Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Lois & Clark Personality types

Has anyone ever analyzed the personalities of the various characters on L&C? Typed them via the basic four (san/mel/chol/phleg), MBTI, or Enneagram?

I'm curious; I tried to do this with characters from other fandoms but with a book it's hard to think of enough examples for a specific character if they're not the main character of the story. A TV show ought to be easier; with four whole seasons of episodes to draw from. Though, I think we'd have to try typing Lois once at the beginning of the series and once at the end, since her personality changed quite a bit from then.

I have tests for all three typologies and am thinking of trying to do the tests for Lois and Clark, but I'll probably run into snags, since I haven't actually watched very much of L&C. To be exact, I have only ever seen the Pilot (not the extended version of it either--I do so much want to see the parts where Lois is wearing the men's costume), I've Got a Crush on You, and Smart Kids (plus a little of that one ep with the bomb under the table at the party, where Clark can't move and has to tell Lois what to do using her first or last names--I saw that when I was little, when L&C was actually on TV). Everything I know of the show besides that is thanks to the L&C relationship pages on redboots.net and to all the fanfics from the Archive. With them, it's easy to figure out what actually happened if you read enough fics based in a certain episode; where the fanfics differ, the events that happen the most in a certain fanfic are likely to have been the real ones (and it always helps when a fanfic refers back to events in a previous episode). The downsides of this are that I don't always have a real good sense of what Lois and Clark on the show would do--I tend to see a multiplicity of options due to everyone's differing ideas on how their personalities are. So I don't think I could do this by myself, not unless I suddenly acquire a whole bunch more eps. (I would LOVE to see TOGOM, and Witness, and House of Luthor . . .)

Of course, if someone's already done this, great--I'd love to see the results. If not, anyone interested in finding out?

That's an interesting idea. As far as I know, it has not been done before. By the way, the ep you are talking about (with the bomb under the table) is "We Have Alot to Talk About", it is the Season 3 premiere.

Since I give and explain the MBTI, I'll start by looking at the end results rather than giving the test.

Okay, FoLCs, do you think Clark gets his emotional strength and energy from being around and interacting with other people, or do you think he gets his emotional energy from being alone and doing solitary activities that allow him lots of time to think? Obviously, Clark isn't at one extreme or the other, but which direction do you think he tends toward?

Same question for Lois: interacting with other people or solitary activities with lots of time to think?

I'll throw out my guess. I'd put Clark at the interacting-with-others end of the continuum, although I would put him close enough to the middle that he would also display a certain preference for contemplation. And I would place Lois at the solitary activities, contemplative end of the scale.

What do the rest of you think?

Sheila, I honestly believe the first would go for both Clark and Lois. Isn't interacting with others that gives us food for thought when we're alone? Lois wasn't as easy going and approachable as Clark, but she didn't have difficulty interacting with people she liked and respected. Like Perry. Before Clark, she didn't have too many people like that in her life.

And the fact that she considered marrying Luthor shows that she must have contemplated his 'goodness' in moments when she was alone. Thinking back on his 'good deeds' at night must have convinced her she could at least be proud of him, even if she didn't really love him.

That came from 'interacting' with him, wasn't it?
Or am I stretching it here?

Ursie

I think they both are not completely, but leaning more into the solitary descriptions. Both are lonely people, who feel alone in the world. Clark is a bit more social than Lois (probably because of his friendlier personality), but we all know how much time hes spends alone.

SR

(Yes, I should be doing homework now, but I really wanted to post!)

Personally, I think Clark is very slightly more of an extrovert, and Lois is more of an introvert, though both are very close to the middle.

Clark seems to love dealing with people, and while he loves the result of an investigation and seeing a finished article, I think he loves it as much for all the people he interacts with (note how much he loved articles like about the theater, where he interacted with the woman, Sarah Bernhardt, wasn't it?). That's a part of his character that is extremely obvious as Superman, where he spends much of his time rescuing people from various situations, and he loves the "cat up a tree" thing, even, with children. He definitely has a soft spot in his heart for people. He's not as extroverted as some (Jimmy strikes me as an extrovert, for one), but he IS extroverted as far as I could tell.

Lois cares for people too, but she would rather do things for them through articles, staying more distant. She goes after the facts, the truth--and whether she interacts with someone on an investigation or not is secondary. It's the article she gets from it that inspires her and gives her more energy. She gets bored and tired at parties much quicker than Clark, unless there's a story involved.

I could be very wrong about all this, since I'm working on a limited knowledge of the characters, and I may not have the personality typing correct, since I've only done that on my own (researched it on the 'Net, etc.). But that's as close as I could come up with.

Any conclusions on the first letter yet, or should we switch to the N/S continuum?

I wanted to add another point from the series. Anyone remember in "Operation Blackout" where L&C are at Lois's apartment and Clark is nagging her about technology keeping her from interacting with other people? Lois liked being able to keep her additional people-interactions at a distance when she was outside of work. Even at the Planet, she never was part of the group; she didn't stand around chatting with people and finding out about their families and concerns. And even in all her work-related interactions, they were normally in a situation she controlled (i.e. she didn't have conversations any more than she had dates: she conducted interviews).

Clark, OTOH, enjoyed chatting with other people about their lives, just to make the connection. He was lonely because he didn't have anyone but his parents to reveal himself fully to, but loneliness doesn't make him an introvert. In fact, it often means he's an extrovert who isn't getting enough "other" interaction.

Another way of explaining the Introversion/Extroversion dichotemy is describing it as whether a person prefers the inner world of thoughts and ideas or the outer world of action and interaction. I find that definition less useful to my understanding, but it may clarify things for some of you.

So, yes, Doranwen, I also see L&C near the middle (slight-to moderate), with Clark on the Extrovert side of the line and Lois on the Introvert side.

Ready to take on Sensing vs Intuition?

I'm not sure I remember the definitions properly, but I'd think Lois is more intuitive -- seeing the big picture, connecting things that aren't obviously connected, seeing possibilities. She's not detail-oriented ("that's why we have editors") and she's famous for her leaps of logic & hunches.

Clark is more detail oriented & down to earth (ironic, considering he's the one who can fly <g> ). He knows what he can do, and he wants to help, but Lois is the one who inspired the idea of an alternate persona. I'm thinking of NEB, too. Clark's thinking of the concrete -- people who could get killed -- while Lois is focused on the abstract -- the inspiration Superman provides, whether or not he saves everyone.

I was also pondering the T/F scale -- Lois is more of a Thinker (hey, it's the truth, so what if some people's feelings get hurt? too bad, so sad) while Clark is more on the Feeling side (it may be the truth, but there's no need to be rude -- cushion the blow). Maybe that's the "softening up" people talk about -- she's moderated her more extreme & callous Thinking tendencies.

They seem to be on opposite sides of the scale on a lot of things here... who wants to take on P/J?

PJ
(INTJ, if anyone was wondering)

I am actually not sure about Clark being extroverted. What I learned when I took the test is that loving being around people is not necessarily what you need to be extroverted. Are you more comfortable with large groups of people or by yourself/with small groups. I think Clark has shown evidence of not being comfortable in large groups -- the first award he got as Superman -- and he only really spends a lot of time with his parents and Lois. So I would think that would make him more of an introvert.

I agree with Pam (shocking ) about her observations of the S/N and T/F aspects of their personalities.

I just took the Myers-Briggs test last week at the career center :p (/me is ISTP, but the I was right on the border of E so if I would have answered one question differently, I would have been E . . . the rest were way dominant). Apparently, my personality type is very rare in women . Must be why I have trouble finding a boyfriend .

- Laura

I remember distinctly reading that the I/E thing was mostly about where you derived energy from more. Lois derives her energy from her stories, the facts, non-people things (Clark is an exception ), whereas Clark derives his more from interacting with people. I think it's only the solid extroverts (and Sheila and I both consider Clark more in the middle, though on the E side) who love large groups, and as for being in front of them, there are more Americans who would rather be in the casket at a funeral than speaking up front for it, so that just proves Superman is not a strong extrovert, maybe.

As for the N/S thing, I got the impression that it was a lot to do with the world around you vs. the world inside, not just intuition vs. details. I am quite detail oriented, but I live in my own mind a LOT, and I test INFJ. (I figured out, however, that I am a top-down processor--details have to go inside a big picture or they make little sense to me.)

I also agree with Pam on the N/S and T/F parts. And to finish it off, I'd say Lois is a P and Clark is a J (there's a ram file on Redboots showing the contrast between them--Lois does NOT plan--she jumps into things spontaneously and impulsively, Clark likes to plan things out and be organized/neat).

That would make Lois an INTP and Clark an ESFJ, if we're all right. Opposites attract, eh?

N/S, or Intuition/Sensing is about where you live in time than almost anything else. S's live in the present; their ties are to immediate, sensory reality. They can get lost in that eternal "now" of total absorption in an experience, and they can stop and smell the roses, which they would actually notice. Yes, they do notice the details of everyday life because they are most interested in the real world, in things that happen, in the impact of the senses. S's are more concrete in their attention, outer-directed.

N's, OTOH, live in the future; their ties are to dreams, possibilities, ideas. N's are dreamers rather than participants. Even in the midst of an experience, they are always mentally standing back, observing their experiences rather than being absorbed in them. They are more abstract in their focus, inner-directed.

This is probably the one I have the most trouble deciding for L&C. I would say that Lois is an S. She isn't the kind of person who gets lost in daydreams. She acts because her focus is on the real world, and she's very aware of everything going on around her. Her ability to notice small details and draw conclusions from them is incredible, but if she wasn't an S, she wouldn't have noticed the details in the first place.

I think Clark is also an S, but he is close to the middle, with many of the characteristics of an N as well. On the other hand, I think I could present an argument for his being just the other side of the center line and being an N with many of the characteristics of an S. When he flies, he really seems to experience the act, which is S-like, rather than enjoying it and drifting off into a daydream, only to "come to" several hundred miles away, which would be N-like. On the other hand, he does tend to daydream and obsess about things that haven't occurred yet, which is more N-like.

However, I agree that Lois is a Thinker, while Clark is a Feeler (i.e. he makes his decisions based on how they impact other people, and she makes hers based on achieving the goal, getting the story).

Lol, well, I see now why I score so strongly on the N side of things!!!

I agree that Lois is definitely an S. I think I'd probably put Clark as one of those rare people who is extremely well-balanced on the N/S continuum, and leave alone the deciding exactly which one he is, since he's so close to either side.

So Lois is IST, and Clark is EXF, then . . . Am I anywhere close on the P/J thing, or am I looking at it the wrong way? Lol, it's been awhile since I had time to delve into personalities (when you've finished analyzing yourself, they're not much fun without others to analyze with) . . .

Me, too, Doran. I'm an INFP, with a heavy emphasis on the N and P.

BTW, only 25% of the population are N's, while 75% are S's, and 25% of the population are I's, while 75% are E's. T/F and J/P are both evenly distributed in the population, but T/F is the only characteristic that shows statistically significant gender relationships. While half of the population are T's, only 1/3 of the T's are women, and 2/3 of the T's are men. Similarly, half the population are F's, but only 1/3 of the F's are male, and 2/3 of the F's are female. That may explain the sense of role-reversal that some folcs notice in L&C: Lois is a T, which is more commonly a male characteristic, while Clark is an F, a more commonly female characteristic. I definitely see where you're coming from on this, Pam, which is why I've always struggled with this particular characteristic for L&C. It almost makes me think that Lois is also an X--in the middle like Clark--but in the opposite way. That is, she is an S where he is an N, and she is an N where he is an S.

Any other thoughts on that particular characteristic? I'll finish this discussion about J vs P when I get back from work tonight.

Wow--my best friend is an INFP, though I couldn't say for sure which ones she was really strong on (probably N and P too, now that I think about it!!). The ratios make our types unusual, for sure . . . (I'm definitely strongest on N--I waver more on the E/I thing, depending on which PART of that divide is being addressed, and I can be quite logical, and the P/J thing is split for me too--I like routine if I create it myself .)

The role reversal makes perfect sense considering that characteristic, yes. I think the T/F is the easiest one to type for those two, lol. Pretty obvious from episode 1 how they are split. An F would have reacted to the whole Claude incident quite differently, I think. (And now from this arises a very intriguing what-if: How far can you tweak someone's personality and have it still be them? Could someone write a fanfic wherein a key characteristic like this be different and have it work, or would that contradict the essence of L&C fanfic?)

I would definitely agree with the N/S balancing each other out thing. I think it's part of what make L&C so much soulmates--they really do "complete" each other.

Awaiting your P/J thoughts.

P.S. Yay, this is my 50th post!

Since I'm at work, I decided to pull out my MBTI manual (all 420 pages of it) and do a quick presentation of the types we've been considering, with the opposing characteristics for each function.

A word about the MBTI, first: the four functions (E/I, S/N, T/F, and J/P) are reflections of how people take in information and come to decisions. S/N is the function that describes perception or information gathering, either a reliance on facts and experience (S) or a grasp of possibilities and dreams (N). T/F is the function that describes decision-making, either through logic and analysis (T) or through warmth and sympathy (F). Finally, J/P is the function that indicates which of the two previous functions is the individual's preferred mode. That is, J's prefer to go straight to decision-making while P's prefer to continue to perceive and gather information.

So, in brief, here are the descriptions of each dichotomy:

E = Breadth of interests
I = Depth of concentration

S = Reliance on facts
N = Grasp of possibilities

T = Logic and analysis
F = Warmth and sympathy

J = Organization
P = Adaptability

Between organization (J) and adaptability (P), I think L&C are pretty clear. Clark backs up his files (SV), wants a plan (GGGoH), and is "compulsive" (OP). Lois, OTOH, is spur-of-the-moment, only has a plan when she's forced to (GGGoH), and is "impulsive" (OP).

Using those key words, I think I would describe Lois as INTP:
Depth of concentration
Grasp of possibilities
Logic and analysis (but because she is an I, this logic is internal and others have difficulty following the logic of her shifts and changes)
Adaptability

I would describe Clark as ESFJ:
Breadth of interests
Reliance on facts (but because he is an E, this reliance is internal, rather than external and clearly visible--which may also explain why I had such a hard time typing him for this function)
Warmth and sympathy
Organization

Well, it's been awhile since I got to this thread. I agree completely, Sheila. Lol, I have a friend who's an INTP (a guy, though). Btw, take a look at this page , at the second to last section on it, and see what you think. It's an interesting concept for the MBTI. Could explain why I seem to be BOTH E and I, which drives everyone nuts trying to place me. Because I love to talk and share, yet I hate large groups, and I have certain areas of shyness and certain areas where I'm not shy--and I've been pushing myself to be extroverted in some things, where I didn't used to be . . . and yeah, it's confusing.

Now, what about the Enneagram? That's another great personality typology. http://www.9types.com/ , I believe, is a good site for info on it.

(If I don't get back anywhere for a while, it's because I'm recovering from having my wisdom teeth pulled. Ouch.)