Self-Confidence in the 16 Personality Types

This article isn’t actually about self-confidence in the 16 personality types. In fact, it’s about the opposite. You see, most the time, the personality types are depicted in a way that assumes good self-confidence and overall good mental health, which can make it difficult for people who aren’t at their best to identify their true personality type. That’s where this article comes in. I’d like to discuss the role that self-confidence plays in the personality types, and what might change when self-confidence is lacking.

What Is the Opposite of Self-Confidence?

That is the question I asked myself when I first got the idea for this article, because I wanted that word in the title. So, I spent a good portion of my evening trying to figure out exactly what word would encapsulate what I wanted to talk about. None of the antonyms for “confidence” really stood out to me (and it wasn’t until a bit later that I realized I actually meant self-confidence, not confidence), so I asked a few people. The first suggestion I received was “uncertainty.” After that, “diffidence,” “reticence,” and “insecurity” were suggested. Insecurity seemed to fit pretty good, but the more I thought about, the more I realized that insecurity was a bit too broad. Insecurity has several different ways it manifests, some of which give the appearance of confidence (like narcissism). That’s not really what I’m going for. After some thought, I realized that “diffidence” is probably the most accurate word for what I want to discuss.

What Is Diffidence?

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, “diffident” means…
1. hesitant in acting or speaking through lack of self-confidence
2: reserved, unassertive

So, generally speaking, someone who is self-confident draws conclusions, makes decisions, and then acts based on these. They can speak up when they need to, take action when they need to, and etc. Someone who is diffident is the opposite of that, and will likely come across as more uncertain, hesitant, shy, indecisive, etc. Unassertive seems like a good word as well to describe someone in this state.

The Role Of Self-Confidence in the 16 Personality Types

I’m going to start by sharing a few general principles on how confidence impacts the personality types, before getting into the specifics.

1. Confidence Levels Deteriorate Down the Function Stack

For those who may be new to personality theory, I’ll start by saying that every personality type is made up of 4 primary cognitive functions, and we refer to this as their cognitive function stack. Generally speaking, a self-confident individual will possess the most confidence in their dominant function, but that confidence will deteriorate the farther down the stack you get. It’s fairly normal even for a self-confident individual to lack self-confidence in the domain that pertains to their inferior function. For instance, a self-confident ISTP (Ti-Se-Ni-Fe) can act extremely confident in anything pertaining to Ti and Se, but then act totally insecure and diffident when Fe is called to the table. The average personality type description is describing that standard state, where someone already possesses self-confidence when using their top two cognitive functions.

2. Diffidence Can Mimic Introversion

Descriptions of extraverts usually assume self-confidence because extraversion is associated with being talkative, action-oriented, or generally interacting within the external world. An extravert that lacks self-confidence may look more metered, hesitant, and thus introverted. Essentially, diffidence will mute the external impact of someone’s personality type. The extent of the confidence issues can obviously vary, but it can go so far as to create loop or grip states. The extravert lacking in self-confidence may lean into their introverted functions to such an extent that they either relate to the introverted counterpart of their personality type, or fall down into a [what appears to be] grip state. This same logic can apply to introverts as well, only it’s the auxiliary extraverted function which will be most obviously muted, effectively putting them into a loop state. (Diffidence influences the introverted functions as well – we’re getting there.)

Related Articles: The Myers-Briggs Personality Types In a Loop, How Grip Stress Manifests In Each Personality Type

3. Diffidence Can Make A Higher Function Seem Like a Lower Function

Someone who is generally lacking in self-confidence will possess an even lower baseline of confidence in their cognitive function stack. So, if confidence levels on average deteriorate down the function stack and the diffident individual is already “behind” on self-confidence, they may only relate to descriptions of their dominant function when it’s described as a tertiary or inferior function. For example, the diffident ESTJ may relate to NFP descriptions of Te. (But since NFP as a whole wouldn’t fit either, the individual would probably struggle to type because nothing fits quite right.)

How Diffidence Can Impact the Cognitive Functions

I toyed around with whether or not to do this by personality type or by cognitive function, but I think it would be rather redundant to do it by personality type, because for instance, I’d be repeating the same Te things for every TJ type. Therefore, I’ll be organizing this by cognitive function. (I’ll include a list of dominant and auxiliary users with each for your reference.) But, before I begin, there is one general principle to keep in mind. As a I mentioned earlier, a dominant user of a function, when lacking self-confidence, may look like lower user. The key difference is that the dominant awareness will always be there, as opposed to when it’s an inferior function. The issue will be centered around a failure to have enough confidence to fulfill the course of action that the cognitive function is suggesting. The same principle will apply to an auxiliary user. Of course, each short section can’t be comprehensive, given how brief they are, but hopefully it’s enough to give you the general idea. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!

Extraverted Intuition (Ne)

Dominant users: ENTP, ENFP
Auxiliary users: INTP, INFP

Extraverted Intuition is actually well-known for it’s lack of confidence, but inadvertently, I believe. The tendency to describe ENXPs as indecisive and as the most introverted extraverts is a manifestation of this. (Jung did not describe Ne so passively.) Confident NPs try out new things, openly share ideas, come up with business schemes, etc. When self-confidence is lacking, the NP will quiet down, or perhaps fall prey to panicky word vomit because of intrusive thoughts. They’ll keep their ideas to themselves, fail to take advantage of new opportunities, and endlessly spin on possibilities with no associated action. This type of NP will probably find solace in the internet and in their daydreams, where they can explore possibilities and new concepts with no risk to themselves. Bear in mind, that indecision in the NPs is not always a lack of confidence. Sometimes it’s simply a struggle to know which opportunity to follow, because it all sounds exciting or interesting, so “what do I really want to commit to?”. Indecision rooted in self-confidence issues has more to do with distrusting one’s ability to accomplish whatever they set out to do. The NP lacking self-confidence will be indecisive more out of a fear of failure, and the subsequent consequences that failure will leave them with (whether those consequences are something major like financial loss, or something more minor like embarrassment.)

Extraverted Sensing (Se)

Dominant users: ESTP, ESFP
Auxiliary users: ISTP, ISFP

Extraverted Sensing has the opposite problem of Ne in the sense of how people perceive it. Se is typically pictured as decisive and action-oriented, which can make relating to it tricky for the SPs who lack self-confidence. However, SPs who lack self-confidence will not be nearly as action-oriented or decisive. Like all other types, they’ll quiet down, struggle to share what they’re thinking, and/or struggle to trust their own skill sets. Therefore, SPs (as types that primarily focus on the here and now) will find safer ways to get stimulation and excitement that’ll often end up being pointless indulgences. It’ll look more akin to comfort-seeking or pursuing frivolous distractions. They may fear to take action that has any meaningful impact on their future, or they may fail to gain the breadth of experiences that they need to figure out what they want in life. They’ll avoid critical decisions out of a fear of failure, fearing the consequences that failure may bring or fearing that failure will prove that they can never succeed at anything. As a result, they’ll become complacent drifters, unable to change their situation in life. They’ll strive to enjoy what’s in front of them but never be willing to step outside their comfort zone and take calculated risks that may benefit them in the long run.

Extraverted Feeling (Fe)

Dominant users: ESFJ, ENFJ
Auxiliary users: ISFJ, INFJ

Extraverted Feeling actually has a variety of personas attached to it, one of which is the one that lacks confidence: the people-pleasing doormat. As an extraverted judging function, Fe has the potential to be pushy and overbearing, guiding a group into proper, harmonious behavior. (Obviously, the best version of Fe will be inspiring and uplifting, encouraging unity and comradery.) However, an FJ lacking self-confidence will be much more hesitant, afraid to speak out and voice opinions. Instead, the FJ will follow the flow of the rest of the group, doing only what is approved of or encouraged. They’ll seek advice or consensus from others, needing other people’s approval or encouragement to take action. Essentially, they’ll be overly reliant on others and people-pleasers. They’ll struggle to act in an autonomous way, and outsource their life decisions to others. In this way, they’ll keep themselves safe and secure within their chosen group. This also plays into how they interact with others or care for them. Instead of voicing what they feel is best for others, they will instead seek out what the other person wants to hear or have. In this way, they will become an enabler, having a misguided desire for approval rather than a desire to actually help the group.

Extraverted Thinking (Te)

Dominant users: ESTJ, ENTJ
Auxiliary users: ISTJ, INTJ

Extraverted Thinking has a reputation of being confident and assertive. In fact, ETJs in particular are almost never described in way that suggests lacking confidence is possible. As a result, most people probably don’t actually believe it’s possible for ETJs to lack confidence. (ITJs get more leeway, which is one of the reasons why ETJs might mistype as ITJs.) So, how does Te manifest when lacking confidence? Well, TJs will still value structure, so they’ll adapt to the structure imposed on them, and struggle to assert their own structure. They may rely on authorities to make decisions for them, and adhere to whatever rules or goals are thrust upon them. They may have a fear of breaking rules, or going against the establishment in anyway, prompting people-pleasing behavior. They may struggle with independent, critical thinking, instead trusting what’s been well-established or what’s commonly believed. Any independent opinions or feelings they have will likely be suppressed or hidden, since they won’t feel secure or confident enough to follow their own path. In short, they will will hide behind rules and regulations and deflect responsibility away from themselves. Their personal opinions will be underdeveloped, since they’ll view it as easier to just adhere to an established norm, rather than embracing their desire to improve and optimize.

Introverted Sensing (Si)

Dominant users: ISTJ, ISFJ
Auxiliary users: ESFJ, ESTJ

Unfortunately, descriptions of introverted sensors often picture someone who lacks self-confidence. For instance, fear of the unknown is common amongst SJ, especially ISJs. However, that should lead the SJ to prepare, plan, research, etc. to know how to properly act to get what they want or maintain their security. However, when lacking confidence, an SJ will fear action in spite of preparation, or perhaps they will lack confidence in their ability to prepare. They may outsource the preparation to others, only trusting plans that others have made. They may know what they want, but fear to make any changes or destabilize their life to get it. In addition, they may fear to try out new things, and thus fail to gain valuable life experience which would bring them confidence. As a result, they’ll settle into a subpar existence, because it’s familiar. Of course, as introverts, these types are oftentimes quiet, but this may extend deeper, into a fear to state their preferences and opinions. (People frequently confuse introversion with a lack of self-confidence, but introverts can be direct and socially confident. They aren’t inherently shy.) The big difference between the confident and diffident Si user would be contentment vs. complacency.

Introverted Intuition (Ni)

Dominant users: INTJ, INFJ
Auxiliary users: ENTJ, ENFJ

Introverted Intuition is associated with having a vision for the future, and general insight into how things tie together into overarching patterns. NJs are often described in a confident way, fixating on predictions and future ideals. However, the NJ that lacks self-confidence will not be so certain. They’ll still see the patterns and have the insights, but they’ll struggle to trust their intuition. Many NJs are hesitant to share their insights, but this will be double so for the NJ that lacks self-confidence. In addition, they’ll leave their future ideal in the realm of dreams, afraid to pursue and/or take the necessary risks to make it come to pass. These types often lean into preparation as a way to mitigate risk, but the NJ lacking self-confidence may not trust their ability to prepare, resulting in them either relying on other people’s preparation or just failing to act at all. They’ll settle with what they have, in spite of knowing what could be. This can also manifest with a prisoner of fate mentality, refusing to make any meaningful strides to change their circumstances.

Introverted Thinking (Ti)

Dominant users: ISTP, INTP
Auxiliary users: ESTP, ENTP

Introverted thinkers are often portrayed as intelligent and analytical, getting fictional examples like Sherlock Holmes to demonstrate them at their best. These types form mental maps of the world, processing information based on it’s adherence to that mental map. The diffident introverted thinker will still do this. However, they’ll lack confidence in their own process, constantly questioning themselves and second-guessing their conclusions. They’ll be overthinkers, constantly refining their understanding of the world and/or gathering data, but never feeling confident enough to take any action in spite of it. Naturally, this will halt any forward movement in their life, since they may be unable to rally enough decisiveness or confidence to take a leap forward. Of course, as with all those who lack self-confidence, these types will be much more hesitant to share their true thoughts on something, whether that means they’ll fear being proven wrong or fear how they’ll be perceived. They may end up with a closed-off view of the world, that they’re too afraid to share with anyone else. They may nitpick, criticize, and poke holes in the logic of everyone else’s conclusions or decisions as a way of making themselves feel better about their own personal shortcomings. Ultimately, this becomes a self reinforcing pattern. The Ti dominant will view themselves as too separated from the thought processes and understanding of other which leads to them further isolating and walling themselves off.

Introverted Feeling (Fi)

Dominant users: ISFP, INFP
Auxiliary users: ESFP, ENFP

Introverted Feeling is associated with a focus on identity, values, and subjective feelings. Sometimes FPs are depicted in a way that is rigid, or overly confident in who they are. However, that won’t always be the case. Sometimes these types will question who they are, what their purpose is, if they have any intrinsic value, and etc. but never come to any significant conclusions. They can get lost in questions like “Is this really who I am?” or “Is this really what I want?” Essentially, FPs may get stuck in a form of analysis paralysis, lacking the confidence to make a decision because they fear the consequences of a life without meaning. If they do know what they want, these types may feel incapable of pursuing their dreams, causing them to fall back on a less then ideal state. As a result, they may just go along with whatever life path seems accessible, allowing their dream to remain in their heads, as one they believe that they can never actually realize. Of course, as with all individuals lacking in confidence, they may struggle to speak up, and assert their own beliefs and values. They may fail to express themselves in an authentic way, in spite of knowing exactly how they would want to do so. They may even blame others for not getting the authentic them which will lead to further isolationist tendencies.