. They prefer to think about information that they receive especially from their external surroundings and process it in a logical and systematic way.
This function allows them to process things more smoothly and identify relations in their surrounding environment. It helps them achieve what they want to do such as solve problems that are relevant to people and the society.
You can picture your ENFP friend standing right in front of you! He is pacing in the room with a number of friends around him and trying to understand why a specific problem occurred in the software system you guys run! He is thinking and talking at the same time so that everyone is aware of his train of thought. This makes it so much easier for ENFPs to actually process information; they are taking information, logically processing it and expressing it so that they are sure themselves that they make sense!
Introverted Sensing – Inferior
This function usually becomes active when the ENFP is in a stressful situation or one that is usually not encountered by them. In this situation, the personality type resorts to sensing in order to understand what is going on in their external environment.
It is possible they are stressed to the extent that they cannot extract insights from the situation they are in. Hence, they focus on what little information they can retrieve from their and pair it with instances from the past to make sense.
Imagine you are stressed out and you do not understand what is going on around you! You don’t feel like yourself and you take things literally – which is something you do not do! You think negatively and take things as they are and what is worse, compare them to past experiences – the bad ones!
Conclusion
This article gave an overview about the ENFP personality type’s cognitive functions.
It first identified what cognitive functions these personality types have and described them in detail. It also provided an introduction to the concept of cognitive functions and described what an ENFP personality type is.
Frequently Asked Questions: ENFP’s Cognitive Functions
Why are ENFPs dangerous?
ENFPs are dangerous because they can manipulate people through their charm and charisma and hence convince them to do what it is they want.
Who should an ENFP marry?
An ENFP should marry an INTJ or INFJ because of their compatibility.
What is one thing an ENFP hates?
One thing an ENFP hates is small talk as they want to form deep and not shallow connections with people.
References.
https://www.verywellmind.com/enfp-an-overview-of-the-champion-personality-type-2795980
https://www.16personalities.com/enfp-strengths-and-weaknesses
