– MBTI simplifies personality types into categories like introverted/extroverted, making it easier to understand and apply to TV characters.
– Characters like Sheldon, Leonard, and Bernadette from The Big Bang Theory can be categorized based on their MBTI codes.
– Finding a character’s MBTI type can help viewers analyze their behavior and understand their motivations and interactions better.
The Myers-Briggs® Type Indicator is a fascinating tool to examine characters like those of The Big Bang Theory. While the sitcom features many characters who are big thinkers, not all of their personalities are exactly the same. The series follows Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and Leonard (Johnny Galecki) who are colleagues and roommates as they navigate adulthood, their careers, and their love lives with their friends. For anyone who loves to people-watch, analyze others, and look into the characters in TV shows, they can spend hours on end sorting people like Sheldon and Leonard into their MBTI®s.
The essence of the theory is in making Jung’s idea of personality types more digestible, easier to apply and understand. To determine somebody’s MBTI®, bite-sized chunks of their personality (whether they’re introverted or extroverted, ‘thinkers’ or ‘feelers’) are considered in a simple one-or-the-other fashion, each corresponding to a different code. There’s no hard-and-fast category that each individual falls into, and there’ll always be some debate about a specific person’s placement.
Barry Kripke: ENTP
The Debater
As far as the scientists of Caltech go, Barry Kripke is a bit of a wild card. The show is sometimes criticized for its stereotypical and clichéd take on scientists, and true enough, a lot of them don’t have much in the way of social skills. There are a whole lot of introverts in the series, but Kripke is arguably one of the few extroverts among them. Barry didn’t always make sense as a character but he was always a comical addition to the show.
One possible result for him is ENTP, or Extraversion + Intuition + Thinking + Perceiving. Rather than being set in his ways and following strictly logical causes of action, Barry is quite unpredictable and has been seen completely vexing Sheldon with an unexpected prank. Or a “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” karaoke duet with Zack.
Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz: ENTJ
The Commander
ENTJs are not to be messed with. They’re called Commanders for a reason: they’re born leaders. ENTJs are charismatic and confident, with an incredible drive to accomplish whatever their goals may be. Long-time fans of The Big Bang Theory will probably see a lot of Bernadette in this: extraverted, intuitive, thinking, and judging.
When she’s first introduced in the show, she’s working as a waitress alongside Penny, but she’s doing it while pursuing a degree in the field of microbiology. She never lets her interests or goals slip away and eventually ends up having a well-paying job at a pharmaceutical company. Bernadette is a rather petite lady, but inside that small package dwells a real fireball. She even had the authority to send an overtired Sheldon Cooper to bed, and that’s not an easy task.
Stuart Bloom: INFP
The Mediator
There was no doubt that Stuart Bloom was going to be an introvert from his first introduction. As an INFP, he is introverted, intuitive, feeling, and perceiving. The quiet and humble comic book store proprietor is often beset by bad luck and tough breaks. Stuart made a few mistakes throughout The Big Bang Theory but he always learned from them. He’s the Hans Moleman of the show in that sense.
Nevertheless, like a true Mediator, he’s determined to push forward and strive to make an impression on, a connection with, the people in his social circle, even if he is more at home with his comic books than he is with other people. That positive outlook may not always shine through, but in the end, all Stuart really wants is to be appreciated and accepted.
Amy Farrah Fowler: INTP
The Logician
Amy Farrah Fowler has been through quite a whirlwind of character development in The Big Bang Theory. When viewers first meet her in the season three finale, she’s very much a female version of Sheldon: rigid, distant, inscrutable. Over time, however, the audience gets to see that there is more to her than that. Her friendship with Penny and Bernadette changes her quite a bit as well, which is why her result is similar to, yet ultimately, fundamentally different to Sheldon’s.
The Logician is a combination of Introversion + Intuition + Thinking + Perceiving, and that essentially defines Amy’s character. The important difference with Perceiving (P), as opposed to Judging (J), is that it indicates a person is more open to outside influences and opinions, a quality of Amy’s that Sheldon does not share. It’s why Amy is able to bond with Penny so quickly despite the two being so different, and why she is able to understand aspects of friendship that Sheldon does not.
Sheldon Cooper: ISTJ
The Logistician
Sheldon Cooper’s personality type shows that he shares a lot in common with his future wife Amy. They share the introversion and thinking aspects of an MBTI® categorization. They would both rather be left to their own devices to sort out a puzzle most of the time. The aggressive intellect, the cuttingly analytical mind… this is one brilliant couple. His brain is a big reason why fans love Sheldon.
Nevertheless, the Logician and the Logistician are not one and the same. The latter is marked by a desire to draw their own conclusions, rejecting outside influences and criticisms along the way. While Amy is willing to take input from others to better form her own conclusions, Sheldon prefers to reject them so that he can do the work himself. That’s a perfect description of everyone’s favorite persnickety, utterly rigid theoretical physicist.
