typologicalmusings

[typologicalmusings]

Monica Geller: ESFJ

Extraverted Feeling (Fe): Monica is “always the hostess” (The One with Rachel’s Crush, 4x13). She loves throwing parties and cooking for her friends – when Phoebe’s apartment burns down, she affectionately names her own apartment “Hotel Monica,” and takes delight in creating a guest bedroom so that Phoebe is comfortable (The One Where Ross Dates a Student, 6x18). She is upset when the group stops spending time in her apartment and refurnishes Joey and Chandler’s place so that she can play the “hostess” role once again (The One with Rachel’s Crush, 4x13). Monica is the glue that holds the group together and is always there to offer emotional support for others, such as counselling Ross through his feelings for Rachel, supporting Chandler through his breakup with Kathy, or advising Rachel about her feelings for Joey (The One with the Soap Opera Party, 9x20).  She values group harmony, and frequently makes personal sacrifices to ensure everyone is happy, such as cooking different kinds of potatoes for her friends so that they could all enjoy Thanksgiving like they had as children (The One Where Underdog Gets Away, 1x09). At times, Monica can feel undervalued by others for her group sacrifices – she refuses to cook Thanksgiving dinner one year because she “doesn’t think it’s fair” the burden falls on her each year (The One with the Late Thanksgiving, 10x08), and is upset when Rachel doesn’t appreciate a birthday she throws (The One with the Two Parties, 2x22). Monica has a strong understanding of social rules. When Phoebe invites a stripper to Rachel’s baby shower, Monica is aghast, calling Phoebe’s actions “totally inappropriate” (The One with the Baby Shower, 8x20). Similarly, she is shocked when Phoebe plans to wear a bohemian dress to meet Mike’s conservative parents, urging her to buy something more suitable for the social setting (The One with Ross’s Inappropriate Song, 9x07). Monica is mortified when she breaks social rules, such as forgetting to invite Rachel’s mother to her baby shower (The One with the Baby Shower, 8x20), and is equally mortified when others break them too, being aghast that she wasn’t invited to her cousin’s wedding, a major social faux pas (The One with all the Cheesecakes, 7x11). At times, she uses her understanding of social rules to manipulate others, such as wearing a white dress to a wedding to spite her cousin for not inviting her (The One with all the Cheesecakes, 7x11). Her manipulative capabilities extend to other areas of life, where she tricks Chandler into having sex with her (The One with Phoebe’s Birthday Dinner, 9x05), and writes a speech to make the audience cry at her parents’ wedding anniversary (The One in Massapequa, 8x18). Monica desperately wants to be liked by the people around her, and often goes to great lengths to receive positive regard from others, such as making candy for everyone in the building so that she would be liked by her neighbours (The One with all the Candy, 7x09), flattering Rachel’s mother in an attempt to win back her approval (The One with the Baby Shower, 8x20), or continuing to wear a pair of uncomfortable boots because she “loved the compliments” (The One with Monica’s Boots, 8x10).

Introverted Sensing (Si): Monica describes herself as having an “eye for detail” (The One with the Joke, 6x12). She has a knack for noticing differences in the environment, immediately being able to tell that the apartment has been cleaned after Chandler employs a maid (The One with the Stain, 8x07), and that the green ottoman has been moved when Rachel vacuums (The One with the Butt, 1x06). She frequently uses past experiences to assess the present, such as comparing a previous thanksgiving dinner to one she had made the year before to assess how much her cooking had improved (The One with the Late Thanksgiving, 10x08). Monica is uncomfortable with change in her environment – she immediately dismisses Rachel’s suggestion that an ugly lamp be added to the living room (The One Where Heckles Dies, 2x08), and feels uneasy when Rachel moves the green ottoman to a different location because she wants things in her apartment to stay the same (The One with the Butt, 1x06). She also struggles with changes in her personal life – when she and Richard break up, Monica shuts herself inside her apartment because she is unable to adjust to life without him (The One with the Princess Leia Fantasy, 3x01). Likewise, she is deeply upset when Rachel has to move out, calling it “the end of an era” (The One Where Ross Hugs Rachel, 6x02). Monica takes comfort in the familiar and the predicable – when times get tough, she tends to turn to things from the past for comfort, such as smoking cigars to feel close to Richard after they break up (The One with the Princess Leia Fantasy, 3x01). She is deeply aware of her past, and is often haunted by her negative childhood experiences – when Rachel and Ross kiss on her engagement night, she is reminded of being overshadowed by Rachel through childhood, and thus accuses Rachel of “stealing her thunder” (The One with Monica’s Thunder, 7x01). Likewise, when Chandler mentions he ended a relationship with a girlfriend because she was overweight, Monica is reminded of being rejected by a boy in fifth grade because she was “too fat” and becomes upset (The One with the Nap Partners, 7x06). Monica is a very sentimental person. She enjoys collecting and reminiscing over past memories, and loves keeping old photographs – she is delighted to share an album full of childhood pictures with Emily (The One with the Fake Party, 4x16), and vows to take more photographs as a new year’s resolution so that she can remember important moments with her friends (The One with all the Resolutions, 5x11). Monica values past relics that hold personal significance – she keeps an antique cabinet because it belonged to her grandmother (The Last One: Part 2, 10x18), and is excited to receive her aunt’s dollhouse because she always wanted to play with it as a child (The One with the Dollhouse, 3x20). Likewise, she is devastated when her childhood memories are destroyed through flooding of her parents’ garage (The One Where Rosita Dies, 7x13). At times, Monica is inclined to project her sentimental streak onto others, who may not always appreciate it – she hires a bunny costume for Chandler because his favourite childhood book was The Velveteen Rabbit, failing to realise that the costume would make him embarrassed instead (The One with the Halloween Party, 8x06). Monica has an excellent memory for details – at one point, Rachel berates her for her ability to remember “every little thing” (The One with Joey’s Dirty Day, 4x14). For example, she remembers each step of a dance routine she and Ross invented as kids and is able to perform it perfectly several years later (The One with the Routine, 6x10). She also has a love for detail which manifests in her approach to planning – she organises a party for Rachel with detailed sketches of the cake and an alphabetised list of music (The One Where Rachel Smokes, 5x18), and plans the seating arrangements for her wedding through strict adherence to a detailed seating chart (The One with Rachel’s Big Kiss, 7x20).

Extraverted Intuition (Ne): Monica is able to see situations not only for what they are (Si), but for what they could be (Ne). When she is offered a job at Alessandro’s, Monica agrees to take it on because she can see the potential of the restaurant, despite giving it a negative review several days previously (The One Where They’re Going to Party, 4x09). She is well aware that the food is bad, her co-workers are unkind, and the restaurant has a terrible reputation, but she embraces what the restaurant could be with an optimistic opening speech (“with a pinch of excitement, a dash of hard work, and a dollop of cooperation, we can have the recipe…”). This ability to see the potential in things is a persistent trait that manifests itself throughout the series – when Monica is forced to move into Joey and Chandler’s apartment, she sees it’s potential as a comfortable living space, and works to transform it into one despite her initial disgust (The One with the Embryos, 4x12). Similarly, she senses the potential in the fake chocolate product “mockolate,” and seeks to improve it by incorporating it into a series of baked goods (The One with the List, 2x08). Monica is open to new opportunities, especially when it comes to her career – she drops her catering gig with Phoebe to accept a job at Alessandro’s (The One Where They’re Going to Party, 4x09), and declines moving with Chandler to Tulsa because she is offered a position at Javu (The One with the Pediatrician, 9x03). She is fairly flexible when it comes to her work, and is willing to try several alternatives (Ne) if it means being able to address more practical concerns like maintaining a steady income (Si). For example, she accepts a job as a kitchen hand (The Pilot, 1x01), a caterer (The One with the Dirty Girl, 4x06), a waitress at a diner (The One with the Two Parties, 2x22), a food critic (The One Where They’re Going to Party, 4x09) and a head chef (The One Where They’re Going to Party, 4x09). At times, Monica is undaunted by change – she views Chandler’s unemployment as “exciting” while he is terrified by the lack of security (The One Where Rachel Goes Back to Work, 9x11). She’s also quick to make connections, realising that Phoebe and Rachel know about her relationship with Chandler without it being overtly stated (The One Where Everybody Finds Out, 5x14).

Introverted Thinking (Ti): Monica has a solid understanding of how things work. As a chef, she knows the flavours that complement each other, and is easily able to pull a recipe apart and put it back together again, such as deconstructing a cookie to figure out the recipe for Phoebe’s grandmother’s cookies (The One with Phoebe’s Cookies, 7x03). She is excellent at troubleshooting – when Joey admits he is unfit for a role because he has been circumcised, Monica helps to solve the problem by fashioning him a range of foreskins from processed meat (The One with Ross and Monica’s Cousin, 7x19). Similarly, she creates a series of baked goods for Mockolate in an attempt to improve their taste (The One with the List, 2x08).  She is curious, sometimes even obsessive, about finding out how things work, on one occasion destroying Joey and Chandler’s apartment in a search for where a switch was (The One with all the Rugby, 4x15). Monica is fairly logical, and often hands out quite frank advice to her friends. When Rachel confesses that she wants to fool around with Joey, Monica advises her not to follow through with it because she believes it “will never work” (The One with the Soap Opera Party, 9x20). Likewise, when Phoebe ditches plans with David to go out with Joey as a way of upholding her personal values, Monica informs Phoebe that her actions are ridiculous (The One with all the Cheesecakes, 7x11). Monica is equally capable of applying the same logical principles to her own life – for example, she breaks up with Richard because she knows a relationship between them is futile when she wants children and he doesn’t (The One with Barry and Mindy’s Wedding, 2x24).

Note: Like Rachel, Monica was incredibly difficult to type because she appears to use Te and Fe equally prominently. Truth be told, I’m not completely sold on ESFJ, and could possibly be convinced by a solid ESTJ argument. This problem can be attributed to inconsistent writing – Monica is generally warmer and kinder as the series begins, before becoming more brash and competitive in later years. I chose ESFJ because Monica appears to use Ti more than Fi – she’s logical, good at troubleshooting and tends to be externally directed with her feelings. If she used Fi, Monica would be less concerned about group harmony and more influenced by her own feelings.

[typologicalmusings]

Ross Geller: ISFJ

Introverted Sensing (Si): Ross is attached to his past. He reminisces happily about the potatoes his mum would make for Thanksgiving, and persuades Monica to make lumpy potatoes so that he can enjoy Thanksgiving the way he did as a child (The One Where Underdog Gets Away, 1x09). He also takes delight in sharing anecdotes from his past, such a story about his first kiss with Rachel (The One Where the Stripper Cries, 10x11), or his childhood love of Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve (The One with the Routine, 6x10). Ross is fairly sentimental - he criticises Rachel for being “devoid of sentiment” when she exchanges the necklace he bought her (The One with Chandler in a Box, 4x08), and is inclined to value objects from his past, such as the Geller cup (The One with the Football, 3x09), or the “Science Boy” comic he wrote as a child (The One with the Mugging, 9x15). Ross’s attachment to the past can make it difficult for him to move on from things - when he and Carol divorce, Ross spends their anniversary moping around and noticing details that remind him of her, such as a peach stone on the ground (The One with George Stephanopoulos, 1x04). He generally finds change difficult, being slow to adapt to his divorce from Carol or the idea of raising a child with Rachel (The One Where Rachel Tells Ross, 8x03). Ross is a fairly traditional person. He loves the structure of marriage because of the security it provides, and spends the years following his divorce with Carol trying marry again. He holds several conservative views about the way things should be - for example, he is uncomfortable that his son is being raised by a lesbian couple, and apprehensive about Carol’s decision to marry Susan (The One with the Lesbian Wedding, 2x11). He is also uncomfortable with Rachel’s decision to hire a male nanny (The One with the Male Nanny, 9x06), and concerned when Ben starts playing with “feminine” toys (The One with the Metaphorical Tunnel, 3x04). Ross is comfortable relying on past experience. When he and Chandler plan to go out with Gandalf the Wizard, be brings fresh socks, a passport and a snake bite kit because these items were needed last time. It is not until Chandler mentions that their night “won’t be exactly like last time” that Ross realises he may have gone overboard (The One Where They’re Going to Party, 4x09). Ross has an excellent memory for specific details - he is able to recall every move of “The Routine” (The One with the Routine, 6x10), and has no problem recalling detailed stories about his college classmates several years after graduating (The One Where the Stripper Cries, 10x11).

Extraverted Feeling (Fe): Ross is open with his emotions. He has no problem sharing what he is feeling with the rest of the group, such as ranting indignantly about his sandwich being eaten at work (The One with Ross’s Sandwich, 5x09), reminiscing miserably about his first time having sex with Carol (The One with George Stephanopoulos, 1x04), or expressing his jealousy about Rachel’s relationship with Paolo (The One with the Blackout, 1x07). He has trouble dealing with things on his own, and frequently turns to others when he needs emotional support, such as talking through his divorce to Carol with Joey and Chandler (The Pilot, 1x01), or unloading about his breakup with Rachel to Carol (The One without the Ski Trip, 3x17). Ross acts on his feelings frequently - he sends an excessive stream of gifts to Rachel’s work to reinstate his status as her boyfriend out of jealousy (The One with all the Jealousy, 3x12), and sleeps with another woman out of hurt when he realises Rachel and Mark are spending time together (The One Where Ross and Rachel Take a Break, 3x15). Ross is insightful into the feelings of others, and is able to tell that Mark had a thing for Rachel without it being overtly stated. However, he is also somewhat clueless with his own feelings, and needs to vocalise his emotions to understand them. For example, he doesn’t realise he still has feelings for Rachel when he marries Emily, and only comprehends the situation when he says Rachel’s name by mistake in the wedding vows (The One with Ross’s Wedding: Part 2, 4x24). Ross cares deeply about maintaining group harmony - he tries as hard as he can to make his marriage work with Emily, agreeing to cut Rachel out of his life in the hope that it will fix his marriage (The One with the Kips, 5x05). He is receptive to the needs of others, and often puts his own needs on hold to ensure his loved ones can have what they want. For example, he blows off a TV interview to help Rachel get ready for a party (The One with the Chick and the Duck, 3x21), puts aside his confusing feelings towards Rachel in an attempt to accept Joey and Rachel as a couple (The One Where Ross is Fine, 10x02), and encourages Rachel’s decision to move to Paris despite wishing she would stay in New York (The One Where Estelle Dies, 10x15). Ross wants to fit in with other people, and enjoys being part of a group - when Joey, Chandler, Rachel and Monica propose a game to see which pairing knows the other best, Ross is keen to be the game creator because he doesn’t want to be left out (The One with the Embryos, 4x12). He is sensitive about the way he is perceived by others, and will go to great lengths to make people like him, such as organising a party for his apartment block to win the regard of his neighbours (The One with the Girl Who Hits Joey, 5x15).

Introverted Thinking (Ti): Ross wants things to make sense on a rational basis. He often comes to blows with Phoebe on account of her irrational beliefs, and has trouble accepting ideas and theories that do not make sense. He scoffs when Phoebe believes her mother has come back as a cat because it contradicts his scientific worldview (The One with the Cat, 4x02), rolls his eyes when the others want to enter the lottery because he knows earning a financial profit is highly unlikely (The One with the Lottery, 9x18), and berates Phoebe for not believing in evolution because he sees it as the only rational possibility (The One Where Heckles Dies, 2x03). Ross is often the first to point out when his friends are being irrational - when he and Rachel accidently lock Emma inside their apartment, he mocks Rachel’s hysterical belief that Emma is in danger, pointing out how unlikely it is that Emma would be in any harm (The One with Phoebe’s Birthday Dinner, 9x05). At times, Ross’s desire for rational cohesion can make him over-correcting of the things his friends say. When Phoebe pretends a dinosaur can bark during her dollhouse game, Ross cannot stop himself from pointing out that dinosaurs “don’t go ’ruff!” (The One with the Dollhouse, 3x20). Likewise, he is quick to correct his friends’ grammatical errors, berating Rachel for using a grammatically incorrect version of the word “you’re” (The One with the Jellyfish, 4x01), or correcting Phoebe’s use of the word “who,” proclaiming she should have used the word “whom” instead (The One with Chandler in a Box, 4x08). This need for correction can be seen as a manifestation of Ross’s introverted thinking - for Ross, words appear to make sense when used appropriately in context, and do not make sense when used incorrectly, as this upsets the coherent fabric of language in his internal logical framework. Because Ross uses extraverted feeling so predominantly, he can struggle with navigating his own feelings. During these times, he is inclined to use his introverted thinking to make sense of his emotions, such as creating a pro con list to decide whether he was more interested in dating Julie or dating Rachel (The One with the List, 2x08). Ross is also inclined to rationalise his feelings when he finds it difficult to manage, such as maintaining that he and Rachel were “on a break” to avoid feelings of guilt after sleeping with Chloe (The One with the Morning After, 3x16). Ross is a very intellectually capable person who finds delight in his academic pursuits. He enjoys critical thinking, and loves making logical connections through his occupation in palaeontology.

Extraverted Intuition (Ne): As a judging type, Ross is keen to bring things to closure. He is uncomfortable leaving things open ended, and likes to have plans locked in for the future as it makes him feel more secure. When he and Rachel date for the first time, he thinks seriously about where they will live together and how many children they will have, expressing these views to Rachel after only a few weeks of dating (The One Where Old Yeller Dies, 2x20). While Rachel is disturbed that Ross “knows what their children’s names are going to be,” Ross feels secure in his plans because he is more comfortable relying on known material (Si) than unknown possibilities (Ne). This discomfort with the unknown is a trait that manifests itself consistently throughout the series. When Ross is asked what he would do with a million dollars, he proclaims that he would store the money in the bank rather than investing in something novel (The One with the Lottery, 9x18). Similarly, he has no interest in entering the lottery because he doesn’t see the value in investing money in a mere “possibility” (The One with the Lottery, 9x18). Ross is aware of his cautious nature, however, and on occasion likes to challenge himself by trying new things. He gets an earring when he is dating Emily, reporting that he loves how open-minded he is when around her (The One with all the Haste, 4x19), and buys himself a pair of leather pants during the New Year, resolving to challenge himself with other new experiences in the following weeks (The One with all the Resolutions, 5x11). He is fairly open-minded about new possibilities in his field of research, such as new paleontological sites, and is happy to try things on a whim at times, such as whitening his teeth (The One with Ross’s Teeth, 6x08) and getting a full body tan (The One with Ross’s Tan, 3x10). Ross also has an imaginative side - he enjoys playing with creative language, making names for himself like “The Rossatron” (The One with all the Cheesecakes, 7x11) and “Ross: The Divorce Force” (The One with the Boob Job, 9x16). He also enjoys funnelling his imaginative side into creations, such as his childhood comic “Science Boy” (The One with the Mugging, 9x15), or creative costumes like “Spudnik” (The One with the Halloween Party, 8x06) and “The Holiday Armadillo” (The One with the Holiday Armadillo, 7x10).

[typologicalmusings]

I love, love, love your analyses! Hope to see more soon! :D

Thank you - so glad to hear you’ve enjoyed them! I’m working on a couple of entries on characters from Friends and Six Feet Under which I hope to post soon. 

[typologicalmusings]

Just stumbled upon your Tumblr blog, gotta say the level of depth and insight you bring here is really great. Being a massive fan of Friends, I look forward to seeing your post/take on Chandler and Mike. And oh, can you do the enneagrams for each character as well, like you did for Mon? Also, curious as to your type. I like your style of writing and expressing. It felt familiar but fresh at the same time. Have you watched Scrubs? Can you please type Elliot Reid from Scrubs? (MBTI+ Enneagram)

Thank you for your kind words! This blog has been on the backburner for a bit, but I definitely want to do more typings soon. My computer is filled with half-finished entries that I need to publish, so now is a good a time as any to get them out! I’m having a lot of trouble deciding with Chandler, so my entry about him might be an essay about potential types rather than anything concrete. As for Mike, I have no idea. Unfortunately I’ve never seen Scrubs, but it’s definitely something I’ve been meaning to watch for a while, so if the day comes expect to see some typings! And me? I’m a 4w3 so/sp INFP.

[typologicalmusings]

Hi! Your work is amazing! Guess I was just wondering who you are? I mean to say - do you have a main blog?

Awh, thank you so much! I have a main blog in the technical sense, which was created so many years ago that I hardly have anything to do with it anymore. So it's not a very accurate representation of who I am, I'm afraid! But if you're interested I can tell you a bit about myself from here - my name is Erin, I'm twenty years old and I'm studying a double degree of Arts and Fine Arts in Melbourne. I'm working on a potential career in illustration, though the business side of things terrifies me. I love taking photos, analysing people, baking with three times the amount of chocolate recommended by the recipe, drawing, and attempting to play guitar. I'm a vegetarian, I have curly red hair, and (typology wise) I'm a 4w3 so/sp INFP. Thank you so much for popping in with your kind words! I hope you have a lovely day!

[typologicalmusings]

Monica Geller: 3w2 so/sx

Chandler: “You don’t have to be the best at everything!” Monica: “Oh my God, you don’t know me at all!”

Overview Monica is extremely competitive. She is driven to win, and loves competing against her friends in board games (The One with all the Poker, 1x18), foosball (The One with the Dozen Lasagnas, 1x12) and ping pong (The One in Barbados: Part 2, 9x24). She doesn’t see the point in playing a game unless there will be a winner and loser at the end – when Phoebe suggests playing ping pong without keeping score, Monica is confused, saying, “how do we know who wins?” (The One in Barbados: Part 2, 9x24). After being criticised by her parents for not being as good as Ross all through her childhood, Monica has a need to prove herself as not only competent, but exceptional. She measures her success obsessively through the series, using external means like the quality of her job or the state of her love life to check in on how she’s doing. When she feels insecure about her abilities, Monica’s first instinct is to prove her worth through comparisons with others, such as attending beginner’s cooking class to feel on top of her game after receiving a bad review for her restaurant (The One with the Cooking Class, 8x21). She aims to be “the best” in everything she does, and is defensive about her perceived failures, such as not being able to tell time until age thirteen (“it’s hard for some people!”) or forgetting the names of fourteen states in a game Chandler learnt at work (“it’s a stupid game and I wasn’t playing against other people, so technically I didn’t lose!”). Like many threes, Monica feels the need to be constantly productive, and feels edgy when she has nothing to do. She is inclined to create projects for herself to avoid idleness, such as making jam to distract herself from the pain of her breakup with Richard (The One with the Jam, 3x03), or helping Chandler to lose weight when she is unemployed and has nothing else to do (The One Where Ross Finds Out, 2x07). Monica is also fairly image conscious – when Phoebe turns up to play her guitar outside her uptown restaurant, she tries to dissuade Phoebe from playing, because she knows the music will make her restaurant look bad (The One with Rachel’s Dream, 9x09).

Wing Monica’s drive for success is combined with a desire to serve others in her two wing. She is “always the hostess” (The One with Rachel’s Crush, 4x13), and puts tremendous effort into making people comfortable and happy, such as creating a guest room for Phoebe to stay in after there was a fire in her apartment (The One Where Ross Dates a Student, 6x18), or cooking separate Thanksgiving meals for her friends to ensure each could enjoy Thanksgiving as they wanted (The One with the Late Thanksgiving, 10x08). She wants to be recognised as exceptional through her hostess role, and is perturbed when her efforts are overshadowed, for instance when Phoebe’s cups are viewed more positively by guests than Monica’s finger food at a party they host for Rachel (The One Where Rachel Smokes, 5x18), or when the party in Joey and Chandler’s apartment is seen as more fun than Monica’s boggle tournament (The One with the Two Parties, 2x22). Monica frequently uses her hostess abilities (type two) as a measure for her own success (type three). For example, she competes against her efforts for a previous year’s Thanksgiving dinner as a way to gage how much she has improved as a chef (“I don’t get older, I just get better!”). Monica’s two wing gives her a strong desire for connection with others. She’s warm, friendly and approachable, and serves as the glue that holds her friendship group together. Like her hostess abilities, Monica invests deeply in her relationships with others and sees them as measures for her own success. She’s devastated when Phoebe moves out, believing this reflects badly on her ability to be a good roommate, and commonly laments about not having a boyfriend, worrying that her status as a single woman will make her undesirable. Monica desperately wants to be liked by others, and often disguises her need for positive regard under “selfless” acts of giving, such as making lollies for the apartment block (The One with all the Candy, 7x22). Like unhealthy twos, Monica can also be manipulative and controlling – she tricks Chandler into having sex with her after they have had a fight (The One with Rachel’s Sister, 6x13), and consciously limits the amount of input Phoebe has in planning Rachel’s birthday party so that she can meet her own standards for a successful event (The One Where Rachel Smokes, 5x18).

Instinctual Variant Monica’s social variant is most dominant. She is focused on attaining measures of success that are valued by the wider community, and likes to collect the tokens to prove it – she is closely attached to the Geller Cup, which signifies the winning of a football game in her family (The One with the Football, 3x09), and is excited about the possibility of getting an award for the “best bad massages” when Chandler insists that everyone would vote for her (The One with Joey’s Bag, 5x13). Monica is proud of her job at the up-market restaurant Javu, and is giddy with excitement when she buys a pair of designer boots that impress the sales assistant (The One with Monica’s Boots, 8x10). She frequently uses socially valued symbols to prove her own worth, such as using her engagement to Chandler as evidence of her romantic success, and her drastic weight loss as proof of her physical desirability. Monica’s dominant social variant is closely backed by a sexual one, which manifests in her focus on finding a husband and her desire to be wanted and valued. To a lesser extent, she also has a self-preservation variant, which is reflected in her ability to provide a steady income for herself through paid employment.

Note: I considered type one for Monica because of her bossiness and obsessive cleaning, but decided her will to succeed was stronger than her will to be right. Though Monica superficially displays many qualities that are associated with unhealthy ones, such as being highly strung and perfectionist, her perfectionism appears to be motivated by a fear of failure (type three) rather than a fear of being wrong (type one). She has lived in the shadow of Ross, her overachieving older brother, and Rachel, her attractive best friend, all her life, and aims to be exceptional in everything she does because she wants to get the recognition she feels she deserves. If Monica were a one, she would be less obsessed with the way she is regarded by other people and more focused on following her own principles.

[typologicalmusings]

Determining Rachel Green’s type

Rachel Green from Friends is one of the hardest characters I have ever had to type. She comes from a show with consistently inconsistent writing – each character changes by the episode, displays personality traits that often contradict one another, and are frequently subject to out-of-character moments for the sake of humour. Despite this, she is still a human character, and shows plenty of traits that we can analyse and try to understand through a personality type.

Let me begin my discussion with a brief glance at Rachel’s basic MBTI preferences. We can tell immediately that she’s probably an extravert, as she appears to be energised by the presence of others. Rachel doesn’t really see the value in spending time alone – she’s taken aback when Monica suggests she go out to dinner by herself, and when she tries it out, she gets bored of her own company by her second dinner date (The One Where Chandler Crosses the Line, 4x07).  Rachel also appears to have a strong sensing preference – she’s fairly practical, tuned into the matters of day-to-day life, and unlike Phoebe, sees little value in abstract theories or intangible concepts.  Rachel is unmistakably a feeler, as she reacts to things with her heart rather than her head – when Ross sleeps with someone else, she focuses on how hurt she feels (“I used to think of you as someone that would never, ever, hurt me”), rather than the rationalisation that they were on a break (The One the Morning After, 3x16).  Whether Rachel is a judger or a perceiver is a little more ambiguous. On one hand, she appears to be flexible, happy to go with the flow, and comfortable with making things up on the spot, such as stalling Monica on her wedding day with an improvised spiel about how she was never going to get married (The One With Monica and Chandler’s Wedding: Part 1, 7x23). On the other, she seems to display a need for closure, expressing anxiety about not knowing what the future holds when first moving to New York (The One with George Stephanopoulos, 1x04), or creating a specific plan to lock in the next five years of her life after turning thirty (The One Where They All Turn Thirty, 7x14). If we’re sure that Rachel is an extravert, a sensor and a feeler, but unsure about whether she is a judger or perceiver, this leaves us with ESF...something.  

Now let’s have a look at the functions. Most people type Rachel as Se dominant because she is fairly flexible, attracted to things in the here and now (such as fashion), and enjoys adrenaline filled activities (like fast driving). For Rachel to be Se dominant, she would need to be an ESTP or an ESFP.

Right off the bat, ESTP makes no sense because Rachel is such a feeler. As we have established, Rachel is guided by her heart rather than her head. She frequently makes decisions on the basis of her emotions, such as freezing Ross out after they break up the first time out of anger (The One Without the Ski Trip, 3x17), or deciding not to go to Paris out of love for Ross (The Last One: Part 2, 10x18). Rachel’s feeling decisions are often irrational, too – she buys an extravagant cat for a thousand dollars because she felt it was something she needed to do, despite already being indebted to Monica for three hundred dollars (The One with the Ball, 5x21).  If Rachel used auxiliary Ti, she would probably need greater logical justification for her actions, and would be quick to realise the inconsistency of spending so much money on something when she already owed money to someone else. Rachel doesn’t show any other qualities that suggests she uses Ti highly, either – she doesn’t seem to care about how things work, and is fairly disinterested in using logic to make her decisions – when Ross writes a list comparing her qualities to Julie to make a decision about who he should be with, Rachel doesn’t see the value in the logic and is instead hurt that he can view her in such a cold, unfeeling way (The One with the List, 2x08). In a last resort attempt to justify Ti for Rachel, we could claim that she can be insensitive and cold in her dealings with others, and that this would somehow justify her using a thinking function over a feeling function. However, Rachel is mostly insensitive and cold when her feelings are hurt, and she acts that way because knows how to cause pain to others through an understanding of how they are feeling. For instance, Rachel freezes Ross out after he sleeps with someone else because she is angry, hurt, and knows this will hurt him back (The One Without the Ski Trip, 3x17). All things considered, Rachel does not appear to use Ti prominently enough for it to take precedence over a feeling function. There’s still a chance that she may use it as an inferior function, but as a way of justifying Se from a cognitive functions perspective, it doesn’t provide a strong enough argument. Therefore, Rachel cannot be ESTP.

Rachel also can’t be an ESFP, because while she is certainly a feeler, she hardly shows any signs of introverted feeling. She doesn’t seem to care about remaining true to herself and her values (when other people talking about Phoebe’s personal principles, Rachel openly admits, “I don’t have any!”), and is often completely oblivious to how she’s feeling. For example, Rachel is clueless that she doesn’t love Barry until the day of their wedding (The Pilot, 1x01), doesn’t know how she feels about having a baby until she expresses her disappointment when Phoebe lies that the test is negative (The One After ‘I Do,’ 8x01), and has no idea she is still in love with Ross until Phoebe suggests that it’s “so obvious” (The One With Ross’s Wedding: Part 1, 4x23). If Rachel were an introverted feeler, she would be more in tune with her own feelings.

Rachel is an extraverted feeler, not an introverted feeler. This is made obvious through a comparison with Phoebe, who as an ENFP, uses Fi in the same auxiliary position Rachel would if she were ESFP.  When Phoebe and Rachel go jogging together, Phoebe runs in a strange manner because she is concerned with being true to herself and the way she feels (Fi). She’s unconcerned about looking strange in the context because being true to herself (Fi) is much more important than fitting in with others (Fe). In contrast, Rachel is embarrassed by Phoebe’s running style because she can tell immediately that it upsets group norms (Fe). Rachel doesn’t think about how she feels in the situation (Fi), but instead focuses on how Phoebe’s behaviour will make other people feel (Fe).

If Rachel uses Fe rather than Fi, then she can’t be an ESFP. And if Rachel is neither an ESTP nor an ESFP, then she can’t be Se dominant. We could try to keep Se in her stack by placing it in the auxiliary position, but this would mean she would have Ti or Fi first, which we have already established are not her strong suits. We could also try to hold onto Se by pushing it down to tertiary position – in this case, Rachel would be an ENFJ or ENTJ. We’ve already established she isn’t a thinker, so ENTJ is out. This leaves us with ENFJ – to a degree, this typing would make sense, as it places Fe in the dominant position, which Rachel clearly uses quite strongly, and allows for the presence of Se in tertiary form. But it would also mean Rachel uses Ni as an auxiliary function, which she clearly doesn’t do. She isn’t tuned into vibes and impressions (“What? Ross is in love with me?”), rarely shows any interest in big picture thinking, and is primarily concerned with things as they appear (S) rather than the things they might symbolise or represent (N). Thus, Rachel cannot be an ENFJ. We could make a last resort attempt to keep Se by making it an inferior function, which would make Rachel an INTJ or INFJ, but these options border on ridiculous, as it is unlikely for Rachel to be an introvert or an intuitive.

If Se doesn’t logically fit into her stack, then we can conclude Rachel doesn’t use extraverted sensing at all. We still know she uses sensing rather than intuition, so considering introverted sensing is the next logical step. It took me a couple of re-watches to notice it, but Rachel actually uses Si quite evidently. She’s very nostalgic about her past, frequently referencing memories from her childhood in affectionate detail, such as such as riding in her boat (The One with the Cookies, 7x03), skiing with her family (The One Where Underdog Gets Away, 1x09), or playing with her grandmother’s cat (The One with the Ball, 5x21). She continues to be influenced by past experiences well into her thirties, disallowing Emma from going to the playground because of a single negative experience she had as a child (The One with the Home Study, 10x07), and tends to trust “tried and true” methods that have been successful in the past, using a cheerleading outfit to seduce Joshua because it has worked for her “every time” (The One with the Fake Party, 4x16). Rachel is very sentimental, keeping a box of past items from her relationship with Ross that have personal meaning (The One with Chandler in a Box, 4x08). She is also surprisingly good with details – Rachel has to deal with the logistics of orders and shipments every day through her job in fashion, and her boss confirms that she’s good at what she does (“she is good”).

If a logical argument can be made for Rachel using Si, then the insistence on trying to squeeze Se into a badly fitting type (ESTP, ESFP, ENFJ) becomes unimportant. Instead, we can focus on the idea that Rachel can be a type who doesn’t use Se at all.  Instead, perhaps she is a type that uses Si.

If Rachel is definitely a sensor and uses Si, then Si would need to manifest as one of her top two functions. This leaves us with ESTJ, ISTJ, ESFJ and ISFJ. We know Rachel isn’t a thinker, so that cancels out ESTJ and ISTJ. We also know she’s probably an extravert, so that cancels out ISFJ. Several other traits make ISFJ less likely – Rachel is too open to change and new possibilities (for instance, moving to New York, having a baby, ditching her stable waitress job for an uncertain career in fashion) to have Si as her dominant function, and is too feelings driven to have Ti as her tertiary function. ISFJ seems unlikely, so let’s consider ESFJ. If Rachel were ESFJ, she would use Fe first – this makes sense, as we have already demonstrated Rachel uses Fe quite predominantly. She would use Si second, which also makes sense – this would make her less traditional than an ISFJ, but would still allow room for her sentimentality, her reliance on past experience, her ability to deal with small details, and her nostalgia about past memories.  If Rachel were ESFJ, she would use Ne third – this would make sense, as it would explain her openness to new possibilities and directions. She would also use Ti last, which definitely makes sense – we have already established that Rachel’s thinking function appears to be her weakest. All in all, ESFJ seems like a pretty good fit for Rachel. It enables her to use sensing and extraverted feeling as her stronger functions, and pushes functions that are less evident (her thinking and intuiting) to the bottom of the list. It also eradicates the problems that were evident in trying to include Se in Rachel’s stack – we don’t need to pretend she uses auxiliary functions (like Fi and Ti) that she clearly doesn’t to justify her Se dominance, nor do we need to pretend she’s an intuitive type (ENFJ, ENTJ) to justify the coexistence of Se and Fe. ESFJ provides a completely logical explanation for how Rachel can be both a sensor and an extraverted feeler without needing to rationalise types (ESFP, ESTP, ENFJ, ENTJ, INFJ, INTJ) that make absolutely no sense.

Though I could see a lot of merit in this argument, I was initially reluctant to type Rachel as ESFJ because of the high positioning of her Si, believing this would make her more anxious about new changes and possibilities (which she definitely isn’t by the time she decides to leave her friends in New York for a job in Paris). However, after re-watching some season one episodes (in particular, The One with George Stephanopoulos, 1x04), I realised Rachel hasn’t always been open to change, and has instead developed the trait after starting her life over in New York. When Rachel first arrives on the show, she’s deeply unsure about her decision to “give up everything” (in other words, her stable, traditional life as a married socialite), and frets about not having a stable plan for the future, saying to Monica and Phoebe, “what if it doesn’t come together?”(The One with George Stephanopoulos, 1x04). She appears to be most comfortable with a life of predictability, and comments on her old life with positive regard by saying, “It was a plan! It was clear! Everything was figured out!” (The One with George Stephanopoulos, 1x04). Rachel is slow to adapt to life in New York at first – she struggles with doing her own laundry (The One with the East German Laundry Detergent, 1x05), emptying the rubbish (The One with the Ballroom Dancing, 4x04) and gaining paid employment (The Pilot, 1x01). As the show goes on however, Rachel appears to embrace the possible and the uncertain, remarking in season two, “I do not want to have everything decided for me! I spent my whole life like that! [...] I like not knowing right now!” (The One Where Old Yeller Dies, 2x20). Rachel continues to display an increased openness to possibility for the remainder of the show – she quits her stable job as a waitress to pursue an uncertain career in fashion (The One Where Rachel Quits, 3x10), decides to have a baby despite not feeling completely prepared (The One After ‘I Do,’ 8x01), and chooses to accept a job in Paris even though she feels scared about the change (The One Where Estelle Dies, 10x15). From these examples, it would seem that Rachel is more comfortable using Si when she first moves to New York, but develops her Ne as a way of adapting to the challenges of her new life. Rachel’s Fe, which is well tuned to adapt to different social circumstances would have helped this process along.

I think recognising the possibility that Ne could be the reason for Rachel’s character transformation is important, as it provides a logical explanation for how she can be a prominent Si user and still be flexible to new changes and possibilities.

If Rachel is probably an extravert, definitely a sensor, and absolutely a feeler, then ESFJ makes perfect sense for her. Though she’s flexible and open to change, Rachel cannot be a Se dominant, as she uses neither introverted feeling (ESFP) or introverted thinking (ESTP) as her auxiliary function. Nor can she be Se tertiary, as she is not an intuitive type (ENFJ, ENTJ). Rachel appears to have Se because she is flexible and open to change, but these traits actually manifest through her naturally occurring ESFJ functions. Her dominant Fe enables her to adapt well and be flexible to new social circumstances, while her tertiary Ne enables her to embrace new possibilities and directions. Rachel shows plenty of evidence of Si in her personality (sentimentality, reliance on past experience, being good with small details), which makes it possible for her to be a sensor without being an extraverted sensor. By typing Rachel as an ESFJ, we enable her to keep hold of her Se-like characteristics without needing to justify a presence of introverted feeling (ESFP), introverted thinking (ESTP), or introverted intuition (ENFJ) that does not exist.  ESFJ for Rachel just works.

Note: To read my official analysis for Rachel’s personality type, please visit my post here. For other Rachel-is-an-ESFJ arguments, please consider reading mbtiinpopculture, who provides an excellent justification for Rachel as an ESFJ here.

[typologicalmusings]

Rachel Green: ESFJ

Extraverted Feeling (Fe): Rachel wants to fit in. She is a natural at picking up on social expectations, and frequently complies with them to blend into her context. She plans to marry rich because it’s what her upper class friends are doing prior to the series, and soon adapts to a working lifestyle after moving in with Monica because she knows it is the norm in her new group of friends. As Phoebe puts it, Rachel can be something of a “pushover” (The One with the Joke, 6x12). She starts smoking because she feels pressured by her colleagues (The One Where Rachel Smokes, 5x18), lets a mean woman take her washing machine because she doesn’t want to cause a fuss (The One with the East German Laundry Detergent, 1x05), and agrees to go where Monica wants for lunch because she wants to avoid a disagreement (The One with the Joke, 6x12). She is uncomfortable with social conflict, and often puts her own views on hold to maintain group harmony, such as deciding to not tip a waiter because she knew it would anger her father (The One with the Race Car Bed, 3x07). Rachel is concerned about what other people think of her – she is embarrassed by Phoebe’s strange running style, worrying that spectators will think she is “weird” (The One Where Phoebe Runs, 6x07), and is humiliated when Ross sends a singing quartet to her work, worrying about how it would look to her colleagues (The One with all the Jealousy, 3x12). Rachel often bases her decisions off what other people want – she checks to see whether Chandler and Ross like her shoes before deciding to wear them for her first day at Bloomingdale’s (The One with all the Jealousy, 3x12), and pretends to be married to Ross because she knows it would make Jack and Judy more comfortable during their wedding anniversary (The One in Massapequa, 8x18). Rachel’s willingness to adapt to what other people want often leads her to have trouble understanding what she wants. She is unaware that she doesn’t want a life with Barry until the last minute (The Pilot, 1x01), spends two years working in the coffee house before realising she wants a career in fashion (The One Where Rachel Quits, 3x10), and spends most of the series pursuing casual romantic interests before realising she wants to settle down with Ross (The Last One: Part 2, 10x18). Rachel often needs to talk things through with others before she can make sense of how she’s feeling. She only realises she is still in love with Ross after discussing her feelings with Phoebe (The One with Ross’s Wedding: Part 1, 4x23), and only becomes conscious of wanting to have a baby after expressing her disappointment to Monica and Phoebe that the test is negative (The One After ‘I Do,’ 8x01). She is always happy to share her feelings with others, such as the details of her crush for Joshua (“I felt his pulse!”), and frequently makes feeling-based decisions, such as leaving Barry at the altar because she didn’t love him (The Pilot, 1x01), or choosing not to go to Paris because she was still in love with Ross (The Last One: Part 2, 10x18).

Introverted Sensing (Si): Rachel is aware of her past, and frequently uses it as a referential framework for her decisions in the present. She trusts things that have worked for her before, such as her “lucky” cheerleading outfit (The One with the Fake Party, 4x16), and continues to be influenced by past negative experiences, such as getting her hair caught in the swing set as a child (The One with the Home Study, 10x07). She has a good memory for specific details, being able to remember the correct names for all parts of a boat from her sailing lessons as a child (The One with the Cookies, 7x03), and frequently uses past memories to influence her present decisions, such as buying a cat that looked like one her grandmother had (The One with the Ball, 5x21). Rachel is a very sentimental person, and frequently recounts stories from her childhood in loving detail, such as riding in her boat (The One with the Cookies, 7x03), skiing with her family (The One Where Underdog Gets Away, 1x09), or playing with her grandmother’s cat (The One with the Ball, 5x21).  She gets attached to objects that have sentimental value, keeping a box full of items from her relationship with Ross that have personal significance (The One with Chandler in a Box, 4x08), and enjoys collecting memories, putting aside a bag of sentimental tokens for Monica’s wedding in the event that she would be maid of honour (The One with the Nap Partners, 7x06). Rachel gets refunds for most of her gifts, but “keeps the things that matter” – when Ross gives her a brooch that resembles one her grandmother had, she is deeply touched (The One Where Rachel Finds Out, 1x24). Rachel can struggle with change. She adapts to her life in New York slowly at first, struggling with doing her own laundry (The One with the East German Laundry Detergent, 1x05), emptying the rubbish (The One with the Ballroom Dancing, 4x04) and gaining paid employment (The Pilot, 1x01), but warms to the lifestyle when she is able to fit in with a new social group (Fe) and senses the possibility for future change (Ne). Though she adapts well to her new life, Rachel’s struggle with change persists into later seasons – she cries when learning she has to move out of Monica’s apartment, for example, calling it “the end of an era” (The One Where Ross Hugs Rachel, 6x02). At times, Rachel has difficulty facing the present, and turns to things from her past for comfort – she spends time with Barry, for example, because he is a “familiar” figure in her new life of uncertainty (The One with the Evil Orthodontist, 1x20), and initiates sex with Ross, an ex-boyfriend, because she feels depressed about being alone (The One with Monica’s Thunder, 7x01). Though by no means up to Monica’s level, Rachel is fairly good with details. She deals with the logistics of orders and shipments every day through her job in fashion, and is able to organise a bridal shower for Monica practically overnight with attention to the details of food, guests and decorations (CITATION). Rachel also has a keen interest in the details of clothes, staying wide awake through a forty five minute lecture about “backless dresses” and “oversized earrings” which Ross slept through (The One with Phoebe’s Ex-Partner, 3x14).

Extraverted Intuition (Ne): Before the commencement of the series, Rachel lives a life that is decided for her. She plans to be an upper class socialite through marrying Barry, and is reassured by the security it provides, later reflecting, “It was a plan! It was clear! Everything was figured out!” (The One with George Stephanopoulos, 1x04). When Rachel runs out on her wedding, she can no longer see life as one clear, predetermined path (Si), and is instead forced to re-evaluate it through a range of possibilities (Ne). The shift scares her at first (“what if it doesn’t come together?”), but she grows to like the uncertainty by season two, remarking, “I do not want to have everything decided for me! I spent my whole life like that! [...] I like not knowing right now!” (The One Where Old Yeller Dies, 2x20). Rachel continues to display an increased openness to possibility for the remainder of the show – she quits her stable job as a waitress to pursue an uncertain career in fashion (The One Where Rachel Quits, 3x10), decides to have a baby despite not feeling completely prepared (The One After ‘I Do,��� 8x01), and chooses to accept a job in Paris even though she feels scared about the change (The One Where Estelle Dies, 10x15). Despite this, her top two functions often win out in a desire for closure - she feels anxious about not knowing what the future holds when she first moves to New York (The One with George Stephanopoulos, 1x04), and creates a specific plan for the future to ease her worry about not having her life figured out when she turns thirty (The One Where They All Turn Thirty, 7x14).

Introverted Thinking (Ti): Rachel prefers to make decisions through her emotions, and is uncomfortable using hard logic. When Ross makes a list comparing her qualities to Julie, she is deeply upset and can’t believe he can view her in such a cold, unemotional way (The One with the List, 2x08). Her internal logic is usually coloured by her other functions, which can make her decisions rather irrational – she purchases a cat for a thousand dollars when she owes Monica three hundred dollars out of sentimentality for her grandmother (Si), and plays hard-to-get with Danny because she believes this is what is expected through the social situation, despite Monica pointing out that her actions make no sense (Fe).  Rachel becomes a little more rational as the series goes on – when Ross throws a party to win the regard of the people in his apartment, Rachel points out that paying “the hundred bucks” would be easier way of making people like him than going to the trouble of organising a party (The One with the Girl Who Hits Joey, 5x15).

Note: The inspiration for this analysis should be fully credited to mbtiinpopculture, who makes an excellent case for Rachel as an ESFJ here. I have drawn on many of the points they have made to inform this analysis, so please read it if you have the chance and like/reblog to give them the credit they deserve. For a justification for my typing of Rachel as ESFJ, please read my post here.

[typologicalmusings]

It’s been a long time coming, but I’ve finally started work on some Enneagram typings! They’ll probably be more few and far between than my MBTI typings, but I definitely have plans to release some in the next week or so. Stay tuned!  

[typologicalmusings]

Phoebe Buffay: ENFP

Extraverted Intuition (Ne): Phoebe lives in a world of possibilities. She is very open minded, holding a range of unusual beliefs that are powered by potential rather than plausibility: she regularly visits a psychic for updates on her future, and is convinced at one point that her mother has come back as a cat (The One with the Cat, 4x02). She is open to “big picture” ideas that her friends scoff at, such as cosmic signs, reincarnation, karma, and the existence of multiple gods, and often holds several (often contradictory) viewpoints at once because she can see the potential in all of them. For example, she decides Monica’s dollhouse can be built on both radioactive waste and an ancient Indian burial ground, despite the fact that this would be very unlikely to happen in real life (The One with the Dollhouse, 3x20). Phoebe wants to be free to explore her imaginative ideas, and feels stifled when her tangents are shut down by facts. For instance, she is irritated by Monica’s need to have all the furniture in her dollhouse match historically, and can’t see why she can’t include a giant dog, a dinosaur and a ghost in their game (The One with the Dollhouse, 3x20). Likewise, she is annoyed by Ross’s insistence that evolution is the only way through which to explain human existence, and urges him to see it as “one of the possibilities” rather than a definitive answer (The One Where Heckles Dies, 2x03). Phoebe likes to keep her options open, and often has trouble making decisions because she feels every alternative has potential. She is unable to decide between two men she is dating because they are both “so great” (The One with Ross’s Thing, 3x23), and is torn between the idea of donating her money to a children’s charity and spending it on her wedding to Mike (The One with the Home Study, 10x07). She is attuned to the bigger picture, and is quick to make connections between ideas and events – when hearing the word “hamburger” Phoebe sees it as a sign that she should visit her father, rationalising, “Hamburger. McDonald’s. Old MacDonald had a farm. My father is a pharmacist!” (The One with the Bullies, 2x21). She is also fairly intuitive, being able to sense that someone is singing when Joey hums inside his head (The One with the Race Car Bed, 3x07), and that Pete had only told Monica he liked someone else so that she would accept the job at his restaurant (The One with the Chick and the Duck, 3x21).  

Introverted Feeling (Fi): Phoebe’s ethical decisions are frequently informed by her personal feelings. She refuses to eat meat because she believes the consumption of animals is “cold blooded murder” (The One with the Fake Party, 4x16), hates massage chains because she feels they are run by “corporate greed” (The One with the Fertility Test, 9x21), and refuses to buy from Pottery Barn because she views the products as “inauthentic” (The One with the Apothecary Table, 6x11). Her decisions are made to meet her internal standards, and rarely have anything to do with meeting the standards of a group – she chooses not to eat meat despite the fact that almost everyone else does, and frequently disregards fashion trends in the pursuit of her individual clothing style. Phoebe is deeply aware of her own emotions, and frequently acts on her feelings. For example, she avoids Ross after being offended by a comment he had made (The One with Joey’s Big Break, 5x22), and severs contact with her singing partner after feeling she had been betrayed (The One with Phoebe’s Ex-Partner, 3x14). Unlike Fe users, Phoebe tends keeps the feelings that fuel her behaviour private – she rarely talks about her sister Ursula, despite being deeply hurt by their troubled relationship, and does not mention her singing partner until forced to after they reunite at the coffee house. Phoebe’s focus on her own feelings can mean she has little insight into social cues – she is relatively oblivious about the way her music is received by others, believing she is “extremely talented” (The One where Eddie Moves In, 2x22), and completely misinterprets the reasons for Monica’s discomfort when she plays her guitar outside Monica’s restaurant, believing her outfit was the problem (The One with Rachel’s Dream, 9x09). Phoebe holds authenticity and integrity highly. She wants to be true to her beliefs, and experiences intense self disgust when she goes against them. For example, when Phoebe receives a fur coat as a family heirloom, she is torn between wanting to wear the coat because it “looks good” and wanting to destroy the coat to uphold her animal rights principles (The One with the Yeti, 5x06). She is similarly shocked when others don’t remain loyal to their beliefs, wondering how Ross will be able to “face himself” after “abandoning his whole belief system” when he considers evolution may not be the only possibility through which to explain human existence (The One Where Heckles Dies, 2x03).

Extraverted Thinking (Te): Phoebe is matter-of-fact in the way she talks. She is often frank when expressing her feelings (“I wish I could, but I don’t want to!”), and frequently references her difficult past in an informative way that seems inappropriate for the content she is discussing. Though she is usually content to chase possibilities through her Ne, Phoebe can be practical if need be. She is forced to come to terms with reality through her life on the street, and employs several strategies to meet her survival goals as efficiently as possible, such as mugging people for money (The One with the Mugging, 9x15), or haggling with shopkeepers for reduced prices (The One with the Ring, 6x23). She is undaunted about stepping on toes when she has a goal in mind – when she and Monica are catering for an employer refuses to pay, Phoebe demands the woman hands them a cheque despite the socially delicate funeral setting (The One with the Dirty Girl, 4x06). She can be hard line about her actions because she doesn’t see the point in keeping things in her life that have no logical function. For example, she avoids contacting her sister to avoid a counterproductive relationship, and suggests cutting Amanda out so that she and Monica no longer need to deal with her annoying behaviour (The One with Ross’s Tan, 10x03). Phoebe is more than capable of thinking logically, deciding to end her relationship with Mike on the basis of their conflicting views about marriage (The One with the Boob Job, 9x16). She frequently uses her Te to put her ideas (Ne) and principles (Fi) into action, such as exploring the potential of “cups and ice” through a series of decorations for Rachel’s party (Ne), or deciding not to eat meat to uphold her animal rights beliefs (Fi).

Introverted Sensing (Si): Phoebe isn’t too good with sensory details. She often misses things that are right in front of her because she is too busy focusing on the big picture – when Monica checks to see whether Phoebe knows what to do when playing football, Phoebe misses the point, and thinks Monica is asking whether she knows what do in life (The One with the Football, 3x09). She hates dealing with intricate details, and completely falls apart when she is in charge of organising the specifics of her wedding, begging Monica to do if for her (The One with Phoebe’s Wedding, 10x12). Despite this, Phoebe can be good at noticing details when they serve the purpose of making a big picture connection – she recognises a red sweater as Tag’s, and uses it to conclude that he is the father of Rachel’s baby (The One with the Red Sweater, 8x02).  Phoebe is aware of her personal history, and enjoys teasing the others with snippets from her colourful past (“So much you don’t know!”). She frequently uses her memories to comment on present situations, such as comparing Ross and Susan’s dedication to raising Ben with the parental abandonment she experienced as a child (The One with the Birth, 1x23). She is haunted by memories of her broken childhood well into her adult life, and frequently tries get into contact with her family to make up with her past without one, such as asking her mother’s friend for information about her father (The One at the Beach, 3x25), or attempting to “patch things up” with her sister (The One Where They All Turn Thirty, 7x14). Phoebe has a sentimental streak, and likes to pay tribute to the things from her past that are important to her. She keeps a box of items from her life on the street that have sentimental value (The One with the Mugging, 9x15), and sets out to get a tattoo of a lily to honour her mother’s memory (The One Where Joey Moves Out, 2x16).  

[typologicalmusings]

Joey Tribbiani: ESFP

Extraverted Sensing (Se): Joey lives in a world of sensory pleasures. When Phoebe asks whether he would rather live without food or sex, he is unable to decide, as he loves them both equally (“I want girls on bread!”). He spends hours detailing his love for various foods, such as sandwiches, pizza and jam, and when a car backfires and he thinks he is in danger, Joey’s first thought is to try and protect his meatball sub (The One with the Ride Along, 5x20). He loves having fun with the things in his immediate environment – when he and Rachel live together, they spend a day throwing handfuls of wet paper at the wall (The One Where Ross Dates a Student, 6x18), and when he and Chandler live together, they spend several days enjoying the sensation of lying in their new barcaloungers and watching television (The One Where Ross and Rachel...You Know, 2x15). The others might see these things as unproductive and boring, but for Joey, the pure delight of interacting with the external world is enough to keep him entertained. Joey tends not to worry too much about the future, and is more comfortable making things up as he goes along. He likes acting because it is hands-on and keeps his options open, but is often late for auditions because he is too engaged with the present moment (which usually involves eating pizza, having sex or watching television). Unlike Ross, who prepares a speech in written form so that he presents it perfectly at his palaeontology conference, Joey is happy to improvise his way though work.  This can result in either excellent or disastrous consequences – on one occasion, he turns up late to an audition and tries to perform well on a full bladder, which gains him a successful callback (The One with the Mugging, 9x15); on another, he lies about being a highly trained dancer on his resume, and ends up creating an abysmal dance routine (The One with all the Jealousy, 3x12). Despite his lack of smarts, Joey can be quite resourceful. He is quick to use things from his immediate environment to achieve his own ends, such as employing Carl to be his identical twin in a study to make some extra cash (The One with Unagi, 6x17), or trying to convince his “hand twin” to join him in a quest to become rich and famous (The One in Vegas: Part 2, 5x24). His actions are usually impulsive, and are made without much thought of future consequence, such telling an interviewer he wrote his own lines on Days of Our Lives, which resulted in his firing from the show (The One Where Dr. Ramoray Dies, 2x18), buying an extravagant collection of art sculptures to decorate his new apartment, despite not being able to afford them in the near future (“It was an impulse buy! Near the checkout!”), or building an entertainment unit that partially barricaded the doors to his and Chandler’s rooms (The One with Frank Jr, 3x05). Joey is open to trying new things, such as wearing a handbag suggested by Rachel for his audition (The One with Joey’s Bag, 5x11). He is also an appreciator of material possessions, and often uses lavish gifts to express his appreciation for others, such as redecorating his and Chandler’s apartment with a top-of-the-range furniture collection (The One Where Ross and Rachel...You Know, 2x15).

Introverted Feeling (Fi): Behind his playboy exterior, Joey is a highly sensitive person. He is deeply upset when he learns Beth dies in Little Women (The One Where Monica and Richard Are Just Friends, 3x13) and cries anytime someone mentions the film Titanic (The One where Chandler Can’t Cry, 6x14). Joey cares deeply about his friends, especially Chandler, and is willing to do just about anything for them. He stops seeing Ursula because he doesn’t want to destroy his friendship with Phoebe (The One with Two Parts, 1x17), and keeps his feelings for Rachel private because he doesn’t want to hurt Ross’s feelings (The One with the Secret Closet, 8x14). He is thoughtful and kind, and allows his love for his friends to be expressed through actions (Se), such as buying Chandler a bracelet to celebrate their friendship (The One with the Prom Video, 2x14), or inviting Chandler to his movie premiere as a thank you for the help with his acting career (The One Where Rachel is Late, 8x22). Joey is quick to notice when people are bring mean or cold – he can’t understand why Chandler can’t cry at Bambi (The One Where Chandler Can’t Cry, 6x14), and is upset when Chandler calls him a woman for his interest in arranging flowers, saying “that’s just mean!” (The One with Ross’s Teeth, 6x08). Joey creates strong emotional ties with animals and objects as well as people – he takes his parenting duties with the chick and the duck very seriously, sleeps with a “bedtime penguin pal” named Hugsy and names his barcalounger Rosita in honour of how much she means to him. He has strong values informed by his internal feelings, and isn’t afraid to call people out when he believes they have crossed a line. For example, he is mad at Ross for kissing Chandler’s mother, believing this goes against the friendship code (“you can kiss a sister, maybe a hot aunt, but not a mum!”), and is even more furious at Chandler when he kisses Kathy, seeing this as a complete betrayal of friendship (The One Where Chandler Crosses the Line, 4x07). Joey has strong ideas about what is honourable and what is not. He is disturbed to find Monica and Chandler having sex when babysitting Emma (“you can’t have S-E-X when you’re taking care of a B-A-B-I-E!”), and proposes to both Phoebe and Rachel when he believes they are pregnant because he believes it is “the right thing to do” (The One with the Red Sweater, 8x02).

Extraverted Thinking (Te): Though by no means his dominant function, Joey frequently relies on a straightforward, no-nonsense approach (Te) to attain sensory pleasures such as sex (Se). He has a list of practical strategies that get right to the point – on dates, he has a bottle of wine sent to the table from a fan, and later puts on lip balm to get a kiss out of the woman he’s with (The One Where Joey Dates Rachel, 8x12).  He’s unimpressed by approaches that beat around the bush, seeing them as inefficient – for example, he doesn’t see the point in kissing unless it leads to sex (The One with the Sonogram at the End, 1x02), and is initially confused about Rachel’s dating techniques via deep and meaningful conversation because he can’t see where it’s going (The One Where Joey Dates Rachel, 8x12). He has a specific goal in mind when it comes to sex, and he wants to achieve it though the most pragmatic, time-efficient technique possible. Joey is often the one to tell it like it is when it comes to sex and relationships – he can’t see why Ross and Chandler are so prone to anxiety or put so much emphasis on their feelings. He is frustrated by Ross’s depression about his divorce, believing the obvious answer is visiting a strip club (The Pilot, 1x01), and cannot understand why Chandler is so upset by Monica manipulating him into having sex, saying, “So? You got to have sex!” (“The One with Phoebe’s Birthday Dinner, 9x05). To Joey, these solutions are obvious because they are a means to attain a desirable sensory goal (Se) through pragmatic action (Te).

Introverted Intuition (Ni): Foresight is not Joey’s strong suit. He has known from a young age that he wants to be an actor, but his plans for the future rarely reach further than this. He is happy jumping from job to job, and is satisfied with Estelle’s efforts to find him paid employment here and there. Joey is wary of embracing the future – he is concerned about growing old, and breaks down saying “why, God, why!” when he, Chandler and Rachel turn thirty (The One Where They All Turn Thirty, 7x14). He is upset when Chandler and Monica invest in the future of their married life by buying a house outside the city, and can’t see why things shouldn’t stay as they are in the present.

[typologicalmusings]

Hermione Granger: ISTJ

Introverted Sensing (Si): Hermione is a practical, no-nonsense person who has enormous respect for existing facts, rules and methods. She is uncomfortable deviating from the “tried and true” and is often mistrustful about new or different ways of doing and understanding things, prompting others to refer to her as “close minded” (The Tale of Three Brothers, 7x21). She believes that existing rules and regulations exist because they work, and is uncomfortable with breaking school rules and deviating from “official” instructions, evidenced, for example, in her mistrust of the Prince’s notes in Harry’s copy of Advanced Potion Making (The Half-Blood Prince, 6x09). Hermione has an excellent memory, and has a natural affinity for recalling detailed information, making her both a superb student and a useful source of information for Harry and Ron. She relies enormously on previously established information to guide her opinions and judgements, often turning to books in moments of uncertainty (“When in doubt, go to the library”), and as a result can struggle with acting in the present moment, forgetting to use magic, for example, when trying to remember how to fight Devil’s Snare (Through the Trapdoor, 1x16). Though her ability to remember copious amounts of information leads her to excel in topics that can be learnt through a textbook, Hermione often struggles to grasp subjects that require more improvisation, such as flying (The Midnight Duel, 1x09) Defence Against the Dark Arts (The Hogwarts High Inquisitor, 5x15) and Divination (The Quidditch Final, 3x15). She is suspicious of anything that doesn’t fit into her own  understanding of the world, often scoffing at Luna’s outlandish beliefs, or berating Harry and Ron for believing in things (such as the Deathly Hallows) that she perceives to be ridiculous. She also struggles with facing the unknown or obscure, prompting Professor Trelawney to refer to her as having “very little aura” and “little receptivity to the chances of the future” (Talons and Tea Leaves, 3x06). She is most comfortable working in areas that are characterised by established rules and guidelines, eventually gaining a job at the Ministry as the Deputy Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

Extraverted Thinking (Te): Hermione has an enormous need for order and control in the external world. She has excellent organisational skills, which she puts to use in creating study plans, charts and timetables for both herself and her friends. Unlike Harry and Ron, who are more inclined to make feeling-based decisions, Hermione tends to reach conclusions through logical thought. She is highly rational, being able to easily solve the riddle in Snape’s chamber through the use of “cool logic” (Through the Trapdoor, 1x16), and often works through issues on the basis of objective facts and evidence, putting her in a position of opposition with Harry (who is more inclined to reach intuitive conclusions) at several points throughout the series. At times, her reliance on logic can be a hindrance in situations that require high levels of sensitivity: when Lavender’s rabbit dies in accordance with a prediction made by Professor Trelawney, Hermione tries to make Lavender feel better by rationalising the situation rather than providing emotional support, which only makes Lavender feel worse (Flight of the Fat Lady, 3x08). Similarly, she tries to solve a conflict between herself and Ron by bringing up the lack of evidence he has to support his side of the argument, which only makes the rift between them larger (Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw, 3x13). Hermione often makes decisions with the intentions of achieving a specific goal, and sometimes acts without consideration of the feelings of the people involved. She bosses people around in the hope that she will be able to correct their behaviour without considering the effect it will have on her ability to make friends, and gets Harry’s Firebolt confiscated in the hope of preserving his personal safety, which ends up causing a strain on their friendship instead. Despite this, Hermione is highly effective at finding practical solutions to problems, and is often quick to take action: she leads a search party to find Neville’s toad after learning he has lost it (The Journey from Platform Nine and Three Quarters, 1x06), and executes the plan to learn whether Malfoy is the heir of Slytherin by brewing a polyjuice potion with Harry and Ron (The Polyjuice Potion, 2x12). Hermione’s ability to make quick decisions and organise the environment around her make her an effective leader, earning her the position of school Prefect in fifth year.

Introverted Feeling (Fi): Hermione is private with her own feelings. Though not inclined to show it, she is deeply sensitive to criticism from others, crying in the bathroom for several hours after overhearing some of Ron’s unkind comments (Halloween, 1x10). She often finds it difficult to express how she is feeling, and tends to rely on her higher functions as a way of dealing with her own emotions, such as pouring herself into researching Buckbeak’s case as a way of distancing herself from her conflicts with Harry and Ron (Te) or criticising the behaviour of her classmates as a way of expressing her feelings about breaking school policies (Si). More often than not, Hermione deals with her emotions on an independent basis. She rarely seeks people out for guidance or counsel, and often retreats into herself as a way of dealing with intense emotional pain, such as isolating herself by way of dealing with her feelings for Ron during sixth year, or crying herself to sleep every night when Ron abandoned her and Harry on their hunt for Horcruxes (Godric’s Hollow, 7x16). She lives by a strict set of personal values, and is reluctant to condone or engage in behaviour that she believes is morally wrong, being scandalised when she believes Harry has slipped Felix Felicis into Ron’s drink (Felix Felicis, 6x14), or when Harry continues to “cheat” in Potions by using the Prince’s instructions over the official ones (The Half Blood Prince, 6x09). She is highly sensitive to things that stimulate her personally, and becomes passionate and animated when responding to injustices, turning her outrage about the unfair treatment of house elves into a campaign brought about by policy (Si) and action (Te).

Extraverted Intuition (Ne): Though she is a curious person, having a huge passion for reading, Hermione’s approach to gathering information is fairly close minded.  She trusts logical reasoning over intuition, and is suspicious of people who are more inclined to come to conclusions without proof, refusing to believe Harry’s suggestion that Draco could be a Death Eater (The Slug Club, 6x07), or that the Deathly Hallows could exist (The Deathly Hallows, 7x22). She is open to discussing possibilities with Harry and Ron, but is equally as quick to shoot down their ideas in the favour of more practical outcomes, preferring to accept answers that fit in with her own narrow worldview (Si). Despite this, Hermione is quick to make links between different pieces of information, being able to correctly deduce that Lupin was a werewolf (Cat, Rat and Dog, 3x17), and that the Basilisk was moving around the castle by using the plumbing (Cornelius Fudge, 2x14). Her Ne becomes slightly more developed as the series goes on, when Hermione becomes more accepting of Luna’s outlandish beliefs and starts to be energised by her own ideals, prompting her to found SPEW in hope of bettering the conditions for house elves.

[typologicalmusings]

Claire Fisher: INFP

Introverted Feeling (Fi): Individualistic and self-directed, Claire strives to live a life that is in accordance with her own values. She is constantly in search of meaning, telling her counsellor Gary that she “just wants something to matter” (Brotherhood, 1x07), and is committed to authenticity, often expressing her disinterest in living a conventional lifestyle through fears of “conforming” or “being reprogrammed.” Claire has little respect for people she perceives to be inauthentic, calling her teacher Olivier a “fucking phoney” (Death Works Overtime, 3x11), and is focused on shaping her own life in a way that is independent of societal norms and pressures, leading Gabe to refer to her as “the most original girl in school” (The Will, 1x02). She pursues interests that are separate from her peers, often spending her time reading or making art rather than “trying to figure out how to puke after lunch without anyone noticing” (A Private Life, 1x12), and views the world in a personal and individualistic way, leading Olivier to comment that she “sees the world through her own eyes” (Nobody Sleeps, 3x04). Claire has a rich internal world, and is deeply aware of her own emotions, often using her feelings as a way to guide her moral judgements. She is quick to criticise people for engaging in behaviour she believes to be immoral, telling Olivier that “some feelings are wrong” in response to his inclination to “give into every emotional impulse” (Death Works Overtime, 3x11), and is inwardly tormented by doing things that go against her moral code, sobbing in distress when Gabe forced her to drive away from a man he shot (The Plan, 2x03). Though she is often dismissive of the things she doesn’t care about, Claire invests a great deal of energy into areas that have affected her emotionally, like trying to “save” her boyfriend Gabe, or looking after her brother David after he was carjacked and tortured by moving in for a few days.

Extraverted Intuition (Ne): Claire is energised by possibilities. She enjoys playing with ideas, as evidenced in her delight at planning an art installation with her friend Edie, and is excited by the potential of different concepts, commenting that an art talk she attended made the world seem “really open and interesting” (Nobody Sleeps, 3x04). She is focused on the way things could be, expressing a desire for “things to be better” during a counselling session (An Open Book, 1x05), is attracted to new ways of seeing the world, agreeing to attend a spiritual camp that offered a chance to “transcend reality” as a way of accessing a different perspective on life (Crossroads, 1x08). Claire is experimental in her approach to life, and is often open to trying new things: she buys a digital camera to “see what it can do” despite her preference for film (Hold My Hand, 5x03), and agrees to sleep with her friend Jimmy as a way of experimenting with a new sexual technique he had proposed (Coming and Going, 4x08). She experiments with numerous drugs throughout the course of the show as a way of altering her experience of reality, and is always open to trying new substances, often accepting drugs from her friends without further questioning. Claire has a vivid imagination, and often uses her internal world as a way to pass the time and provide herself with amusement. She writes a creative story for the school magazine based on something she had imagined in class, and enjoys creating “creepy cyber identities” in her spare time by way of amusing herself (The Private Life, 1x12). She is also idealistic in her expression of ideas, telling her friend Parker, “If we live our lives the right way, then every single thing we do becomes a work of art” (The Liar and the Whore, 2x11).

Introverted Sensing (Si): Claire has a nostalgic side. She is moved by Ruth’s comments about how she used to collage as a little girl (Bomb Shelter, 4x11), and deeply appreciates it when her mother presents her with a box of her past artworks, spending hours poring over its contents (In Place of Anger, 2x06). At times, she expresses strong beliefs about the way things ought to be, refusing to take digital photographs, for example, out of a desire to preserve the use of traditional film in photography (The Black Forest, 4x10). In line with this, she occasionally expresses interest in past ways of doing things, being enchanted by the idea of living during the Renaissance when people made their own clothes and butter (The Liar and the Whore, 2x11). Though Claire’s Si is not particularly strong in the first few seasons, it becomes more prevalent towards the end of the series when she lands herself in a conservative job (Rainbow of Her Reasons, 5x06). She is also aware of her personal history, often using past experience as a way of dealing with the present, such as comparing unhealthy aspects of her relationship with Russell with her past boyfriend Gabe (Everyone Leaves, 3x10).

Extraverted Thinking (Te): Claire prefers to experience the world through her personal feelings, and is uncomfortable with the use of hard logic (“You think the world runs on logic? Come on, open your eyes!”). Though she spends the majority of the series avoiding the “real world” by chasing her dreams of becoming an artist, Claire is highly capable of considering practicalities, such as refusing to buy a tube of cobalt blue paint because of practical expenses (Timing and Space, 3x07) or considering enrolment in a business course after high school by way of gaining practical life skills (The Secret, 2x10). She is capable of logical thought, and is efficient at the conservative job she gets at the end of the series, despite finding it uninspiring and tedious (Rainbow of Her Reasons, 5x06).

[typologicalmusings]

Dawn Summers: ISFP

Introverted Feeling (Fi): Dawn is focused on her own feelings. She is highly aware of her own emotions and often spends time channelling them, keeping journals for years that detail her personal feelings, tastes, and beliefs. She is very sensitive, and has the tendency to take things personally, such as viewing Buffy’s coping strategy in response to Joyce’s death as an effort to “avoid her” (Forever, 5x17). Though she is able to comprehend her own feelings, Dawn can struggle with understanding and interpreting the feelings of others, criticising Buffy for handing herself in to the police, for example, because she thought Buffy “couldn’t stand” to be around her (Dead Things, 6x13). She can be selfish with her emotions, and tends to act melodramatically when her feelings are hurt, often locking herself in her room or treating the people around her unkindly in the midst of her pain (“get out, get out, get ouuuuut!”). Dawn is inclined to form close attachments to people, places and things, and takes the perceived abandonment of the people around her very personally, saying, “how else can I get anybody to spend any time with me?” (Older and Far Away, 6x14). She can be stubborn, and is reluctant to change her views when she makes up her mind, refusing to listen to the advice of others.

Extraverted Sensing (Se): Dawn lives in the moment. She is attracted to sensory experiences, such as slaying (Lessons, 7x01) and dancing (Conversations With Dead People, 7x07), and thrives on adrenaline-filled activities, such as volunteering to enter the grounds of a house her friends were afraid of for the thrill of it (All the Way, 6x06). She is easily bored by the theoretical and abstract, calling school “a big building full of boredom and despair” (Blood Ties, 5x13), and tends to learn best when she can work with her hands, such as being able to grasp her geometry problem when acting it out rather than learning from a textbook (Tough Love, 5x19). Dawn can be impulsive, and often acts without consideration for the long-term consequences of her actions, such as running away from home when she found out she was the Key (Blood Ties, 3x13), or attempting to resurrect her mother despite Tara’s warnings about raising the dead (Forever, 5x17). She tends to express her feelings and frustrations through her actions, such as burning her diaries in distress after finding out the true nature of her identity (Blood Ties, 5x13), sulking in her room because she was “done with being talked to like a kid” (Older and Far Away, 6x14) or stealing as a way of coping with her depression throughout season six. She is quick to notice sensory details, taking a liking to Spike because “he wears cool leather coats and stuff” (Crush, 5x14) and is able to think on her feet, using Glory’s presence as a tool for finding out more about the Key despite the danger she was in (Blood Ties, 5x13). Dawn is attracted to the sensory world of slaying, and is constantly irritated that Buffy won’t let her be a part of it, finally proving herself a resourceful and skilled fighter when she is given the chance (Grave, 6x22).

Introverted Intuition (Ni): Though Dawn’s personal feelings often inhibit her ability to see the big picture, she is at times able to understand how certain events will play out, offering to sacrifice herself to stop Glory because she could see it made the most sense in the grand scheme of things (The Gift, 5x22). She can also be quite good at reading people at times, being able to tell that Spike was “totally in love” with Buffy before anyone else (Crush, 5x14)

Extraverted Thinking (Te): Dawn is a good strategist. She “leads with her knight” when playing chess with Willow, demonstrating an ability to change and manipulate the world around her (Real Me, 5x02), and easily fits into leadership roles, being able to help Amanda escape a vampire and come to terms with being a potential slayer through taking control of the external environment (Potential, 7x12). She is often frustrated with inefficiency, seeing Buffy’s choice to keep her out of slaying when she could easily be useful as impractical, and often deals with problems by taking matters into her own hands, such as driving herself and Xander back to Sunnydale upon learning that Buffy sent them away for the final fight (Chosen, 7x22).

[typologicalmusings]

Remus Lupin: INFJ

Introverted Intuition (Ni): Remus is well attuned to the bigger picture. He is easily able to see the way things fit together in the grand scheme of things, and has a sound understanding of the future implications of both his own actions and the actions of others, making him a useful member of the Order (The Order of the Phoenix, 5x05). Remus is readily able to draw intuitive conclusions from a limited amount of evidence, being able to tell that Peter betrayed the Potters almost immediately after seeing his name on the map (Cat, Rat and Dog, 3x17). He gets hunches about the future which often turn out to be correct, predicting, for example, that Harry, Ron and Hermione would go to visit Hagrid before Buckbeak’s execution (Cat, Rat and Dog, 3x17), and has the uncanny ability to guess what others are thinking, being able to tell that Harry thought himself weak for being unable to face the dementors (Flight of the Fat Lady, 3x08). Remus is insightful into the motivations of others, having the ability to tell when others are not being entirely truthful, such as being able to see through Harry’s efforts to cover up his trip to Hogsmeade (The Patronus, 3x12). He is quick to trust his own intuitions, and encourages others to do the same, such as affirming that Harry’s instincts were “good and nearly always right” on Potterwatch (The Deathly Hallows, 7x22).

Extraverted Feeling (Fe): Remus is highly aware of the way he is regarded by others. He is deeply hurt by the way he is treated by the rest of the wizarding community, and is desperate to be liked and respected by the people who can see him for who he is. At times, his desire for external validation can override his sense of morality, lying to his friends about his identity as a werewolf, for example, for fear they would reject him (Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs, 3x18). He is conscious of his role in a group, and craves acceptance from the people around him, remarking that the happiest days of his life were spent with his friends at school where he felt he belonged (Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs, 3x18). Remus is mindful of the way his actions impact the people around him, and has a tendency to put the needs of others before his own, putting aside his feelings for Tonks, for example, because he thought she deserved “someone young and whole” (The Phoenix Lament, 6x29). He is highly aware of the way he is perceived by others, commenting on his unpopularity among some of the Hogwarts staff (Cat, Rat and Dog, 3x17), and often takes the opinions of others into account when making decisions, such as resigning from Hogwarts because he knew his presence would cause concern among parents (Owl Post Again, 3x22). Remus is well attuned to the feelings of others, and is good at supporting and encouraging the people around him, such as praising Neville for his defeat of the boggart (The Boggart in the Wardrobe, 3x07) and commending Hermione for her intelligence (Cat, Rat and Dog, 3x17). He is slow to speak out against other people (Careers Advice, 5x29) and frequently acts for the benefit of the group, such as skipping Harry when facing the boggart in class for fear the class would panic (Flight of the Fat Lady, 3x08).

Introverted Thinking (Ti): Remus is a curious person. He is interested in understanding the world around him, often being seen with a book in hand during his school years, and is easily able to pull apart and understand things on a rational basis. He is often level headed in his approach to tackling problems (especially theoretical ones), and is knowledgeable about a number of areas, making him a competent teacher and a valuable member of the Order.

Extraverted Sensing (Se): Remus has a hands-on approach to teaching. He values practical skills, and often teaches the students through empirical means rather than relying on the textbook.  The inferior positioning of his Se can lead him to have problems living in the present, often ignoring details in the external world (such as his physical appearance) in his focus on the big picture. In times of stress, Remus can become almost uncharacteristically impulsive and risk-taking, throwing himself into dangerous missions, for example, in avoidance of his feelings for Tonks. He can also make poor spontaneous decisions, such as choosing to leave Tonks for the greater good, leading Harry to call him “a bit of a daredevil” (The Bribe, 7x11).

[typologicalmusings]

Xander Harris: ENTP

Extraverted Intuition (Ne): Xander is attuned to the big picture. He has little patience for details, becoming easily bored with demon research, and is energised by the presence of others, enjoying verbal sparring and bouncing his ideas off other people. He is good at understanding different viewpoints, and enjoys throwing things into the conversation for the sake of debate, referring to himself as the “devil’s advocate” on one occasion (Graduation Day: Part 1, 3x21). As demonstrated by Buffy’s brief ability to read thoughts, Xander often thinks in a scattered and haphazard way, and has a tendency to follow tangents in his speech, leaving others confused about what he is talking about. He is easily distracted (“ooh grapes!”), and is quick to make links between different pieces of information, often relating the happenings in the environment to various pop culture references. Xander is often reliant on his instinct to reach conclusions, being the first to realise that Willow was behind everyone acting strangely in ‘Something Blue’ through an intuitive deduction (Something Blue, 4x09), and is often playful with his expression of ideas, such as re-enacting Buffy’s confrontation with Angel by animating the fish fingers on his plate at lunch (Becoming: Part 1, 2x21).  He is enchanted by the novel and interesting, and has a tendency to seize opportunities without thinking them through properly, such as embarking on a solo trip around America that ended in a broken down car and a month working at a “fabulous ladies night club” (The Freshman, 4x01). Though his openness to new experiences can be a good thing, prompting him to be unafraid of taking risks, it can sometimes lead him to have difficulty making decisions, such as spending his time after the end of high school following a string of directionless jobs in his search for a purpose in life.

Introverted Thinking (Ti): Xander is a curious person. He is fascinated by why things are the way they are, questioning Oz, for example, about the “essence of cool” (The Zeppo, 3x13), and has a solid understanding of the way things fit together, being able to fix a broken gun on his own through an understanding of the machinery (Something Blue, 4x09). He tends to think in an objective way, and is able to apply reason to a number of situations, even when they conflict with his personal beliefs: his willingness to look at Spike “objectively” with Buffy despite his dislike is an example of this (Sleeper, 7x08). Xander is driven to understand things in a logical manner. He is uncomfortable with the juxtaposition of contradictory elements, and has a tendency to simplify things at times to make them make rational sense, such as taking a strong dislike to both Angel and Spike as a way of upholding his “vampires are bad” worldview. He is often stubborn in his views, and can be reluctant to accommodate new information at times, preferring to revert to what he already knows (particularly in earlier seasons). Xander often struggles with seeing the merit of feeling-based decisions, putting him at conflict with Buffy and Willow at various points throughout the series. He is unable to see, for example, why Buffy is so reluctant to kill Angel when he is a danger to everyone (Passion, 2x17), and struggles to understand Buffy’s departure in response to the events of ‘Becoming,’ calling her actions “incredibly selfish and stupid” (Dead Man’s Party, 3x02). Though he is good at identifying problem areas and coming up with solutions to fix them, such as going after Angel as a way to remove a potential threat (Revelations, 3x07), he can be overly harsh or insensitive in his way of dealing with things, using cold logic in situations that require more sensitivity.

Extraverted Feeling (Fe): Xander is the heart of the Scoobies. He invests a considerable amount of energy into his friends, and longs to feel useful in a group, often commenting in moments of insecurity on his inability to help his friends due to his lack of superpowers (Grave, 6x22). He is deeply hurt by the separation from Buffy and Willow during season four (“you two went to College and forgot about me!”) and is more affected than anyone by the fight with the Scoobies towards the end of the season, lying motionless on his bed for hours in misery (Primeval, 4x21). Xander is focused on having a place amongst a group of people, whether it be his fixation on being popular during high school or his need to be needed by his friends. He longs to feel important and useful, being deeply hurt by Cordelia’s comments about him being “the useless part of the group” (The Zeppo, 3x13), and is often upset when people don’t notice or appreciate his efforts, saying at one point in defiance, “I help out with all kinds of...stuff” (The Yoko Factor, 4x20). Xander is highly conscious of the way he is perceived by others, getting annoyed at Buffy, for example, for making him look like a “sissy man” in front of his peers (Halloween, 2x06). He is often insightful into the feelings of others, earning his title as “the one who sees” (Potential, 7x12), but tends to struggle with understanding his own feelings, leaving Anya at the altar because of his failure to be more “self-aware” (Hells Bells, 6x16). He is conscious of social dynamics, being acutely aware of the social hierarchy at high school, and is good at recognising and respecting social rules, often correcting Anya on her obtuse blunders.

Introverted Sensing (Si): On a largely unconscious level, Xander is haunted by his past. He is still terrified of a clown that scared him as a child (Nightmares, 1x10), and ends up leaving Anya at the altar because of the insecurities regarding his past and upbringing (Hells Bells, 6x16). He can be nostalgic about days gone by when he remembers them fondly, such as laughing with Willow about Cordelia and her “history of trying too hard” (Out of Mind, Out of Sight, 1x11), and can draw on past experiences in his evaluation of the present, using a story from kindergarten about “crayon breaky Willow” to contrast with “scary veiny Willow” when saving the world (Grave, 6x22). He can see merit in the recording of the past, supporting Andrew’s efforts to tape the goings on in Sunnydale (Storyteller, 7x16), and has an appreciation for the predictable and secure, happily ending his chasing of tangents during season four with a stable construction job.

[typologicalmusings]

Daniel ‘Oz’ Osbourne: INTP

Introverted Thinking (Ti): Oz is a thinker. He is fascinated by the way things work, being intrigued, for example, by the moving eyes inside the statue of Amy’s mother (Phases, 2x15) and the dead cat Giles brought into the library, calling it “interesting” when everyone else was disgusted (Dead Man’s Party, 3x01). He is methodical and logical in his thought process, preferring not to jump to conclusions but work through information thoroughly (The Freshman, 4x01), and is quick to note whether or not something makes sense, saying at one point, “this is making the sense that’s kind of....not” (Becoming: Part 2, 2x22). Oz enjoys sifting through ideas and seeing how they fit together in a logical way, evidenced in the way he ponders the nature of Buffy’s ability to hear thoughts -  “I think, therefore she is...I cease to exist – huh!” (Earshot, 3x18). He is highly intelligent, being able to “test well” at school despite his lack of academic ambition (What’s My Line: Part 2, 2x10), and is knowledgeable about a range of subjects, being quick to accept new information others may find difficult to take in, such as realising that Sunnydale being set on a Hellmouth “explains a lot” (Surprise, 2x13). Though Oz cares very little about his work at school (“I’m not a work-of-any-kind person”), he is ambitious in areas he cares about, such as music, and strives to achieve mastery in these areas (“e flat, diminished ninth” – What’s My Line: Part 2, 2x10). He lives by his own rules and often follows interests that are independent of the people he hangs around with, often being bemused by the ideas and preferences of his friends, such as Devon’s taste in women (Inca Mummy Girl, 2x04) and Larry’s lack of finesse when speaking about his sexual fantasies (Phases, 2x15). He is often detached when it comes to emotional situations, and rarely takes criticism personally, calling a negative review for his band “fair” (Earshot, 3x18).

Extraverted Intuition (Ne): Oz is an open-minded person. He is quick to adapt to new information, accepting his identity as a werewolf (Phases, 2x15) and the presence of vampires and demons in Sunnydale (Surprise, 2x13) without a second glance, and finds it easy to make connections between different pieces of information, rightly predicting that Angel and the Judge would be at the mall because it was a highly populated area (Innocence, 2x14). He is enchanted by the obscure and interesting, being attracted to Willow because of her Eskimo costume (Inca Mummy Girl, 2x04), and enjoys playing with ideas and possibilities, taking delight, for example, in discussing how a group of animal cookies would “feel kinda ripped” because the monkey cookie had pants while they missed out (What’s My Line: Part 2, 2x10). Oz has an offbeat sense of humour, often using unconventional or creative phrases to express his thoughts (“we attack the mayor with hummus” – Graduation Day: Part 2, 3x22), and is inspired by the creative, delighting playing his guitar and checking out Giles’s record collection (The Harsh Light of Day, 4x03). He is focused on the future and can be somewhat idealistic in his ideas, preferring to focus on his dreams of being a musician rather than the everyday reality of school and jobs (What’s My Line: Part 2, 2x10). At times, he can get distracted and chase possibilities, such as becoming preoccupied with Veruca in the midst of his relationship with Willow (Wild at Heart, 4x06).

Introverted Sensing (Si): Oz has a good memory, being able to remember the exact number of vampires slayed when patrolling in Buffy’s absence (Anne, 3x01). He has a strong internal body of knowledge which works to influence his thoughts and ideas, relating to a number of areas such as philosophy (Earshot, 3x18) and music history (Wild at Heart, 4x06), and is easily able to grasp details, often being on par with Giles when the gang is in research mode. He is ambivalent about following modern trends, and has an appreciation of things from the past, respecting Giles for owning a copy of the Velvet Underground’s album Loaded from 1970 (The Harsh Light of Day, 4x03). He can also be somewhat nostalgic, wanting to reminisce about the end of high school when the mayor had been defeated (Graduation Day: Part 2, 3x22).

Extraverted Feeling (Fe): Though Oz is concerned about the wellbeing of others, he often has trouble communicating it. He can be unaware of how troubling his outward detachment can be to other people, and on occasion needs interpretation of how others are feeling, such as asking Willow what was wrong when she was upset about him being “ironic detachment guy” (Graduation Day: Part 1, 3x21). He values external peace, and is uncomfortable with conflict between people, stepping in to be “referee guy” when Buffy and Xander got into an argument (Dead Man’s Party, 3x02), and is concerned for the feelings of others, agreeing to “uncouple” when Buffy was around so that she wouldn’t get upset about Angel (Faith, Hope and Trick, 3x03). He is aware of the dynamic within a group, and is eager to avoid tension, often removing himself from a situation when he is upset to avoid affecting others (The Wish, 3x09). At times, Oz can be tremendously insightful into the feelings of other people, being able to tell that Willow only wanted to kiss him to make Xander jealous (Innocence, 2x14), and that she wanted to talk after their split up to “feel better about herself” (The Wish, 3x09).