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Meyers-Briggs Personality Types and ASoIaF


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How cruel of you to say so. :frown5:

Heh, no hate. Some of my best friends are INTJs! :D (No, for real, I have a lot of NT friends.)

As for Sansa... she's very difficult to type, IMO. I right now I think she's a INFP. Maybe.

Sansa's definitely xxxJ. Look at the way she runs the Eyrie in her last AFFC chapter with military precision. Arya and Sansa are a good example of P versus J as well. Arya's needlework is sloppy and slapdash, Sansa's is careful and meticulous. Arya spaces out and gets bored during her lessons, while Sansa is a diligent and attentive student.

I'd also rule out Sansa being an N vs. being an S. NFs and NTs aren't really people pleasers the way SJs and SPs are, and Sansa was always eager to please as a child.

The xSFJs also tend to be the "rescuer" or "caretaker" types, and Sansa definitely has a protective, nurturing side to her personality, which comes out with Dontos and Sweetrobin. xSFJ types are also consummate people pleasers, and we know that as a child, Sansa was always "eager to please" from Catelyn's memories.

As far as extrovert vs. introvert goes, Sansa seems introverted enough in the later books, but given that she's constantly afraid for her life and doesn't have anyone she can trust, that's hardly surprising. There are hints that all other things being equal, she's more inclined to extroversion: her friends at Winterfell, her love of tourneys and dancing, her enjoyment of socializing with Margaery's cousins (which an introvert would probably dislike due to their distaste for idle chitchat), her effortless charm in social situations (as Tyrion observes in ASOS), etc. etc. Introverts tend to shrink into the background, and while Sansa desperately tried to do this in later books, it doesn't seem to be her default setting. Introverts also tend to be ill at ease in social situations, whereas extroverts really shine: Stannis vs. Renly, if you will. :D

So I'd settle with Sansa for ESFJ, which is where the list linked by The Sullen Sellsword placed her. She's a healthier version than Cersei, who's also an ESFJ, but I think they're still the same type.

ESFJs have excellent manners and social savvy, which is Sansa to a tee. They also tend to be more engaging and less socially anxious than ISFJs, and Sansa definitely knows how to work a room, as Tyrion observed at the PW.

Good quote about young ESFJs from the Personalityjunkie.com website:

In developing and strengthening their Fe, Phase I ESFJs can seem inflexible and opinionated, quick to make judgments and draw conclusions about the world. Since their judgments are not yet being weighed and balanced by their auxiliary and tertiary functions, they are especially prone to jumping to conclusions. Since Fe is a Judging function, ESFJs tend to take themselves and their lives quite seriously. Even from a relatively young age, they tend to strive for excellence in whatever they do. They can differ markedly from ISFJs in this phase, whose dominant function (Si) is a Perceiving function. This leads ISFJs to be more open and take life less seriously than Phase I ESFJs are wont to do. While both types utilize Fe, ISFJs are more concerned with perceiving the world (Si), while ESFJs are already working to change or control it (Fe).

This fits well with what we know of Sansa, who as a child is striving to please and who is generally an excellent student. She is also exasperated by Arya's carefree (SP) approach to life and the way she neglects the proper way to behave.

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You may be right. I haven't analyzed Sansa's character as deeply as I have others, so I'm hardly an expert on the area. ESFJ sounds good. Also, it would give us a mayor character who's a positive ESFJ, compared to all the negative ones we've seen in Cersei and possibly also Lysa.

I think so. But we don't have much incite since he isn't a POV. I'm not gonna lie, my thoughts of his INTPness are very motivated by the fact that I'm INTP and he's one of my favorite characters. :P

Love the old man. And Aemon Targaryen really strikes me as being an INTP, perhaps even the archetypical INTP. He is incredibly knowledgeable and learning new things seem to be what he enjoys the most. He also gives wise, logical and impartial advice to all who wishes for it - without ever really taking the reins and being overly proactive himself. Seems INTP to me, though I may be simplifying things.

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Funny, I've just been thinking about making a topic like this... Should've known there is one already. :p I did the test myself quite recently and was positively surprised by the result. This led me to studying the other personality types and trying to find out which one suits my family members and friends... And eventually my focus shifted on fictional characters, primarily ASoIaF. Even though my own result seemed accurate enough, I'm still rather skeptical about this thing, but studying the personality types and seeing which character they most clearly correspond to sounds like great fun. I love finding new aspects or tools for character analysis.



This is going to be a rather long post because I am very interested in discussing this topic. I'm not going to go through all of the types now, and I'm only going to name my first impressions. Might be I'll come back later and add more types / speficy the previous ones.



Firstly, I was pleased to see that I shared my type with a character I most frequently resemble according to character quizzes. : ) I also agree about Tywin Lannister, I think he seems like an INTJ, at least in that he is highly intelligent, rational, calculating, confident, decisive and very influential due to all these facts. He also has the ability to both come up with a plan and execute it, which makes him a powerful leader. I find this passage about INTJ leadership especially interesting, as this seems to correspond to Tywin's success in warring as well as his acting as the Hand of the King.





They are natural leaders and excellent strategists, but they willingly give way to others vying for a leadership position, usually people with Extraverted (E) personality types. However, such action can be deceptive and maybe even calculated. An INTJ will retreat into the shadows, maintaining their grip on the most important decisions, and as soon as the leader fails and there is a need to take the steering wheel, the INTJ will not hesitate to act, maybe even while staying in the background. The INTJ personality is the ultimate “man behind the curtain.”

As to the other persons you named as INTJ, there isn't much I can say about them... Although Jorah, Asha and Jon Arryn somehow seem like wrong choices. I'm sorry I can't be more specific about that right now. I'll move on to the other types.



INTP ("The Thinker"). Characterised as idealistic analysts, knowledgeable, highly logical, theoretic, objective, problem-solvers, open-minded, perfectionists. I'm not sure I can name a specific person for this part but it seems like these are generally very useful traits for a maester (although INTPs don't seem that interested in serving other people). :)



ENTJ ("The Executive"). Charismatic, rational, quick-minded, leader-type, influential, confident, determined, persuasive, communicative, energetic. effective. Again, I can't come up with a person to fit these criteria... But it's someone who is a natural leader whose charisma and communicative skills easily win people over to his/her side, and who is encouraging towards his/her subordinates, but also very demanding. He/She is also less skilled emotionally, preferring to push them aside when working towards a goal and even considering them a weakness. The first part about charisma and all made me first think about Renly, but the rest doesn't fit at all. Robb seems like a closer match, but the thing about emotions is problematic. Robb certainly did let his emotions cloud his judgement... So no, not going to say anything for sure. :p



ENTP ("The Visionary"). Quick-witted, rational, logical, objective, love debates, communicative, knowledgeable, intuitive, flexible, understanding, nonconformists, prefer complexity, inventive, honest, direct, confident, respected although not necessarily liked. This seems a lot like Tyrion, however, unlike what is characteristic to this type, Tyrion not only has the ability to invent ideas but also to execute them (as seen with the Blackwater Battle strategy). Other than that, I like it. Also, I'm not entirely sure about Tyrion being an Extrovert. It's hard to say, I think the E/I aspect is the hardest one to determine because it seems to be the trait that is most often affected by the person's current emotional state. I'd say Tyrion has a gift with people, but he's still generally drawn to solitude... that would make him an INTP, but it doesn't sound as accurate as this one.



INFJ ("The Protector"). Quiet, helpful, gentle, devoted, idealists, decisive, communicative, sensitive, intuitive, creative, perfectionists, have strong values. The first person I can think of is Sansa. But that's not a perfect match for her... Again, not sure at all.



INFP ("The Idealist"). Calm, reserved, passionate, affectionate, idealists, clear sense of honour and morality, seek harmony, value aesthetics, verbal, hypothetical, creative, innovative, goal-oriented, optimistic. Again, I'm thinking about Sansa. She could be a mix of both INFJ and INFP...



ENFJ ("The Giver"). Influential, concerned, altruists, charismatic, warm, eloquent, potential leaders, intuitive, sensitive, reserved, organised. These persons have strong people skills, which also makes them great manipulators and good at assuming a 'chameleon-like' approach to people. The first person to come to my mind is Margaery. She is charismatic, graceful, intuitive and seems to know how to play with people. On the other hand, I'm not sure if putting other people's needs before your own really suits her, she doesn't seem that altruistic in truth. It's hard to say, she's not a character we know that well...



ENFP ("The Inspirer"). Curious, idealistic, insightful, empathic, enthusiastic, persuasive, sensitive, intuitive, independent, have a strong sense of value, seek acceptance. This reminds me of Renly. He definitely has the ability to inspire and persuade people for his cause, he seems generally happy and energetic and sensitive.



Yeah I think I'll definitely come back a bit later and add more analysis! Please comment my suggestions.


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  • 2 months later...

As an INTP myself I get frustrated by the lack of NT female characters in fiction... Something I want to redress in my own fiction.



I find that Sansa reminds me a lot of my own INFJ sister. She has a lot Fe and can be very charming. When she was a teenager, she once lost a swimming race on purpose because she wanted the other girls to like her. Also really fought with our middle sister.



I would put Brienne as an ISFP, maybe even an INFP. Though why an INFP lady would want to be a knight remains a mystery to me, when being a Septa requires so much less exercise.*



Arya is an ISTP


Robert is a ESFP


Oberyn an ENFP (since he basically lost that fight because of his emotions)


Jaime: ESTP


likewise Joffrey


The Hound is an ISTP and Gregor a portrait of a dark ISTP (interestingly the type most associated with Anti-Social personality disorder is the ESTP, but because Gregor is described as never leaving his keep except for tourneys and warfare, which hints at his introversion).


Baelish is an ENTP. Most INTP couldn't manipulate their way out of a paper bag, much less start a continent wide war.


Daenerys: some sort of NF...


Melisandre: ENFJ (cult leader)


Margaery: ESTP


Tywin: ENTJ (seriously no INTJ would care so much about what other people thought of him, whilst my ENTJ Dad is obsessed with what other people think about him, and also that tendency to pick favourites with his children...)


Varys: INTJ


Aemon: INTP


Catelyn: ISFJ (not enough friends to be an ESFJ)


Ned: ISFJ (his decision was motivated by compassion)


Cersei: ESFJ???


Stannis: ISTJ (I think this is why the show runners hate him)


Arianne: ENFP


Samwell: INFP


Tyrion is an ENTP


Fun theory: given GRRM work habits, I tend to think he is an INTP and his two author avatars (Sam and Tyrion) represent important facets of the INTP personality, Sam represents the INFP that we fear we might be deep down inside, whilst Tyrion represents the extroverted charmer that we would wish to be.





*Most of my girlfriends are INFP and INFJ. INFP have serious couch potato tendencies.

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O well, I had a test on Thursday regarding personality, including some questions about MBTI... This thread is the biggest sign ever for me that it is time to leave Westeros and start working on my assignments :D

I am also INFJ :) Although I chose to complete my self-assessment using Big-5 test. Some results were unpleasant but kind of showed my true colors :D

That's the big difference between the MBTI and the Big Five -the MBTI never tells you anything that you don't want to hear. Well, that and the fact that the Big Five is scientific.
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