Asking / Declaring

Asking types: LII, ILE, EIE, IEI, ESI, SEE, SLI, LSE
Declaring types: SEI, ESE, SLE, LSI, ILI, LIE, EII, IEE

Aushra Augusta

Asking-Declaring in Theory of Reinin Dichotomies, Part 2

Victor Gulenko

Questimity / Declatimity in Signs of Reinin

Considered one of the most difficult dichotomy to diagnose by Victor Gulenko, as well as Merry / Serious.^[1]

Socionics Working Group - 2003 Study of Reinin traits

Askers

Asking types have a tendency to use interrogative intonations. Their statements sound far less categorical than those of declarers.

Asking types are inclined to answer a question with a question. Quite often they begin their story with phrases like "What should I tell you about?...". They often asks question that serve no purpose and require no answer ("Will you be there? - Who? I? I'll be there!") and repeat questions they've been asked even though they heard and fully understood them ("Will you be there? - Will I be there? Well..."). Often they use questions as means to keep the conversation going (For instance they may ask questions just to buy time to think of the answers)

Askers, to a large degree, conduct communication in a form of a question and an answer. Always conducting dialogues with who ever they are talking to ("I would like to hear your response", "Ask me, I'll answer") or in imaginary conversations (internal "dialogue"). Even if the story of the asker was planned as a monologue, as a rule it decomposes into fragments (question - answer) inevitably turning into a dialogue.

The asker quickly and at once reacts to a question set in the path of it's monologue (Independent of importance and rationality/irrationality of the question asked) ? answers the question then continues where they left off. As they are naturally prone to a dialogue style of communication over a "meek"(Unrequited) monologue mode, they prefer when they are asked questions when in monologue mode. Also because of that it takes great effort to stay on course and resist the temptation to stray of course by interrupting the interlocutor with questions that could possibly take them of course.

Declarers

When Declaring types speak they're inclined to use affirmative intonations and because of that they are often perceived as confident or as categorical. Even their questions are often relayed in an affirmative tone.

Declaring types are inclined to ask questions to receive/get answers to them. Unlike askers, they rarely answer a question with a question or ask questions that are conversational surplus or ask questions as a way to keep the conversation going.

Declarers are inclined to communicate in forms of monologues, where each party has "it's turn". Because of that they subconsciously attempt to transform a dialogue into a monologue (Either their own or that of their interlocutor by just listening without interrupting) and as a result of that the conversation ends up sounding like a sequence of two alternating monologues.

Declarers can lose their train of thought when they are interrupted with questions during their monologues and because of that they usually wait and respond to such questions later. When asked a question "on topic" they will usually asks the person who asked the question to be patient as they are getting to that or to wait till they are finished and will try to incorporate their answer into their monologue. They relate with greater understanding to the desire to not to be interrupted while they are speaking and because of that they avoid asking questions while their interlocutor is speaking even if they are "on topic" and prefer to ask questions and voice reciprocal arguments after their interlocutor has finished speaking.

^References

[1] Victor Gulenko (2017), Consultations, What dichotomy is the most difficult to diagnose?