Layers of Clothing and Personality Types

As the leaves begin to fall and frost begins to form from the morning dew, favorite jackets and near-forgotten sweaters return to our wardrobes, embracing us like long-lost friends. But while some look forward to cold weather as a good excuse to change up fashions that have grown stale, others greet falling temperatures with a bit more reluctance. Indeed, rather than being forced to bundle up, they may flee to warmer climes, waiting out winter in the comfort of their tank tops and cargo shorts.

How might our personality types reflect this difference? To answer this question, we asked our readers whether they agreed or disagreed with the statement, “Wearing more than one layer of clothing makes you feel constrained.”

Which personality types feel comforted by layers of clothing, and which feel too tightly bound? Let’s take a look:

Overall, there was not a tremendous amount of difference on the question of whether one feels constrained by too much clothing, but even smaller discrepancies can be telling. We explore the results by group below.

Roles

Analysts and Diplomats (46% and 43% agreeing)

Analysts and Diplomats, both Intuitive types, may be more likely to feel constrained than their Observant counterparts due to their more “open” nature. Analysts and Diplomats alike tend to balk at anything that attempts to close them in or lock them down, with Analysts always looking for novel, even unorthodox, solutions to problems, and Diplomats ever searching for new ways of seeing the world from a different angle. It may not be much of a leap to posit that these personality types desire a physical state as free of encumbrances as their mental state.

This is exemplified by Turbulent Commanders (ENTJ-T), who agreed with the statement more than any other type (56%). As a personality type that exudes strength and willpower, Commanders don’t like the idea of anything standing in their way, clothing or otherwise. They are particularly unwilling to reveal any possible weaknesses, and Commanders may even enjoy the notion of marching into the bitterest winds with the bare minimum of apparel – especially if an audience is there to witness their implacability. Foul weather may be a discomfort, but better that than risk looking ridiculous in a puffy coat or becoming tangled up in a flowing scarf.

Explorers and Sentinels (38% and 35% agreeing)

Where the more independent spirits of Intuitive personality types may lead them to risk the cold in a light t-shirt rather than don practical but constrictive clothing, Explorers and Sentinels are more likely to see such behavior as bizarre, or even foolish. Placing practicality above all else, these Observant personalities may consider layers of clothing as a fact of life, simply what you’re supposed to wear when the weather turns. The more grandiose among them may think of it like a suit of armor, though: there to repel any hostile elements that come their way.

The type that agreed with the statement the least, Assertive Adventurers (ISFP-A) (31%), may have their own motivations, though. Adventurers have a curious relationship with the world, one in which they strive to be immersed and apart at once, able to participate, but strictly on their own terms. Extra items of clothing give Adventurers’ artistic side a broader palette with which to express themselves, to tickle their own notions of beauty and to prove, even if only for themselves, that they are unique. But, like an astronaut exploring an unforgiving environment in a sealed suit, Adventurers may also dress in more layers than strictly necessary as a buffer against not only the physical elements, but the social landscape as well.

Strategies

There was a statistically negligible difference between Extraverts and Introverts, and between Turbulent and Assertive types, in response to this question. By extension, because these personality traits are the ones that govern our Strategies, there was little difference to be found here. This finding is hardly surprising, however, as the feeling of being constrained by clothing is very much an interior sensation of the sort that comes from our Roles, rather than a more externally directed response that our Strategies might shape.

Conclusions

Although the clothing choices of every personality type may fluctuate somewhat with the weather, many of us have preferences as to which season’s apparel has the most comfortable fit. This comfort may have a psychic dimension that goes beyond mere recognition of shifting temperatures.

Intuitive sorts, for instance, may find that, as a mechanic loses fine touch in heavy work gloves, they also feel oddly muted when dressed in thick garb. Observant personality types, on the other hand, may feel that the utility that layered clothing offers more than mitigates any loss of sensation, allowing them to do what they need to do regardless of the weather.

Are you the type who needs a number of layers to feel comfortable? Or does extra clothing rub you the wrong way? Let us know in the comments!