Sigma Male Definition & Personality Type

You may be aware of alpha and beta males, but perhaps not a Sigma male. So what is a Sigma male, what is the definition, and what personality traits do they have? Perhaps you are trying to figure out if you are one of them.

The Alpha and Beta males are part of the status hierarchy. The alpha male is at the top of the hierarchy, the leader, and the beta males are below them further down the ladder. It’s the leader and follower relationship. Both are part of a rigid set of rules that make up society, social norms and determine social status.

Sigma Male Definition

A quick definition of a sigma male is: they are loners by choice, and they can have success in many areas of life, like the Alpha. Another definition would be; an introverted loner alpha that follows his own path.

Sigma males don’t wish to be part of the common hierarchy, either as a personal choice, or an innate instinct. They have no desire to be a leader, and neither do they wish to follow. These are the sigma males. The Sigma male personality tends not to like rules or limits, so they naturally have a problem with authority. They operate outside of the hierarchy. Conformity and limitations feel unnatural to them.

It is not necessarily that they are against all hierarchies, just the ones that they see as restricting and flawed that require conformity. They don’t look to compete directly with the majority, but rather to follow a different path. They may seek to create their own hierarchy to sit at the top of. 

Sigma Male Personality Type

They are often loners by choice. They often find groups to be limiting. The members of a particular group place high value on conforming to certain ways of thinking. They will sense something is wrong; they will be unable to fully express themselves in this type of environment or situation. Groups will often feel restrictive; this naturally leads to a desire for solitude.

They are often self-employed. This naturally comes from the desire for a lack of restrictions and a resistance to authority.

They are private people. Their main focus is to do their own thing, not to seek attention or approval. Some people will avoid attention due to anxiety or shyness. However, for the sigma male, it’s due to a psychological preference.

They are independent. Independence is very important to them, they are self-reliant and pride themselves on not needing help from others.

They’re inward thinkers. They think in depth about things, and are very analytical in their thinking. This causes them to often seek out their private alone time to think.

Sigma Male Personality – Big Five

The most obvious traits of the sigma male personality are being low in extroversion and high in openness. This combination creates a private and non-conformist personality. They are also ambitious with a desire for success; this comes from being high in conscientiousness, particularly industriousness. Being low in agreeableness may also contribute to not wanting to conform. They could be either high or low in neuroticism. This would determine how much of a risk taker they were.

Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

After giving this a little thought, I am going with a type somewhere in between an introverted, intuitive, thinking perceiver (INTP), and an ISTP. They’re detached from the social norms and hierarchies, they are introverted, analytical and free-thinking rebels with ambition.