Intuitive Logical Introvert

The Intuitive Logical Introvert, ILI, INTp, the Critic, Honoré de Balzac, or types. The Intuitive Logical Introvert is a rational, introverted, dynamic type whose leading function is introverted intuition and whose creative function is extroverted logic.

Model A

Functions of the Intuitive Logical Introvert

ILIs are naturally attuned to hidden connections between things and hints of greater implications in everyday reality. They easily recognize patterns of events, repeating outcomes, and contradictory messages. This understanding of global patterns and human behavior often allows ILIs to critically analyze present situations and determine the immediate and far-reaching consequences of certain actions. Based on their ability to understand the consequences of immediate actions on the future, ILIs sometimes predict inevitable disaster. For this reason, some ILIs may be seen by others as cold, pessimistic, or even cynical or bitter.

ILIs have very well-developed imaginative abilities, and may spend a great deal of time by simply thinking. ILIs are able to create a complex and intricate inner world. This often translates to the ILI having very particular interests but also to a general detachment from day-to-day affairs. While an ILI might devote a great deal of time to pondering the possible consequences of some political decision, very little attention is likely to be paid to such tasks as household maintenance or cleanliness, which the ILI sees as trivial matters not deserving his time or effort.

The ILI has a great ability to predict the outcome of an event before it has occurred. This skill leads the ILI to be seen by others as generally intelligent.

ILIs are usually a very cautious and conservative type. They often take thorough precautions to avoid mistakes and refrain from rash actions. They may also prefer to observe and gather an understanding of a situation rather than actively participate. The ILI's restraint complements the hyperactivity of his dual, the SEE.

ILIs place great importance on factual accuracy and a basic understanding of how things work. They may be inclined to look down on or pity people who consistently demonstrate ignorance of what they consider to be basic, essential facts. It is often also very important to ILIs that a person's beliefs take into account any new factual information. For this reason, they tend to be rather skeptical of people's positions, and even frequently tend to question their own position. In groups the ILI will often question the validity of information being exchanged. This makes individuals uncomfortable when they feel like they must support a friend. Likewise, less mature ILIs may often use a mocking and aggressive tone.

ILIs may differ significantly from dominant types in that they may not see it as critical to channel their energy on direct actions to achieve practical and societal gain. ILIs can instead put their factual understanding to use in constructing a more detailed picture of the world around them, which they can use to address practicalities in their their day-to-day lives that they consider sufficiently important to address, or to help promote societal goals through increasing other people's knowledge and awareness of certain issues.

Many ILIs have a deep understanding of subjects which they find interesting or care about. Sometimes ILIs perceive the real-world occurrences around them, such as the daily tedium of work or school, through the lens created to understand the information that they care about most, although they may choose not to share this perception with others. They often have little to contribute in many social situations, but when the topic of their interest comes around they may tend to be the center of attention, disseminating the information of their expertise.

ILIs can often be highly critical of others' ideas and actions. Often this is because others' ideas violate the ILI's understanding of the facts, or because ILIs see more efficient or workable solutions.

ILIs normally channel their energy towards constructive criticism because they frequently lack the initiative to take decisive action themselves.

ILIs place little importance on activities that force one to focus on the senses, comfort, or relaxation, and are liable to perceive these as a distraction. When in contact with an environment that focuses heavily on sensory stimuli, ILIs may vary widely in their responses and degree of appreciation. The responses may depend largely on the nature of the stimuli; sometimes ILIs will be unusually appreciative and enjoy them, but at other times they react with complete indifference or annoyance at the waste of their time. (Music is often an exception, possibly because different styles of music generate states of mind to which the ILI is particularly receptive).

Most ILIs are largely indifferent to the organization of their living areas. Sometimes ILIs will leave items around and create large piles of papers, books, clothes, or other items in inopportune areas. These items, however, simply represent an organizational system that has been developed in order to eliminate the time wasted by placing these objects in their rightful positions. If this system becomes a problem and an area needs to be used for some purpose, the ILI will simply move the offending pile of clutter to a different area.

Despite their sporadically poor organization, ILIs do make a conscious (if limited) effort to maintain surroundings in which they can remain moderately comfortable. They can value sleep, leisure time, and certain hobbies or activities very highly. ILIs need to feel as though they are in an environment not overly picky about aesthetics, which makes them feel overly pampered and disgusted, but one which is sufficiently comfortable to get them through the day.

ILIs often feel very hesitant and resistant towards lifestyle changes that threaten the commodiously constructed surroundings that they create for themselves. Nobody is better suited to opening the ILI for change than the hyperactive SEE, whose ability to rapidly effect change quickly shatters the ILI's uncertain dedication to the flat and inertial lifestyle he has created for themself.

ILIs analyze situations and make decisions in a very logical and scientific manner. Their reliance on objectivity and accumulation of factual knowledge leave very little room for decisions based on emotional considerations. ILIs deeply dislike being asked or coerced to express their emotions. They are most comfortable expressing negative sentiments which indicate their disdain for required emotional participation, such as wry, sardonic pessimism. Some ILIs have very poor control over their emotions, and may lash out angrily if provoked.

When discussing matters that are perceived as important, ILIs often betray a harsh, critical perspective on viewpoints and ideas that they find particularly stupid and insensible. This may be a result of the fact that some ILIs do not attach emotional considerations to arguments and do not consider criticism to be offensive. ILIs often see people who base their decisions on emotions as fools who ignore the facts, and many ILIs would never dream of allowing spur-of-the-moment emotions to influence their thinking themselves. Those people that see the ILIs' input as overly aggressive and insensitive can be viewed as highly oversensitive and pathetic, especially if they respond by professing their damaged feelings.

ILIs' reactions to the sphere of emotions can vary greatly, but they are particularly apparent in the sphere of social relations. ILIs are typically not social creatures. Some ILIs do not understand the importance of social connections and choose to ignore the area of emotional involvement with others altogether, instead delving themselves into virtual reality, mystical introspection, or private study. Some others trudge through the social landscape without truly understanding the art of socialization, particularly in areas such as common courtesy to others and precautions from offending others. ILIs may view people people who try to make other people happy as foolishly involving themselves in a completely pointless exercise.

ILIs tend to be unconfident and often nervous about interacting with other people, often because they do not heed the rules of social interaction and can feel that they are not socially respected. Only with a small number of people whom the ILI trusts deeply does the ILI let down his emotional guard. To these people, the ILI can be surprisingly sincere and kind. Nonetheless, typically, to the mass people that the ILI does not trust completely and unequivocally he will never have significant interactions with, and will be little more than a common acquaintance.

ILIs are very inert creatures. If left to their own devices, they often simply do nothing at all rather than interact with the outside world. They are often unable to deny themselves certain pleasures, which is often self-detrimental. In some areas ILIs have reasonable willpower, but one problem from which they may chronically suffer is the inability to set goals for the long term rather than the immediate future.

ILIs require an outside stimulus to motivate them both to interact with other people in their environment and to accomplish basic tasks within it. To many an ILI, nothing is worse than routine, menial, household tasks. Though they are aware that these tasks need to be performed, they are likely to consider them unnecessary at the moment and perpetually put them off. They require an outside source of discipline to guide them in such matters.

Some ILIs care very minimally about what other people think about them. Others are very deeply concerned with being accepted in certain social or real-world environments, but lack the initiative and knowledge to readily engage in social environments in order to improve or establish their standing. In either case, ILIs require an outside influence to guide them in certain social and professional situations. ILIs are highly disdainful of social rituals and do not appreciate help in the -related departments of small talk and courtesy, but rather require somebody to guide them and show them how to act appropriately and confidently and how to present themselves correctly when interacting with the outside world.

6.

ILIs long for stable personal relationships with other individuals based on mutual trust and understanding, where deeper and private feelings and experiences can be easily shared. However, they lack the initiative to establish such relationships and usually expect others to make gestures in that area, admiring those who do so.

ILIs are more confident of the status of an established relationship than they might be aware of a need to reassure others of that status. That leads to specific behavior traits that may send signals to other people, in a manner totally unforeseen by the ILI, due to their very low awareness of . For instance, they might do things such as: abruptly leaving a social meeting without saying anything to those present (if the ILI sees no point in calling attention to himself to say the obvious, that is, that he's leaving); remaining out of touch, or even not reciprocating to initiatives at contact, by people whom he regards as close friends (they know he's a friend, so they shouldn't need reassurance on that). ILIs are often surprised that others do not realize that similar behavior traits do not mean anything in the context of the status of the relationship.

Moreover, ILIs are confident in following their own personal ethics, code of honor and principles, not seeing the need to make compromises regarding how they are presented to others. They will tend to say what they mean and not try to soften it, if they really feel strongly about the principles involved.

7.

Although ILIs may have the ability to brainstorm ideas, evaluate the potential of others, and develop new and unconventional solutions to problems, they tend to find such activities useless. ILIs often tend to see such activities as meaningless and uninteresting as compared to constructing their own personal, highly detailed understanding of reality, or of any of the many mysteries that surround them. While they may intrinsically value the originality of their own ideas, they may also strongly dislike tasks which require creativity and ingenuity, since they may often have difficulty applying their inner reality to the outside world.

They look upon the spontaneous generation of wild and crazy ideas or the verbalization of a variety of different improbable possibilities, although sometimes amusing, as generally wasteful activities, and they are skeptical of disseminating large amounts of information in this format. Where their ideas are chaotic and crazy, they tend to flow in an uninterrupted fashion rather than present themselves discongruously, unless the ILI is trying to make a point by purposely jumping from one thing to another.

ILIs often tend to believe that a central understanding of the situation is of greater importance than a deep understanding of the potential outcomes.

8.

ILIs naturally possess a strong command of logical systems such as formal logic and mathematics. However, they tend to be very skeptical of extensively systematic explanations of real-world phenomena. While they readily acknowledge the usefulness of many proven systematic, mathematical, and symmetrical systems in science, they tend to be disdainful of theoretical and practical models that describe an absolute reality or that do not have some empirical basis. The ILI vision of reality, scientific, philosophical, or otherwise, is that of one self-contained universe of too many processes and mysteries to count.

In relation to socionics in particular, ILIs often adamantly reject or do not consider of much importance certain extensively systematic and unproven aspects of the theory, such as Dual-type theory.

External links

* [http://www.socionics.com/prof/intp.htm Intuitive-Logical Intratim - INTp (The Observer)]
* [http://www.socionics.com/advan/whoiswho.html "Who is who?" -- Converting Socionics Types To Other Systems]