Elizabeth Leefolt MBTI Personality Type
Personality
What personality type is Elizabeth Leefolt? Elizabeth Leefolt is an ISFJ personality type in MBTI, 6w7 - sp/so - 639 in Enneagram, in Big 5, in Socionics.
I have come to the conclusion that Elizabeth is an SP3. She presents as subdued, pleasant, humble, and even fearful, but it is not genuine humility. It is an act of vanity, aimed at maintaining a socially acceptable image. This explains why she is willing to forfeit her sense of self to go along with the crowd. At first, her fearfulness can look like E6, but it is better understood as the anxiety of an SP3 trying to keep everything together. She is willing to immediately update her and her husband’s home to reflect the newly set “social standard,” integrating an entirely new bathroom that their family likely cannot even afford. Elizabeth does not care about the feelings of Aibileen, but rather prioritizes her own image. She forms no personal connection with the woman who is raising her own child. Her anxiety is constant and visible, manifesting in her need to get everything “just right.” Any flaw, deterioration, or failure feels like a direct threat to her safety: “The theory of instincts shows us that when vanity takes over the instinct for self-preservation, it leads the individual to a heightened focus on survival and a strong need for control to secure basic necessities. This manifests as the urge to prove—to both themselves and others—that they are capable of handling life’s practical matters, presenting themselves as competent. However, this drive comes with a compulsive motivation: to turn every action into something that earns external validation. This recognition from others becomes the foundation upon which E3 relies to feel they exist. The self-preservation E3 thus compensates for an underlying sense of insecurity about their basic needs by seeking reassurance from others, believing that recognition will guarantee their survival.” “Anxiety runs high and constant… Everything must be whole, looking new and well-maintained. Any signs of deterioration or failure feel like a threat to their security.” This anxiety shows up in how extremely controlled and tense she is—her words, actions, even her subtle movements and expressions are tightly managed. She always presents herself as polished and well-mannered, even under stress. When Skeeter overhears her arguing with her husband, the moment she notices Skeeter’s presence she immediately composes herself: she dusts herself off, forces a smile, and gently tells Skeeter it is time for her to leave, acting as though everything is fine. This compulsive self-presentation is a core aspect of the SP3. Everything she does is in service of protecting her and her family’s reputation within their community. She judges her own daughter for being, in her view, “fat” and “unattractive,” because the child reflects directly on her social standing. This becomes especially clear in her reactions to public embarrassment. She does not care that her daughter is finally going to the bathroom; she pulls her away the moment Hilly arrives. Later, when Skeeter’s article leads people to place toilets in Hilly’s yard and her daughter sits in one yelling, “I go potty, mommy!”, Elizabeth’s response is to yell at her, pull her off the toilet, and hit her. The crowd is watching. Photos are being taken. Her priority is not her child’s literal biological needs, but the threat to her social image. One of SP3’s core beliefs is: “I have a terrible fear of social death, of being erased.” Her choices repeatedly show that social survival outweighs emotional connection. It even seems that she does not genuinely want to be a mother at all, but becomes one out of traditional gender roles and social obligation—another way of doing what is expected to avoid rejection. Her dynamic with Hilly constantly reflects this self-preserving vanity. She openly mocks her own daughter for “eating too much” in front of Hilly to signal alignment with the dominant social standard. She wants Hilly’s approval. Hilly (an unhealthy SO2) sets the norms; Elizabeth (an unhealthy SP3) complies with them. “When self-preservation serves vanity, it leads to self-erasure—stepping aside, making oneself smaller, or even ceasing to ‘be’ in order to avoid rejection or hatred. After all, hatred threatens survival. This mindset can be summarized as follows: ‘If I do what’s expected of me, I won’t be hated, and I’ll stay safe.’” This fear of hatred and social ostracization is precisely why she is so susceptible to Hilly’s intimidation tactics. “Perhaps the deepest, most central need of self-preservation E3 is inclusion—the feeling of belonging… It seems that self-preservation E3 has never fully outgrown this primal need and spends a lifetime chasing that gaze, as if in pursuit of it.” None of this analysis is intended to excuse the character’s actions, but simply to explain them. I often see people discussing the unhealthy sides of SO3 and SX3, but rarely do I see discussions surrounding unhealthy SP3s. 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬: ➢ Naranjo, C., & Collaborators. (2014). Vanidad: Psicología de los eneatipos 3. Ediciones La Llave.
Biography
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