ENTP is one of the 16 personality types Carl Jung identified (Jungian Personality Test). People with this personality type are often described as innovative, clever, and expressive. Psychologist David Keirsey, the creator of the Keirsey Temperament Sorter, suggests that ENTPs account for approximately two to five percent of all people.
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ENTP Characteristics
The test analyses personality in four key dimensions: 1) Extraversion and Introversion, 2) Sensing and Intuition, 3) Thinking and Feeling, and 4) Perceiving and Judging. As you probably already know, the acronym ENTP stands for Extraverted, iNtuitive, Thinking, Perceiving.
- Extraverted: ENTPs enjoy interacting with a wide variety of people. They are great conversationalists and love to engage other people in debates.
- Intuitive: ENTPs focus more on the future than on immediate details. They may start projects and never finish them because they are so focused on the big picture rather than the present needs.
- Thinking: ENTPs are logical and objective. When making decisions, they place a greater weight on rational evidence than subjective, emotional information.
- Perceiving: ENTPs tend to reserve judgment. They prefer to wait and see what happens instead of deciding or committing to a course of action.
Some common characteristics of the ENTP personality include:
- Innovative
- Very creative; full of ideas
- Excellent conversationalist
- He enjoys debating topics with other people
- Places a great deal of emphasis on knowledge
- Dislike schedules and routines
- Good at leading others
- Does not like to be controlled
- Very logical
Since they are identified as extroverts, it may be no surprise that ENTPs have excellent people skills. They are skilled communicators and enjoy interacting with a wide circle of family, friends, and acquaintances. In conversations, other people often find them quick-witted. ENTPs will often engage in debates simply because they enjoy having a good battle of the wits. Sometimes, their love of arguments leads ENTPs to take on the role of the devil’s advocate, which can sometimes lead to conflicts with others who feel like they are being intentionally combative and antagonistic.
ENTPs are also known for being idea-oriented, which is why this personality type has been described as “the innovator,” “the visionary,” and “the explorer.” However, as perceivers, ENTPs are less interested in the here-and-now details than in generating ideas and theories. Because of this, they sometimes come up with one idea after another without going forward with plans and actions to bring their creative notions to fruition.
ENTP Functions
The cognitive functions of an ENTP are extraverted intuition, introverted thinking, extraverted feeling, and introverted sensing. This order of operations (NeTiFeSi) determines the dominance of an ENTP’s traits.
Their primary function, extraverted intuition, is responsible for ENTPs’ attitudes toward patterns. They tend to be driven by making connections in the outside world. Their auxiliary process, introverted thinking, causes them to reason much of the time, balancing their enthusiasm for intuitive relations.
The tertiary and auxiliary functions of an ENTP, extraverted feeling and introverted sensing, respectively, are not as developed as the first two. They are nonetheless noticeable, and extraverted feeling is responsible for ENTPs’ humanistic values, while introverted sensing concentrates on implementing ideas. Because these two functions are weaker, ENTPs often appear insensitive or impractical, though they are neither in the right environment.
ENTP Compatibility
ENTPs are most compatible with Intuitive types, such as INFJ, ENFP, and ENFJ. These types are likely to understand the basis of ENTPs’ worldviews, even if they differ regarding particulars.
ENTPs thrive in relationships with people who hold different opinions. For them, debate is a healthy part of everyday life.
However, this can cause problems with personality types who don’t think about things this way. The purpose of ENTPs’ lively banter can be lost on classes such as ISFJ, ISTJ, or ESTJ, which do not bode well for a potential relationship.
ENTP Women
Women with the ENTP personality type are tenacious and open-minded. They enjoy debate and are willing to jump in on any side to understand others’ viewpoints and solidify their position.
They may come off as insensitive or stubborn due to their persistent logical, and opinionated pursuits. However, these traits can be modulated into positive ones with a little effort, so an ENTP woman who knows her tendencies is nearly unstoppable.
ENTP women excel in many careers, especially as lawyers or medical professionals. In medical fields, they prefer hospital settings with opportunities for excitement and challenges rather than relatively serene environments such as doctors’ offices.
Famous People With ENTP Personalities
Experts have suggested that the following famous individuals exhibited characteristics consistent with the ENTP personality type.
- Thomas Edison, inventor
- John Adams, U.S. president
- Theodore Roosevelt, U.S. president
- Alexander the Great, king and military leader
- Lewis Carroll, author
- Julia Child cook
- Alfred Hitchcock, director
- Walt Disney, filmmaker
Some famous fictional ENTPs include:
- Bugs Bunny, a cartoon character
- Garfield, a comic strip character
- Shirley Feeney, television character Laverne, and Shirley
- Mercutio, Shakespearean character, Romeo and Juliet
Best Career Choices for ENTPs
“Inventors are usually non-conformists in the workplace and can succeed in many areas as long as the job does not involve too much humdrum routine,” explains Keirsey. Some career options that are well-suited to ENTPs include:
- Engineer
- Lawyer
- Scientist
- Psychologist
- Inventor
- Psychiatrist
- Journalist