Jake Peralta ESFP [THE ENTERTAINER]

ESFPs live in the world of people possibilities. They love people and new experiences. They are lively and fun, and enjoy being the center of attention. They live in the here-and-now, and relish excitement and drama in their lives. ESFPs have very strong inter-personal skills, and may find themselves in the role of the peacemaker frequently. Since they make decisions by using their personal values, they are usually very sympathetic and concerned for other people’s well-being. They’re usually quite generous and warm. They are very observant about other people, and seem to sense what is wrong with someone before others might, responding warmly with a solution to a practical need. They might not be the best advice-givers in the world, because they dislike theory and future-planning, but they are great for giving practical care.

The ESFP under a great deal of stress gets overwhelmed with negatives thoughts and possibilities. As an optimistic individual who lives in the world of possibilities, negative possibilities do not sit well with them. In an effort to combat these thoughts, they’re likely to come up with simple, global statements to explain away the problem. These simplistic explanations may or may not truly get to the nature of the issue, but they serve the ESFP well by allowing them to get over it. [X]

Rosa Diaz ISTP [THE VIRTUOSO]

ISTPs have a compelling drive to understand the way things work. They’re good at logical analysis, and like to use it on practical concerns. They typically have strong powers of reasoning, although they’re not interested in theories or concepts unless they can see a practical application. ISTPs have an adventuresome spirit. They are attracted to motorcycles, airplanes, sky diving, surfing, etc. They thrive on action, and are usually fearless. ISTPs are fiercely independent, needing to have the space to make their own decisions about their next step. They do not believe in or follow rules and regulations, as this would prohibit their ability to “do their own thing”. Their sense of adventure and desire for constant action makes ISTPs prone to becoming bored rather quickly.

ISTPs are loyal to their causes and beliefs, and are firm believers that people should be treated with equity and fairness. Although they do not respect the rules of the “System”, they follow their own rules and guidelines for behavior faithfully. They will not take part in something which violates their personal laws. ISTPs avoid making judgments based on personal values - they feel that judgments and decisions should be made impartially, based on the fact. They are not naturally tuned in to how they are affecting others. They do not pay attention to their own feelings, and even distrust them and try to ignore them, because they have difficulty distinguishing between emotional reactions and value judgments. This may be a problem area for many ISTPs. [X]

Terry Jeffords ISFJ [THE DEFENDERS]

ISFJs live in a world that is concrete and kind. They are truly warm and kind-hearted, and want to believe the best of people. They value harmony and cooperation, and are likely to be very sensitive to other people’s feelings. People value the ISFJ for their consideration and awareness, and their ability to bring out the best in others by their firm desire to believe the best.  ISFJs have a very clear idea of the way things should be, which they strive to attain. They value security and kindness, and respect traditions and laws. They tend to believe that existing systems are there because they work. Therefore, they’re not likely to buy into doing things in a new way, unless they’re shown in a concrete way why its better than the established method.

More so than other types, ISFJs are extremely aware of their own internal feelings, as well as other people’s feelings. They do not usually express their own feelings, keeping things inside. If they are negative feelings, they may build up inside the ISFJ until they turn into firm judgments against individuals which are difficult to unseed, once set. Many ISFJs learn to express themselves, and find outlets for their powerful emotions. [X]

Amy Santiago ESTJ [THE EXECUTIVE]

ESTJs live in a world of facts and concrete needs. They live in the present, with their eye constantly scanning their personal environment to make sure that everything is running smoothly and systematically. They honor traditions and laws, and have a clear set of standards and beliefs. They expect the same of others, and have no patience or understanding of individuals who do not value these systems. They value competence and efficiency, and like to see quick results for their efforts.

ESTJs are take-charge people. They have such a clear vision of the way that things should be, that they naturally step into leadership roles. They are self-confident and aggressive. They are extremely talented at devising systems and plans for action, and at being able to see what steps need to be taken to complete a specific task. They can sometimes be very demanding and critical, because they have such strongly held beliefs, and are likely to express themselves without reserve if they feel someone isn’t meeting their standards. But at least their expressions can be taken at face-value, because the ESTJ is extremely straight-forward and honest. [X]

Charles Boyle ESFJ [THE CAREGIVER]

ESFJs are people persons - they love people. They are warmly interested in others. They use their Sensing and Judging characteristics to gather specific, detailed information about others, and turn this information into supportive judgments. They want to like people, and have a special skill at bringing out the best in others. They are extremely good at reading others, and understanding their point of view. The ESFJ’s strong desire to be liked and for everything to be pleasant makes them highly supportive of others. People like to be around ESFJs, because the ESFJ has a special gift of invariably making people feel good about themselves.

The ESFJ takes their responsibilities very seriously, and is very dependable. They value security and stability, and have a strong focus on the details of life. They see before others do what needs to be done, and do whatever it takes to make sure that it gets done. They enjoy these types of tasks, and are extremely good at them. ESFJs are warm and energetic. They need approval from others to feel good about themselves. They are hurt by indifference and don’t understand unkindness. They are very giving people, who get a lot of their personal satisfaction from the happiness of others. They want to be appreciated for who they are, and what they give. They’re very sensitive to others, and freely give practical care. ESFJs are such caring individuals, that they sometimes have a hard time seeing or accepting a difficult truth about someone they care about. [x]

Gina Linetti ENTP [THE VISIONARY]

With Extraverted Intuition dominating their personality, the ENTP’s primary interest in life is understanding the world that they live in. They are constantly absorbing ideas and images about the situations they are presented in their lives. Using their intuition to process this information, they are usually extremely quick and accurate in their ability to size up a situation.  This ability to intuitively understand people and situations puts the ENTP at a distinct advantage in their lives. They generally understand things quickly and with great depth. Accordingly, they are quite flexible and adapt well to a wide range of tasks. They are good at most anything that interests them. As they grow and further develop their intuitive abilities and insights, they become very aware of possibilities, and this makes them quite resourceful when solving problems.

ENTPs are idea people. Their perceptive abilities cause them to see possibilities everywhere. They get excited and enthusiastic about their ideas, and are able to spread their enthusiasm to others. In this way, they get the support that they need to fulfill their visions. ENTPs are less interested in developing plans of actions or making decisions than they are in generating possibilities and ideas. Following through on the implementation of an idea is usually a chore to the ENTP. ENTPs are fluent conversationalists, mentally quick, and enjoy verbal sparring with others. They love to debate issues, and may even switch sides sometimes just for the love of the debate. When they express their underlying principles, however, they may feel awkward and speak abruptly and intensely. [X]

Captain Ray Holt ISTJ [THE INSPECTOR]

ISTJs are quiet and reserved individuals who are interested in security and peaceful living. They have a strongly-felt internal sense of duty, which lends them a serious air and the motivation to follow through on tasks. Organized and methodical in their approach, they can generally succeed at any task which they undertake. ISTJs are very loyal, faithful, and dependable. They place great importance on honesty and integrity. They are “good citizens” who can be depended on to do the right thing for their families and communities. While they generally take things very seriously, they also usually have an offbeat sense of humor and can be a lot of fun - especially at family or work-related gatherings.

🚨This is a Red Alert for net neutrality 🚨

Last December, the FCC voted to to kill net neutrality. If we do not take action, this will kill the free and open internet as we know it. The internet needs you—all of you—to make sure your voices are heard NOW.

We need all hands on deck for this one. It may be our last chance. If you’re feeling under-informed and overwhelmed about why net neutrality is so incredibly important, we have this handy guide just for you.

Here’s what you can do to save the internet:

In mid-May, the Senate will vote on a resolution to overrule the FCC using the Congressional Review Act (CRA). We only need one more vote in the Senate to win. Write or call your Senators or Representatives. You can also text BATTLE to 384-387 to get more information on how to write to your reps. You can do this, Tumblr.

Join us and dozens of your other favorite companies like Etsy, Vimeo, Reddit, and GitHub to raise awareness with the Red Alert campaign being run by Battle for the Net. Just add this small widget to your Tumblr to let your followers know how they can contact their reps. It’s as easy as copying and pasting the small line of code right into the customize theme page on the web.

Sure. Enneagram 1 is strong with me, so I love pointing out people’s flaws. ;)

ESTP: strengths: good at seeing and leaping on financial opportunities, able to change directions quickly, and confident in themselves and in handling the real world with detachment: weaknesses: out of touch with their feelings, often uses other people for ego strokes rather than forming bonds, poor ability to ‘stay put’: improvement: focus on caring about and bonding with people on a genuine level and on thinking how your actions will impact them; look before you leap.

ISTP: strengths: detached, confident in themselves and the environment, often good at providing insights into others, logical consistency and a drive to action: weaknesses: detachment from their feelings, lack of ability to open up to others, often negative about the future: improvement: remember emotions are not weaknesses and it is better to express your emotions rather than repress them, focus on forming positive visions of the future. 

ESFP: strengths: strong moral opinions and an extroverted presence, often good at pursuing what they want and figuring out how to get it (Se/Te), hunger for change and opportunistic / quick to see potential in others and themselves: weaknesses: acts on their present emotions, without much thought for possible long term consequences, often abandons people/jobs/projects due to loss of interest: improvement: learn to commit to important things and see them through, and remember to value other people’s emotions as much as your own.

ISFP: strengths: strong moral convictions, driven to act, but prone to thinking first, often creative and dynamic: weaknesses: over-sensitivity to criticism, lack of time management, becomes impatient and sharp-tempered under stress, can be negative about the future: improvement: learn to distinguish between helpful criticism and insults, focus on the future casually so you don’t devolve into negative / fear-driven ideas under stress, and study time management.

ENTP: strengths: openness of ideas, big picture thinkers, can revise and find new solutions under pressure or when plans change, logical precision and charm: weaknesses: poor self-awareness (prone to doubting their type), often thinks personal conclusions are objective truths / forgets it came from their own mind, skim-reads: improvement: admit your lack of self-awareness comes from lower Fe (the desire to impress others) and Si (poor sensory skills), form bonds with others with the desire to enrich their life (not feed your ego), and slow down.

INTP: strengths: able to understand, break down, and re-organize difficult abstract concepts for others to understand, detailed and meticulous in their understanding of material, and able to change tactics: weaknesses: can be so abstract others may not understand their explanations and/or think they are being clear when they are not, can be fussy and inconsiderate: improvement: develop more detail-driven precision and practice self-expression, in order to reach out to others and share your ideas in simplistic ways, allow yourself to open up. 

ENFP: strengths: good at seeing people’s potential and in pushing them toward it, able to remain open-minded and keep the larger picture in mind when making decisions: weaknesses: often insecure and prone to hanging on to negative or bad relationships due to idealism (wanting to see them improve, denying they will not), prone to not finishing things and lacking important details: improvement: do not shut off your negative emotions / deny the truths people are sharing with you all the time simply because it does not fit what you want to see / learn to walk away from toxic relationships, more carefully choose good ideas and see them through to the end, start reading more carefully.

INFP: strengths: idealistic, creative, and likes to see the best in people, often natural peacemakers, imaginative, able to change their mind, often passionate about finishing what matters to them: weaknesses: driven to protect their sense of self, over-sensitive / melodramatic at times, sometimes out of touch with reality in favor of seeing the best in others, not good at time management: improvement: remember, not everything relates to you or threatens who you are as a person, so pick your battles carefully, learn to rely on previous sensory experiences when evaluating people (to be less idealistic / more detailed in your intuitive forming), and study how better to accomplish things on time.

ESTJ: strengths: natural problem solvers, good with details, terrific sense of off-color humor, often family-focused and organized: weaknesses: may judge others for being incompetent if they are not as capable or as hard-working as the ESTJ and expect too much from them, can be childish when emotional and lash out at others: improvement: allow others to be themselves and do not try and mold them into Te-doms (most of them cannot be!), accept your emotions as having value and allow them to direct your actions toward the things you love.

ISTJ: strengths: detailed, down to earth, full of facts and logical reasoning, often organized and hard-working, with strong ethics (which often include being a contentious student or employee): weaknesses: low interest for or interest in abstract ideas, sometimes gets stuck in negative work environments due to wanting job security over valuing their emotional state / dismissing their personal feelings in favor of logic: improvement: prioritize what you care most about, and expose yourself to new ideas that could help you get there; indulge in discussion of these ideas for fun, so you have a broad, positive sense of the future.

ESFJ: strengths: warm, charming, enormous interest in other people and their ideas, good sense of humor and great with self-expression and getting others to work together for a common immediate good: weaknesses: can ‘mother’ others instead of allowing them to find their own way, often becomes negative and over-reacts under stress / envisions all the bad things that could happen when a situation spirals out of their control: improvement: learn to think positively about the future and remind yourself of positive outcomes under stress, expose yourself to new ideas, strengthen your Ti through instructive reading.

ISFJ: strengths: faithful, hard-working, fun to be around, tends to peace make, excellent at learning to do things well and become an expert at their job; weaknesses: can develop martyr complexes and self-sacrifice / compromise too much, prone to emotional detachment at times, and fear too much change will disrupt their internal sensory harmony: improvement: focus on asserting yourself in relationships and not always giving in, in recognizing your emotions vs. other people’s, and in asking them rather than anticipating their emotional needs; expose yourself to new ideas often enough they do not seem threatening if they challenge your established beliefs.

ENTJ: strengths: authoritative visionaries able to switch tactics when necessary but are stubborn in pursuit of what they want: weaknesses: carelessness / overt sensory pleasures and indulgences (sometimes to an expensive degree) and acting on a whim, often looks down on others who lack similar vision, and devalues their own emotions: improvement: focus on balancing your intuition with your need for new experiences to ‘tame’ your lower Se; allow yourself to factor in your personal emotions when decision making (rather than denying you have them).

INTJ: strengths: insightful and focused on long-term outcomes, rational but also with a sense of self-awareness in what they want: weaknesses: can become detached from reality / over-reliant on their intuitive conclusions and careless with others, poor sensory awareness / prone to physical laziness: improvement: focus on recognizing opportunities to act in your environment, so when the moment comes to make your idea real, you will not hesitate / falter or miss out due to inaction or impulse; look for evidence to contradict your conclusions, not just support them.

ENFJ: strengths: good at seeing the potential in others and figuring out their true intentions and/or giving them insights into their and others’ motives, amiable and ‘present’ in a crowd, often an idealist and optimistic about the future: weaknesses: can be people-pleasing, impulsive, prone to over-spending and leaping on things without thinking them through first, often sensitive to criticism and sometimes bossy: improvement: learn to analyze your impulses before you act on them (thus bringing balance to your Ni and Se and strengthening your Ti), do not assume you must take on all burdens for everyone and/or handle everything all at once (ENFJs become detail-oriented under stress).

INFJ: strengths: often insightful into others’ motives and in articulating these truths to others, search for personal depth and intensely analytical, less outwardly emotional than other feelers: weaknesses: can be so confident in their ‘gut hunch’ that they fail to look for evidence to contradict their hypothesis, thus rejecting external input (Se data) and entering a loop where they use their Ti to come up with faulty arguments to support their initial wrong conclusion: improvement: this problem happens due to a lack of data-gathering, so, tune in to your environment, consider all the evidence more carefully, and do not rely on your instincts alone; learn to open up and listen to others’ input without rejecting it if it contradicts your own – doing this means Ni is not working properly. Your firm conclusions should take TIME and not be instant.

I won’t say there are no stupid questions, because there are stupid questions – however, this is not one of them. ;)

When the world says extrovert, it means: someone social and outgoing, who is always at a party or has a ton of friends. IE, Elle Woods.

When the world says introvert, it means: loaner and lost in their own mind.

When MBTI says extrovert, it means: someone who is most fulfilled and stimulated when focused on the external world.

When MBTI says introvert, it means: someone who is most fulfilled and stimulated when focused on their internal world.

You can’t type people based on their behavior; you have to watch where their natural focus and energy goes, to determine introversion or extroversion. An MBTI extrovert might be quiet, shy, withdrawn, have social anxiety, etc., but if their focus is still on the outer world and they become miserable when forced into too much internal reflection, they are still a cognitive extrovert. An MBTI introvert can be charming, outgoing, social, and still prefer time to slow down and internalize their experiences before they socialize again – an introvert.

How to spot cognitive functions in real life

Extraverted Functions

If you see these traits strongly displayed in someone’s behavior, it’s quite likely that it’s their dominant or auxiliary function. These are more easily observable and they’re what I’d notice first when interacting with someone.

Ne: “The Mind Jumps” - NPs

They seemingly jump from one topic to another without obvious connection, or interrupt you to say completely unrelated things because something you said reminds them of something else. (Note: this is easier for me to recognize because my Ne is quite strong and I can understand connections behind the ‘mind jump’ other Ne users do.)

Some NPs are aware of this and will start with “This is completely unrelated, but…”

They see multiple possibilities and tend to talk in terms of possibilities and use hedging even if they sound confident: “maybe…”, “it’s probably…”, “usually…”, “pretty much”

They act younger than their age and come off as playful, childlike, and silly.

Te: “The Commands” - TJs

They talk in direct, commanding statements.

They use very few hedging, and they won’t turn a sentence into a question unless they actually want to ask a question (i.e. they won’t add “,right?” at the end of a sentence or have an upward intonation, or say “don’t you think so?”, etc).

There’s an intensity about them. They easily come off as intimidating.

They are not afraid to stare people down when they talk.

Fe: “The Warmth” - FJs

Usually very smiley and pleasant throughout the conversation.

They feel ‘warm’ and accommodating when you interact with them.

They naturally show socially appropriate non-verbal behaviors, e.g. laughing at a joke because someone told a joke, even if it wasn’t that funny; saying “aww” or make sad faces when you share your disappointment at something, etc.

They tend to reciprocate actions, mood, and tone of the person they’re interacting with.

Likely to be uncomfortable with silence because they don’t know what to mirror.

Se: “The Alertness” - SPs

You can tell from their eyes. Se dom/aux have the most attentive look in their eyes. They’re so present and right there noticing everything in the environment. It’s more of a wild, open and alert look, as oppose to Te intense intimidating stare.

They’re quite easily distracted by things that are going on around them. They will look in the direction of a small noise mid-conversation, or to look at someone entering a room or a bird flying pass.

(INTP-specific) I tend to have a zoned out look when someone is talking, and it’d be Se dom that asked me the variety of “are you there?”, “are you still following me?”, and occasionally glance behind them to see what I’m looking at (when I’d actually be zoning out).

Introverted Functions

You can mostly see these through the content of what someone says. Again, these are clearer as someone’s dominant or auxiliary function.

Ti: “The Analysis” - TPs

Ti dom/aux analyze how everything works. NTPs are more theoretical and STPs are more factual, but there will be many analysis, calculations and speculations.

They tend to be impartial, preferring facts and logical explanations.

They like to ask for clarifications, to categorize and define things in more precise terms.

They may stop talking mid-conversation, look down to analyze something in their mind (possibly to find the most succinct vocab), then perk up to talk again.

They want to “know” and tend to like reading.

Si: “The Extraordinary Memory” - SJs

They tell stories based on events in the past in vivid details. These details tend to be descriptive observable facts (where they were, what the place looked like, how did they get there, who was there, what did they wear, what did each person did), as opposed to nuances/mood/atmosphere.

They are amazing at remembering people’s names and information.

They can tell the same stories and jokes over and over again for years.

Fi: “The Feels” - FPs

They are brimming with “feels”. You can see it. Stories they tell are usually personal and filled with personal opinions. You can see that those are real and meaningful to them, and they are personally attached to what they say.

They readily take a moral stance and can have a hard time understanding how someone could take a different stand point.

They tend to “show off” their values quite a bit, which can make someone with different values feel uncomfortable, e.g. a vegan Fi-user may advocate it so much and make others feel guilty about eating meat, a humanitarian Fi-user may talk highly of themselves for helping other people, or a libertarian Fi-user may tell various stories to show how uninhibited they are and how unthinkable it is to live conservatively.

Ni: “The Future Predictions” - NJs

Ni is extremely hard to observe externally. Ni users tend to mention “following their guts/instinct”, but they don’t readily share that fact unless you’re close to them.

They tend to have a 5 years or 10 years or 20 years plans and goals for the future. They like to know where they’re going in life.

They like to envision the most likely future path with people or situations.

An example: My INTJ best friend told me about an older single mom who flirted with him. He said that he didn’t like her personality and wasn’t attracted to her physically. Then, he also mentioned that he’d like to focus on his career for the next 10 years and taking care of her kids would distract him from his goal, which prompted me to ask why he would think about a future with her if he didn’t like her to begin with, and he said he does this naturally with everything.

Another example: The same INTJ changed jobs twice, and both times he left his old work place even before he got a confirmation that he was hired at the new job. He said he just knew instinctively that he was going to get accepted at this company (he went to about 10 interviews during the same time period).

-eilamona

p.s. Also check out my other post on how to type people.

p.s.2 I would’ve linked to the Visual Typing website (a theory on how to visually recognize functions in real life), but unfortunately the author has taken all the videos down to advertise his upcoming book instead haha. He had pretty great stuff going on there, so if you’d like to support, go here.

bc I’ve been wondering if there’s any correlation… even if there isn’t I’m interested anyway!!