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mistakes on summarizing estp
the other day i was in an mbti discussion with someone (an entp) who tried to describe the estp personality type as someone who is opportunistic and likes to indulge in physical pleasures. this isn't necessarily true or prescriptive either way, since a lot of different personality types can exhibit these features for different reasons.
additionally, a lot of profiles describe estps as people who need to constantly be doing things with their body so they may struggle or dislike abstract/mind-based tasks and conversations. this also isn't necessarily true in either which way, because there are factors beyond cognitive function that can describe or be exemplary of someone's interests, focus, or academic ability. these profiles also discuss estps as action takers who are more focused on action than consequence which... okay, isn't untrue, but also isn't necessarily mindless of them. it's just the cognitive focus - estps are immersed within the reality of now and directly interact with it.
this is the dominant Se trait, though. dominant Se users - esfp and estp - are always moving within the action and the world. it's like the world's a stage and while other people are watching from the audience or waiting for their turn to go on, the esxp is already there. as compared to an enxj, who more deliberately puts themselves in or out of the spotlight, the way the esxp brain works is that they see and interact with the stage as it's already there.
and it's never a bad thing! in fact, it may be a good thing; this makes it easy for esxps to know what they want or a goal they're aiming for - garnet from steven universe, for example (who is not an istp, thank you very much) is relatively chill and relaxed because she works with the world as it is. (also, her future vision can be metaphorical for inferior Ni.) ginny weasley from harry potter is easy to be around and thoughtful and when she's there she's there. asami from legend of korra is relatively upfront with mako and korra for their separate relationships with each other, relatively content with situations and the way she operates. estps also do have a nerve of anxiety running beneath them, usually as instigated by that inferior Ni (in a situation they can't control and desperately try to with that dom Se mind); but overall they are not necessarily inane and impulsive.
like the esxp, estps don't necessarily "thrive" on this sort of immersion - it's just how they operate. estps don't necessarily or prescriptively like sex or alcohol or momentary indulgences - inxjs do for different reasons, even Ne/Si users do for different reasons. in fact, while the esxp may instinctively naturally react to something like momentary indulgences, it does not necessarily make them self-destructive or opportunistic; rather, they see it as the ephemeral event as it is, and then are able to move on. they also do not necessarily lack intuitive skill, but rather may be fully capable of taking present action to avoid long-term effects and consequences, because they see or anticipate that negative response so they know what to do now so it doesn't end up awful. they may also be perfectly capable of mentally paving that clear path towards an end term goal instead. like the esfp, the estp acts and interacts with the way things are, eyes outward. this doesn't make them necessarily aggressive or even loud (see my previous post on how high Sensors don't necessarily indicate observable outgoingness), but rather just action and reaction with the concrete environment as it is. this may result in loudness; this also may result in being chill and more focus on task (see: (esfps) manami from yp, finn from star wars, peeta from hunger games, hurley from lost, (estps) wendy from gf, kimiko from xs, napoleon from muncle, arthur from merlin, curtis & alisha from misfits); and for esfps, a general easy excitedness or agitation (rin from love live, tyler from tsn, sirius and ron from hp, amethyst and ruby from su, naruko from yp, korra, raimundo from xs, jenko from 21js, jackson from tw)
but like the entp, and unlike the esfp, estps are still much more... calculative of their environments, i guess, than solely inner-reactive. and actually, this is why i think the estp is the most Feeler-y of the Thinkers - because a combination of the tertiary Fe (tertiary function = more visible than auxiliary function, which is more personal usage for inner growth) with the dominant Se tends to allow estps to know how to be likable, charismatic (a word i often attribute to estps), and connective people - not only do they naturally react to the environment, but they also are aware of other people, especially (and/or including) emotive, personal connections. though the lead Se and aux Ti can allow an estp to look withdrawn and chill, they actually are more prone to being deliberate with their interpersonal connections, as compared to an entp, whose dom Ne may barrel on in one direction to lose a sense of physical surrounding despite their tert Fe; or an istp, who is much more hesitant and less naturally inclined to their interactive abilities; or an infj, who sees things bigger picture which may make them withdraw for significant periods of time or burn themselves out from interactive overexertion. the estp has a better balance and psychoawareness of how to interact with people - not say that they are flawless or always deliberate, but rather that (if they're not looping) their dominant Se and tertiary Fe leads to their seeing the world in the real, interactive way.
but to give their auxiliary Ti props - auxiliary Ti works in the way that it's what the extp wants to get out of the world. reason. a result, especially, that is logical. where the entp is excited about all the analytical possibilities (fred and george, jake peralta, angelica schuyler, shawn spencer), the estp is more grounded in that they are more excited about the analytical probabilities (kuroo, again asami, garnet, james potter, eduardo from tsn.) it's not to say that estps can't be creative - and i also hate attributing Ne to creativity, anyway - but it's just the method with which the mind is focused. what is and what will be, not what might be. it also doesn't mean estps are always right or wrong, but rather that if you wanted to persuade an estp for or against something, you need to use actual evidence (rather than something theoretical or hypothetical), and logically dictate the pattern where things might end up going. this can actually make debates and discussions with xstps pretty fun, because they can consider the possibility for anything, but they'll still challenge you on the grounds of realism. (it can also help intuitives come up with better arguments, since we tend to speak in theory so much that it can get too hypothetical.)
also like entps, estps don't necessarily emotively withdraw; but they tend to place a higher emphasis a) verbally what is logical, but b) interactively what is effective (sympathetic, morally, but not necessarily in fiction) on the feelings of others. extps tend to be relatively good at recognizing and working with people, but they get really excited about things that indulge their nerd selves. sometimes it's hard to tell because they do it when they're alone or work it through in their brain rather than expressively say it out loud, but it's there. it's also why estps (in fiction) tend to look less impulsive-as-dictated-by-inner-feelings than esfps. since (in fiction) they tend to act and react with non-emotional deliberation and intent, they tend to feel more justified in their actions than esfps, who usually (more often than not) harbor self-doubt rather than self-righteousness.
i in general hate painting mbti types one way or another as something that can be attributed to outside personality - since mbti is more about inner function anyway - but even with recent political waves (which i also hate attributing to anything related to mbti - STOP) estp often gets summarized in weirdly umbrella ways that may be more harmful than estps actually are. "alpha males," "manipulative opportunists," "self-righteous and indulgent sensors" - estps can be hesitant, they can be kind, they can be liberal. they can be women. attitude and behavior does not dictate (nor is dictated by) mbti. people really have to look at the how and why before making generalizations and assumptions.
additionally, a lot of profiles describe estps as people who need to constantly be doing things with their body so they may struggle or dislike abstract/mind-based tasks and conversations. this also isn't necessarily true in either which way, because there are factors beyond cognitive function that can describe or be exemplary of someone's interests, focus, or academic ability. these profiles also discuss estps as action takers who are more focused on action than consequence which... okay, isn't untrue, but also isn't necessarily mindless of them. it's just the cognitive focus - estps are immersed within the reality of now and directly interact with it.
this is the dominant Se trait, though. dominant Se users - esfp and estp - are always moving within the action and the world. it's like the world's a stage and while other people are watching from the audience or waiting for their turn to go on, the esxp is already there. as compared to an enxj, who more deliberately puts themselves in or out of the spotlight, the way the esxp brain works is that they see and interact with the stage as it's already there.
and it's never a bad thing! in fact, it may be a good thing; this makes it easy for esxps to know what they want or a goal they're aiming for - garnet from steven universe, for example (who is not an istp, thank you very much) is relatively chill and relaxed because she works with the world as it is. (also, her future vision can be metaphorical for inferior Ni.) ginny weasley from harry potter is easy to be around and thoughtful and when she's there she's there. asami from legend of korra is relatively upfront with mako and korra for their separate relationships with each other, relatively content with situations and the way she operates. estps also do have a nerve of anxiety running beneath them, usually as instigated by that inferior Ni (in a situation they can't control and desperately try to with that dom Se mind); but overall they are not necessarily inane and impulsive.
like the esxp, estps don't necessarily "thrive" on this sort of immersion - it's just how they operate. estps don't necessarily or prescriptively like sex or alcohol or momentary indulgences - inxjs do for different reasons, even Ne/Si users do for different reasons. in fact, while the esxp may instinctively naturally react to something like momentary indulgences, it does not necessarily make them self-destructive or opportunistic; rather, they see it as the ephemeral event as it is, and then are able to move on. they also do not necessarily lack intuitive skill, but rather may be fully capable of taking present action to avoid long-term effects and consequences, because they see or anticipate that negative response so they know what to do now so it doesn't end up awful. they may also be perfectly capable of mentally paving that clear path towards an end term goal instead. like the esfp, the estp acts and interacts with the way things are, eyes outward. this doesn't make them necessarily aggressive or even loud (see my previous post on how high Sensors don't necessarily indicate observable outgoingness), but rather just action and reaction with the concrete environment as it is. this may result in loudness; this also may result in being chill and more focus on task (see: (esfps) manami from yp, finn from star wars, peeta from hunger games, hurley from lost, (estps) wendy from gf, kimiko from xs, napoleon from muncle, arthur from merlin, curtis & alisha from misfits); and for esfps, a general easy excitedness or agitation (rin from love live, tyler from tsn, sirius and ron from hp, amethyst and ruby from su, naruko from yp, korra, raimundo from xs, jenko from 21js, jackson from tw)
but like the entp, and unlike the esfp, estps are still much more... calculative of their environments, i guess, than solely inner-reactive. and actually, this is why i think the estp is the most Feeler-y of the Thinkers - because a combination of the tertiary Fe (tertiary function = more visible than auxiliary function, which is more personal usage for inner growth) with the dominant Se tends to allow estps to know how to be likable, charismatic (a word i often attribute to estps), and connective people - not only do they naturally react to the environment, but they also are aware of other people, especially (and/or including) emotive, personal connections. though the lead Se and aux Ti can allow an estp to look withdrawn and chill, they actually are more prone to being deliberate with their interpersonal connections, as compared to an entp, whose dom Ne may barrel on in one direction to lose a sense of physical surrounding despite their tert Fe; or an istp, who is much more hesitant and less naturally inclined to their interactive abilities; or an infj, who sees things bigger picture which may make them withdraw for significant periods of time or burn themselves out from interactive overexertion. the estp has a better balance and psychoawareness of how to interact with people - not say that they are flawless or always deliberate, but rather that (if they're not looping) their dominant Se and tertiary Fe leads to their seeing the world in the real, interactive way.
but to give their auxiliary Ti props - auxiliary Ti works in the way that it's what the extp wants to get out of the world. reason. a result, especially, that is logical. where the entp is excited about all the analytical possibilities (fred and george, jake peralta, angelica schuyler, shawn spencer), the estp is more grounded in that they are more excited about the analytical probabilities (kuroo, again asami, garnet, james potter, eduardo from tsn.) it's not to say that estps can't be creative - and i also hate attributing Ne to creativity, anyway - but it's just the method with which the mind is focused. what is and what will be, not what might be. it also doesn't mean estps are always right or wrong, but rather that if you wanted to persuade an estp for or against something, you need to use actual evidence (rather than something theoretical or hypothetical), and logically dictate the pattern where things might end up going. this can actually make debates and discussions with xstps pretty fun, because they can consider the possibility for anything, but they'll still challenge you on the grounds of realism. (it can also help intuitives come up with better arguments, since we tend to speak in theory so much that it can get too hypothetical.)
also like entps, estps don't necessarily emotively withdraw; but they tend to place a higher emphasis a) verbally what is logical, but b) interactively what is effective (sympathetic, morally, but not necessarily in fiction) on the feelings of others. extps tend to be relatively good at recognizing and working with people, but they get really excited about things that indulge their nerd selves. sometimes it's hard to tell because they do it when they're alone or work it through in their brain rather than expressively say it out loud, but it's there. it's also why estps (in fiction) tend to look less impulsive-as-dictated-by-inner-feelings than esfps. since (in fiction) they tend to act and react with non-emotional deliberation and intent, they tend to feel more justified in their actions than esfps, who usually (more often than not) harbor self-doubt rather than self-righteousness.
i in general hate painting mbti types one way or another as something that can be attributed to outside personality - since mbti is more about inner function anyway - but even with recent political waves (which i also hate attributing to anything related to mbti - STOP) estp often gets summarized in weirdly umbrella ways that may be more harmful than estps actually are. "alpha males," "manipulative opportunists," "self-righteous and indulgent sensors" - estps can be hesitant, they can be kind, they can be liberal. they can be women. attitude and behavior does not dictate (nor is dictated by) mbti. people really have to look at the how and why before making generalizations and assumptions.