Integration of External Stimuli in Socionics and Cognitive Sciences
Transformations of energy – the changes in the external reality – are acquired by us through all 5 senses. In this respect, material objects manifest not only as visual qualia, but also as sounds, smells, tastes and bodily sensations. Any of the senses can be considered to possess its own space and time dimensions. The socionic model does not describe how these external stimuli are integrated into the information about objects or relationships between them that is later processed in the mind. The focus is clearly on information that has already been pre-processed by lower-level cognitive structures. Due to that, socionics may be considered an extension of analytical psychology.
At the same time, socionics offers some hypotheses about the control flow in the psyche. According to them, the efficiency of information processing and even overall mental health can be controlled by exposing weak functions to compatible (or incompatible) forms of information (information elements). This type of consideration is characteristic for the fields of system science and cybernetics. At the most general level, socionics may be classified as part of the cognitive sciences.
The notion of an object used in the descriptions of information elements requires some attention. When we consider what is treated by the psyche as an object and what is not, the hypothesis is that extraverted types (the ones possessing an object-element in the dominant function) tend to pre-process information to give it the form of perceptions, thoughts, feelings and sensations centered on a focal point (which is a broader category than just physical objects with clearly traceable boundaries).
On the other hand, introverts are more likely to initially organize incoming information into information about relationships between these focal points. A concept, a remembered place or an event may be used as a focal point.
The concept of communication or flow of content between conscious and subconscious fields of the psyche is quite important in analytical psychology, therefore it was also considered in socionics. The possible route of information between mental and vital rings was discussed by Gulenko (Gulenko, 1998). This question was also investigated by Yermak, and the results of his analyses were described in his books (Yermak, 2003, 2009). The latter author suggested that the transfer of control signals between the functions of model A should be considered, rather than the transfer of information. In this regard, Yermak’s approach differs from Gulenko’s. It should be noted that this matter is an example of a modeling dilemma which can be solved only by making an assumption, formulating predictions based on that assumption and checking how well these predictions correspond to reality. This approach was adopted, but there is still no consensus on the issue.
An attentive reader will have noticed that the names of the functional blocks – ego, superego, id and superid – are borrowed from Freud, but this connection should be treated rather as a naming convention than a statement of full equivalence. Another issue arises due to the abstract definitions of information elements. In fact, a deep understanding of their meaning is challenging for those who are not experts in the field. Over time, the abstract definitions proposed by Augustinavičiūtė were reformulated, by herself and other thinkers. For thorough and user-friendly explanations of information elements, the reader may consult Eglit's book (Eglit, 2010).
To some extent, the aspects of information represented by these elements are closely related to the areas of operation of corresponding Jungian functions, but on the other hand they have distinctive properties of their own, like statics and dynamics. Jung was careful with his conclusions about the structure of the psyche. He emphasized the great complexity of the mechanism and the immense diversity shown in different people. In his view, traits like extraversion/introversion or conscious/unconscious should be treated as scales, in which moderate strengths of these qualities are possible, and not as simple binary oppositions.
However, even if binary values are assigned to specific functions within Model A, the integrated effect of the operation of the whole system is indeed not binary, but diverse. Moreover, some initial simplifications have to be made in order to propose a fixed framework. The overall value of the model is judged based on its predictive quality. As shown in the cited works (Eglit, 2013; Horwood & Maw, 2012; Reinin, 2005), the results of its application are positive and therefore it should warrant greater interest.
The aim of socionics is not only to propose a simplified structural model of the psyche that submits to logical analysis, but also to explain misunderstandings in communication between people in terms of their typological differences and information metabolism. These misunderstandings find logical explanations within a socionics framework.