Sherlock
Dominant Ni: Sherlock is wired for problem solving, He frequently makes logic jumps to pinpoint future occurrence and then works his way backwards to develop a strategy to prevent the outcome. His talent for reading people is almost supernatural, and because of his quickness to anticipate other people’s actions, he is able to adjust his plans accordingly. Though he loves problem solving, he isn’t overly fond of surprises because he’s used to being able to accurately predict everything. For instance, when Magnussen turns out to be far more dangerous than Sherlock originally deduced, he doesn’t have a backup plan to account for the surprise, and does the only thing that he can think of in the moment (this is Se acting up to foil Ni) and shoots him. Sherlock is incredibly focused on his work as a consulting detective and does not waver for anything. He thinks long-term, considering the consequences of his decisions before moving forward and allowing him to remain ten steps ahead of everyone else. He recognizes absurd, but totally logical patterns, but can’t always understand why no one else can see the things that he thinks are so obvious.
Auxiliary Te: Sherlock has a sarcastic tongue and rarely filters his words to make others feel comfortable. He corrects people’s grammar and choses his own words carefully (though not regarding how it will make others feel). He is quick to devise strategies for getting from Point A to Point B, and works through each step in detail without so much as stopping to explain his plan to anyone. Certain tasks seem menial to him in comparison to the wider problem (such as sending texts, or getting his own phone out of his jacket) and so he delegates them. Sherlock is usually comfortable with deadlines, but doesn’t like to keep to anyone else’s schedule. Most of his decisions are made without the input of his emotions, and he views the world through a logical lens. He perceives the universe as a maze of interlocking systems that can be navigated definitively “What do we say about probability?” “The universe is rarely so lazy.” Sherlock subconsciously views most of his opinions as fact (and he’s usually right), but this makes him come off seeming arrogant and rude.
Tertiary Fi: Sherlock is facially expressive at home when in the company of only a few people, but the moment you put him in a crowd, he assumes an awkward poker face. He’s embarrassed to feel fear and views most emotion as a hindrance, which must be eliminated at all costs. At the same time, we can’t deny that he is extremely emotional. He has very few friends, but he would do anything for them, even sacrifice his life and reputation so that they could live. He would rather they think badly of him than allow them to come to any harm. At the same time, he’s sensitive about becoming emotionally dependent on anyone, so he deliberately makes few connections with people. “Alone is what I have. Alone protects me.” Though he has a vast understanding of how people think, he’s a non-conforming thinker who doesn’t understand social rules at all. At parties, he doesn’t know how to behave and he often experiments with social taboos just for the fun of it. His principles are immovable. He refuses to kill unless he sees no alternative solution, and when Mycroft opts to let him walk away naked, he chooses not to.
Inferior Se: When focused, Sherlock is incredibly perceptive to his external environment. This allows him to make wild and accurate deductions because he notices all the minute details that the police miss. When external evidence is lacking however, he is less accurate in his assumptions. Moriarty deliberately leaves a mass of external clues in his wake, which is why Sherlock is so quick to unearth his schemes. Magnussen on the other hand, leaves no trace, and thus, Sherlock’s presumptions about his nature are regrettably wrong. When under too much stress, Sherlock acts in the moment, rather than thinking long term, and almost ends up going to jail as a result of an impassive decision to shoot Magnussen. Too much external noise and people overstimulate Sherlock. We can visibly see his dislike for being in front of cameras, and he leaves John’s wedding early because he doesn’t know what to do with himself there. At times, he can literally zone out of the physical world altogether, living inside the internal world of his mind palace.
I’ve seen him typed quite a bit as an INTP, however, he’s a clear Te user.
The Book Addict's Guide to MBTI: 
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Sherlock probably has Asperger’s Syndrome. Dr. Tony Attwood said in a lecture that each person with AS has a coping mechanism, some escape to the imagination, some mimic, some recognize their intelligence and become arrogant, and are often diagnosed with Narcissistic Personality Disorder, or Antissocial Personality Disorder. Aspies have little empathy, and a good skill with systematic logic. They have feelings, but also a good difficulty in expressing them. It shows many of the characteristics, these being: Little understanding of social norms, difficulty understanding sarcasm, expressing feelings, feeling empathy, developing friendships and having romantic interests, sensory processing problems (having some meltdowns during the series), or irritation due to lack of stimuli, hyper-focus on a special interest, and even a little stimming. I believe that the closest personality to Asperger’s Syndrome in MBTI is INTJ. Lack of Fe, Inferior Se, Strong Ni and Te, functions and positions that can characterize this syndrome very well. Many non-autistic INTJs are confused as being autistic, even whey they don’t met the criteria. But Sherlock Holmes is a different case, as he has almost all symptoms. He was the first fictional character I identified with (Being an aspie and an INTJ).
Some articles about this hypothesis:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brainsnacks/201110/did-sherlock-holmes-have-asperger-syndrome
http://www.interactingwithautism.com/section/understanding/media/representations/details/58
https://dsq-sds.org/article/view/3728/3791
https://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2012/01/technical-character-spec_13.html
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235401471_Asperger's_in_the_Holmes_Family
http://globalcomment.com/bbcs-sherlock-asperger%E2%80%99s-syndrome-and-sociopathy/
Note: Sherlock Holmes’ understanding of emotions is not intuitive (in the social sense), but mechanical, probably through the study of human behavior. Many aspies can learn how people act, or even copy other people’s behavior. With training, an aspie can easily pass as a neurotypical in society.
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I think in the future, I definitely want to be more inclusive of neurodiversity in my typings
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Sherlock probably has Asperger’s Syndrome. Dr. Tony Attwood said in a lecture that each person with AS has a coping mechanism, some escape to the imagination, some mimic, some recognize their intelligence and become arrogant, and are often misdiagnosed with Narcissistic Personality Disorder, or Antissocial Personality Disorder. Aspies have little empathy, and a good skill with systematic logic. They have feelings, but also a good difficulty in expressing them. He shows many of the characteristics, these being: Little understanding of social norms, difficulty understanding sarcasm, expressing feelings, feeling empathy, developing friendships and having romantic interests, sensory processing problems (having some meltdowns during the series), or irritation due to lack of stimuli, hyper-focus on a special interest, and even a little stimming. I believe that the closest personality to Asperger’s Syndrome in MBTI is INTJ. Lack of Fe, Inferior Se, Strong Ni and Te, functions and positions that can characterize this syndrome very well. Many non-autistic INTJs are confused as being autistic, even whey they don’t met the criteria. But Sherlock Holmes is a different case, as he has almost all symptoms. First time that I identified with a character, he was this one. (I am an aspie, and an INTJ)
Some articles If you want more information about this hypotheses:
https://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2012/01/technical-character-spec_13.html#.X-DSP9hKjIU
http://www.interactingwithautism.com/section/understanding/media/representations/details/58
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235401471_Asperger's_in_the_Holmes_Family
http://globalcomment.com/bbcs-sherlock-asperger%E2%80%99s-syndrome-and-sociopathy/
https://trueautism.info/the-sherlock-syndrome-an-experience-of-autism/
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At risk of sounding like a biased, type-appropriating fan, reading this breakdown of Sherlock’s personality was like reading my own. The character reminds me of me almost too much.
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All I see in Sherlock is Ne, constantly finding patters and random interconnections. He is Ne spontaneous and charming, not Ni organising. He also is great at consuming huge amounts of information, Ni-doms usually doesn’t like doing that while Ne-doms love and CRAVE it. He uses Ti, with his own internal and personal logic and reason, not Te, which is a social function and would be better at focusing on and respect the spectrum of reasons from people around him. Inferior Fe, not good at adapting to people and their emotions, he’d rather just keep banging everyone in the head with his personal Ti. Inferior Si. He is running around with his Ne, forgetting to organise the sensory and but on the breaks, resulting in sensory chaos. Si users are also picky about grammar (focusing on details in the physical word), not Te which is a social function and has absolutely nothing to do with that. His mind palace also seems like a place where he has organised and the sensory (Si). You can see the big swings in his life between savour state Ne and demon state Si, he doesn’t know how to to balance them. I could see him being ENTP or INTP, or perhaps ISTP. He is only an INTJ if you type him by anecdotes in subjective and biased manner. I have not gone in depth typing him to get all the sensory straight, but I see a lot of IxxP (Ti) and ExxP (Ne/perhaps Se) behaviour.
Remember, Ni doesn’t see the future any more than Ne or Se/Si (that’s pseudoscience), and sensors are in many situations better at Ne/Ni because they gathered the sensory first and then went for the abstract connections, rather than jumping to wild guesses before gathering the sensory information. If someone is good at Ni, they are very likely to be a sensor.
-ENTP
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Quit watching OP. Dave sucks and has one of the worst systems I’ve ever seen.
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He is INTP .. I know myself , therefore I am sure he is INTP … Why do people think INTJ are more smarter than INTP ? If there is someone smart he will be considered as INTJ ….INTP is lazy and don’t care about their reputation .. INTJ do care about their reputation..bill gates, Einstein, Isaac Newton, darwen, shinchi kudo , sherlock , L(lawliet) , killua are all INTP .. open your mind —INTP
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Obviously the character looks more like an INTP. But knowing myself an INTP specialist investigator, I can say that this does not quite fit. INTPs open up sub-problems with a history and a previously invisible world. But they are unable to conclude. They can be necessary for the ISTP to point anormal details and relate these details to suspects with lot of details.
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Intuitive bias.
.Ti is the precise speaker. TiSe is the tactician. Don’t confuse with strategist. Sherlock doesn’t work for the next month or years. He is focus on present but like a tactician, he is fast for do a plan if necessary (the best for Dario Nardi). Ti is obviously very analitic and focused on facts.
Se. Holmes is stimulate by the movment, and he is an expert in weapons and combat sports. (In the book). He has a incredible spatial intelligence. Very visual. Not just to stude a map. He is interested by the immediate reality and can create a accurate spatial world. He also can be a coldly improvisator.
Ni. Holmes is focus on the problem resolution with a global wiew and precice synthesis. Not to serve a plan (NiTe) in a far future, but just to resolve a problem right now (TiSe)
Fe. Sherclock has no principle. Juste to be the best détective, and to be loyal with his friends. He is often annoyed by other and can be furious. He is not a cold personn.
So yes, his Ni is strong. As his IQ. And he speak lof of
Hate me for this, but the only type referenced by MBTI for to be Private Detective, is the ISTP:
isTp – Students – University of Saskatchewan
PDFhttps://students.usask.ca › documents › secc
inTJ – Students – University of Saskatchewan
PDFhttps://students.usask.ca › documents › secc
inTp – Students – University of Saskatchewan
PDFhttps://students.usask.ca › documents › secc
But you are very probably an INTJ.
Very persuasive and innovative access new ideas. Most peopler think INTP, and you can twist a character with a lot of dexterity to convice people of your intelligence. You think more like a strategist. It’s a succes. ( Moriarty…)
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Also, his drug usage is a clear indicator of inferior Se.
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SPOILER WARNING FOR THE SIX THATCHERS (EPISODE ONE, SEASON FOUR)
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That was an emotional episode, damn.
I think Sherlock’s reaction to the death (being vague in case the spoiler warning wasn’t enough) really revealed his Fi. I mean, I don’t use Fi myself, but I imagine how a grieving Fi-user would seek and want help but be unable/reluctant to express their emotions (not his style, as he said). And how he seemed to want to act well towards others through their own grieving but just didn’t know how. Not to mention his request to Ms Hudson to help him stay true and grounded.
Throughout the episode there were other times that showed the lack of Fe (Molly’s comments on Sherlock’s behaviour in the baptism, so on) and Sherlock’s seemingly lack of emotion but after the incident, by goodness he felt deeply (Fi).
This is just a general reaction after watching the episode the first time purely for entertainment, there is much more MBTI revealing stuff in there if you look (or observe a-ha!)!
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Compelling arguments. But I think Sherlock, somewhat akin to his medical counterpart, House, is more of an INTP or an INTx hybrid slanted towards INTP. INTPs are stereotyped as too lackadaisical to serve as compelling plot engines. But plunk a bit of INTJ drive into them and you’ve got an entertaining character. Both protagonists display many of the typical INTP foibles: isolation, intellectual obsession for its own sake, distrust, drug addiction (certainly for the original Sherlock), eccentricity, a disregard of social and legal conventions, and a lack of ambition. The last is the most compelling: despite his brilliance and fame, Sherlock, in his 30s, lives in a rented room with a flatmate and no real plans or goals other than solving cases he finds amusing. Not high-profile or important cases. Amusing ones. And for all his intellectual flamboyance, he has no need to be correct for its own sake. INTJs would be humiliated to admit not knowing that the earth revolves around the sun. INTPs don’t care.
Enjoyable site. Thanks for the post. Keep it up.
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Fair
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But INTJs can be very intelectually obsessive, especially If they are smart. I’m curious about lots of areas in Science & Arts and I’m not INTP or whatever.
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Most you said can be applied to any rational type.
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Finally, an analysis that’s more analysis than projection. The writers have armed Sherlock with both Ti and Te. The tiebreaker here is that the character has been poured to the brim with Se. He is deeply connected to observation over abstraction.
You can basically ignore the other functions to arrive at probable type:
1. ISTP (Season 1 especially)
2. INTJ (Season 2-3 especially)
3. INTP (The 6 Thatchers especially)
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Hello. Before I thought he was an INTJ, but now I see it as an INTJ. I’m trying to explain why you think it INTJ this site, but it seems that many still have good arguments for INTP: http://mbti-databank.com/index?page=pperso&idperso=1427
It would be interesting to take a look and you expose more reasons for him to be INTJ.
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Hi M, I read the thread you linked. Many of the arguments are about personal interpretations of Sherlock’s internal thought process, which is rather impossible to unravel with 100% accuracy.
To be honest, the most interesting argument was bobnickmad’s ISTP logic as a middle ground for the INTP vs INTJ debate. He linked an interesting article about ISTPs /INTPs, probably for this bit related to explaining why Sherlock is so focused on solving crime: “ISTPs seek to distill and comprehend the unifying principle(s) that governs a focused, distinct set of ideas, or even a singular idea”.
I will quote the conclusion of this article he linked: “Both types [INTP and ISTP] favor precision and clarity over expediency and efficiency. With Te types the opposite is true.”
That can be a tough line to draw in the sand. For example, I love precision and clarity *to make a discussion more efficient so that we reach a conclusion*. I will only seek that clarity and precision to accomplish something, and not for the pure sake of knowledge.
So, do you sense that Sherlock is the precision/clarity guy, or the expedient/efficient one?
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Hey! Nice blog there!
I agree when you say that Moriarty is an ENTP. But I’m pretty sure that he’s an INTP. He seems more perceptive than judging, because he works in spontaneous, and random energy bursts.
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I apologise for my stupid comment here. Took me centuries before I could find this.
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Thank you for this and this website in general. I identify as anINTJ and this website has truly help because I most certenaly don’t fital the INTJ stereotypes. Since I learned about MBTI I knew Sherlock was INTJ and I think that’s why I connect with him so much. This wed site has also helped me understand my self more and more about the MBTI theory. Thank you.
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Speaking as an INTJ myself, a true INTJ would never permit such spelling errors.
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There is clear affect driving his decision to leave the wedding early. Watson is occupied and the girl he sees as an opportunity is otherwise engaged. There’s a reason he half steps toward her after the camera shows John and Mary. It also brings it back around to the story told at the beginning of the episode about the “friend forever” that left the wedding early.
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[…] almost as rare (3%ish), are so popular (such as Mr. Darcy, Atticus Finch, Ender Wiggin, and Sherlock Holmes). Frankly, I think fiction is missing out on some interesting characters by ignoring the […]
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Have you ever read any of Ayn Rand or Flannery O’Connor’s work?
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I have not read any of Ayn Rand’s works– though Atlas Shrugged is on my personal reading list, and while “Flannery O’Connor” sounds familiar, I am not familiar with her writings. Would you recommend any specific books by those authors?
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Flannery O’Connor didn’t write any books that I consider amazing, but I’d recommend all of her short stories with top marks.
Of Ayn Rand, I’d recommend Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead.
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Actually, O’Connor did write two novels–Wise Blood and The Violent Bear It Away–but she was a more natural short story writer, and her stories are a better place to start. (A book of her essays and a collection of her letters were also published after her death. I love her essays and letters, but for the best literary experience, start with the stories.)
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That’s right…I suppose my sieve mind just erased them because I haven’t read them. My mistake.
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Thanks for the recommendations. I will add those to my reading list.
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You might want to give Elizabeth Marie Pope’s “The Perilous Gard” a try, if you don’t mind older YA fiction (the book won a Nobel Honor maybe 30 years ago and is a sort of historical fiction/fantasy meld). The main character, Kate Sutton, is a female INTJ whose ESFP younger sister gets her into major trouble with Mary I of England. Kate was the first female character that I ever really identified with.
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I think that one of the reasons why the show is so popular is because the audience loves the friendship between two seemingly very opposite individuals: INTJ Sherlock and ISFJ Dr. John Watson. They use completely different functions with different preferences. I think one of the reasons why Dr. John Watson is able to have a friendship with Sherlock is because he has developed his Ti function and tries to use Ne more often.I know ISFJs who have done exactly this). I imagine that this is not always the case in real life interactions between ISFJs and INTJs.
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I love those kinds of ISFJs –the other ones…not so much.
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As an ISFJ who does try to develop my Ti, I am glad you like those kinds of ISFJs. It was very difficult to type myself at first because I have a couple of conditions that complicate my thought process in regards to MBTI. Also, my dad is very big picture oriented (definitely a Ni user) so I am happy to participate in theory sometimes.
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Obviously he is a fictional character, and is some sort of outlier to whatever type he is.
I would say he’s more of an estp, since he very VERY clearly leads with extroverted sensing. Then he follow with ti (analysis)
People say hes an obvious te user, but I dont think so. It may seem that way because, he comes to clear concise conclusions, very quickly, but he described his how he thinks himself, as analyzing all possibilities, then deleting unnecessary information. And since he has a super mind, he is able to do this exreamly quickly. (Paraphrased)
Since he is a sociopath, and is very impulsive, he tends to ignore his fe.
Then he finishes with ni (for seeing effects/implications)
I think people see him as an intj because he seems very cold and emotionless (like intjs) when in reality intjs are actually very good at analyzing their emotions, to make make logical choices. It just isn’t outwardly expressed, and they never act irrationally because of emotions.
I think in the case of sherlock he actually is very cold, and cares far more for the excitement of solving cases, than he cares about how anyone feels.
I think people might also see his as intp since intps are master deducers.
To me he looks very much more like an estp. (Coming from an intj)
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Sherlock will always be a controversy, and I welcome controversy, so thank you for sharing your viewpoint.
Coming from my end, I don’t think Sherlock is a sociopath. Sociopaths don’t attach themselves to their ‘friends’ the way Sherlock attaches himself to John Watson –and if you need evidence of Sherlock’s ability to analyse his emotions, rewatch the Hound of Baskerville. Not to mention how strictly he lives by his moral codes. Sherlock may be cold to the point of thinking that he’s a sociopath, but when it comes down to analysing the symptoms of sociopathy, he only displays a handful of them, while managing to elude others.
He doesn’t seem that impulsive to me. Any time he jumps up to leave, it’s always in pursuit of his one true obsession (solving crimes), which suggests an Ni focus. Se doms will jump up and leave without notice too, but not to focus on their mission –to get distracted from their mission. Think James Bond. Oh, look, pretty lady. I bet there’s a bed somewhere nearby. Or, if you want another example, think Jack Harkness, who gets distracted from his Torchwood missions by pretty much anything remotely sensual. Hmm, Ianto or saving the children of Earth? I think we’re going with Ianto, yeah?
Se doms usually tend to rely on improvisation, while Se-inferiors typically freak out and make mistakes when they have to improvise. You’ll notice everything works out just fine in Reichenbach Fall because Sherlock has planned 10 steps ahead of Moriarty, but in going up against Magnussen, Sherlock has to resort to desperate measures (murder) because his detailed plan didn’t work out.
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Christian, thanks for sharing a different analysis here. Surprised with ESTP! I’ve read ISTP arguments, but first time I see ESTP ones.
I have to side with A on this one. To me, Sherlock does not seem to seek sensory input as a basic need to feed a dom Se cognitive function: it looks like he prefers a mental challenge over a physical or sensory one, and I don’t see him actively seeking external approval for his looks or abilities even though his behaviour can be interpreted as a show off in some scenes (which might be an impression devised by the filming crew to make him look like the cool jerk to the audience).
I believe, from an external point of view, that INTJs and ESTPs do share a certain bluntness/insensitivity when speaking with people. They can get bored equally (for very different reasons though!), and they can both be perceived as very competitive folks.
A major difference between both types is that ESTPs often detest planning and talking about things, they would rather do the thing ASAP, and discussions become difficult when the goal is further in time, or becomes highly strategic/theoretical/system-related. I (an INTJ) clash a lot with ESTPs on that specific point.
Another distinctive feature I’ve observed is that they use this kind of argument in heated debates: “we are going to look stupid”, “people are going to think that…”, which an INTJ is unlikely to use as the main baseline to defend their points (INTJ will most likely argue efficiency first). It takes a little more time and patience to get an ESTP’s Ti arguments out in the open, and I’ve never heard one actually explain in details their own arguments, it comes out rather short and to the point (i.e. they won’t babble like Sherlock does a lot in BBC version).
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And I just noticed the top comment was made last year. I completely missed the interesting arguments on this very post, which I read today for “sake of completion”. Sorry about the “necro” :)
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Sherlock is most often typed as INTJ or INTP, and for a good reason. I’d say he’s closer to INTJ, but I am by no means an expert.
Although Sherlock says he is a sociopath, he is not one. He’s actually very emotional, as demonstrated throughout the show, but would prefer that people see him as callous and indifferent to other’s well being because in his mind emotion is weakness. He may even believe he is is a sociopath because he is not empathetic and has little to no understanding of other’s emotions. As Sherlock says to Mycroft, “Sentement is a chemical defect found on the losing side.” Although Sherlock does have some characteristics associated with sociopaths, he is to emotional to actually be one. Sociopaths don’t become attatched to people the way Sherlock is to John, or even Mrs. Hudson. He also clearly does not use extroverted sensing, as Sherlock relies on his ability to plan to beat Moriarty, but panics once he realizes he has severely underestimated Magnessun. His weak Se takes over, causing him to shoot Magnessun. He also obviously enjoys mental stimulation rather that physical stimulation, further supporting the idea that he in not Se dominant.
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