How To Spot An Introvert

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

Here are some tips that will help you spot even the most talkative introvert:

• The natural equilibrium state of an introvert will be detached or contained within themselves as that is where they gain energy from
• In conversation they will typically have a neutral to backward lean - they may lean forward while they draw upon extroverted functions, but they will return to their equilibrium contained state after
• There will be a greater comfort level in using introverted functions when disengaging eye contact (up, down, left or right) from the conversation or 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.

Just Shoot Me Characters – Personality Types

Just Shoot Me is a TV sitcom created by Steven Levitan and centred around the staff that work at the office of a fictional fashion magazine, Blush.

Dennis Finch (David Spade) – INTJ

Goes against the assistant stereotype - very conniving, scheming and intent on getting his way, which suggests Ni dom.

Maya Gallow (Laura San Giacomo) – INFJ

Headstrong, ill tempered neo-feminist writer that wants to change Blush magazine to reflect her views – definitely Ni worldview dominant.

Jack Gallo (George Segal) – INTJ

Stereotypical bigshot INTJ CEO that likes to show off his power/wealth and have trophy wives half his age.

Elliot DiMauro (Enrico Colantoni) – ISFP

Stereotypical fashion photographer - Fi dominant seems most likely from the general vibe of his character.

Nina Van Horne (Wendie Malick) - ESFJ

Stereotypical ex-model past her prime trying to hold onto her past. Very outwardly charming and flirty in a directive manner and which makes me think Fe dom.

Becker Characters - Personality Types

Becker was a TV sitcom series starring Ted Danson as Dr Becker, a misanthropic doctor that deeps down cares about his patients and friends, who single handedly operates his own practice in the borough of Bronx, New York City and is a regular customer at a local diner. One of my personal favourite sitcoms of all-time - if you haven't caught it yet, make sure you do!

Here's my analysis of the main characters personality types:

Dr John Becker (Ted Danson) - INTJ (don't think they could spell it out any more - definitely Ni/Te - has the common INTJ pissed off with the incompetence of the world theme to his character ala Dr Cox from Scrubs - Ni/Te sees the flaws in logical systems and is often pissed off because of how much better things could be - also annoyed by the Se details of the world i.e flickering street lamps and noisy people - great character)

Margaret Wyborn (Hattie Winston) - ESFJ (Becker's receptionist who is very motherly, tradtionally minded and stubborn - stereotypical ESFJ)

Linda (Shawnee Smith) - ENFP (Becker's other receptionist - in contrast to Margaret she's kooky, optimistic, impulsive, muddle headed  - has to be a Ne-Fi - never takes things literally and has a lot of typical Si vs Ne clashes with Margaret - a very likeable character)

Regina 'Reggie' Kostas (Terry Farrell) - ISFP (not really sure what type she is, but this is my gut read of her character)

Jake Malinak (Alex Désert) - ENTP (Not that sure of his type either - I'll go with ENTP because he is best friends with Becker - INTJ/ENTP pairs are commonly found together as they are an 'inspirational match' - he also has very quick wit and is very aware of what's going on despite being blind probably from Ne interfacing with patterns of what's happening at present)
 
Bob (Saverio Guerra) - ESTP (I'm going to go with Se dom, given how he clashes with Becker a lot. Definitely comes off more as the sharky tertiary Fe than auxiliary Fi)

Chris Connor (Nancy Travis) - ESFJ (Can't remember her character well enough, but from what I do ESFJ seems most likely - outgoing, nice, polite and ordinary)

Hector Lopez (Jorge Garcia) - ENTP (stereotypical ENTP schemer)

The Introvert Myth

Common belief is that introverts are most drained by being around people and social interaction, however this is not the case with all introverts. In fact many introverts will not find interacting with other people that draining and be highly articulate, well skilled in conversation and public speaking (particularly IxxJ's as they have their external interaction function, Fe or Te, placed second on their functional hierarchy), which can result in them being misconceived or mistyped as extroverts, when they are actually drawing their energy from inside as introverts do.

The truth is that introverts are drained by different aspects of the external world depending on what their dominant (which is what we are most stimulated by) and hence inferior cogntive function (which is what we are most drained by) is:

Si dominants (ISTJ and ISFJ) are most drained by Ne i.e. the different patterns and possibilities of the external world

Ni dominants (INTJ and INFJ) are most drained by Se i.e. the literal physical details of the external world

Fi dominants (ISFP and INFP) are most drained by Te  i.e. the structural dynamics and protocols of the external world

Ti dominants (ISTP and INTP) are most drained by Fe i.e the social dynamics of the external world

Famous INTJ

Male

Dan Akroyd
Christian Bale
Eric Bana
Boris Becker
Matthew Broderick
Johnny Carson
Kevin Costner
Simon Cowell
Daniel Craig
Robert DeNiro
Michael Douglas
Fred Durst
Will Ferrell
Colin Firth
Harrison Ford
Morgan Freeman
Neil Patrick-Harris
Perez Hilton
Dustin Hoffman
Ice-T
Curtis ‘50 Cent’ Jackson
Samuel L Jackson
Shawn ‘Jay-Z’ Carter
Steve Jobs
Tommy Lee Jones
Jimmy Kimmel
Hugh Laurie
Martin Lawrence
David Letterman
Bernie Mac
Bill Maher
Steve Martin
John McGinley
Michael Moore
Bill Murray
Paul Newman
Leonard Nimoy
Edward Norton
Seth Rogen
Jonathan Ross
David Schwimmer
Jason Segal
Kevin Spacey
Sylvester Stallone
Ringo Starr
Rod Stewart
Ben Stiller
Keifer Sutherland
Billy Bob Thornton
Vince Vaughn
Bruce Willis
Owen Wilson

Female

Hillary Clinton
Tina Fey
Helen Hunt
Jillian Michaels
Martina Navratilova
Jada Pinkett Smith
Sarah Silverman

Seinfeld Characters Personality Types

Seinfeld is an iconic TV sitcom and widely considered one of the greatest TV series of all time. Created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld and described as "the show about nothing", it stars the latter as the main character (playing himself, Jerry) as well as his three friends, George, Kramer and Elaine.

Here is my personality type analysis of the main and secondary characters.



Main Characters

Jerry Seinfeld (Jerry Seinfeld) – INTJ

Extremely perceptive, penetrative and insightful with his dominant Ni worldview about everything that goes on around him and expresses these insights with logical expression through Te.

Has inferior Se evident in his fetish relationship with external details i.e. germophobe and neat freak tendencies as well as his reasons for break ups.

George Costanza (Jason Alexander) – ENTP

Originator of new ideas and possibilities, great improviser, quick to identify new trends and pursues a number of different ‘get rich quick’ business ideas throughout the series – lives very much in the moment exploring new possibilities and ideas as they arise like an Ne dominant. Alternates readily between the detached logical analysis of auxiliary Ti with the charisma and charm of Fe.


Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards) – ENTP

See George's description. Seems more Fe charismatic than Fi poignant - but not completely sold. Inferior Si shown by his great difficulty with abiding by rules and law.

Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) - ENFJ

Probably the hardest to identify out of the four - she seems a lead feeler with her emotion tending to be directed outward and assertively e.g. her quick temper and overtly flirtatious demeanour, possibly indicating dominant Fe user. Her supporting process seems to be be Ni rather than Si. I don't see her as a particularly strong example of this or any other type.

Interested to hear other people's suggestions on her...


Secondary Characters

Newman (Wayne Knight) - INFJ
Morty Seinfeld (Phil Bruns) - ISTJ
Helen Seinfeld (Liz Sheridan) - ESFJ
Frank Costanza (John Randolph) - INTJ
Estelle Costanza (Estelle Harris) - ESFJ
Susan Ross (Heidi Swedberg) - ISFJ
George Steinberner (Lee Bear with Larry David’s voice) - INTJ
Jacopo Peterman (John O’Hurley) - INTJ
David Puddy (Patrick Warburton) - ISTP
Jackie Chiles (Phil Morris) - INTJ

INTJ Profile

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

INTJ Celebrities

Extroverted Thinking (Te) - Cognitive Functions

What Is It?

Extroverted Thinking (Te) is an external “dynamics” judgment function that makes objective decisions based on the systematic dynamics of the external world.

Who uses it?

• As a dominant function (most stimulated by) – ESTJ, ENTJ
• As a auxiliary function (supporting the dominant function) – ISTJ, INTJ
• As a tertiary function – ENFP, ESFP
• As an inferior function (most drained by) – INFP, ISFP

What are it's characteristics and themes?

• Systematic
• Efficient
• Competitive
• Forceful
• Authoritative

 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 Feeling (Fi) – Cognitive Functions

What Is It?

Introverted Feeling (Fi) is an internal “compass” judgment function that makes subjective decisions based on personal feelings, morals and values.

Who uses it?

• As a dominant function (most stimulated by) – INFP, ISFP
• As a auxiliary function (supporting the dominant function) – ENFP, ESFP
• As a tertiary function – ISTJ, INTJ
• As an inferior function (most drained by) – ESTJ, ENTJ

What are it's characteristics and themes?

• Poignant
• Empathetic
• Idealistic
• Virtuousness
• Conviction
• Devotion

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