The Myers-Briggs Personality Types in Young Sheldon

Young Sheldon is an entertaining prequel to the series, The Big Bang Theory. In this article, we intend to analyze the Myers-Briggs personality types (often referred to as MBTI) of the main characters in Young Sheldon. Of course, as per usual, we are analyzing the MBTI personality types of the characters in Young Sheldon separately from that of the characters in the Big Bang Theory. (Separate series with separate actors often risk creating inconsistencies, so for the sake of accuracy, they need to be approached separately.) In other words, with that in mind, no data from the Big Bang Theory will be used in analyzing characters from Young Sheldon. If they end up being different, so be it. If they end up being the same, then the writers of Young Sheldon did well in keeping everyone consistent with their original MBTI personality types. (For the record, we intend to release an article focusing on the main characters in the Big Bang Theory sometime in the near future.)

The Myers-Briggs Types in Young Sheldon

Sheldon Cooper – ISTJ

“I’m not a fan of change. I feel like you just jumped a shark.”

Sheldon Cooper openly admits to disliking change. The tiniest changes upset him greatly and throw off his entire day, such as when his sandwich tasted slightly different because the bread manufacturing company changed the recipe. He feels the immediate need to rectify any changes, and return things to normal. In addition, Sheldon has very specific routines that he follows, and struggles with any deviation from these. As a result, he takes things to extremes, such as creating himself a bathroom schedule that everyone has to work around. Similarly, Sheldon also values rules and order. He often feels compelled to call out those who deviate from rules in any way.

Sheldon very clearly values facts over feelings. He dismisses anything that doesn’t have a factual basis, often at the expense of other people’s feelings. In fact, he completely disconnected from the feelings of others, and is only tuned into his own personal wants and values. In many instances throughout the show, he gets caught up in righteous indignation, so to speak, feeling the need to rectify some (perceived) terrible injustice that’s been done to him. At times, this results in a far greater problem than the original slight, like when the IRS audited them because Sheldon refused to let his father pay the four dollars.

George Cooper, Sr. – ESFP

“Sheldon’s fine. You know what he’s like. If someone took him, I’m sure they’ll bring him right back.”

George Cooper is one of the more level-headed family members. He sees things pretty much as they are, with little bias, which is why he can usually tell when his kids are up to something. This includes Sheldon, whom people often assume won’t break any rules. George will recognize the circumstance and be immediately suspicious, even if it’s something that seems out of character for his son to do. In addition, George Cooper is laid-back, and even keel. He’s not the type to fall prey to excessive worrying about what might happen in the future.

George is adaptable and open to change. When he sees an opportunity for himself or one of his kids, he usually tries to give it a shot. For instance, he recognizes the challenges about letting Sheldon go to college, but when Sheldon is given various opportunities, George pushes Mary to consider it. Of course, he’s prone to indulgence, whenever circumstances allow, but he can also be empathetic and supportive when it’s needed. Although, he’s not naturally tuned in to other people’s emotions, so he occasionally needs his wife to push him in the right direction.

Mary Cooper – ESFJ

“Everyone’s going, and everyone’s gonna have fun.”

Mary thrives off of being helpful and supportive. She loves to be needed, and often places herself in a position to be so. As a result, she’s prone to babying her kids, and she struggles as they get more and more independent. This is especially the case with Sheldon, since he would frequently take advantage of this tendency. Mary has strong opinions about how people should be, and how things she should be. She tries to ensure that everyone is happy, and that everyone is doing what’s best for them (in her opinion). However, in the process, at times, she’ll make everyone unhappy in an attempt to make one person happy.

Mary is emotionally turbulent, and prone to worrying. Of course, Sheldon is often the focus of this worrying (such as whether he’ll turn out normal and integrate well into society). However, she worries about the other kids too, just for very different reasons. Mary has a bit of a blind spot when it comes to others, which is exemplified well whenever Sheldon breaks a rule. History dictates that Sheldon doesn’t break rules, so Mary can never recognize the break from pattern until the evidence is undeniable.

Georgie Cooper – ESFP

“Yeah, but I got money now, and I can do what I want…and what I want is a chimichanga at Chi-Chi’s.”

Like his dad, Georgie is fairly down to earth. Although the two of them butt heads, it is more often because of their similar natures than anything else. Georgie is very straightforward and tends to just say whatever is on his mind with little awareness of what kind of trouble that could get himself into. He is a genuine person and reasonably charismatic. He has a knack for sales because of his personable nature. He is also relatively stubborn. Once Georgie sets him mind on doing something, there is little his parents can do to convince him otherwise. For instance, he gets banished to living in his van until he finally gives up and sells it like he was told.

When Georgie can’t see the point behind doing something, he struggles with doing it. This eventually leads him to skip more and more school in favor of working more hours at his part time job. He reasons that making money makes more sense than going to school, because he’s stupid and not learning anything useful anyway. When he decides to drop school, Georgie again gets into a situation where he gets kicked out of the house, but eventually renting out the garage is worked out as a compromise rather than ‘living at home’.

Missy Cooper – ENTP

“The girl monkey on the couch is telling the guy monkey a secret. Must be something juicy, ’cause he’s smiling. It might be dirty, ’cause this girl monkey is sending the kid monkey out of the room. He doesn’t want to go. He looks sad. The monkeys on the couch are drinking tea, so it’s a tea party.”

Missy is snarky and sarcastic. Even as a very young child, she displays a somewhat cynical nature. She’s not afraid to say what she thinks, which often gets her in trouble. Although, the conflict never seems to concern her. In fact, she enjoys riling up her other family members, especially Sheldon. She always has a retort or quip on hand to poke fun at them, or retaliate with. Of course, she also finds drama entertaining, preferring to watch her family members argue than, for instance, watch a TV show.

Missy is one to ask a lot of questions, questions which aren’t always proper or wanted. For instance, during a Sunday School class, she asks a lot of questions regarding relationships, prompting the youth pastor to want to do a special class to address said questions. (However, this stirs up a lot of controversy, and they have to cancel it.) In addition, she’s prone to guessing at what’s going on behind the scenes, or essentially, inventing context based on what she sees. Missy’s also shown coming up with multiple possibilities for the future, such as when she came up with three different ways she could eat at Red Lobster every night for the rest of her life.

Connie “Meemaw” Tucker – ESTP

“We could go to jail.” – Dale
“That’s the exciting part!” – Connie

Connie has the stereotypical unhealthy vices of an extraverted perceiving dominant. Drinking, smoking, and gambling are her three favorite pastimes. In spite of this, she is still a supportive grandmother and provides common sense advice to her family. She doesn’t get along very well with her son-in-law, and they take shots at each other anytime they are in the same room. Connie is indulgent, which is highlighted when she gets addicted to a video game she was playing with sheldon. Initially, she calls in and makes an excuse for him to get out school so they could play it together. Later on, she just gives up and starts playing without him, until he catches her in the act.

A good example of Connie making a major decision on a whim is when she decides to buy the laundromat because of the hidden gambling room in the back. She sees the opportunity and jumps at the idea of finally getting to be the ‘house’ and making money off of gambling. She quickly runs into a ‘laundry list’ of issues and grows frustrated with her investment, even to the point of complete regret. However, she successfully ropes Georgie into helping her, and more or less, gets him to start running both operations.

Dr. Sturgis – INTP

“The trick to having a good life is to figure out what your gift is and use it to help others.”

Dr. Sturgis is highly intelligent and eccentric, somewhat like Sheldon, but the way it manifests isn’t quite the same. Like Sheldon, Dr. Sturgis struggles with social cues and identifying implied meaning. They both like to openly analyze social situations. Unlike Sheldon, Dr. Sturgis seems more concerned with not coming off as abrasive, and he desires to fit in with others. He gets very excited when Sheldon’s family starts spending time with him and quickly recognizes Sheldon’s dad as a friend, although George had only taken him to a bar out of pity. He gets openly disappointed when he finally realizes George was avoiding hanging out him.

Dr. Sturgis likes to over-analyze everything. He is a well of random information, similar to Sheldon, and tends to overshare. This has gotten him in trouble on several occasions and actually cost him two separate jobs, because of not realizing the social ramifications of the things he was saying. Unlike Sheldon, however, Dr. Sturgis has done a wide range of activities including backpacking across the Asian continent. He loves trying new things and is open to new experiences. For instance, when dating Connie, he’s willing to try anything she suggests.