The IM elements have distinct agendas. However, everyone is constantly juggling all eight of these agendas, which results in the complexity of human behavior. The mind has a built-in way to apportion resources and make decisions between the agendas, called Model A. This is like being left-handed or right-handed, or the separation of labor in a market economy, with each type's innate strengths playing an essential role.
At some point in our lives, either before birth or in early childhood (say, before the age of six), a clearly defined role for each one of the IM elements is determined, and does not change for the rest of our lives.
The strong functions (functions 1, 2, 7, and 8) are those endowed with greater perceptual resources.1 They perceive information with greater detail than the weak functions, which depend mostly on personal experience and habits accrued over time. They are areas where we usually form our own opinions instead of blindly accepting those of others. We are able to use them not only for ourselves but for others and society at large. We generally have stronger opinions about these areas and will express them more confidently. This especially goes for one's ego functions (1 and 2), and can come across as obnoxious if it isn't limited to some degree. We also usually have strong opinions about the id functions, but instead concerning how they should not be used (limiting them) rather than how they should be used.
Despite the name, this is not just being "good" or "bad" at something. The greater perceptual resources mean that your actions - whether successful or unsuccessful - in this sphere of life tend to be more confident and deliberate, they are a source of self-esteem because they can self-correct easily without outside guidance. This confidence may turn into overconfidence, especially with the leading function. By contrast, the weak functions' perceptions are hazy, and one tends to doubt their evaluations and perceptions (except sometimes with the mobilizing function, whose weakness can be masked or overcome to a degree). Their successes are achieved more haphazardly, with difficulty, and are based on habits learned by personal experience over time.
The bold functions (functions 1, 3, 6, and 8) are endowed with greater energy than the cautious ones. For example, the mobilizing function has a lot of stamina despite being a bit clumsy and inconsistent due to its being weak in the technical sense. The 8th function also is very easy to use and is kind of an automatic, default state despite not being innately valued. The role function too is much easier to use by comparison with the suggestive function.
The valued functions (functions 1, 2, 5, and 6) are our innate goals. They are the elements that give us an immediate psychological feeling of reward when we achieve their agendas. We are motivated by them primarily, because using the unvalued functions creates mild to intense irritation or boredom and so we do not like to use them for long periods of time. Because of this the valued functions tend to be more verbalized. In particular, if someone makes a verbal complaint or criticism of someone else related to a certain element's agenda then it is likely that they value that element.
Here are some examples of element complaints:
Ti: someone is being inconsistent or unfair, not following the rules
Te: someone is doing a task in the wrong way, is not making themselves useful, or is not making sense in their behavior
Fi: someone is being offensive or is untrustworthy
Fe: someone is being emotionally closed or indifferent, not participating in an emotional setting, or has a bad attitude which is affecting others
Si: someone is creating conflict or unpleasantness, or isn't taking good care of themselves
Se: someone is being lazy or out of touch with reality
Ni: someone is acting without thinking of the consequences, or isn't making adequate preparation for something
Ne: someone is being close-minded or not considering something from a different perspective
If someone receives a verbal complaint about an agenda without valuing it, they will either brush it off or get irritated by it, because it's something they don't naturally view as being important. They see the unvalued functions as something to be pursued silently, for oneself - not for the public sphere. One can come to an intellectual understanding that the unvalued functions have value, though we still tend to see them as subordinate goals rather than end goals.
On the other hand, criticism of the valued functions is seen as something worthy of consideration. It is rare to be deeply criticized for one's ego functions, in the sense of someone identifying it as a fundamental character flaw. Usually this criticism is shallow, in that the problem arises from temporary oversight, and is easily corrected, or really comes from a difference in personal opinion or experience. When criticism penetrates more deeply, it is usually taken quite personally.
Criticism of the superid functions is also taken seriously. However, we also want others to actively help us to fix these problems, not just point them out. Mere verbal criticism may just cause feelings of inadequacy (or, alternatively, "it's not my job" — more typical of the suggestive function).
Helping others to achieve IM agendas is usually done with the strong functions. And since the ego agendas are both strong and valued, we often try to "help" others to achieve them even when they don't want us to.
There is a fine line between criticizing and helping. Often help comes in the form of advice, which can be interpreted as nagging by an incompatible type.
Examples:
Ti: helping others to achieve mental clarity and consistency, and organize their lives
Te: helping others to work effectively or be productive, to use time and resources efficiently, or to seek out useful information
Fi: helping others to understand and deal with their relationships, to act respectfully and morally
Fe: helping others to express themselves, to be socially involved, and have fun
Si: helping others to be comfortable, have pleasant experiences, be healthy, and to be content with their immediate surroundings
Se: spurring others to act and take control of their lives, to be assertive and not lazy, to not be taken advantage of by others, to achieve concrete goals
Ni: helping others to be aware of the consequences of their actions, to guide them to a clear and certain vision for future plans, to bring meaning to life
Ne: helping others to see things from a different point of view, or exposing them to new and interesting information or experiences
Within the strong functions, everything is subordinate to the lead function's agenda. The creative is used sporadically, it turns on and off. Sometimes it's like "I could use it, but why? there is no need [from the POV of 1]." It does not directly conflict with 1, though, so they can be used in parallel. 2 is the sidekick, the secret weapon.
The id is similarly used only when there is no conflict with the lead's values. You could say we evaluate situations first and foremost with the leading function (and the suggestive function), and then only later make concessions for the remaining functions' needs. The need of 7 has to be felt very strongly to overcome any need felt by 1.
Examples:2
Ti > Te: if pragmatism and taking advantage of what is available contradicts logical rules and principles
Te > Ti: if rules or bureaucracy get in the way of efficiency, or dogma is applied ignoring situational factors
Fi > Fe: if emotional expression and communication contradicts one's morals or violates personal boundaries
Fe > Fi: if making a moral judgment or limiting interactions restricts one's self-expression or participation in social interactions
Si > Se: if being mobilized or taking control causes discomfort or conflict
Se > Si: if getting comfortable or making accommodations keeps one from getting things done or expanding their mobility and personal power
Ne > Ni: if cautiousness and skepticism cause close-mindedness or limits one's thinking
Ni > Ne: if exploring new possibilities and information would be pointless or distract one from focusing on what is really important (one's goals, one's purpose or calling, etc.)
Each of these pairs does fundamentally conflict in their goals. Yet, we all need to achieve all of the agendas to some extent, and therefore they can be (and are) resolved at a higher level of development. At this level we can see that there are situations where it is more appropriate to use Se and other situations where it is appropriate to use Si. So in this sense an IM agenda is only "unvalued" (or subdued) when it conflicts with a specific decision to further an agenda that we value more. This is easiest to see with the quadra values, since they conflict often, and it happens directly.
Contrary elements (the two agendas within each macrodomain (N, F, S, T)) are subject to decision-making conflicts: in any particular situation, you have to make a choice between them - either limit or expand. But since they both operate in the same domain, if you use one you are likely to end up using the other one quite a bit too, just as a matter of using good judgment. For example, someone playing sports needs to pay careful attention to their state of health and well-being or else they won't be able to perform physically in the way they want.
Indirect conflict occurs between the superego elements: Te and Fe, Ti and Fi, Ne and Se, Ni and Si. They can in theory be pursued at the same time, but often conflict in their viewpoints. This could be due to complementing each other's direct conflictors. It's like they are looking at different things, rather than having different opinions or goals concerning the same things.
Justice and mercy are what seems to be an example of the Ti/Fi contrast: evaluating strictly according to rules, vs. bending the rules out of compassion (FiNe) or being more harsh towards those you dislike (FiSe). However, upon closer examination, this situation actually involves Te too. Fi is the initial bending towards mercy or harshness, but Te is what obtains the outcome using the means available - either within the legal structure or using "creative" means. So in reality it is a conflict between Te and Ti: there is no way for Fi and Ti to directly interact.
Obviously, if the legal structure is flexible, there will be room for both some Te and Ti. But when there is ambiguity or different opinions as to what you can or should be able to get away with, then an IM conflict happens. Plea bargains and bail are very clear examples of Te in the justice system, ones that some might not find particularly just.
Ni and Si also appear to conflict, since Ni says "prepare for the future" while Si says "enjoy the present." This difference in focus might be enough to create irritation, especially in the form of verbal critique. However, unless you actually get up and do something in the here and now to prepare for the future, there is no conflict in terms of decision-making. Or, if you say "well, I don't technically need to prepare right now, I can just do X or Y or Z", then it becomes an Ne/Ni conflict.
Presence dichotomies
There are seven total function dichotomies, but the above three traits (strength, boldness, value) are essentially the only ones that are visible in practice. These are called the presence traits or presence dichotomies. We can also combine strength with boldness to produce dimensionality. While I do not endorse the specific descriptions of dimensions by Bukalov, you can roughly think of dimensionality as a more practical reflection of element strength. That is to say, boldness is also a factor in whether we are successful with an element, being the energetic resource while "strength" is the informational resource.
We can also form the priority scale in the same way, with
4P = bold+valued
3P = cautious+valued
2P = bold+unvalued
1P = cautious+unvalued
Priority indicates how much an element is prioritized in practice, as opposed to its contrary element. Generally you will observe that a function is at one of the ends of the priority or dimensionality scales. The middle two levels are more ambiguous, and both of the traits are roughly equal in influence, so they can also be thought of as presence trichotomies, 4D/mid-D/1D and 4P/mid-P/1P. For an illustration of these scales see here.
Presence dichotomies for types
If you combine the presence dichotomies of functions with a particular element, you get get five presence dichotomies for types: introversion/extroversion, FiTe valuing vs FeTi valuing, SeNi valuing vs. SiNe valuing, ethics vs. logic, and intuition vs. sensing. That is, the bold functions are either all introverted or all extroverted, and each element can be either strong or weak (along with its contrary element), or valued or subdued (along with its complementary element).
Extroverted types have a higher level of initiative, they are more likely to start things, create things, and add to things whereas introverts tend to focus on and maintain what is already present — processing it, organizing it, taking care of it, etc. Extroverts have a higher level of activity in general, which may or may not be manifest socially. Social extroversion is specifically about Se and Fe, being at its peak in types like SEE and ESE. SEIs and Se creative types tend to be ambiverted in the social sense.