Typing Video: Amanda

Amanda is going to college to study behavioral neuroscience. She has a lot of passion for her work and intellectual activities. She mentions liking the interdisciplinary nature of the field, perhaps suggesting an Ne motivation. Some things she mentions disliking are competitiveness, that it can be "loud and overstimulating, disorienting", and that you "have to think in the moment". She would prefer to sit back and observe, make a plan and then implement it. This suggests a type with rather low ability or "dimensionality" in Se, and conversely higher Ni.

Amanda's aversion to, and perhaps lack of understanding for, Se things (conflict, pressure, vying for dominance) is echoed later in the video in the context of her relationships: she takes issue with how confrontational her foster mother is, and this seems to cause her a lot of stress and anxiety. A more subtle example is the "wearing a labcoat" stereotype [17:25], which suggests annoyance with viewing people through a shallow, material lens rather than listening to what they have to say.

She mentions working with autistic children, and likes helping them, and "figuring out" their issues. So she takes a problem-solving tack rather than overtly expressing sympathy or emotional care as some people would.

She mentions calligraphy as one of her interests, "the beauty of the word"; although she has intellectual leisure activities also, the aesthetic nature of calligraphy could be a kind of balance to her professional intellectual activities — the one Si and the other Ne.

While Amanda expresses a lot of confidence in her studies, we see more hesitance and confusion when it comes to relationships and dealing with people. She often has good surface relationships but is not motivated to pursue (deepen) a lot of them. She characteristically doesn't participate in group celebrations like on New Year's Eve, although she does enjoy other ones like family dinners, where she may sometimes take an observer role. Her disinterest in politics is also notable.

She mentions how she doesn't share her passion for science with others (to get them interested, rather than with people who are already interested). This points away from, say, an ILE with Fe mobilizing who would characteristically share their intellectual interests with others.

So far, it seems that Amanda is an Si-valuing logical type, and probably one with higher Ne and lower Fe. She enjoys free intellectual exploration, but displays a combination of depth and breadth in her thinking. Combined with the obvious aversion towards Se, and her careful, measured style of thinking and speaking, I think it is clear that Amanda is LII.

The conflict between Se and Si seems to trouble Amanda a lot: she has an accepting attitude towards people: "I hesitate to speak of people in negative terms", "I really want to like this person [but they] pick fights" [24:40]. She tries to be approachable, despite not thinking much about the tone of what she's saying (valued Si, low Fe), and in arguments tries to reconcile. She is surprised by accusations that seem harsh and unwarranted — the idea that someone might engage in conflict for purely emotional or selfish reasons seems beyond her.

Amanda's emphasis on autonomy is also a characteristic LII trait. She doesn't seek to influence anyone, nor does she want to be influenced by others, leading her to be somewhat isolated.

Other points:

• interest in self-improvement (Ne)
• doesn't mind "annoying" people who ask a lot of questions and talk a lot (Fe, Ne)
• can make things interesting for herself (Ne)
• likes deep conversations, is contemplative (high Ni)
• dislikes fast-paced team sports, people yelling (Se)
• "knowing which things to keep clear", "finding the core issue" [47:00]
• trouble self-motivating, needs encouragement (low Fe, Se)
• environment is minimalistic but comfortable
• "polite", "timid"
• won't describe emotions directly, speaks in terms of actions
• worries about minute details
• as a kid took in "vast amounts of information"

We've already typed another female LII on this blog. Compared to Laura, Amanda comes across as colder, more introspective and introverted, more socially awkward, more academic. Amanda is still young and I expect some of these things may change with age. (LII is, unsurprisingly, a common type in the socionics community.)

Amanda expressed difficulty in showing that she wants to get to know someone better. I suggested saying something like "Hey, want to go out for lunch tomorrow?" If you want to develop your weak functions, you have to find a way to use them that is natural and sustainable for you. Logical types need to find a way to express their feelings that feels genuine to them. People can learn these things through trial and error over time, but socionics can be a useful guide.

To find your type, book an appointment here.

Typing Video: Laura

I've known Laura for a while now; she is a long-time participant in the socionics community and has made other videos before. This video didn't change my opinion of her type; I think the same options present themselves, with the same apparent contradictions, as we will explore below.

Laura consistently presents an open, tolerant, and accommodating view of others, and dislikes conflict, rudeness and roughness, and unpleasant interactions. She believes everyone has inherent worth and tries to approaches others with tact when possible. My observations of Laura in the community match this: she has very little inclination towards conflict or abrasiveness, and prefers if people could just all get along.

All of this is a strong indicator of Si/Ne values.

Laura is also curious and focused more on the intellectual side of life: her jobs have consistently focused on information, she doesn't do a whole lot to beautify her environment, and would prefer not have to deal with physical maintenance if she could. She got a short haircut because it's easy to maintain - one tactic an intuitive might use to avoid dealing with sensory complexities. She is always thinks of the long-term future, and loves the feeling of mastering a new skill, as well as experiencing new cultures by traveling (potentially if not actually in her life).

This suggests that Laura is much more likely an Ne ego type than an Si ego type. Traveling and skill acquisition are common Ne themes. Laura does show some ability to maintain her life, and a tendency towards stability in her career and finances: she has worked in the same career for over a decade with little change, and although she mentions feeling stagnant, she also views the prospect of unknown change or risk (in the "starting a business" question) as "scary" and a threat to the status quo, therefore something she would not really do in practice. This points to relatively higher priority for + ability to deal with Si, and therefore more likely Si mobilizing than suggestive. This goes hand in hand with the lower Se and higher "activation energy" needed to kick oneself into gear and realize possibilities in one's life.

But we see more ambiguity in how the rational IM elements might fit into Laura's psyche.

For Fi: on the one hand she speaks very clearly and directly about what she seeks in relationships ("loving me, supporting me", trustworthiness, emotional support), and likes it when people cry or "show their vulnerability."

On the other hand, she also uses Fe in describing all of her relationships: doing "fun stuff together" (mother), "being fun to be around" (sister), "good sense of humor" (father).

This suggests that maybe Laura is one of the types with some ambiguity between Fe and Fi, namely IEE or LII.

But there are other clues. Laura also describes not having close, deep friendships, only lots of acquaintances. And although her work does involving interacting with people, this seems to drain her; she sees people as interruptions at her work and wants to find one where she's more "behind the scenes".

She also seems a bit insecure about relationships in general (maybe this is not so type-related, but in context it could be). She describes needing help in relationships, how to relate to others better, and was not very tactful as a young child, but learned how to be as she got older.

When it comes to logic, Laura is good at organizing information, and explains her role and the structure of her work very clearly, right off the bat.

Overall I think LII is the best fit for Laura. She is a natural organizer, is dependable and reliable in her work, and while she is in touch with her emotions, she isn't really a people person either. She is sensitive to criticism, yet has a strong sense of fairness and civic duty. Fairness, which as I see it, is one of the distinguishing themes of the LII.

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