Basic if*u* (IuRcAc) |
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This pattern probably represents the schizoid introversive adjustment. The if*a [IuRcAu] is more socially and interpersonally active, and although the detached quality of his adjustment is obvious, he lacks the introversive, withdrawn flavor of the if*u*. To some extent, the if*a [IuRcAu] has learned to being internalized and ideational, while, at the same time, maintaining a relatively effective social role. In contrast, the if*u* has learned to be non-responsive to, or to defend against the social-interpersonal demands of his environment. As a result, he is a seclusive, self-sufficient, and mentally preoccupied person who is behaviorally inactive. In the extreme, this can be a schizophrenic adjustment in which the individual will not only have lost reality contact, but will have hallucinatory experiences. However, it is not necessarily a schizophrenic solution, for many if*u*, with average or high intellectual levels will make effective, contemplative, intellectualized, or mystical adjustments.
The if*u* and i*f*u* [EcRcAc] adjustments have much in common. The primary feature that distinguishes them is the tension required for the i*f*u* [EcRcAc] to maintain his adjustment. The if*u* is quite comfortable in his withdrawal and, thus, has little tension. The i*f*u*, [EcRcAc] still responsive to external distraction, has to be more disciplined and isolated from stimulation; he may become quite disabled because of the external bombardment of tempting and seducing stimuli. The if*u* is relatively impervious to external distraction and can exist with relatively little stress.
A primary problem for the if*u [IuRcUu] *is his autosensuality. His sensual experience is so personal and intimate that it is almost impossible for him to share it. Depending upon the cultural milieu in which he is reared, the guilt or anxiety he feels about his personal experiences is a function of the value systems he has learned or adopted. The iru* [IuRuAc] can give free rein to his autosensuality with little guilt, and practically no control. The if*u*, because he is f*, has a conscience related to external learning. For example, in the American culture, masturbation is very common for the if*u*, arising from his conscious recognition of the discrepancy between the self-satisfaction derived from the act and its social-cultural inappropriateness. While an e*f can escape from his internalized guilt to externalized activity, the if* must learn to sublimate or control one internalized activity by developing another. Religion, philosophy, or intellectual activity are the principal psychologically acceptable means. The if*u* makes his total commitment to internalized activity and becomes negativistic or defensive to even superficial social activity. The if*a [IuRcAu] can maintain autosensual control and still remain socially active and involving, at least on a superficial level.
Generally speaking, the if*u [IuRcUu] is an intense person who can learn efficiently, given a sufficiently high intellectual level, high complex theoretical and abstract material. However, he does this in a very individualistic and self-sufficient way. The if*u* is seclusive, non-relating, and much more non-conforming and unconventional than the if*a. [IuRcAu] While he may be imaginative, he is not necessarily as creative as the ifu*. [IuFuAc] At average and below average intellectual levels, the if*u* tends to be superstitious and fantasy prone. Witches, fairies, and demons can be accepted as real. It is genuinely difficult for the if*u [IuRcUu] * to separate the real from the imagined, so his life experience is often distorted from the point of view of the external observer by highly individualized perceptions and conceptions. It is often exceptionally difficult for the externalized individual to understand or accept the abstract experience of the if*u*, and usually the if*u* has little need or desire to explain.
Some genuinely creative abstract writers and painters come from this cluster, but this type of productivity is not as common as in the ifu [IuFuUu] and ifu* [IuFuAc] groups. The literalness and imitativeness of the primitive R orientation limits the breadth of creativity for the if*u*; thus, though imaginative, there is a mundaneness that results in prosaic products. Drug addiction is common among members of this cluster because the if*u* needs artificial help to expand his fantasy productivity.
Obviously, in any adjustment as contemplative and ideational as the if*u*, preoccupation with self and with one's mental and physical processes is very common. Somatic preoccupations, conversion hysterias, and neurasthenic reactions are fairly common.