I. Introduction
After finishing all seven seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994), I moved on to Deep Space Nine expecting more of the same - and was I surprised. Deep Space Nine differed a lot from Next Generation, and I did not enjoy the pilot episode at all. I found the characters very difficult to warm to, unlike the characters of Next Generation and Star Trek: The Original Series, and some of them (Kira Nerys and Odo, for instance) seemed downright obnoxious. The business regarding the Wormhole and the Prophets confused me, and gave the impression of being overly mystical - and thereby out of place with the scientific Star Trek universe.
But after a few episodes, I concluded that the creators of the series were trying to do something different and break out of the traditional Star Trek format. Whereas the heroes of the Original Series and Next Generation cruise from one planet to the next, the heroes of Deep Space Nine stay put - and deal with the implications (political, social, economic, moral) of that decision. Often, they are forced to mediate between conflicting groups in a far away place without the help of Star Fleet. All in all, it made for an interesting series. And like Next Generation, Deep Space Nine featured an outstanding ensemble cast and writers, directors, producers who loved and revered the Star Trek mythos. Watching it filled me with great nostalgia for nineties science fiction TV, and many of the special effects from that decade still hold up well today.
If you want a broad overview of how I type characters, look at my essays on how to type superhero characters (see here) and TV drama characters (see here).
To give a quick run down of my method, let us compare two characters whose personality types are diametrically opposite (Socionics says that the two personality types have a relationship of Conflict): Benjamin Sisko and Winn Adami.
Introvert or Extravert? Winn shies away from scrutiny, and can be described as furtive and concealing; Sisko has no qualms being in the spotlight and he tends to draw attention to himself. Winn is an I (Introvert), Sisko an E (Extravert).
Perceiver or Judger? In the classic episode 'Far beyond the stars', Sisko, who time-travels back to mid-fifties America, shows he has a very pronounced sense of what the world should be and how people should behave: this is Judging - fitting people into the right slots. Winn, on the other hand, does not seem to expect reality to conform to certain principles, one of the reasons why Gul Dukat, a Judger, was able to lead her by the nose in the last episodes of the series. Sisko is a j, a Judger, Winn is a p, a Perceiver.
Feeler or Thinker? Winn pursues rationally laid out objectives in a calculating and manipulative way, whereas Sisko doesn't have a manipulative bone in his body - he is preoccupied with meanings, values. Or to put it another way: Winn is left brain, Sisko, right brain. Sisko is a F, a Feeler, Wynn, a T, a Thinker.
Intuitive or Sensor? Sisko feels comfortable in the sensory realm and isn't afraid to use his fists. Wynn dwells in the mental realm - specifically, the realm of Ni (Introverted Intuition). Ni perceives what the future will bring, what the most likely outcome will be, how one cause in the present will lead to an effect in the future. It is also associated with the mystical, the otherworldly - and it is the spirit world which is Sisko's undoing. Sisko is a S, a Sensor, Wynn an N, an Intuitive.
Putting this all together:
Sisko is an E + S + F + j, an ESFj in Socionics, an ESFJ in MBTI.
Wynn is an I + N + T + p, an INTp in Socionics, an INTJ in MBTI. (In MBTI, Introverted Perceiving types become Judgers, and Introverted Judging types, Perceivers. Throughout the rest of this essay, I will be using the MBTI notation, as that is what most people interested in typology are familiar with).
For the sake of convenience, I will be dividing up the personality types into what Socionics calls Quadras.
II. Alphas
Benjamin Sisko - ESFJ
An Extravert and Feeler like Picard, Sisko is more down to earth than Picard - he is an Introverted Sensor, meaning that, among other things, he loves domesticity and comfort. Whereas the maxim of the ENFJ (Picard) is, 'Love your ideal', the maxim of the ESFJ (Sisko) is, 'Love those closest to you'. Throughout the series, Sisko deports himself as a family man and evokes a stock ESFJ type in popular culture, the All-American Dad.
In Socionics, Ni (Introverted Intuition) occupies the Vulnerable Function position in the ESFJ type, meaning that Ni is missing in the ESFJ and constitutes one of his deficiencies and weaknesses. As noted before, Ni proves to be Sisko's undoing.
Dr Elias Giger - INTP
Appears in the episode 'In the Cards' (1997), Season Five
Two types of mad scientist exist: a cold and ascetic type (the INTP) and an outgoing and maniacal type (the ENTP). The reclusive Dr Giger clearly belongs in the former category.
Amusingly enough, Giger, when meeting Sisko's son Jake for the first time, refuses to shake his hand because of hygiene. That takes us back to Socionics. For the INTP type, Introverted Sensing (Si) makes up the Hidden Agenda (or Activating Function): this means that the INTP aspires to have Si, which is an awareness of cleanliness, hygiene, physical well being.
Julian Bashir - ENTP
The character of Bashir closely resembles Dr Gaius Baltar from the reimagined Battlestar Galactica series (2004-2009): both are brilliant and vain scientists, and both are ENTPs. The dominant function of the ENTP, Ne (Extraverted Intuition), pushes a character towards the exploration of possibilities, potentialities. The secondary function of the ENTP, Ti (Introverted Thinking), gives the ENTP the ability to understand the workings - scientific, mechanical, mathematical - of the world he encounters and helps him navigate the very strange situations he frequently finds himself in.
What is Hidden Agenda of the ENTP? Extraverted Feeling (Fe). The ENTP would like secretly - or not so secretly - to be adored by the masses. That's one of Bashir's defining characteristics.
Rom - ISFJ
Rom, the bullied brother of the extraverted forceful Quark, plays the traditional ISFJ character role: the doormat. ISFJ characters mostly linger in the background and are not noticed very much. The ISFJ cherishes their family and friends, and will do anything for them, and because of this endearing quality, the ISFJ character is frequently exploited. But watch out: push them too far and the ISFJ mouse will turn into a dragon.
The dominant function of the ISFJ, Si (Introverted Sensation), means that the ISFJ can often be a complacent person and averse to upward mobility. Like that other ISFJ Trek character, Worf, Rom is told by more ambitious people to make something of himself, and he doesn't, they throw their hands up in frustration.
III. Betas
Ezri Tigan (Mirror Universe) - ISTP
Appears in the episode 'The Emperor's New Cloak' (1999), Season Seven
I waited a long time to find a character who was an ISTP: it took until Season Seven (by which time I had almost given up).
The doubles in the alternate, 'mirror' universe of Star Trek can be of the same personality type as in the main one - the Kira Nerys character, for example, is the personality type in both universes - but more often than not, a character's personality type differs. In the main Star Trek universe, I type the Ezri Tigan as an NF (Intuitive / Feeler), and in the mirror universe, an ISTP.
The mirror Ezri strongly resembles Han Solo (another ISTP) in dress sense and general demeanor, and her redemption arc follows that of Solo's in the first Star Wars movie - mirror Ezri makes the transition from selfish mercenary to selfless hero.
I also see a concordance between mirror Ezri and that other ISTP heroine, Marvel's Black Widow.
Taylor at the Zombies Ruin Everything blog is always remarking on how ISTPs convey a sense of physical ease, even laziness. That's true in Ezri's case. Socionics would attribute this to Si (Introverted Sensing) being the Demonstrative Function of the ISTP type.
Alixus - ENFJ
Whereas Picard is a good ENFJ, Alixus is a bad. The writers of Star Trek based the Alixus character (at least in part) on real-life ENFJ Jim Jones, leader of the People's Temple cult. Parallels exist between Alixus' regime and Pol Pot's in Cambodia; eco-primitivism and communalism make up the themes of the episode.
The dominant function of the ENFJ, Extraverted Feeling Fe, sweeps up those around the ENFJ and melds them into a community (no matter how small). If the particular ENFJ is persuasive and demagogic, the ENFJ's rhetoric brings the formed community into the ENFJ's inner world of Ni (Introverted Intuition), the world of absolutes and eternal ideals. This gift of the ENFJ's can be used for good (in the case of Picard) or evil (in the case of Alixus).
Jadzia Dax - INFJ
I found Jadzia a tough character to type, but finally settled on INFJ. The two main functions of the INFJ are Ni (Introverted Intuition) and Fe (Extraverted Feeling), and Jadzia leans a little more to Extraverted Feeling, meaning that she is an instance of what Socionics calls the Fe-dominant subtype of the INFJ.
Ni-dominant characters such as Jadzia can be quite ethereal - one gets a sense that they are not fully there. As a result, they can be appear to be quite fluffy and intangible.
The inferior function of the INFJ, Se (Extraverted Sensing), means that they can be drawn to environments where Extraverted Sensing (along with Extraverted Feeling) prevails. The INFJ, deep down, wants to feel strongly connected to the physical world. In this description of the INFJ, we find:
He strives for beauty, which may be – poetry, arts, even nice trinkets. He himself strives to be refined. He adores communication with artists, poets, bohemians, and in general with exotic people.
That explains Jadzia's odd attraction to Ferengi, who she spends most of her spare time socialising with.
Interestingly, Jadzia's evil alter ego - the murderer Jaron, one of her previous incarnations - I type as an INTJ. Both Jadzia and Jaron are Ni dominant, the difference is one is a Feeler, the other a Thinker.
Quark - ESTP
The archetypal ESTP, Quark's dominant function Se (Extraverted Sensing), which represents force of will, volition, is channeled through his secondary, Ti (Introverted Thinking), which allows himself to understand the workings, the inner mechanics of others. The combination of Ti and Se allows the ESTP to perceive and take advantage of weakness and gullibility. (ESTP characters often make good con-men).
Quark shows all the typical attributes of a larger-than-life ESTP: a love of hierarchy, status, upward mobility, and an easygoing charm and manipulativeness.
As with Bashir's type, the ENTP, Extraverted Feeling (Fe) plays the role of the Hidden Agenda function, meaning that the ESTP has a secret desire to be loved and adored by all. That's true of Quark.
IV. Gammas
Gul Dukat - ENTJ
The leading function of the ENTJ type, Te (Extraverted Thinking) denotes the accumulation and manipulation of empirical data and the desire for efficiency and organisation: the typical Te dominant character is the Organisation Man. That would imply that the ENTJ type works as a force for stability, but in the case of Dukat, this is not so.
Dukat undergoes several transformations throughout the series and experiences a number of reversals. He falls from grace again and again, but always lands on his feet. Socionics writes at length on the entrepreneurial quality of the ENTJ: he is a businessman who starts up one enterprise, and if that fails, he will star another after picking himself up and dusting himself off. Extraverted Thinking Te works differently in the ENTJ than it does in the other Te dominant the ESTJ. Whereas the ESTJ will run in a business in a prudent and conservative manner, the ENTJ will go about it in a spendthrift and risky way.
One finds it hard to dislike Dukat, the quintessential charming rogue, despite the fact that he's the villain for most of the series.
Kira Nerys - ESFP
The dominant function of the ESFP - Se, Extraverted Thinking - means force of will, volition. When accompanied with the ESFP's secondary function, Fi (Intoverted Feeling), that Se expresses itself in a different fashion than the Se of the ESTP type. ESFPs express themselves emotionally more than ESTPs and are more sensual - they revel in their bodies and the sensory realm. That side of Kira Nerys is more pronounced in the Intendant (Kira's evil alter ego from the Mirror Universe).
Introverted Intuition Ni - which stands for (among other things) the perception of time, absolutes, the spirit world, and the certainty that comes with the endurance of things over time - occupies the Inferior Function position in the ESFP type. Socionics calls the Inferior Function the Suggestive Function, and in Socionics, a type will want - often on a subconscious level - that function to fill their lives. We see a great deal of this in Kira, who pursues religious certainty and the spiritual.
Being a TV series which plays out over many seasons, Deep Space Nine allows more character development than in a movie. You don't often see the Suggestive Function in a character unfold as it does with Kira Nerys.
Winn Adami - INTJ
One would assume that as a priestess, and an Ni (Introverted Intuition) dominant, Winn would posses a rich spiritual life. But in the last episodes of the series, Winn confesses that the Bajoran religion never really evoked an emotional response from her - she looks at it and feels nothing. It turns out that she was looking in the wrong direction, and it is the evil spirituality of the Pah Wraiths which fulfills her.
According to Socionics, types belonging to the Gamma Quadra can be vindictive - certainly, this is true of Winn. The combination of Introverted Intuition (endurance over time) and Introverted Feeling (feelings of attraction and repulsion) means that once something upsets a Gamma type, they can brood over it for a long period of time. Extraverted Te in turn has them calculate as to how to take revenge.
V. Deltas
Odo - ISTJ
Arguably, out of all the characters in the series, Odo evolves the most, and the Socionist Gulenko says that the types of the Delta Quadra can be more spiritually evolved than other types.
Unlike Spock, Data and Tuvok - the other most prominent ISTJs in Star Trek - Odo does not play the straight man, the foil, to a leading character with a more extraverted (and emotionally reactive) personality type. Instead Odo gives us an example of the ISTJ as law man, law enforcer, judge, and loyal servitor of a higher authority - think of Judge Dredd or even Darth Vader.
The ISTJ's leading function Si makes the type deeply satisfied with its position in life and extraordinarily complacent, while the secondary function Te ensures that the ISTJ's existence is smooth, continuous, regular. The ISTJ, in a position of authority, becomes a stickler for following rules.
ISTJ characters such as Dredd, Vader, Cyclops and Orion wear headgear which makes them look anonymous and featureless. ISTJ characters are stamped with a lack of individuality. On that note, Odo's name is a Cardassian word that means 'nothing'.
Garak - ENFP
The word that best describes Garak is oleaginous. Garak, with his flair for diplomacy and getting along with different people of different backgrounds, reminds me of Game of Thrones' Lord Varys, another ENFP. The dominant function Ne gives the character an ability to scent out any opportunity, the secondary function Fi, to empathise or tune in with anyone they come across in their journey.
Superficiality lies at the heart of the ENFP character: there's no 'there' there. Garak has no mission to fulfil, no great idea to bestow on the world, but this does not mean that Garak, like Dukat, is not charming and likeable - he is.
Natima Lang - INFP
Appears in the episode 'Profit and Loss' (1994), Season Two
Members of a Cardassian dissident movement, Professor Natima Lang and her two students Hogue and Rekelen are clearly modelled on the White Rose Society.
An INFP character allows us to see an important aspect of the INFP's dominant function, which is Fi (Introverted Feeling). Here we see what in Socionics is called positive Fi, or +Fi. This is defined as:
+Fi = positive, warm relationships. Psychological factors play a vital role for them. Without recognition of ethical values such as individuality and the uniqueness of others, religion and spirituality, non-interference in others lives, concrete humanism, etc., the stability they strongly desire is hardly possible.
Also:
+Fi - good relations, love, friendship, affection, attraction, warmth in relations, sociability, close psychological distance, goodness, compassion;
Interestingly, Natima Lang has a romantic relationship with Quark, an ESTP, which does not turn out well. This should not surprise anyone. Socionics identifies the relation between the INFP and ESTP types as one of Conflict.
Shakaar Edon - ESTJ
Shakaar, a Bajoran resistance leader and later First Minister of Bajor, appears quite a lot in the series, but does not leave a deep and lasting impression. I mark him out to be a generic ESTJ jock character, much like Next Generation's Ryker, but without Ryker's redeeming quirks.
VI. Extra Characters
Miles and Keiko O'Brien - ISTJ and ENFP
A dull, bland character, Chief Engineer Miles O'Brien nonetheless plays an important role. Keirsey calls the ISTJ type a guardian, meaning that they perform essential services in any society but are not as overly interesting or 'out there' as some of the personality types. Indeed, the typical ISTJ character lurks in the background and gets things done, and is often unacknowledged and underappreciated. The quirky, cute, outgoing Keiko, on the other hand, represents the opposite to Miles.
The adventurous ENFP exists in a complimentary relationship to the stolid ISTJ: the Socionics relation between the pair is one of Duality.
Vic Fontaine - ESFJ
The holographic lounge-singer and nightclub owner Vic Fontaine acts as a mentor and nurtures certain characters on the series. One would think that an INFJ type would do this job, but the earthy, folksy Vic is a Sensor, not an Intuitive, and an Extravert, not an Introvert. The dominant function of the ESFJ, Fe (Extraverted Feeling) allows the type to 'read the room' and shape and form an emotional atmosphere. Certainly Vic does that throughout the show.
VII. In Conclusion
I have gone through all the types here except for one - the ISFP. I tried, but could not find an instance of one ISFP on the show. (Still, I will give this article the title 'The 16 types in Deep Space Nine' as opposed to 'The 15 types' - the latter does not have quite the same ring...).
Mark Hootsen Signing Off
great findings :)
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