I used to be an avid viewer of Dance Moms (though I've recently stopped watching the show as I can't bear to watch Abby treat the children the way that she does) and I thought that this was an interesting topic, so I thought I'd throw my two cents in about the personalities of the girls.
Chloe: ENFP
- A lot of people have Chloe pegged as an introvert, but I actually think that's a misconception due to editing and her performance quality. The edit Chloe is given is that of the studious dancer among the bunch, which from what I've read from interviews seems to be true, and would ultimately lead people to believe that she's an introvert as being studious is commonly associated with introversion, but in Chloe's case I don't think that's true. I think Chloe's studious tendencies stem from a Te function rather than a Ti. She seems to be very organized and efficient on her own, which is much more of a Te trait than a Ti. This is also backed by her performance quality. Chloe is a very emotional performer but her emotions seem very within herself, manifesting through the way her body moves rather than her facial expression (very common amongst performers with Fi in my experience). Her Fi is also shown in the way that she stays true to who she is, rather than allowing Abby to transform her into who she wants her to be [Maddie]. I then pegged her as having Ne-Si rather than Ni-Se because she's interested in trying a lot of different things and not so set in what she wants to do in the future (Ne), and she shows hesitance to do certain things out of fear that Abby will respond negatively because of past experience with Abby reacting badly (Si). Chloe's two strongest functions are clearly Ne and Fi, to me, with her Te and Si being slightly more hidden/dormant. I chose Ne as Chloe's dominant function because she's probably the best speaker on the team, which would indicate a dominant extraverted trait. She is also extremely open, more so than most of the other girls, and wears her heart on her sleeve (which indicates a slight preference to extraversion). Chloe exhibits some shy behaviors, but I've known quite a few shy ENFPs. A strong case could be made for INFP (as I'm confident that these are her functions), but I'm definitely leaning toward ENFP based on the outgoing nature I see from her in the behind-the-scenes moments.
Maddie: INFJ
- Again, I think Maddie is misperceived as an extravert because of her electric performance quality. While I think determining whether Chloe is an introvert or an extravert is a toss-up, I think it's pretty much not even debatable that Maddie is an introvert. How often do you actually see Maddie interacting with others? She seems to like to keep to herself a lot and really only speaks up when she feels she has something important to add or if she feels it's necessary. I think the reason Maddie is perceived to be an extravert is because she's so engaging to watch when she performs because of her extreme facial expressions, but I think those are mainly due to her secondary Fe function. Performers with Fe tend be very good with facial expressions and engaging those around them, and since Fe would be her secondary function, it would be relatively easy for Maddie to access this. I believe Ni is Maddie's dominant function as she has a very clear view of what she wants in her future (a classic Ni quality) and most of the time when you look at her she seems to be fairly disengaged from what's going on around her and more focused within herself, specifically on bettering herself (which may be why so many people thought of her as self-centered/cocky in the earlier seasons). Her tertiary Ti can also be seen in the way she disengages, but also more specifically in the way that she seems to think out her sentences before actually speaking them. Her auxiliary Se can mainly be seen in her dancing. She's aware of everything going on around her when she's dancing and is able to react immediately, but she doesn't typically exhibit this behavior in her behind-the-scenes moments, leading me to believe that is one of her weaker functions. If this also adds to my argument, one of my closest friends is an INFJ and I've noticed that he and Maddie are extremely similar (though interested in different fields). That wasn't the basis of my typing Maddie as an INFJ, but it was just something interesting I thought about afterward.
Mackenzie: ESFP
- I haven't spent too much time thinking about Mackenzie's MBTI, to be honest, but I think you may be onto something with this typing, perur. Mackenzie is definitely much more extraverted than her sister, as she's often seen chatting people up behind-the-scenes and seems to be very good at small talk. I definitely think she prefers F over T, as she's made many comments (that I cannot quote off the top of my head) that would lead me to believe that she makes decisions based on her feelings rather than logic. Since I just said she makes decisions based on her feelings rather than everyone else's feelings, that leads me to believe she has a strong Fi (which is existent in an ESFP). I also think she prefers S over N as Mackenzie seems much more focused on the here and now than her sister is. I also agree with this typing because Mackenzie seems determined to make a name for herself, rather than be known as Maddie's sister, which is very common among this type.
Brooke: ISTP
- I also agree with you on this typing. Brooke is the most obvious introvert of the bunch, to me. Her Ti is very strong as you can practically see the gears turning in her head most of the time. There could be a bit of an argument for INTP as her fickle attitude about whether she wanted to dance or do cheerleading could possibly indicate Ne, but I'm inclined to agree with ISTP and say that she has Ni as she has consistently stated that she dreams of being a cirque performer. Overall, I think ISTP is a very accurate choice.
Paige: ESFJ
- Paige is a tough one, as the show didn't place much focus on her at any given time and she wasn't one of the girls that I actively attempted to discern a personality for. However, I am extremely confident that Paige is an ESFJ. Paige is an extremely caring individual that immediately relates to those around her through their feelings, and this is also shown in her electric performance quality, which is an immediate sign of a strong Fe. I also believe that she has a very strong, secondary to be specific, Si because she was always worried about how Abby was going to react to situations or what Abby was going to do to her, based on how Abby has acted in the past. During scenes in later seasons (3 and 4 to be specific), whenever Paige is put in a situation she doesn't know how to deal with, she seems to enter an Si-Ti loop (which is uncommon for ESFJs, but theoretically could happen in an extremely stressful situation) where she retreats into her mind and possibly recalls similarly stressful past events. Because of this, I'm confident that her cognitive function order is Fe-Si-Ne-Ti (ESFJ).
Nia: ISFJ?
- Another difficult one to type. This one I'm a bit unsure about, unlike my certainty with Paige, because the show tends to gloss over the introverts that aren't Maddie. Nia is shown to be one of the slower ones when it comes to picking up choreography, leading me to believe that she is an Si (picking up choreography has more to do with the body remembering the the feeling sense-wise of the movements, which comes more naturally to Se, than it has to do with mentally remembering what move comes next). I'd say that Si is her dominant function, as she has a great capacity for remembering the things that Abby does to her, but she doesn't let it her get her in a rut like Chloe and Paige (who have weaker Si). I'd say she has a strong Fe, as her performance quality is the strongest aspect of her dancing and she connects with the outer world and engages the audience. She also seems to be more in tune with the emotions of others than she is with her own emotions. Her Ti is fairly obvious, as she often pauses mid-sentence to gather her thoughts and present them in the most accurate way possible. Her Ne shows in the way she likes to have many hobbies rather than just one. I chose a J over a P for her type as she seems naturally very structured and task oriented. This is my reasoning for choosing ISFJ for Nia, though she easily could be another type.
Kendall: ENFJ??
- Kendall is, by far, the hardest girl to type as she's been there the shortest and she is basically given the boring edit on the show. In interviews/videos, it seems that the other girls view Kendall as the funny one/the ham, which leads me to believe that her dominant function is Fe (as jokesters are typically strong feelers). I also am fairly certain that somewhere in there she has an Se function since she's been shown to be very good at picking up choreography, even from her audition to be on the team. This would mean that her 4 cognitive functions are Fe, Se, Ti, and Ni (which sounds about right to me). I chose Fe as the dominant function -- for reasons I stated before -- Ni as the secondary function because of her strong will to be a dancer, Se because of the way she picks up choreography, and Ti because I noticed that she often pauses in the middle of a statement to gather her thoughts before continuing, leading me to ENFJ as her type. This would mean that she and Maddie have extremely similar types, and since they are the closest on the team, that leads me to believe there may be some accuracy in this typing of Kendall.
So there you have it. That's my two cents on the MBTI of the main dancers on Dance Moms. I'm a bit unsure of a couple of these conclusions, but for the most part I'm confident that I've typed them correctly. I'd love to hear your opinions on my typing!
