5 Tips for Mature Character Debates

In the world of personality theory, fictional characters are the source of heavy debate. You would think they wouldn’t matter so much given that they don’t actually exist, but in spite of that, people get incredibly invested in what a character’s type might be. As a result, these fictional entities can be the source of great controversy. (Read more at Why Are Character Types Controversial?)

I’ve been in my share of characters discussions over the years. I’ve never been particularly invested in any one character, but like anyone, I have been invested in being “right”. Therefore, I have occasionally (in the past) dumped far more energy than was necessary into trying to “win”. These days, I don’t care much for it, and I completely understand why some people throw out typing fictional character altogether. It honestly can be a pain in the butt, between dealing with the people, with the writing inconsistencies, and etc.

However, typing fictional characters can be a valuable exercise in learning to identify good cognitive function evidence, if the participants can remain level-headed, unbiased, and amiable. After all, most personality theory enthusiasts are online. We aren’t meeting in a physical location, people watching together (which would probably be creepy anyway), and typing people in each other’s lives in real time. We’re in chat rooms and on social media, analyzing the types of “people” that we can all observe together. Fiction. (And celebrities, but that’s an entirely different animal.)

So, with all that being said, I’m going to lay out some general guidelines, rules, or things to generally keep in mind if you’re going to step into this arena, things that I’ve found it best to abide by over the years, whether due to my personal failing or a mistake I’ve observed others making. Remember, the goal here is to have a pleasant yet thought-provoking discussions in which all parties can go their separate ways enlightened and without malice. I’ve written the things below with that in mind.

The Guidelines

1. Accept that you may not come to an agreement

If I’m being honest, more than likely you won’t. You may come across the occasional person that sees your perspective and actually adopts it, but that will not be a constant thing, or even a frequent thing. It’s just the nature of the beast. Everyone has their opinion, and there is so much subjectivity muddying the waters. Characters are interpreted differently. Cognitive functions are described differently. While you may try your best to be objective and see the other person’s perspective, there’s not guarantee the other person will give you the same courtesy, and if they do, it may not make a difference. Agree to disagree, shake hands, and walk away. Keep your expectations low, and don’t get upset about it.

2. Recognize (and set aside) your biases.

As I mentioned earlier, people can get really attached to characters. Really attached. Quite frankly, it drives me nuts. But, I digress. If you’re about to enter into a debate over a character that you hold near and dear, you need to accept the possibility that they may not be what you think they are. You may need to accept the possibility that you’re completely wrong about that character, or the possibility that that character has a type completely different from yours. Countless times, I’ve seen people try to claim a character because they relate to that character. The problem with that is that people can relate for so many different reasons. Personality type is just one small facet. Recognize when you really really really want a character to be something specific, and try to ignore that desire for the sake of an unbiased discussion.

3. Use only agreed upon data points

Remember that subjectivity I mentioned? Well, sometimes you can get around that hurdle a bit if you and the other participants have some mutually agreed upon data points. In other words, everyone accepts that a certain character is, for instance, an INTP, so you can all now use that character as a reference for INTPs. That will allow for some objectivity, which can be extremely helpful. However, usually when you’re doing this, it leads to what we call “relative typing”, which can come with it’s own dangers. (See article here) However, relative typing can be useful if done correctly.

So, with all that in mind, if you pull in other characters to use as references and people start disagreeing, drop that point and move on. You’re just creating unhelpful noise, and splitting everyone’s focus. Now people aren’t just arguing one character, but possibly many all at once (if you’re with people who struggle to maintain a strict focus). Granted, most people drop a character type comparison the moment they realize that other people don’t agree with it, so this isn’t usually a problem. However, there is one way that people make often this mistake without realizing it.

4. Your personality type may not be an agreed upon data point

Do not, and I repeat, do NOT start out a character discussion with how much you like and relate to the character, and then start comparing yourself to them. Unless you’re discussing the character with a long time friend who would never ever even think to question your type, this is completely useless and invalid information. In other words, speaking from my own perspective, I don’t know you, and I most certainly don’t trust that you’ve typed yourself correctly. You may have. It’s possible. I’m not actively looking for you to be mistyped, but I’m definitely not comfortable with using you as a data point based on the assumption that you know what you’re talking about and that you know yourself. I don’t know you. This argument, is at best, sloppy and demonstrates the clear bias that you have.

Of course, with that being said, the rules can change with long time friends, assuming your relationship is honest enough that the person wouldn’t be pretending to agree with you on your personality type. I have certain people that I discuss type with who could compare the character to themselves and I’d see it as completely valid information.

5. Know when to make your escape

Sometimes, you just need to leave. This can happen for a variety of reasons. Perhaps, you’ve become to personally involved. Perhaps you’re feeling burnt out. Maybe you’re beginning to get frustrated with whoever you’re debating with. You could be tired, hungry, or whatever. The reason itself doesn’t matter. Bottom line: if you feel that irritation beginning to permeate your tone (written or verbal), and you’re starting to struggle to think rationally, exit. If you’re a straightforward person, just say that you’re burnt out or tired. If you’re worried about how it’ll reflect on you, find some plausible excuse to have to go. Regardless, find a way and exit, because if you don’t, it may cause you to say or do things that you will ultimately regret.

In conclusion…

These guidelines are built around my personal experiences. Number 4 is a particular pet peeve of mine, if you didn’t notice. It’s just all around bad logic, and bad logic bothers me. What about you? Is there anything in particular that you’ve run across in character type debates that you feel people should guard against doing? Feel free to share in the comments!