Type 4

The artist, the dreamer

Overview

4s are attracted to authenticity, originality, individuality and artistic expression. They are often sensitive, expressive, passionate and spiritual people who look to make the world nice. They have a deep emotional connection with their own world and with others. They try to understand themselves and others in a deep and authentic way. 4s are very sensitive to feelings of suffering, both towards themselves as to others. They are also very imaginative, and when they come out of their world of dreams, their imaginary world, they can become true sources of inspiration. 4s feel most alive when they are able to creatively express their uniqueness through their own experiences and passionate feelings.

Avoidance compulsion

4s look at all costs, and sometimes subconsciously, to avoid banality. They do everything they can to avoid feeling rejected, insignificant, misunderstood and inauthentic. Deep down, they fear being undesirable with their differences removed, and being emotionally abandoned.

Center of attention and motivation

4’s attention is mainly focused on the past, the future, what is difficult to come by (they have a burning desire for the impossible) and for what is missing. They focus on finding the meaning of things. They are very sensitive to feelings of nostalgia.
4s are motivated by artistic expression, are drawn to originality, authenticity and want to make the world pretty. They need to be recognised for their artistry and have a strong sense of individuality. They need to express their creativity in order to feel good.

Vice and defense mechanism

When they are in the grips of their compulsion (avoiding banality), 4s’ ego makes them envious. They compare themselves a lot to others and are quick to become envious when others have what they are missing: relationships, happiness or recognition. Their defence mechanism is introjection. They internalize hurtful thoughts to protect themselves: they interpret hurtful feelings from outside factors as if they came from inside. They sometimes “absorb” important people through introjection to make it seem that these people are a part of them. For example, if someone who means a lot to a 4 criticises them, the type 4 could introject it to make it seem like the criticism is coming from within themselves. Type 4s often tend to introject bad experiences and thus have the feeling that they are managing them better.

In harmony

When they are at peace with themselves and manage their compulsion, 4s are expressive, introspective, empathetic, compassionate, idealistic and passionate.
They are at ease when they can freely express important feelings of theirs, and when others accept them as they are. Then, they lean towards their integration type (type 1) and the positive traits of the latter are adopted into their behaviour. Thus they become more rational, neat, objective, realistic and organised.

In imbalance

In the grips of their compulsion, 4s can become more moody, emotionally unstable, fickle, melancholic and egocentric.
If the situation doesn’t improve, they tend to lean towards their disintegration type (type 2) and the negative traits of the latter are adopted into their behaviours. In this case, they can become more reactive, compulsive, hysterical and desperate.

Wings

Type 4’s neighbouring types are types 3 and 5. The “wing” is the neighbouring type which seems to have the most influence on the base type.
4w3s are extraverted, ambitious and dynamic, but can also worry more about their image and be elitist.
4w5s are more introverted, enigmatic and intellectual, but can also be more depressive and solitary.