Myers-Briggs Personalities Discussion

Say guys, forgive me if I'm speaking off topic but do you think Connie from Steven Universe is an ISTP

I don't see Connie being a strong Se-user, so... I'm going with no on ISTP. I think she's an ISXJ, leaning on ISTJ. She gets really good at things like sword fighting through lots of practice and dedication (which is more of an Si trait, since Se tends to naturally take to the more athletic activities on the spot). She tries to discern situations by comparing them to previous experiences. In the past, she only really used her Ne to escape into books and discern all the different possible meanings they had or how they could have ended. It's only when she started hanging out with Steven and the Gems that she became more comfortable with her Ne and using it in the real world. I lean on her being a Te/Fi user since she easily takes to organizing, laying out plans and is overall a very responsible kid. She's also less openly emotional than Steven.

As for the rest of the Steven Universe characters... Steven's a very good example of an ESFJ - he's such an Fe-dom, his whole view revolves around other people and protecting them. Garnet is an ISTP; aloof and athletic, but also insightful and always there to affirm Steven. Amethyst is an ESFP, since she lives fully in the moment and bases her decisions (as well as her powers!) on her strong, independent emotions. Pearl is an ISTJ; she is eager to plan out and organize everything so that nothing unexpected happens. She's also very, very attached to the past and is able to describe her memories with great detail. She highly values hard work and dedication, though she can be rather awkward when it comes to her emotions.

I can't comment on the other characters right now... except that Lapis Lazuli seems Fi-dom. She's emotional, but she doesn't actively look out for others. She also prefers to handle her emotions by herself, unlike Steven who is both willing to share his emotions and also eager to talk anyone through theirs. I'd have to think more on Greg, Rose and the other characters.

(On another note, I'm working on summaries for the different functions! I'll post them when I'm done, so I can make sure they're cool with everyone before I change the pages.)

edited 9th Jul '15 8:48:50 PM by Tako

Thank you. They're sorely needed considering how important and unused they are.

Alright, after getting distracted by life for a few months there, here are some summaries I've come up with:

Extroverted Sensing (Se) is associated with living in the moment, having an acute awareness of surroundings, and paying close attention to the five senses. It is drawn to exciting physical possibilities and appealing materials. It likes to “show off” and likes to have the freedom to do anything. Your skilled fighters and your artists that have an eye for visual appeal tend to have this function under their belt.

(Note: This function is considered more aggressive than Ne. An xSTP is typically going to be more in-your-face than an xNTP.)

Extroverted Intuition (Ne) is associated with ideas and possibilities. It entertains many different answers and meanings to what they witness - the real meaning behind someone's words, what could be done to better a theme park, what a cake and a pig have in common... It does not like to finish anything, has a tendency to ramble, and it appreciates any idea (even the bad ones). Your more scatter-brained characters will have this.

A character with higher Ne (NP) is going to be more optimistic about the uncertain future, while a character with lower Ne (SJ) is going to be more anxious unless they feel fully prepared.

Extroverted Thinking (Te) is associated with organizing their environment. It is your leader that wants the facts of the situation, not speculation. It deals with what is known to work, such as methods described in books or that they've seen themselves. Often times it comes across as harsh, because either “time is money” or they don’t understand why someone would get offended over being told they look like a mess. They feel the strong need to be productive. Your mastermind honchos, CE Os and to-the-book characters will have this.

Extroverted Feeling (Fe) is associated with reading people and creating harmony in its environment. It’ll go on a ride it doesn’t like just so a friend doesn’t have to be alone (even if said friend insisted that they don’t mind). It’s openly expressive and often times the one that offers to “talk things out.” It knows how to please the crowds and climb the social ladder. It has the potential to be very manipulative. It needs to feel liked, wanted and/or respected by others. Your idealistic "I don't want anyone to get hurt!!" heroes and charismatic characters will have this.

Just the extroverted functions so far. Introverted functions are a little more difficult to simplify. I was thinking... should we provide tropes as examples for these functions? Like...

Se - Action Hero, Agent Peacock, Proud Beauty, etc.

Ne - Cloud Cuckoo Lander, The Wonka, Opportunistic Bastard, etc. (Although the last one can apply to Se as well.)

Te - Iron Lady, Corrupt Corporate Executive (or Honest Corporate Executive), The Spock, etc.

Fe - The Face, The Charmer, Manipulative Bastard, etc.

What do you guys think?

edited 17th Oct '15 2:21:23 PM by Tako

It's a very nice start, but I have a few additions and simplifications. By "a few", I apparently had a lot to say; so please excuse me if this comes across as a Wall of Text.

Extroverted Sensing (Se) is also about adapting to reality especially as it changes. People and characters who have this trait strongly usually become "one with their environment", and can easily become hands-on creators of the concrete realm. This function may have great appeal to the "animal" inside its users, and will indulge in simple pleasures. Se also has an innate appreciation for Scenery Porn — either real or fictional. On the flip side, Se may take too many risks without realizing all of the consequences at hand and usually have no real interest in pondering future implications of their actions simply because they are too focused on the pleasure of the present.

These types tend to communicate with "matter of fact" speeches and will have very strong and varied usage of present tenses. Even when Se voices an opinion, the person would likely say it with a tone that makes it sound like fact. Phrases like "keep it real" or "This Is Reality" is the embodiment of Se because it enjoys talking about current issues and distinctly knows the line between reality and fantasy. This function will not force people into any opinion; it just wants others to recognize and embrace the wonders of reality because truth sometimes is stranger than fiction.

Expect Se's clothing style to be as colorful as they are comfortable. To these users, what they put over their skin is practically a "second skin", but they also like being easy on the eyes. The stiffest clothing you would ever see this kind of person/character is either leather, denim/jeans, or both if said person wants to look really Badass.

• Additional common character archetypes: Passionate Sports Girl, Costume Porn plus a grand majority of its subtropes, marketers/advertisers/promoters, loving pet owners ^note  (due to the function relating to animals' instincts and behavior) , naturalists, and anybody that can handle fast-paced crises well.

Extroverted Intuition (Ne) is direct observation through correlation despite differences. This function sees the world by imposing its wild imagination onto it. It creates from the outer abstract plane, so it may not always see a sheet of paper and a rubber band; it could be seeing a makeshift funnel to pour powder through.

In communication, Ne is the one that brings all the wild possibilities to light. This function will usually speak from the imagination, even if the words' being said have no hope of relating to reality. Talking to such a person may feel like going in circles and tend not to stay on one particular topic of interest. Ne finds pleasure in chasing ideas as long as they sound interesting to the user, but can quickly get tired of it and move on.

In terms of dress, Ne users either look either very plain, very thematic, or very much "out there". The clothes can be a message in their own right or even become canvases for something truly different. Telling Ne to "look its absolute best" equates to opening the floodgates of creativity for them. No one can expect how these types dress, but its style will almost always "shine" in some aspect; it's just a far cry from a standard description most of the time.

• Additional common character archetypes: Mr. Imagination, Medium Awareness if exclusive to one or a special few characters, strong/consistent contributors of Postmodernism, and many of the Absurdity Ascendant tropes.

edited 18th Oct '15 10:14:34 AM by aNinjaWithAIDS

All very good and in-depth additions! However, I think we really need to keep it simple for the main page, since even a paragraph for each function is quite a bit to read for someone just being introduced to this stuff. We need enough to provide the jist of it, but we could probably create a separate page where we can go more in-depth about these.

Not to say these are necessarily too long, but it’s something to keep in mind as we try to do this.

(Also wanted to add: Costume Porn can apply to Si as well, but more in a “I wanna look classic/timeless” sort of way. Either that or it’s based purely on what’s more comfortable or what they're raised with.)

Onto the introverted functions!!

Introverted Sensing (Si) is associated with personalized memories of the past. It’ll watch that old movie over and over again just to solidify their awesome memories with it. It compares everything in the present to their past experience. Often times it is dedicated and likes to finish what it starts. It is cautious and prefers to gather all the details before making a decision. Your characters that hold a big grudge for years and years probably have this. Whenever a character adjusts their entire life behavior based on their emotional experience, it’s a sign of this function.

• Think The Atoner, Dark and Troubled Past, Nostalgia Filter, and Crazy-Prepared.

Introverted Intuition (Ni) is associated with an intuitive sense of knowing what’s going to happen before it happens, provided to them by observations of the present rather than experience in the past. It absolutely loves to think about the future. It will have a dream of being a ballerina, and even though it moved around a lot/experienced many different things, it will still become a ballerina. It is prone to looking at people as symbols and abstract concepts, which is a lot of the reason why religion is so attractive to this function*. For weaker Ni-users, this function can pop up with specific “gut feelings” that they may or may not trust. (*For Si-users, religion can be attractive because it's what they've grown up with and/or they have a lot of fond memories tied with the traditions.)

• For strong Ni-users, think Agent Mulder and The Chessmaster. Sherlock Scan and Gut Feeling also apply no matter where it falls in the stack. Crazy-Prepared can also apply.

Introverted Thinking (Ti) is associated with a fierce desire to analyze what's in front of it and going by its own logic. It is less the leader and more the problem solver… or the employee that’ll figure out how it can get away with the least amount of work. It wants to gather all the information, but more to understand it rather than to use it towards a desired outcome. It asks lots and lots of questions.

• Think Brilliant, but Lazy, especially for xNTPs. Can be an Absent-Minded Professor. Sometimes, especially coupled with a hands-on function like Se, it can be Street Smart.

Introverted Feeling (Fi) is associated with inner morals and authenticity. Unlike its extroverted counterpart, it doesn’t desire emotional validation from others. It wants to make a webcomic? It’ll make a webcomic, even if no one reads it. It is concerned with staying true to itself. It’ll say something it strongly believes in, even if it upsets the group. If it’s vegetarian, it’ll never bother anyone else about it. Also unlike it's extroverted counterpart, while high Fi-users are emotional, you'll hardly see them express it. They’re prone to getting mad if someone tells them they "know how they feel." Often times an artist that doesn't feel the need to explain the reasoning behind their work. (Being coupled with Te, Fi-users will also get mad if anyone accuses them of not knowing what they’re doing or being disorganized…)

• Think Honor Before Reason, Humble Hero, and Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!. True Art Is Incomprehensible can apply.

Thank you for your critique of my descriptions, and I like your descriptions for introverted ones except for one: Si.

Your description of Si creates a major fallacy which implies that the other functions don't hold any attachments to past experiences — which certainly isn't true. For example, I'm an ISTP; yet I have extremely vivid memories of certain early moments of my life, but I use Se second. How is this possible according to your description?

Personally, I imagine Si to be more like constantly revising and rewriting its own mental "resume" of experiences. It's concerned about maintaining its unique perceptions of reality to make sure they stay true. At its best, Si connects the past to the present relevantly and reliably thus creating traditional perceptions that defy time and age. At its worst, it becomes trapped in its own past and refutes the facts of change often missing key points for growth (like your grudge example).

We could just cheat and use [[http://www.celebritytypes.com/infographic/cognitive-functions-at-a-glance.php this simple and colorful chart].

It's true; most people have personalized memories and are sentimental to some degree. But Si-users are more likely to develop attachment to their past impressions than those who prefer Se. Se, when remembering a theme park, will say something along the lines of, "There were a lot of rides there! We went on nearly all of them and Sam ended up puking his guts out." It tends to be more objective. Si, on the other hand, would recall the theme park like, "It was a lot of fun! It was more crowded there compared to the fair back at home, and the caramel apples they had there weren't as sweet." It's more personal trying to recount its memories and there's a lot of comparison to other experiences.

Si is also much more likely to not want certain things to change. Say an ice cream parlor shuts down, Se would say, "Aw, that's a shame. Remember that one giant sundae they'd bring out? That thing was crazy. I wonder what they'll put in its place?" Meanwhile Si is throwing a fit because that's where their family and friends used to go to when they were kids and they want to preserve that.

You're right, though, Si isn't just personal memories. But it is trying to preserve (or push away from) what has made an impression on it. It's also very much a believer in "if it ain't broke, why fix it?", even though the Ne tied to it make all healthy Si users wish for (or at least accepting of) some change... just, especially for I Sx Js, it has to be on their terms. Routine is comfortable to them, because then they don't have to worry so much when they indulge Ne in daydreams and maybe some reckless ideas.

I'll definitely rework the Si description, but I don't feel we should just take summaries from other sites. Gotta still have that TV Tropes flair, yeah?

Thank you for your critique, by the way! It's very helpful.

Do you think Rose Quartz and Butters Scotch are INF Ps