Ideological Differences and Psychological Types of People

Lecture text

V. L. Talanov

June 2008

When I was a student, I thought that people were divided into the intelligent and the stupid, and that all the troubles in the world arose because power fell into the hands of stupid people. Later it became clear that this was not at all the case. Power rarely falls into the hands of fools. Bad rulers consider precisely us to be fools – because we do not know how to steal. It turned out that Evil is connected not with stupidity, but with one or another innate temperament, and the villains of children’s fairy tales – Koschei the Deathless, Karabas-Barabas, and so on – are not badly brought-up people at all, but innate and widespread human types. It turned out that the principal ideological differences – preference for left-wing or right-wing ideology, belief in the creative power of truth, goodness, and brotherhood or, conversely, of lies and violence, as well as the choice between internationalism and chauvinism – although all these qualities depend to some extent on intelligence, upbringing, and education, are determined primarily by psychological temperament. Even fundamental concepts of good and evil vary very substantially among different innate types of people.

The evolutionary mechanism specifically distributes conditional good and evil in the population in such a way that the dispersion of reliance on personal strength versus cooperation and general organization, on baseness versus nobility, is as broad as possible among the individuals of the population. Evidently, this is necessary and important, because in the past it adapted the population of our ape-like ancestors to the survival of at least the smallest fraction of individuals under absolutely any conditions – both when survival was favored by extending a hand to a companion and when, for at least one individual to survive, it was advantageous to eat a companion or leave him burning in a fire. Nature also ensured that even if only the base survive after a catastrophe, noble individuals then quickly appear among their descendants as well (and, alas, vice versa). This is ensured by the fact that all innate “ideological” components of the human psyche are polygenic in nature and therefore have a very low heritability coefficient. In this way the species insured itself against future surprises and created guarantees of its constant phenotypic breadth, restoring itself to almost its previous psychologically “unfolded” form after only one or two generations even following global catastrophic cataclysms that destroy almost the entire population.

Let us begin our discussion of ideological differences among psychotypes with differential psychology, also called the psychology of individual differences. Its leading direction today (and, it appears, for decades to come) is neo-Jungian personality typology. In neo-Jungian personality typology, the entire psychological diversity of people based on their innate temperaments is divided into 16 psychological types – 16 sectors of psychological space. This is done using four independent traits, four axes of multidimensional psychological diversity.

One axis is the extraversion-introversion trait. Physiologically, it is associated with the predominance in the regulation of brain activity of one of two opposing regulatory systems present in the brain. The first is the ergotropic physiological system, the fight-or-flight system, which provides energetic mobilization of the organism under stressful conditions. Its relative predominance corresponds to an energy-expending strategy and to extraversion at the psychological level. The other is the trophotropic physiological system, the system of energy conservation and energy restoration. Introversion is associated with the predominance of its activity.

The second important axis is the irrationality-rationality trait. In rationals, the functions of the newer frontal cortex (neocortex) that control their behavior are well developed. In irrationals, the activity of evolutionarily older subcortical brain structures closely connected with instinctive activity predominates. Rationals are noticeably more socially oriented and responsible, more systematic, less impulsive, better suppress and control their initial “animal” instinctive impulses, constantly evaluate the situation “in the background,” and control and plan their behavior. But irrationals have their own advantages, including greater mental mobility, faster reaction speed, and a gift for improvisation; they are less prone to rational and emotional “rumination” of any kind.

In addition, there are two more type-forming psychological axes, and they are the most important.

The third axis divides people into sensing and intuitive types. Sensing types are more pragmatic and more concrete, have good muscular motor dexterity, hearing, and visual estimation; food, sex, pleasant bodily sensations, and power over the real surrounding space are more important to them. Intuitive types, by contrast, have developed imagination and fantasy. They possess capacities for abstraction, generalization, analogies, and associations that sensing types do not and cannot possess. At the physiological level, this trait is associated with the balance of certain neurotransmitter systems of the brain; brain serotonin plays an important role in predetermining whether a person will become an intuitive or a sensing type. Intuition-sensing, incidentally, can be determined well from how a person’s eyes appear in most photographs. If in most photographs the gaze is focused on the camera lens, “eye to eye,” then the person is a sensing type. If the gaze is “unfocused,” most often thoughtfully directed somewhere to the side or into infinity, you can be almost 90 percent certain that the photographs show an intuitive type.

Finally, the fourth axis is the logic-ethics axis. In logical types, cold reason predominates; in ethical types, emotions predominate. This trait is associated both with hemispheric differences between people and with the balance of female and male sex hormones, estrogens and androgens. Externally, in both women and men, it is reflected in the voice, the liveliness of intonation, raised eyebrows (in ethical types), and, of course, the range of life and professional interests.

Four independent axes, each with two coarsely distinguished poles, thus divide the entire psychological diversity into 16 psychotypes, since 222*2=16.

The psychological properties of the types are not limited to the sum of the properties of the poles of the four axes listed above. The point is that at the intersection of the poles, their nonlinear interaction occurs and new important traits arise that cannot in any linear way be derived solely from extraversion-introversion, rationality-irrationality, intuition-sensing, and logic-ethics. We will discuss these important newly formed traits, such as, for example, the “aristocrats-democrats” trait, and others, many of which are most directly related to the sphere of ideological preferences, somewhat below.

For now, let us consider the table of 16 types and the properties of the types, and after that some important ideological qualities, and see how these qualities are distributed among different psychotypes. It should be noted that the nomenclature of type names adopted in Russia uses the experimentally identified property that in irrationals the perceiving functions (intuition or sensing) are usually stronger, whereas in rationals the evaluative functions (logic or ethics) are stronger. Thus the designation ILE – intuitive-logical extrovert – simultaneously encodes the irrationality of this type, because one of the perceiving functions – in this case intuition – appears first in its name. If, however, a person with a predominance of intuition, logic, and extraversion is rational, then the leading function should be logic (an evaluative function), and this type should be encoded as a logical-intuitive extrovert (LIE). The designations of the remaining 14 types are constructed analogously. When using this system of designations, it should be taken into account that in reality, among rationals there are also people in whom some perceiving function is more sharply expressed, just as among irrationals there are people with a predominance of the evaluative functions (logic, ethics). The point is that the psychological space of different properties is almost continuous, and in addition to the sectors conventionally distinguished by science, intermediate types also exist within it.

Note: The assignment of all persons to one or another psychological type is hypothetical and is made with one or another degree of probability. One can speak only of the average probability that the assignment made is correct. We believe that for the tables below it is no lower than 85%.

Table 1.

First psychological quadra

Second psychological quadra

Third psychological quadra

Fourth psychological quadra

In addition to the type designations used above, an American system for designating these 16 types is also widespread. It consists of four letters and is used in American type studies (in the so-called Myers-Briggs type system). Extraversion is encoded by the letter E, introversion – I. Intuition - N, sensing - S. Logic - T, ethics - F. Irrationality - P, rationality - J. Accordingly, the ILE type (intuitive-logical extrovert, “Don Quixote”) is encoded in this system as ENTP, while, for example, LII (logical-intuitive introvert, “Descartes”) – as INTJ.

All types can be divided into polar groups of 8 types each in 15 orthogonal ways (see Table 2). Thus, to the 4 basic traits are added another 11 additional traits, orthogonal to the basic ones; their independent psychological content is generated as a result of the nonlinear interaction of the poles of the basic traits. As we shall see below, some of these additional traits bear the greatest share of responsibility for generating ideological differences between people. It should be noted that the commonly used names of the traits given in Table 2 are fairly conventional, although traditional, and do not always coincide with the actual psychological content of their poles. For the “democrats-aristocrats” trait, however, its name reflects its true substantive content very well.

This table of traits (Table 2) is provided here only in case you wish to examine the properties of the types in greater detail. Some of these traits will already be needed in our lecture. The point is that in the captions to the subsequent diagrams, where projections of various psychological and ideological properties onto the types are considered, for the sake of scientific precision and detail we also refer to the poles of certain traits. Sometimes this is important. We shall see, for example, that such polar traits as “democrats-aristocrats” and “judicious-decisive” do indeed carry an important ideological load, and that the existing names of the poles of these traits even come very close to correctly expressing its principal meaning.

Table 2. Polar (dichotomous) traits that, in 15 ways, divide the psychological diversity of people reduced to 16 types into polar groups of 8 types each

Principal properties of the types and interactions among different psychological types (these sections are omitted in the present theses; they can be examined in considerable detail, for example, at http://socionika-forever.blogspot.com/)

Important Ideological Qualities Projected onto Psychological Types

The diagrams below are based on material from several questionnaire studies (the number of respondents whose answers are averaged ranges from 260 to 1100 people).

For the purposes of the present work, respondents’ sociotypes were diagnosed by the questionnaire method. The basic dichotomies were not used in diagnosing respondents’ sociotypes – diagnosis was conducted exclusively by the covariance match between respondents’ self-description vectors and standard holistic “portraits” of TIMs obtained as a result of the research program in the form of projections of standard TIMs onto the specific research questionnaire. Owing to the diagnostic method used, the calculated (and empirically verified by us) reliability of the final determination of respondents’ TIMs was ensured at a level of no less than 95% agreement with the true TIM. By the true TIM we mean here the averaged socionic typological diagnosis that most experts from the professional scientific socionics schools of Moscow and Kyiv would assign to the respondent in face-to-face typing.

In the course of the study, answers to psychological questionnaire questions were analyzed (more than 3000 questionnaire items in total), given in total by more than two thousand respondents with previously determined socionic psychotypes. Psychotypes were determined by means of questionnaires from the correlations between respondents’ answers and the “reference” (averaged) answers to the same questions given by “average representatives” of all 16 sociotypes. Thus, to determine the type of a specific person, 16 empirically obtained correlations (or, alternatively, covariances) were compared with one another. The maximum correlation indicated the diagnosis of the leading psychotype (sociotype). The “reference answers” of the types (the basis of diagnosis) are understood as the averaged answers of respondents who, in the training sample, declared their type on the basis of repeated external typing (predominantly by experts from the scientific socionics schools of Moscow and Kyiv). Thus, within each type in the training sample, the answers of respondents typed by different experts whose views on the boundaries between types partially diverged were averaged. This produced a reflection of the view of type boundaries averaged across the general “socionics culture” of Russia and Ukraine. Additional correction of the reference answers of the types, increasing the accuracy and reliability of the diagnostic coefficients, was introduced using two special mathematical procedures: first, stepwise recurrent refinement of respondents’ diagnoses with rejection of obviously false declared diagnoses, and, second, symmetrization of the training-sample data array (the procedure is based on the fact that the reference answer of any type to a particular question can be predicted with high accuracy – by decomposition into Reinin traits - from the reference answers given to that question by the other 15 types).

In all sections of the present work, mean TIM values in subsamples are expressed in units of the standard deviation of the general population, and the mean value of the property under consideration in the general population, that is, its population mean, is taken as the zero reference level.

The diagrams reflect the mean within-type values of the corresponding psychological and ideological properties. The heights of the bars in the diagrams are expressed in standard deviations from the population mean (+1 corresponds to the level below which 83% of the population lies and above which 17% of the population lies; 0 – the population mean level). Within TIMs, the standard deviation (range) of the dispersion of values for the various psychological and ideological properties analyzed varies from 0.72 to 0.95 of the standard deviation of the entire sample; on average, the within-type dispersion for the properties considered below equals 0.88 sigma (thus, for a usually small proportion of specific representatives of a TIM group, the value of one or another property may even differ in sign from that of the group as a whole). The statistical errors in calculating the mean within-type values are (no more than) 0.17 for the ILE, LII, ESE, LSI, IEI, EIE, ESI, IEE, and EII psychotypes, up to 0.26 in the case of the SLE, SEE, LIE, SLI, and LSE psychotypes (which had somewhat smaller within-group sample sizes in the experimental samples).

Fig. 1

Egocentrically oriented value system - inclination toward unscrupulous exploitation, deception and appropriation of others’ property, cynicism, dishonesty, selfishness, greed, grasping acquisitiveness.

Calculation and averaging of the integral property “Egocentrically oriented value system” were performed over 18 specific subproperties (individual questionnaire statements).

The diagram shows that SLE differs from EII and LII by approximately 2 standard deviations – this means that the distributions of people belonging to these polar TIMs practically do not overlap (only less than 1% of EIIs and LIIs reach the mean SLE level on this integral trait). With respect to egocentrism as a whole, the types of the second and third psychological quadras lead (that is, those belonging to the “Decisive” pole of the corresponding socionic trait). Second, an increase in the property is promoted (to a lesser extent) by belonging to the Aristocrat, Sensing, and Logical poles, and to an even lesser extent by the Irrational, Dynamic, and Negativist poles.

Fig. 2. Individualism (in total - weak interest in the collective organizing principle in people’s lives, noninterference, indifference to intrigues and scheming, disregard for groupism, dislike of the dominance of the common and collective over the personal, independence from people, independence and autonomy in decision-making, intrapunitiveness (responsibility for failures is assigned to oneself), tolerance of solitude)

Averaging of the integral indicator over 30 subtraits. The remaining conditions are the same as in the captions to Fig. 1.

We see that ILI and LIE lead in overall individualism; overall, the “Serious” pole and especially Te types are among the leaders. The trait may to a large extent be regarded as specific to Te. The types of the Humanitarian club are completely non-individualistic and, correspondingly, poorly tolerant of solitude; to a lesser extent this also applies to SEI, ESE, and SEE. The elevation of LII, despite its well-known commitment to the collectivist values of social-democratic cooperation “from below,” is explained by its simultaneously sharply increased commitment to the values of individual intellectual freedom.

Fig. 3. Inclination toward “groupism” in the narrow sense: “a person without ties to his group is nothing.” The integral property was obtained by averaging 8 subtraits directly studied in the experiment. For notation, see the captions to Fig. 1.

The strongest “increasing” influence on the property is exerted by belonging to the Ethical, Introvert, “Merry,” and “Carefree” poles. All Scientist types have low values.

The figure shows that the undisputed champion in attachment to the collective, to the group, and, accordingly, in conformity of behavior and views is the SEI type. ILI and LSE, by contrast, stand out among all TIMs for exceptionally independent behavior, nonconformism, and a dismissive attitude toward group interests and values (“the cat that walks by itself”). Incidentally, among “Balzacs” there are many historical and contemporary examples confirming this – from the official F. Koni, who dared to acquit Vera Zasulich, to the official Primakov, who turned his airplane around over the Atlantic. Leaders of psychological training sessions have also repeatedly drawn attention to the especially pronounced independence of “Balzacs” from the group. Practically all “dissenters” prepared to go alone against public opinion must belong either to one of the four Scientist types or to the LSE and SEE types. At the same time, public protest behavior by an SEI that is not correlated with the dominant public opinion can be regarded only as insincere play or a curiosity. Attention should be paid to the fact that in some dual pairs (ILE-SEI, ILI-SEE), the values of the property diverge widely between duals, whereas in others (IEE-SLI, LSI-EIE) they differ almost neither from one another nor from the population mean. Analogous differences among dual pairs in the magnitude of the “gap” in property expression are also observed in all the other diagrams considered in our article. This evidently indicates that the language used to describe the 16 TIMs (even without taking subtypes into account), based exclusively on the basic “Jungian” socionic dichotomies without invoking the additional 11 Reinin dichotomies, is insufficient. It is unlikely that Model A of the informational metabolism of the psyche in its classical implementation can help explain the differences between the SEI-ILE pair, on the one hand, and the SLI-IEE pair, on the other. Those who wish may nevertheless try. An unsuccessful result is guaranteed.

Fig. 4. Advocacy of a hierarchical vertical of power and an authoritarian regime of inequality as a political ideal, advocacy of competition and the “will to power” as an ideological dominant.

Averaging over 22 subtraits that clearly express this property.

The champion here, as in the case of the egocentrically oriented value system (Fig. 1), is SLE. And the principal “protest electorate” is still the same – LII and EII. Among the “Democrat” types, only SEE and SEI have moderately elevated values; in the fourth quadra, SLI does. In the second quadra, the values of all four types are elevated, and for SLE, LSI, and EIE they are elevated very substantially. Overall, an increase in the property is associated with the poles of five socionic traits – the “Decisive,” “Aristocrat,” “Merry,” Sensing, and Irrational poles. Among the Scientists, ILI displays the greatest “will to authoritarian power,” followed by LIE.

Fig. 5. Conscientiousness toward other people, respect for others’ interests, weakness of competitive attitudes, scheming and grasping acquisitiveness, absence of an inclination toward exploitation or toward placing other people in conditions of bondage

The property was calculated from 29 subproperties. The leading trait influencing an increase in the level of this property in an individual is belonging to the “Judicious” pole. Following this at a considerable distance, that is, with a noticeably smaller contribution, comes belonging to the Democrat, Rational, and Introvert poles.

Fig. 6. Machiavellianism, manipulation. Averaging over 4 subtraits.

SLE occupies the leading role. LII and ILE are glumly out of the running.

They are joined by SLI, EII, and LSI, which are also unable to do this. An increase in the property is produced by the Extrovert, Ethical, Decisive, Aristocrat, and Irrational poles.

Fig. 7. Scheming. Averaging over 19 subtraits.

For the first time, EIE – “Hamlet” – has risen to the champion’s podium.

What is the difference between “scheming” and “Machiavellianism”? The task of Machiavellianism is to manipulate people, to make them do something that you need. Scheming, by contrast, chooses a moment to destroy trust and do something malicious for the sake of someone else’s defeat and discrediting. The gain here will not lie in using someone else’s forces and resources, but in someone else’s defeat, which makes it possible to remove a piece from the board and profit from its inheritance. SLE (Napoleon Bonaparte) lags behind because of its logicality, but remains among the top three. Among the “Democrats,” the property is raised above the mean level only in SEE, but even there it lags behind, for example, IEE.

Overall, an increase in the property is produced by the “Aristocrat,” “Decisive,” and “Ethical” poles.

Fig. 8. Orientation toward struggle, struggle and rivalry as a way of life. Averaging over 5 subtraits.

SLE leads by a wide margin. The successful “middle-ranking” types are SEE, LSI, EIE, and LSE. It is noteworthy that three of the five leaders are from the second quadra. The property is entirely produced by the Extrovert, Sensing, “Aristocrat,” “Merry,” and “Decisive” poles.

Fig. 9. Xenophobia, nationalism, chauvinism, racism. Averaging over 6 subtraits.

It is pleasant to see that SLE, although from the second quadra, displays quite moderate views with respect to this property (history recalls that SLE Napoleon Bonaparte, for the sake of practical interests in Egypt, even converted to Islam). The widespread prevalence of Black Hundred views among the “masters” of the prerevolutionary Putilov Factory is also a historical fact, so the elevation of SLI is to be expected. Hitler’s (EIE) racism is also well known. The elevation of SEI values, however, requires explanation. Perhaps in modern times, in Putin’s Russia, SEI is simply trying to be “holier than the Pope.” Or perhaps the average SEI really is like this at heart? Nevertheless, the comparative flatness of the profile (the height of the SEI peak is only 0.6 sigma) indicates that, because of the inevitable dispersion of values, there will also be many people among all SEIs (about 20 percent) with negative values on this property. The absolute internationalists are ILI and LIE. Overall, an increase in xenophobia is produced primarily by the Aristocrat pole and, to a lesser extent, by belonging to the Sensing, Questimity, and Carefree poles. The role of all the named axes is statistically reliable, although with different percentage contributions.

Fig. 10. Paranoiality. At the primary level, the syndrome of paranoial personality traits consists of a weakening of the ability to instantly recognize typical objects and, for this reason, also of weakened empathy, the appearance of a certain viscosity and retardation of an adequate emotional response, distrust and suspiciousness, dogmatism, and an inadequate sense of supposedly suspicious hostility on the part of others toward the subject. Paranoial and paranoid syndromes are also characterized by an increased frequency of specific visual and auditory features – ranging from readily arising errors (illusions) of visual recognition and disturbances of visual perceptual constancy, as well as increased sensitivity to weak sensory signals, to visual and auditory pseudohallucinations arising in states between sleep and wakefulness and under difficult observation conditions. In persons of this disposition, pain sensitivity also tends to be reduced. It might appear that paranoiality cannot have adaptive significance. However, it does, despite the obvious disadvantages of the syndrome listed above - the adaptive significance of the paranoial personality disposition consists in increased absolute sensory sensitivity with a simultaneous reduction in pain sensitivity and a decrease in the rate of muscular fatigue (a doping effect), as well as increased attention to visual details and a more adequate perceptual study of entirely new objects that the subject has not encountered before (in the language of neurophysiologists, new perceptual frames form more rapidly). It is possible that possessing this property was especially advantageous to those individuals that performed the functions of scouts in a troop of hominoids. It appears that this has remained the case ever since – psychotypes with this property still predominate in the security services of all states, and over the last 70 years have even subordinated and adapted to themselves almost all institutions of state power. At the physiological level, paranoiality is associated, according to our repeatedly verified data, with right-sided temporal asymmetry of the limbic brain, primarily the regions of the inferotemporal cortex and hippocampus. In experiment, the syndrome can be reproduced in a strikingly crude form in any person under certain chronic and acute intoxications that “switch off” the left limbic brain (delirium tremens, intoxication with mescaline, psilocybin, lysergides, as well as drugs affecting the cholinergic system).

The integral property was calculated from 15 primary subproperties (symptoms). The diagram shows that belonging to the pole of the “Aristocratic” types, that is, to the second and fourth quadras, plays the decisive role in forming paranoiality. The socionic pole with the second-largest contribution, exerting an influence (but a noticeably smaller one) on the increase in paranoiality, is the “Rational” pole; the third, following it, is the “Negativist” pole.

EIE and LSI are the two most paranoial psychological types.

Fig. 11. Absolute auditory sensitivity, attention to weak sounds.

A stimulating influence on the increase in the property is exerted, in descending order, by the Aristocrat, Questimity, and Tactical poles. In addition, the trait is elevated in the Practicals club and reduced in the Scientists club. The highest values are in the second quadra. The property is one of the components of the paranoial syndrome.

Fig. 12. A complex of properties characterizing weakened functioning of the left inferotemporal cortex in comparison with the functioning of the right inferotemporal cortex (weakened size constancy in visual perception, difficulties in the phonetic control of speech, preference for the left eye). This complex of properties is one component of the paranoial syndrome, which is characterized by a deficit in the functions of the left inferotemporal cortex. The complex is most pronounced among Aristocrats of the fourth quadra and least pronounced among Democrats of the third quadra. It is equally elevated among Practicals and Humanitarians and reduced among Scientists and Socials.

Specifically, size constancy in visual perception is elevated in the first and third quadras and among Socials, and reduced among Practicals and in the fourth quadra. Weakened constancy among “Aristocrats” also has adaptive significance, since it increases the detail with which new objects are perceived and sensitivity to the visual perception of spatial depth (spatial perspective). Disturbance of visual constancy correlates with such personality features as suspiciousness, an illusory sense of the unusualness, incomprehensibility, visual distortion, and hostility of surrounding objects and people’s faces. The high constancy characteristic of “Democrats,” by contrast, tends to make perceived objects standardly comprehensible and uniformly “familiar,” although this “recognition of ordinariness” often occurs at the expense of the thoroughness and detail of their perception, with many individual features of objects being ignored. Thus, the visual world of “Democrats” appears rather as “familiar, recognizable, one’s own, friendly,” although such perception is at times also illusory. The visual world of “Aristocrats,” by contrast, is rather “unfamiliar, alarming, hostile, detailed in its individual features, requiring additional analysis.” Their perception, however, is also an illusion, provoking inadequate wariness, xenophobia, and hostility among pronounced “Aristocrats.” Visual constancy also correlates with other cognitive features that rely on the same neurophysiological mechanisms. Thus, at a first cursory glance, Democrats more readily than “Aristocrats” perceive any structural situation (not necessarily a visual one) as understandable, habitual, and familiar, whereas Aristocrats tend to perceive an arbitrary new situation (and even a recurring situation) as incomprehensible and possibly containing a hidden catch.

The large difference in the expression of the property between SLI and SEI is noteworthy. In particular, also because of this difference between them, the average SEI is a good diplomat (with low wary hostility and rapid, flexible comprehension of new situations), whereas the average SLI is a poor diplomat (with high wary hostility and retarded comprehension of new situations).

Fig. 13. Sybaritism. “If I had a lot of money or could exploit someone and make them work for me, I would not work at all myself” - this is approximately the position of a sybarite. The property was calculated from 4 subtraits. “Caesar” once again fails to overtake “Marshal,” while “Yesenin” and “Huxley” are catching up with them. The greatest honest workaholics are EII and LII. The property is elevated by the “Decisive,” “Irrational,” and “Extrovert” poles.

Fig. 14. Conscientiousness toward other people, respect for others’ interests

The property is coupled with the Judicious pole and, secondarily, with the Democrat pole. Introversion, rationality, and positivism also make smaller but statistically reliable contributions.

Fig. 15. Relaxation, absence of aggressive tension and interest in violence.

First of all, the property is coupled with introversion and ethics, then with the Judicious pole, and then with the Democrat pole.

Fig. 16. Inclination toward verbal aggression. Calculated from three subtraits.

It appears that LSE can be especially sharp-tongued. It is precisely the “Administrator,” and not the “Marshal,” who is most inclined to deliver verbal dressings-down. IEI, SEI, and EII avoid any active swearing. An increase in the property is produced by the Extrovert, Sensing, Logical, and Rational poles. The nonbasic socionic traits have almost nothing to do with it, except that the “Aristocrat” pole exerts a very weak increasing influence on the property.

Fig. 17. Care for close others. Averaging over 3 subtraits.

The Socials lead, especially ESI and ESE. The “anti-record holders” are the Scientists, especially the extroverted ones, and EIE. A very substantial “gap” is visible between EII and EIE, although these types differ in only one basic dichotomy (extraversion-introversion), which does not exert such a strong influence on other types (compare, for example, ILE and ILI). This difference in the size of the “gap” illustrates the nonlinear character of the interaction between basic socionic traits (some important new properties are generated not by adding, but by multiplying the influences of traits).

The increase in the property is produced mainly by the Sensing, “Judicious” (that is, conscientious), and Ethical poles. The entire fourth quadra, with the exception of IEE, does fairly well with this property.

Fig. 18. Ability to get along with people. Calculated from 6 subproperties. The ability to get along with people is produced mainly by belonging to the “Result” pole, followed by the “Ethical,” “Serious” (that is, individualist), and “Yielding” poles.

Fig. 19. Ability to quarrel with people - conflict-proneness. Calculated from 3 subproperties. This property is not entirely opposite to the preceding one – after all, one can simultaneously know how both to get along with people and to come into conflict with them, or, conversely (as in the LII type), be unable to do either. In terms of contribution to producing this property, extraversion occupies first place. Belonging to the “Process” pole (opposite to the “Result” pole, which plays an important role in the ability to get along with people) ranks second among the explanatory factors, and by a substantial margin, while belonging to the “Decisive” pole contributes to conflict-proneness only in third place.

Fig. 20. Resistance to the soporific effect of monotonous sensory stimuli and monotonous work. Averaging over 5 subtraits.

In their resistance to monotony, LSI and LSE leave all the types far behind. And again: the gaps between types in the dual pairs LSI-EIE, SLI-IEE, and LSE-EII are reliably large, whereas in most other dual pairs they are almost equal to zero. These differences cannot be explained on the basis of socionic Model “A.”

Fig. 21. Hypochondria – an inclination to look for and find various illnesses in oneself. “Hamlet,” “Caesar,” and “Robespierre” are distinguished by this predilection, and to a somewhat lesser degree “Jack” and “Gabin.” The property is completely alien to the “Administrator,” LSE. The increase in the property is produced entirely, and with almost equal contributions, by only two socionic traits, namely the “Strategic” and “Obstinate” poles.

Fig. 22. Inclination toward state or public censorship of mass media and mass cultural events (weighted averaging over 9 subtraits, with an average of 327 respondents per subtrait). Political versus spiritual-moral censorship was not distinguished in the study. The decisive influence on an increase in the property is exerted by belonging to the Aristocrat and Sensing poles. Of the eight functions of the psyche, both sensing functions (Se and Si) and Te provoke an increase in the property, while Ne reduces the attraction to censorship. The other functions have effects several times weaker. Among the clubs, the “Practicals” are the most committed to censorship and the “Scientists” the least. Among the quadras, the second quadra is the most committed to censorship and the first quadra the least. The undisputed champion among the types in its attraction to establishing censorship is the “Inspector” type (LSI). All 4 types of the Scientists club (LII first of all), as well as IEE and SEE, have a negative attitude toward censorship.

Fig. 23. Disinclination toward deception, truthfulness, a negative attitude toward any lie or untruth – first of all with respect to one’s own behavior, and then with respect to interpersonal relations and public life. Calculated from 13 subtraits (an average of 250 respondents per subtrait). LII leads in commitment to truth, followed at a small distance by EII. Both of these types are characterized by the motto: “Live not by lies.” The most “deceitful” types are SLE and IEE. An increasing influence on commitment to truth is exerted (in descending order) by belonging to the Introvert, Rational, Questimity, and Democrat poles, and to some extent also the Judicious, Positivist, and Static poles. Among the functions, Ne exerts the greatest increasing influence, Fi to a lesser degree, while Ni and Fe exert a decreasing influence. Among the quadras, the greatest difference is between the first quadra (the most honest) and the second quadra (the most deceitful). Extraversion-introversion exerts a strong influence in transitions from LII to LIE, from SLE to SLI, from EIE to EII, and from ESE to ESI. For the other types, the influence of extraversion-introversion is insignificant.

Fig. 24. Interest in the future, frequency of thoughts about the future, ability to forecast. Calculated from 44 subtraits (an average of 443 respondents per subtrait). All Scientists lead in interest in the future and ability to forecast it, especially Ni types. Among ethical Ni types, only EIE (but not IEI!) has a high level of the property. The lowest value of the property is in the SLI type (evidently, work associated with forecasting abilities and interests is categorically contraindicated for it). An increasing influence on the property is exerted (in descending order) by belonging to the Intuitive, Extrovert, Process, and Constructivist poles. Among the functions, Ni increases the property most strongly, followed by Ne. Si reduces the property, and to a lesser degree Se and Fi. The quadras influence the property weakly, while the clubs influence it strongly. It is clearly visible that the influence of the 8 functions alone, without taking Reinin traits into account, cannot explain the profile of the 16 types by the magnitude of this property. Thus, the ILI and IEI types differ strongly in the magnitude of the property, although their dominant psychic functions do not predict this.

Fig. 25. Reactive psychological vulnerability, touchiness, irritability (in contrast to this – “thick-skinnedness”). Calculated from 14 subtraits. The unsurpassed champion of touchiness and irritability is EIE, while the type opposite in this property (that is, the most “thick-skinned”) is SLE, which belongs to the same second quadra. The Process and Rational poles exert the greatest increasing influence on touchiness-irritability. Ti weakens the property, while Ni increases it. Dual pairs correspond well with one another in the magnitude of this property. The most irritable dual pair is EIE+LSI, while the most “thick-skinned” is SLE+IEI.

Fig. 26. Inertia of negative affect (accumulation of negative emotions, bearing grudges, vindictiveness, inability to let go). Calculated from 8 subtraits. The most grudge-bearing and vindictive types are the dual pair LSI+EIE. Since grudge-bearing is associated with increased functional activity of the amygdala (especially the left) and, in part, the left insular cortex, it should be assumed that it is precisely in these two psychotypes that the activity of the corresponding brain structures is most elevated. Since temporal lobe epilepsy is a model condition for increased amygdala activity, it becomes understandable why the character of the LSI and EIE types is sometimes called “epileptoid.” ESI and ILI are also grudge-bearing. The types that “let go” most readily are IEE, SEE, ILE, and ESE. An increasing influence on grudge-bearing is exerted by the Rational, Decisive, Introvert, Process, and Negativist poles. Ni and Se increase grudge-bearing, while Ne and Si weaken it. The most grudge-bearing quadra is the second, followed at some distance by the third, while the first and fourth quadras are equally non-grudge-bearing.

Accepted Groupings of Types

Psychotypes are grouped into clubs and quadras.

The Scientists club includes four types in which logic and intuition predominate (Don Quixote, Robespierre (also Descartes), Balzac, and Jack London). Within each club, the types have similar professional interests and partly similar ideology. In the Scientists club, the core interests are science, the scientific worldview, and progress. In terms of its views, this is the most democratic club, the one most committed to the values of curiosity, truth, informational openness, internationalism, and individual freedom. However, in their “grasping acquisitiveness” and readiness to cooperate with those who suppress the very freedom they themselves value, the types of the club differ substantially from one another. The most “acquisitive” types are LIE and ILI; the most “collaborationist” is ILI. The least acquisitive and the least collaborationist is LII.

The Socials club includes four types in which ethics and sensing predominate. This is also a democratic club; it focuses on questions of upbringing, health, beauty, communication, and comfort of life. Professional spheres are food, family, upbringing, treatment, health, beauty, and so on.

The Technicians-Managers club includes four types with a predominance of logic and sensing. This is an Aristocratic club, and two of its types from the second psychological quadra are especially predisposed toward reactionary ideology, although the other two (from the fourth quadra) are also distinguished by a certain degree of xenophobia and undemocratic orientation. Professional spheres are power, management, production, technology, and organization.

The Humanitarians club includes four types with a predominance of ethics and intuition. Professional spheres are art, pop culture, journalism (non-analytical), and religion. This is also an Aristocratic club, but its types can be fellow travelers of both Democrats and reactionaries (the latter, however, happens more often).

The principal ideological differences lie between the Scientists and Technicians-Managers clubs. This is because these are predominantly male clubs, and ideology is generated in the male social milieu. The Socials club more often becomes a fellow traveler of Democrats; representatives of the Humanitarians club relatively more often become fellow travelers of Aristocrat-managers.

In addition to division by clubs, the division by quadras of psychological types already given above (see the table of types) is justified. This is connected with the fact that different types interact most actively and are “attracted” to one another within the same quadra. Accordingly, the types of one quadra (two clubs are represented in each quadra) turn out to be very, very close ideologically. Statistics show that marriages between people are also most often formed between types within the same psychological quadra.

The first and second quadras are conditional “collectivists” (the first is focused on cooperation from the bottom upward, the second on a centralized state vertical of power from the top downward). The third and fourth quadras are “individualists.” The first and third are Democrat-internationalists who readily establish similarity; the second and fourth are Aristocrats inclined toward xenophobia who readily establish differences. The first and fourth are alien to excessive competition, grasping acquisitiveness, greed, and deception, and accordingly also avoid violence and tend toward conscientiousness, whereas the second and third are not alien to egocentric greed, are relatively unscrupulous, and have a very high level of personal competitive orientation. All these differences are based on differences in the functional activation of different regions on the map of the brain. For example, according to our own repeatedly verified experimental data (obtained using neuropsychological questionnaires), the division of people into “Aristocrats” and “Democrats” is closely associated with the predominance among “Aristocrats” of activity in right-hemisphere regions of the hippocampus and inferotemporal cortex, and among “Democrats” of the corresponding symmetrical regions of the left hemisphere.

One should not think that there are any absolute criteria for evaluating types as “bad” or conditionally “good.” First, any shortcomings are continuations of strengths; second, each quadra (and, within a quadra, each type) has its own views of what is good and what is bad. As an example, I can point to the mutual incomprehension displayed in one case known to me by two people, a father and daughter: he was LII, she EIE. The LII father sincerely and heatedly condemned his daughter for being egocentric and reading little, “not developing her mind,” while the EIE daughter just as sincerely and heatedly reproached her father for leaving disorder behind him in the apartment, because of which she “did not feel like living.” Each has his own god and his own truth.

Ideological Properties – Their Distribution across Quadras

Thus, ideological properties are grouped mainly by psychological-type quadras.

The first quadra consists of altruists and collectivists who strive to arrange the entire world according to an ideal model. They believe in honesty and equality. Democrats and internationalists, they readily identify themselves with another person and can feel others’ interests as their own, showing sympathy toward them. Their competitiveness, greed, and grasping acquisitiveness are at a low level (especially among the intuitive types of this quadra). Naturally, representatives of the quadra regard these qualities as virtues, but it is equally natural that the second and third quadras, distinguished by a higher average level of the notorious “greed and acquisitiveness,” also regard these characteristics of their own as manifestations of virtues – combativeness and enterprise – while viewing the same first quadra as “intellectuals” (with a negative connotation of this word) and “weaklings.” Violence is regarded by most representatives of the first quadra as an acceptable instrument only if it is necessary for establishing a general just order. They are collectivists in the sense of cooperation “from below.” The ideological tone in the quadra is set by the logical types Don Quixote and Robespierre. Robespierre (LII) is the most consistent custodian and exponent of the quadra’s “ideological values.” Dumas and Hugo are to a considerable extent fellow travelers. Dumas is the least stable fellow traveler, because among all 16 types of the socion he is the greatest conformist, hedonist, appeaser, and collaborationist (Sancho Panza in Don Quixote).

The second quadra consists of collectivists, proponents of a hierarchical organization of society (a vertical of power from the top downward), proponents of isolation, secrecy, and hierarchical great-power orientation based on violence, suppression, and inequality. Monarchists, ideological Aristocrats. Naturally, they are proud of these qualities of theirs. Elevated collectivism manifests itself as an inclination to act as a pack and as an aspiration to make everyone “fall into line” in accordance with the personal ideal of the second-quadra subject. They are inclined toward violence (to the least degree – the Yesenin type). Greed, grasping acquisitiveness, and competitive egoism are strongly developed (not to be confused with individualism, which is opposed to collectivism). The level of xenophobia and even chauvinism is very high for most types of the quadra. Paranoial tendencies are strong. The principal custodian of the quadra’s values is the LSI type (“Inspector,” “Maxim Gorky”). The “Yesenin” type (IEI) is a frequent renegade from its ideology. The “Hamlet” type usually shares and actively puts into practice the principal reactionary views of its quadra, with the exception of excessively rigid censorship. Intuitive subtypes of “Hamlet” (with especially strengthened intuition and sufficiently developed logic) sometimes incline toward the democratic camp (E. Limonov, former LDPR member Mitrofanov, and so on).

We should stipulate that the words “reactionary,” “reactionary person,” and the like are used in the present work not as evaluative categories, but as convenient and sufficiently generally understandable terms for denoting a complex of well-known ideological preferences of a right-wing and far-right conservative orientation.

The third quadra consists of individualists, people with a “couldn’t-care-less” attitude, Democrats, and “business-minded people.” They value independence and freedom of action – primarily their own. Their ideal is an “American dream” society in which people are free and independent and the organizing role of the state is minimal, but at the same time there is also no social protection of the weak from the strong. The types of the third quadra, like those of the second quadra, have a strong orientation toward dynamic struggle and leadership. Internationalists. Xenophobia is completely alien to them; manifestations of a paranoial personality disposition are also absent. Egoism is elevated because of their high aggressive competitiveness. Many representatives of the types of this quadra have developed greed and an inclination toward grasping acquisitiveness – practically to the same degree as the “reactionaries” of the second quadra. This circumstance is a consequence of the increased competitiveness of all types of the “Decisive” pole (the competitiveness of Se is higher than that of Si; the competitiveness of Ni is higher than that of Ne). The types of the third quadra possess a special pragmatic flexibility. It should be noted that in cases of conflict with authority they generally agree to compromise fairly easily, often sacrificing ideological and general social interests in favor of personal ones.

The fourth quadra consists of individualists and ideological Aristocrats; they are inclined toward xenophobia, although to a lesser degree than the second quadra. As in the second quadra, there is an inclination toward paranoiality here (including common apprehensiveness, suspiciousness, hostile wariness, fear of others’ intrigues, and above-average development of their own scheming). What strikingly distinguishes the fourth quadra from the second is its individualism, conscientiousness, disinclination to make everyone “fall into line,” and disinclination to act by means of grasping acquisitiveness and violence. Overall, the types of this quadra tend to respect both their own and others’ freedom, and both their own and others’ rights. In the fourth quadra, the “Gabin” type (SLI) is a renegade who often gravitates toward the reactionary groupism of the second quadra. “Dostoevsky” (Humanist, EII) more often gravitates toward Democrats, because he is especially intolerant of violence originating from the second quadra, the “nest of reaction”; however, he is not inclined toward political activity and in his views is most often nationalist-conservative (A. Solzhenitsyn). Huxley (Journalist, IEE) may be either a liberal or a reactionary – depending on circumstances, on whom he is friends with, and on who has provided for him. EII and LSE dislike lies and falsehoods; SLI and IEE, by virtue of their irrationality, are less averse to lying.

Psychotypes Most Frequent and Psychologically Natural in the Human-Rights Movement of Any Country –

LII (first quadra), ESI (third quadra), EII (fourth quadra). The psychotypes LSI, SLE, and EIE (second quadra) are completely alien to this subject. These latter three types are especially inclined toward an imperial vertical of power, are egocentric, and gravitate toward justifying state violence.

Psychotypes Most Frequent and Psychologically Natural in the Democratic and Liberal Political Movement –

ILE and LII – the first quadra, the quadra of collectivist Democrats (ESE and SEI from this quadra are only democratic fellow travelers, and the SEI type is the least stable and readily yields to police pressure). The LII type is the canonical traditional type of social democrat; social-democratic convictions “in the spirit of Plekhanov” are inherent in this type almost “from birth,” originally. Among provocateurs in all countries, this type appears to be especially rare compared with all the others (unless it is a terminal LSI subtype mistakenly diagnosed as LII).

In the second quadra, statistically, exclusively and only the EIE type (Hamlet) can look natural in the democratic movement rather than deliberately “planted” there. Moreover, not the average “Hamlet,” but only a “Hamlet” with especially strengthened intuition, which in itself is generally the most “democratic” function of the psyche (Limonov, Mitrofanov). But even in this case, “Hamlets” in the democratic process are more likely fellow travelers. What matters to them is the principle of personal freedom from censorship, their personal position at the emotional center of events - necessarily as “newsmakers” – as well as the opportunity to organize and provoke the masses by means of cunning combinations and emotional influence. As the history of human civilization shows, the revolutionary process never proceeds without “Hamlets,” and at certain stages they may play an absolutely necessary and positive role. Under conditions of stagnation, however, “Hamlets” are found much more often among reactionary politicians (Robert Mugabe), and “Hamlets” of average intelligence among security-service agents (because of a certain inner malice characteristic of typical representatives of this type and a special inclination toward intrigue, they often enjoy mystifying and “conning” people, frequently even without any particular personal aim or benefit).

As examples of two “Hamlets” in the democratic movement whose fates are noteworthy, one may name the German composer Richard Wagner and the Russian writer Eduard Saenko (Limonov). In contemporary culture Wagner is known as the great opera composer of the 19th century, the author of “emotionally triumphant” music, and the author of the operatic Ring of the Nibelung. His contemporaries knew the young Wagner as a self-admiring rebel, revolutionary, and socialist, and in life as an imprudent spendthrift and wastrel. After a series of musical failures, for which Wagner was inclined to blame “Jewish domination of music,” Wagner finally became famous, acquiring an influential admirer and patron in the person of King Ludwig II of Bavaria (LSI). At the same time Wagner entered into his second and, finally, happy dual marriage with the ambitious aristocrat Cosima, who was even more antisemitic than he was. As often happens with “Hamlets,” after entering the “ruling class” Wagner’s ideological values sharply changed to their opposites - the former rebel became an equally ardent monarchist, and his nationalism and antisemitism increased tenfold. Extreme egocentrism, however, was typical of Wagner during all periods of his life. The protagonist of our second example, Eduard Limonov, by contrast, wrote jingoistic patriotic articles permeated by a great-imperial spirit in 1998. However, after being rejected and pushed away by the second-quadra security elite of the Russian authorities, he rapidly and sharply moved closer to the liberal opposition, and by 2007 became one of its prominent spokesmen. In 2008 Limonov called down the punishments of the economic crisis upon Russia, because only this, in his opinion, could overthrow the existing hated regime; yet shortly before this, in the same 2008, during the short Russo-Georgian war, after a long interval he once again (and, at first glance, not very consistently) reminded the public of himself as a Russian jingoistic patriot and nationalist. In fact, all these oscillations reveal not only the inconsistency of “Hamlets,” caused by their subjective attitude toward events and their inherent natural egocentrism, but also their innate attraction to nationalism and reactionary great-power orientation, which necessarily breaks through to the surface periodically. Ultimately this attraction (together with egocentrism) ties “Hamlets” to the values of their native second quadra as though with a strong “elastic band”; it is not without reason that it is said of this quadra that its representatives are capable of experiencing orgasmic ecstasy at the sight of a border post. Great-power symbols evoke strong ambivalent feelings in all types of the second quadra: from adoration to a desire to overthrow them or expand the borders, but in any case they do not leave them indifferent. Even in the formally anti-imperial theories of “world revolution” of two famous EIEs, Trotsky and Mao Zedong, a clearly visible “Freudian” thread of great-imperial self-consciousness can be traced. Whatever revolutionary-democratic and liberal speeches political “Hamlets” may deliver (as, indeed, may the other types of the second quadra – SLE, LSI, and even IEI), one must, alas, suspect in them a potential readiness, if they come to power, immediately to make everyone “happy” by breaking the neck of public freedom.

SEE, ESI, ILI, and LIE – all the types of the third quadra – are appropriate, sincere, and natural in the democratic movement. At the same time, however, ESI (“Dreiser”) is inclined toward practical social work, conformism, and moderation, and in general is the least stable type of this quadra within democratic movements; while the average SEE (“Caesar”) – although he loves freedom and personal freedom from censorship – is at the same time one of the most unprincipled political operators in the entire socion. ILI (“Balzac”) is the typical “cat that walks by itself.” “Balzac” is usually deeply egocentric and actively participates (like “Caesar”), as a rule, only in those political undertakings in which advancement is possible and the chances of success are high. Passively, however, if circumstances permit and punishment does not threaten, he is always ready to support freedom in all its manifestations. Because of the cynicism inherent in many Balzacs and an increased readiness for collaborationist accommodation, this type is also not uncommon among the intelligentsia “co-opted” by the authorities. LIE is the principal business-oriented and active pragmatist of all the quadras, the most natural “engine” of most democratic processes (J. Kennedy, B. Obama). It likewise does not become involved with unrealistic tasks. Having attained power, it is liberal, but does not strive for a fundamental restructuring of the foundations according to principles of justice. ESI (“Dreiser”) focuses more on justice and equality in observance of rights and competitive rules, while the other three types of the third quadra focus on “bare” freedom. At heart, no one in the third quadra, the quadra of individualist Democrats, likes censorship or lack of freedom.

From the fourth quadra, IEE and LSE occur in the democratic movement. Although these types are “Aristocrats,” they can justifiably be present in the democratic movement, although they are also quite frequent guests in the reactionary camp. Everything depends on circumstances. Why not the other two types of the fourth quadra? The point is that the EII type (“Dostoevsky,” Humanist) generally shuns political activity, is apprehensive and conservative, and is often religious, although inclined to help people individually (it occurs very frequently in nonpolitical human-rights organizations – Albert Schweitzer, Mother Teresa, Lyudmila Alexeyeva).

The SLI type (“Master,” “Gabin”) in its political views more often gravitates toward the reactionaries of the second quadra. The average, unexceptional “Master” – one who does not reach for the stars – is usually a moderate and conservative xenophobe, inclined toward greed, keeps his own counsel, especially dislikes “smart alecks,” and is passive and slow to get moving (although at the same time he is a jack-of-all-trades). The “Master” extremely rarely enters the thick of political life on his own initiative (and therefore very rarely reaches the top), because, owing to the particular character of his variant of the paranoial syndrome, he feels very, very insecure in a crowd of people, becomes accustomed to new persons slowly, and under stress may often even begin to see some kind of grimacing masks instead of normal human faces. (For the same reason, among all psychotypes the “Master” has the greatest weakening of size constancy in the mechanism of visual perception; visual perspective seems contrastively emphasized to him, to the point of an exaggerated reduction in the size of slightly distant objects).

The IEE type (“Huxley,” “Advisor,” “Journalist”), in the majority of its representatives, has, like many other “Aristocrat” types, somewhat elevated paranoiality, is inclined toward intrigues, is not always morally stable, and is often superficial. What can sincerely keep it in the democratic movement is its unostentatious love of freedom of information, as well as its friends and specific patrons-benefactors. A typical “Huxley” likes to carry information in every direction (“Repetilovism”). Unfortunately, “a journalist for sale” is also fairly often an apt description of him.

LSE - although nationalistic in the majority of its representatives, loves reasonable, just order without grasping acquisitiveness or violence. It is capable of hating those it considers its enemies and is even inclined to enter conspiracies against rulers whose regime appears to it to be “unscrupulous lawlessness” that destroys and humiliates its country (the anti-Hitler conspiracies of the nationalist Admiral Canaris). It also not infrequently becomes an active participant in legitimate democratic processes. For example, in our opinion, Valery Marksovich Smirnov, a delegate of the National Assembly who represents in it the “healthy national forces” opposing, according to him, corrupt fascism, belongs to the LSE type. Nevertheless, many other representatives of the LSE type, influenced by official pseudo-patriotic propaganda, usually remain in the camp of pro-government conservatives.

In conclusion, it should be noted that the psychotypes from the “Scientists” club invariably act as the principal driving force of any democratic movement, each making its own particular contribution: LII (“Robespierre,” “Descartes,” “Analyst”), ILE (“Don Quixote,” “Seeker”), LIE (“Entrepreneur,” “Inventor,” “Jack London”), and ILI (“Critic,” “Balzac”).

Psychotypes Most Frequent and Psychologically Natural in the Far-Right and Chauvinistically Oriented Political Movement.

There is no doubt that psychotypes of the second psychological quadra play the “leading violin” in any far-right political process. Especially LSI, EIE, and SLE. At the same time, each averaged type in this “trio” has its own favorite theme. EIE and LSI are more inclined than all other types toward xenophobia and, in its further development, toward chauvinism, whereas SLE is relatively neutral in this respect. All three (and especially SLE) are advocates of violence and of blackmail through violence and fear as acceptable and desirable instruments of social influence. The most rigid “vertical of power” is constructed under the dictates of LSI; it is precisely the statistically average LSI that is characterized to the greatest degree by suppression of all civil liberties. EIE and SLE are less demanding in this respect. Militarism and imperial aggression develop primarily on the initiative of SLE and EIE, and so on. Each type of the second quadra can make its own “good” contribution to the establishment of totalitarian and authoritarian-police regimes. Fascism and Nazism, unfortunately, also arise primarily from this quadra. “We are merry fellows, pity there is too little ammunition,” - this well-known socionic saying was composed about the second quadra. I would only like to emphasize that we are speaking of tendencies that cannot automatically be extended to every person, even if he formally belongs to one or another type, one or another quadra. The variability of internal psychological variables is sufficiently large even within a single type, and the role of upbringing and education also cannot be completely discounted. No one would bring himself, for example, to classify Maxim Gorky, who is usually assigned to the LSI type, among the fascistic “men in cases,” to whom Arakcheyev, Pobedonostsev, Stalin, Müller, and Hoover undoubtedly belonged. Among EIEs, most widely known representatives of this type can indeed also be classified as reactionaries (for example, Chateaubriand, Adolf Hitler). But some EIEs sincerely laid down their lives on the altar of democratic revolutions. SLE rule usually ended in unrestrained military-imperial aggression indifferent to casualties among the people (Tamerlane, Peter the Great, Napoleon Bonaparte, Benito Mussolini). But Winston Churchill was also an SLE. The same can be said of the IEI type, which in general rarely becomes the “ideological engine” of the second quadra. Yesenin was friends with professional killers from the Cheka (many of them belonged to the SLE type and were his psychological duals). But on the scales of world culture, his poems fell not into the pan of bloody dictatorship, but into the pan of life, love, beauty, and open honesty.

Outside the second quadra, its recruitment of “its own” can occur in both the third and fourth quadras. Seeking support in the third quadra, the second appeals to shared values of egocentric grasping acquisitiveness; when seeking allies in the fourth quadra, it turns to nationalism. But genuine National Socialism can exist stably only within the second quadra itself. Only here, as a tendency, are imperialism, cruelty, violence, militarism, the “romance of the highway,” grasping acquisitiveness, vindictive persecution of dissenters, and chauvinism all gathered together in one place. This conclusion is confirmed by our research, but we were not the first to discover it. For example, the authors of one openly chauvinistic website, who may very well have received fairly good police training in the field of differential psychology, directly advise their like-minded readers that supporters for neo-fascist organizations should be recruited in the second psychological quadra. According to these authors - we do not wish to provide a link to their website, but we will indicate a scientific forum where their article is discussed, - representatives of the second quadra constitute the overwhelming majority of all NS, skinheads, and other radical nationalists in contemporary Russia. Well, the far right presumably knows who is one of their own and who is an outsider. The authors of the article also directly identify the types that are categorically alien to them ideologically. In their opinion, this is the entire first psychological quadra, which is especially hostile to fascism and Nazism. The authors, who do not conceal their sympathies for Hitler, also assign the greater part of the Russian intelligentsia to the first quadra, which is hostile to them (apparently correctly).

We should stipulate that by no means all currently politically active representatives of the second quadra can be called radical nationalists and skinheads. Some anarchists, for example, also belong to the second quadra. The greater part of the country’s security and political “Putin” elite that came to power after Yeltsin also belongs to the second quadra. They would take offense if we tried to find too much in common between them and shaven-headed skinhead thugs. Probably Putin himself, the universally known democrat and Yeltsin’s successor, would also justifiably take offense in that case – after all, some authoritative socionics scholars consider V. Putin, like Arakcheyev, Nicholas I, and I. Stalin, also a “pure” representative of the second quadra (LSI).

Principal Scientific Conclusions:

1. For the first time in the history of neo-Jungian personality typology, we have clearly demonstrated, using experimental examples, that quadral and certain other “nonbasic” socionic traits (“Democrats-Aristocrats,” “Judicious-Decisive,” “Merry-Serious,” and others) have real substantive and very clearly expressed content, and that this substantive content is closely connected with the ideological sphere – the sphere of people’s political views and ideological preferences. Although this is a well-known fact in socionic practice and culture, no direct experimental evidence of it had been presented by anyone before us. It was also possible to investigate the “fine structure” of specific ideological properties. It turned out that in most cases they are coupled not with one isolated socionic trait (for example, the Aristocrats-Democrats trait), but with two or three, and sometimes with an even larger number of socionic traits.

2. It has thereby also been shown that ideological and political differences in people’s views rest not so much on upbringing, education, and other environmental factors as on innate temperamental differences. The data obtained in this work shed completely new light on the genesis of both democratic and far-right ideology.

3. It has been shown that psychologically there is no single concept of “liberalism.” There is the left-wing “collectivist” liberalism of the first psychological quadra, gravitating toward social equality and the European social-democratic ideological model, and there is the “individualistic” economic liberalism of the third psychological quadra, gravitating toward minimal social guarantees and toward “American” principles of minimal state intervention in the economy and in people’s lives. What these two directions have in common is their shared and joint alienness to xenophobia and chauvinistic nationalism. Correspondingly, right-wing ideology, while formally united on the basis of nationalism, is divided into two psychological components – the great-power imperial ideology of a rigid vertical of power professed by the second quadra, and the almost equally nationalistic but much more individualistic and conscientious, and therefore more liberal, “right-wing” ideology of the fourth psychological quadra, resembling American ideology of the early 20th century with its rejection of state regulation of the economy, its developed distinctive nationalism, and the Monroe Doctrine, simultaneously nationalistic and anti-imperial in essence. Thus, within right-wing ideology the revolutionary, aggressively totalitarian principle is represented by the second quadra, while the moderately conservative principle is represented by the fourth quadra. Socialism as an ideology, in turn, is divided into the democratic liberal socialism of the first psychological quadra and the ideology of the second quadra, which clearly gravitates toward National Socialism. The third quadra, distinguished, like the second, by elevated competitiveness and “grasping acquisitiveness,” and, together with the fourth quadra, by elevated individualism, may on this basis to a certain extent classify itself as “right-wing” in the traditional American sense of the pre-Roosevelt era; however, together with the more “left-wing” first quadra, it at the same time belongs to a single liberal democratic camp characterized by the absence of paranoial traits and xenophobia, as well as by democratic orientation and a relatively low level of hostility.

4. It has been proved and demonstrated that the most widespread division of ideological directions in politics into two principal poles, following the two-party system widespread in the West (right-wing conservative-nationalists and left-wing liberal-internationalists), is completely insufficient for adequately reflecting the ideological diversity of society. The number of separately distinguished ideological preferences should at minimum equal the number of psychological quadras, that is, four; at the same time, no clear pairwise opposition emerges among the four ideological directions.

5. For the ideologically most important socionic trait “Democrats-Aristocrats,” not only has its real substantive ideological content been shown, distinguishing it in detail, in particular, from the poles of the “Judicious-Decisive” and “Merry-Serious” traits, but a close connection between the “Democrats-Aristocrats” trait and neuropsychological asymmetry of the human brain has also been demonstrated. In “Democrats,” the left-hemisphere regions of the inferotemporal cortex, posterior parietal cortex, and hippocampus are reliably more functionally activated (the left-hemisphere regions of the hippocampus provide them with higher pain sensitivity), whereas in “Aristocrats” the corresponding right-hemisphere regions are more activated. An evolutionary explanation is given for the adaptive functions of the syndromes arising at the poles of this trait. Within this evolutionary explanation, it also becomes understandable why “Aristocrats” predominate in the personnel of the security structures of any state. Both the advantages and disadvantages of the syndrome of “paranoial” perception and thinking that colors the “Aristocrat” pole are demonstrated; at the physiological level, this syndrome is reduced mainly to right-hemisphere asymmetry in the functional activity of the inferotemporal and posterior parietal cortex.

6. It has been shown that the core property of the psychotypes of the “Serious” pole (the third and fourth quadras) is individualism, while that of the “Merry” pole is collectivism. The core property of the “Decisive” pole (the second and third quadras), in contrast to the “Judicious” with their conscientiousness, is a tendency toward egocentric lack of restraint, elevated competitiveness, and grasping acquisitiveness. The core property of the “Aristocrat” pole (the second and fourth quadras), in contrast to the “Democrats,” is the paranoial syndrome and xenophobia, which is to a considerable extent coupled with it.

7. The work proposes an explanation for the well-known low heritability coefficient of psychological types and traits through a number of considerations of evolutionary expediency.

Viktor Lvovich Talanov, St. Petersburg, June 2008

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Copyleft V. L. Talanov 2008

The text was first published on the website in June 2008; it is currently presented in the revised author’s edition of 23.10.2008.

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