Holistic introverted Sensing Si-H (aka The Hearth) in Relationships
Introverted Sensing is the dominant function for ISTJ and ISFJ types. According to recent research by Dr. Dario Nardi, it can show up in two flavors. This article outlines the holistic introverted Sensing version.
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.7 https://amzn.to/3Glt53J
Jones, J. H. and Sherman, R. G. (2011) Intimacy and Type, p. 34 https://amzn.to/47NHe5k
Jung, C. G. (1976 edition) Psychological Types (The Collected Works), p.394ff https://amzn.to/46CJGuy
Nardi, D. (2023) Decode Your Personality - Go Beyond Myers-Briggs With 64 Brain-Based Subtypes, p. 328ff https://amzn.to/3GoU6mL
Thomson, L. (1998) Personality Type, An Owners Manual, p. 35 https://amzn.to/4a3mxEy
This is the fourth post in a series where I’ll share what the eight Jungian functions in their 2 Nardian analytic or holistic flavors look like, adding specifically how they might show up in romantic relationships. If you’re following the whole series, you will note some repetition, but in case this is the only piece you read, I want you to have all the information. So feel free to jump around as needed.
My main references for this video 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 prolific researcher and author. He found evidence of psychological types in the neuroscience data captured by EEG assessments he’s completed with hundreds of participants.
A few caveats before we begin, just to manage expectations:
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 function, Sensation as Jung called it, or Sensing which is also used to describe it as a process, and then the function attitude introverted Sensing, then the flavor, holistic introverted Sensing, and finally how it shows up in relationships. Here we go.
The Sensing function is one of the two irrational perceiving functions.
Irrational, because it’s just about experiencing, and perceiving because that’s literally what it’s doing.
The Sensing function helps us focus on direct sensory experiences through sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch.
It helps us appreciate objective facts and circumstances with excellent powers of observation.
It is pragmatic and precise, literal and useful, but also sensuous and geared towards pleasure.
Dr. Linda Berens describes it this way:
“Sensing is a process of becoming aware of tangible, sensory information and often involves responding to that information without any judgment or evaluation of it. In the Sensing process, the focus is on the actual experience, the facts, and the data - the reality of things and making that reality more clear and vivid. As an active perceptual process, it is more than a stimulation of the five senses. It is the registration of that stimulation and actively being drawn outward to what is experienced and acting on the concrete realities of a situation, or inward to recollections of familiar experiences.”
If you have an S in your type code, you probably agree that this is how you like to take in and process information.
Moving on to the function attitude, introverted Sensing, which is the dominant function for ISTJ and ISFJ 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.
“Sensation, which by its very nature is dependent on the object and on objective stimuli, undergoes considerable modification in the introverted attitude. It has a subjective fact, for besides the sensed object there is a sensing subject who adds his subjective disposition to the objective stimulus.”
In other words, where extraverted sensing actively absorbs and is drawn to objects or people outside of us, introverted sensing interprets those impressions through a filter of our own past experiences. The example he gives is of a group of painters drawing the same landscape, but adding their own personal touches and influences, resulting in a bunch of different paintings. He also says
“It is an unconcscious disposition which alters the sense-perception at the source” and “introverted sensation transmits an image which does not so much reproduce the object as spread over it the patina of age-old subjective experience and the shimmer of events still unborn.”
which is how it’s different from the objective reality that extraverted sensing processes.
And let’s leave the discussion of whether there even is one objective reality for another time, because yes, all brains construct and interpret what we see based on past experiences to help us predict what comes next, but we’re talking about introverted sensing as a dominant function now, this is the thing that your brain can’t not do if you’re of this type.
“Whereas the extraverted sensation type is guided by the intensity of objective influences, the introverted type is guided by the intensity of the subjective sensation excited by the objective stimulus. Obviously, therefore, no proportional relation exists between object and sensation, but one that is apparently quite unpredictable and arbitrary.”
In other words, your natural wiring to pay attention to detailed tangible outside objects is heavily informed by your past personal subjective experiences.
Jung describes introverted sensing types as conspicuously calm, passive, and with rational self-control, because of being unrelated to the object. This doesn’t mean they devalue the object, because obviously they still need an external object to have a subjective reaction to. But because these reactions are based on potentially arbitrary personal experiences, their reactions to a thing can be surprising and unexpected. Jung describes this as a potential defense mechanism, where the type is “shielding himself directly from all objective influences.”
So much for the function and the function attitude, now let’s look at 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 people with holistic introverted sensing the “hearth” types. He says they maintain home and traditions. Draw on a big memory bank of sense impressions. Feel grounded. Adapt to the group's changes and flex to other people's will. Prefer comfort and safety. Sensitive to subtle sensory variations.
He says where analytic introverted sensing will be anchored in one specific or particular thing, hearth types are grounded in their complete life experience, including at home, at work, in their community, etc. This broad spread of grounding makes them more flexible and adaptive to when change occurs, as it often does, and they’re also more likely to add new sensing input to their existing library, instead of filtering it out if it doesn’t already match something preexisting. They may not enjoy a lot of change especially at a large cultural level, but if it’s slow enough, they’ll endure it.
in dating
you’re probably attracted to their grounded solid stable vibe, as well as their warmth. They are going to be thoughtful, respectful, and attentive, even in supposedly small things like holding doors and pulling out chairs. And then the not-so-small things of remembering what you said you liked and showing up with just the right present, or checking in when you didn’t expect them to. Like their analytic siblings, they’re also more likely to be exclusive, loyal, and committed to one partner at a time.
in mating
Sex with Hearth types is going to be on the sweeter side, involving a lot of loving communication and maybe even some spicy talk. But yes, they may see sex as a part of the relationship, though not the main focus. Something I want to add here, and this applies to all types but to introverted Sensing types even more, is to be very mindful of their past sexual experiences, as they will have vivid technicolor memories of what worked and what didn’t, so they might react to something that’s completely innocuous to you, based on a past experience they had. In that case, introverted Sensing types will need a lot of time to build up new experiences for that shelf in their warehouse of memories where they store the sexy books. So again, introducing anything new should be done lovingly and with patience, make sure it’s enthusiastic consent - as you would with all other types as well, but especially this one.
in relating
As a partner, the Hearth types will feel loved when you’re repaying their attentive dedication in kind, and make sure you’re not taking them for granted, but appreciating everything they bring to the relationship in their quiet ways.
They probably won’t love it if you leave your stuff lying around all over the house, and they might worry a lot about things you think can be figured out, but the holistic introverted sensing type will also be engaged and excited to create new traditions with you. Watch out for long silent periods though, because they may not tell you when something bothers them until the kettle kind of boils over, so you can always get in there and suggest a regular check in, say Sunday nights, when you talk about the relationship.
Again, you are vast and contain multitudes, and this information cannot describe all the nuances and individual idiosyncrasies so it is meant as an overview of the function and its analytic flavor - but I hope you now have a better idea.
If you think you have the holistic flavor of introverted Sensing, or a partner of that type, I’d love to hear from you!
