Personality Theory in Fiction Writing VII: Personality Types’ Fiction Preferences

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In part six of this article series, we discussed making a fictional work appeal more broadly to different personality types. In this installment, we’ll take a more academic and technical look at correlations between readers’ personality traits and what they prefer in the fiction they read.

Before we proceed, it’s important to acknowledge that nothing is guaranteed to appeal to every individual with a specific personality type – in fiction or otherwise. Some people have preferences outside the norm for their type, so it’s not wise to assume absolutes.

But the good news is that we’ve conducted several informative surveys on how different personality types are likely to feel about fiction. These are intended to inspire, not limit, what an author might create with their own talent and imagination. We’ll share some factual data – but it’s up to each writer to decide what to do with it.

Methods vs. Preferences

There’s a difference between personality type methodology and the preferences of individuals of that type. People who share the same type may have different preferences, and people of differing types may approach shared preferences in diverse ways.

Speaking to readers’ trait-driven methods as type groups can increase the appeal of a fictional work more than guessing at their potential individual preferences. Let’s consider how people of different personality types might vary in their approach to the same objective.

Let’s say an author conceives a story with an underlying message encouraging positive activism, set in an environmental charity. To broaden its appeal, the writer chooses diverse characters – an Architect and an Entertainer. The activists in our example might both relate to that story, since it includes their personality traits and preferences.

However, changing just one subjective, personal element can narrow the story’s appeal because of specific reader preferences. Let’s explore how the environmental charity setting in our story might lose an otherwise “personality-targeted” audience:

This example isn’t unrealistic, given the variety of contrasting beliefs that people maintain. By emphasizing a setting that aligns with specific preferences, an author may bypass readers whose preferences differ, even if their personality type is highly compatible with the story and characters.

Okay, let’s pause to point out that an author shouldn’t censor themselves, their ideas, or the elements they wish to include in their work. That would be a step backward, because the unique vision of a writer is the most valuable component of fiction.

However, emphasizing approaches, behavior, and other elements relating to personality types over those relating only to specific beliefs can make a work more broadly relatable. It’s wise to find a balance. A tale that speaks to the way a given personality type is likely to think, feel, and do things can be quite appealing, even if certain other aspects of the story are less so.

When writers choose to highlight characters’ personality-driven approaches to living, the appeal of a work is less limited by specific beliefs, subjects, or settings. Personality type can be a commonality that readers relate to beyond individual preferences, and an author can tap into this by focusing on what makes each character type “tick” – not just what they do, but the ways they go about doing it.

Survey Results Relating to Fiction

The infinite possibilities of readers’ preferences, interests, and values give authors a lot of freedom to explore their own inspiration. And when they want to connect the products of that inspiration to certain reader personality types, our research data can offer helpful perspective.

Intuitive and Observant Personality Traits

Let’s start with some good news. Overall, most people seem to get into a good story. Responses to one of our research statements, “When you read a story, you feel like you are transported into it,” are a source of hope for fiction authors. 79% of all respondents agreed, with Intuitive personality types (88% agreeing) apparently escaping into a story most readily. This relates to the Intuitive tendency to connect with speculative realms of possibility – they love to imagine what might be and appreciate authors’ imaginations as well.

This might seem to indicate that Intuitive personalities are the most likely audience for fiction, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that a writer should focus exclusively on these types. Instead, our results might be seen as an invitation to find ways to draw Observant types, who were 18% less likely to agree (72%), into a story.

Let’s look at things from an opposing angle with the responses to another research statement, “You are not too interested in works of fiction.” While a minority of respondents (30%) agreed overall, Observant types (38%) were notably more likely to agree than Intuitive types (20%). But perhaps it’s not as simple as Observant types being less interested in fiction; rather, they may have different preferences as to what kind of fiction they like.

When we asked, “Which of the following literature genres do you enjoy most?” we offered two main fiction options – fantasy/sci-fi and mystery/thrillers – in addition to three other genres (classic literature, poetry, and technical/educational). Both Intuitive and Observant personality types demonstrated a greater preference for the two main fiction options (a combined 73% and 67%, respectively).

So when offered options that included multiple genres of fiction, Observant types’ reported fondness for fiction was about 5% higher compared to the previous statement, “You are not too interested in works of fiction.” This diminished the gap between the agreement rates of Intuitive and Observant types to about 6%, instead of 18%, when it comes to liking fiction.

To go into more detail, out of the five genre options, we saw a greater preference for mystery/thrillers among Observant types (27%) than among Intuitive types (15%). This relationship inverted when it came to preferring fantasy/sci-fi, with Intuitive types (57%) being more likely to choose this category than Observant types (40%). Overall, both groups showed a stronger preference for fantasy/sci-fi than any other genre.

That’s a lot of statistics to take in, so let’s step back and think simply about what these numbers might mean to a writer.

  • The Intuitive and Observant personality traits are the most relevant to readers’ preferences for fictional stories.
  • While Intuitive types generally show a greater interest in fiction, a majority of Observant types also enjoy fiction.
  • Compared to Intuitive types, Observant types tend to be more interested in mystery/thrillers but less interested in fantasy/sci-fi.
  • Intuitive and Observant types alike were most likely to choose fantasy/sci-fi as their favorite genre (among the five options given in our survey).

So an audience may have a subtly different makeup, depending on the genre. By honoring that makeup in the writing, an author can help readers connect with the work.

Responses to Realism and Symbolism

It may be useful for authors to consider not just which genres specific personality types are likely to prefer, but why. Understanding why Observant types may feel a greater connection to mysteries or thrillers – and why Intuitive types connect more with fantasies or sci-fi – can help writers reach an audience. Let’s look at a few more numbers that might shed some light on these preferences.

The difference between Intuitive and Observant personalities seems clear in their responses to the research statement, “You like to read poems and books with obscure or hidden symbolic meanings.” Intuitive types (69%) agreed at a higher rate than Observant types (41%). This difference is important for fiction authors to consider. Intuitive types love to interpret things in their own way, searching for underlying messages and applying their own perspective to an author’s intention. For them, symbolism is an invitation to fire up their own imagination and help define a story – what’s on the page is just a starting point.

But for Observant types, what’s on the page can be very important, often honored as significant in its literal form. These personalities may be more interested in discovering the details, twists, and turns of an author’s creation than in deciding the meaning of what’s been written.

This manner of consumption might be both more flattering and more difficult for a writer to appeal to: Observant types are less likely to enjoy filling in the blanks themselves and thus may be more attentive to where an author leads them.

In another survey, we offered the research statement, “You prefer movies and books with a realistic, contemporary setting to science fiction or fantasy.” There, we saw roughly neutral agreement from Intuitive types (51%), but agreement from Observant types was higher (63%). That’s not a huge gap, but it’s still notable.

Let’s think briefly about why readers with the Observant trait lean toward realistic, contemporary fiction, while Intuitive personalities seem equally open to different genres.

In their day-to-day actions and interests, Observant types tend to focus on the here and now, concerned more with what is than what could be. This natural tendency may continue even when they’re escaping into a realm of fiction – they may relate better to stories with elements that are somewhat familiar to their own lives. They connect well to things that seem real, even when written on a page. Fantastical subjects and settings may simply feel too distant for many of these personalities.

Conversely, Intuitive types can easily project themselves into the fantastical, their minds equally willing to entertain fancifully unrealistic settings and contemporary ones. Not only are they able to visualize the unlikely, but they also enjoy exploring it. A good example of this is our survey on daydreaming, where in response to the research statement, “You spend a lot of time daydreaming,” 85% of Intuitive types agreed, compared to only 36% of Observant types. Fanciful, indeed.

Empathy for the Imagined

The Intuitive and Observant personality traits aren’t the only ones that affect readers’ responses to a fictional work. There’s a difference between deeply visualizing a character and relating to that character’s feelings – and some types are more likely to empathize than others.

A core precept in our theory is that Feeling personality types more easily and readily empathize with other people. The power and truth of emotion is often a key element in their interactions. This doesn’t necessarily stop at the doorstep of fiction.

When asked the survey question, “Do you often feel strong empathy for fictional characters?” Feeling types (87%) were notably more likely to agree than Thinking types (65%). The Intuitive and Observant traits affect this tendency as well – in response to the same question, Intuitive types (81%) were more likely to agree than Observant types (60%).

Based on this data, Feeling and Intuitive personalities seem very likely to be drawn into a fictional story through characters’ humanity and emotions – potentially as much as any other elements. Thinking and Observant types empathize with characters as well, but their lower agreement rates suggest that their focus is more divided between other aspects of a work of fiction.

This underscores the diverse elements that make fiction appeal to different personality types. When writing with empathetic connection in mind, using personality type theory can make characters compelling. And, to catch the interest of types less likely to empathize with characters, even the plot itself can be guided by interactions between contrasting personality types.

Crucible of Creativity: The Mind of the Writer

We hope this article provides useful insight into how certain groups of readers perceive fiction. We also hope it shows how the classic goals of good fiction apply regardless of reader personality type. Whether writing realistic, procedural fiction in a modern setting or exploring the furthest reaches of possibility in futuristic science fiction, there’s no substitute for an exciting plot, good writing, and rich characters.

It isn’t necessary to write to reader personality types, but it’s yet another exciting way that personality type theory can be helpful. Seeing things from the reader’s perspective opens possibilities. It can be very useful to keep the personality-driven tendencies of readers in mind, but this technique should never restrain imagination, vision, or any deeper message an author wishes to convey.

In most cases, an author hopes that everyone, regardless of personality type, will enjoy their work based on its merits. In some rarer cases, an author also wants to reach certain people with a special message. An understanding of people based on personality type – and how they may react to a story – can help achieve any writing goal.

We hope our continuing look at using personality theory in fiction writing has been inspiring. Please let us know what you think about this article series in the comments below.

Further Reading

If this series has given you a thirst for more, we suggest you check out these related articles:

Personality Theory in Fiction Writing I: Making Characters Personal

Could You Be the Next Great Author? Personality Type Provides a Clue

Metaphorically (or Literally) Speaking: Figurative Language and Personality Type

Tears or Jeers: How Personality Types React to Emotion in Movies and Books

Personality and the Avid Reader