What is a Myers-Briggs Personality?
Every freshman at DR is required to take a Myers-Briggs assessment as a part of their Naviance setup with the Guidance Department. Though the results of the test are explained briefly by the program, some students are still left questioning, “What did I just do? What did it mean? What’s a ‘Myers-Briggs?‘” To answer these questions, the Myers-Briggs system is a way of determining and categorizing personality based on four separate aspects:
- Ways to direct and receive social energy: Introversion (I) or Extroversion (E)
- Ways to take in information: Sensing (S) or Intuition (N)
- Ways to come to conclusions: Thinking (T) or Feeling (F)
- Ways to approach the outside world: Judging (J) or Perceiving (P)
Each personality is made up of four traits, one from each of the four categories, and the letters are arranged in order from the first category to the last in each combination type.
The Personalities
- ISTJ: Andie Walsh, Pretty in Pink
ISTJs are quiet and dependable. Highly realistic and matter-of-fact, they’re responsible, independent, and organized. They value traditions and loyalty.
Andie spends the majority of her film working the same job and keeping her priorities very straight (you could say she is keeping her Duckies in a row). She has a set group of friends, and distractions are never on the table. She is set to her goal of earning the love of her classmate Blane, and won’t let anything get in her way, not even lacking a prom dress.
- ISFJ: Jane Nichols, 27 Dresses
ISFJs are quiet and conscientious. Extremely committed to their obligations, they are loyal, considerate, and remember the little details. They strive to help others and create an orderly environment.
Jane is the loyal assistant and maid of honor to many of her friends for a large portion of the movie, always eager to help. She serves as the world’s most reliable secretary and the most patient sister, even when everything in her life is a stressor. Striving to keep everything peaceful and without conflict, she takes the reins in organizing most things, including her sister’s wedding to the man she loves.
- INFJ: Lara Jean Song-Covey, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before
INFJs are intentional and shy. Firmly committed to their values, they seek a deeper meaning in their ideas, relationships, possessions, and more. They have an acute moral compass and internal drive to serve the common good, and are organized and decisive.
Lara Jean is classically seen as a “quiet girl” in her school, as an unknown creative type with no desire to be popular. Loyal to her one close friend, honest with her sisters, and committed to her central moral values, she is an intelligent girl with a logical yet dream-led demeanor. Lara Jean is originally fearful of lying to her family to start a fake relationship, but eventually becomes fully devoted to considerate jock Peter Kavinsky when he nestles his way in among her friends and family.
- INTJ: Kat Stratford, 10 Things I Hate About You
INTJs are fiercely creative and original, and love their pattern recognition. Starkly geared toward their goals, they are unmovable once their minds are made up. Usually independent skeptics, they hold high expectations for themselves and others.
Kat is seen through her whole film rebelling against “the institution,” fighting for feminist rights and standing up for herself through it all. She is her own number one supporter, even when the rest of the school calls her a “shrew,” and other distasteful names, which is how she ends up relating to the infamous Patrick Verona.
- ISTP: Josie Geller, Never Been Kissed
ISTPs are quick-thinking observers that are highly flexible. Often very patient and tolerant, they consume information in large quantities and work through data to come to practical solutions. They are logical and value efficiency.
Josie is slightly insecure in the first part of her film, choosing to sink behind the scenes, which makes her the perfect candidate for a little undercover field journalism at her old high school. She uses her keen observation to learn a lot about modern high school culture, through which she finds love and a community of friends and acquaintances.
- ISFP: Laney Boggs, She’s All That
ISFPs are known for their sensitivity and kindness, as those who are thoroughly committed to their own space and are truly comfortable with themselves. They are loyal and love to live in the present moment as independent thinkers. They stick to their morals, though they do not try to force them on others, and generally dislike conflicts.
Laney is a shy and creative girl who spends a majority of her film as a self-assured person. Though she may not be the most popular girl in school, she is more than content with her life as it stands, and doesn’t take kindly to when jocks like Zach Siler try to change her. In the end, it is him who realizes that she doesn’t need changing after all, as Laney stands firm in her roots as a “nerdy outcast.”
- INFP: Mia Thermopolis, The Princess Diaries
INFPs are loyal to their core values, and to the people who are important to them, seeing life as centered around firm loyalty. They are curious and love to implement new ideas, focusing many efforts on empathy and their ability to understand the people around them. Adaptable and quick to see the good in others, they are sweet until their values are threatened.
Mia is a clumsy and chaotic kind of girl, just an average everyday outsider, until one day she is thrown into the confusing situation of becoming a proper princess. Having come from living a normal life, she holds fast to her values: despising public speaking, loving to write, avoiding disrupting calm, and more. She matures throughout the film, stepping into the role of a confident ruler, but never loses her loveable demeanor.
- INTP: Lucy Whitmore, 50 First Dates
INTPs are seekers of logic and meaning, hoping to find an explanation for everything. They embrace abstract thinking as contained, flexible, and focused individuals. Though sometimes critical of others, they are constantly analytical and curious.
Lucy suffers from brain trauma as the aftermath of a car accident, leading her to have a memory infallible to resetting every twenty-four hours. At the start of each new day, she falls into the same routine before realizing that her memory is impaired. She is inquisitive of what is going on around her, constantly searching for her answers, sometimes very frustratedly so. To keep herself in check, Lucy finds her solace in interpretive art in the form of the murals and portraits she paints.
- ESTP: Cher Horowitz, Clueless
ESTPs are quick-thinking go-getters that are highly flexible. Often bored by concepts and theories, they consume information in a hands-on way and work through data to come to practical solutions for the here and now. They are spontaneous, active, and often partake in stylish endeavors.
Cher is a diva of all divas who wants action and wants it now. She spends her time moving from target to target, aiding people in her school and beyond as a modern-day Emma Woodhouse. First setting up two of her teachers on a date, then focusing her sights on making the new girl popular, Cher is always out to do what she thinks is right in the spur of the moment; not to mention, she always looks stunning as she does so.
- ESFP: Viola Hastings, She’s the Man
ESFPs outgoing lovers of social connection. They are big team players and love to bring a sense of fun to their work through spontaneity and flexibility. Hands-on learners, they love trying new things with other people.
Viola is the fearless captain of her soccer team, and a proud advocate for women’s rights. She is very social and involved, even when she tries to fly under the radar while dressed as her twin brother. Leaping into every new idea like it’s the best idea ever, she doesn’t often think too much about impacts on herself, but instead thinks of how it might affect society as a whole. Viola is the ultimate team player, sacrificing her dignity to do what she believes is right for the team.
- ENFP: Sophie Sheridan, Mamma Mia
ENFPs are imaginative and excitable, viewing life through a lens of positive possibilities. They form conclusions and act quickly and confidently. While they typically require lots of affirmation from others, they also constantly give out appreciation and support. They can think quickly and rely on improvisation in sticky situations.
Sophie is the epitome of an ENFP, as an enthusiastic and optimistic woman who invites her three potential fathers to her wedding in Greece. She acts on instinct and good vibes, often making emotion-based decisions. While this doesn’t always end well for her and the people around her (especially not her mother, who is pestered by three exes for the entire wedding), she always finds a way to figure things out quickly.
- ENTP: Andie Anderson, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
ENTPs are alert, intelligent, and resourceful in solving problems. They thrive off of three-dimensional, conceptual thinking and strategic analysis. Equipped with a good sense of emotional intelligence and a motivation to break the status quo, they are change makers and jacks of all trades.
Andie is a determined woman who is destined to break the magazine columnist’s scene. Working on an article about “how to lose a guy in 10 days,” she enters the field as an undercover girlfriend, utilizing her quick thinking and alertness to make advertising executive Benjamin Barry fall in love with, and subsequently break up with, Andie in 10 days’ time. She goes to any lengths necessary when he resists, analysing each decision of his with a fine-toothed comb in order to report back faithfully to her dedicated readers.
- ESTJ: Margaret Tate, The Proposal
ESTJs, much like ISTJs, are practical, decisive, organized, and matter-of-fact. They focus on efficiency and stick to systematic routines. Holding a set of standards for themselves and others that are mostly logic-based, they are often forceful when implementing plans.
Margaret is a high-ranking woman in a male-dominated field, and it’s no secret how she got there: hard work and dedication. That being said, she is distinctly disliked by her subordinates for her no-nonsense attitude, which she must eventually learn to tone down. Set in her ways and determined to escape precarious situations as quickly and effectively as possible, she is a manager of all managers.
- ESFJ: Jenna Rink, 13 Going on 30
ESFJs are cooperative peace-seekers, with empathy and loyalty that stretch on for miles. They are observant, determined, and amicable. They put in a lot of effort to keep their environment in harmony, but they don’t tolerate their efforts going unnoticed.
Jenna spends her movie traversing through life as a thirteen-year old trapped in a thirty-year-old’s body, confused and naive. Her relationship with her best friend and her coworkers in adult life are typically strictly professional, but thirteen-year-old Jenna’s perspective is more friendly and outgoing than anything else. She brings peace and joy back into the lives of so many miserable adults, encouraging them to embrace a more fun lifestyle as she attempts to reconnect with her childhood best friend, Matt.
- ENFJ: Elle Woods, Legally Blonde
ENFJs are empathetic, responsible, and opinionated. They see potential in everyone they come across, tuning into emotions, needs, and motivations of those around them. Often acting as a leader to bring people together or to stir up change in a person’s life, they are fiercely loyal helpers, sociable to no end.
Elle is as optimistic as they come, but naive, as a fashion major attempting to transfer to Harvard for Law to win back her ex boyfriend. Over the course of the film, she inadvertently helps many people in their personal journeys by pointing out different aspects of life they hadn’t seen before, improving the lives of everyone around her while she also grows as a person. Elle eventually becomes an incredible lawyer, whose efforts to help a misunderstood victim save her from a lifetime in prison.
- ENTJ: Regina George, Mean Girls
ENTJs are decisive, blunt leaders that are quick to point out flaws or inefficiencies when they see them. They devise solutions to ordinary problems in a logical way, often planning things out for the long-term. Typically well-informed and knowledgeable, they love to share their wealth of knowledge with others, though sometimes not in the friendliest of ways.
Regina is the epitome of a scary yet loveable leader. She is insightful enough to see people for exactly what they are, and she is smart enough to know how to exploit that for her own agenda. A queen bee hoping to stay on top, she manages both her friend group and, seemingly, the rest of the school easily, using her intelligence, frankness, and network of acquaintances to receive information and to convey exactly what she means at all times.
