Identity

See also Identity observations

Back to Intertype relations

Introduction

Identity is one of the 14 intertype relations. Identity is an intertype relation between two people of the same type. For example, two people both of type ENTp have an identity relation and are called "identicals". The two partners of such relation have exactly the same IM type.

Relations of identity are characterized by a very rapid "getting to know you" process and the ease of communicating information to each other. Identity partners can easily relate to each other and offer sympathy and understanding, but rarely solutions. When interacting together on a daily basis, both people tend to want to take responsibility for the same areas, making cooperation difficult. Often one partner is left to idle, which makes the relationship less cohesive than others. However, since identical partners share the same quadra values (in the same ways), they will take a similar aspect on life and how to approach it. Such similarities tend to take the focus off of a competitive mindset between the two (more than, say, kindred relations), since they can reflect on their identical strengths & problematic aspects of their lives.

If identicals have shared interests, they can provide a great deal of stimulation to the other's activity. Identicals also make perhaps the best role models, since they represent how one can realistically develop one's strengths and thus gain personal fulfillment and societal recognition. In contrast, complementary relations gravitate towards direct interaction, where their benefits are the most profound.

In contrast to other symmetrical relations, which divide the socion into 8 pairs, and asymmetrical relations, which divide the socion into 4 rings of 4 types, 16 identical pairs are possible. See Mathematics of socionics for a more comprehensive explanation.

Descriptions by various authors

Valentina Meged, Anatoly Ovcharov

These are relations between people who are very similar. They are characterized by good understanding and ease of communication. If built on trust and mutual empathy, these relations are good for friendship. In marriage, there may be difficulties due to partners' inability to help each other, since they have the same weak and strong aspects and have difficulty objectively evaluating each other's activities, goals and accomplishments. These relations are active when partners have a common interest, task, or project, where there is something to learn from a more experienced partner. Without new information these relations quickly exhaust themselves. Partners generally view each other's weaknesses with sympathy. Identical relations enable the partners to take a critical look not only at each other but also at themselves from outside.

I.D. Vaisband, publications on Socionics

Two persons of the same type understand each other very well, since information is easily transferred between them. This is great foundation for a teacher-student type of relationship. No one can teach faster and clearer than an identical. However, as soon as their knowledge is aligned, their interest in maintaining relations decreases, since they cannot say anything new to each other for now both are equally informed. Both are strong and weak in the same areas, so that they can not expect support from each other in their weak aspects, and are therefore unlikely to especially need each other. Even talking with each other can be uninteresting: what one thinks, the other voices. If they were left alone in a secluded spot, one might even say that they have forgotten how to talk. Identicals react in the same manner to the same stimuli. What is clear to one - is clear to both. What is not clear to one - is not clear to the other either. There is no complementarity. Marriage is advisable only if they want to devote their lives to some common cause, as Pierre and Marie Curie.

O.B. Slinko, "The key to heart - Socionics"

Identical partners perceive the world and exert their influence on it in very similar ways. This does not mean, however, that they are alike in everything and will always understand and agree with each other. However, one's identical seems painfully obvious: his weaknesses and problems are evident, because you have the same ones. You cannot help because you yourself are weak in the same areas. The most frequent feeling which arises in relation to your identical is that of sympathy. Much is forgiven to an identical; his actions are justified as one's own. At times, however, such a partner becomes boring and uninteresting: you feel that you can reach the same conclusions on your own. Situation changes for the better when one partner in an identical pair is superior in experience and development to the other, which happens in parent-child, teacher-student, supervisor-worker relationships. In this case, the transfer of information happens quickly and in a very straightforward manner, and the difference in knowledge levels is rapidly bridged. Identical is the best student and best teacher. This is why in a dual family children are often of identical types to their parents.

R.K. Sedih, "Informational psychoanalysis"

This interaction leads to an interesting effect. The mask that every person wears for functioning in a society is almost transparent to your identical. This has both positive and negative consequences. Deep understanding of one's partner allows for quick and productive learning from his experience. On the other hand, it is difficult to communicate with a partner who is able to see right through you. This is especially of concern to non-dualized individuals who may have lot of problems and little desire to display them. Situation is particularly heavy if in addition the partners find themselves in a situation where they have to conflict and compete. Their internal squabbles are at a risk of becoming apparent to everyone. Very fortunate is the child who has one identical and one dual parent. Children from such families are usually ahead of their peers in their health and psychological development. Identical relations are most appropriate for a parent-child, teacher-student arrangement, as well as for friendships of medium level of comfort. Teacher-student relations often pass onto friendship, as the student quickly catches up with teacher. However, such friendships are unstable, because to help one's identical one must "detach" from oneself and own problems. High-speed of learning also has its disadvantages; the student may at some point challenge the authority of the teacher. This is the cause of human progress and, at the same time, of many personal tragedies, however, only for those who were looking for a monument to their own merits. A person with many students who is not averse to their opinion has a chance to move forward faster than anyone.

Laima Stankevichyute "Intertype relations"

First love is often one's dual or identical. Two persons of the same type are very well aware of each other. Their behavior and activities often bear very noticeable similarities. They even speak using the same kind of verbal constructions. Identicals are often clear to each other and share some values. Collaboration is usually successful, but marriage can be difficult. First of all, because where there is lack of information, there is lack on both sides. In addition, in close communication, instructions and wishes seem to be offensive and ill-timed. Families consisting of two identical types often break down.

A.V. Bukalov, G. Boiko, "Why Saddam Hussein made a mistake, or what is Socionics"

These relations are interesting because if you look at the other person it is as if you're looking at yourself from the outside. For people who know Socionics, in the type stereotypes become especially evident in these relations. Identicals understand where the other is coming from. The motives that guide the other person are clear, which helps to correct own behavior. The protective mechanisms of the psyche are also visible, which is a kind of mask worn by people in presence of others. These relationships are best when there is a need to transfer accumulated knowledge and experience, for example, while studying, because the student understands the teacher perfectly well, and the teacher can easily see needs of the student. This is especially noticeable when subtypes match. Different subtypes take somewhat longer to understand each other: to the Si-SEI it will seem that Fe-SEI is overly active and disturbs the "emotional space" too much; to the Ne-ILE it seems like Ti-ILE is overly cautious, even limited, caught up analyzing narrow problems. Identicals look at the world with the same eyes, so after the transfer of the experience has been completed, they have nothing more to say to each other and relations grow cold. One exception to this is cases when they have to work on a common goal or objective.

Victor Gulenko, "Criteria of reciprocity"

Monotonous debate

Communication is productive only at different levels of knowledge. In this case, an interesting discussion starts up. When identicals are on equal intellectual levels, debate becomes protracted and quickly gets tiring. With some pleasure you try to break the monotony of these relations by encouraging your partner to take actions that are uncharacteristic for his temperament. There is usually good understanding but no deep interest in each other. If you do not disturb the balance artificially, you will not avoid subsequent clash of interests.

Binary signs of intertype relations

Partners intuitively understand each other's motives and oppose any attempt to normalize their behavior, to subordinate their freedom to any restrictions, however fair. Identical pair is extremely democratic and violates all frameworks and traditions.

Identity relations quickly manifest their cold nature. Identical types easily calculate the logic of each other's behavior and therefore quickly lose mutual interest. They show a tendency towards intellectualization - the importance of cognitive interests and intellectual discussions.

Identical pair combines similar outlook on life, often adopts the same side on issues, shares in hobbies and interests. Plans that identical partners create together are colorful and promising, but have little chance to get implemented as they intended.

Identical relations quickly grow boring and monotonous due to similarity of temperament and understandable ways of the partner. Basic human passions rarely change throughout life. And if such changes occur, their causes and meaning, are easily understood. It becomes more difficult to dispel the dullness of these relations.

Identical partners are so much alike in their preferences, that as a couple they adapt to each other even more. This similarity is initially attracts. They strive to achieve even greater understanding and in pursuit of this process will eventually lose the outcome. Their socionics aspects are summed up and the contribution of each thus becomes indistinguishable.

Advice on getting along

These relations require constant influx of new varied information that can be discussed. During the discussion, there is a tendency to engage in intellectual debates, trying to prove one's intellectual superiority. Therefore, try to go out more often, socialize, visit the theater, museums, parks, or simply even take walks in populated places.

Divide household responsibilities and don't stress anyone's priority. Keep in mind that identical relations will never provide what partners expect of out of them, so be prepared for disappointments and adjustments to plans to make them more realistic. The less pleasant side of these relations is that there is an ongoing uncertainty with regard to one's partner. As soon as such doubts arise, set aside your emotions and rationally try to figure out what's wrong. Without understanding of the general pattern of partner's behavior, an explanation of the particulars briefly stabilizes these relations. Don't let arrogance take over these relations. Try to communicate democratically, with a sense of humor.

V.V. Gulenko, A.V. Molodtsev, "Introduction to socionics"

These is a lot of understanding between identical partners, but also an inability to truly help one another. Seeing this, identical partners are likely to develop a sense of sympathy for each other. You want to support or justify your partner in any way, since you feel that in this situation you would have done the same. On the other hand, communication quickly gets boring. Not receiving new information from the partner, you see the futility of such relations. Uninformative partner seems boring and dull. Over time, relations become either neutral or cool. This is not surprising, because after the exchange of information it is not interesting to keep up a conversation, knowing well in advance that you could reach the same conclusions. One exception to this is if there is very large difference in the experience or knowledge. Then there may be great interest and attraction towards each other. Such relationships are ideal for teacher-student type of interaction. Collaboration in this case is also effective, as it adds two forces in same direction. Communication between overlapping subtypes is much more pleasant and easy. With mismatched subtypes partners perceive each other with some suspicion; it seems that the other person is somehow misdirected. Identical relations are of great educational value, because they allow a person to look at himself or herself more objectively and evaluate own strengths and weaknesses. And taking a look at ourselves is not always pleasant. Even own voice recorded on tape seems not so much worse than one thought. These relationships help to develop proper self-estimation.

Ekaterina Filatova, "Art of understanding yourself and others"

Such relations are extremely productive in teacher-student type of interaction: no one can teach as well and learn as quickly as an identical. However, as soon as their knowledge equalizes, their interest in one another is lowered, since they cannot tell anything new to each other. They have the same reactions to the same stimuli. Both are strong and weak in the same areas, so that they cannot expect support from each other in the areas of their weak functions. It even happens that they have nothing to talk about because identicals think along the same lines.

If a married couple is in dual relations, and the child inherits the type of one of the parents, these are extremely favorable conditions for the child's development. As there can be no better teacher than an identical, there can be no better guardian than a dual: from the side of the dual support is always felt, dual loves you without asking for anything in return, just for "who you are". Unfortunately, in many families parenting is done only by one parent. In this case, if the parent's type is identical to that of the child, he teaches the child well, but the child does not feel a sense of security and support for the weak functions. The child then has to become self-sufficient quickly; he may develop into a cold personality, with rigid structural attitudes, and exaggerated desire for prestige both at work and at home. If, however, he is brought up by his dual, the child feels supported from early years, grows used to being loved "for who he is" without making any effort, but then he grow up poorly adapted to handle difficult situations, since he is not in the habit of at least to some extent compensating for his weak functions, as the burden was previously alleviated by his dual parent.

For many children of school age, compatibility with their teacher, who teaches all the subjects at the primary level, may be decisive for many years of future studies. If the student is identical of the teacher, he readily understands him or her, studies well and, of course, receives high marks. For those children whose socionic type is not very compatible with the type of the teacher, studying is difficult. Such a child usually falls behind in studies and can even develop insecurity in own abilities.

Identical partnership between two intuitive types is more difficult because neither has much interest in the prosaic, but alas, necessary household duties - they find it much more interesting to talk about some exciting challenges. The relationship of this kind are more likely to be productive for creative work, especially if they have common spheres of activity. For example, two representatives of type IEI can sufficiently enrich each other's knowledge in the humanitarian fields, if one of them is, for example, a psychologist, and another - a physician. In these relations, a lot depends on people's level of development, range of interests and spheres of activity.

Eugene Gorenko, Vladimir Tolstikov, "Nature of self"

These relations provide the best understanding because strong functions of partners coincide. Thus partners act and think very similarly in many instances. Disadvantage of these relations is that there is no element of surprise in behavior of the other. In addition, there remain a number of vital issues that are not solved because both partners are strong in same qualities, whereas the opposite qualities are not represented at all in these relations.

Sergei Ganin

Homoverted - Symmetrical - Rhythmical

These are relations of complete understanding between partners but with an inability to help each other. Identical partners see the world with identical eyes, identically work out received information, come to identical conclusions and have identical problems. Identical partners usually experience sympathy towards each other, trying to support and justify each other.

Identical relations have a negative side too. Interaction with an Identical partner may quickly become boring unless partners have common interests, working on the same project, or if one partner has sufficient preponderance in knowledge so a teacher and student situation can develop. Usually when partners do not receive any new information from each other they find no use in such interaction and their relations can become neutral.

However, periodically even neutral relations come alive for a short period of time. It happens when partners discover new things about each other. If Identical partners feel a mutual attraction to each other their relations can be really loving and caring.

In order for Identical relations to last, one partner has to take a role of the Dual as if it was a Duality relationship. Usually it happens naturally. If the two are introverts, one often subconsciously attempts to take care of the extroverted side of things, if the two are thinking types, then one would try to fill the resulting emotional void etc. Different backgrounds and function developments of Identical partners could help in this case, however as with any other relationship there has to be a driving force behind it to keep it going.

The result of Identical relations is self-development, because these relations can help you to look at your own abilities and disabilities from a different angle. Identical relations can be compared with watching a video of oneself. In conclusion, only these relations can provide a person with correct self-evaluation.

Theoretical properties of identical relations

Model A

Identical types have identical functions.

Reinin traits

Identity types have all 15 Reinin traits in common. This is the only relationship for which this is true; all other pairs share exactly 7 (for mathematical reasons that a more knowledgeable mathematician could explain).

External links

• Identical relations by Sergei Ganin