Unknowns of the Psyche's 8 Functions · Part 2 · 2015
Program & Creative
Position Semantics
Program & Creative Position Semantics · V.L.Taranov 2015
V.L.Taranov, "Unknowns of the Psyche's 8 Functions" Part 2 (2015). Building on the basic properties of the 8 functions established in Part 1, this paper statistically analyzes how the properties of the same element differ when placed in the program (①) vs. creative (②) position. Because the program function is unbalanced (ex≠inh), it strengthens autonomous, extreme, and personal properties; the creative function, being balanced (ex=inh), appears as flexible and adaptive properties. Each function description includes: main properties, physiological background (program only), evolutionary-advantage hypothesis (program only), conditional positive properties, conditional negative properties.
Source
sociotoday.narod.ru/funkcii2.html
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sociotoday.narod.ru/funkcii1.html
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V.L.Taranov 2015 (Part 2)
Main Research Findings
For the same element (e.g., Ne, Ti), psychological manifestation and behavior patterns differ fundamentally depending on whether it is placed in the program or creative position. This is the paper's central finding. Most properties of a function in the creative position do not directly reflect that function's own intrinsic properties — for properties of a function in the program position, only about 20% of all questionnaire sentences contained direct internal statements about the creative function, while the remaining 80% were primarily associated with properties accompanying the complementary function.
Research Methodology
6,663 questionnaire items (averaging 1,180 respondents per question) were analyzed. For each question, correlation coefficients between trait and function profiles were calculated, and the questions with the highest loading for each function in program/creative position were identified. By this approach, different question sets were selected for the same function depending on position, and position-specific semantic profiles were derived. The average correlation coefficient was 0.9853 (comparing tables B and C), very high, confirming the reliability of the method.
Relationship to Part 1
This paper is a direct continuation of Part 1 (funkcii1.html, 2012). Part 1 established each function's general, position-independent properties. Part 2 uses the same dataset to analyze how properties vary between program and creative positions. Combining both papers yields a complete description of the 8 functions.
Connection to Model T
The program position corresponds to the unbalanced type (ex≠inh) in Model T (Taranov 2006), and the creative position to the balanced type (ex=inh). This structural asymmetry is the neurophysiological basis for the difference between the program function's "personal, extreme, autonomous" properties and the creative function's "flexible, adaptive, situation-responsive" properties.
① Program Position
Unbalanced (ex≠inh). Lists main properties, physiological background, evolutionary advantage, conditional positive/negative properties.
② Creative Position
Balanced (ex=inh). Lists main properties and conditional positive/negative properties.
I
Program position
Unbalanced
Main properties
Distracted attention and detachment from the surrounding world. Withdrawal into fantasy and dreams. Weakened "caring empathy" and increased egocentrism. Frequent depersonalization / derealization illusions. Mentally rehearses various imagined unfolding situations (sharing much with dreaming). Low inner energy, passive listlessness. Tendency toward masochistic fantasy. A connection with schizoid disorders has been noted. Program Ni has the weakest social interaction of all functions — therefore it is rarely praised and rarely criticized.
Physiological background
At the physiological level, the function is provided primarily by the specific characteristics of dopaminergic and serotonergic neurotransmission in the thalamus, basal ganglia, hippocampus, and neocortex. Program Ni is associated with an increase in schizoid-cycle physiological states (schizoid predisposition, impoverished movement, motor disorders). In schizophrenia, defects in thalamic D2-type dopamine receptor binding are observed. The new dynamic image-development based on episodes that is characteristic of Ni, and this function's specific mild-depressive, often self-aggressive mood backdrop, indicate that the right hemisphere (with active involvement of the thalamic frontolimbic system and hippocampus) is included in its mechanism.
Evolutionary advantage (hypothesis)
Evolutionary advantage in prehistory (hypothesis): avoiding possible negative and dangerous moments, and on the positive side, maximum escape from the herd's habitat and exploration of places with abundant fruit trees and rich hunting resources. Capacity to form scenarios for avoiding a wide variety of dangerous moments. Renewing the individual and showing flexible loyal docility to the herd's aggressive collective body as a response to contact.
Conditional positive properties
Conditional positive properties: high predictive ability and literary talent (arising from the functional connection with dynamic fantasy). Because the function is often accompanied by the dynamic unfolding of vivid mental visual imagery, it is often also linked with the talent of "painting from memory."
Conditional negative properties
Conditional negative properties: increased depressive tendencies, aggressive attitudes toward self and others, passivity, tendency toward mental schizoid-like disorders.
Creative position
Balanced
Main properties
High interest in the flow of future events and effective penetration through thinking. Active civic stance. Grandeur of plans. Readiness to break established equilibrium and "swim against the current." Restless behavioral dynamism. The pain of Si (experiential sensing) is also combined with creative Ni and is associated with weak attention to bodily needs.
Conditional positive properties
Conditional positive properties: high interest in the future. Readiness for active social participation. Capacity to plan on a large scale. Critical perspective toward established order.
Conditional negative properties
Conditional negative properties: tendency toward states of frustration (irritated dissatisfaction). Difficulty feeling bodily needs. Tendency toward hypochondria. Everyday egoism, weak care for partners.
I
Program position
Unbalanced
Main properties
Disorder. Unrealism / impracticality in activity. Tendency not to complete what was started (prefers impulsive improvisation over planning). Breadth of interests. Heedlessness in everyday life. Unstable, skipping attention — easily distracted. Sprinting thought and association — often jumping very far. Tendency to sudden, sharp turns in thought and conversation. Easily catches fire and becomes absorbed. Contactual, inventive. Quickly generates many associatively arising possibilities. Cannot tolerate monotony. Highly curious — leaps at novelty and the unusual. Many neuromotor disorders (writing disorder, dysgraphia, epileptic tendencies) appear as consequences of functional weakening of the neocortex.
Physiological background
At the physiological level, the function is provided by specific dopaminergic features of the thalamus, basal ganglia, and neocortex. Many functional disorders (memory, language, writing) indicate functional weakening of the neocortex and association with the limbic system. In the case of program Ne, high dopaminergic activity is associated with the pleasure-ization of the act of conceiving itself, centered on the prefrontal cortex.
Evolutionary advantage (hypothesis)
Evolutionary advantage in prehistory (hypothesis): exploration and dissemination of new territories and new resource opportunities — maximum venturing from the habitat, search for places with abundant fruit trees and hunting resources, sampling new fruits, and so on.
Conditional positive properties
Conditional positive properties: breadth of interests, generation of creative ideas, rapid recognition of new possibilities across a broad spectrum, inventiveness, curiosity and innovativeness, openness and goodwill toward others, above-average everyday honesty.
Conditional negative properties
Conditional negative properties: disorder, sloppiness, dispersal and instability of interests (especially lack of consistency at the "final step"), impracticality, distractibility, forgetfulness, insufficient self-criticism toward one's own "out-there" ideas, lack of caution, rashness.
Creative position
Balanced
Main properties
Properties combined with the absence of Se (volitional sensing) take first place: increased gentleness and readiness for altruistic self-sacrifice, risk avoidance, weakness of breakthrough force, distractedness of visual attention, indecisiveness and lack of immediate reaction in critical situations, inability to make people obey or demand things, avoidance of eye contact, increased tendency toward avoidance of life conflicts and shyness. Motor clumsiness and awkwardness are mainly tied to the absence of Se. Very strong inhibition of biological instincts. Intellectual multidirectionality and attention to environmental change. Creative Ne is also characteristic on the "sensing (Si)" side — low attention to physiological needs, but on the other hand a tendency toward emotional solitude and introspection.
Conditional positive properties
Conditional positive properties: gentleness and goodwill. Care for others. Pacifist stance. Broad knowledge and motivation to learn. Tendency toward logical thought.
Conditional negative properties
Conditional negative properties: indecisiveness. Passivity. Fear of missed opportunities. Tendency to step back from competition in life.
S
Program position
Unbalanced
Main properties
Strong desire for comfort and pleasant sensations, increased seeking of pleasure and pleasant sensations. Intolerance of discomfort. Pursuit of calm, relaxation, and ease. Developed analytical capacity for touch and smell, ability for precise small movements. Overall orientation toward the "physiological": strong interest in eating, drinking, and sex. Very rapid mental adaptation to external stimuli. Capacity to "accept the past positively."
Physiological background
Active involvement of the brain's serotonergic system has been suggested. Evidence supporting serotonergic activation includes the dominance of cholinergic activity (including increased intestinal peristalsis). Intestinal peristalsis (including gas accumulation) has been statistically demonstrated to be associated with program BS. Central adrenergic activity is reduced — relaxed posture and blocked "fight or flight" response indicate this.
Evolutionary advantage (hypothesis)
Evolutionary advantage in prehistory (hypothesis): improved motivation toward food (does not give one's own up) and developed manual motor skill. Against a background of common plant food and meat, characteristics of digestive juice secretion that contribute to breaking down diverse food in the gut.
Conditional positive properties
Conditional positive properties: optimistic, in any case calm and balanced mood backdrop. Compliant character. Capacity to create convenience and comfort for self and others. Excellent manual skill and highly developed fine motor function. Good sense of one's own body and a developed map of external space. Highly developed sensitivity of tactile and gustatory analyzers.
Conditional negative properties
Conditional negative properties: laziness. Excessive hedonism. Indifference to past and future — correspondingly weak ability to draw lessons, plan life, and foresee how events will unfold. Inability to think about the future. Vague indifference — laissez-faire / permissive attitude toward everything directly concerning self. Slow start and slow end of action (anyone can easily prompt continuation).
Creative position
Balanced
Main properties
Creative Si emphasizes the comfort and practicality of the home. Love of comfort and sensitivity to discomfort. Caring attentiveness to those close. Realism. Diligence. Frankness in relationships. Hospitality to guests. Love of children. Cleanliness of grooming. Fashion-consciousness in clothing. Attention to keeping the body in good athletic condition (including regular exercise). Strong desire for healthy sleep and sunlight (linked to serotonin production — strongly dependent on morning sun exposure). This sunlight requirement is not observed in program Si — because the creative function is valued more.
Conditional positive properties
Conditional positive properties: domestic capability. Caring attentiveness to those close. Realism. Diligence. Tendency toward frankness in relationships. Hospitality. Love of children. Cleanliness. Fashion-consciousness. Concern for body shape.
Conditional negative properties
Conditional negative properties: excessive sensitivity to discomfort. Resistance to change (prioritizing maintenance of familiar comfortable conditions). Lack of planning for the future (prioritizing present comfort).
S
Program position
Unbalanced
Main properties
Desire for power, need for a leadership position. Personal preemptive aggression (territorial aggression, "cold-nosed offensive"). Tendency to exploit others. Sorts people into categories of victim, competitor, subordinate. Prefers solving by force. Frequently uses extortion and provokes confrontation, struggle, and competition by force. Uses lies and slander as permissible weapons. Difficulty restraining own wishes and desires. Energetic and forceful. Love of physical strength.
Physiological background
NMDA receptor, dopaminergic, serotonergic, and cholinergic activity of the hypothalamus are involved. Modern research on aggression mechanisms has shown partial involvement of testosterone. The differences in dopamine-receptor properties between Ni and Se explain the directionality of both. The frontal-cortical inhibition and control function of Se are partially suppressed; conversely, the right-hemisphere limbic system is activated.
Evolutionary advantage (hypothesis)
Evolutionary advantage in prehistory (hypothesis): maximum desire to raise social status within the herd. All mechanisms of physical strength and active aggression are used. Penetration of aggression genes through selection of aggressive individuals is very fast (selectable in just 3 generations). Hypothesis: modern Europeans on average may have considerably higher Se than 19th-century ancestors.
Conditional positive properties
Conditional positive properties: physical strength, agility, physical endurance and dexterity (with objective physiological predisposition, prioritized for training/cultivation in the Se value system). High immunity to viral diseases. Quick recovery from injury. High sexual orientation. Commander's talent. Will to win.
Conditional negative properties
Conditional negative properties: extreme power-lust. Aggression. Tendency to usurp dominance and power by any and all means. Management through fear, threat, deception, and forceful suppression (even at the cost of social welfare). Baseness. Lack of respect for others' freedom and rights. Self-centeredness.
Creative position
Balanced
Main properties
The properties of those with creative Se closely resemble those of program Se but appear in a generally weaker form. Especially emphasized in the creative position: extreme reactions to acts or situations of violence; intense anger at intrusion onto territory. The pain of Ni (time-intuition) is also added to creative Se. Strong aversion to "loss of control of the situation." Due to creative balance (L/L), the property pattern is preserved though weakened in degree.
Conditional positive properties
Conditional positive properties: capacity for action and execution. Ability to solve real problems. Motivation toward leadership. Quick response to situations.
Conditional negative properties
Conditional negative properties: overreaction to extreme situations. Excessive anxiety about loss of control. Tendency toward emotional outbursts (less intense than program). Anxiety about the future arising from combination with Ni (time-intuition) pain.
L
Program position
Unbalanced
Main properties
Logical, analytical, systematic thinking. Development of structures, classifications, and concepts. Insensitivity to emotion. "Legalistic" mode of thinking. Sensitivity to small logical (not ethical) details. Emotions do not show on the face at all. Disinclined to impulsive reactions without prior evaluation and control. Shyness, difficulty with effective contact with others. Does not like comedy programs. Disinclined to boast, lie, or show off. Cannot emotionally rouse an audience. Imagination consisting of static, motionless images. Clear lack of emotionality and extraverted emotional expression.
Physiological background
No primary association with the cholinergic system has been confirmed (few physiological markers).
Evolutionary advantage (hypothesis)
Evolutionary advantage in prehistory (hypothesis): best adapted for gathering within a limited territory, where every object inside the territory is evaluated/classified by detail of properties as closer or farther / harder to access from the value perspective, more or less known to others, etc. This strategy succeeds best under conditions of individual resource search and territorial conservatism, securing food superiority but not security superiority, and may bring threats of social ostracism.
Conditional positive properties
Conditional positive properties: excellent verbal memory. Developed formal-logic and logical-analytical capacity. Highly appropriate information selection that picks out the main key object properties and excludes the secondary. High sensitivity to causal relationships. Ability to find the most general patterns of objects faster than others. Love of systematizing and constructing classifications/schemes.
Conditional negative properties
Conditional negative properties: sharp drop in cognitive empathy (understanding others' motives and states) — hence high interpersonal distance and slow intimacy. External emotional opacity and outwardly displayed coldness (which does not necessarily correspond to inner emotional state, but is hard to express outward).
Creative position
Balanced
Main properties
Conflictual and pushy in interpersonal relationships. Tendency to argue. Direction of dreams that is radical and revolutionary. Maximalism, radicalism (from the perspective of those who like change). Insensitivity to danger signals. Often "contrarian." Many features suggest pronounced increase of cholinergic brain activity. Predominance of noradrenergic activity is also observed. Creative Ti is combined with the pain of ethics (Fi) and is associated with insufficient motivation for emotional interaction.
Conditional positive properties
Conditional positive properties: high interest in acquiring new knowledge. Ease of reading drawings and spatial figures. Logical flexibility (especially in arguments — quickly finds arguments in one's favor). Independent thinking. Critical thinking.
Conditional negative properties
Conditional negative properties: insensitivity to danger signals. Tendency toward impulsive arguing. Lack of emotional delicacy. Insufficient motivation for emotional interaction (combination with Fi pain).
L
Program position
Unbalanced
Main properties
Practicality, efficiency, rational use of time. Business ability. Building action plans toward today's goals. Quick decision-making, economic rationality. Hard work (tends to hide behind the program function). Strong stress tolerance, no anxiety, no fear. Never relaxes, cannot tolerate idle time-wasting. Rude with sharp, direct, contemptuously caustic language (in fact Te subjects often deliberately provoke negative emotions in people — this way they understand them better). An excellent administrator/leader at organizing large, complex structures. Fast, brisk speech with little intonation.
Physiological background
Black logic, in contrast to white logic, has experimentally been shown to have few markers of functional asymmetry of the auditory cortex of the left brain hemisphere. Differences between Te and Ti are also evident from chess-game analysis — white logic has aesthetic criteria based on laws, comparison, and norms, while black logic highly values aesthetic completion and dislikes returning to already-completed stages. The final result matters.
Evolutionary advantage (hypothesis)
Evolutionary advantage in prehistory (hypothesis): related to long-distance hunting instinct. Capacity to plan within time and to construct a series of actions in coordination with other hunters. Brought about both by attention to the effectiveness of every step in time and motion. One of the function's biological goals — economic energy expenditure and long sustained physical endurance — is to raise the efficiency of technologies for group business interaction. Pursues maximization of resources from both individual and group activity perspectives.
Conditional positive properties
Conditional positive (approved by the majority of Russian mentality) properties: excellent memory (both as memory and as instantly finding necessary facts within memory). Concentration, clarity and speed of thought. Practical intellect that focuses on the main thing and excludes the secondary, identifying the overall idea and possibilities for further optimization. Excellent talent for organization and management. Motivation toward completion, desire for finishing.
Conditional negative properties
Conditional negative properties: lack of diplomacy in interpersonal relationships. Mystery of others' thinking (does not understand what they want). Weak emotional perception — low capacity to recognize others' emotions, especially subtle ones. Aversion to process — prefers fast and shortest paths to results. Pleasant anticipation and the experience of hope are very rare.
Creative position
Balanced
Main properties
"Business-like" and clear thinking, an excellent organizer/leader in large structures. Fast, brisk speech. Ideal stress tolerance. Creative Te is also associated with a kind of "aesthetic sensibility" — black logic has aesthetic criteria from the perspective of "sorting out the wasteful" via balance. From the financial-management perspective, tendency toward efficient daily-goods use and maximizing cost-performance. Often unconsciously weighs cost and effort effectiveness in the mind and considers optimization. Wants to correct it when seeing others work uneconomically or destroy equipment.
Conditional positive properties
Conditional positive properties: orientation toward practical problem-solving. Efficient resource management. Natural tendency toward cost optimization. Talent for arranging and organizing work.
Conditional negative properties
Conditional negative properties: low sensitivity to others' emotions and values. Tendency to choose any means for the end. Tendency to calculate investment in human relationships as "cost."
E
Program position
Unbalanced
Main properties
Strict moral-ethical standards. Deep empathy toward others, sense of emotional obligation. Introverted emotional processing (hard to express emotion outward). Experience of guilt and low self-evaluation. Low stress tolerance. Friendly, patient, modest, hardworking. Difficulty assimilating news / logical-analytical information through hearing. Tendency toward shame and pangs of conscience. Frequent fear. Dependence on others' opinions, vulnerability, vulnerable self-esteem. Strong emotional and autonomic-nervous-system reactions.
Physiological background
Many physiological markers indicate low vasoconstrictive activity. This includes low noradrenergic and dopaminergic activity.
Evolutionary advantage (hypothesis)
Evolutionary advantage in prehistory (hypothesis): modeling the possibilities of how social situations unfold. Learning scenario-based situational adaptation toward aggressive collective bodies. As a result, showing flexible loyal docility to the herd's aggressive collective body as a response to contact. As subsequent gratitude for contact — unlike a glen, attitude toward the loyal one is key. Strategy of securing in-herd status through social sensitivity and talent for building interpersonal relationships.
Conditional positive properties
Conditional positive properties: highly developed cognitive empathy. Observation and insight into others' relationships, motives, and emotional states; rational and obligatory process. Refinement and subtlety in communication.
Conditional negative properties
Conditional negative properties: weakness of logical-analytical thinking (especially the technical/numerical side). Difficulty fighting against pressure, intimidation, and unpleasant verbal manipulation. Easy susceptibility to feeling awkward when among people. Tendency toward social phobia.
Creative position
Balanced
Main properties
Difficulty with technical/refined calculation and analytical thinking (related to Ti = white-logic pain). Little association with Te (black logic) on financial management or financial capacity (financial management does involve money, but does not relate to white logic). Capacity to manage the team's emotional tension — sensitivity to people's emotions and motives, insight into relationships and motives, situational sense and social tact. Skillful manipulative capacity for emotional interaction. Wide attention to peripheral vision (always notices even out of the corner of the eye). Capacity to grasp and remember at a glance who is whose enemy and who is not. Understands well people's abilities and capacities and can clearly see their hidden motives and weaknesses.
Conditional positive properties
Conditional positive properties: keen insight into people's abilities and motives. Adjusting appropriate emotional distance in communication. Mediation capacity within groups. Talent for covert emotional management.
Conditional negative properties
Conditional negative properties: difficulty with technical/logical analysis. Difficulty resisting argument or pressure. Emotional-influence management can lead to manipulation of others.
E
Program position
Unbalanced
Main properties
Strong social orientation. Theatricality and exaggeration of emotion. Management of group emotions and atmosphere. Understanding the world through emotion. Talent for moving people through emotional influence. Active mirror-neuron functioning and correlation with many properties. Active and showy, lacking modesty. Marked emotionality, tendency toward extraverted "release" of emotion. Can emotionally rouse an audience. Emotional instability with tendency toward hard-to-control aggressive/irritated explosions. Sustained or frequent muscle tension.
Physiological background
Correlation with active functioning of the brain's mirror neurons has been noted. Black ethics may also be related to cholinergic activity.
Evolutionary advantage (hypothesis)
Evolutionary advantage in prehistory (hypothesis): strengthening herd cohesion. Capacity to emotionally replenish / "ignite" the energy of other members. Contribution to the herd through warning cries when sensing danger, or after some time gathering other members to the leftovers of a feast. Emotional leadership maintains herd cohesion.
Conditional positive properties
Conditional positive properties: flexible emotional expression, capacity to charm people. Talent for command/mobilization through emotional influence. Talent for attention to and management of people's emotions/moods. Emotionally rich communication.
Conditional negative properties
Conditional negative properties: lack of cool analysis and calculation. Excessive dependence on emotional "tone." Emotional instability — tendency toward hard-to-control outbursts of anger or irritation. Weakness of white logic (logical thinking).
Creative position
Balanced
Main properties
Softness and good tact. Developed emotional empathy (though lacking depth and stability). Capacity to enter the partner's situational experience and rhythm. Sensitivity to subtle nuances of others' emotions. This empathy does not lead to sustained caring action — emotions are fluid and quickly change (e.g., the static EII and ESI are inferior to IEI and SEI in subtlety of empathy, but greatly surpass them in duration and stability of compassion and in actual readiness to help).
Conditional positive properties
Conditional positive properties: situational emotional resonance capacity. Sensitivity to others' moods and needs. Emotional warmth in communication. Talent for atmosphere creation.
Conditional negative properties
Conditional negative properties: lack of depth and stability of emotional empathy (emotions change quickly). Weak action-power for sustained support. Laziness, capriciousness, tendency to depend on partner's support and backing. Weakness of black logic (logical thinking) — cannot construct a chain of logical actions and evaluate its effectiveness.