MBTI #6: Sketching characters

The sixteen MBTI types fall into four groups of generally similar temperaments. When you have a vague sketch of a new character, these can help narrow down which type the character might be.

Intellectuals: the NTs
INTJ, INTP, ENTJ, ENTP. Kiersey's overview of the group.

Up side: NTs are idea- and logic-driven. Concepts, structure, and rationalizing come easy to them, and they apply their ideas practically to the world around them.

Down side: They can be socially inept, angsty, and arrogant. Often come across as chilly and indifferent. The more socially adept ones can be very manipulative of those around them. For women of this type, there's the extra challenge of being seen as a "cold-hearted bitch" because our culture expects women to be warm and nurturing.

Dreamers: the NFs
INFJ, INFP, ENFJ, ENFP. Kiersey's overview of the group.

Up side: The combination of Intuition and Feeling makes the NFs a sensitive and idealistic group. They want to communicate, understand, and empathize -- which can be difficult in an ugly world.

Down side: They can fall into their deep interior world of thoughts and feelings, and come across as spineless and out of touch. Men of this type can have an especially rough time, since our culture still frowns on men showing emotions, and they'll be told to "man up" and ignore their natural sensitivities.

Managers: the SJs
ISTJ, ISFJ, ESTJ, ESFJ, aka "the Guardians." Kiersey's overview of the group.

Up side: SJs are solid, reliable, ordinary folks. They get stuff done, they keep their promises, they don't rock the boat unless they feel they must.

Down side: They can be boring, boring, boring. At the extremes, they can be stiflingly straight-laced and dedicated to enforcing their brand of conformity on everyone.

Artisans: the SPs
ISTP, ISFP, ESTP, ESFP. Kiersey's overview of the group.

Up side: In general, the four SP types are people who like to work with their hands, do things, create things. They're practical, but they seek new ideas and fun. Lots of fun.

Down side: SPs can become shallow show-offs and thrill-seekers, either annoying the heck out of people or  leaving a swath of broken hearts in their wake -- because all that matters is their own pleasure.

Fleshing out
Most character-generating systems start with the surface appearance and behaviors -- their favorite things, their personal experiences, and such -- and works their way into the character from the outside. Using MBTI takes you in the opposite direction.

We're starting with what makes the character tick, here, and once that's been established you can start working out how a character's MBTI shaped how he experienced his personal history -- what parts of those events shaped him more than others -- why his favorite things are his favorite things.

In fleshing out my characters, I bring world-building and story plot into play here, weighing what the character needs to be with what my creative gut is telling me will be interesting. I try not to "assign" characters an MBTI, especially not major characters, but I narrow it down to two or three most likely and feel my way from there. As the character becomes real, they'll tell me what they are.

MBTI is innate. It's influenced by one's upbringing and maturity level, and if one doesn't have a strong preference in more than one dichotomy, one can be difficult to type -- but in general, your type sticks.

Age and function mastery 
As stated earlier, a character's two dominant functions will be the easiest, most comfortable modes of being for him. They are also the functions that manifest at a young age. There's a fair amount of discussion about how children "figure out" what type they are, but in general it's thought that the dominant function has settled in by the time you get to your teenage years.

The secondary function develops over the teen years, which then determines which are the tertiary and inferior functions. Since those two don't come easily to a person, how well they will be developed depends on what effort is put into them -- or not.

Twenty-somethings and those who don't develop further can be stereotypes of their MBTI. NTs, the fumbling nerds. SPs, the party animals. NFs, the starry-eyed idealists. SJs, the goody two-shoes.

The other two functions develop "later in life" (most sources say) which is deliberately vague because there's an element of voluntary effort in there. But as a 41-year-old who has put in some effort, I think I can say I'm comfortable with my lesser functions as an INTJ, and that it happened over the course of my thirties.

MBTI basics

Four dichotomies:
Intuitives/Sensors • Feelers/Thinkers • Introverts/Extroverts • Judgers/Perceivers

For writers: Sketching Characters • The Dark Side • Shadow & Resources

MBTI #5: Judgers and Percievers

Judgers vs. Perceivers is the trickiest dichotomy, IMO, to explain. It could be argued that it has the least impact of the four letters. Generally, it's another directional pair, like Introvert vs. Extrovert, but it has to structure vs. spontenaiety.

Over-simplification
Judgers are organized, efficient and get stuff done. Perceivers... well... stuff gets done eventually...

Stereotypes
"You know you're a judger when..."
"You know you're a perceiver when..."

Description
Judgers have an internal need for goals, deadlines, organization, are uncomfortable having something incomplete, and like to have decisions made rather than keep their options open. Sure, everyone likes to have a goal in mind, even perceivers, but judgers have a need to create structure.

Perceivers like unstructured environments, tend to be more disorganized, sit on ideas until they are sure they've reached the correct decision, and like keeping their options open, often feeling unsettled by the idea that they may have come to a conclusion too early.

Further thoughts
J/P indicates which of the top two functions is dominant, of the middle two letters. For example, for an INTJ it indicates the N is dominant. For an INTP, the T. Exactly why Intuition is a "judging" function and Thinking is a "perceiving" function -- it seems to me that should be the other way around -- I'm not entirely clear on. It seems to me that my Ni is exactly what keeps me from being an organized, goal-driven J. My Ni keeps me noodling around and it's my Te that keeps me focused.

But that is just my experience. I test as a Judger, but it's not a strong preference. This thread at PersonalityCafe talks about some J/P stereotypes vs. reality.

In the general population, Judgers (54%) are on fairly equal footing with Percievers (46%).

MBTI basics

Four dichotomies:
Intuitives/Sensors • Feelers/Thinkers • Introverts/Extroverts • Judgers/Perceivers

For writers: Sketching Characters • The Dark Side • Shadow & Resources

MBTI #4: Introverts and Extroverts

It's important to point out that Introvert vs. Extrovert has nothing to do with shyness, confidence, or social skills. Introvert/Extrovert, here, refers to what energizes a person. Extroverts can be shy. Introverts can be great at parties. Read on...

Over-simplification
Introverts "recharge their batteries" by being alone. Extroverts "recharge" by being around other people.

Stereotypes
"You know you're an introvert when..."
"You know you're an extrovert when..."

Descriptions
Introverted attitudes view the outer world in terms of the self's subjective ideal, so they attempt to make the outer world more like the inner self. Their focus is deeper but less expansive--they can see all the implications of one idea at a time.

Extroverted attitudes view the inner world in terms of the non-self's objective ideal, so they attempt to make the inner self more like the outer world. Their focus is broader but more shallow--they can see a wide range of different information at once, but in less detail.

At a glance, those might not seem like they're talking about the same thing as my "over-simplification" above, but it's the same inward/outward dichotomy.

Further thoughts
Everybody needs a certain amount of socializing. We all want companionship, attention, and love. Some people need a lot. For others, a little goes a long way.

Introverts can be confident, bold, they can get up on stage and perform, spend hours at a party talking to strangers -- but at some point, they need alone time to recuperate. To recharge.

Extroverts can be shy and private. They can work alone, even enjoy solitude, but at some point they need people time to recuperate and recharge.

This is a heavy influence on one's dominant function, which is why the I/E in the MBTI label tells you which direction the dominant function points. Looking at the definitions in the T/F and N/S posts, you can see that the "e" versions all focus on the outside world and the "i" versions are inward-focused.

Your secondary function is always pointed in the opposite direction. However introverted you are, you still need to interact with the outside world. However extroverted, you're still an individual and not a collective.

The general population is just about evenly split between Extroverts (49%) and Introverts (51%).

MBTI basics

Four dichotomies:
Intuitives/Sensors • Feelers/Thinkers • Introverts/Extroverts • Judgers/Perceivers

For writers: Sketching Characters • The Dark Side • Shadow & Resources

MBTI #3: Feelers and Thinkers

Today, a closer look at the second of the dichotomies in the MBTI types: feeler vs. thinker. These two control the third slot in a four-letter type. To continue using myself as an example, this is the T in my INTJ designation.

Over-simplification
Thinkers apply impersonal logic and analysis. Feelers prioritize relationships and connections. Spock-types vs. the hippy-dippies, at the extremes.

Stereotypes
"You know you're a thinker when..."
"You know you're a feeler when..."

Descriptions
These are short descriptions. Longer ones in the first post here below the first "-------" line.

Extroverted Thinking (Te): Segmenting; organizing for efficiency; systematizing; applying logic; structuring; checking for consequences; monitoring for standards or specifications being met; setting boundaries, guidelines, and parameters; deciding if something is working or not. Sorting out different colors and styles; thinking about the consequences.

Introverted Thinking (Ti): Analyzing; categorizing; evaluating according to principles and whether something fits the framework or model; figuring out the principles on which something works; checking for inconsistencies; clarifying definitions to get more precision. Analyzing your options using principles.

Extroverted Feeling (Fe): Connecting, considering others and the group, organizing to meet their needs and honor their values and feelings, maintaining societal, organizational, or group values, adjusting to and accommodating others, deciding if something is appropriate or acceptable to others. Considering what would be appropriate for the situation

Introverted Feeling (Fi): Valuing; considering importance and worth; reviewing for incongruity; evaluating something based on the truths on which it is based; clarifying values to achieve accord; deciding if something is of significance and worth standing up for.

Further thoughts 
Spocks vs. hippies -- this is a dichotomy that can easily turn contentious. Because of our cultural biases, it's easy to paint logical Thinkers as reasonable and connective Feelers as silly, but that's not accurate. Everyone uses reason; it's their priorities that vary. Both approaches are valuable.

T and F illustrate the priorities applied to the information that N/S brought in. T/F also gets into how a person interacts with the outside world, especially in the Extroverted versions of T and F.

Feeling-dominant people are very in tune with emotions and can seem to pull information from nowhere, to Thinkers who have trouble reading body language and other social cues. On the other hand, Thinkers are great at organizing and analyzing -- which Feelers can find cold and impersonal, but it does get stuff done.

In the general population, there's a closer parity between Thinkers (40%) and Feelers (60%) than in the S/N dichotomy.

MBTI basics

Four dichotomies:
Intuitives/Sensors • Feelers/Thinkers • Introverts/Extroverts • Judgers/Perceivers

For writers: Sketching Characters • The Dark Side • Shadow & Resources