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some mbti ramblings
stack analysis:
basically, a loop is a form of mbti unhealthiness where someone relies on their dominant and tertiary functions and neglects (unconsciously) their auxiliary function. obviously it differs from type to type and also people to people, but overall the way mbti stacks work is like thinking of people in a car:
dominant function - used naturally and with control, valued naturally, primary way of interacting with the world. you can think of this as the driver's seat of your functions - no matter what you do, this is always going to be used and taken into account.
auxiliary function - valued naturally, used UN-NATURALLY, but is a primary source of importance and awareness that it should be almost always taken into consideration when used with the dominant function, for a healthy/non-looping person. this would be someone in the passenger seat giving directions to the driver. it's not ALWAYS necessary but IS always helpful for the driver, and you benefit more using it than neglecting it.
tertiary function - used naturally, but with no control, and valued subconsciously. basically, you can use it and you like to use it but without the balance of the dominant and auxiliary functions, it can go kind of haywire. with the balance of these it can be pretty useful. you can compare this to having a preteen/10 year old in the back of the car--not particularly useless or useful but sometimes unpredictable and incontrollable
inferior function - not used or valued naturally at all, but since it plays the complete opposite role of the dominant function (and would have the subsequent opposite function), the person is aware of it. inferior functions can either manifest as hyper-awareness to be the point of a source of anxiety, or treated with complete ignorance and neglect, or even both at the same time. this can be compared to having a toddler/infant in the backseat--frequent to crying, extremely uncontrollable, sometimes you might think the best thing to do is to ignore it, even though the crying is still going on and adds to the stress.
another breakdown of this is:
dominant function - used
auxiliary function - valued
tertiary function - used (less control, less awareness)
inferior function - valued (less control, less awareness)
so basically if you're stuck in a loop, you neglect your auxiliary function, and are more focused on using your two primary "using" functions - your dominant and tertiary functions.
infp analysis:
infps lead with Fi, which is introverted feeling, which is all about their internal values, feelings, how they relate to stuff and connect to stuff, etc. 'leading with your heart', a lot of ppl tend to describe it as. it also puts a lot of value on being true to oneself, individuality, and uniqueness, a constant journey to find who you 'really' are and be that person. a lot of infps see themselves as social chameleons because of this (although, may other types see themselves as social chameleons for other reasons), since they are constantly on the quest to find who they are and be that person. so when their behavior changes in different settings, as it does for everyone, they see themselves as a different 'person' in each of those aspects. this is also works with the auxiliary Ne, which is extroverted intuition--which i haven't described yet, but it's basically constantly looking for new ideas, possibilities, learning about them. (enfps and entps lead with this.) auxiliary functions are what someone likes to do, and is their strength, and works very well with their dominant function when healthy. infps are regarded as 'dreamers' in this sense, with both of these functions combined in the positions that they are, because they lead with themselves and their heart and their feelings, which guides them to so many ideas of the things they like, that they like to learn everything about them and talk about them and use a lot of mental and verbal energy into it. you can compare this to me, an intp, who also has Ne auxiliary, but Ti (introverted thinking/logic) as a dominant function, in the sense that i like to analyze things but also consider every possibility, so i like to break things down and explain things, like i'm doing right now lmao
the third function for infps, which is Si, is introverted sensing, which is all about... familiarity, for lack of better word. compared to Se, which is all about the physical and current presence (hence why it's often linked to impulsivity), Si is more about more 'mental' presence, hence its associations with familiarity and memory. it's also the polar opposite of Ne/extroverted intuition, where the Si 'grounds' the unending possibilities of Ne, by reminding it what is familiar, what is known, what is reliable, etc. instead of constantly looking for and trying new things. in the tertiary position, where it is for infps (and intps), it's used very often but unconsciously and with less control. i can't think of a more concrete example right now, but i would say you could compare Ne/Si in an INxP vs an ENxP--for the ENxP, Si is their inferior/lowest function, as in while they love to look for so many new ideas and things, if they are really attached to something that relates to their memory, a past system/method, etc., then they will definitely be more stubborn and attached to it than an infp/intp, who would likely be more conscious of their comfort with that familiarity, but would be a little more capable of balancing whether doing so is beneficial or not. i feel like i had a more concise way of describing Si before lmao but other examples are like, for an istj (lwj from mdzs, kageyama from haikyuu, snape from harry potter imo, shrek LMFAO) Si is VERY natural and comfortable to them that they don't question it. if you want me to give specific examples for these characters and how they use their Si i can too haha
the inferior function for infps is Te (extroverted thinking), which like i described in my pat analysis, is coming up with a plan and executing it, and overall external logic organization. this is also the complete opposite of Fi, as in where Fi is very focused on the internal world of what is important to someone and how they feel and what they value, having Te in the inferior position makes it more difficult (or rather, they are less inclined to be able to) think about how to put a lot of their ideas and thoughts into action. Fi/Te is interesting to me bc it's an interesting combination of how ppl relate to themselves and others; i used to think i was an infp, too, bc i have adhd and thought my inability to organize and execute a plan was inferior Te, rather than adhd. (it is adhd; i am much better at organizing and executing plans than i thought i was lmao.) Fis tend to sit with their thoughts and feelings a lot so it's harder for them to get out of that space and bring it into the real world in an organized manner; zuko is an infp i tend to gravitate to as a prime example of this, bc he has sooo many feelings and wants to capture the avatar but he's kind of all over the place in season 1 and 2 and really needs to take the time to actually come up with an executable plan. the opposite of this would be like azula, who is an ENTJ--as in, she LEADS with Te and has inferior Fi--so she's great at coming up with plans and executing them to the point that that's what she's basically constantly doing, but when she sits with herself and her feelings there is a distinct discomfort in her trying to understand herself and why she's doing things and how she's feeling. extjs tend to look like 'act and think first, my feelings/emotions/interpretation of this experience will get in the way'. also i arbitrarily made ink an entj bc i thought it would be fun LOL but i think in many cases, women who are extjs tend to have a relatively good relationship with their feelings and themselves so they may look like another type (to themselves or others), but ultimately at their core they prioritize that sort of external logic to Get Things Done, first and put their own feelings at the wayside
basically, a loop is a form of mbti unhealthiness where someone relies on their dominant and tertiary functions and neglects (unconsciously) their auxiliary function. obviously it differs from type to type and also people to people, but overall the way mbti stacks work is like thinking of people in a car:
dominant function - used naturally and with control, valued naturally, primary way of interacting with the world. you can think of this as the driver's seat of your functions - no matter what you do, this is always going to be used and taken into account.
auxiliary function - valued naturally, used UN-NATURALLY, but is a primary source of importance and awareness that it should be almost always taken into consideration when used with the dominant function, for a healthy/non-looping person. this would be someone in the passenger seat giving directions to the driver. it's not ALWAYS necessary but IS always helpful for the driver, and you benefit more using it than neglecting it.
tertiary function - used naturally, but with no control, and valued subconsciously. basically, you can use it and you like to use it but without the balance of the dominant and auxiliary functions, it can go kind of haywire. with the balance of these it can be pretty useful. you can compare this to having a preteen/10 year old in the back of the car--not particularly useless or useful but sometimes unpredictable and incontrollable
inferior function - not used or valued naturally at all, but since it plays the complete opposite role of the dominant function (and would have the subsequent opposite function), the person is aware of it. inferior functions can either manifest as hyper-awareness to be the point of a source of anxiety, or treated with complete ignorance and neglect, or even both at the same time. this can be compared to having a toddler/infant in the backseat--frequent to crying, extremely uncontrollable, sometimes you might think the best thing to do is to ignore it, even though the crying is still going on and adds to the stress.
another breakdown of this is:
dominant function - used
auxiliary function - valued
tertiary function - used (less control, less awareness)
inferior function - valued (less control, less awareness)
so basically if you're stuck in a loop, you neglect your auxiliary function, and are more focused on using your two primary "using" functions - your dominant and tertiary functions.
infp analysis:
infps lead with Fi, which is introverted feeling, which is all about their internal values, feelings, how they relate to stuff and connect to stuff, etc. 'leading with your heart', a lot of ppl tend to describe it as. it also puts a lot of value on being true to oneself, individuality, and uniqueness, a constant journey to find who you 'really' are and be that person. a lot of infps see themselves as social chameleons because of this (although, may other types see themselves as social chameleons for other reasons), since they are constantly on the quest to find who they are and be that person. so when their behavior changes in different settings, as it does for everyone, they see themselves as a different 'person' in each of those aspects. this is also works with the auxiliary Ne, which is extroverted intuition--which i haven't described yet, but it's basically constantly looking for new ideas, possibilities, learning about them. (enfps and entps lead with this.) auxiliary functions are what someone likes to do, and is their strength, and works very well with their dominant function when healthy. infps are regarded as 'dreamers' in this sense, with both of these functions combined in the positions that they are, because they lead with themselves and their heart and their feelings, which guides them to so many ideas of the things they like, that they like to learn everything about them and talk about them and use a lot of mental and verbal energy into it. you can compare this to me, an intp, who also has Ne auxiliary, but Ti (introverted thinking/logic) as a dominant function, in the sense that i like to analyze things but also consider every possibility, so i like to break things down and explain things, like i'm doing right now lmao
the third function for infps, which is Si, is introverted sensing, which is all about... familiarity, for lack of better word. compared to Se, which is all about the physical and current presence (hence why it's often linked to impulsivity), Si is more about more 'mental' presence, hence its associations with familiarity and memory. it's also the polar opposite of Ne/extroverted intuition, where the Si 'grounds' the unending possibilities of Ne, by reminding it what is familiar, what is known, what is reliable, etc. instead of constantly looking for and trying new things. in the tertiary position, where it is for infps (and intps), it's used very often but unconsciously and with less control. i can't think of a more concrete example right now, but i would say you could compare Ne/Si in an INxP vs an ENxP--for the ENxP, Si is their inferior/lowest function, as in while they love to look for so many new ideas and things, if they are really attached to something that relates to their memory, a past system/method, etc., then they will definitely be more stubborn and attached to it than an infp/intp, who would likely be more conscious of their comfort with that familiarity, but would be a little more capable of balancing whether doing so is beneficial or not. i feel like i had a more concise way of describing Si before lmao but other examples are like, for an istj (lwj from mdzs, kageyama from haikyuu, snape from harry potter imo, shrek LMFAO) Si is VERY natural and comfortable to them that they don't question it. if you want me to give specific examples for these characters and how they use their Si i can too haha
the inferior function for infps is Te (extroverted thinking), which like i described in my pat analysis, is coming up with a plan and executing it, and overall external logic organization. this is also the complete opposite of Fi, as in where Fi is very focused on the internal world of what is important to someone and how they feel and what they value, having Te in the inferior position makes it more difficult (or rather, they are less inclined to be able to) think about how to put a lot of their ideas and thoughts into action. Fi/Te is interesting to me bc it's an interesting combination of how ppl relate to themselves and others; i used to think i was an infp, too, bc i have adhd and thought my inability to organize and execute a plan was inferior Te, rather than adhd. (it is adhd; i am much better at organizing and executing plans than i thought i was lmao.) Fis tend to sit with their thoughts and feelings a lot so it's harder for them to get out of that space and bring it into the real world in an organized manner; zuko is an infp i tend to gravitate to as a prime example of this, bc he has sooo many feelings and wants to capture the avatar but he's kind of all over the place in season 1 and 2 and really needs to take the time to actually come up with an executable plan. the opposite of this would be like azula, who is an ENTJ--as in, she LEADS with Te and has inferior Fi--so she's great at coming up with plans and executing them to the point that that's what she's basically constantly doing, but when she sits with herself and her feelings there is a distinct discomfort in her trying to understand herself and why she's doing things and how she's feeling. extjs tend to look like 'act and think first, my feelings/emotions/interpretation of this experience will get in the way'. also i arbitrarily made ink an entj bc i thought it would be fun LOL but i think in many cases, women who are extjs tend to have a relatively good relationship with their feelings and themselves so they may look like another type (to themselves or others), but ultimately at their core they prioritize that sort of external logic to Get Things Done, first and put their own feelings at the wayside