The 16 Myers-Briggs Personality Types
S = Sensing Types - SJ & SP N = iNtuitive Types - NF & NT
TRADITIONALISTS (SJ) EXPERIENCERS (SP) IDEALISTS (NF) CONCEPTUALISTS (NT)
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ESFP

"The Performers"

Extraverted, Sensing, Feeling, Perceiving

General

"Where's the party?" ESFPs love people, excitement, telling stories and having fun. The spontaneous, impulsive nature of this type is almost always entertaining. And ESFPs love to entertain -- on stage, at work, and/or at home. Social gatherings are an energy boost to these "people" people. ESFPs radiate attractive warmth and optimism. Smooth, witty, and charming, clever, voluble, and open to the environment - this describes ESFPs. They are great fun to be with and are the most generous of all types. Performer would be the word which best describes an ESFP.

ESFPs will avoid being alone and seek the company of others whenever possible. ESFPs easily find company, for others are usually highly entertained by the presence of an ESFP. ESFPs love excitement and create it wherever they are. Their joy of living is contagious and generally they wear happy faces. Often outstanding conversationalists, their flowing banter is amusing in its wit. ESFPs have a flair of sophistication and are likely to be dressed in the latest fashion, displaying an enjoyment of all the good things of life: dress, food, physical comfort, and happy times. ESFPs create a mood of "eat, drink, and be merry" wherever they go, and around them life can have a continual party-like atmosphere of gaiety.

New! ESFPs are attracted to newness, new ideas, new fashions, new gadgets, new ______. Perhaps it's the newness of life that attracts ESFPs to elementary education, especially to preschool and kindergarten.

ESFPs love to talk to people about people. Some of the most colorful storytellers are ESFPs. Their down-to-earth, often homespun wit reflects a mischievous benevolence. Almost every ESFP loves to talk. Some can be identified by the twenty minute conversation required to ask or answer a simple factual question.

ESFPs can be generous to a fault. What is theirs is yours, and what is yours is yours still. They give assistnace to one and all without expectation of a return, just as they love freely without expecting something in return. ESFPs seem to view life as an eternal cornucopia from which flows an endless supply of pleasures that require no effort on their part to insure.

ESFPs talent for enjoying life can make them more subject to temptations than are other types. They are inclined to be impulsive, and thus both male and female ESFPs are vulnerable to psychological seduction, if not physical seduction, wiht an ESFP giving in easily and agreeable to the demands of others. As a parent, the ESFP will be entertaining, a friend, and a source of fun and excitement. When there is sickness, or trouble, however, ESFPs may become impatient and want to remove themselves from the situation.





ESFPs make exciting, if somewhat unpredictable mates, as do all of the SPs, which may give the quieter type mates some anxiety and tension from living on the edge of adventure. The home of an ESFP is likely to be filled with people having a good time. Problems will not be allowed to make their appearance. The ESFP accomplishes this by refusing to recognize doom and gloom.

ESFPs' tolerance for anxiety is the lowest of all types. Anxiety is avoided by ignoring the dark side of a situation as long as possible. They are inclined to be somewhat self-indulgent, but, rather than make an outward show of resitance or make waves, ESFPs will give apparent compliance - and then go their own way to what they enjoy.

ESFPs prefer active jobs and should not be given lonely, solitary assignments. Outstanding in public relations, they love working with people. Decisions are make with personal warmth, based on personal reference or reference to significant others. This type relies heavily on their personal experiences and generally show good common sense.

The gregarious sociability and adaptability of ESFPs make them a source of warmth to others. They do not mind telephone or personal interruptions and are verbally talented in both situations. They can be counted on to have accurate data about the people around them, gaining data through effortless and continuous observations.

ESFPs are not deeply interested in scholastic pursuits, wanting knowledge only for immediate utility. They avoid science and engineering, gravitate toward business, and are adept at selling, particularly selling tangibles. They can be effective in education, especially elementary school teaching, and can enjoy nursing for its drama. Like other SPs, they are good at working with people in crisis, a facility often leads ESFPs into social work. They also enjoy entertaining people and are thus drawn to the performing arts, thriving on the excitement of being in the limelight.

The dominant function of ESFPs is concerned with the reality that is perceived through the senses. This type's prime directive is to examine the tangible through taste, touch, sight, feeling and hearing. ESFPs' need for new experiences surely results from this function. Feeling gives focus to the collected information, producing the amiable nature of this type. As perceivers, ESFPs do not linger on moral concerns unless it is in service of a Greater Good and/or a unifying cause.

ESFPs are also SP-Experiencers