Socionics
Encyclopedia
Socionics in psychology, is a theory of information processing and personality type
Personality type
Personality type refers to the psychological classification of different types of individuals. Personality types are sometimes distinguished from personality traits, with the latter embodying a smaller grouping of behavioral tendencies. Types are sometimes said to involve qualitative differences...

, distinguished by its information model of the psyche (called Model A) and a model of interpersonal relations. It incorporates Carl Jung
Carl Jung
Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist and the founder of Analytical Psychology. Jung is considered the first modern psychiatrist to view the human psyche as "by nature religious" and make it the focus of exploration. Jung is one of the best known researchers in the field of dream analysis and...

's work on Psychological Types with Antoni Kępiński
Antoni Kepinski
Antoni Kępiński was a Polish psychiatrist.He attended the Bartłomiej Nowodworski High School. In 1936 he entered the Medical Faculty of the Jagiellonian University. In 1939, he interrupted his studies before graduation and volunteered for the Polish Army to defend his country from the German...

's theory of information metabolism
Information metabolism
Information metabolism is a psychological theory of human social interactions based on information processing . It was developed in Eastern Europe by Antoni Kępiński....

. Socionics is a modification of Jung's personality type theory that uses eight psychic functions, in contrast to Jung's model, which used only four. These functions process information at varying levels of competency and interact with the corresponding function in other individuals, giving rise to predictable reactions and impressions—a theory of intertype relations.

Socionics was developed in the 1970s and '80s, primarily by the Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

n researcher Aušra Augustinavičiūtė
Aušra Augustinaviciute
Aušra Augustinavičiūtė was a Lithuanian psychologist, author of numerous scientific theories and discoveries, and the founder of Socionics...

, an economist, sociologist, and dean of the Vilnius Pedagogical University's department of family science. The name "socionics" is derived from the word "society
Society
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...

", because Augustinavičiūtė believed that each personality type has a distinct purpose in society, which can be described and explained by socionics.

The central idea of socionics is that information is intuitively divisible into eight categories, called information aspects or information elements, which a person's psyche processes using eight psychological functions. Each sociotype has a different correspondence between functions and information elements, which results in different ways of perceiving, processing, and producing information. This in turn results in distinct thinking patterns, values, and responses to arguments, all of which are encompassed within socionic type. Socionics' theory of intertype relations is based on the interaction of these functions between types.

History

The basic structure of socionics was established in the 1960s and 1970s by Aushra Augusta (formerly Augustinavichiute), along with a group of enthusiasts who met in Vilnius, Lithuania. What resulted from their discussions and Augusta's personal investigations was an information model of the psyche and of interpersonal interaction based on Jung's typology
Jung
Carl Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist, an influential thinker and the founder of analytical psychology.Jung may also refer to:* Jung * JUNG, Java Universal Network/Graph Framework-See also:...

 but with 8 psychic functions rather than four. Augusta's first works on socionics were published between 1978 and 1980. After that, an awareness of the new field of socionics slowly began to spread to other cities around the Soviet Union.

Organizations

There are several socionics organizations across the former Soviet Union today. While some include the word "institute" in their titles, they are not officially accredited academic institutions.

The International Institute of Socionics - International Institute of Socionics (IIS) - was established in 1991 in Kiev, Ukraine and for years has held the most prominent annual socionics conference. The institute pursues the continued development of socionics theory, renders commercial consulting services, and since 1994 has released a bi-monthly journal (six issues a year). Topics in the journal usually range anywhere from studies and applications of the primary principles of socionics to speculative extensions of the theory. The director and founder of the institute is Dr. Alexander Bukalov
Alexander Bukalov
Alexander Bukalov is a Ukrainian Socionics specialist. He founded the Socionics Institute in Kiev, Ukraine in 1991...

. In 2006 the institute established an academic board to issue bachelors, masters, and PhD degrees in socionics to socionists who had demonstrated competency in socionics and published significant work in the field. However, these degrees are not recognized as official outside the socionics community.

The Scientific Research Socionics Institute is located in Moscow, Russia and is led by Tatyana Prokofieva. The institute primarily studies socionics, personality and relationships within a socionics context, and develops methods of individual and business consulting. Furthermore, the institute provides socionics instruction allowing participants to receive a "bachelors" or "masters" degree in socionics according to the criteria of the International Institute of Socionics.

The Applied Socionics School founded in 2003 is located in Moscow, Russia, with local branches in several cities (Murmansk, Petrozavodsk, Rostov-na-Donu, and Krasnodar), and is led by Elena Udalova. The School developed educational courses about basic knowledge of socionics, the intertype relations, and sociotype distortions, as well as local trainings devoted to the introverted ethics and introverted intuition. The local trainings are conducted for persons of sociotypes having their strengths in respective functions (Fi or Ni, respectively).

Recognition

According to information published in the journal Socionics, Mentology and Personality Psychology, in 1995 Russia's Academy of Natural Sciences recognized socionics as a discovery, and its creator - Aušra Augustinavičiūtė
Aušra Augustinaviciute
Aušra Augustinavičiūtė was a Lithuanian psychologist, author of numerous scientific theories and discoveries, and the founder of Socionics...

 - was awarded a diploma and a Peter Kapitza medal.

Former Soviet Union

In the Russian-speaking world (primarily Russia and Ukraine, but also the Baltic States, Central Asia, and Russian communities abroad) socionics has grown significantly in popularity, and is now a topic of discussion among large numbers of amateurs, as well as a group of a few hundred professionals. Clubs for socializing, theoretical discussion, exchange of experience, and other activity exist in many large cities across the former USSR. A couple of journals exist, as well as a number of organizations which periodically hold conferences in Kiev, Moscow, St. Petersburg, and other cities.

Currently, Socionics is a topic of discussion and a way of thinking for a large number of people in post-Soviet states, especially in Russia, Ukraine and the Baltics. In mid-2009, Socionics populated more than 2 million pages in the Russian search engine RuNet
Runet
Currently Internet access in Russia is available to businesses and home users in various forms, including dial-up, cable, DSL, FTTH, mobile, wireless and satellite...

 (by comparison, Christianity had 12 million pages and Marxism had 2 million). Russian language socionics literature is abundant in these countries, and talk shows have featured socionics on internet, news, and radio stations.

Socionists have devised humanitarian, political, and information technologies that have been applied to various fields of human activity. Socionic techniques have been applied at more than 120 enterprises from Russia, Ukraine and the Baltics by members of the International Institute of Socionics. At the same time, socionics is relatively unknown outside the former Soviet Union and exists as a small online movement.

West

In the western hemisphere the socionics community is mainly limited to the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...

 due to its novelty and lack of official academic status. It was first introduced in English in the mid-1990s when Ukrainian emigrant Sergei Ganin created Socionics.com. Dmitri Lytov, creator of the multi-language socionics resource Socioniko.net, presented a more classical view of socionics and participated in online discussions in English. In 2006, Rick DeLong published hand translations of excerpts of several works by Augusta at Socionics.us which clarified her views. Socionics is little known among psychologists outside of the former USSR, and no significant research on socionics has been published in English-language peer reviewed scientific journals. Access to Russian-language articles, journals, and particularly books is difficult unless their texts can be found online.

Jung's psychological types

Jung's model for 2 types: extraverted intuitive-thinking (ILE) and introverted feeling-sensory (ESI)
Function ILE ESI
Dominant Extraverted intuition Introverted feeling
Auxiliary Introverted thinking Extraverted sensation
Tertiary Introverted feeling Extraverted intuition
Inferior Introverted sensation Extraverted thinking


Carl Jung
Carl Jung
Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist and the founder of Analytical Psychology. Jung is considered the first modern psychiatrist to view the human psyche as "by nature religious" and make it the focus of exploration. Jung is one of the best known researchers in the field of dream analysis and...

 describes four psychological functions that are capable of becoming conscious, but to differing degrees in specific individuals:
  • Sensation - all perceptions by means of the sense organs
  • Intuition - perception by way of the unconscious, or perception of unconscious events
  • Thinking (in socionics, logic) - interpretation of information based on whether it is correct or incorrect
  • Feeling (in socionics, ethics) - interpretation of information based on its ethical aspects


By Jung's rules 16 psychological types exist. But in his book "Psychological Types" he described in detail only 8 types, distinguished by the eight possible dominant functions.

Information elements

In socionics, Jung's functions are always introverted or extroverted, and are referred to as functions of information metabolism. These functions are said to process information aspects. To understand what an information aspect is, it is necessary to understand information metabolism as Augustinavičiūtė understood it.

Augustinavičiūtė states that the perception of the world through the human mind uses eight elements of information metabolism (mental functions), each of which reflects one particular aspect of objective reality. In her works she describes aspects of the world based on physical quantities such as potential and kinetic energy, space, time, and their properties.

Oftentimes other socionists have equated the information elements with their definition according to fundamental physical concepts as well (Matter-Time-Energy-Space) (E. Filatova), V. Ermak. T. Dukhovskoi. Matter
Matter
Matter is a general term for the substance of which all physical objects consist. Typically, matter includes atoms and other particles which have mass. A common way of defining matter is as anything that has mass and occupies volume...

 compared to Thinking, Energy
Energy
In physics, energy is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems...

 to Feeling, Space
Space
Space is the boundless, three-dimensional extent in which objects and events occur and have relative position and direction. Physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless four-dimensional continuum...

 to Sensing, Time
Time
Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....

 to Intuition
Intuition (knowledge)
Intuition is the ability to acquire knowledge without inference or the use of reason. "The word 'intuition' comes from the Latin word 'intueri', which is often roughly translated as meaning 'to look inside'’ or 'to contemplate'." Intuition provides us with beliefs that we cannot necessarily justify...

. Given the division of aspects of the absolute between Extroverted ("black") and Introverted ("white"), being four times two, their number is eight.

The 8 socionics symbols ( ) were introduced by Augusta while working with Jung's typology and remain the dominant method of denoting the functions and the corresponding information aspects that they process. Other notation systems also enjoy some use, such as Victor Gulenko's 8 Latin letters (P, E, F, I, L, R, S, and T, correspondingly). Among western enthusiasts, Myers-Briggs
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator assessment is a psychometric questionnaire designed to measure psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions...

 notation (Te, Fe, Se, Ne, Ti, Fi, Si, and Ni, correspondingly) is popular.
Element Abstracted definition English Acronym Symbol Description
Extraverted logic (thinking) external dynamics of objects Te Te is efficiency of an action, technical processes, the accomplishment of work, the efficient and prudent use of resources, factual accuracy, and the acquisition of relevant and useful information. Te understands the difference between effective and ineffective behavior when performing a procedure or accomplishing a task, and aspires to increase the frequency of productive outcomes within a system.
Extraverted ethics (feeling) internal dynamics of objects Fe Fe is responsible for the perception of an emotional state in an individual and the bodily and linguistic expression of emotions. Fe is able to influence others' emotional condition and to communicate its own, "infecting" others. Fe is used especially in generating and recognizing excitement and enthusiasm.
Extraverted sensing external statics of objects Se Se is responsible for the perception, control, defense, and acquisition of space, territory, and control. It observes outward appearances, estimates whether forces are in alignment or conflict, and uses strength of will and power-based methods to achieve purposes. Se understands territory and physical aggression. It is also the function of contact and apprehension of qualia.
Extraverted intuition internal statics of objects Ne Ne is responsible for understanding the essence (permanent but not obvious traits) of a thing, estimating the potential and latent capabilities for people and things, and visualizing the likely outcome of events. It is responsible for the sense of interest or boredom. Ne will speculate as to why an event occurs, but sees the specific event as static and unalterable.
Introverted logic (thinking) external statics of fields Ti Ti is responsible for understanding logic and structure, categorizations, ordering and priorities, logical analysis and distinctions, logical explanations. Ti interprets information according to how it fits into a validating system. Ti is particularly aware of logical consistency and how concepts relate to each other in meaning and structure, independently of particular purposes.
Introverted ethics (feeling) internal statics of fields Fi Fi is responsible for understanding the quality, nature, and proper maintenance of personal relations; makes moral judgments; and aspires to humanism and kindness. Fi has a strong understanding of the social hierarchy and how people feel about each other, their attitudes of like or dislike, enthrallment or disgust, repulsion or attraction, enmity or friendship.
Introverted sensing external dynamics of fields Si Si is responsible for perception of physical sensations; questions of comfort, coziness, and pleasure; and a sense of harmony and acclimation with one's environment (especially physical). Si understand how well a person or thing's behavior agrees with its nature as well as the differences between comfortable behaviors and positions and uncomfortable ones.
Introverted intuition internal dynamics of fields Ni Ni is responsible for the estimation of the passage of time, the understanding of a course of processes in time, and forecasting. Ni understand how things may change and evolve over time and throughout history. Ni is acutely aware of events that are occurring outside of the immediate perception of the moment, and sees events as part of a continuous flow. Ni perceives the possible ramifications of future events and notices ties to the past. Ni observes behavioral patterns and can assess a person's character.

The 16 types

Socionics divides people into 16 different types, called sociotypes. They are most commonly referred to by their two strongest functions, which in socionics are called the leading function (Jung's dominant) and the creative function (Jung's auxiliary). The creative function is opposite to the leading function in extraversion and rationality. For example, if the dominant function is introverted logic (a rational and introverted function), the secondary function must be irrational and extraverted, which means it must be either extraverted sensing or extraverted intuition.

Aušra Augustinavičiūtė
Aušra Augustinaviciute
Aušra Augustinavičiūtė was a Lithuanian psychologist, author of numerous scientific theories and discoveries, and the founder of Socionics...

 usually used names like sensory-logical introvert (SLI) to refer to the types. In SLI the leading function is introverted sensing and the creative function is extraverted logic. She also introduced the practice of referring to types by the name of a famous person of the type (although types of these persons are not universally agreed upon, especially about "Napoleon"). For example, she called the SLI Gabin and the SEI Dumas. Also sometimes names such as Craftsman or Mediator are used to express the social role of the type—a convention introduced by socionist Viktor Gulenko in 1995. Given the formal similarities present between Socionics and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator assessment is a psychometric questionnaire designed to measure psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions...

 (MBTI) abbreviations frequently used in English, some prefer to distinguish socionic type names from Myers-Briggs' names by writing the last letter (J or P) in lower case (for example, ENTp, ESFj) -- a practice introduced by Sergei Ganin. This is because the relationship between socionics and Myers-Briggs/Keirseyan types is controversial and most socionists deny any strict relationship between the two, so the difference in terminology helps to differentiate the two.

In dividing the socion according to the four Jungian dichotomies, from this is formed 16 socionic types. The following tables provide a list of types with the names most commonly used in socionics:
First two functions Formal name Four-letter name Social role Type alias
Logical Sensory Extrovert (LSE) ESTj Administrator / Director Stirlitz
Stirlitz
Max Otto von Stierlitz is the lead character in a popular Russian book series written in the 1960s by novelist Julian Semyonov and of the television adaptation Seventeen Moments of Spring, starring Vyacheslav Tikhonov, as well as in feature films, produced in the Soviet era, and in a number of...

Logical Intuitive Extrovert (LIE) ENTj Enterpriser / Pioneer Jack London
Jack London
John Griffith "Jack" London was an American author, journalist, and social activist. He was a pioneer in the then-burgeoning world of commercial magazine fiction and was one of the first fiction writers to obtain worldwide celebrity and a large fortune from his fiction alone...

Ethical Sensory Extrovert (ESE) ESFj Bonvivant / Enthusiast Hugo
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....

Ethical Intuitive Extrovert (EIE) ENFj Mentor / Actor Hamlet
Prince Hamlet
Prince Hamlet is a fictional character, the protagonist in Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet. He is the Prince of Denmark, nephew to the usurping Claudius and son of the previous King of Denmark, Old Hamlet. Throughout the play he struggles with whether, and how, to avenge the murder of his father, and...

Sensory Logical Extrovert (SLE) ESTp Legionnaire / Conqueror Zhukov
Georgy Zhukov
Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov , was a Russian career officer in the Red Army who, in the course of World War II, played a pivotal role in leading the Red Army through much of Eastern Europe to liberate the Soviet Union and other nations from the Axis Powers' occupation...

Sensory Ethical Extrovert (SEE) ESFp Politician / Ambassador Napoleon
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...

 (or Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....

)
Intuitive Logical Extrovert (ILE) ENTp Seeker / Inventor Don Quixote
Intuitive Ethical Extrovert (IEE) ENFp Psychologist / Reporter Huxley
Aldous Huxley
Aldous Leonard Huxley was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. Best known for his novels including Brave New World and a wide-ranging output of essays, Huxley also edited the magazine Oxford Poetry, and published short stories, poetry, travel...

Logical Sensory Introvert (LSI) ISTj Inspector / Pragmatist Maxim Gorky
Maxim Gorky
Alexei Maximovich Peshkov , primarily known as Maxim Gorky , was a Russian and Soviet author, a founder of the Socialist Realism literary method and a political activist.-Early years:...

Logical Intuitive Introvert (LII) INTj Analyst / Mastermind Robespierre
Maximilien Robespierre
Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre is one of the best-known and most influential figures of the French Revolution. He largely dominated the Committee of Public Safety and was instrumental in the period of the Revolution commonly known as the Reign of Terror, which ended with his...

 (or Descartes
René Descartes
René Descartes ; was a French philosopher and writer who spent most of his adult life in the Dutch Republic. He has been dubbed the 'Father of Modern Philosophy', and much subsequent Western philosophy is a response to his writings, which are studied closely to this day...

)
Ethical Sensory Introvert (ESI) ISFj Guardian / Conservator Dreiser
Theodore Dreiser
Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser was an American novelist and journalist of the naturalist school. His novels often featured main characters who succeeded at their objectives despite a lack of a firm moral code, and literary situations that more closely resemble studies of nature than tales of...

Ethical Intuitive Introvert (EII) INFj Humanist / Empath Dostoyevsky
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Fyodor Mikhaylovich Dostoyevsky was a Russian writer of novels, short stories and essays. He is best known for his novels Crime and Punishment, The Idiot and The Brothers Karamazov....

Sensory Logical Introvert (SLI) ISTp Craftsman / Artisan Gabin
Jean Gabin
-Biography:Born Jean-Alexis Moncorgé in Paris, he grew up in the village of Mériel in the Seine-et-Oise département, about 22 mi north of Paris. The son of cabaret entertainers, he attended the Lycée Janson de Sailly...

Sensory Ethical Introvert (SEI) ISFp Mediator / Peacemaker Dumas
Alexandre Dumas, père
Alexandre Dumas, , born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie was a French writer, best known for his historical novels of high adventure which have made him one of the most widely read French authors in the world...

Intuitive Logical Introvert (ILI) INTp Critic / Observer Balzac
Honoré de Balzac
Honoré de Balzac was a French novelist and playwright. His magnum opus was a sequence of short stories and novels collectively entitled La Comédie humaine, which presents a panorama of French life in the years after the 1815 fall of Napoleon....

Intuitive Ethical Introvert (IEI) INFp Lyricist / Romantic Yesenin
Sergei Yesenin
Sergei Alexandrovich Yesenin was a Russian lyrical poet. He was one of the most popular and well-known Russian poets of the 20th century but committed suicide at the age of 30...



Among socionists, the prevailing view is that sociotypes are inborn and genetically determined, although the content of different functions and dimensions may vary. Some socionists believe that sociotypes may temporarily change while in altered states of consciousness or under great stress.

Recent research conducted by Elena Olkova (www.4kvadra.ru) together with Elena Udalova suggested that sociotypes aren't genetically determined but rather form as the result of mother's biggest concerns (which form the vulnerable function of a child) during the pregnancy. During the research, 100 pairs of monozygotic twins were tested and clearly showed different sociotypes (i.e. there were no twins with identical sociotypes found).

Vladimir Ermak first introduced two important concepts of modern socionics further confirmed by Elena Udalova research. The first one is the growth dynamics which means that every horizontal block of two functions (see below) is filling in the certain age, from bottom to top, with the roughly 7 years interval, so that the lowest block is done before 7, the next is complete before 14, the weak part of the mental track is done before 21, and the top block finally leads after that. Due to this process, a child, or a teenager, may demonstrate faces of other sociotypes according to the active horizontal block. Besides, being introduced to the unknown people, or in stressful situations, people again may demonstrate adaptive or protective behaviour directed by the appropriate blocks (see below).

The second concept is so called functional dimensions. It was introduced in co-operation of Ermak and Bukalov. They define the first dimension as the personal experience (Ex), the second dimension as social norms (No), the third dimension as the current situation (Si), and the fourth dimension as the globality, or time perspective (Ti). This concept is useful because it best illustrates the difference in cognitive power (imagine measuring capability of 2D vs 3D measuring tool) and roughly describes abilities of each function to process and generate information. Still, definitions of dimensions require further research and clarification. For example, the vulnerable function tends to lose knowledge which haven't been used.

Mathematics

Socionics, being Base-16, can be used with bitwise operations after Base-2 reduction
Relation Base 16 Base 10 Base 2 Type
Ident. 0 0 0000 ENTp
Quas. 1 1 0001 ENTj
Cong. 2 2 0010 ENFp
Requ. 3 3 0011 ENFj
Semi. 4 4 0100 ESTp
Requ. 5 5 0101 ESTj
Sego. 6 6 0110 ESFp
Actv. 7 7 0111 ESFj
Extn. 8 8 1000 INTp
Mirr. 9 9 1001 INTj
Mira. A 10 1010 INFp
Supr. B 11 1011 INFj
Semi. C 12 1100 ISTp
Supr. D 13 1101 ISTj
Dual. E 14 1110 ISFp
Conf. F 15 1111 ISFj


Since Socionics is mathematically Base-16 (astrology
Astrology
Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...

 and the western zodiac are comparatively mathematical Base-12s) and also a psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...

 of personality in the same way as the typology
Personality type
Personality type refers to the psychological classification of different types of individuals. Personality types are sometimes distinguished from personality traits, with the latter embodying a smaller grouping of behavioral tendencies. Types are sometimes said to involve qualitative differences...

 of Carl Jung
Carl Jung
Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist and the founder of Analytical Psychology. Jung is considered the first modern psychiatrist to view the human psyche as "by nature religious" and make it the focus of exploration. Jung is one of the best known researchers in the field of dream analysis and...

 and Myers-Briggs, it shares a similar degree of mathematical consistency, while enduring the same serious shortcomings in the experimental justification of these theories.

Taking this, Socionics also differs from other typologies in that it also includes a complementary Base-16 relationship set, with the intent of penning to paper the key social dynamic traits between grouped combinations of socionic types. Therefore, socionics could be considered to be within the realm of the science of social dynamics, intended to describe social behavior
Social behavior
In physics, physiology and sociology, social behavior is behavior directed towards society, or taking place between, members of the same species. Behavior such as predation which involves members of different species is not social...

 according to mathematical applications of Base-16, group theory
Group theory
In mathematics and abstract algebra, group theory studies the algebraic structures known as groups.The concept of a group is central to abstract algebra: other well-known algebraic structures, such as rings, fields, and vector spaces can all be seen as groups endowed with additional operations and...

, set logic and reduction of the Gulenko-Jungian notation for socionics types to hexadecimal
Hexadecimal
In mathematics and computer science, hexadecimal is a positional numeral system with a radix, or base, of 16. It uses sixteen distinct symbols, most often the symbols 0–9 to represent values zero to nine, and A, B, C, D, E, F to represent values ten to fifteen...

 and Base-2 bitwise operation
Bitwise operation
A bitwise operation operates on one or more bit patterns or binary numerals at the level of their individual bits. This is used directly at the digital hardware level as well as in microcode, machine code and certain kinds of high level languages...

. While this mathematical approach is strictly theoretical and has been criticized for lack of empirical testing in this socionics article systems theory
Systems theory
Systems theory is the transdisciplinary study of systems in general, with the goal of elucidating principles that can be applied to all types of systems at all nesting levels in all fields of research...

 has been the tool of socionics theorist, such as Gregory Reinin to derive theorical dichotomies within socionics theory. In 1985 Aušra Augustinavičiūtė
Aušra Augustinaviciute
Aušra Augustinavičiūtė was a Lithuanian psychologist, author of numerous scientific theories and discoveries, and the founder of Socionics...

 acknowledged the mathematical theories of Reinin and wrote a book titled "The Theory of Reinin's Traits" to describe the mathematical processes of socionics theory. Mathematical methods have been a standard part of socionics theory since this time.

Studies of Elena Udalova show that at least three of Reinin's Traits are distinguishable and can be used for detection of a sociotype. Those include: statics/dynamics (having appropriate functions in their mental track), questims/declatims (tending to rise questions or declare opinions), and aristocrats/democrats (understanding inequality or equality of people). Not all names of Reinin's Traits reflect their actual meaning very well, but they were defined historically and now seem to be fixed.

The methodology of deriving socionic relationships from two socionic types is similar to the enumeration of 16 possible boolean Webster.cs.ucr.edu, Algebraic functions from two binary output and input variable types, with truth tables and during construction of logic gates in electronics.

Model A

Aušra Augustinavičiūtė developed a model of personality called Model A, which includes eight functional positions. Every human has every function, and can perceive and process any available information aspect by them; however, depending on where the metabolizing function for an aspect is located in a type's functional ordering, the actual quality of the produced information and the means of its use may vary. The following diagram is an example of the positions of the functions in Model A (numbers of functions are in Viktor Gulenkos notation). The numbering of the functions is semi-arbitrary, and is intended to represent on the one hand the smooth flow of information from function 1 to 4 (the mental track), and the mirroring of that flow by the other four. (the so-called "vital" track) For example, the ILE type has the following version of Model A:
EWLINE ! (Ne)
! (Ti)
|-
! (Fi)
! (Se)
|-
! (Fe)
! (Si)
|-
! (Ni)
! (Te)
|}>
EWLINE !1
!
2
|-
!
4
!
3
|-
!
6
!
5
|-
!
7
!
8
|}>

Nature of functional positions

  • Function 1 - leading, program, primary, base, or dominant function. This is the strongest conscious function, and the most utilized function of the psyche. A person's outlook and role in life is largely determined by the nature of this function. One is generally very confident in the use of this function, and may defend it when challenged. According to Ermak, this is 4D function (Ex, No, Si, Ti).
  • Function 2 - creative or secondary function, is second in influence only to the dominant function. It assists the dominant function in achieving its essence. One is generally less confident with the use of this function than with his dominant function. As a result, the creative function is sometimes less instrumental when a person is challenged or threatened, or when dealing with new and complex tasks and data. According to Ermak, this function is 3D (Ex, No, Si), or time invariant, because it produces something new which may never exist before.
  • Function 3 - role function, is a weak but conscious function. One generally tries to be at least adequate in areas where use of the role function is necessary. Moreover, one generally uses it in situations of social adaptation (e.g. introducing themselves to an unknown person). However, generally one has very little control or confidence over the role function, and criticism is painfully acknowledged with respect to it. Tactful assistance is required from someone else's strong function to overcome the problems associated with the role function. According to Ermak, this function is 2D (Ex, No), or situation invariant, because it cannot adapt to the unusual situation beyond social norms.
  • Function 4 - the vulnerable function, or place of least resistance, is a weak and conscious function, in addition to being the weakest function of the psyche. One painfully perceives his complete inability to use this function, and reacts negatively to its imposition upon him. Tactful assistance is required from someone else's strong function (preferably the Function 8) to overcome the problems associated with this function. According to Ermak, this function is single dimensional, i.e. only personal experience is collected here, and it cannot be adapted even to the social norms.
  • Function 5 - suggestive function, is a weak and unconscious function which is largely lacked. One requires assistance from somebody confident in this function in order to overcome the difficulties it presents. When left to ones own devices, the suggestive function goes unnoticed. According to Ermak, this function is single dimensional, too, and one must be careful not to become subject of manipulation because of misuse of this function. Discussing aspects of this function makes person happy and trustful. (That's why it's called suggestive.)
  • Function 6 - mobilizing function. This is a weak and unconscious function which one often understands poorly. Nonetheless, this function has a strong influence over one's actions. Individuals requires assistance from someone who uses it confidently in order to understand it. Often an individual is only aware that they are totally unaware of how to use this function. At the same time, it's 2D function, so it's capable of collecting a number of easy receipts for daily needs. Being successful in aspects of this function makes one happy and motivated. (That's why it's called mobilizing.)
  • Function 7 - observant, or ignoring, or restricting function, the function of personal knowledge. This is a strong (3D according to Ermak) but unconscious function. One generally has a good grasp of this function, but attempts to limit its use considerably. Individuals will disregard this function when an argument calls for restraint or when it will be difficult to indulge in its essence. At the same time one uses this function to restrict somebody's intervention to their privacy or territory, or other unsolicited interaction.
  • Function 8 - demonstrative or background function. This function is so deeply rooted into the psyche that one is usually not consciously aware of its existence or utilization. It is as strong as the leading function (4D according to Ermak) and it tends to act silently to protect the weakest point of the dual person (see below). It can sound in situations of extreme irritation when the restricting function fails to break the unsolicited influence.


Note that Model A provides the justification for the type names. The socionic name is leading-creative-extra/introversion. For example the ILE is intuitive leading with a logical creative function and is extroverted. The ESI has leading ethics with secondary sensing and is introverted.

Blocks of the psyche

According to Augustinavičiūtė, the functions are paired in four blocks: the ego block, the super-ego block, the id block, and the super-id block. The ego block contains the leading (1) and creative (2) functions, the super-ego block contains the role (3) and vulnerable (4) functions, the super-id block contains the suggestive (5) and mobilizing (6) functions, while the id block contains the observant (7) and demonstrative (8) functions.

The functions within the ego and super-ego blocks are said to be conscious (or "mental") functions, while those within the id and super-id blocks are said to be unconscious (or "vital"). The functions residing within the ego and id blocks are strong functions which are used naturally and well, while the functions of the super-ego and super-id blocks are weak functions and are used with difficulty. (In addition, using super-ego functions is stressful.)
EWLINE !1
!
2
|-
!
4
!
3
|-
!
6
!
5
|-
!
7
!
8
|}>
EWLINE !ego
|-
!
super-ego
|-
!
super-id
|-
!
id
|}>
EWLINE !strong
|-
!weak
|-
!
weak
|-
!
strong
|}>

Intertype relations

Socionics postulates that the way information is communicated between different types results in different interaction styles, called intertype relations. Each intertype relation has its bad and good qualities, though duality is generally considered to be the most psychologically comfortable as a long-term relationship. In total there are 16 relationship roles for each type (14 when not counting the split roles in the supervision and benefit relationship). All relations beside Request and Supervision are symmetric. Request and Supervision relations are asymmetric and have 2 roles: Request - Requester and Request recipient, Supervision - Supervisor and Supervisee. Each cell in the table shows who the type in the left column is to the type in the top row.
Table of intertype relations
ILE SEI ESE LII EIE LSI SLE IEI SEE ILI LIE ESI LSE EII IEE SLI
ILE Id Du Ac Mr Rq+ Sv+ Cp Mg Se Ex QI Cf Rq- Sv- Cg Sd
SEI Du Id Mr Ac Sv+ Rq+ Mg Cp Ex Se Cf QI Sv- Rq- Sd Cg
ESE Ac Mr Id Du Cg Sd Rq- Sv- QI Cf Se Ex Cp Mg Rq+ Sv+
LII Mr Ac Du Id Sd Cg Sv- Rq- Cf QI Ex Se Mg Cp Sv+ Rq+
EIE Rq- Sv- Cg Sd Id Du Ac Mr Rq+ Sv+ Cp Mg Se Ex QI Cf
LSI Sv- Rq- Sd Cg Du Id Mr Ac Sv+ Rq+ Mg Cp Ex Se Cf QI
SLE Cp Mg Rq+ Sv+ Ac Mr Id Du Cg Sd Rq- Sv- QI Cf Se Ex
IEI Mg Cp Sv+ Rq+ Mr Ac Du Id Sd Cg Sv- Rq- Cf QI Ex Se
SEE Se Ex QI Cf Rq- Sv- Cg Sd Id Du Ac Mr Rq+ Sv+ Cp Mg
ILI Ex Se Cf QI Sv- Rq- Sd Cg Du Id Mr Ac Sv+ Rq+ Mg Cp
LIE QI Cf Se Ex Cp Mg Rq+ Sv+ Ac Mr Id Du Cg Sd Rq- Sv-
ESI Cf QI Ex Se Mg Cp Sv+ Rq+ Mr Ac Du Id Sd Cg Sv- Rq-
LSE Rq+ Sv+ Cp Mg Se Ex QI Cf Rq- Sv- Cg Sd Id Du Ac Mr
EII Sv+ Rq+ Mg Cp Ex Se Cf QI Sv- Rq- Sd Cg Du Id Mr Ac
IEE Cg Sd Rq- Sv- QI Cf Se Ex Cp Mg Rq+ Sv+ Ac Mr Id Du
SLI Sd Cg Sv- Rq- Cf QI Ex Se Mg Cp Sv+ Rq+ Mr Ac Du Id


Key: Du - Duality; Ac - Activation; Sd - Semi-duality; Mg - Mirage; Mr - Mirror; Id - Identity; Cp - Cooperation; Cg - Congenerity; QI - Quasi-Identity; Ex - Extinguishment; Se - Super-ego; Cf - Conflict; Rq+ - Requester; Rq- - Request recipient; Sv+ - Supervisor; Sv- - Supervisee

Duality

Duality is a fundamental concept in Socionics. Dual relations are characterized by mutual benefit and support, and are generally viewed as optimal for friendship, intimacy, and marriage (though sociotype is not the only factor influencing this). The eight dual pairs are as follows:
LSE EII
LIE ESI
ESE LII
EIE LSI
SLE IEI
SEE ILI
ILE SEI
IEE SLI


In dual relations, the leading function of one partner is the suggestive function of the other, and the creative function of one partner is the mobilizing function of the other. Thus, the ego functions (the strongest and most socialized) of each correspond to the super-id functions of the other (the area where the person needs and expects assistance). Likewise, the super-ego block of one corresponds to the id of the other. In this relation, just 1 of 4 Jungian dichotomies is shared – rationality/irrationality. Duality interaction is generally rewarding and satisfying for both parties, providing inspiration and support. Duality is a central theme of the philosophy of socionics study: Augusta often stated her position that a person who is estranged from contact with a dual partner must cope by unnaturally distorting their personality, a phenomenon called "type masking". Relationships with conflictor types are cited as particularly troublesome: it is not uncommon for a person in a close relationship with their conflictor to develop an acute neurotic condition.

The duality system is demonstrated in the following diagram, which details function relationships between two duals, an ILE and an SEI:

Activation

Activation relations occur between two members of the same quadra who share either introversion or extraversion. This relations can resemble duality since the super-id functions are both present in the ego functions of the other partner. However, these relations are somewhat less fulfilling than dual relations. Each partner's dominant function is the others mobilizing function.
Activation relationships are often romantic if both partners find each other attractive. These relationships are often very easy to start, as both partners share either extraversion or introversion. Introvert activation relationships appear reserved, while extravert activation relationships appear hectic.

Semi-duality

Relations of semi-duality are similar to relations of duality. Semi-duality occurs between partners who lead (by leading function) each other's dual-seeking (5th) functions but lack each other's creative functions (to assist their mobilizing functions). As a result, both partners often perceive elements of duality from the relationship but feel the other partner is misplacing the correct emphasis; as semi-duals will be able to help their partners with their dual seeking functions but both have the least confidence in the same area of the psyche (thinking, feeling, sensing, or intuition).

Relationships of semi-duality can become very close for moderate periods of time until correspondence is broken indefinitely. These relationships often begin, or rekindle because of mutual interests or friends held in common.

Mirage

Mirage relations occur between partners whose creative functions are the other partners' mobilizing functions, but whose dual seeking (5th) functions are the other partners' role functions.

Relationships of mirage often become quite close and are easy to begin because both individuals are able to communicate effectively with one another because partners share a preference for thinking, feeling, sensing, or intuiting.

Mirror

Mirror relations occur between types who share the same ego functions, yet place different emphases on them; the dominant function of one partner is the creative function of the other. Mirror relations are characterized by similar actions and motivations between partners, and mutual understanding. Interactions usually result in a drawn out dialogue, as each partner seems to keep opening up avenues of thought which the other needs to now clarify verbally.

An important source of dissension between mirror types is the opposing between EJ and IP, or between EP and IJ. EJs find the passive, unstable IP behavior to be a severe hindrance in getting things done, while IPs find the restless and proactive actions of EJ types paranoid and stifling. Similarly, EP types find IJ types to be somewhat dull and boring, while IJ types see EP types as wildly unpredictable and impetuous.

Identity

Relations of Identity describe relations between two individuals of the same type. Often, both partners will perceive similar situations and problems, and will take similar actions. Partners usually understand the motivations behind the other's actions. A relationship between identity partners is characterized by mutual understanding, self-development, and learning. Each is interested in the other's ideas, and sees their value, but such relations quickly become exhausted and boring since there is nothing more to discuss once informational potentials reach the level.

Cooperation

Cooperation relations occur between partners who have the same creative function but differing dominant functions. As a result, partners may often perform similar activities or have similar fields of interest, but often do not understand each other's internal motivations. Partners will often approach their related fields with vastly different agendas and will generate conflict when working as a team. These relations become formal and business like as to avoid open debate and conflict.

Congenerity

Congenerity relations occur between types who share the same dominant function but possess different creative functions. Partners often see each other as interesting people and are often able to see each other's motivations, but tailor their actions towards areas where the other partner is unskilled or uninterested, as the creative function for one partner is the place of least resistance of the other.

Congenerity relationships are often similar to mirror relationships where ideas are communicated through drawn out dialog. These relationships are easy to begin because both partners share a similar type of intelligence, and are able to communicate it easily to one another.

Quasi-Identity

Relations of Quasi-Identity are characterized by mutual misunderstanding. One partner's ego functions are the other partner's demonstrative and observant functions. As quasi-identicals have opposite functions, they will often have similar interests (id block and ego blocks contain the same functions) and become involved in similar activities, but they rarely understand each other's motivations or ideas.

Interestingly, Quasi-Identity partners often identify themselves as being very different from the partner. Outside observers often have trouble seeing the differences that the individual sees between himself and the partner. At the same time Quasi-Identity relations are most productive to assess a new idea and find its weak points since quasi-identicals have an expert view from the other side.

Extinguishment

Extinguishment relations occur between types confident in the same area of the psyche but who place different emphases on each function. This relations often consist of similar lifestyles but differing thought processes. Partners will have similar interests and areas of expertise, and have little trouble communicating with one another.

Still, misunderstanding and conflict arise when partners come to vastly different conclusions about specific ideas or events.

Super-ego

Super-ego relations occur between types whose ego functions are the other partners' super-ego functions. Super-ego relations are generally characterized by differing values, discomfort, and mutual misunderstanding.

Partners in a super-ego relationship are often fascinated or terrified by their partners lack of similarity to themselves. Super-ego partners are constantly aware of their total opposition in values to the partner. Outside observers are often similarly aware.

Conflict

Relations of Conflict are, unsurprisingly, characterized by constantly escalating conflict. Conflictors are the types with the most dissimilar values, and they rarely understand anything regarding each other's motivations or lifestyles. Conflictors may take for granted truths that their partners will dismiss as absurd. Sometimes they understand each other so little that the conflict is not well understood, but prevails under the surface, discomfiting both partners to no end. Conflictors also are of opposite temperaments, a fact which both partners often find irritating. Conflictors usually are rather interesting for each other, but also rather tiresome.

Request

Relations of request are asymmetrical relations; one type requests another. The request recipient's dual seeking function is the requester's creative function, and as a result the request recipient often takes an interest in the requester. However, the requester's dual seeking function is the request recipient's place of least resistance, and the requester finds the request recipient a highly uninteresting person. Relations of request frequently end with the departure of the requester.

Supervision

Relations of supervision are asymmetrical; one type supervises another. Relations of supervision are characterized by the supervisor's attempt to introduce his base function into the supervisee's life. The supervisor often perceives the supervisee as an interesting person and understands the supervisee's lifestyle, since the supervisor's creative function is the supervisee's base function. Nonetheless, the supervisee is often on the defensive since the supervisor's base function is the supervisee's point of least resistance (the function most vulnerable to criticism). The supervisee often perceives the supervisor to be the evil incarnate, while the bewildered supervisor wonders why the supervisee reacts so poorly to his objective and benevolent assistance.

Clubs

Clubs are groups that reflect spheres of activity. There are 4 clubs, each with 4 types:
  • Pragmatists (ST): ESTp, ESTj, ISTp, ISTj; or SLE, LSE, SLI, LSI
  • Researchers (NT): ENTp, ENTj, INTp, INTj; or ILE, LIE, ILI, LII
  • Socials (SF): ESFp, ESFj, ISFp, ISFj; or SEE, ESE, SEI, ESI
  • Humanitarians (NF): ENFp, ENFj, INFp, INFj; or IEE, EIE, IEI, EII

Quadras

A
quadra is a group of four types in which only identity, dual, activity, and mirror relations occur. Quadras are distinguished by offering the greatest degree of psychological comfort among all groups containing four types. The feeling of comfort and harmony produced by the quadra is due to the fact that all types in the quadra seek to give expression to the shared set of information elements in their ego and super-id blocks and to de-emphasize the information elements in their super-ego and id blocks.
The Quadras
1

Alpha
2

Beta
3

Gamma
4

Delta
ILE

SEI

ESE

LII
EIE

LSI

SLE

IEI
SEE

ILI

LIE

ESI
LSE

EII

IEE

SLI

Temperaments

There is Viktor Gulenkos hypothesis of four temperaments in socionics.

Extraverted Rational Temperament (Ej). Extraverted rational types, namely the ESE, EIE, LIE, and LSE, are characterized by energetic and proactive behavior. (close to choleric temperament)

Introverted Rational Temperament (Ij). Introverted rational types, namely the LII, LSI, ESI, and EII, are characterized by slow and methodical behavior. (close to phlegmatic temperament)

Extraverted Irrational Temperament (Ep). Extraverted irrational types, namely the ILE, SLE, SEE, and IEE, are characterized by impulsive and unpredictable behavior. (close to sanguine temperament)

Introverted Irrational Temperament (Ip). Introverted irrational types, namely the SEI, IEI, ILI, and SLI, are characterized by lack of motivation, inertia, and unstable moods and energy levels. (close to melancholic temperament)

Beside Gulenko's, there are several other theories of correlation between temperaments and socionic types, although almost all socionic authors support Eysenck
Eysenck
Eysenck is a surname, and may refer to*Hans Jürgen Eysenck , psychology professor*Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, a psychological test developed by Hans Eysenck*Michael Eysenck , psychology professor, son of Hans...

's view that temperaments do correlate with the E/I factor.

Other models

In addition to Model A, two other models are in wide use by socionists. Model B, created by Aleksandr Boukalov, is designed to reconcile the socionics standpoint with the so-called "Model J" (Jung's outlook) and uses sixteen functional components instead of eight. The model uses the same eight functions as Model A, but further differentiates them by attributing positive and negative polarities to each. Model B also refines Model A's strong/weak concept by attributing vectors
Vector space
A vector space is a mathematical structure formed by a collection of vectors: objects that may be added together and multiplied by numbers, called scalars in this context. Scalars are often taken to be real numbers, but one may also consider vector spaces with scalar multiplication by complex...

 of dimensionality to each function. This allows it to describe with precision why some functions are relied on more than others.

The four dimensions are
  • globality (also thought of as "time")
  • situation
  • cultural normatives
  • experience


Experience is the lowest dimension; globality is the highest. The importance of the dimension system lies in its clarification of the differences between strong and weak functions. Although any type may learn information specific to any function with adequate study, only the strong functions have the vectors of situation which are required to create new knowledge. The types are thus reliant on each other in their search for understanding.

Model T

In recent years, socionists have sought to identify cognitive correlates for functions. Recent advances in cognitive psychology have facilitated understanding of information processing at the cognitive level. Introversion has been correlated to high brain-blood levels; extroversion to lower levels. Viktor Talanov has proposed to identify the processing centers of the four Jungian functions—logic, ethics, intuition, and sensing—as a first step towards demonstrating the existence of the function types. (called simply "functions" in socionics).

Methods of type identification

Socionists often use several methods when determining a personality type.
  • Analysis of behavior, interview (including special questionnaires), biography
  • Tests
  • Analysis of nonverbal behavior (mimic, gestures, plastique, etc.)


Nonverbal behavior (also called image method) is a particularly popular method popularized by Aušra Augustinavičiūtė
Aušra Augustinaviciute
Aušra Augustinavičiūtė was a Lithuanian psychologist, author of numerous scientific theories and discoveries, and the founder of Socionics...

, but rarely used as basic method, more as auxiliary. It is based on analysis of impressions from nonverbal behavior and associating them with features of types. Often the image method is used to create an initial hypothesis about a person's type, which is tested against more reliable methods.

Several socionists have linked type traits to regular facial expressions and constancies of gaze.

Weaknesses and criticism of socionics

Currently, socionics has no academic backing and exists outside of official academia, though it is gaining increasing recognition as a significant psychological theory in university curricula across Russia and Ukraine. Its hypotheses have emerged from subjective observation, analysis, and interpretation of human behavior, and through comparisons between socionics and other fields or philosophies. While numerous studies have been performed by socionists, they have not empirically tested the basic hypotheses of socionics theory.

Academics

Socionics has been called either protoscience
Protoscience
In the philosophy of science, a protoscience is an area of scientific endeavor that is in the process of becoming established. Protoscience is distinguished from pseudoscience by its standard practices of good science, such as a willingness to be disproven by new evidence, or to be replaced by a...

 or pseudoscience
Pseudoscience
Pseudoscience is a claim, belief, or practice which is presented as scientific, but which does not adhere to a valid scientific method, lacks supporting evidence or plausibility, cannot be reliably tested, or otherwise lacks scientific status...

. While mention of socionics sometimes elicits a negative reaction from members of the academic establishment in Russia and Ukraine who view it as a pseudoscience, it is nonetheless increasingly being mentioned as a significant psychological theory in university courses on psychology. Textbooks for high school aged children have even been published (L. Stolyarenko) where socionics has been mentioned among other typologies. Socionics has been brought up at conferences on psychology, where its practical applications were discussed. For instance, in 2005 socionics was discussed at the British and East European Psychology Meeting in Kraków (2005), which was attended by British, American and Eastern European psychologists. Psychologist Rosemary Nodder from the University of Hertfordshire
University of Hertfordshire
The University of Hertfordshire is a new university based largely in Hatfield, in the county of Hertfordshire, England, from which the university takes its name. It has more than 27,500 students, over 2500 staff, with a turnover of over £181m...

 represented socionics for the event.

Empiricism

Science is knowledge based on empirical
Empirical
The word empirical denotes information gained by means of observation or experimentation. Empirical data are data produced by an experiment or observation....

 facts (see: empiricism
Empiricism
Empiricism is a theory of knowledge that asserts that knowledge comes only or primarily via sensory experience. One of several views of epistemology, the study of human knowledge, along with rationalism, idealism and historicism, empiricism emphasizes the role of experience and evidence,...

) and clarified through experimental testing of hypotheses. Socionics has lacked empirical field testing or pilot studies since its invention. Development of socionics has thus far occurred through mostly individual study of subjective
Subjectivity
Subjectivity refers to the subject and his or her perspective, feelings, beliefs, and desires. In philosophy, the term is usually contrasted with objectivity.-Qualia:...

 observations, resulting in the acceptance or rejection of new hypotheses. Predictions put forth by socionists are generally too vague to be properly tested, and socionic analysis is often given "after the fact." The problems of socionics as a science or pseudoscience, its methodology and prospects for development are brought up frequently at socionics conferences (see list of conference talks ).

Association with nonscientific systems

Nonacademic fields, for example religious and other non-scientific systems, are frequently addressed in socionics publications. For instance, the International Institute of Socionics in Kiev, Ukraine has published articles containing speculative comparisons between socionics and esoteric, new age, and Hindu philosophy. Similarly, members of the Socionics Scientific Research Institute in Moscow, Russia have drawn comparisons between the chakras, Hinduism, and socionics. Finally, a review of abstracts of articles published in the socionics journal reveals that protoscientific, pseudoscientific and esoteric topics such as synergetics, cybernetics, world religions, new age teachings, homeopathy, astrology, cosmology, meridians, chakras, tarot cards, energy resonance, neuro-linguistic programming, etc. have been discussed, speculated upon, compared, hypothesized, and applied within the context of socionics.

See also

  • Analytical Psychology
    Analytical psychology
    Analytical psychology is the school of psychology originating from the ideas of Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung. His theoretical orientation has been advanced by his students and other thinkers who followed in his tradition. Though they share similarities, analytical psychology is distinct from...

  • Interpersonal compatibility
    Interpersonal compatibility
    Interpersonal compatibility is a concept that describes the long-term interaction between two or more individuals in terms of the ease and comfort of communication.-Existing concepts:...

  • Carl Jung
    Carl Jung
    Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist and the founder of Analytical Psychology. Jung is considered the first modern psychiatrist to view the human psyche as "by nature religious" and make it the focus of exploration. Jung is one of the best known researchers in the field of dream analysis and...

  • Jung Type Indicator
  • Jungian Type Index
    Jungian Type Index
    The Jungian Type Index, or JTI, is an alternative to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator . Introduced by Optimas in 2001, the JTI was developed over a 10-year period in Norway by psychologists Thor Ødegård and Hallvard E: Ringstad...

  • Keirsey Temperament Sorter
    Keirsey Temperament Sorter
    The Keirsey Temperament Sorter is a self-assessed personality questionnaire designed to help people better understand themselves and others. It was first introduced in the book Please Understand Me...

  • Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
    Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
    The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator assessment is a psychometric questionnaire designed to measure psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions...

  • Philosophical realism
    Philosophical realism
    Contemporary philosophical realism is the belief that our reality, or some aspect of it, is ontologically independent of our conceptual schemes, linguistic practices, beliefs, etc....


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