SEI

The SEI, or Sensory Ethical Introvert, is a socionics type corresponding to the IP temperament and the alpha quadra.

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

   

SEIs primarily seek be relaxed and accepting of the world around them, and moreover they seek to impart this acceptance, relaxation, and enjoyment of the world to others around them. SEIs are motivated by internal demands and are usually unconcerned with the external demands around them -- they feel as though the world around them is overly hectic or frenetic, and others unable to stop and smell the roses. SEIs disdain this state of being, and try to maintain a relaxed, convivial, inclusive, and emotionally upbeat demeanor. They may be inclined to dismiss the productive demands placed on them and instead focus their energy on maintaining a comfortable, familiar, recreational, and nonthreatening environment. At times when they have to present themselves or their work to others, however, they may be overly socially anxious and afraid of disappointing others, and they may tend to overwork themselves or give extra effort. In this way, they may be highly industrious and dutiful workers.

SEIs are often attuned to the nature of the physical stimuli around them. More precisely, they are often aptly aware of whether they are comfortable or relaxed in a given environment and they can take spontaneous action to make their living environment more comfortable. They often make effective hosts, as they may spontaneously exhibit great attention to ensure that friends and family around them are comfortable and that their physical needs are well satisfied. They sometimes have a natural level of attentiveness to the signals of the human body, and may make instinctive responses to adapt their environment to the actual or supposed well being of themselves or others.

SEIs often exhibit a down-to-earth quality and often focus their attention on events, affects, or relationships relevant to their physical environment or personal experience; for this reason, their style of conversation may at times come across as somewhat mundane or unimportant. SEIs may focus much of their energy towards processes oriented with bettering sensory experiences, including visual art, fashion, food preparation, dance, or other physical aspects. Their affective responses to situations are often intertwined with their level of physical comfort.

   

SEIs are often highly attuned to the emotional environment immediately surrounding them. They are skilled at loosening up the atmosphere and often seek to actively contribute to the overall sense of group harmony and familiarity. SEIs often feel uncomfortable in circumstances in which the group atmosphere is overly hostile or virulent; in such situations, they may seek to play the role of peacemaker in order to restore the mood to a sense of joviality or calmness.

SEIs may expect individuals around them to behave according to the predominant emotional affect in a given environment. They tend to enjoy crafting an open, conflict-free, and relaxed environment where individuals are able to express themselves freely, but they may feel confused and deflated if somebody espouses viewpoints contrary to the predominant mood.

Many SEIs are shy, sensitive, and reserved. They may develop a mild, friendly, and soft-spoken demeanor, as they can frequently be overly concerned that they have offended others with their actions. They can be inclined to a somewhat avoidant, withdrawn, and socially reserved lifestyle. Rather than forge strong emotional connections with others, some SEIs may be inclined to interact spontaneously (and often reservedly) with others according to the immediate emotional ambience of a situation.

SEIs tend to spend a lot of energy concerning themselves with social acceptance and interpersonal dynamics.

   

SEIs are capable of mentalizing and devling into imaginative inner worlds, pondering past, future, and recognizing patterns and trends. However, they tend not to emphasize these aspects especially, instead emphasizing physical, tangible, and relational aspects, and the simple pleasantries in life.

SEIs may be very minimally inclined to think towards the future. They may resist thinking of long-term matters, seeing them as somewhat unnatural and secondary to the state of their immediate pleasure or experience. However, at times, they may recognize and become overly anxious about the importance of long-term planning, sometimes demonstrating a tendency to overthink or overplan situations, and to draw unrealistic assessments about their future.

   

SEIs may have difficulty adapting themselves to tasks in which they are expected to make judgments about the efficiency or effectiveness of a process, or tasks requiring them to evaluate or assimilate a large amount of factual information. They are prone to be uninterested in synthesizing the productive, technical, or methodological details of a situation, instead preferring to focus on their own experience and the emotional environment around them. They may see individuals who are highly attuned to processing and disseminating factual information dry, harsh, or inconsiderate. They may be skeptical and hesitant if proactively engaged or asked for feedback, particularly if the project does not relate to their personal knowledge or experience. They are equally inclined to be skeptical of others' claims of knowledge or expertise if not derived from direct personal experience, but from other sources such as books and the like.

SEIs are often highly disinclined to engage in productive tasks, and may be inclined to react to "responsible" individuals or environments as overly somber, cold, or dull. They often see the hustle and bustle of working concerns to be insignificant, preferring to focus on their own comfort and friendships.

   

SEIs may demonstrate stagnant or reserved lifestyles. Many SEIs are disinclined to spontaneous action, travel, or readily adopting new interests. They may go through life quietly, dutifully, and comfortably, feeling as though there are no truly novel pursuits for them to seek. They may be perceived by others as insipid or uninventive. SEIs appreciate the company of friendly and engaging individuals who can show them new and interesting projects, and expand their mental landscape. They often make willing followers in zany or unusual pursuits or travels.

Some SEIs may have difficulty formulating original conceptual connections. SEIs can be attracted to esoteric, theoretical, or intellectual fields of interest, and may be drawn towards investigating the conceptual frameworks of others rather than developing their own ideas. They may be inclined to assimilate theories, possibilities and novel ideas and apply them to their own experience, comfort, or overall state of well-being.

SEIs are often focused on the present and may be unaware of the depths of their imaginative abilities. They can be insatiably curious individuals on some topics, but may be reticent to seek out information spontaneously on unfamiliar ideas. They are not always cognizant of the new opportunities that may develop for them or the directions in life that they may choose to pursue.

   

SEIs seek clarity in their system of beliefs and understanding. They may seek to reinforce and expand their base of knowledge by assimilating information in the form of easy-to-remember models or systems. They may be inclined to developing models and belief systems based on large amounts of data that they have personally processed or personal experience; it can be difficult to dissuade them from or convince them to reevaluate the beliefs that they develop in this way, or to introduce additional variables into the conceptual equations that they produce. SEIs may be very adept at organizing data, and sometime can exhibit a meticulous fascination in the numbers and conceptualizations that they derive from it.

SEIs are anxious to satisfy themselves that they have already learned enough on a subject to reach definitive conclusions, and dislike the idea that acquiring expertise in a given subject is a never-ending process rather than a step. They may dislike having it pointed out, or demonstrated, that their understanding and expertise was not as definitive as they had concluded.

   

SEIs are often quite averse to conflict and aggression. They may be highly discomfited and unsettled by environments in which conflict, competitiveness, and/or aggressive behavior are the norm. SEIs often have difficulty asserting themselves or saying no to others, and so some may even choose to overlook the roughshod nature of environments in which they subsist and instead try to maintain for themselves a positive attitude. Many SEIs try to make a point not to be aggressive, rowdy, or hurtful themselves.

SEIs are rarely interested in matters of political hierarchy or who maintains power in a situation; they may be inclined to believe that everyone will be well off if people treat each other with kindness and decency.

   

SEIs are often disinclined to making harsh or dismissive moral or ethical judgments. They prefer to maintain a positive attitude, and tend to see individuals' behavior and interactions as situational, and as a reflection of the predominant emotional atmosphere, rather than as a reflection of their character.

SEIs are adept at understanding the relational and emotional dispositions of others. However, they are usually more instinctively concerned with promoting a friendly and positive mood than with affirming the positive intentions of those around them. They may be inclined to overlook disaccords and contrarieties in the presence of a positive mood.