Mental Functions

Mental functions (Program, Creative, Role, and Vulnerable) are the aspects of information that predominantly occupy the focus of voluntary attention. An individual independently directs and sustains attention on them, actively processes the information, and can easily articulate it. In the absence of external stimuli or special effort, attention naturally and consistently returns to the aspects associated with the "mental ring."

The psyche has a limited capacity for attention, so only a small portion of incoming information can be held in voluntary focus. Mental functions constitute the specific domain to which attention autonomously gravitates. Information related to the other (vital) functions is also processed, but in a more background, reactive manner with less voluntary control.

A key feature of mental functions is the presence of a brief interval between stimulus and response. During this pause, the situation is evaluated, placed in the context of one’s existing worldview, and a deliberate response is formulated. This internal process is, in principle, accessible to introspection.

When asked about a mental function, the individual typically understands the question immediately, responds substantively, and can easily provide examples. The topic feels natural and familiar to them.

Manifestations in Speech

People spontaneously initiate conversations on mental-function topics even without external prompting. They naturally use these aspects as their primary framework for describing and interpreting reality.

Practical Diagnosis

The most reliable way to identify the mental ring is through spontaneous narrative. Ask open-ended questions such as:

• “Tell me about yourself.”
• “What is important to you in life?”
• “How do you view the world?”
• “How was your day?”

In this free-flowing mode, the individual naturally gravitates toward the themes of their mental functions. They describe both reality and their own life through this lens—not because they are more “consciously aware” of these functions than others, but because their voluntary attention is consistently oriented in that direction.

What This Looks Like in a Live Interview

Below is an analysis of an interview with Valeria Novodvorskaya (LSI).

Her type was determined independently of this analysis. If the type was determined correctly, we expect to see the following:

• Mental Ring (Ti, Se, Fi, Ne): Topics are raised autonomously, developed freely, and illustrated with examples.

An important caveat before proceeding with the analysis: Novodvorskaya was a public politician with decades of experience. Her verbal behavior during interviews was, in part, shaped by a conscious strategy. She explicitly states this herself: "Any attempts today to venture into that territory would be interpreted by the audience as a sign that all is quiet, smooth, and idyllic in the country." However, the consistency of this pattern—her identical reaction to various attempts by the hosts to steer the conversation toward personal, emotional, or physical matters—combined with its apparent effortlessness (the absence of any visible strain when switching gears), suggests that this strategy is underpinned by her habitual mode of information processing.

Ti — Structure, Principles, Definitions

This is the dominant thread throughout the entire interview. She is constantly building frameworks:

“No one has the right to demand anything from anyone. Yet everyone possesses the moral right to plant a banner atop the hill.”

Two statements separated by their underlying basis: “to demand” ≠ “to have a right.” A distinction between concepts.

“There is no such thing as ‘one’s own truth’ when it comes to violence, cruelty, or lies.”

Establishing a boundary: “one’s own truth” is acceptable in one domain, unacceptable in another. A principle formulated with a condition.

“Civil society and the authorities cannot be at peace. Because power, by its nature, tends to violate human rights.”

A systemic statement: defining the nature of power → deriving the necessary behavior of civil society.

“Writers and artists exist outside this system of coordinates. Unless they themselves choose to be judged by the laws of civil society.”

A classification with a condition for transitioning between classes.

None of these frameworks were prompted by the interviewers. They asked about feelings, personal matters, specific situations — she responded with structures. This is her natural mode.

Se — force, pressure, position

Not in the everyday sense of “physical strength,” but in an aspectual sense: a configuration of pressure, boundaries, and positioning.

“We have to decide who we are: victims or fighters.”

A binary arrangement. Two options. No middle ground.

“Power needs to have its hands slapped.”

A force-based metaphor used as a tool.

“Regimes of this kind should be grabbed by the throat through economic blockade.”

Not “to persuade,” not “to create an alternative” — but “to grab by the throat.” Pressure.

“Our Varangian ancestors had a doctrine that one must die in battle and considered it shameful to die on straw.”

A warrior ethic expressed through categories of battle, shame, and the manner of death.

“No, we are not equal.”

A direct, rigid establishment of a boundary. No softening. “You are a celestial being” — a fixation of positions.

She thinks in terms of position and pressure without any external prompt.

Fi — relationships, moral evaluation, distance

“For me, it is very important that a director is not a scumbag in real life.”

Evaluation of a person based on their moral stance. The relationship is determined by how a person relates to the world — their integrity, their position.

“After I read Tovstonogov’s interview… the BDT ceased to exist for me. I no longer believed a single word he said.”

One action moved a person from the category of “one of us” to “one of them.” Permanently. The form of the relationship changed — and became fixed.

“We all belong in Nuremberg.”

A moral evaluation of an entire country: collective guilt as a form of a nation’s relationship to the world.

She operates with relationships as stable forms — us/them, worthy/unworthy, guilty/innocent — freely and without prompting.

Ne — essence, generalization, typologization

“All methods of stimulating the organism were used exclusively at the Central Clinical Hospital.”

A generalization: not “one scientist suffered,” but “all results were used against people.” Grasping the essence through typologization.

“Every hour of their existence means crippled people, zombies, mutants.”

Fixation on the essential characteristic of the regime, rather than listing specific crimes.

Ne-type generalizations are present, but embedded within Ti-style argumentation: the essence is grasped in order to justify a principle. This observation aligns with Ne being in a mental position, although by itself it does not allow one to determine its exact place within the functional stack.

Source: S. Ionkin