By Virginia Riley
If you’ve been frequenting quiz websites in the last couple of years, you might’ve seen these little geometric characters. These are representations of the 16 Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personalities, or for short, the “MBTI types”.
There are four letters assigned to each type. For an ENTP, for instance, each letter stands for something.
E: stands for Extroversion. Types with ‘E’ are not necessarily extroverts, but are interested primarily in their external world: exploring possibilities, using the senses, engaging in friendships, or executing plans.
N: stands for iNtuition. Types with ‘N’ are interested in abstract ideas, rather than concrete reality.
T: stands for Thinking. Types with ‘T’ are interested in rationale, instead of expression. It’s pretty self-evident.
P: stands for Perceiving. Types with ‘P’ are more likely to be adaptable and flexible, as opposed to goal-oriented and decisive.
An ISFJ, in comparison, would have Introverted, Sensing, Feeling, and Judging values.
Of course, there’s a lot more complexity in the actual way that these letters interact, since the 16 Personalities version is essentially a dumbed-down version of the “functions” outlined by psychologist Carl Jung. If you’re interested, these are:
Extroverted Intuition, or Ne for short. It controls creativity, abstract idea generation, and adaptability, connecting broad topics together.
Introverted Intuition, or Ni for short. It controls more strategic abstract thinking, taking evidence and summing it up in a linear way to reach one conclusion.
Extroverted Sensing, or Se for short. It controls your ability to objectively interact with your senses and understand spatial and physical qualities.
Introverted Sensing, or Si for short. It controls your subjective senses; your sense of your internal body, traditions, tiny details, and memories.
Extroverted Feeling, or Fe for short. It controls social hierarchies, managing large groups of people, emotional dynamics, and the objective “greater” good.
Introverted Feeling, or Fi for short. It controls internal subjective values, personal imaginative worlds, likes and dislikes, and personal emotions.
Extroverted Thinking, or Te for short. It controls executive decision-making, planning, categorisation, and principles, organising its external “environment”.
Introverted Thinking, or Ti for short. It controls a logical “framework”, organising new information or factors into its internal, scientific understanding of the world.
Each personality type has a different “function stack”, which is four main functions out of these eight. The first function in the stack is the dominant function- in an ENTP, the type we discussed before, this function would be Ne, followed by Ti, Fe, and Si. The last function is generally the weakest, but some people use it a lot during times of stress.
You probably didn’t read all that. But anyway, let’s get straight to the assignments!
1. Mr. Weaver: ESTP (Extroverted, Sensing, Thinking, Perceiving)
I had to give Mr. Weaver a fun one, so I gave him ESTP, or “The Entrepreneur”! With Extroversion, Sensing, Thinking and Perceiving, the letters interact to give him the ‘functions’ of Se (Extroverted Sensing), Ti (Introverted Thinking), Fe (Extroverted Feeling), and Ni (Introverted Intuition).
As an extroverted sensing type, Mr. Weaver is primarily interested in the present moment and the external world of action, sensation, and aesthetics. ESTPs are driven, bold, and enthusiastic, taking wild jumps into the unknown with ease and readily adapting their plans to make room for new variables. They’re often great at understanding what is ‘new’; whether that be a new situation, a new idea, a new relationship, or a new fashion style. Having ‘Ti’ or ‘Introverted Thinking’ in the mix also makes them honest problem-solvers.
2. Mr. Ellis: ISTP (Introverted, Sensing, Thinking, Perceiving)
For my maths teacher Mr. Ellis, I went with the ISTP, or “The Virtuoso”. ISTPs use Introverted Thinking as their most important ‘function’, meaning that they have Ti, Se, Ni, and Fe.
ISTPs are diligent, practical, and curious, finding enjoyment in dissecting the structures of the world and analysing why and how things work. They’re studious and extremely objective, seeing things as they are, rather than how they might be. Being straightforward and blunt, they don’t sugarcoat things, and enjoy a bit of dry humour. They don’t have time for useless people-pleasing, and would rather devote that energy to exploring their world or their inner frameworks of data further. They’re great at using trial and error to identify problems and quick-fix them.
If I had to pick another one for him, I’d probably choose the INTP or ISTJ!
3. Mr. Scali: ENTP (Extroverted, iNtuitive, Thinking, Perceiving)
Fun fact: when I assigned Mr. Scali the ENTP or “The Debater”, it was the first time I ever diagnosed a teacher with an MBTI! This is also my personality type, so I might be a little biased in the description. As an ENTP, his functions would be Ne (Extroverted Intuition), Ti, Fe, and Si (Introverted Sensing).
ENTPs are charismatic, knowledge-oriented, and curious. With Extroverted Intuition as their primary characteristic, ENTPs have an enhanced ability to brainstorm and generate ideas, ‘connecting the dots’ between wildly different topics with ease. Rather than following a linear path down one idea, they bounce concepts between different perspectives, opinions, and biases, arguing for and against from as many angles as possible. Out of every type, they’re the most likely to play ‘devil’s advocate’, but they’re also the most likely to succeed at it. To an ENTP, no idea is too perfect to be questioned and improved upon.
If I had to assign him another type, I’d probably give him ENTJ (which seems more correct, now that I think about it).
4. Mr. Munro: ENTJ (Extroverted, iNtuitive, Thinking, Judging)
This might be a little off since I’ve never had Mr. Munro as my teacher, but based on what I know about his teaching style I’ve given him the ENTJ or “The Commander”, with the functions Te (Extroverted Thinking), Ni, Se, and Fi.
ENTJs exude authority. As one of the most powerful and influential types, they are rational, driven, disciplined, and intelligent. They’re known to have good charisma, and in times of chaos, they are unmoving and firm in their decisions. With Extroverted Thinking, they are great leaders, as it’s a function associated with executing plans and enforcing rules and structures. ENTJs have the benefit of engaging in their external world efficiently and decisively, making them knowledgeable and reliable.
If I had to give this personality type to another teacher, it would be Mr. Rafe, but I’m not as certain about it as I am with Mr. Munro. Mr. Munro could also be an INTJ.
5. Ms. Holmes: INTJ (Introverted, iNtuitive, Thinking, Judging)
I actually forced Ms. Holmes to take a personality test after I assigned her INTJ (“The Architect”), and she got the INTJ and said it was accurate! The other teachers probably won’t be as accurate, but we know I guessed correctly here. Her functions would be Ni, Te, Fi, and Se.
INTJs are curious, intelligent, and driven; often with a dry sense of humour, they hate hypocrisy and like discussions to be analytical and nuanced. With Introverted Intuition, a very future-driven combination, INTJs are goal-oriented and equally focused on abstract knowledge and realistic efficiency. With a tendency to be interested in philosophy, history, and literature, they are creative-but-disciplined thinkers, who can gather evidence, piece it together in an empirical fashion, and create a linear path of cause and effect. Because of this, they are noticeably strategic- being stereotyped as “chess masters” - and very independent. In a competition, you want an INTJ on your side.
6. Ms. Ugonotti: ENFJ (Extroverted, iNtuitive, Feeling, Judging)
Our queen, Ms. Ugonotti! I assigned her the ENFJ or “The Protagonist” (an aptly fitting title for the leader of our school), with a function stack of Fe (Extroverted Feeling), Ni, Se, and Ti.
To provide an example: Malala Yousafzai, a famous education activist, is an ENFJ (according to the 16personalities website, which can be wildly inaccurate, but that’s beside the point). Ms. Ugonotti, with the same personality, is idealistic and optimistic, while also having a reassuring and steady presence. With Extroverted Feeling as their highest “combination” of letters, their purpose in life comes from helping others fulfil their potential. ENFJs are great leaders with their strong, inspiring morals and their ability to be incredibly future-focused, asking “What can change?” rather than dwelling on the past or present situation.
Other teachers I’d assume to be ENFJs include Ms. Thorburn, and Ms. Asquith, whom I initially guessed INFJ for, but she (happily) had already taken the test and was able to correct me.
7. Ms. Boardman: ESFP (Extroverted, Sensing, Feeling, Perceiving)
I’m not 100% sold on this one; I think Ms. Boardman is equally good at being dramatic and passionate as she is at being realistic and managerial. But ESFP, or “The Entertainer”, is the type that makes the most sense, except for possibly the ENTJ or ESTP.
With functions Se (Extroverted Sensing), Fi, Te, and Ni, Ms. Boardman is bold, expressive, inventive, adaptable, and interested in exploring the physical and external world through her senses, experiencing the world in a distinctly objective, artistic manner. ESFPs can appreciate the value of items, and have distinctive personal styles (Ms. Boardman’s infatuation with extremely cool cat-eye glasses might be an example of this). ESFPs are focused on action and tangible results, not beating around the bush. Unlike the ESFP stereotype of impulsivity, Ms. Boardman is great at directing and managing multiple variables, meaning that she has well-developed Extroverted Thinking (which controls planning, decision-making, and executing tasks).
Bonus:
Just a reminder that personality types don’t define you! There are lots of complexities with the Myers-Briggs system, especially if you look into Jungian psychology and cognitive functions tests, but ultimately we’re all just people. The 16personalities website also tends to ask limited and specific questions, so they can definitely assign personality types wrong too (I’ve been assigned INTP more times than I can count).
Here are some of the ‘honourable mention’ teachers:
Ms. Kachel: I wanted to say INFJ, or “The Advocate”, but she’s almost too zen, even for one of the most peaceful personality types. Then again, she’s so calm and friendly that it’s the only type that fits.
Ms. Langley: ISFP (“The Adventurer”) just felt right, but I don’t talk to her enough daily, so I couldn’t justify my claims. They’re typically artistic and expressive and interested in their internal world of emotion and morality.
Ms. Cranfield: I wanted to say ENTP, “The Debater”, but the stereotype is that INTP/Js are scientists, so I wasn’t sure which “NT” type to pick. (Sorry for not taking physics, by the way. It’s for the best; I suck at the Rates of Change topic.)
Ms. Cunningham (from the PDHPE Department): I wanted to say ISTJ, “The Logistician”, but I just wasn’t sure. I love Ms. Cunningham, but I haven’t been in her class before, and the way someone teaches says a lot about their type.
Ms. Halmy: It’s been ages since I’ve been in her class (I miss you Ms. Halmy!), so I’m taking a wild guess and going with ISFJ, or “The Defender”.
Mr. MacDonald: I was stuck between INFP, “The Mediator”, and INFJ, “The Advocate”. Simultaneously, INTP would also work. Too many ideas, too little willpower.
Stay tuned for next time, when I might make some videos! I’m thinking of forcing a teacher to take the personality test and document their answers along the way, and if I can guess what they got, they’ll have to do a “truth or dare”.
Take the Myers-Briggs Personality Test for yourself here and see what teacher you match up with!
https://www.16personalities.com/ (The iconic, simpler test.)
https://www.idrlabs.com/jungian-functions/test.php (A more in-depth test.)
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