Podcast - Episode 0225 - The Car Model (Your Personality Cognitive Function Stack)

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• Car Model article
• Horizontal models assume everyone is on the same level
• Vertical models – assumes there is a hierarchy
• You can find ways to grow yourself using your own personality type
• The car model is a metaphor to help us understand the cognitive function stack
• In the Myers-Briggs system, which was built on Carl Jung’s work, there are 8 cognitive functions which are mental processes everyone uses to take in (perceive) info and evaluate (judge) that info.
• 4 of these cognitive functions are judging or decision-making functions
• 4 of these cognitive functions are perceiving or learning functions
• The 4 judging functions are related to Thinking and Feeling
  • There are two styles of thinking – Introverted and Extraverted Thinking – Ti & Te
  • There are two styles of feeling processes – Introverted and Extraverted Feeling – Fi & Fe
• Introverted = inward
• Extraverted = outward
• Thinking evaluative functions are more impersonal and data-oriented
• Feeling evaluative functions are more personal and focused on the human component
• The 4 judging functions are:
  • Introverted Thinking
  • Extraverted Thinking
  • Introverted Feeling
  • Extraverted Feeling
• Judging = Evaluative/Decision-making
• Is this good or bad? How will time, people, and resources be affected?
• Judging = what should be happening?
• The 4 perceiving functions are related to Sensing and Intuition
• There are two styles of Sensing – Introverted and Extraverted
• There are two styles of Intuition – Introverted and Extraverted
• Perceiving processes inform the kinds of things that interest us.
• Perceiving processes are about info gathering but only the info that captures us.
• So 4 people may see the same situation in 4 completely different ways.
• The blind men and the elephant
• For Sensors, they prefer info that is reliable and verifiable by the body’s senses
• For Intuitives, they prefer info that is more abstract and speculative.
• Introverted Intuition vs Extraverted Intuition podcast
• Introverted Sensing vs Extraverted Sensing podcast
• Introverted Thinking vs Extraverted Thinking
• Extraverted Feeling vs Introverted Feeling
• That is the 8 cognitive functions
• The car model helps you figure out which of these functions you prefer.
• You will have a mixture of 4 of these functions – Introverted and Extraverted/Sensing and iNtuitive
• All humans need access to the 4 components of their personality
• They need a way to get outer world feedback – or Extravert
• And everybody needs to get inner world feedback – or Introvert
• We also need a way to take in info and determine the value of that info
• Of those four cognitive functions, you still tend to feel drawn to two of them.
• Figure out those two, and you will be able to figure out all four of your functions.
• An ENTP’s dominant cognitive function (Driver) is Extraverted Intuition
• Extraverted Intuition allows an ENTP to get outer world feedback (Extravert) and take in info (iNtuition)
• But two pieces are missing because Ne can’t judge info and it doesn’t have any access to the ENTPs inner world.
• So an ENTP has to balance it with an Introverted Judging function. For ENTPs that is Introverted Thinking.
• ENFPs have the same dominant process as ENTPs (Ne), but ENFPs balance Extraverted iNtuition with Introverted Feeling.
• EPs Judging process can never be Extraverted. They have to have a way to engage with their inner world.
• If you are an Extravert who leads with an Extraverted Judging process, you must balance it with an Introverted Perceiving process. (EJs)
• If you are an Introvert who leads with an Introverted Judging process, you must balance it out with an Extraverted Perceiving process. (IPs)
• If you are an Introvert who leads with an Introverted Perceiving process, you must balance it out with an Extraverted Judging process. (IJs)
• There is a reason why some cognitive functions are paired together.
• They allow us to fill the criteria that we require to learn and evaluate.
• Each cognitive function has a polar opposite.
• We call these polarities
• When you are paying attention to one side of the polarity, you aren’t paying attention to the other one.
• So one becomes a strength, and the other becomes a weakness.
• The cost of specialization.
• Polarities help you determine which are your strengths and which are your weaknesses.
• Perceiving polarities:
• Extraverted Intuition vs. Introverted Sensing
• Introverted Intuition vs. Extraverted Sensing
• Judging polarities:
• Extraverted Feeling vs. Introverted Thinking
• Introverted feeling vs. Extraverted Thinking
• Where there is one, there will always be the other.
• Like a seesaw – both sides are always present
• Your personality type is wired to favor a single cognitive function
• We call it your dominant cognitive function
• It is your go-to tool in your toolbox
• To be a complete person, you must have another function that balances you out, which we call your auxiliary function.
• Understanding your polarities is how you determine the rest of your stack
• The polar opposite of your auxiliary is your tertiary function
• The polar opposite of your dominant function is your inferior cognitive function
• The car model is an easy metaphor for understanding how your cognitive function stack works
• Our Dominant function is the Driver – the one you put in charge; your flow state; people love being in this process. It gives them energy.
• If you are an Introvert, not all Introverted activities are going to appeal to your Introverted Driver.
• It depends on what appeals to your Driver.
• Energy recharge may not happen if you are doing introverted things that don’t appeal to your Driver.
• Same with Extraverts.
• Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
• Flow = you lose time while doing this activity because it is so enjoyable.
• We tend to set up our lives to challenge our driver if we can’t do that we get bored or depressed.
• If you ask someone to describe themselves, they will usually describe their Driver process.
• Our driver is going to be either Introverted or Extraverted, and it is going to be either a Judging or Perceiving process
• The driver is so dominant it is the lens thru which you engage in the world.
• It is unconscious. We assume the rest of the world shows up in the same way.
• The auxiliary function is the Copilot.
• It will be the opposite attitude of the Driver.
• If the driver is Extraverted, the Copilot will be Introverted
• If the Driver is a Judging function, the Copilot will be a Perceiving function, which keeps us balanced
• Exercise the Copilot to gain better control of it and become the best version of yourself
• Imagine the Copilot as the navigator. It doesn’t control where the vehicle is going, but it helps navigate our path thru life
• We tend to prefer the driver functions attitude.
• If we are Extraverts, we prefer the outer world.
• If we are Introverts, we prefer our inner world.
• The Copilot forces us out of the dominant attitude, which can be uncomfortable.
• We tend to marginalize our Copilot.
• Make sure you are accessing the Copilot in a wide range of activities on a regular basis.
• Don’t turn it into a one trick pony
• Each of these functions is tethered to its opposite.
• The Driver has a polar opposite, and so does the Copilot.
• Behind the Copilot is our tertiary cognitive function, it has the development of a 10 yr old
• Take the copilot and find the exact opposite cognitive function to determine what your tertiary function is.
• If your Copilot is Introverted Thinking (Ti), your tertiary is Extraverted Feeling (Fe)
• If your Copilot is Introverted Feeling (Fi) your tertiary is Extraverted Thinking (Te)
• Our tertiary is at the development of a 10 yr old because it is not as developed as the Copilot or Driver.
• It has a little bit of sophistication but not as much as an adult
• You wouldn’t hand the wheel of a car to a 10 yr old.
• We shouldn’t rely on this cognitive function for navigation or driving.
• One of the reasons it only has the sophistication of a 10 yr old is because it is opposite the Copilot.
• If the Copilot is Introverted, the 10 yr old will be Extraverted and vice versa
• The 10 yr old is also of the same attitude as the Driver.
• If your driver is introverted your 10 yr old will be Introverted.
• If we haven’t set up our life to access our copilot on a regular basis, we will naturally give preference to our 10 yr old since it has the same attitude as our Driver
• This is what creates the cognitive function loop – Driver/Tertiary take over the car
• We are going to want to develop our 10 yr old because it is in the world we prefer.
• Once you have fully developed the Copilot, you can start bringing in the 10 yr old as a balance to the Copilot.
• The balance can be complicated.
• Have you ever seen a family where the kids rule the family?
• The same thing can happen with people’s personalities.
• The adults can’t turn over control to the 10 yr old.
• The 10 yr old needs to be a kid.
• In a balanced situation, the Copilot is in control and supports the 10 yr old
• Behind the Driver, is another cognitive function that has even less sophistication