How To Spot An Extrovert

Whilst most people rely on how determining how they speak much, whether they listen well or not, whether they are leaders or followers, whether they’d go to and so on, such methods will lead to inaccuracy when someone does not fit the stereotype.

Here are some tips that will help you spot even the most quiet extrovert:

• The natural equilibrium state of an extrovert will be engaged to the environment or interaction that is happening, as that is where they gain energy from
• In conversation they will typically have a neutral to forward lean (they may lean back to disengage while they draw upon introvert functions (access internally stored information), but they will return to their equilibrium engaged state after
• There will be a lesser comfort level in using introverted functions when disengaging from the conversation and environment

ESTP’s ARE NOT REBELS / REVOLUTIONARIES!

This is a very common misconception I've seen amongst a lot of Myers-Briggs typists and shows a lack of understanding of cognitive functions and how their psyche is structured.

The dominant function is a person's source of energy and sense of identity as it is highest ranked in the psyche's hierarchy.

Dominant Se does not make one a genuine rebel, conversely dominant Ni very often does.

Dominant Se and auxiliary Ti results in ESTP enjoying a rich sensory experience of the present in the external world and wanting to calibrate this to their subjective logical perfection.

Having dominant Se means there are literally infinite opportunities to be energised by the outer world, which often results in them being very high energy, alert, magnetic types that have a zest for life.

Rebels/revolutionaries typically do not share those qualities, in fact quite the opposite - they are often deeply dissatisfied/frustrated/angry with the way things currently are (hello dominant Ni which holds a worldview of how things should be and could be better* than they currently are and Te/Fe that wants to implement in externally through either social or systemic dynamics – large majority of rebels and revolutionaries are INFJ and INTJ), which drives them to rebel and instigate change.

ESTP have Ni in a inferior position – so it is their most draining cognitive process to use (highest energy cost) and polar from their dominant Se and sense of identity.

*better is a subjective term i.e. Adolph Hitler's dominant Ni's idea of a better world, is very different to say Tyler Durden's, Gandhi's or Jamie Oliver's etc.

The Extrovert Myth

Another common myth is that all extroverts are social butterflies, high energy, talk a lot etc. again this is not always true. Being extroverted means that your lead and most stimulating way of functioning is to be engaged with the external world – depending on your dominant function, this may be a preference towards engaging directly (ExxJ) with social dynamics (Fe) or structural dynamics (Te) or taking in information (ExxP) via patterns and impressions (Ne) or literal details (Se).

So, ExxP’s are most likely to be mistyped as introverts as their lead way of functioning is taking in external information and their interaction function with the outside world (Fe or Te) is third in their hierarchy. In particular, Ne dominants (ENFP and ENTP) tend to be the most reserved of extroverts and some Ne dominants may be mistyped or misconceived as introverts. This is because we live in a Si dominant society (majority of the population are SJ’s), and as Si and Ne have an antagonistic/repressive relationship. So, Ne dominants may be frequently invalidated by Si dominant or auxiliary users who are directive and prefer to plant down what’s known as fact rather than exploring different patterns and possibilities of the external world (as that is draining for top 2 Si users to do), so the result is that Ne dominants start using more of their inferior Si to repress their Ne so they can deal more effectively with most people and as a result they may find most social interaction to be very draining.

ESTP Profile

Dominant Cognitive Function: Extroverted Sensing (Se)
Auxiliary Cognitive Function: Introverted Thinking (Ti)
Tertiary Cognitive Function: Extroverted Feeling (Fe)
Inferior Cognitive Function: Introverted Intuition (Ni)

ESTP Celebrities

Famous ESTP

Male

Jack Black
George W Bush
Craig Ferguson
Bear Grylls
Hulk Hogan
Jay Leno
Brock Lesner
Matthew McConaughey
Shaquille O’Neal
Cristiano Ronaldo

Female

Victoria Beckham
Paris Hilton
Kendra Wilkinson
Serena Williams

Extroverted Feeling (Fe) – Cognitive Functions

What Is It?

Extroverted Feeling (Fe) is an external “dynamics” judgment function that makes objective decisions based on the social dynamics of the external world.

Who uses it?

As a dominant function (most stimulated by) – ESFJ, ENFJ
As a auxiliary function (supporting the dominant function) – ISFJ, INFJ
As a tertiary function – ESTP, ENTP
As an inferior function (most drained by) – ISTP, INTP

What are it's characteristics and themes?

• Caring
• Social Awareness
• Charisma
• Diplomatic
• Communal

For more about the cognitive functions and how to further develop their use check out Functions of Type: Activities for Developing the Eight Jungian Functions

Introverted Thinking (Ti) – Cognitive Functions

What Is It?

Introverted Thinking (Ti) is an internal “compass” judgment function that allows us to make decisions based upon internal, subjective logical deductions.

Who uses it?

• As a dominant function (most stimulated by) – ISTP, INTP
• As a auxiliary function (supporting the dominant function) – ESTP, ENTP
• As a tertiary function – INFJ, ISFJ
• As an inferior function (most drained by) – ESFJ, ENFJ

What are it's characteristics and themes?

• Precision
• Clarity
• Dispassionate
• Analytic
• Diagnostic
• Calibration

For more about the cognitive functions and how to further develop their use check out Functions of Type: Activities for Developing the Eight Jungian Functions 

Introverted Intuition (Ni) – Cognitive Functions

What Is It?

Introverted intuition is an internal “worldview” perception function that gives us information based on future conceptual visions processed via patterns and impressions, that we can use to make decisions.


Who uses it?

• As a dominant function (most stimulated by) – INTJ, INFJ
• As a auxiliary function (supporting the dominant function) – ENTJ, ENFJ
• As a tertiary function – ISTP, ISFP
• As an inferior function (most drained by) – ESTP, ESFP

What are it's characteristics and themes?

• Imagination
• Visionary
• Global
• Insightful
• Speculation
• Detachment
• Independence

For more about the cognitive functions and how to further develop their use check out Functions of Type: Activities for Developing the Eight Jungian Functions  

Extroverted Sensing (Se) – Cognitive Functions

What Is It?

Extroverted Sensing (Se) is an external “stimulus” perception function that gives us information based on the present physical environment using the 5 basic senses that we can use to make decisions.

Who uses it?

• As a dominant function (most stimulated by) – ESTP, ESFP
• As a auxiliary function (supporting the dominant function) – ISTP, ISFP
• As a tertiary function – ENTJ, ENFJ
• As an inferior function (most drained by) – INTJ, INFJ

What are it's characteristics and themes?

• Present orientation
• Sensual Experience
• Alertness
• Kinetic Energy
• Passion for life

For more about the cognitive functions and how to further develop their use check out Functions of Type: Activities for Developing the Eight Jungian Functions