If you’re looking at this post and rolling your eyes, that is very ISTP of you and I respect your opinion. Just give it a chance, please!

I have been intrigued by personality theories for a long time. Maybe it’s because I am curious about psychology and crave structure within my life. Maybe it’s just fun, for some reason. Whatever it is, where some people see personality theories has restrictive and not worth any attention, I actually see them as almost liberating and unifying.

In my mind, the point of a personality theory is to provide common vocabulary for us to talk about ourselves. In the same way we might identify ourselves as risk-avoidant or valuing flexibility, personality categories are just words to describe people. The problem is when personality theories start trying to predict the future or neglect nuance.

I think an even bigger problem is that personality “theories” tend not to be scientifically grounded or based on rigorous evidence. The most well known exception might be the Big 5/Five-Factor Model, which consists five dimensions (OCEAN):

  • Openness to new experiences
  • Conscientiousness
  • Extraversion/introversion
  • Agreeableness
  • Neuroticism

Each of these is a spectrum. Combined, they start to describe (not explain) people’s personalities.

Another issue I have with some personality theories (and category systems beyond personality) is the implicit connotation that one side of a spectrum is more desired. For example, does being low in openness mean being closed-minded and judgmental? Does being high in neuroticism indicate being an anxious wreck? These issues are even more prevalent in body typing systems for personal style, but that is a separate discussion. I believe that a fair, usable categorization system should be neutral; no personality should be implied as better than others.

The most interesting personality system, in my opinion, is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). The language of the MBTI is much more neutral, but it was literally made up by a mother-daughter duo based on their personal experiences. Still, it is a useful place to start.

The MBTI is organized into four dimensions, each of which is divided into two sides, for a total of 2^4 = 16 possible types. Here is how the official website defines them:

  • Extraversion (E) or Introversion (I)
    • Opposite ways to direct and receive energy
    • Do you prefer to focus on the outer world or your own inner world?
  • Sensing (S) or Intuition (N)
    • Opposite ways to take in information
    • Do you prefer to focus on the facts or the big picture?
  • Thinking (T) or Feeling (F)
    • Opposite ways to decide and come to conclusions
    • Do you prefer to take an objective or an empathetic approach for deciding?
  • Judging (J) or Perceiving (P)
    • Opposite ways to approach the outside world
    • Do you prefer to seek closure or stay open to new information?

First of all, EVERYONE’S DEFINITION OF INTROVERSION/EXTRAVERSION IS WRONG. We need to stop defining it in terms of outward actions or subjective observations. Eysenck’s Arousal Theory (1985) argues that introversion/extraversion is driven by a person’s baseline level of energy. The higher your baseline, the less additional stimulation you need to overflow your mental gas tank. So: higher baseline = more introverted, lower baseline = more extraverted. More recent studies (like this one) have contributed to our understanding of the biological basis of personality.

This represents another problem I have with personality theories: they are imprecisely defined, so they cannot precisely describe. Of course so many people feel so misrepresented by them. At the same time, though, biological/psychophysiological studies are still developing and have their own weaknesses. And they are sometimes weaponized for weird racist/classist/sexist agendas.

Dear reader, please allow me to be charitable and assume that you are reasonable, thoughtful, and gracious. Nothing I say is set in stone. Please grab your grain of salt because I am about to describe my own system of personality categories.

  • Baseline energy –> related to I/E in MBTI, E in Big 5
    • High (“introvert”): less likely to need external stimulation
    • Low (“extravert”): more likely to need external stimulation
    • Note that stimulation is not necessarily just social interaction. It can be sounds, brightness, other sensory input.
  • Sensitivity –> related to I/E in MBTI, N in Big 5
    • High: energy drains or recovers quickly
    • Low: energy drains or recovers slowly
    • If you have low baseline energy and high sensitivity, you might be the “type” of extravert that gets tired fast. Seemingly paradoxical but sensible.
  • Perspective –> related to N/S in MBTI
    • Top-down (“big picture”): tending to think in terms of systems or processes
    • Bottom-up (“small details”): tending to think in terms of individual pieces of evidence
    • You might also consider this the difference between micro- and macro-level thinking.
  • Problem resolution –> related to F/T in MBTI
    • Pragmatic (“all’s well that ends well”): tending to focus on observable effect
    • Theoretical: tending to focus on alignment with standards
    • Note that “standards” might be external (laws, regulations, rules) or internal (beliefs, opinions).
  • Structure –> related to J/P in MBTI
    • Favored: tending to desire organization/stability/predictability
    • Unfavored: tending to desire flexibility/possibility/freedom
    • Don’t conflate disliking structure with being a mess. One might cooccur with the other, but they are not the same.

So what is all this supposed to do for us? I suppose you can think of it as an exercise in self-reflection, which I have been doing a lot as I apply for jobs. I keep thinking about who I am, what I believe in, and what I want to do. Combined with my existing interest in personality theories, all of that led to this post.

Let’s use me as an example. I am pretty sure I

  • have somewhat high baseline energy,
  • have high sensitivity,
  • default to a bottom-up perspective,
  • default strongly to theoretical resolutions, and
  • highly favor structure.

This reveals to me that I value consistency, clarity, and fluidity. I consider myself a human-AI systems researcher, but I care a lot about how the details contribute to the overall result. I can struggle to accept “ad hoc” processes at first and I often need a lot of time to think deeply before acting, but eventually I reach a decision I can be confident in for the long run. Remember: personality theories are about understanding, not defining. They are starting points and shared vocabulary, not prescriptions.

Let’s contrast this with my partner, who defaults strongly to pragmatic resolutions. This difference in perspective used to lead to a lot of confusion and frustration for both of us. He didn’t always understand why our regular Friday night plans were so important to me if we could easily reschedule to Saturday when needed. I didn’t always see that his willingness to reschedule was not an indication of not caring about our routine. The next time you “don’t see the problem,” consider whether you have opposite perspectives of the same situation.

Another contrast: I used to intern with two managers, one of whom was very top-down and the other was very bottom-up. I would feel pretty disoriented after back-to-back meetings with them because it felt like we were talking about two different things. Eventually, I was able to predict the type of questions each manager would ask depending on the types of details that tended to grab their attentions, which made working together much easier.

One last contrast: I have a friend with extremely low baseline energy. I didn’t realize the energy level thing at first. I just perceived her as extremely antsy. Sounds surprising, right? How can someone with low baseline energy have the energy to be antsy at all? That’s another way outward behavior can misconstrue what is really happening inside: it turns out this friend literally itches to go out, see new things, be among people. She needs excitement to feel satisfied and, eventually, calm. Realizing this helped me stop feeling bothered when she always wanted to drag me out all the time. I just make sure to ask for some advanced notice so I can emotionally prepare. 😂

A lot of this started out as just plain old fun for me. Horoscopes, MBTI, Buzzfeed quizzes, whatever. If you are interested, you can check out some other fun/inspiring sources:

Slightly related but impactful: