Humanitarian Socionics

Activity orientations

One of the most important tasks for socionics is to align interests of an individual with the interests of the society. A student and a user of socionic knowledge is waiting for an answer to two burning questions: ”How do I orchestrate my own personal life?” and “How do I realize my potential within the society?”. The second question, from the point of view of socionics, is more important than the first one. It goes without saying that answers are given in the form of recommendations, not prescriptions.

Under the activity orientation we define one of the quaternions which indicates the orientation of a sociotype towards an area of fulfilling their social mission. Activity orientations are recommended to be studied by the socionic groups, since professional growth and realization of the potential is such an important topic for the type carrier.

The four activity orientations are found by combining Jungian dichotomies logic-ethics (the degree of orientation towards people or towards objective (non-personal) factors such as tasks) and sensory-intuition (the degree of the material embodiment of the products resulting from an activity). The third dichotomy - aristocracy-democracy - is also involved in the formation of these activity orientations. However, it is customary to disclose these particular factors in detail when considering other important groups, such as quadras. Therefore, within the framework of this question, we will limit ourselves only to the two Jungian dichotomies.

There are 4 activity orientations: technical and managerial orientation, social and communicative orientation, humanitarian and artistic orientation, and research (scientific) orientation.

Activity orientations are widely used in the socioanalysis to evaluate the work of a team according to the criteria which define a successful performance. To be effective in a competitive environment, the key participants of the group must also be representatives of the activity orientation associated with the task at hand.

However, often a team is faced with the task that lies at the intersection of different activity orientations. For example, effective sales may require a combination of social and humanitarian orientations (such as bringing new products to the market) or social and management orientations (such as service).

As practice shows, a highly specialized approach to building teams is not very effective. We usually deal with the intersection of activity orientations, when managers, socials, humanitarians, and scientists (as in the current field of socionics) work together. In this case, priorities are set, and a certain proportion of people with the appropriate activity orientations are recruited in order to create an integrated and effective team.

It follows that a person often has to work in an adjacent activity orientation. In this case, adaptation occurs through the so-called semi-duality shift.

For example, a Critic in management tends to develop the behaviors of a Marshal. A Searcher in a technological sphere models themselves after the Craftsman’s behavior. A Guardian as a manager develops qualities that resemble an Administrator, etc.

Ignorance of these patterns sometimes leads to gross errors in the type diagnostics. The most common example: a person with the type of EIE, who categorically considers themselves a scientist (most often as an ILE, if they are a Player subtype, or as an LII, if they are a Mentoring subtype). It should be added that in this particular case, self-identification with an incorrectly understood literary image of Don Quixote also showcases such a gross error. In traditional socionics, Don Quixote is referred to as an ILE, which contradicts an ethical-romantic, that is, humanitarian orientation, as well as the straightforwardness of this character.

Similarly, and in parallel to the law of quadra changeability, the law of changeability of activity orientations also takes place. The law states that there is an inevitable cyclical change in terms of what activity orientation is preferred in a society. Here, a previous orientation, having fulfilled its tasks, gives way to the next orientation, which opens up a new stage in the development of the society, which naturally follows from a previous stage. Here is the sequence:

Scientists > Managers > Socials > Humanitarians > new Scientists, etc.

Scientific developments lead to technological progress. Then, under its influence, the social reconstruction of the society takes place. As a result of social transformations, a new person emerges. The manifestation of new abilities leads to new scientific discoveries, which are again introduced into the production process, and the cycle repeats once more.