ESFJ Personality Type and Their Cognitive Functions
ESFJ Personality type and their cognitive functions
The extroverted, sensing, feeling, and judging (ESFJ) personality type is one of the most common personalities. Approximately 8% of men and 17% of women have this personality type, making up about 12% of the population.
ESFJs, also known as the Caregiver or the Consul, tend to be very practical and organized, friendly and loyal. Sometimes, they can react quickly and emotionally and be very stubborn.
In this article, we dive deeper into the cognitive functions of those with the ESFJ personality type.
What is the ESFJ personality type?
Extroverted
The ESFJ personality is extroverted, as opposed to introverted. This means that they are energized by the outside world and love to spend time with other people. ESFJs are often very outgoing and assertive, ready to take charge of any situation if required.
ESFJs enjoy opening up both themselves and their homes to friends, family, and even the wider community. They enjoy making new friends as well as maintaining long-term, stable relationships.
Those with the ESFJ personality type are often the backbone of community events and social groups, putting themselves out there to make it happen. They also tend to be the people who float around at parties, checking in with everyone to make sure they are enjoying themselves.
Sensing
ESFJs are sensing, as opposed to intuitive. This means they often learn through experiences. They tend to process these experiences through the five senses and use this information to make future decisions. This makes them more practical than theoretical.
Feeling
The feeling personality trait refers to how ESFJs make decisions. ESFJs make decisions based on principles, personal values, laws, and traditions. They also factor how other people feel into their decision-making.
The feeling trait simply describes their ability to make decisions on personal values and feelings, as opposed to hard facts and logic like those with the “thinking” personality trait.
But don’t be fooled into thinking that ESFJs don’t use logic. Their version of logic is simply different from “thinkers.” Instead of looking at the hard facts, they usually ask themselves how a decision would make others feel, or what is the traditional thing to do.
Judging
ESFJs are judging as opposed to perceiving. This means that they tend to do things “as they should be done” as laid out by rules, laws, traditions, or personal values, rather than making it up as they go.
ESFJs are also very organized and prompt, often living their lives by structure and mental checklists to reduce cognitive stress. Although they learn by doing, ESFJs usually have a few backup plans in case things go unexpectedly.
What are the cognitive functions?
Each personality type has four primary functions: dominant, auxiliary, tertiary, and inferior.
Dominant functions. The dominant function is sometimes called the hero function. It is all about how you are seen in the world. It factors in both how you see yourself and how others see you.
Auxiliary functions. The auxiliary function, sometimes called the parent function, tends to play a role in the type of career a person chooses.
Tertiary functions. Tertiary functions develop during the teenage years. They are sometimes referred to as the eternal child function. Tertiary functions are important for responding and interacting with others.
Inferior functions. Otherwise known as the anima or animus function, the inferior function is the last function to develop and is usually the most underdeveloped function. It is activated when a person is under stress or dealing with challenges.
ESFJ dominant function: extroverted feeling
The dominant function of the ESFJ personality type is extroverted feeling (Fe). This means that ESFJs make their decisions primarily based on the emotion and feelings of others. They usually are not objective and care more about the personal impact of their decisions.
ESFJs are very empathic and connect well with others. This allows them to build large friend groups that are long-lasting. ESFJs share their thoughts and feelings openly and often adjust their behavior to ensure others around them feel valued and appreciated.
ESFJ individuals tend to make judgments based on gut feelings. This allows them to make quick decisions. However, this is not always beneficial as it can cause them to get the wrong impression of others.
ESFJ auxiliary function: introverted sensing
The auxiliary function of ESFJs is introverted sensing (Si). They tend to be more focused on the present rather than the future, using concrete details rather than abstract or theoretical concepts.
ESFJs often have a “black or white” or “right or wrong” way of thinking, with no patience for opinions that fall in between the two extremes.
An ESFJ individual usually has a great memory and naturally develops a daily routine. They can read facial expressions well and are attuned to the body language of those around them.
They often ask themselves, “What has provided security and stability in the past?” and stick to it.
ESFJ tertiary function: extroverted intuition
Extroverted intuition (Ne) is the tertiary function of ESFJ. ESFJs tend to have full confidence in their intuition and stick firmly to their opinion. This can make it difficult to try things that are out of their comfort zone.
Inferior function: introverted thinking
Introverted thinking (Ti) allows ESFJs to be great planners and organizers. However, they can easily over-complicate situations and have difficulty dealing with complex ideas and situations.
