Does this trait contain any new meanings that are not reducible to the meanings of the four mental functions included in its poles?
Partially, the cheerful are more focused on disrupting stability, while the serious — on maintaining it.
The cheerful are more oriented toward interaction with groups of people, the serious — toward interindividual interactions.

However, all this emerges only as weak and faintly expressed tendencies. This is the difference between the “merry-serious” trait and other value-based socionic traits, where combinations of functions form distinct new meanings.

Thus, in the case of judiciousness–decisiveness, the opposition of Ne and Si on one side and Se and Ni on the other is characterized as a clear confrontation between a benevolent attitude toward people versus an egocentrically malevolent one. And in the case of democracy–aristocracy, similarly, the opposition of Qi and De on one side and Qe and Di on the other also generates a new meaning, consisting in the opposition between the values of horizontal social interactions (individualism and voluntary cooperation) and the values of hierarchical collectivism (the so-called “pack values”, associated with pack instinct, which amplify patriotism, xenophobia, sympathies for a “leader-based” social structure, etc.)

Nothing of the sort is observed in the opposition between the poles of the cheerful and the serious — that is, in the opposition between the function pair Fe and Ti versus the pair Te and Fi, new meanings are not distinctly generated. In most cases, marker questions for the diagnosis of this trait gravitate to the characteristic manifestations of one function of the logical-ethical block (sometimes with the addition of meanings from another function), that is, typically these marker statements are marked only by the meanings already characteristic of the functions Fe, Ti, Te, and Fi themselves.

The physiological reason for this “discrimination” of the “merry-serious” trait may, in our opinion, lie in the fact that the mechanisms of all the mental functions associated with this trait tend toward the neocortex, whereas the functions of the sensing-intuitive and questim-declatim blocks tend toward much older brain structures, more closely related to the instinctual sphere. Due to this, the combinations of sensing-intuitive and questim-declatim functions can be supported by separate brain structures specially adapted for this, which have managed to arise in the course of evolution (thus generating new meanings tied to the work of these structures), whereas for the neocortical functions of the logical-ethical block, this does not happen due to the absence of such specialized structures that would additionally connect separate functions of this block.
However, all these are just hypotheses.
And perhaps, there are general new meanings in the case of “cheerful-serious” as well, but we simply overlooked them during the analysis. Perhaps the radicalism of the cheerful or the opposition of idealism with grounded practicality could actually claim such a role… In any case, judge for yourself.

MERRY-SERIOUS CLUSTERS

1. Passion and idealism vs. Pragmatism
2. Emotional contrast, striving for heroic intensity of passion
3. Principle and theory over benefit, efficiency, and practice
4. Emotional intensity
5. Radicalism
6. Ti vs Fi on the background of increased Se and aristocratism
7. Whole over parts
8. Importance of systematic structured knowledge
9. Little consideration for the interests of others
10. Effective work of the left-hemispheric speech center
11. Higher truths are more important than pragmatic benefits
12. Miscellaneous

Table 1. Dichotomies

Table 2. Functions

Table 3. Types

COMPOSITION OF “MERRY” CLUSTERS

SO, WE PRESENT TO YOUR ATTENTION A LIST OF MARKERS FOR THE “MERRY-SERIOUS” TRAIT, DIVIDED WITH SOME DEGREE OF CONDITIONALITY INTO 12 CLUSTERS. The clustering of statements was based partly on their meaning, but primarily — on which functions of the logical-ethical “four” actually predominate in the profiles of these statements. The clusters contain those questionnaire items whose socionic profiles show the highest variance linked to the cheerful-serious trait among all 15 traits.

After each questionnaire statement in the lists, two numbers are given. The first is the linear correlation of the type profile of this statement with the type profile of “pure” merry-serious trait. The second number is the proportion of the total socionic variance (in percent) in this statement specifically associated with the merry-serious trait.

1) PASSION AND IDEALISM VS. PRAGMATISM

(Fe vs. Te, with the other two functions close to neutral)

1. I prefer situations with an escalating emotional intensity rather than those where enthusiasm and passion are mocked and belittled. 0.90 80
2. I like people with strong emotions. 0.88 78
3. In emotions, I am generally attracted to their strength and passion. 0.88 78
4. Which word is used more often? - 1) Attractive 5) Bright 0.84 71
5. I enjoy the atmosphere of tragic passions. 0.84 70
6. I have a principled attraction to any mass movements that are inspired by "great ideas." 0.80 64
7. I place more importance on the ideological policy of any country in politics than the economic policy. 0.79 62
8. I enjoy situations with rising emotional tension. 0.77 59
9. When selecting personnel, I am more concerned with the person's global goals than their skills. 0.76 57
10. I enjoy esoteric and philosophical literature on the topic of the structure of the world. 0.70 49
11. I can be obsessive in my behavior or desires. 0.69 48
12. In my speech, I use words with emphatically contrasting evaluations (like: enormous, grandiose, tiny, undoubtedly, absolutely, decisive, magnificent, excellent, outrageous, beautiful, disgusting, furor, disgrace, sorrow, horror, anger, etc.) more often than words with moderate evaluations (like: polite, pleasant, inappropriate, modest, worthy, small, nice, soulful, beautiful, insincere, sympathy, awkwardness, sad, angry, ashamed, resentment, etc.). 0.69 48
13. I guess that in another time, I could have been a religious fanatic. 0.66 44
14. I can easily imagine sacrificing myself for a holy cause. 0.64 41
15. I get annoyed by attempts from some of my acquaintances to measure my success by money. 0.62 38
16. Stories about passions, horrors, and heroism always excite me. 0.61 38
17. When thinking about the fate of the world, humanity, or a nation, I am more likely to be a selfless idealist than a pragmatist. 0.59 35

18. It’s true that I don't like excessive sophistry about anything. -0.77 60
19. My mind is often occupied with thoughts about how to save money or time on some minor details. -0.74 54
20. I am an individualist in the sense that I confidently carve my path in life without getting involved in anything, not getting irritated, not trying to change things, but knowing how to extract benefits from what is generally accepted and existing. -0.72 51
21. I prefer literary works that do not raise pathos but, on the contrary, mock it, playing "down." -0.71 51
22. I often think in terms of benefits, efficiency, and usefulness. -0.70 49
23. Practical benefit is more important than any perfect, still beauty. -0.68 47
24. Key words for me are: worth it or not, profitable - not profitable, reasonable - not reasonable. -0.66 44
25. Everything in the world has its price for me, expressed in money. -0.66 44
26. I try to manage other people not by exerting willpower but by using economic methods. -0.61 38
27. I always carefully calculate whether I will get enough for the money spent. -0.61 38

2) EMOTIONAL CONTRAST, STRIVING FOR HEROIC INTENSITY OF PASSION

(Fe vs Fi, with the remaining functions being close to neutral)

1. I prefer the language of strong and clear emotions rather than nuances. 0.81 66
2. In books and movies, I prefer not emotional nuances, but strong and clear feelings. 0.80 63
3. I enjoy strong, growing, and exciting music with percussion instruments. 0.74 55
4. In my youth, I often fantasized about passionate heroic feats, like the feats of kamikaze pilots. 0.71 51
5. I feel an inner emotional kinship with people who dreamed of changing the course of rivers and turning them into other seas. 0.71 50
6. If I were in the place of that famous doctor who, in the 19th century, investigated the cholera pathogens, I would have been able to repeat his feat for the sake of science (he drank a solution with cholera bacteria at great personal risk to prove that they caused the disease). 0.62 39

7. What usually irritates me in other people: 1) Their indifference 5) Their shamelessness and lack of conscience -0.79 62
8. I perceive logical arguments better when they are delivered in a quiet and calm voice. -0.71 51
9. A peaceful life is always more valuable than defending abstract principles. -0.71 51
10. It’s true that I never have scandals with my close ones. -0.66 43
11. Compared to others, I always have room in my mind to listen to and think about objections – I never "get stuck" on my ideas and my rightness, I never "fanaticize." -0.61 37
12. It is pointless to oppose the world, one can only adapt. -0.58 34

3) PRINCIPLE AND THEORY OVER BENEFIT, EFFICIENCY, AND PRACTICE

(Ti vs. Te, with other functions close to neutral)

1. The principle is usually more important to me than immediate practicality. 0.74 54
2. I am usually more interested in theory than practice. 0.61 37
3. As a child, I seemed psychologically older than my age compared to others, and now I seem, on the contrary, younger (not judging by my face, but by my interests and behavior). 0.60 37

4. I am always interested in money matters, the price of goods, and comparing earnings. -0.72 52
5. I like people who know how to "make money." -0.72 51
6. Usefulness and common sense are more important than rules and laws. -0.71 50
7. Choose the areas where you are more finicky and prone to criticism: 1) Whether your close ones and acquaintances pay attention to details in analyzing facts; 5) How your close ones and acquaintances spend money. -0.69 47
8. I know how to establish long-term, trustworthy, mutually beneficial relationships with people based on the principle of "you do for me, I do for you." -0.68 47
9. I’m "too lazy" to fill out long questionnaires with "lots of letters" – I don’t know how I managed this time. -0.68 46
10. Immediate efficiency in matters is always more important to me than principles. -0.66 44
11. I respect raw primary facts more than the coherence of theories that explain them; therefore, contradictory information doesn’t bother me. -0.65 43
12. I am better at sensing and quickly grasping subtle nuances when comparing things by their profitability. -0.64 40
13. I can be impatiently greedy for money that seems easy and quick to acquire. -0.63 40
14. In communication, I enjoy extracting useful information from others. -0.62 39

4) EMOTIONAL INTENSITY

(Fe vs. Te and, to a lesser extent, Ti, with other functions close to neutral)

1. I love many operettas and musical comedies. 0.69 47
2. I often occupy myself with some nonsense that has no practical value but is amusing. 0.69 47
3. As a child, I liked spinning around on my axis for a long time because it calmed me down and put me into a pleasant trance. 0.68 47
4. I enjoy singing loudly. 0.68 46
5. As a child, I usually cried loudly and lamented if I failed at something in a game. 0.67 45
6. I often remember my dreams. 0.64 41
7. I love an emotionally rich life. 0.63 40
8. I am capable of falling passionately in love (specifically passionately, to the point of potentially being ready for any madness) – the last time this happened not long ago. 0.63 40
9. Compared to many others, I know how to love more intensely and selflessly, and also hate more intensely. 0.61 37
10. I like to create "emotional whirlwinds" around me, to be in the focus of human emotions and passions. 0.59 35

11. I always prefer even emotions from others, without "outbursts." -0.86 74
12. I get tired very quickly of people who eagerly display their "emotional brightness." -0.85 73
13. I don't like any rising intensity of emotions – neither in life nor in books. -0.85 72
14. Loud laughter and "falling on the chest" with tears seem vulgar to me and never evoke sympathy. -0.85 71
15. It’s true that I really dislike interlocutors or partners with "emotional outbursts." -0.83 70
16. I am skeptical of slogans and calls, with irony towards enthusiasts and "smart people"; I rely only on common sense, direct material interest, and healthy conservatism. -0.73 54
17. I don’t like other people’s laughter. -0.69 47
18. It’s true that I don’t like any "outbursts" and sudden events – neither in feelings, nor in work, nor in the passage of time. -0.67 45
19. If I find out that something I bought was significantly cheaper elsewhere, I always feel painfully humiliated – I’m not cheap, but I feel deceived and foolish in such situations, so I feel ashamed for a long time. -0.65 42
20. I avoid any strong emotions and experiences. -0.64 41
21. Laughter without subsequent tangible benefits in the form of money or popularity is usually a pointless activity. -0.64 41
22. Emotions are only valuable if they support the already established stability in the world. -0.64 41
23. It is very hard for me to get interested in something or be convinced of something if I have already suspected that someone is intentionally trying to persuade me. -0.63 39
24. My main principle is the principle of utility. Not beauty and not harmony (in scientific theory they will be there or in the soul – I don’t care), but practical benefit for activity – this is what I value most. -0.62 38
25. I would enjoy the profession of a preliminary expert-appraiser – at auctions or in the real estate market. -0.60 37
26. I always take on tasks that guarantee 99% reliable profit. -0.59 35

5) RADICALISM

(mainly Ti vs Fi)

1. It is true that I do not like moderate, compromise solutions. 0.83 70
2. I am an advocate of radical changes in the world order. 0.65 43
3. In diplomatic negotiations with opponents, I usually follow the motto: "Everything or nothing!" 0.64 42
4. My thoughts and dreams usually have a global, revolutionary, provocative character. 0.64 41
5. I can more easily make a general prediction of events over 100 years than for just one year. 0.64 41
6. I can easily imagine myself committing some heroic military feat (and sometimes I have imagined this), such as the feats of pilots crashing their planes into targets, or the deeds of Japanese kamikaze pilots, or the feat of Alexander Matrosov, who closed the enemy's pillbox with his chest. 0.63 40
7. I would rather be called a "radical", an advocate of extreme decisions, than a person with moderate views and a supporter of gradual changes. 0.60 37
8. I like people who support radical solutions. 0.60 36
9. I am probably more likely to stick to my principles than to try to reach a compromise for the sake of the interests of the matter. 0.60 35

10. I am usually ready for compromises on almost any issue, if I am rewarded with something else. -0.75 56
11. I prefer reading about simple, mundane human life in books rather than about the passionate times of heroic changes. -0.74 55
12. I usually prefer to be praised not for my ideas, but for my ability to create a comfortable and harmonious environment around me. -0.67 45
13. I am more inclined to support moderate solutions than radical ones. -0.65 42
14. In an argument, I usually agree with my opponent on the issues being discussed. -0.65 42
15. We need to improve not the world, but ourselves. -0.59 35

6) Ti vs Fi ON THE BACKGROUND OF INCREASED Se AND ARISTOCRATISM

1. I love watching military parades. 0.66 43
2. The greatest feats are military feats. 0.66 43
3. Victory in a game is pleasant because it humiliates the opponent. 0.64 41
4. When playing "staring contests", I can easily outplay another person without taking my eyes off them. 0.61 37
5. I would enjoy collecting modern pistols and other weapons if it were possible. 0.61 37

6. I am frankly bored by films where one fight follows another. -0.70 49
7. The condition and status of the lower classes of society are much more important than the condition of its higher classes. -0.70 49
8. My main life principle is: "Live yourself and let others live." -0.68 47
9. I prefer working groups in which there are several different "centers of gravity", several different cohesive subgroups. -0.64 41
10. I avoid emotionally unpleasant or disturbing information. -0.63 39
11. Which motto is closer to you? 1) Unified people, common destiny 5) We are different, we are united. -0.61 37
12. I find unpleasant and even disgusting those feelings that remain after any family quarrel. -0.61 37
13. Great wealth is more desirable for me than great power. -0.60 37

7) WHOLE OVER PARTS

(Ti vs. Fi)

1. I am very interested in philosophical concepts of the world order. 0.72 52
2. I like to evaluate, compare, and classify everything I encounter. 0.66 43
3. I more often feel thirsty, angry, and unsatisfied than content and peaceful, as if I have received what I wanted. 0.64 41
4. In my intellectual discoveries and revelations, it is very hard to stop or persuade me. 0.60 36
5. I have always been interested in the general philosophical laws of dialectics, the laws of the movement of matter. 0.59 35
6. I respect more those who: 1) Know how to find an individual approach to everyone, 5) Perceptively see the general, typical moments in the behavior of different people. 0.59 35

7. It is very important for me to find an explanation for every fact, but I leave it to others to condense all these explanations into one theory. -0.72 51
8. I tend to see not society as a whole, but individual people, not the forest mass, but individual trees, not a unifying theory, but specific facts. -0.72 51
9. I do not understand those who try to make general conclusions from the specificities in people's behavior. -0.66 44
10. Psychology should rely mainly on an individual approach, not categorizing people, thus labeling them. -0.60 36

8) IMPORTANCE OF SYSTEMATIC STRUCTURED KNOWLEDGE

(Ti vs Fi)

1. I am almost always inspired by the beauty of clear and perfect structure. 0.64 41
2. I would have greatly enjoyed the profession of a historian, reconstructing the entire thread of past events from fragmentary surviving facts. 0.63 40
3. I highly value historical truth. 0.61 38
4. I have a habit of constantly counting cracks in the pavement or always stepping over them. 0.61 37
5. I wouldn’t mind spending a couple of days figuring out why exactly after a lightning strike there is a downpour. 0.56 32
6. I constantly set questions for myself, the answers to which I then search for. 0.56 31
7. I see my task as discovering universal laws that do not depend on time. 0.52 27

8. Most people have too much education—more than required by public benefit and more than needed for their job. -0.79 63
9. In school and university, I mostly read only what was necessary for the program. -0.76 57
10. The interests of relatives are second in importance to me, right after my own personal interests, and the interests of truths and ideas come third. -0.66 44
11. If I were offered: to know less but earn more, I would definitely agree. -0.63 40
12. I know how to successfully live under any circumstances, getting the "needed" from society. -0.61 37
13. The job of a cashier in a store would appeal to me more (in terms of character and content of work) than the job of a meteorologist at a remote weather station. -0.60 37

9) LITTLE CONSIDERATION FOR THE INTERESTS OF OTHERS

1. I would love to be the director of a grand nocturnal celebration at the moment of humanity’s solemn destruction. 0.57 32

2. When making my business plans, I always pay great attention to the business interests of my partners. -0.73 53
3. I have a constant habit of considering how my affairs may affect the business interests of others. -0.67 45
4. I always treat others with the same respect and kindness that I would like to receive. -0.62 39

10) EFFECTIVE WORK OF THE LEFT-HEMISPHERIC SPEECH CENTER

1. Sometimes I look at an object and cannot immediately remember the word for that object. -0.64 41
2. One person, intending to say "Nelson Rockefeller", once said: "Nelson Nokenfellen, I mean, Relsso Rikenfeller, I mean, Felso Nokerfelson." I often have similar mishaps when I try to pronounce a complex word. -0.60 36
3. When writing on paper, I sometimes mechanically write the wrong letter in words instead of the needed one. -0.59 35
4. When writing on paper, I frequently make careless mistakes in the correct spelling of word endings. -0.58 34

11) HIGHER TRUTHS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN PRAGMATIC BENEFITS

(Fe and Ti on the background of high intuition vs Te)

1. I love absorbing or building my own theories that will probably never be accepted by society. 0.64 41
2. I enjoy discussing various funny paradoxes and sophisms. 0.63 39
3. When I get tired, I primarily want to escape from any mercantile themes related to money. 0.58 33
4. In work, I always care more about interest than payment. 0.57 32
5. Sometimes I try to remember something that happened during the day, and I think I recall it, but my relatives insist that nothing like that happened, that it’s just a "glitch" in my memory. 0.51 26
6. I like to examine wallpaper patterns and look for faces of people, animal heads, etc. in their intricate interweavings. 0.47 22
7. I fantasize more for my own enjoyment than to solve any tasks. 0.44 19

8. What do you strive for more often? 1) Eternal truth 5) Immediate benefit -0.73 54
9. I view "truth-seekers", who speak exactly what’s on their mind, as harmful strangers. -0.61 38
10. I am an advocate of the idea that knowledge should be practical and should bring immediate benefits to needs. -0.59 35

12) MISCELLANEOUS

1. Turn off all sound sources in the room. Approach the wall and press your ear against it as if you intend to listen to what is being said behind it. First, perform this task without reading any further! Done? If it’s easier for you to listen with your right ear, put the number "5", if with the left ear, put "1". 0.74 55
2. My normal body temperature (when measured with a thermometer under the armpit) is higher than 36.8°C. 0.68 46
3. Sometimes at home, even through a closed door, I listen irritably to someone chewing or doing something equally unpleasant. 0.65 42

4. I am calmer when someone pushes me or jumps on me than when someone yells at me (shouting can make me angry and furious). -0.70 49
5. I always understand what the people around me want and what they actually need, and I understand much less what excites or calms them, what they are capable of in their work, and how to make them move and work. -0.69 47
6. With any people, I try and usually manage to behave on equal terms – regardless of their social standing in relation to me (i.e., I try to maintain equality with both my subordinates and publicly recognized authorities). -0.67 45
7. If I buy a chocolate bar or a block of chocolate, it never lasts long for me – I usually eat it the same day. -0.64 41
8. In any situation, I have good diplomatic skills – I never "butt heads" and don’t stay on a losing position, I foresee the consequences and further development of events, and I know how to advance, retreat, and maneuver. -0.63 40
9. I love cheeses and eat hard cheese or processed cheese daily. -0.63 40
10. I have flexible and obedient imagination, which I dictate what I need today, rather than it dictating to me. -0.63 40
11. I often choose suitable goals based on already available resources, rather than accumulating resources for previously conceived goals. -0.62 38
12. I easily and quickly learn from any unpleasant experiences, even tragic ones. -0.62 38