Podcast - Episode 0219 - 3 Styles Of Cognitive Function Loops (Part 2) — Personality Type and Personal Growth

Podcast – Episode 0219 – 3 Styles Of Cognitive Function Loops (Part 2)

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In this episode, Joel and Antonia talk about the 3 styles of cognitive function loops. In this second of a two-part series, we cover the four judging functions of “Effectiveness” (Extraverted Thinking), “Authenticity” (Introverted Feeling), “Harmony” (Extraverted Feeling), and “Accuracy” (Introverted Thinking). We show how each of these cognitive functions show up at the 10-Year-Old (or Tertiary) position in the cognitive function stack for the ENFP, ESFP, ENTP, ESTP, INFJ, ISFJ, INTJ, and ISTJ types.

In part 1, we talked about the four perceiving cognitive functions.

In this podcast you’ll find:

Car Model
Part 2 of a 2-part series
Part 1 is here
Cognitive functions are mental processes that are part of the wiring of your mind.
They help you learn information and make decisions.
A cognitive function loop is when your dominant cognitive function loops with your tertiary function, which can cause issues.
Last podcast we talked about all the IPs and EJs – Tertiary perceiving functions.
This podcast we will cover EPs and IJs – Tertiary Judging Functions
ENFP – ESFP
- 10 yr old is Extraverted Thinking – “Effectiveness.”
- ENFP Loop – Extraverted Intuition (“Exploration”) and Extraverted Thinking
- ESFP Loop – Extraverted Sensing (“Sensation”) and Extraverted Thinking
- Judging functions are intended to evaluate.
- We pick up info in the outside world, and we have to make decisions on what that info means to us.
- What should we be doing?
- What is important?
- For EPs, Copilot and 10 yr old are their judging functions.
- When we get into a loop, we avoid our copilot because the copilot explores a different world than our dominant.
- Tertiary is the same attitude as the driver, so it looks like an echo chamber.
- EPs in an extraverted loop are avoiding Introverted Feeling (Fi) – a subjective metric.
- Fi is a slow process, and it may feel unstable compared to Extraverted Thinking (Te).
- Instead of resting into their self evaluation, EPs hand over their decision making to others.
- The outside world is more concrete than the subjective inner world.
- EFPs have different drivers so their loops will be slightly different.
- ESFPs drive with Sensation – here and now. Physicality. Being in the moment. Reaction. Responsive. 5 senses. Very kinesthetically aware.
- ENFPs drive with exploration – messing with the environment to find disparate connections between seemingly unconnected things.
- Both let the outside world give them the feedback they want.
- Whether it be a streamlined action (Sensation) or a hidden pattern (Exploration)
- A loop strategy is a tool we pull off the shelf which can become a lifelong habit.
- Joel (ENFP) uses anxiety as a motivator when he is in a loop.
- The First style of looping is an explosive, in the moment, response to something.
- It can look very random with EFPs. Literal explosions.
- Whatever the outside world has done to remind them of a personal evaluation they don’t feel good about, they will go into an explosive stance to cast off the trigger as fast as possible.
- It can look like a verbal or physical explosion to make an in-the-moment impact.
- They don’t necessarily lash out at people. It is more about lashing out at the environment.
- When an EFP is looping with their tertiary Te, they can depersonalize people.
- They are running away from their Copilot which personalizes people.
- They can intentionally hurt people to get the behavior they want.
- The second strategy is massive busyness. Can’t slow down.
- A single overwhelming emotion can suppress all the nuanced emotions that the EFP is avoiding.
- EFPs tertiary likes to find emotions to support the activity they are doing.
- They make their copilot support their tertiary, instead of the reverse.
- The third style of looping is more integrated into the day to day lifestyle and is more difficult to detangle.
- EFPs aren’t sure how they should be feeling about themselves because they haven’t taken the time to cultivate their Copilot.
- Usually looks like full sail outsourcing of self-esteem and values.
- They stop living for themselves and start living for the resource – outside metric.
- Lots of praise and positive feedback comes from the outer world, so they keep doing it, but it is a hollow existence.
- No one really knows them. They don’t even know themselves.
- Noble distractions.
- The EFP can’t do enough to fill the void inside.
ENTP – ESTP
- 10 yr old is Extraverted Feeling – “Harmony.”
- ENTP Loop – Extraverted Intuition (“Exploration”) and Extraverted Feeling
- ESTP Loop – Extraverted Sensing (“Sensation”) and Extraverted Feeling
- Harmony users like to create harmony with everyone. The needs of other people are always on their radar.
- Harmony as a 10 yr old wants to connect with other people, even when the connection isn’t ideal.
- Praise is a strong motivator.
- ETPs Copilot is Introverted Thinking – clean data. Usefulness and truthfulness of info.
- ETPs bypassing the Copilot is an attempt to avoid cognitive dissonance.
- The first loop is an explosive emotional stance.
- Aggressive, angry, blame-casting or joking dismissiveness.
- Derisive. Mocking.
- It looks to other people for approval with bullying derision.
- To get away from whatever inner truth is haunting the ETP.
- An attempt to manufacture discord so the other person will see the need to create peace.
- The second loop is compulsive praise seeking.
- More about status mongering to get large groups of people to like you.
- Bragging.
- The ETP seeks praise to separate from a personal evaluation that is harsher than the real world.
- Intellectual laziness.
- Takes feedback personally and seeks praise to offset any negative feedback.
- All the praise in the world doesn’t matter if the ETP isn’t speaking their truth.
- They can own the negative feedback and amplify it as a protection mechanism.
- Part of their social identity.
- Society sometimes rewards assholery.
- The third style of loop for ETPs is outsourcing their beliefs, ideas, and values to other people.
- A lifestyle loop.
- Could be a career or a paradigm.
- The ETP Outsources their entire life to people’s opinions and ignores the cognitive dissonance of introverted thinking.
INTJ – ISTJ
- 10 yr old is Introverted Feeling – “Authenticity”
- INTJ Loop – Introverted Intuition (“Perspectives”) and Introverted Feeling
- ISTJ Loop – Introverted Sensing (“Memory”) and Introverted Feeling
- ITJs copilot is Extraverted Thinking “Effectiveness.”
- Avoidant question is What is good enough?
- All of us need to do some work at dialing in our evaluations.
- IJs are trying to determine what is good enough for the outside world.
- Because they are introverts, they over-rely on their subjective criteria to determine what is good enough.
- With IJs, they consult their inner calibration to determine what is enough instead of using external measurements.
- Extraverted Thinking is about getting into action in the outer world.
- First explosive loop, is pride with hurt underneath.
- They don’t want to do something. They fear something won’t work.
- Authenticity, when done well, is great at reading intent.
- ITJs will often use this as a projection of bad intent upon others.
- “You Can’t tell me to do that. You don’t have good intent. You just want what is best for you.”
- “You can’t make me do anything. I know what is good for me.”
- It ends up looking like a shutdown.
- The walls go up, and they become impenetrable and unreachable while they stew in their pride.
- It doesn’t necessarily have to show up as bad pride. It can be conviction about something.
- It may still be an avoidance of action.
- One of the challenges some types have is that the outside world rewards their loops.
- ITJs may look strong and get rewarded for it when in reality they are just lazy.
- A lot of times this shows up in relationships because Effectiveness isn’t always encouraged in relationships.
- The second style of loop can look like a feeling of overwhelm or avoidance.
- Effectiveness avoids over complicating things. It wants to set up a system and forget about it.
- If an ITJ hasn’t set up an effective system and they don’t want to, they will get stubbornly avoidant.
- Most ITJs do a lot of mental work as they think through the systems before implementation.
- But they may never set up the system.
- They may be waiting for someone else to set up the system.
- Then they get criticism from the outside world and get overwhelmed.
- They hit this event horizon of persistent inaction which only becomes more overwhelming and usually results in total shut down.
- Analysis paralysis.
- They will dig in their heels and refuse to act.
- They may break contracts or avoid people.
- The third long-term loop looks perfectionistic.
- “This has to be perfect. Once it is perfected, I will get into action.”
- Nothing is ever perfect. So seeking perfection keeps you in perpetual inaction.
- ITJs are smart enough to know when they can fool others. Perfection is a great one.
- To other people, perfection looks noble.
- In reality, they are fooling themselves.
- They don’t want to rely on outer world feedback for pass/fail metrics.
- They aren’t sure what good is because they haven’t developed that skill yet.
- Authenticity tends to be idealistic as it is, so ITJs lean on an idealized concept of themselves.
- Time won’t wait. Effectiveness realizes that time is limited. But Authenticity isn’t tapped into time.
- ITJs waste extraordinary amounts of time in the desire to be an idealized version of oneself.
- We have been harsher with judging functions because our “should” statements lie in the judging functions.
- These loops can be a lot harder to break.
INFJ – ISFJ
- 10 yr old is Introverted Thinking – “Accuracy.”
- INFJ Loop – Introverted Intuition (“Perspectives”) and Introverted Thinking
- ISFJ Loop – Introverted Sensing (“Memory”) and Introverted Thinking
- Both IFJs are avoiding their Copilot of Extraverted Feeling “Harmony.”
- Harmony is about understanding the social culture of the world.
- Very much about emotional expression.
- Introverted Thinking is about data collection. It is about being right.
- The first style of explosive loop is cold for an IFJ.
- They get too overwhelmed with emotion, and they haven’t built enough skill to be able to get through conflict to harmony.
- The emotion overwhelms the IFJ, and they go to a cold, critical place.
- The walls come up.
- Not a bad strategy if it didn’t also come with judgment.
- Not about boundaries. It is about avoidance.
- Cold burn instead of hot burn.
- Door slam
- The second loop is less about judgment and more about research and righteousness.
- Both IFJ types have a scientific side. They like info and data.
- But if they are overwhelmed with relationships, they hide away in books or DIY projects.
- This can look like righteousness.
- “Nobody else is doing things right. I’m going to get more info about how things should be done; then I’m going to project that righteousness onto the world.
- This doesn’t create harmony. It creates divisions.
- The third style of loop is perfectionism, like the ITJs.
- ITJs pursue an idealized version of self.
- IFJs perfectionism is more technical.
- Like the IFJ who puts plastic on their furniture to keep their home looking pristine.
- That strategy doesn’t create true harmony because it prevents people from being comfortable.
- They take this same concept and lay it over every relationship.
- The belief that everything needs to be perfect.
- So, it creates a lot of discomfort with other people, which is the opposite of Harmony.
- Harmony creates warmth and welcome.
- Accuracy creates a plastic environment.
- It forces people out of your life because they don’t know how to engage with you.
- Engagement is only acceptable on a synthesized level.
- Can result in loneliness.
- Not just a self-perfectionistic streak but can come across as critical of others.
Other people have a hard time calling you on your loop.
You are the only one who knows if you are living in a loop.
You may be getting praise for these loops, which reinforces your behavior even when you know it isn’t you at your best.
Have patience with yourself and get good at spotting your loops.
Then figure out what the point of your Copilot is so you can get back into it to avoid the loop.
The Copilot has the map.

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