Holistic extraverted Thinking (Te-H) aka The Builder in Relationships — Doris Fullgrabe

Extraverted Thinking is the dominant function for ENTJ and ESTJ types. According to recent research by Dr. Dario Nardi, it can show up in two flavors. This post outlines the holistic extraverted Thinking version.

This is the tenth post in a series where I’ll share what the Jungian functions look like in their 2 Nardian flavors, adding specifically how they might show up in romantic relationships. If you’re following the series, you will note there’s some repetition, but in case this is the one and only post you follow, I want you to have all the information. So feel free to jump ahead.

My main references for this post are Carl Gustav Jung and Dr. Dario Nardi. Jung was a Swiss Psychiatrist who published his theory of psychological types in 1921, and Dario is a university professor, prolific researcher and author. He found evidence of psychological types in the neuroscience data captured by EEG assessments he’s been doing with people from all walks of life since 2006.

And in case we haven’t met, I’m Doris Füllgrabe, a certified coach with a masters in applied psychology, and I help people create happier, healthier relationships.

A few caveats before we begin, just to manage expectations and again in case this is the only post you follow:

1, these posts describe the functions in their purest state. Functions rarely show up in their purest state, as they interact with other functions and your brain is really active doing multiple things at any given time, like it’s regulating your body temperature and heart rate right now. So, you may not resonate with 100% of the description of this function 100% of the time, and that is normal.

2, these posts describe the function for this function type. You may not be this particular function type, which means this function may not be at the top or dominant in your consciousness. That’s ok, too, because it’s still in your system, you still have access to it, and paying attention to this function may help you recognize when it pops up out of your subconscious, so you can practice integrating it consciously. That will give you better control over it and you can reap its benefits.

With that, let’s move from the broad to the specific, starting with the function, Thinking, and then the function attitude extraverted Thinking, then the flavor, holistic extraverted Thinking, and finally how it shows up in relationships. Here we go.

The Thinking function is one of the two rational judging functions.

Rational, because it involves reasoning i.e. a process of reflection, and judging because it’s about making decisions.

The Thinking function helps us be logical, analytical, effective, and efficient.

It gives us the ability to plan ahead, and a curiosity about how things work.

It is committed to justice and equality, fairness and intellectual freedom, but also step-by-step rules that lead to a result.

Dr. Linda Berens describes it this way:

“Thinking is a process of evaluating and making judgments based on objective criteria and principles or logic. Using this process, we detach ourselves from our values and seek to make decisions based on principles alone. Activities like discrimination according to a set of criteria or objectively defined standards, analysis according to a set of principles, logic, and cause-effect reasoning are all examples of making Thinking judgments.”

Moving on to the function attitude, extraverted Thinking, which is the dominant function for ENTJ and ESTJ types

What follows are Jung’s words, and his language from 100 years ago is a little different from how we speak today. He’s quite male-centric, so uses he/him when describing all functions that aren’t Feeling types. He also uses the word “object” to describe anything and anyone outside of you, and “subject” to describe yourself, you, the person.

According to Jung, a dominant extraverted Thinking Type will be someone

“whose constant endeavor is to make all his activities dependent on intellectual conclusions, which are always oriented by objective data, whether those be facts or ideas.”

This reality-based, objective, intellectual formula is then applied as a ruling principle to themselves and their environment.

“Everything that agrees with the formula is right, everything that contradicts it is wrong, and anything that passes by it indifferently, is merely incidental.”

Those who refuse to obey this law are “wrong, unreasonable, immoral, and without conscience.” More than that,

“his moral code forbids him to tolerate exceptions; his ideal must under all circumstances be realized, for in his eyes it is the purest conceivable formulation of objective reality, and therefore must also be a universally valid truth, quite indispensable for the salvation of mankind.”

The general motive is justice and truth, and if the formula is broad enough to also include some feeling, “special provisions will be made for humane societies, hospitals, prisons, missions, etc.” The more rigid the formula, or the more one-sided the extraverted Thinking type, the less agreeable they become. Although Jung does add:

“Usually it is the nearest relatives who have to taste the unpleasant consequences of the extraverted formula, since they are the first to receive its relentless benefits. But in the end it is the subject himself who suffers most.”

This is of course because there can be no all-encompassing intellectual formula that could embrace the manifold possibilities of life.

The more feeling content is repressed, like friendships, aesthetics, or creativity, the more they are pushed into the unconscious, the more likely they are to come out in unethical ways. He gives the example of

“guardians of public morals who suddenly find themselves in compromising situations, or rescue workers who are themselves in dire need of rescue, or idealists so consumed by their desire for the salvation of mankind that they will not shrink from any lie or trickery.”

Jung also says that rigidity of extraverted Thinking leads to prejudices and “a readiness to misconstrue any opposition to his formula as personal ill-will.” So these are Types whose thinking has become dogmatic, and it’s made them a bit tyrannical and bigoted.

Luckily, most individuals instinctively allow themselves to modify their formulas with a suitably rationalistic guise and it doesn’t get that far. And on the plus side, extraverted Thinking is productive, it leads to factual discoveries based on empirical data, and “even when it analyses it constructs”, so it is neither stagnant nor regressive, but has a progressive and creative quality.

Analytic/Holistic Flavor overview

So much for the function and the function attitude, now we’re moving into the flavor.

Dr. Nardi analyzed EEG data from his participants and found two distinct brain wirings. The one we’re looking at here is the holistic style, or flavor, which is focused on getting input and going with the flow. It’s more open ended, and looks like patience and relaxation.

• That’s not to say it’s flaky, it considers all aspects at once, which allows it to connect ideas in fresh and new ways.
• Its approach is bottom-up, open to discovery and synergy, wherever the data might lead.
• People of this style like to find new tools and solutions, and are so aware of their biases they might lack the confidence to make a change.
• The style is often more auditory.
• It pays attention to how things are said, but also ethics, intentions, and emotions.
• Thinking is often figurative and might focus on identity and values, and they often describe using metaphors.
• In business, it’s more comfortable with an egalitarian and collaborative approach.
• Likely careers for those with a holistic style include creative arts, social services, humanistic pursuits, soft sciences, and multiculturalism.

Dario calls the holistic extraverted Thinking type the “ Builder.”

The builder is a helpful hard worker, who’s more receptive and flexible than their analytic siblings. Diffuse extraverted thinking is about paying attention to a lot of small details across all departments in the business of life, and not just one or two big ones.

This shows up as efficiency, thriftiness, and taking responsibility for getting things done. These types focus on doing the right work and doing the work right, and they’re comfortable dealing with loads of details like facts, charts or diagrams. In fact they enjoy setting up templates or frameworks to optimize functionality of all those facts, charts, or diagrams. They’re comfortable with different forms of complexity and multiple projects, and they avoid distractions. Dario describes this holistic kind of extraverted thinking as “quietly crafting a fine follow under moonlight.” Everything’s in working order, ticking away smoothly. Where analytic extraverted thinking focuses on speed and profit, holistic extraverted thinking prioritizes usefulness and accuracy.

Caveats for the relationship information:

I want to preface this and the following posts by saying that all types can and do have relationships with all other types. Just like you wouldn’t hire an employee based on their type, you shouldn’t choose a partner solely based on their type either, because yes, it explains a lot, but people are much more complex than that. Still, type is the best framework I know to understand, and then bridge our differences, no matter who you’re with.

Also, to my knowledge, there is no reliable statistical research into people’s types and sexual preferences as yet, so what I suggest may or may not resonate. However, if you’d like to take part in such research, please email me.

in dating

You’re probably attracted to this type’s vibe of having their life together and figured out, or the ability to figure it out in the near future. During dinner, you might talk about 3 to 5 to 10-year plans, and if by date number 2 you feel like you’re on some kind of job interview, you just might be. As Dario puts it, builders like to “optimize functionality and arrange everything in boxes and along procedures. They easily manage relationship the same way: boxes and procedures.” Because of their efficiency they won’t like to waste time, so these types are not likely to string you along if they don’t see things going anywhere.

in mating

In the bedroom, I can imagine these types have different sexy vibes for different occasions. For example, the quicky, the leisurely Sunday morning, the date night, the make-up sex, etc. I see specific lingerie sets, aroma candles, and calendar invites for when the couple or polycule is busy. When describing the function, Dario mentioned that the element beyond building for this type is maintaining, and thinking ahead about how to keep things functional. I think people of this type recognize the importance of sex in a relationship and will make sure it doesn’t get neglected.

in relating

as a partner you will have someone who’ll happily take charge of organizing your lives and making most of the decisions. They don’t tend to be overly romantic, but they’ll be reliable, dependable, and practical life partners. You’ll always have progress updates to add to your holiday family newsletter, and you’ll be welcome additions to any communal society or charitable organization. Communication with your builder types will be detail-oriented and respectful, and conflict is probably geared towards solving multiple concrete problems at a time.

Again, this information is meant as an overview of the function and its holistic flavor, it cannot describe all the nuances and individual idiosyncrasies — but I hope you now have a better idea.

If you think you have a holistic extraverted Thinking preference, or a partner of that type, I’d love to hear from you!

In addition to my own experiences and interpretations, these are the resources I quote and/or reference:

Berens, L. V. and Nardi, D. (2004) Understanding Yourself and Others, An Introduction to the Personality Type Code, p.11 https://amzn.to/3Glt53J

Jones, J. H. and Sherman, R. G. (2011) Intimacy and Type, p. 32 https://amzn.to/47NHe5k

Jung, C. G. (1976 edition) Psychological Types (The Collected Works), p.368ff https://amzn.to/46CJGuy

Nardi, D. (2023) Decode Your Personality — Go Beyond Myers-Briggs With 64 Brain-Based Subtypes, p. 345ff https://amzn.to/3GoU6mL

Thomson, L. (1998) Personality Type, An Owners Manual, p. 39ff https://amzn.to/4a3mxEy

Originally published at https://www.dorisfullgrabe.com on December 19, 2024.