Self-Opinion Function Block (Activating + Demonstrative)

The Self-Opinion Block fuels the maintenance of one's prejudices. The core motivation driving this block is the intense desire to distinguish oneself and cultivate a specific personal image:

• A striving to highlight one's significance, brilliance, and wit; to showcase unique qualities; and to recount successful or positive personal experiences.

• An effort to project a professional persona: emphasizing hard, effective work, asserting that one’s methods are superior, and demonstrating that they are competent and energetic. This is the image the individual attempts to present to others.

• This function block motivates the person to show off or grandstand to emphasize their importance. It involves elements of boasting and self-admiration, often manifested as a preference for indirect compliments—compliments the person subtly engineers for themselves.

• A powerful urge to engage in wishful thinking (confusing one's desires with reality).

Despite this external display, the individual is often aware of their behavior but finds it difficult to control:

• The person often realizes they are overdoing the self-promotion, but the need to present themselves favorably is overwhelming. They attempt to ignore or suppress this realization.

• Though they may critically evaluate something they've just said, they can still impulsively blurt out a foolish remark.

The central element of this block is aт internal insecurity that demands external validation. The individual is interested in the reactions of others.

They feel satisfaction when others agree with their self-assessment and disappointment or frustration when opinions clash. Regarding the Self-Opinion Block, while a positive evaluation is preferred, the individual can generally weather a negative assessment as well.

The Self-Opinion Block & Temperaments

EJ Types (ESE, EIE, LIE, LSE): Se/Ne

This type are driven to present themselves as beautiful, elegant, strong-willed, powerful, focused, intelligent, and exceptional, highlighting their great gifts and future potential.

EP Types (ILE, SLE, SEE, IEE): Te/Fe

These types seek to establish themselves as competent employees and knowledgeable experts, offering advice and accurate information. They want to demonstrate their thorough understanding of various subjects.

They also strive to appear cheerful, optimistic, and resilient, refusing to lose heart in any situation.

"I am so hardworking, cheerful, and always optimistic—I can handle any emotional situation!" "I do everything so well! I am so knowledgeable and accurately informed! Notice how much valuable information I possess!"

IJ Types (LII, LSI, ESI, EII): Si/Ni

These types aim to showcase their stamina and tolerance. They often talk about their appetite and demonstrate their high threshold for physical sensations: enduring hunger, cold, pain, or fatigue for extended periods, or consuming unappealing food.

They may also boast about their sexual experience and the number of partners they have had.

These types tend to emphasize their busyness and workload, or their ability to wait for a long time. They recount how excitingly they spent their past time or how fascinating and rich their current life is.

They strive to highlight their punctuality—often to the point of seeming principled (though this punctuality is usually driven by self-pride rather than principle). Alternatively, they may stress how long they are capable of being alone.

IP Types (SEI, IEI, ILI, SLI): Ti/Fi

These types aim to show how much they are respected, valued, and loved. They boast about the attention they receive, emphasizing how essential and indispensable they are. They boost their self-importance by mentioning acquaintances with high-status individuals. They also share stories about their romantic conquests.

"Look at the people I associate with!" "What wonderful love I have experienced!"

They underline that they possess their own unique opinion and stress that it is explicitly theirs, distinct from anyone else's views.

Sources: S. Ionkin, E. Shepetko