Hi everyone,

Reading through these forums it's obvious that typing people is a big part of the socionics community. What I have also noticed is people approach it very differently and come to some vastly different conclusions.

So this is how I type people...

  • First step get a vibe of their quadra

    Alpha=easy going social types, Beta= passionate social types Delta= Easy going serious types, Gamma=Passionate serious types. (This is very rough, my vibe is actually a bit more detailed but it wasn't translating well to text.)


  • If it isn't obvious consider their quadra more closely

    The quadra's are all very different from one another so I find it is a good place to start, as I only need to consider a small subset of socionics theory. As I tend to type people based on my social interaction with them I consider the following things.
    • Do they prefer large groups or small groups? (can be misleading)
    • Do they go with the flow of the group or do they try to steer the group?
    • Are the often animated/passionate?
    • Are they competitive?
    • Do they have strong opinions about people? If so are they likely to express these opinions?
    • Do they prefer practical discussions or "fun" discussions?
      etc...(there's more I was getting bored)

  • If I know them well enough I would next choose their romance type.
  • Once I have decided on a quadra I decide within the context of their quadra are they introverted or extroverted.
  • If I couldn't figured out their romance type I will decide if they are more ethical or logical.
  • This should leave me with 1 type.
  • Lastly I consider if the social roles and cognitive function placement fit.

    If yes it should be a puzzle piece moment like "yes they are defiantly this type". If it's a maybe I would place a tentative type and observe them bit more or consider close alternatives. If it's no I will revise the previous steps and consider where I may of made an incorrect assumption or observation.


I find this to be a very efficient method and easy as the information on quadra's focuses a lot on group behavior which is the context In which I do most of my typing. It is quite a quick process of elimination. In terms of accuracy I found I could type all of my close friends and I could type about 40% of my acquaintances/friends who I didn't have a 1on1 relationship with while at least getting as far as quadras on the rest.

I only consider relationships after I've decided on a type and I will not type a person based on a relationship (either to me or between people i'm typing). I will also try not to give types value, IMO all types are equal.

So how do other people type and do you feel that method/ability in typing could be related to type?
I feel the above is a very Te method very efficient without having to use detail unless i'm not getting that puzzle piece moment.