16 Personality Types as Stranger Things Characters

Will Byers is an INFP. He is an individualistic person who values his freedom and independence, which is common for an INFP, and he often feels wise beyond his years. Will has a wild imagination and an open mind which ultimately helps him in the Upside Down. INFPs often speak in metaphors as they feel it gets their emotions and their point across in a more conceptual way, which is a personality trait of Will Byers. He is a sensitive character who can sometimes feel misunderstood in his small friendship group.

Joyce Byers embodies the ENFP personality type. Joyce didn’t believe the body in the morgue was her son, and instead trusted her intuition to explore other possibilities. Joyce could just tell that Will was sending her signals from a different realm and she knew she had to save him. She has a talent for seeing connections between seemingly unrelated concepts, even when others view her as crazy, and she is constantly questioning things, which is typical of ENFPs. ENFPs often have such busy minds that they miss a lot of things happening in front of them in the physical world. Joyce has little quirks like this. She is forgetful and because she is so in her head, she sometimes misses picking up on people’s emotions when they are right in front of her.

Dr. Brenner is an unhealthy INFJ. INFJs don’t always use their unique personalities for good, they can also be master manipulators, just like Dr. Brenner. He plays with people’s emotions, such as acting as a father figure to the kidnapped children and displaying a trustworthy persona so that the children are more comfortable with him. INFJs have strong ideals and they focus on the future. They have a unique ability to come up with carefully considered plans and when used in a healthy way, INFJs take steps to bring positive change to people’s lives. However, unhealthy INFJs can become fixated on what they think is right and they can end up hurting people along the way. Dr. Brenner’s experiments and psychokinetic tests physically harm the test subjects but he was too focused on the bigger picture to care.

Mike Wheeler is the ENFJ in Stranger Things. He is the leader of the group and is willing to go to great lengths for each of his best friends, just like ENFJs, who are protective of their loved ones. Mike Wheeler is future-oriented and uses this vision to prioritize actions. He is passionate but he can be stubborn occasionally. ENFJs truly care about helping other people and they want the best for their family and friends. Mike Wheeler was willing to die to save his best friend, Dustin Henderson, and he wanted to help and feed Eleven when Lucas was cynical about her true motives.

Robin Buckley is the ultimate INTP that really comes into her own in Season 4 of Stranger Things. INTPs can sometimes be insensitive as they miss social subtleties and end up just saying things bluntly. Robin said herself that she has no filter and lacks a strong grasp of social cues. In fact, she knows she can say things that upset people. Robin is also theory-focused and can make connections between things that other people, such as Nancy Wheeler, cannot see. As an INTP, she has a busy mind and the ability to see a situation from many different angles.

Dustin Henderson is the ENTP of the Hawkins’ AV Club. Dustin is a dynamic individual who has a thirst for learning. He thrives in the world of possibilities and Dustin is often the one coming up with great ideas in the group and thinking outside of the box. As an ENTP, he isn’t afraid to argue his point of view, and at the same time, he is understanding of different peoples’ perspectives. ENTPs can often be portrayed in an unhealthy way in fiction but Dustin Henderson is the perfect example of a healthy ENTP who uses his quirky personality traits and logical thinking to help his friends whenever they need him.

Henry Creel is an unhealthy INTJ. He befriended Eleven and acted protective over her under false pretenses to gain her trust in order to be able to manipulate her into doing what he needed her to do. As an unhealthy INTJ, Peter Ballard is an obsessive perfectionist, to the extreme extent that he wants to exterminate the human race because he saw them as weak. I’ll leave it there because I don’t want to give away too many spoilers with this new character in Season 4!

Erica Sinclair is an ENTJ. She is intelligent, brave, and a mathematical genius. She is asked to help the gang but she drives a hard bargain from a young age and shows her ENTJ flare by reminding them that America runs on capitalism and she would only help them in return for free ice cream at the end. Erica is confident, sharp, and sassy, telling Dustin that “You can’t spell America without Erica.” Female ENTJs can often feel misunderstood in some ways because, as highly rational women, they don’t fit society’s gender stereotypes. However, Dustin encourages Erica to embrace her nerdy side as it’s something to be proud of and Erica gets involved in D&D.

Barb Holland was an ISFJ. People of this personality type are incredibly loyal and always have their loved ones backs. This can be said for Barb, who was Nancy Wheelers best friend. She was a responsible and reserved person who cared deeply about school and worked hard, just like a typical ISFJ. Barbs preferred to think things through before diving headfirst into a situation, such as Steve’s party that she didn’t really want to go to, but Nancy eventually convinced her to go. As an ISFJ, Barb is the most supportive friend and she went to the party even though she disapproved of Steve and drinking.

Karen Wheeler is the ultimate mom ESFJ stereotype. She is caring and nurturing. People of this personality type are enthusiastic when it comes to offering advice and supporting those in need, especially their family and friends. Karen often offers people advice and comforts them. Whether it’s Nancy when she got fired or Mike when Will and El move out of Hawkins, Karen is an empathetic individual who absorbs other people’s emotions. She came close to cheating on her husband but she ultimately chose her family and loyalty over her lust for someone else.

Ted Wheeler is an ISTJ. He is a hard-working father who, like an ISTJ, enjoys his routine which involves spending a lot of time at work, eating dinner with the family, and sleeping in his chair. Ted is married to Karen Wheeler, an ESFJ, and it is believed their marriage is more one of convenience with the idea of being the ‘perfect nuclear family.’ This is unsurprising as the personality traits of both types are that they care about following social norms and this can mean doing things they don’t necessarily want to. ISTJs value tradition and it can be difficult for them to admit, or even think, that they are wrong, just like it is for Ted Wheeler.

Nancy Wheeler is an ESTJ. She is direct and honest, which can often result in her coming across as blunt and a little tactless. Her arguments with Jonathan Byers stem from her inability to communicate with him in a tactful way. She often offends him and some might describe her as being tone deaf. When strange things started happening in the town, Nancy Wheeler was focused on gathering the facts and asked all the questions to get to the bottom of things. Like a true ESTJ, she can uncover smaller details and pieces of information in order to problem solve. ESTJs have an unmatched work ethic, which applies to Nancy in her job as a journalist. She is mistreated by her sexist co-workers and worked even harder to gain their respect.

Eleven is a typical ISFP. Eleven is naturally curious about the physical world and loves to explore, which is typical of ISFPs. She wants to explore the real world that she never got to know from her years in the Upside Down. People of this personality type can be impulsive since they like to follow their emotions instead of logic. This can be said for Eleven, who typically makes decisions in the moment without thinking them through. She cares deeply about her friends and uses her powers to protect them when she can. In true ISFP fashion, Eleven can sometimes be overly-sensitive and doesn’t take criticism well. Jonathan Byers, Will’s older brother, is also an ISFP.

Steve Harrington is an ESFP. ESFPs are often the popular ones with their fun-loving attitude and their charismatic personality traits. That’s definitely Steve Harrington! He enjoys being the center of attention and he makes sure to enjoy and lap up all the admiration he receives from people. As an ESFP, Steve is well versed in living in the moment with little regard for consequences, such as throwing a house party and sleeping with Nancy. He grows as a person throughout the series and gets more in tune with his emotions, starting to look out for the boys and taking on a ‘big brother’ type role with Dustin.

Jim Hopper is the ultimate ISTP, all the way down to his job as a police officer. People of this personality type take time to process information and they do so internally. This is Jim to a tee. He prefers to work alone and he was the one that pursued Will and Barb’s disappearance and worked out what was going on. ISTPs are masters at figuring things out, especially when it comes to practical matters, and it was Jim who discovered the Hawkins Tunnel System after the local pumpkin patches began to rot. When it comes to emotions, ISTPs can struggle to make sense of them and they often find them overwhelming. This was the case for Jim when his daughter died and he turned to alcohol and drugs to help him through the emotional pain he was dealing with.

Max Mayfield is an ESTP. She is a dynamic individual who loves to go out and try new things rather than sit around and wait for them to happen. As an ESTP, Max is assertive, logical, and direct. She can also be hot-headed and she isn’t afraid to break the rules. People with this personality type aren’t interested in possibilities and they don’t overthink, just like Max. When Max Mayfield was first introduced, she was quiet and came across as introverted, but this was due to moving to a new town and not knowing anybody. In Season 4, she develops her introspection as she is grieving.