Community (CY)

Center: Interpersonal
Triads: Distinguishing • Aligning • Externalizing

Basic Description
The Community instinct is about feeling truly alive through tracking interpersonal standards and understanding where individuals are located in the web of human connections. This instinct seeks to monitor the structure of relationships—striving to understand how people are linked together. Tracking things like commonality, differentiation, roles, relations, alliances, and belonging inspires a feeling of aliveness resulting from understanding the interpersonal realm on a greater scale. CY is driven by the desire to understand the rules of engagement in relationships, consistently measuring the value and expectations of those around them. For individuals with Community in their stacking, relationships are about more than just personal connections—they are about finding one’s place in the greater social landscape and aligning with the values and standards of their chosen stature.

CY 1st (CY/–/–)
For Community dominants, life revolves around the tracking of the interpersonal webs of connections and understanding how relationships fit into the larger social ecosystem. These individuals are attuned to the expectations and values that define their place within a collection of people, and they feel most alive when they are able to align with others in a way that creates a sense of belonging and interpersonal significance.

CY first types are constantly measuring themselves and others, seeking to understand the standards that govern relationships. Whether it’s romantic partners, family, friendships, or larger societal groups, they are focused on how interpersonal connections create meaning and structure within their world. The sense of aliveness for these individuals comes from honoring and upholding the values of the communities they are a part of, believing that true connection is found in shared experiences and common goals.

These individuals seek out the real human connection beneath the surface of everyday interactions, desiring to see the genuine personality of others and offering a place for those connections to thrive. They are driven by the idea that people are stronger when they bring their individual gifts together, and their role is to create space for relationships that can grow within this context. CY dominants are fueled by the belief that the chain of truth that binds people together is worth investing in, and this leads them to continuously reach out to external sources and groups to secure their place in the world.

IPS vs. ISP Stackings
In IPS, Community is fed by the Purpose instinct, where the individual’s search for meaning drives their desire to align with others. Their pursuits of purpose fuel their focus on interpersonal standards, as they see deeper meaning and understanding as key to understanding and solidifying their place in the world. Purpose feeds into Community, making social dynamics a way to explore existential questions and ensuring that their connections are supported by an open-ended wondering of the meaning behind daily life.

In ISP, Community is supported by Self-Survival, where the individual’s flexible relationship with their physical world supports how they engage with human relationships—often desiring numerous potential paths for creating connections. They prefer to see relational standards as constantly shifting expectations that keep people on their toes and invested in the interpersonal realm. Relationships need movement and change to inspire the high that comes from this stacking.

CY 2nd (–/CY/–)
When Community is second in the stacking, it plays a supportive role to the primary instinct, helping individuals align with others in ways that enhance their core desires. CY second individuals are naturally focused on tracking interpersonal dynamics, but they are less driven by a need for belonging or alignment as an end in itself. Instead, they use their sense of community to create an interesting and flexible relational framework that allows them to pursue their primary instinct more effectively.

These individuals are able to engage in interpersonal alignment without being overly concerned with social etiquette and personal standards beyond its relevance to their dominant instinctual need. They see relationships as tools for enhancing their life, allowing them to build a pointed network of support and connection that helps them feel more alive in their other pursuits. CY second individuals enjoy the process of creating awareness of connection in relationships, using their understanding of social dynamics to support their primary goals and desires.

SIP vs. PIS Stackings
In SIP, Community is used to enhance self-survival, with the individual seeking out relationships that help solidify their survival needs through social alignment. They view interpersonal dynamics as a way to create day-to-day stability and practical support, ensuring their survival by aligning with others who offer security, comfort, or resources. Community helps them feel more grounded in the present moment, providing a stable social structure that supports their physical survival.

In PIS, Community serves the individual’s pursuits of higher meaning, using relationships as a way to explore philosophical wonderings. The links between themselves and others are seen as a way to navigate broader life wishes, with the individual seeking out people that help them feel more enmeshed with their higher purpose. Community becomes a tool for understanding their place in the world, ensuring that their relationships offer meaning and significance as they pursue long-term fulfillment in all possible manifestations.

CY 3rd (–/–/CY)
When Community is in the last position, individuals often feel picky or temperamental about their need for social connections and alignment. They may initially struggle to engage fully with the rules and standards that govern interpersonal dynamics, often feeling as though their specific people needs are too complex to give too much energy to. CY last individuals might feel lost about how to properly form connections with others and operate on a “when I see it, I’ll know it” basis. 

However, once they learn how to integrate CY in a way that aligns with their primary and secondary instincts, they begin to see the specific paths towards a feeling of belonging and social alignment. As they understand how relationships can enhance their broader goals and independence, they find a deep sense of satisfaction in being connected to others. They recognize that relationships can offer a feeling of aliveness with effort, which provides improved navigation through life. However, with all 3rd instincts, it often takes time to fully appreciate the interpersonal high that comes from this realm.

PSI vs. SPI Stackings
In PSI, Community is driven by the individual’s purpose-driven pursuits, where social alignment becomes a way to explore meaning and understand their place within broader questions of meaning. They see their relationships as tools for unlocking significance, with interpersonal connections providing a framework for pursuing existential growth and understanding their purpose. Community helps them anchor their relationships in a meaningful context.

In SPI, Community plays a more immediate role in self-survival, where relationships are used to enhance sensory or survival experiences. The focus is on creating practical social networks or understanding romantic relationships that provide a feeling of aliveness from physical resources. This focus ensures that their personal needs are met through support of those they are connected to. Community becomes a way to enable the body to swim through the vast possibilities of purpose that the world has to offer. These experiences all feed back into the SPI’s desire for a resource-rich, sensual life. 

Tension & Lines
Community is the tension between the alchemy and bonding instincts. On one hand, these individuals are driven to track how others perceive and value them like the bonding instinct. On the other hand, they are driven to track personal dynamics and who is attracted to whom like the alchemy instinct. The tension between these two inner drives creates the specialized focus on standards, connections, relationships, values, and one’s place in the world of the community instinct.

Community is connected to, and in turn, comprised of the security and existentialism instincts. When one is driven to track their place in the world, they inherently focus on the resources and stability needed to upkeep their location like the security instinct – as well as the higher meaning, future ideals, and ambition necessary to stay connected like the existentialism instinct. The sum of these two connecting instincts, multiplied by the tension between the neighboring instincts are what all culminate together to form the community instinct.