MBTI: Typing people - how I do it
In case you didn’t know, the mbti is something pretty cool. It is a psychological theory about personality that presumes 16 different types. Your type will consist of the variables Extraversion/Introversion (E/I), Intuition/Sensing (N/S), Thinking/Feeling (T/F) and Judging/Perceiving (J/P). While E/I simply defines if you absorb energy by being around people or by having some time for yourself, the two middle variables determine the cognitive functions. Each type is defined by the functions they use most (there are 8: Ti, Te, Si, Se, Ni, Ne, Fi and Fe) I’ll shortly explain them later but for further information about these I recommend reading this.
So let’s start with what this post is actually about: Typing people. I don’t know if there is a “right” way to type but I’ll give you insight in how I do it. I’m never 100% sure of others’ types (sometimes even after they’ve took tests because online-tests are not necessarily accurate) but using this I often get a better impression of what person someone is and what to consider when interacting with them. This will be quite a lot but I guess I can’t help my Ni…
Note: Sorry, I’m not putting many links into this, it’s mostly knowledge I collected over the time I’ve been interested in mbti.
1. Get a first impression
Observe the person you want to type; Without putting it into concrete assumptions about functions/type/variables notice what character traits are most obvious. The best is to note them down (if your dominant and auxiliary function is a judging one, you’ll probably want to do that) so you can structure it and later get an idea about what functions apply. It can be general characteristics or situations that seem ‘typical’ of that person… like this:
Are they a rather spontaneous person? How do they react to cancelled plans?
Do they appear funny? Rational? Pragmatic?
Are they interested in a very wide range of things/hobbies? Or do they like few topics but want to know everything about them?
Are they more of a dreamer and wonder what if? Or are they down-to-earth? Do they say that situations remind them of something else?
Do they talk about justice or rational things or about how situations make them feel?
Do you experience them as a very warm or friendly person? rather open? or cold, but at times deeply concerned?
2. Check for the cognitive functions
it’s very helpful to remember not only the essential meanings of the cognitive function but also often used body language etc. Most of these things are general knowledge in the mtbi topic (so you might be bored) but I’ll add a few things I’ve noticed.
As for how I’ve experienced it, the extraverted functions are easier to recognize, at least when you don’t know the person you are typing too close. So I’ll start off with those.
Te: Extraverted Thinking (xxTJ)
When using Te, to me people often appear very dynamic. The major key is that they want to organize things/people around them efficiently. As a j function it is often a very structured way to let others know about their way to think.
- tend to value justice higher than anything and can get very upset if people aren’t treated fair
- tend to be direct, confident, come off as commanding and can have high expectations of others (IXTJs mostly)
- tend to make many resolute and on-point gestures when explaining
- tend to form direct sentences (subject-verb-object) e.g. “Trees are green.” NOT something like “I suppose, most trees are green, do you feel me?” (bad example, I know)
- although they are organized people, tend to need to talk about things, sometimes starting sentences they do not end, in order to get more thoughts
- they tend to have a determinate, sort of intimidating stare towards others
Fe: Extraverted Feeling (xxFJ)
People who use Fe are very aware of others’ feelings and often want everyone to be happy. The function’s main function (heh) is understanding others as well as acting out one’s emotion outwardly.
- tend to be very warm and kind people, always eager to help others and great advisers
- tend to talk about how things make them feel. (for example if you did something wrong, they will most likely say “you have disappointed me”) Also tend to laugh if someone’s making a joke, make a sad face if someone is telling a sad story
- tend to subconsciously show how they are feeling at the moment (i.e. you can easily tell when they are happy, sad, angry, just from their face or body language)
- tend to make great public speakers when able to talk about feelings or emotional impact on others
- tend to make friends quickly and be the sort of person everyone likes, also tend to smile a lot
- tend to make gestures when talking about feelings of theirs, but unlike Te rather “flowing” movements if you know what I mean
- can sometimes get overwhelmed by the mass of emotions they are feeling through others and not exactly know about their own emotions because it’s hard for them to separate
- tend to have hobbies such as writing, painting, playing instruments or similar ways to express their emotions
Ne: Extraverted Intuition (xNxP)
Ne is all about possibilities. Users of this perceiving function see the world as a wide range of things to be experienced. The main thing for it to be recognized are the mind jumps.
also, people who often use Ne:
- tend to be interested in many different things but sometimes are (as my INFP friend put it) “not much of a fan of something particular”
- tend to not be able to finish anything they started because they see new projects to be done or situations to be experienced
- therefore tend to not finish sentences they started because something else crossed their mind. Often, they then start to talk about the new topic which can be confusing
- tend to be great at brainstorming, always getting new ideas that in the end often aren’t related to the main topic anymore
- tend to be very spontaneous and fun to be around
- tend to not care much about the past/conventional approaches to problems because they are inventive and make up their own ways
- when making decisions or thinking through their ideas/inventing new ones they tend to make this switching-from-side-to-side eye movement
- as typical of N-functions - they always see the big picture and understand hidden metaphorical meanings and they are often dreamers
Se: Extraverted Sensing (xSxP)
Se always reminds me of “Carpe diem” or something. The main point is living in the moment, making the best out of the Right Now and enjoying the present with all five senses.
- tend to be extremely present-oriented, not caring much about the past and not planning too much for the future either
- tend to love physical activities such as running or moving around furniture in the house, especially when they are stressed
- are often very spontaneous and fun to be around and like visualization or anything practical that will engange their senses
- tend to have a very alert stare - when they’re looking at you, you feel that they experience that present situation very consciously using their senses
- tend to be pragmatic and down-to-earth sort of people, good at everyday life tasks. they often like to know what to do in detail
- tend to be distracted easily because they are so aware of their surroundings
- tend to be experimental and want to try different kinds of (physical) activities
Ti: Introverted Thinking (xxTP)
As I said before, the introverted functions are far harder to see in a person because they are, obviously, introverted, i.e. centered internally. Ti is all analytical, very logical, trying to make sense of the world for the individual.
- tend to always ask why. (You know that one kid in school that always questions the teacher? probably an ESTP)
- tend to like facts and logical explanations. they often like things to be proven (but note that xNTPs are more theoretical and xSTPs more practical) and make decisions based on logic
- although they are perceivers, they mostly want to think before they speak. Often, they will talk about something, then pause to think what to say next (while doing this, you’ll tend to find them thoughtfully looking in the lower right corner)
- want to know everything but the reason they want to know is only for themselves unlike Te where the individual uses their knowledge to bring it outwardly
- tend to be spontaneous and witty, often active and funny people but that depends on Extraversion/Introversion as well
Also, Ti is always used to analyze others’ feelings or is backed up with them because if you use Ti, you neessarily use Fe as well (e.g. INFJs use Ni-Fe-Ti-Se)
Fi: Introverted Feeling (xxFP)
In my opinion, Fi is one of the hardest to recognize. Even though I usually always type after the functions, with Fi I sometimes first analyze that 1) the person makes decisions following their heart (F) and 2) the person is rather spontaneous and not-so-well organized (P) and the cognitive function Fi is the consequence. However, Fi is mostly about moral values and, as the name says, internal feelings.
- tend to have high values in their life and therefore tend to be perfectionists
- make decisions based on their emotions but unlike Fe-users may not be that concerned about other people’s feelings
- tend to always know exactly what they are feeling because their emotions are only dependent on themselves
- you can see it in their eyes: if they are talking about something that is important and meaningful to them, their voice will get rather unemotional and monotonous and they won’t use many gestures, but their eyes will lighten up
- also when you meet them, (provided that they’re happy about seeing you) they will smile but you’ll get the feeling that they smile to themselves and are genuinely glad to see you. However, the’re unlikely to smile just to be polite (Fe-users would rather do that)
- tend to be loyal friends and very warmhearted once you know them
Ni: Introverted Intuition (xNxJ)
Ni is something pretty complex and hard to see in people. I think it’s one of the rarest, at least being the dominant function because INTJ (Ni-Te-Fi-Se) and INFJ (Ni-Fe-Ti-Se) are the two rarest in population (x). The main thing about Ni-users is that they’re extremely future-oriented.
- tend to plan out their future in a very structured way (tend to have 5-10-years-plans) and won’t ever do things without thinking of their consequences (that’s a rather Se-thing to do and that is the “opposite” of Ni)
- tend to intuitively know others’ Feelings (Ni-Fe) or Facts or ways to organization (Ni-Te) and may mention “following their guts/instincts”
- they tend to even make future predictions (for example when watching movies or something. Funny thing: I always use my dominant Ni when playing cards. I just watch the people’s faces and somehow just know what cards they have)
- they tend to be the interested in few things but deeply. Unlike Ne-users they can easily be “fans” of something specific because they want to know a lot about it and possess a lot of endurance to stay interested in it
- tend to always be aspiring to something, a deeper sense (xNFJ) or knowledge (xNTJ)
- tend to be innovative and creative but often can’t live out their creativity freely because of their need to be structured
- tend to not care much about the past and won’t be sentimental about it because they focus on the future and will therefore more likely give second chances
- tend to be dreamers. they’re said to have this dreamy upper-left-corner-look but I’m not sure if I can confirm that. I think I don’t do that too often
- tend to be rather anxious and overthinking the future
Si: Introverted Sensing (xSxJ)
A few people that I know use Si a lot, including my Dad, sister, aunt and a friend of mine and - well that does count for every function but it came to my mind here - they all use it different. But just similar to Ni, Si is all about the past. Or rather, considering the past to help act in the present
- tend to be conservative and use conventional methods in what they do
- tend to like to know details and are often excellent at remembering them
- tend to be down-to-earth kind of people and easily deal with everyday-life tasks, but not good at thinking of abstract ideas (e.g. religion or philosophy) like N-people are
- tend to like to tell stories exactly the way they have happened and are goot at telling jokes
- have no difficulty remembering smells/sounds/physical contact because they are similarly present in the world as Se-users are
- tend to have a “store of memories“ in their mind which they consult to know what to do right now
- tend to be most sentimental and nostalgic of the past and often think they would like to re-live it or change it
- tend to be organized people because Si is a j function
That is all about the functions! Still pretty much, I know, but let’s continue on how to type people…
3. Classify the person’s temperament (this is partially similar to the cognitive functions and even if you’ve already got the type, it’s good to check)
So David Keirsey divided the 16 types of the mbti into four distinct temperament categories. These categories consist of the Security Seeking types, Sensation Seeking types, Knowledge Seeking types, and Identity Seeking types (x)
- Security Seeking/Guardians: SJs
- Sensation Seeking/Artisans: SPs
- Knowledge Seeking/Rationalists: NTs
- Identity Seeking/Idealists: NFs
Simply think about what fits best - I think the titles already do say pretty much about the temperaments and I won’t bother you with huge descriptions. Now…
4. Transfer your information into type
Therefore, ask yourself the following questions:
1. Which two of the cognitive functions you have recognized in the person are it that they use most? This needs to be one introverted and one extraverted function and it has to be either two j functions (Te = TJ, Fe = FJ, Si = SJ, Ni = NJ) or two p functions (Ti = TP, Fi = FP, Se = SP, Ne = NP). If these first to functions are j ones it makes the person a Judger (and the last variable is a J) and vice versa.
2. In case you only know one function for sure, not a big problem either! There is maths behind the functions which is as follows (you can instead also simply check the different types’ functions):
Dominant (1st) function: extraverted if the person is extraverted
introverted if the person is introverted
j function if the 4th variable is a J
p function if the 4th variable is a P
Auxiliary (2nd) function: introverted if the person is extraverted
extraverted if the person is introverted
j function if the 4th variable is a J
p function if the 4th variable is a P
Tertiary (3rd) function: extraverted if the person is extraverted
introverted if the person is introverted
j function if the 4 variable is a P
p function if the 4th variable is a J
Inferior (4th) function: introverted if the person is extraverted
extraverted if the person is introverted
j function if the 4th variable is a P
p function if the 4th variable is a J
Now, something else: The 1st and 4th function need to be complementary to each other (Ne and Si or Si and Ne, Te and Fi or Fi and Te, Fe and Ti or Ti and Fe, Ni and Se or Se and Ni) as are the 2nd and 3rd function.
Sounds complicated, I know. Here’s an example:
ENTJ —-> Te - Ni - Se - Fi
1st function Te —-> type is extraverted
4th function Fi ——> complementary to Te
2nd function Ni —-> an N-function because there’s an N in the variables and an introverted function because the type is extraverted
3rd function Se —-> complementary to Ni
So that’s about it. Last thing I want you to consider is the person’s age! Be aware that the functions develop with ageing so in a child you’ll probably only notice their dominant function and in a person as old as your parents you can notice their 3rd function (sometimes even 4th I think). Now you transfer all the things you have collected and considered into type. In the functions section I’ve added how the functions correspond to the variables, so check for that and combine whether the person is extraverted or introverted!
An example: You have noticed someone being totally YOLO and living in the moment, also they like physical activities and are sponatneous (Se). You have then recognized they love to analyze things and different situations and always want to know the reasons behind everything (Ti). They love being around people (E) and they do appear Sensation Seking (SP) so their type makes ESTP! There you got it!
Hope this wasn’t too much and could help you get an insight in how I type others! Have fun with it! x
