Suits: Mike Ross (INFP)

For the record, we struggled a bit with Mike because he seems to blur the lines between ISFP and INFP. (The photographic/perfect memory trait makes him a bit of a Gary Stu.) Overall, we found there to be a stronger case for an INFP, hence this conclusion.

Fi:

“You know, you keep telling me I have to decide what kind of lawyer I wanna to be. And if I were smart, I’d probably be just like you because everybody knows you’re the best, but I’m also trying to decide what kind of person I want to be.”

“You’re sympathizing with Stan because you think he’s you.” – Harvey to Mike

“This woman had her life ripped apart. You don’t even care?”

“He is my oldest friend, Harvey. I wasn’t just gonna let him rot in jail.”

Mike is driven by his emotions, an obvious flaw that he has early on in the series which Harvey berates him for on many occasions. He tends to get emotionally involved with clients, and frustrated with Harvey for appearing to not care. This is reflected on the very first case that Mike takes for Harvey (the probono case that he passes off to Mike). He’s extremely empathetic, and can’t bring himself to hurt people for the sake of winning. A good example of this is shown in the mock trial, when could have won if he put the screws to Rachel. Instead, he backs off, and loses the case, which later provokes Jessica Pearson to sum up his performance with “Mr. Ross. Naive and soft. Not qualities we’re looking for at Pearson Hardman.”

Mike ultimately finds it most important to be true to his identity, which is something he’s trying to figure out early on in the series. Harvey emphasizes that Mike needs to figure out what kind of lawyer he wants to be, but Mike eventually responds by saying that he’s still trying to decide what kind of person he wants to be. His values throughout the show are made abundantly clear, and he tends to stick stubbornly by them, in spite of it often not being the most the lucrative or strategic decision and in spite of what he’s being ordered to do.

Mike is deeply loyal and sentimental. Many people, including his granny and Harvey warn him to cut Trevor out of his life, yet Mike never can. Trevor pulls him into trouble time and time again, but Mike is never truly able to walk away. He keeps following him into and bailing him out due to loyalty. His sentimentality and emotional memory also surfaces in the way he refuses to quote Curious George in order to pick up girls, because it’s the book his mother used to read to him, making it deeply personal to him. He gets frustrated with Trevor for bringing that book up at all.

Ne:

“Man, this place is like Battlestar Galactica. Where do you guys keep the Cylons?”

Mike tends to be quick on his feet, both literally and verbally. He shows classic signs of perceiver adaptability right from the beginning of the show. However, he’s also good at coming up with things to say on the spot. For instance, when Jessica takes him out to dinner, because after discovering that he’s a fraud, she probes about his Harvard experience. Mike refers back to multiple point in his childhood to produce an avoidant, roundabout answer to her question. In another instance, he’s shown with Trevor visiting the person that he owes money to for weed during a flash back. He manages to talk the person into accepting the late payment with no further penalties, using movie quotes and reference as his primary means to connect with the guy. He calls him on misquotes, and the conversation took off from there.

This tendency toward references (making external, seemingly random connections) and being quick to verbalize thoughts all point to Ne use. Granted, the show has several characters make use of movie quotes. Although, Mike seems to take it to another level, making conversational references to, for instance, Battlestar Galactica when walking into the IT department. He’s shown making other seemingly random leaps, such as jumping to “black don’t crack” when guessing what Jessica is about to say during one of the episodes. Along the same lines, there are also other signs, like when he whispers “I love you” out loud after first meeting Rachel Zane. He also rambles to Jessica in the elevator, after she agrees to let him stay, about how he is going to make her proud. These demonstrate the Ne tendency toward word vomiting.

Si:

“When you lie, try less details.” – Rachel to Mike

Mike has photographic memory, so we’ve been careful not to use anything specific to that as Si evidence. However, he appears to have an extremely detail-oriented memory in ways that the photographic memory wouldn’t account for. He’s often shown remembering things in great detail that he couldn’t have read. For instance, he remembers (and tells Rachel when asked) that Louis never said anything good about Harold. His detail-oriented mind is further demonstrated by his tendency to add in a bunch of details when lying. Rachel calls him on this when he’s making up a backstory about a chair of his, to get her to let him move it to their new apartment.

Mike doesn’t seem to desire new physical experiences, which would suggest Se. When Rachel takes him to a restaurant and has him trying new foods for the dinner he has to host, he’s only really interested in what is familiar. He explains to her “I guess I’m just comfortable with what I’m comfortable with.”

Te:

Mike’s inferior Te shows up in a couple of different ways. He struggles to assert himself with those close to him, which is what allows Trevor to drag him into trouble over and over again. Mike can be opinionated, but he struggles to put his foot down and refuse. In addition, once he’s expelled from college due to Trevor, he’s unable to formulate a new plan for his life, and starts floating through life, smoking weed and working as a bike messenger, with no real ambitions or goals to work toward.

Mike is also shown to get more cynical and demanding during times of stress. When Rachel is considering going to Stanford, he confronts her with a harsh reality: that long distance relationships don’t work and they will inevitable break up. He essentially tries to strong arm her into staying, until she demands he give her space to make the decision on her own.