Mercurial?
Mercurial Personality Type
The Borderline Idealized Image
Cardinal Disposition: Mercuriality
Basic Passion
Desire/Pleasure: relationship
Fear/Distress: being alone
Basic Passions of the Types
Dr. John M. Oldham has defined the Mercurial personality style. The following seven characteristic traits and behaviors are listed in his The New Personality Self-Portrait.
Romantic attachment. Mercurial individuals must always be deeply involved in a romantic relationship with one person.
Intensity. They experience a passionate, focused attachment in all their relationships. Nothing that goes on between them and other people is trivial, nothing taken lightly.
Heart. They show what they feel. They are emotionally active and reactive. Mercurial types put their hearts into everything.
Unconstraint. They are uninhibited, spontaneous, fun-loving, and undaunted by risk.
Activity. Energy marks the Mercurial style. These individuals are lively, creative, busy, and engaging. They show initiative and can stir others to activity.
Open mind. They are imaginative and curious, willing to experience and experiment with other cultures, roles, and value systems and to follow new paths.
Alternate states. People with Mercurial style are skilled at distancing or distracting themselves from reality when it is painful or harsh.
Source: Oldham, John M., and Lois B. Morris. The New Personality Self-Portrait: Why You Think, Work, Love, and Act the Way You Do. Rev. ed. New York: Bantam, 1995.
Character Strengths and Virtues (what the Borderline type is proud of)
Decency; Earnestness; Thriftiness.
Mercy, Forgiveness; Modesty, Naturalness.
Hope, Cheerfulness, Joyfulness, Sociability.
Sincerity, Straightforwardness; Honesty, Fairness.
Tolerance, Liberalism, Open-mindedness.
Generosity, Liberality; Courtesy, Graciousness, Equitableness; Altruism, Kindness; Affability, Friendliness.
Idealism.
Energy, Enthusiasm.
Artistry, Inquisitiveness; Boldness, Spontaneity; Creativity, Humorousness.
This profile was derived from Cawley's 23 "Virtue Subclusters" in Michael J. Cawley III, James E. Martin, John A. Johnson (1999), A Virtues Approach to Personality.
PTypes Personality Types
PTypes A Correspondence of Psychiatric, Keirsey, and Enneagram Typologies Artistic Type
Hedonist
Top Strengths*
"Creativity [originality, ingenuity]: Thinking of novel and productive ways to conceptualize and do things; includes artistic achievement but is not limited to it"
"Curiosity [interest, novelty-seeking, openness to experience]: Taking an interest in ongoing experience for its own sake; finding subjects and topics fascinating; exploring and discovering"
"Vitality [zest, enthusiasm, vigor, energy]: Approaching life with excitement and energy; Not doing things halfway or halfheartedly; living life as an adventure; feeling alive and activated"
"Love: Valuing close relations with others, in particular those in which sharing and caring are reciprocated; being close to people"
"Kindness [generosity, nurturance, care, compassion, altruistic love, "niceness"]: Doing favors and good deeds for others; helping them; taking care of them
"Hope [optimism, future-mindedness, future orientation]: Expecting the best in the future and working to achieve it; believing that a good future is something that can be brought about"
"Humor [playfulness]: Liking to laugh and tease; bringing smiles to other people; see the light side; making (not necessarily telling) jokes" (Peterson & Seligman, 29, 30).
* Selected from Christopher Peterson and Martin E. P. Seligman, (2004). Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification. Oxford: Oxford UP.
Mercuriality
Mercurial: "2. Having the characteristics of eloquence, shrewdness, swiftness, and thievishness attributed to the God Mercury in Roman mythology. 4. Being quick and changeable in character." (AHD)
Synonyms: "inconstant, fickle, capricious, unstable" (MW, 536)
"inconstant, fickle, capricious, mercurial, unstable mean lacking or showing lack of firmness or steadiness in purpose, attachment, or devotion. Inconstant, usually applied to persons though sometimes to things, suggests an inherent or constitutional tendency to change frequently; it commonly implies an incapacity for fixity or steadiness (as in one's affections, aspirations, or course) ... Fickle retains a hint of its basic implication of deceitfulness or treacherousness, but its basic implications of instability and unreliability are colored by the suggestion of an incapacity for being true, steadfast, or certain ... Capricious suggests qualities which manifest or seem to manifest a lack of guidance by a power (as law, authority, or reason) that tends to regularize movements or acts. When used in reference to persons, it suggests guidance by whim, mood, freak, or sudden impulse ... When used in reference to things, it implies an irregularity, an uncertainty, or a variableness that seems incompatible with the operation of law ... Mercurial is a synonym of the other words here discriminated only when it carries a strong implication of resemblance to the metal mercury and its fluctuations when subjected to an external influence. The word, however, also carries implications (as of swiftness, eloquence, cleverness, and volatility) derived from its earlier association with the god Mercury. Consequently when it applies to persons, their temperaments, or their natures, it usually suggests a pleasing even if baffling variability, an amazing succession of gifts capable of being displayed at will or at need, and such other qualities as sprightliness, restlessness, flashing wit, and elusive charm ... Unstable, which is applicable to persons as well as to things, implies a constitutional incapacity for remaining in a fixed position mentally or emotionally as well as physically; it suggests, therefore, such fluctuations in behavior as frequent and often unjustified changes in occupation or in residence or sudden and startling changes of faith or of interests ... " (431)
Analogous: "volatile, effervescent, buoyant, expansive, elastic, resilient: changeable, changeful, variable, protean, mutable: mobile, movable: clever, adroit, cunning, ingenious"
Antonyms: "saturnine" (536)
Contrasted:
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1981, c.1969). William Morris, Ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Merriam-Webster (1984). Webster's New Dictionary of Synonyms: A Dictionary of Discriminated Synonyms with Antonyms and Analogous and Contrasted Words. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster.
Careers and Jobs for Mercurial type
Google Answers: selecting the right career for me
This list represents careers and jobs people of the Mercurial type tend to enjoy doing.
veterinarian
flight attendant
floral designer
real estate agent
child care provider
social worker
fundraiser
athletic coach
musician
secretary
receptionist
special events producer
teacher: preschool
teacher: elementary
emergency room nurse
occupational therapist
exercise physiologist
team trainer
travel sales
public relations specialist
waiter/waitress
labor relations mediator
Source: U.S. Department of Interior, Career Manager - ESFP.
The Borderline Idealized Image
Cardinal Disposition: Mercuriality
Basic Passion
Desire/Pleasure: relationship
Fear/Distress: being alone
Basic Passions of the Types
Dr. John M. Oldham has defined the Mercurial personality style. The following seven characteristic traits and behaviors are listed in his The New Personality Self-Portrait.
Romantic attachment. Mercurial individuals must always be deeply involved in a romantic relationship with one person.
Intensity. They experience a passionate, focused attachment in all their relationships. Nothing that goes on between them and other people is trivial, nothing taken lightly.
Heart. They show what they feel. They are emotionally active and reactive. Mercurial types put their hearts into everything.
Unconstraint. They are uninhibited, spontaneous, fun-loving, and undaunted by risk.
Activity. Energy marks the Mercurial style. These individuals are lively, creative, busy, and engaging. They show initiative and can stir others to activity.
Open mind. They are imaginative and curious, willing to experience and experiment with other cultures, roles, and value systems and to follow new paths.
Alternate states. People with Mercurial style are skilled at distancing or distracting themselves from reality when it is painful or harsh.
Source: Oldham, John M., and Lois B. Morris. The New Personality Self-Portrait: Why You Think, Work, Love, and Act the Way You Do. Rev. ed. New York: Bantam, 1995.
Character Strengths and Virtues (what the Borderline type is proud of)
Decency; Earnestness; Thriftiness.
Mercy, Forgiveness; Modesty, Naturalness.
Hope, Cheerfulness, Joyfulness, Sociability.
Sincerity, Straightforwardness; Honesty, Fairness.
Tolerance, Liberalism, Open-mindedness.
Generosity, Liberality; Courtesy, Graciousness, Equitableness; Altruism, Kindness; Affability, Friendliness.
Idealism.
Energy, Enthusiasm.
Artistry, Inquisitiveness; Boldness, Spontaneity; Creativity, Humorousness.
This profile was derived from Cawley's 23 "Virtue Subclusters" in Michael J. Cawley III, James E. Martin, John A. Johnson (1999), A Virtues Approach to Personality.
PTypes Personality Types
PTypes A Correspondence of Psychiatric, Keirsey, and Enneagram Typologies Artistic Type
Hedonist
Top Strengths*
"Creativity [originality, ingenuity]: Thinking of novel and productive ways to conceptualize and do things; includes artistic achievement but is not limited to it"
"Curiosity [interest, novelty-seeking, openness to experience]: Taking an interest in ongoing experience for its own sake; finding subjects and topics fascinating; exploring and discovering"
"Vitality [zest, enthusiasm, vigor, energy]: Approaching life with excitement and energy; Not doing things halfway or halfheartedly; living life as an adventure; feeling alive and activated"
"Love: Valuing close relations with others, in particular those in which sharing and caring are reciprocated; being close to people"
"Kindness [generosity, nurturance, care, compassion, altruistic love, "niceness"]: Doing favors and good deeds for others; helping them; taking care of them
"Hope [optimism, future-mindedness, future orientation]: Expecting the best in the future and working to achieve it; believing that a good future is something that can be brought about"
"Humor [playfulness]: Liking to laugh and tease; bringing smiles to other people; see the light side; making (not necessarily telling) jokes" (Peterson & Seligman, 29, 30).
* Selected from Christopher Peterson and Martin E. P. Seligman, (2004). Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification. Oxford: Oxford UP.
Mercuriality
Mercurial: "2. Having the characteristics of eloquence, shrewdness, swiftness, and thievishness attributed to the God Mercury in Roman mythology. 4. Being quick and changeable in character." (AHD)
Synonyms: "inconstant, fickle, capricious, unstable" (MW, 536)
"inconstant, fickle, capricious, mercurial, unstable mean lacking or showing lack of firmness or steadiness in purpose, attachment, or devotion. Inconstant, usually applied to persons though sometimes to things, suggests an inherent or constitutional tendency to change frequently; it commonly implies an incapacity for fixity or steadiness (as in one's affections, aspirations, or course) ... Fickle retains a hint of its basic implication of deceitfulness or treacherousness, but its basic implications of instability and unreliability are colored by the suggestion of an incapacity for being true, steadfast, or certain ... Capricious suggests qualities which manifest or seem to manifest a lack of guidance by a power (as law, authority, or reason) that tends to regularize movements or acts. When used in reference to persons, it suggests guidance by whim, mood, freak, or sudden impulse ... When used in reference to things, it implies an irregularity, an uncertainty, or a variableness that seems incompatible with the operation of law ... Mercurial is a synonym of the other words here discriminated only when it carries a strong implication of resemblance to the metal mercury and its fluctuations when subjected to an external influence. The word, however, also carries implications (as of swiftness, eloquence, cleverness, and volatility) derived from its earlier association with the god Mercury. Consequently when it applies to persons, their temperaments, or their natures, it usually suggests a pleasing even if baffling variability, an amazing succession of gifts capable of being displayed at will or at need, and such other qualities as sprightliness, restlessness, flashing wit, and elusive charm ... Unstable, which is applicable to persons as well as to things, implies a constitutional incapacity for remaining in a fixed position mentally or emotionally as well as physically; it suggests, therefore, such fluctuations in behavior as frequent and often unjustified changes in occupation or in residence or sudden and startling changes of faith or of interests ... " (431)
Analogous: "volatile, effervescent, buoyant, expansive, elastic, resilient: changeable, changeful, variable, protean, mutable: mobile, movable: clever, adroit, cunning, ingenious"
Antonyms: "saturnine" (536)
Contrasted:
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1981, c.1969). William Morris, Ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Merriam-Webster (1984). Webster's New Dictionary of Synonyms: A Dictionary of Discriminated Synonyms with Antonyms and Analogous and Contrasted Words. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster.
Careers and Jobs for Mercurial type
Google Answers: selecting the right career for me
This list represents careers and jobs people of the Mercurial type tend to enjoy doing.
veterinarian
flight attendant
floral designer
real estate agent
child care provider
social worker
fundraiser
athletic coach
musician
secretary
receptionist
special events producer
teacher: preschool
teacher: elementary
emergency room nurse
occupational therapist
exercise physiologist
team trainer
travel sales
public relations specialist
waiter/waitress
labor relations mediator
Source: U.S. Department of Interior, Career Manager - ESFP.