ISFP Personality Type and Their Cognitive Functions
ISFP Personality Type and Their Cognitive Functions
ISFP individuals are creative, independent, and kind, among other traits. Often called Adventurers, ISFPs are fascinating, spontaneous, and caring people to have in your life. Famous people with an ISFP personality trait include Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, and Frida Kahlo.
What does ISFP stand for?
ISFP stands for Introverted (I), Sensing (S), Feeling (F), and Perceiving (P). These are traits from the Four-letter Personality Type Indicator, a measure that informs individuals where they stand on introverted-extroverted, sensing-intuitive, thinking-feeling, and judging-perceiving scales. These traits come together to form 16 different personality types.
While each ISFP will be fundamentally different (and each personality type for that matter), the following traits characterize them.
Introversion
For those with an ISFP personality type, their introversion can be their biggest weakness or their biggest strength. While this trait tends to mean ISFPs prefer time on their own and can be overwhelmed by social situations, it also gives these individuals fantastic listening skills. Their reserved nature allows them to take a back seat in conversation, meaning they listen well and form a deeper understanding of others.
Sensing
The personality type’s sensing trait means ISFP people are present in the here and now, focussing mostly on the stimuli around them. This means they prefer solid facts rather than lengthy interpretations and are often very practical. This can, however, make them a little stuck in their ways.
Feeling
The feeling nature of ISFPs means they can be very emotional individuals and that these emotions tend to heavily influence their decision-making. While this can be negative in more stressful environments, their feeling side also confers immense empathy for others. They are able to easily understand others’ pain and often put others' needs above their own.
Perceiving
Perceiving individuals are very adaptable to any change that life may throw their way. This means that ISFPs are often very flexible individuals who work well in a changing environment. Unfortunately, this can cause them to be impulsive, meaning they may make spontaneous decisions without consulting others.
Cognitive Function and the My Personality
While many only consider the four-letter personality codes that the my personality test produces, it can also tell you a lot about a person's cognitive function. The four-letter type provides four measures of cognitive function: thinking, feeling, intuition, and sensing. Each can be directed inwardly (introverted) or outwardly (extroverted). Thus the fout-letter type produces eight different cognitive functions: Extroverted Sensing (Se), Introverted Sensing (Si), Extroverted Thinking (Te), Introverted Thinking (Ti), Extroverted Intuition (Ne), Introverted Intuition (Ni), Extroverted Feeling (Fe), and Introverted Feeling (FI).
Each of the 16 personalities has four of these cognitive functions, which are arranged in a hierarchy of function stack. The hierarchy helps us to determine the unique traits of each personality. The highest position in the hierarchy is called the Dominant. This is the strongest trait, which tends to occur subconsciously and influences how we interact with everything. The Auxiliary is the second strongest and influences the dominant trait. Tertiary is the third trait that tends to increase with age however governs personality to a lesser extent. The Inferior is the fourth and final trait. It is often only present when individuals are stressed or under a lot of external pressure. It can come out negatively.
Cognitive Function of ISFPs
ISFPs have four cognitive functions that contribute uniquely to their personality:
Fi > Se > Ni > Te
As seen above, the personality trait’s dominant function is introverted feeling (Fi). This cognitive function means they make decisions based on their emotions rather than logic. They concern themselves with how a decision may make them feel rather than the objective quality of the option. This Fi cognitive function means that their decisions are often spontaneous and fit in with their unique emotion-based values. This confers a strong sense of self and the need for peace between their values and decisions. However, a lot of this conflict occurs internally.
Their auxiliary is extraverted sensing (Se). This function means ISFP people are attentive to stimuli around them. This often presents itself in the form of a photographic memory or strong affiliation and memory-provoking qualities of stimuli, such as scents or sounds. They notice even minuscule changes in their surroundings and thus are often highly focused on their own and the aesthetics of the places they are in. They want to take action here and now and use their powerful sense-related memories to inform decisions. ISFPs are consistently taking in new information. Living in the present and trusting the information available to them at that time. This trait allows them to move past issues easily.
Their tertiary function is introverted intuition (Ni). While Ni is not as dominant as the other functions, it tends to influence them. Their Se function is influenced by Ni in the way that they have gut feelings about certain stimuli. This allows ISFPs to recognize certain patterns and predict future events. This is directed inward rather than outward and can be harder for others to interpret.
Finally, their inferior is extraverted thinking (Te). This trait often comes out when they are overwhelmed or stressed.
This means they can become hyperfocused on tiny details of a project and become highly structured and objective. This often involves high levels of organization and binary decision-making. This can make it more likely for ISFP people to lash out at individuals if they disrupt this organization or if others criticize their work.
