MBTI in TVD
New episode in T minus twenty minutes, but I don't wanna wait, so! Here's my attempt at the Myers-Briggs types of Vampire Diaries characters/species. I have even more of an appreciation for the neat psychological/metaphysical metaphors the show employs.
Also, disclaimers: I don't have any background in psychology. I'm basing this on the type descriptions at personalitypage.com and typelogic.com. Traits are morally neutral. They can be used for good or ill, and most TVD characters tend to act out both. Accordingly, I've tried to describe the characterizations in neutral terminology (mostly). And yes, there are plenty of criticisms that can be made of the scientific/psychological basis of personality tests as well as their cultural contexts. It's just for fun!
The kids:
Elena and Katherine: ENFJ. I'm listing them together because of my theory that the doppelgangers have similar psychological profiles and social skills, and this personality profile fits both of them to a tee. (Or an eff, as the case may be.) Elena and Katherine have extraordinary people skills. They readily understand and focus on others, but guard their own inner selves closely, to the point where they don't feel like others know them. I'm less sold than the narrative is on the idea of either character being particularly loving and self-sacrificing, but it is one of their closest-held convictions that love of others is worth significant personal risk and pain. They are gifted and confident. They have the capacity to be deeply caring and generous, but also to be controlling and manipulative.
Caroline: ENTJ. ENTJs are called "the Executives" because they get shit done. Care is a leader. She's not big on tempering her energetic drive around others and can bulldoze people in pursuit of her goals. She's sentimental, as we see with her attachment to high school milestones.
Bonnie: INTJ. Bonnie is both intelligent and practical, able to master complicated magic and quickly figure out how best to utilize it to protect the town. Magic frequently functions in fiction as a Mastermind trait because it connotes high-concept mental skills as well as power over the outside world. She's not particularly socially aggressive, or even adept, as she sometimes tends toward quick and cutting remarks; however, she frequently emerges as a strategic leader within the group.
Jeremy: INFJ. Jeremy is artistic and insightful. INFJs are highly intuitive to a point where they can't always explain their understanding of the world around them, which is amped up to a supernatural experience as Jeremy becomes a psychic who can contact the dead. Jeremy is very sensitive, both to his own feelings and to those of others. This leads to his tendency to react to conflict and stress with anger he internalizes until it bursts out of him, as we see with his repressed hunter urges.
Matt Donovan: I can't decide between ESFJ and ENFJ, though I like the idea of him matching Elena and Katherine and therefore being a representative of Elena's human self as much as Katherine is her vamp self.
Tyler: ISTP. ISTPs are pragmatic, action-oriented thrill-seekers. This personality type lends itself easily to athleticism. They are deeply loyal to "brothers-in-arms" who they have accepted as their equals, a trait which is carried to its supernatural extreme as Tyler joins werewolf and then hybrid packs. They don't trust their own feelings, and aren't particularly good at reading or being sensitive to the feelings of others. They have excellent bullshit detectors, but can also have tempers.
The Salvatores were surprisingly not entirely obvious for me, given how much thought I've put into analyzing them. I like the idea of them being counterparts to each other, as well as each sharing two "letters" with Elena and Kat.
Damon: ENTP. Damon is introduced as the ur-vampire, an embodiment of flash and charisma twisted into the forceful amorality that unscrupulous ENTPs can develop. Damon is highly impulsive. He's relentlessly insightful into behavior and situations, but he usually fails to utilize that ability in well-considered plans. My real diffiulty with this was the F/T. Because like...Damon, feelings, obviously. (I could be sold on ENFP fitting him quite well too.) Damon's conscious preference, though, is for thought over feeling, as he is a big advocate for himself and other vampires turning their emotional "switch" off.
Stefan: ISFJ. Stefan is big on group harmony and external codes of behavior. He doesn't usually let on what he's feeling, but he has a knack for knowing how to read and play off of the feelings of others. He usually uses this skill to smooth over conflict, without regard for whether or not that conflict should be smoothed over. Stefan has the capacity to be a warm and thoughtful caregiver, or to be a relentless manipulator.
The Originals
Elijah: INFP. Elijah wants deeply to consider himself a moral being, and most of the time he sticks by a rigid code of behavior. He doesn't often bond with others, particularly not outside of his own family, but when he does decide someone is important to him, he goes to great lengths to further their interests. Similarly, he's quite satisfied to live uneventfully beside his siblings for hundreds of years, but when he dedicates himself to the cause of killing Klaus, he sticks to his goal relentlessly. He's highly attracted to his role as a "negotiator," or mediator.
Finn: ? He's still quite an X factor.
Klaus: ESFJ. Klaus is highly mercurial and deeply sensitive to insults. Klaus places a great deal of weight on status-oriented structures - he intensely hates and fears his father and sets himself to deposing Mikael. He frequently refers to his siblings as "big brother," "little brother," or "little sister," emphasizing his place relative to them within the family. Similarly, his creation of a hybrid pack of which he is the alpha is a point of fierce pride with him. ESFJs place great weight on traditional celebrations, such as birthdays. (No, really. lol)
Kol: From what we know of him, ESTP fits Kol well. He's a quick-moving hedonist; nonetheless, he's able to commit himself fully to a cause when he decides Silas needs to stay buried. The tiebreaker here was that I like the idea of his being Jeremy's opposite.
Rebekah: ESFJ. Rebekah is quick to anger and equally quick to forgiveness. She wears her heart on her sleeve and forms powerful bonds with others, and places great importance on family. Rebekah's formative development has allowed her to develop her compassion over the intense status anxiety her brother experiences.
Alas, I do not see myself, fairly consistently coming up as an INTP, though I could maybe make an argument for Isobel, which pleases me for obvious reasons. (As for other quasi-parental figures, I see John and Liz as ISTJs, the archetypal duty-fulfillers. Jenna is an ESFP, people- and fun-loving, mostly capable of going with the flow but a world-class grudge-holder when she feels it's warranted. I'm not sure about Ric? Leaning toward ESTJ but I can't really support it.)
This entry was originally posted at http://pocochina.dreamwidth.org/292542.html. Leave a comment here, or there using OpenID.
Also, disclaimers: I don't have any background in psychology. I'm basing this on the type descriptions at personalitypage.com and typelogic.com. Traits are morally neutral. They can be used for good or ill, and most TVD characters tend to act out both. Accordingly, I've tried to describe the characterizations in neutral terminology (mostly). And yes, there are plenty of criticisms that can be made of the scientific/psychological basis of personality tests as well as their cultural contexts. It's just for fun!
The kids:
Elena and Katherine: ENFJ. I'm listing them together because of my theory that the doppelgangers have similar psychological profiles and social skills, and this personality profile fits both of them to a tee. (Or an eff, as the case may be.) Elena and Katherine have extraordinary people skills. They readily understand and focus on others, but guard their own inner selves closely, to the point where they don't feel like others know them. I'm less sold than the narrative is on the idea of either character being particularly loving and self-sacrificing, but it is one of their closest-held convictions that love of others is worth significant personal risk and pain. They are gifted and confident. They have the capacity to be deeply caring and generous, but also to be controlling and manipulative.
Caroline: ENTJ. ENTJs are called "the Executives" because they get shit done. Care is a leader. She's not big on tempering her energetic drive around others and can bulldoze people in pursuit of her goals. She's sentimental, as we see with her attachment to high school milestones.
Bonnie: INTJ. Bonnie is both intelligent and practical, able to master complicated magic and quickly figure out how best to utilize it to protect the town. Magic frequently functions in fiction as a Mastermind trait because it connotes high-concept mental skills as well as power over the outside world. She's not particularly socially aggressive, or even adept, as she sometimes tends toward quick and cutting remarks; however, she frequently emerges as a strategic leader within the group.
Jeremy: INFJ. Jeremy is artistic and insightful. INFJs are highly intuitive to a point where they can't always explain their understanding of the world around them, which is amped up to a supernatural experience as Jeremy becomes a psychic who can contact the dead. Jeremy is very sensitive, both to his own feelings and to those of others. This leads to his tendency to react to conflict and stress with anger he internalizes until it bursts out of him, as we see with his repressed hunter urges.
Matt Donovan: I can't decide between ESFJ and ENFJ, though I like the idea of him matching Elena and Katherine and therefore being a representative of Elena's human self as much as Katherine is her vamp self.
Tyler: ISTP. ISTPs are pragmatic, action-oriented thrill-seekers. This personality type lends itself easily to athleticism. They are deeply loyal to "brothers-in-arms" who they have accepted as their equals, a trait which is carried to its supernatural extreme as Tyler joins werewolf and then hybrid packs. They don't trust their own feelings, and aren't particularly good at reading or being sensitive to the feelings of others. They have excellent bullshit detectors, but can also have tempers.
The Salvatores were surprisingly not entirely obvious for me, given how much thought I've put into analyzing them. I like the idea of them being counterparts to each other, as well as each sharing two "letters" with Elena and Kat.
Damon: ENTP. Damon is introduced as the ur-vampire, an embodiment of flash and charisma twisted into the forceful amorality that unscrupulous ENTPs can develop. Damon is highly impulsive. He's relentlessly insightful into behavior and situations, but he usually fails to utilize that ability in well-considered plans. My real diffiulty with this was the F/T. Because like...Damon, feelings, obviously. (I could be sold on ENFP fitting him quite well too.) Damon's conscious preference, though, is for thought over feeling, as he is a big advocate for himself and other vampires turning their emotional "switch" off.
Stefan: ISFJ. Stefan is big on group harmony and external codes of behavior. He doesn't usually let on what he's feeling, but he has a knack for knowing how to read and play off of the feelings of others. He usually uses this skill to smooth over conflict, without regard for whether or not that conflict should be smoothed over. Stefan has the capacity to be a warm and thoughtful caregiver, or to be a relentless manipulator.
The Originals
Elijah: INFP. Elijah wants deeply to consider himself a moral being, and most of the time he sticks by a rigid code of behavior. He doesn't often bond with others, particularly not outside of his own family, but when he does decide someone is important to him, he goes to great lengths to further their interests. Similarly, he's quite satisfied to live uneventfully beside his siblings for hundreds of years, but when he dedicates himself to the cause of killing Klaus, he sticks to his goal relentlessly. He's highly attracted to his role as a "negotiator," or mediator.
Finn: ? He's still quite an X factor.
Klaus: ESFJ. Klaus is highly mercurial and deeply sensitive to insults. Klaus places a great deal of weight on status-oriented structures - he intensely hates and fears his father and sets himself to deposing Mikael. He frequently refers to his siblings as "big brother," "little brother," or "little sister," emphasizing his place relative to them within the family. Similarly, his creation of a hybrid pack of which he is the alpha is a point of fierce pride with him. ESFJs place great weight on traditional celebrations, such as birthdays. (No, really. lol)
Kol: From what we know of him, ESTP fits Kol well. He's a quick-moving hedonist; nonetheless, he's able to commit himself fully to a cause when he decides Silas needs to stay buried. The tiebreaker here was that I like the idea of his being Jeremy's opposite.
Rebekah: ESFJ. Rebekah is quick to anger and equally quick to forgiveness. She wears her heart on her sleeve and forms powerful bonds with others, and places great importance on family. Rebekah's formative development has allowed her to develop her compassion over the intense status anxiety her brother experiences.
Alas, I do not see myself, fairly consistently coming up as an INTP, though I could maybe make an argument for Isobel, which pleases me for obvious reasons. (As for other quasi-parental figures, I see John and Liz as ISTJs, the archetypal duty-fulfillers. Jenna is an ESFP, people- and fun-loving, mostly capable of going with the flow but a world-class grudge-holder when she feels it's warranted. I'm not sure about Ric? Leaning toward ESTJ but I can't really support it.)
This entry was originally posted at http://pocochina.dreamwidth.org/292542.html. Leave a comment here, or there using OpenID.