Mark Zuckerberg Personality Type – MBTI & Big Five

Analyzing Mark Zuckerberg’s personality type using the big five traits aka five factor model (FFM) and Myers Briggs type indicator (MBTI) and any other relevant psychology. The research for this character analysis involved and included watching the movie, The Social Network, and watching various interviews online.

Mark Zuckerberg Personality Type – Big Five

Openness

Openness is the personality dimension associated with intelligence and creativity, two areas that seem to fit very well with Mark Zuckerberg. Being high in trait openness comes with a high level of optimism when it comes to ideas. Creativity and lateral thinking allow for different ideas to develop, and then optimism about those ideas encourages the pursuit of those ideas.   

Conscientiousness

High in conscientiousness certainly seems like a good personality fit. This is the hardworking trait, particularly the industrious aspect of conscientiousness. He takes his work seriously, it’s a priority over seeking comfort. During an interview, Mark Zuckerberg talks about how, even once successful, he still only had a one-bedroom apartment which didn’t even have an internet connection. An almost obsessive desire to work and to be productive would likely, in part, explain this lack of interest in material goods.

Extroversion

The first clue that Mark Zuckerberg is low in extroversion (introverted) is the fact that he is a programmer. An activity and skill that probably only an introvert could excel in, due to how much isolation, or alone time is needed in order to achieve what he has. Another clue is, he doesn’t seem to be seeking social status, which suggests an inward focus, preferring the inner world. The way he dresses is an obvious clue to this, often wearing just a tee shirt and shorts to interviews. It suggests a priority for personal preference and comfort, rather than outward factors, such as seeking approval or social status.

Agreeableness

There are a few good reasons why Mark Zuckerberg is low in agreeableness. Firstly, most successful people are, due to a balance tilted towards being competitive rather than cooperative. This also comes with a strong interest in things, vs people, which is what makes great engineers or computer programmers. It also seems to be the case based on how he treated fellow co-founder Eduardo Saverin, as well as other involved parties. 

Neuroticism

Neuroticism is a difficult one based on what I know so far, which is mostly the movie The Social Network. I will tilt towards being somewhat high in neuroticism, based on how he was affected by being dumped by his girlfriend; the pain from that seemed to in part motivate him to succeed. Being high in neuroticism can make someone defensively aggressive. There is some evidence of that being true.    

Mark Zuckerberg Personality Type – MBTI

Other websites have the Mark Zuckerberg personality type as either an INTP or INTJ. I’m going with INTJ. He was an early achiever, while INTPs can often be late bloomers. This is due to the late development of the judging function. INTJs also tend to be more focused, serious, follow traditions and rules. While the types have many similarities, INTJ seems to be the closer match.

INTJ Summary – Very independent, big picture and future focused thinkers, intellectual, interested in ideas, generally curious, engages in complex tasks, perfectionist, good at seeing patterns between things, hard working, perhaps could even be described as obsessive.