Blocks of Model A

Here is a sketch of some of the defining characteristics of each of the blocks of Model A. These come from observing how functions work in real life and generalizing across types. Terms are explained wherever they appear for the first time, and they or their opposites can be applied everywhere).

Ego
Enjoyable to experience (fun to be in this environment)
Easy to use (doesn't require much conscious effort or "willpower" to focus on)
Prone to burnout (gets stuck in a rut and become overworked)
Normal state of mind (what a person is usually like when interacting with others)
Very high endurance (functions can easily effectively be used for hours at a time)
High initiative (person foresees problems in these areas and manages them in advance)
High tolerance (can handle being exposed to these types of information for a long period of time)
Likes to talk (about things from the perspective of these kinds of information)
Thinks openly (involves other people in thinking/experiencing process)
Likes to do (turns talk into action)
Likes to lead (sets the tone in these areas for others)
Doesn't like to follow (others' initiative without adding new initiatives of one's own)

Super-Ego
A strain to experience
Hard to use
Tense state of mind
Low endurance
Low initiative
Low tolerance
Doesn't like to talk
Thinks to oneself
Doesn't like to lead
Doesn't like to follow

Id
A minor strain to experience
Fairly easy to use
Unusual ('weird') state of mind
Medium endurance
Medium tolerance
Doesn't like to talk
Doesn't think
Likes to do briefly
Likes to lead briefly
Likes to follow briefly

Super-Id
Enjoyable to experience
Medium-hard to use
Prone to neglect
Regenerative state of mind
Medium-high endurance
Medium-high tolerance
Likes to talk
Doesn't think
Likes for others to do
Doesn't like to lead
Likes to follow

Building Blocks of Socionics

Socionics is an unwieldy field with a huge number of categories, hypotheses, and stereotypes, as well as competing descriptions that either describe the same thing from different angles or simply contradict each other.

What are the most basic building blocks of socionics?

1. A couple general ideas which are basically self-evident to observant thinking people, but need to be assimilated all the same:

a) the "differentiation of the psyche" (see article at socionics.us) and the concept of aspects of information ("facets of reality")
b) the fact that there are factors that determine the nature of our psychological interaction with other people outside of our will

2. A couple complex logical systems and their correct formulations:

a) what each element of information metabolism means
- which aspects of reality each element perceives and processes
- behaviors and states of mind associated with each element
b) the socionic model of the psyche (i.e. Model A)
- attitudes and qualities associated with the IM elements in each position (function) of Model A
- how the element in each position responds to stimuli from other people in society
- relationships between different functions of Model A

Basically, all the rest of socionics can be derived from the systems in point 2, include type descriptions, intertype relations, dichotomies, quadras, clubs, etc.

The problem is that existing formulations of the above categories are almost always lacking -- missing some details and overemphasizing others. Also, they have not been gathered in one place and given a detailed "scrubbing." This is what we are trying to do at Wikisocion:

• Descriptions of each IM element in each position of Model A
• A comprehensive formulation of Model A (basically, the first of its kind in English)
• Functional descriptions of each type that correlate completely with the above formulations
• Relation descriptions that correlate completely with the formulation of Model A

These tasks aren't yet finished, but are moving along well. I think the result will be quite exhaustive and authoritative. People will be able to study and compare the different descriptions to better understand the model and IM elements and how they play out in behavior and interaction. Many people do not realize that Model A has actually never been fully elucidated anywhere, and Model A is the backbone of all socionics! Hopefully, within a few months we will have a comprehensive presentation of the main building blocks of socionics.