The Myers-Briggs Personality Types of the Parks and Recreation Characters

Parks and Recreation is an entertaining show with a variety of characters to appreciate. After watching almost the entire show, I thought it would be fun to discuss the Myers-Briggs personality types (colloquially known as MBTI) of the main Parks and Recreation characters. There is definitely some personality bleed happening though, which dissuaded me from writing individual analyses. (Leslie Knope is the most obvious example, which is why her MBTI type tends to be argued about amongst personality enthusiasts.) So, I stuck with these brief overviews, and tried to condense as much key information into each to support my conclusions. I only left one character a bit open-ended. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!

 

The MBTI Types of the Parks and Recreation Characters

Leslie Knope – ESFJ      

“Go find your team. Get to work. Whatever that work is that you find worth doing. Do it, and find some people to love who’ll do it with you.”

Leslie walks a very thin line between ENFP and ESFJ, but she seems to lean ESFJ a majority of the time. (The hyper-exaggerated Ne can possibly be attributed to personality bleed, or just the show’s preferred style of humor.) Leslie enjoys getting her hands dirty, doing mundane paperwork, and planning everything out to the tiniest detail. She struggles with a job offer towards the end of the series because she’d be playing the role of an idea person and a manager, rather than someone who’d get to do everything personally, with her bare hands. As an Fe dominant specifically, Leslie’s prone to meddling in people’s lives in order to force onto them what she thinks is best for them. She cares deeply about everyone and everything, struggling to withhold her passion and intensity. She values forming and carrying on sentimental traditions, which she often carries out to unnecessary extremes.

Ron Swanson – ESTJ

“I’m impressed with Andy. Pulling himself up by his bootstraps. Reminds me of me. I got my first job when I was nine. Worked at a sheet metal factory. In two weeks, I was running the floor. Child labor laws are ruining his country.”

While people often argue between ISTP and ISTJ for Ron, he actually appears to be an ESTJ. Ron’s seemingly lackadaisical stance towards his management position is actually anything but that. In fact, his intent is to slow down the wheels of government, which if not for Leslie Knope, he would be doing quite successfully. Ron will work hard to ensure that nothing gets done. Of course, as an ESTJ, Ron is assertive, orderly, straightforward, and not prone to sentimentality. Although, he does value certain traditions, and complains bitterly when they’re disrupted. Similarly, he has strongly stated preferences that he doesn’t typically like to deviate much from. (This points away from ISTP.) Ron is a man of principle, which he makes very clear. However, he goes to great lengths to hide any embarrassing quirks, or to keep his life private, to the extent of creating separate identities like Duke Silver. In addition, he loses all sense of identity around his former wives, conforming completely to their expectations. This all seems more consistent with inferior Fi (ESTJ) than tertiary Fi (ISTJ).

Ben Wyatt – INTP

“Now, the object is to accumulate cones. Four cones wins, but in order to get a cone, you have to build a civilization. The other amazing thing is the challenge play. Actually, let me tell you more about the trivia cards, ’cause you’re gonna need to know about roadblocks first. Nah, never mind. The thing about the challenge play is that it’s basically the game…in reverse. Then you roll three dice to see how many dice you roll with. Oh, 16. Perfect, lots of choices. Okay, each turn goes: Roll, buy, action. I mean, obviously, this would be much taller in the real game. But the corporal can veto. This should be green too. How did this happen? Are the cones a metaphor? Well, yes and no.”

Ben is analytically-minded and prone to being insensitive. Naturally, his role as an auditor creates a lot of ill will when he first shows up in Pawnee. Being logic-focused, Ben is not one to naturally be swayed by emotion or passion. It can be difficult for him to connect with others, or link up with something emotionally that he doesn’t understand, hence his reactions to Lil’ Sebastian. Of course, as an inferior Fe user, the moment he receives backlash from questioning everyone’s attachment to Lil’ Sebastian, Ben starts faking it. To some degree, Ben perpetuates INTP stereotypes, such as his love for board games and certain fantasy/sci-fi TV shows. He struggles whenever people make inaccurate statements about any of his interests, instantly feeling the need to explain everything that they got wrong. Lastly, his Ne/Si comes out especially strong during his various periods of unemployment, where he dabbles in claymation and even creates his own board game, both of which he does to an excruciating level of detail.

Tom Haverford – ENTP

“Make-A-Baby Tuxedo clothing line. A department store with a guest list. White fur earmuffs for men. Contact lenses that display text messages. Invent a phone that smells good. Own a nightclub, call it Eclipse, that’s only open for one hour two times a year. Cover charge? Five thousand dollars. I can keep going.”

Tom is an idea man. It takes a little while for this to really come out in the show. Initially, his entire personality seems mainly centered around his attempts to avoid work yet stay in everyone’s good graces through charm and humor. However, as time goes on, you find out that he has an endless amount of ideas for potential business ventures, many of which are impractical. Eventually, Tom finds the courage and means to try some of these out, which results in some failures but also some successes. Entertainment 720 is a good example of his Ne/Si at play. He indulges every whim and spares no expense, resulting in an office full of random, awesome amenities and perks but a “business” that is far too broad in scope and burns through money with no real direction on how to be profitable.

Andy Dwyer – ESFP

“I have no idea what I’m doing, but I know I do it really, really well.”

ENFP is a common theory for Andy is understandable. The show’s style of humor tends to skew towards Ne; so every now and again, he says things that seem like Ne. I ultimately went with ESFP because he doesn’t seem to think much beyond the present moment. Andy’s good at enjoying what’s right in front of him, and keeping himself entertained. To Andy, everything is a toy to be played with. He’s impulsive and adapts to whatever is going on around him. April eventually encourages Andy to think about his future, by helping him realize that he wanted to be a cop. (He had only ever referenced law enforcement jobs, rather than having a bunch of dreams and/or ideas.) Unfortunately, it doesn’t work out, but he continues to play the hand he’s dealt on a daily basis, including following his passion for music, and eventually becomes relatively successful as a children’s performer.

April Ludgate – ISFP

“I guess I kind of hate most things, but I never really seem to hate you. So I want to spend the rest of my life with you, is that cool?”

Most type April as an INTP or ISTP because she’s apathetic and monotone. However, April prioritizes her personal preferences and her feelings above everything else, including logic. For instance, when April decides against going to vet school, Ann forces an explanation out of her. The explanation amounted to April having a gut feeling that it wasn’t right for her, which she says is how she makes all her life decisions. There is no logical rationale to it whatsoever. Her marriage to Andy is another good example of her following her feelings and acting impulsively in the moment. In addition, April enjoys flaunting her eccentricities in spite of how they’re perceived by others (such as her dark humor, her unconventional relationship at the beginning of the show, etc.) She revels in being different and unique, subverting the expectations of those around her. Around Andy, she enjoys openly expressing her feelings. Initially, the two of them feed into each other’s indulgent, day-to-day mentality, resulting in an incredibly unambitious couple who are prone to impulsive behavior. Overtime, they mature, and she encourages Andy to follow his dreams.

Chris Traegar – ENFJ

“I consider myself a caddie to everyone in my life.”

Chris has a near endless amount of enthusiasm and positive energy. He loves encouraging those around him, and helping them in anyway he can, whether that be through mundane tasks or giving advice. (He’s so helpful that he drives Ann Perkins crazy during her pregnancy.) Chris is extremely disciplined, focusing on the long term impacts of this actions. He refers to his body as a finely-tuned microchip, which he’s careful to nurture with good diet, vitamins, exercise, and meditation. Chris genuinely believes that he’ll be the first person to live to 150, and claims that it’s his goal to run to the moon. (Of course, he means that cumulatively and not literally.) He’s the type of person to sprinkle his vernacular with metaphors, and tell people that there’s “literally nothing in this world” that they cannot do.

Ann Perkins – IXFJ

“I’m a nurse, a caregiver. It’s my job to help people, and I will do whatever it takes.”

As a nurse and caregiver, Ann would be considered by many to be the ISFJ stereotype, but I’m not so sure. Certainly, ISFJ is a valid theory, but I think INFJ is plausible as well. The FJ stuff is fairly clear. For instance, she tends to be an enabler, in the sense that people get overly reliant on her to take care of them, like Andy did at the beginning of the show. Ann also tends to take on characteristics of those she dates, like dress style, hobbies, and etc. However, Ann doesn’t act in a way that particularly strikes me as Si either. For example, she doesn’t seem averse to change. The tendency to overly adapt to every relationship could potentially point away from Si, since she’s not sticking more with what she’s already comfortable with. In addition, after the breakup with Chris, Ann starts to date a lot of different men (flings, essentially), rather than her usually long term relationships, which could be interpreted as inferior Se.

Donna Meagle – ENTJ

“Normally, people tell you to talk about your problems. I’m gonna recommend you bottle that noise up.”

Donna is cold, abrasive, confident, and controlling, which is most evident in her relationships with men. Although, Donna cares about her friends more than she lets on, and struggles to communicate that clearly. She’s not one to be personal and sentimental, but she does love the chance to be extravagant and self-indulgent. While some may mistake her for an Se dominant because of this, Donna actually always keeps the long term in mind, which is why she has a tight control on her finances, starts her own realty business, and even owns a condo in Seattle. In addition, she enjoys taking advantage of potential business opportunities, such as investing in Snake Juice. Although, she takes things like this very seriously, vetting them thoroughly beforehand.

Jerry – ISFJ

“I have been here, well, thirty-some years, and the best way to cope with this job is to do everything the exact same way every day. Heck, I still use my original I.D. Card from my first day on the job. Check this out.”

Jerry is a man who prefers calm and routine. As an Si dominant, he believes in doing things consistently, the same exact way, and excels at this. In addition, he enjoys mundane tasks, like envelope stuffing during the election campaign. He enthusiastically stays up all night doing them and then redoing them. Jerry is also not one to be very adventurous with his vacations choices or how he spends his downtime. As an FJ, he adapts himself to the expectations of others (proven by the fact that he’s not clumsy at home), and he accepts the way he’s treated without complaint. His friendly and supportive nature is often taken for granted by those around him.

Mark Brendanawicz – ISTP

“If you wanna fill in the pit, just go fill it in. Don’t ask for permission, ask for forgiveness.”

Mark was only around for a couple of seasons, but ISTP seemed like a reasonable conclusion in spite of that. In addition to being cynical, Mark approaches situations in a logical or technical way, which is evident during the competition to replace the vandalized mural. Mark creates something for the Park Department that he admits is dull, but would have mass appeal. Essentially, it was passionless, impersonal, and emotionless, but technically it’d win the competition. This approach strongly indicates high Ti. In addition, Mark is shown encouraging Leslie to disregard the rules, and just fill the pit. Act first, and ask for permission later. Lastly, when explaining why he was resigning from his job as City Planner, Mark lists off various signs that indicated to him that it was time to move on, suggesting lower Ni.