In this article, we will examine how the properties of IM functions are derived within the framework of “Imperative Socionics” concept, and as a result, where the functions of Model A come from. But first, let’s remember where these concepts come from in the “classical” theory.
As is known, Aushra created socionics by applying Jung’s typology of psychological types to Kempinsky’s theory of informational metabolism. Firstly, she took the psychic functions according to Jung and used them to denote informational aspects. Then, based on Kempinsky’s theory, she assumed that our psyche distributes energy differently to work with different types of information. For each aspect, she came up with a thinking function present in our psyche. Their combination was called Model A (named after Aushra), from which the idea of the existence of sixteen types of informational metabolism followed.
Further observations of Aushra and her followers of carriers of different types led them to assume that functions, besides their certain work patterns, have various properties, for example, that half of the functions in each type are mental (located in the mental circle), and the other half are vital (located in the vital circle). Based on this hypothesis, they began to conduct “field” research to derive other properties, such as Valued/Unvalued, Accepting/Producing, Inert/Contact as well as Judgmental/Situational.
The logic of Aushra’s research was clear: to describe something larger, one should break it down into smaller components. The problem with this method is that the researcher does not arrive at their conclusions through a sequential deduction from one another. Everything happens the other way around: to explain their observations, the researcher comes up with logical arguments that fit into their ideas about the phenomenon under study. Thus, socionics misses the essential connections between its elements and the assumptions behind their emergence. Schematically, this approach can be represented as follows:
Now let’s consider how, in our view, the properties of the functions in Model A are derived and proven. Initially, we assume that a person’s interaction with the environment occurs through the perception, processing and assimilation of information. Information can vary depending on its source and can be characterized by three different properties that we interact with as we perceive, process and assimilate it. It can be rational (conscious) or irrational (perceived), introverted (primary) or extraverted (secondary) as well as static (abstract) or dynamic (concrete).
Next, we assume that the human brain has learned to perceive and use these properties as it adapts to the informational components of reality. Thus, the primary properties of the functions were formed (for example, to work with the static/dynamic property, functions were divided into mental and vital).
We know that dynamic information is perceived in every moment, and it describes the “real” properties of the surrounding reality, whereas static information is complex and abstract. Thus, due to the presence of two parallel streams of information (static and dynamic), our brain optimizes its work: it directs one information to our consciousness directly at the moment of its receipt (passes through the mental functions), while it works in the background passively with the other (through vital functions). Such a distribution of priorities in perception gives us an advantage compared to a hypothetical person for whom the perception of dynamic and static information occurs simultaneously.
In the same way, the property of information Rational/Irrational forms the properties of the function Accepting/Producing, while Introverted/Extraverted forms Ordered/ Cluttered. In addition, we see that the properties of the functions are related to each other in the same way as the corresponding properties of the information (for example, Accepting and Mental together lead to Ordered, just as Rational and Static lead to Introverted). That is, the properties do not simply exist separately from each other, but are somehow connected – both logically and in meaning.
To describe the eight functions, we need three pairs of independent properties, but as you can see, the properties that have already been derived are interrelated, so using them we can only describe, so to speak, four types (the so-called socionic temperaments). Therefore, we need to introduce a fourth pair of properties: let’s call it Inert/Contact – it describes the duration of the function’s work within each of the already formed blocks: in simple words, inert functions work slowly, while contact functions work quickly. By combining it with other pairs of properties, we can similarly derive other properties related to each other. For example, the intersection of Inert/Contact with Mental/Vital gives rise to Tracking/Insulating, at its intersection with Accepting/Producing – Strong/Weak, and at the intersection with Ordered/Cluttered – Valued/Unvalued. Thus, other properties are formed from the first three pairs of properties.
Now, by combining all the properties of the functions in different combinations, we can obtain the eight functions of Model A. In other words, a function is not some kind of work pattern of a socionic type with an information aspect, as is commonly believed in “classical” socionics (for example, the first function is our base, and through the second we create). A function is a set of strictly defined and interrelated qualities of thinking. As you can see, our approach is somewhat different from the one described at the beginning of the article, where the filling of qualities and properties of functions was taken directly from observations of carriers of socionic types.
Thus, in contrast to decomposition, we carried out composition: we assembled something larger from smaller components (rather than breaking down something larger into component parts). Thanks to this, we were able not only to more accurately describe the properties of functions already known to socionics, but also to introduce a fundamentally new property – Ordered/Cluttered, which has not been found by the socionic community experimentally.
Of course, this was only a superficial retelling of how our theory works. To explain it in detail, a whole book is needed, which we have been working on for several years. And if you want to better understand the theory, follow us on Telegram – where we publish our latest materials, presented in a simpler and more conversational format – I am sure many readers will find it easier to get acquainted with socionics than through the site. So, follow us!