EII

The EII, Ethical Intuitive Introvert, is a socionics type corresponding to the delta quadra and IJ temperament.

Some typical manifestations of EII information processing are described on this page.

   

EIIs are predominantly oriented towards their emotional experience. They pay attention to the emotional world from an internal locus, focusing on their own internally felt emotional responses and those of others, largely independently of overt emotional displays. EIIs, as with ESIs, are highly aware of and affected by their emotions, but are predominantly stoic and subdued. The most prominent feature of EIIs as a group is their reserve. Recognizing the emotions of an EII requires one to look for signs much more subtle than other types that more plainly wear their emotions on their sleeves.

The emotional reactions of EIIs often are the focus of objects (sources) -- that is, their emotional reactions are often specifically directed towards people or things. This can be understood as the nature of    's tendency to evaluate character; they observe the individual, independent qualities of the people or sources they are assessing. EIIs' evaluation of character, however, lacks the "fire and brimstone" approach of ESIs, who evaluate character simplistically and make somewhat clear psychological divisions between "good" and "evil" people or sources. Instead, EIIs are genuinely nonjudgmental in their judgment -- they are observant of the context and conditions that lead to the development of the character of the sources in question, and are sometimes also observant of changes that might be made in order to facilitate that source reaching its true potential (but on the flip side, being nonjudgmental in their judgment also leads them to be noncommittal in their judgment). While it is possible for EIIs to be judgmental and crass, it is rare and as a rule they are slow to judge, dislike fighting, and are quick to forgive.

EIIs are often soft, kindly, and accepting by nature, yet morally firm. They may seem to be cowardly with respect to their physical environment, physical and worldly presence, but at the same time they can be highly morally courageous. EIIs are among the types most in touch with the inner confusion of the mind; they are among the most aware of moral and social conflicts. As such, they have both high potential for moral clarity and honesty, as well as relatively high propensity for depression.

EIIs naturally tend to observe and look for the positive qualities in their experience, and particularly in others. They strive to promote interpersonal harmony, good will, and respect for others.

   

EIIs emphasize the seemingly contradictory combination of optimism and grounded individualism that is characteristic of the delta quadra. On the one hand, EIIs characteristically view the world through rose colored glasses; everything in the world has a slightly optimistic tint and the world is a place of wonder. On the other hand, EIIs tend to be "grounded"; they are tolerant, relaxed and realistic in their expectations. In keeping with this theme of experiencing contradictory sides of the same coin, there is a great disconnect between the way EIIs view the world and the way they interact with it.

The origin of this discrepancy is that EIIs view the world for its potential, rather than for what it is. Compared to other     types, the orientation towards potential is less obvious in EIIs. Unlike alpha NTs, EIIs are not typically highly analytical, and unlike     dominants, they do not have a lifestyle driven by novelty and generation of new ideas. The way in which EIIs are focused on potential, in fitting with the transience of the creative function is as a value rather than an active emphasis. Specifically, EIIs view the world not believing that it is perfect, but believing in the possibility of it being perfect. While this is an optimistic outlook, it remains that the EIIs' world of perfection exists more in theory than in practice, and as such EIIs often harbor a certain degree of noncommitment to go along with their perfectionistic, principled idealism.

   

EIIs have a difficulty in reasoning about impersonal systems, or reasoning about their actions logically; they typically display a certain degree of uncertainty and discomfort when approaching such matters. They may often become "caught up" in inconsistency -- unlike     vulnerable types, who tend ignore the inconsistencies they generate, logical inconsistencies in an EII's field of view can receive the same meticulous, often perfectionistic attention that EIIs display across domains. As such, EIIs can devote considerable attention to reasoning logically or mathematically about the world around them or concepts in the world around them, especially with respect to densely theoretical material; like other role functions, EIIs maintain some aspects and a partial valuation of the logical consistency of their universe. However, this kind of partial valuation often leads them to confuse themselves with often unrelated theoretical or conceptual perspectives.

Much more often, EIIs take a "relaxed" approach and see an excessive orientation on logical consistency as just that: excessive. EIIs are focused, more than any other type, on the unique characteristics of individuals, and they may often avoid reasoning with respect to assortative grouping (e.g. "all nazis are bad") or with respect to a rigid classification of the world. Their worldview is towards the unique qualities of individuals' character and towards their personal sentiments, and not towards logic.

   

EIIs are generally oblivious to the possibility of making an impact on the world around them. Being essentially dedicated idealists, they are largely not interested in taking action, and when they do take action often this action is not an individual impact but occurs as part of a stable social structure and they show a tendency to work principally "within the rules" (For instance, suppose vaguely and quite stereotypically that EIIs may express their altruism by quietly volunteering their time to existing charitable organizations, rather than by loudly rallying people around a cause or by taking upon themselves any entrepreneurial risks).

For EIIs, impactful activity is a somewhat moral issue as well, with acquisitive, materialistically-driven attitudes tending to be morally discomfiting. As well, there is a moral distrust of excessive spontaneity -- rather than seeing the opportunity to "seize the day" in any way that appeals spontaneously, EIIs may see reckless, spontaneous behavior as irresponsible. However, as a moral issue the topic is more personal and self-judgmental, and there is an emphasis on nonjudgment of others in this regard.

   

EIIs are apprehensive about their productivity. They may worry about what they can accomplish in whatever area of their lives their productive energies are focused towards. Unlike in Ni types, where the central issue in one's productivity is how one's work contributes in the quest to extract meaning from an existence otherwise perceived as dull, the primary problem in EIIs' work is the disconnect between what is practical and what is possible.

There is a tendency for EIIs to lose track of their goals. They may act without realizing whether or not they are making progress towards achieving their goals at all, or how quickly or effectively. This is a consequence of the type's tendency towards private idealization: the goals themselves are inconcretely understood because they tend to stem from the motivation to realize one's own potential. Such a motivation does not have a clear endpoint, and the vagueness present in the motivations begets an inattention to the goal's progress itself. There is a tolerance -- especially where other people are concerned -- of slow progress and a willingness to wait for potential to be realized, which might emerge somehow in unexpected ways.

EIIs can be quite inquisitive and diligent learners, and often are quiet and studious in school, and able to absorb a lot of factual information.

   

EIIs, under ideal circumstances, believe that the world is worthy of being experienced and not fettered with many worldly worries. However, in practice EIIs are often characteristically perfectionistic and can have difficulty allowing themselves to relax.

EIIs are sensitive to their internal demands and may be quite inclined to give themselves time needed to attend to their physical environment, and to complete practical tasks related to the experience of their environment. On some occasions, they may actually become so focused on practical tasks concerning their surrounding environment that they lose sight of their importance, or actually fail to complete them adequately.

Much like IEEs, EIIs are prone to losing themselves in fleeting interests and hobbies, during which they particularly lack attention to their surroundings. However, in fitting with the stubborn attitude of the estimative function, at other times they place great attention to their surroundings.

   

EIIs' emotionality is typically subdued. Whether EIIs are moved, stressed, discouraged, etc., their expression of these states is usually understated. They try to rely on their communication to establish their emotional world, and not on direct emotional expression.

EIIs may sometimes show a modest concern with maintaining a positive emotional environment; however, this concern stems mostly from the desire to see the others around them flourish rather than a need for the participation of others.

   

EIIs tend to be multiperspectival. They do not place much belief in the narrowing of perspective; rather they place belief in the value of collecting and broadening their perspectives and listening to the perspectives of others.

While EIIs can be reflective about their own experiences, they may be prone to spend more conscious attention contemplating the experiences of others -- that is, accounting for other possible perspectives.