General Attitudes *Full*

I think the answer to this phenomena is "all the above".  People tend to 'attitude' in self assessment.  Cognitive functions tend to extrapolate out into the domain of other functions, especially when working in tandem.  The Socionics observation of the 6th function has merit.  I think they're all triangulating in on the same thing.

As for the cognitive function scores from that particular test, I've used it a lot to help people verify their type over the past 10 years, and I have consistently seen function preferences reflect this effect.  The fact that people so consistently score out of the Beebe-Thomson order, and almost always in the same way for any particular type (for example, TiNe and FiNe tend to score high on Ni, TeNi and FeNi tend to score high on Ne, etc) is a lot of the reason I've accepted that this is a reality of personality type. 

Why it's there?   My personal theory is the expansion of activity as the cerebral cortex becomes more active.  The brain starts using regions that are associated with the functions lower in their stack, but are also normally associated with other functions because there's not a lot of 'room' in the cerebral cortex for various types of reasoning.  Each region tends to govern specific things, so their use tends to overlap functions.

If this is the case, then personal bias to 'attitudes' is going to be self evident.  People will self report it because it's actually there, even though it's not there in the specific way that cognitive functions are defined.  For example, TiNe isn't actually using Ni, but it is entering the Zen state at times, as well as producing Ni-like insights as a byproduct of Ti, Ne, and Si.

In other words, I think you're 100% correct, and your theory on this is compatible with what I've laid out.  I think it's both, and that's important because what you're doing here with VR is very likely tied to neural patterns as it appears to be subconscious and related to thought patterns.

I'm going to try to clarify my current understanding. I base this on a synthesis of Nardi's evidence, cognitive function theory, and personal confirmation.

Everyone has a dominant function. This is demonstrable under EEG. The dominant function is how the brain interacts with itself, or more specifically how the regions of the cerebral cortex interact with each other.

Everyone has an auxiliary function. This is also demonstrable under EEG. Just as with the dominant function, this is a method in which the brain interacts with itself.

The "J" and "P" functions both have distinct patterns. The brain will switch back and forth between these patterns depending on the task at hand. This is why humans have two distinct functions. The dominant function will be more heavily and clearly evidenced. The auxiliary function will also be apparent, but seldom enough to impact the overall measure of the dominant function.

Both of these functions can be detected with CT due to subconscious signals.

From there, people don't actually have or use the other functions. They use approximations of them based on the tandem use of the dominant and auxiliary functions, influenced by the levels of cerebral activity. This is why Jung called all of the other functions besides the dominant and auxiliary 'inferior'. People don't actually have them or use them. They seem to at times, but it's a bit of an illusion.

The Dominant and Auxiliary functions pair in the following ways:

Dominant Function orientation (F, N, S, T) = 1
Auxiliary Function orientation (F, N, S, T) = 2
Auxiliary Function opposed orientation (F, N, S, T) = 3
Dominant Function opposed orientation (F, N, S, T) = 4

primary attitude (introvert / extrovert) = x
secondary attitude (introvert / extrovert) = y

Therefore the dominant and auxiliary functions can be represented as 1x + 2y.
(For example Fe + Ni.)

As the mind becomes more active, the following pseudo functions appear to manifest:

Baseline activity: 1x + 2y.
(Fe + Ni)
The mind will always function at this level while conscious.

Slight increase in activity: 1x + 2y > 2x
(Fe + Ni > Ne)
This is a natural byproduct effect of mixing the dominant with the auxiliary function, and is therefore subtle. The dominant attitude enhances the auxiliary orientation. This is likely just the dominant function 'bullying' the auxiliary with its attitude since that attitude is more inherent to the individual. Again, this isn't a real function, but instead the mix of the dominant and auxiliary working together.

Moderate increase in activity: 1x + 2y > 3y
(Fe + Ni > Ne, Se)
This is the byproduct of adding mental stimulation to the dominant and auxiliary functions, and is therefore notable. The dominant and auxiliary begin to expand into other regions of the brain. Because the orientation of the dominant function is the base of operations for the mental perspective, this move is also part of the opposite (J or P) orientation. At this point the Dominant orientation (J or P) has surrounded itself with three expansions of the Auxiliary function's orientation (P or J). This is likely the cognitive balance point of mental activity.

Notable increase in activity: 1x + 2y > 1x
(Fe + Ni > Ne, Se, Fi)
Once pushed further than moderate activity, the dominant and auxiliary pair begin to reach inward again, trying the inverse approach. The dominant orientation and the auxiliary attitude combine to cover any 'openings' in the dominant function's perspective. This is often a highly energized and unfocused form of activity, usually not 'conscious' to the user.


High increase in activity: 1x + 2y > 4x
(Fe + Ni > Ne, Se, Fi, Ti)
Finally, when the mind has reached its 'full potential' for operating capacity, the dominant function pushes into its inverse orientation through the attitude of the auxiliary function. This covers the last of the 'openings' in the dominant function, allowing the individual to operate as a 'whole' mind.

Due to the way these functions pair to expand into pseudo functions, 1x + 2y are antagonistic to 4x and 3y.
(Fe + Ni are antagonistic to Te and Si)
The dominant function isn't wired to move into its inverse orientation but same attitude without difficulty, nor is the auxiliary function able to do so.

Therefore, what's really going on cognitively is the dominant function reaching out into the mind via the auxiliary function until the dominant function has 'covered' itself well enough to avoid glaring weaknesses. It makes sense that humans developed this pattern. The last two functions aren't really needed, and the ego (dominant function) rejects them because their purpose/niche is already covered by the dominant and auxiliary functions.

Your scores seem to align with my theory.

(Se + Ti > Te, Fe, Si, Ni)
(Se + Ti are antagonistic to Ne and Fi)

Flip Fe and Fi and your scores would align perfectly.

And yeah, I get the same thing with Se that you get with Fe. Se is pretty clear in my vultology but I don't personally 'value' it that much. Erifrail still seems to think I might be an Se dom because of it, and I'll be honest, I see a lot of Fe in your signals.

Looks like the tertiary function is something that has to be strongly considered in CT.

oh, so there is!
thanks for the catch.

And yep, same subtype.
FiSi is shorthand for FiNe-Si (likewise for others with a tertiary subtype).