Ricken Hale MBTI Personality Type
Personality
What personality type is Ricken Hale? Ricken Hale is an personality type in MBTI, 2w3 - so/sp - 269 in Enneagram, SLUAI in Big 5, ESE in Socionics.
I can see why people might read Ricken as an ENFJ. However, I'd argue that his book - and everything else about him - is more characteristic of ESFJs' oscillation between auxiliary Si and tertiary Ne. ESFJs are commonly quite interested in new ideas, as long as they're not too complex, but they're prone to borrowing them from elsewhere, finding it more difficult to come up with their own. As such, they tend to absorb the ideas of others, and can be susceptible to latching on to new ideas without fully thinking through whether they're valid. Ricken's book is a regurgitation of already existing ideas, watered down for a general self-help audience. There's nothing especially original in it, and that's why it's hilarious and adorable that Mark's and Dylan's innies latch on to it: their naturally strong Ne craves engagement with new ideas, and for them, these are the most original ideas they can ever remember reading. They have no idea that Ricken's book isn't especially original. However, Mark's outie, who, as a former history professor, is clearly well-read and has stronger Ne, can recognise the book's unoriginality, which is why he's not interested in reading it. He's also naturally critical of the 'fads' that Ricken adopts, questioning why one might have a dinner without food, why Ricken might want to hang kelp in the birthing cabin, or why indeed it might be necessary to give birth in a birthing cabin. When Ricken calls the cabin a 'medical establishment', Mark responds, 'Is that what this is, a medical establishment?' Mark's clearly the stronger Ne user, capable of more deeply critically evaluating the ideas underlying the fads Ricken has bought into. To the notion that Ricken might be an ENFP: again, his Ne isn't strong enough, and he's not an Fi user. Self-help books are appealing to ESFJs, who can struggle with their sense of individuality, and one might imagine that for Ricken, writing one has helped him find his own sense of self. An ENFP would be unlikely to be interested in writing a self-help book, as their sense of individuality comes quite naturally to them, and they'd also view everyone's individuality as different, and consequently not something they can guide them in finding. The notion that one book could be used by anyone to help them discover their self-identity is very Fe-Si. Ricken's feelings about himself are also obviously influenced by others' feelings about him. In the final episode, when Mark's innie tells him that his book changed his life, he's invigorated; he can't find that self-respect within himself but is immediately lifted by the encouragement of someone he intellectually respects (as he assumes he's talking to Mark's outie). When strong Fi users are engulfed in self-criticism, it's unlikely that another's feelings about them will have such an immediate, profound effect on their own self-perspective.
Biography
Ricken Hale is an inspirational author of five self-help books, and married to Devon Scout-Hale.
