Chucky: a Myers-Briggs Personality Type Breakdown

The Child’s Play movies are well known for its sadistic doll-killer personality, Chucky.  Chucky is an interesting killer, as he is the only horror movie killer to survive death by inhabiting an inanimate object.  The Chucky doll is naturally scary and the deaths of his victims make him all-the-more horrifying.  But what really keeps Chucky up at night? What makes him tick and causes him to be so violent? Horror Enthusiast has beaten through the confused, mixed up thoughts of Charles Lee Ray (the Chucky doll possessing serial killer) in order to offer the most accurate Myers-Briggs personality type assessment possible for the slashing doll!

What Myers-Briggs Personality Type Would Chucky Have?

Chucky is an IST-J Myers-Briggs personality type.

Chucky is one of the smallest of the horror movie killers, but he definitely owns one of the most vibrant, talkative personalities of them all! His attraction to the spotlight has helped him earn his suspected personality type.

Hates Play Time

Chucky may be a “Good Guy Doll,” and owned by a child, but he is most certainly not fond of play time.  He does put on a good show though and is able to recite the recorded Good Guy Doll messages with ease. Chucky also tries to get along with his child-owner, Andy, in order to ultimately control him and get his way. This type of behavior helps him earn an “I” Introversion personality ranking.

Reserved Killer

It may be true that Charles Lee Ray (the serial killer who possessed the Chucky doll) had made a lot of real-life bad decisions, but as Chucky, he is reserved and calculated. Chucky only strikes out when he knows he can win…otherwise he appears to be nothing more than a child’s toy.  This ability to turn off the outside world and reflect, as well as calculate his killings, contributing strongly to his “I” Introversion personality type.

Never Forgets A Face

Chucky interestingly enough requires Andy’s help throughout the movie, and needs to be transferred into Andy to survive.  He haunts Andy throughout the films, using his past encounters and experiences as methods to work his way through.  Chucky’s logic and reasoning boil down to doing whatever is necessary to achieve his bottom line.  This mentality contributes to “S” Sensing personality rank.

Fact-Driven Killer

This doll understands his situation perfectly well, so much so in fact, that he will actually pretend to be fake throughout the movies in order to get what he wants. Chucky understands the facts well enough to manipulate his survival. This horror movie slasher’s fact-based activities ensure a rank of “S” Sensing.

Super Interested In The Details

Charles Lee Ray may have been a more impulsive serial killer in human form, but as a doll, he has had the luxury of his victims literally not believing their eyes. Thus, he has been able to truly enjoy his killings and enjoy them he does! Chucky can often be heard making clever remarks before or after a victim dies, and he seems to thoroughly enjoy the science behind a killing.  This type of behavior contributes to his rank as a “T” Thinker.

A Logical & Sound Slasher

Chucky is a very logical horror movie killer, analyzing his situation to decide the best outcome. He is often depicted as an uncaring killer with an indifferent perspective for nearly anything which doesn’t concern himself. Chucky will always search for the easiest, most reasonable way to get back into a human body, no matter the cost (even human lives). This type of slasher is most definitely a strong “T” Thinker personality trait.

Pre-determined Plans and Task-Oriented

The Child’s Play slasher has always liked for things to be pre-planned, decided and without contest.  He stages many traps for his victims, but also has big plans outlined for himself and his own future.  He thinks more about the future than most horror movie killers and cares a lot about his plans working out.  Chucky’s task-oriented mentality locks down a “J” Judging personality rank.

A Drive to Meet Deadlines

Charles Lee Ray understands deadlines better than most horror movie slashers.  He understands the deadline on his life when he jumps ship, possessing the Good Guy Doll. He also understands the deadline on requiring body transfers, and the time limitations that outline his survival.  Chucky’s push to ensure he meets his deadlines is an important personality factor that helps him attain a “J” Judging personality rank.

Chucky was very close to earning a “P” Perceiving ranking, for a number of reasons, but his overall drive to meet deadlines, and incredible work-ethic throughout the movies (killing is work too!), earn him a solid “J” Judging personality rank.

Final Mental Health Notes on Chucky

Chucky is in the company of horror movie slashers who actually enjoy killing as it happens, oftentimes becoming fascinated with the killing process. Chucky is a smart killer who loves the technical details of his slayings and his a deep and avid thinker. His desire to plan and keep his mind focused on his survival have made him one of the more desperate killers…making him much more dangerous as well. Despite Chucky’s roughed up, plastic look, his overall personality type of IST-J, has created a lot of on screen memories that will haunt the horror genre forever!

Why Wouldn’t Chucky Switch to a Scarier Doll?

Ever heard the expression “bigger isn’t always better?”  Well, Child’s Play director and writers believed that “bigger isn’t always scarier!” And they were right, as Child’s Play movies and the Chucky doll have been scaring horror fans for decades! The real fear created by the Child’s Play movies is two-fold, as seen from the perspective of either an adult or a child.  Children expect their toys (especially dolls resembling human beings) to be friendly and fun to play with.  Parents expect their children’s toys to be safe and harmless.  A killer doll that has been gifted to your child, who only interacts with the child in secret is bad news.  It’s much worse when that doll convinces or uses your child to do bad things. 

Why Did Chucky Pick Such a Small, Incapable Doll?

Most Child’s Play fans have wondered: Why didn’t Chucky Possess a Different Doll?

Unfortunately for Charles Lee Ray, the serial killer responsible for the voodoo possession ritual, selection was rather slim. At the time of the possession, Charles was desperate and on the run, evading imminent capture and likely death for his murders.  Should he have had the chance to choose any doll, he likely would have chose a life-size version of Jason Voorhees, considering the Friday the 13^th series had already been released for about 8 years. Instead, however, his options were limited and he only had the ability to possess a simple “Good Guy Doll.” The Good Guy Doll was a really popular toy in the movie and gave Chucky a lot of great chances to blend in with the commonplace and really lower his victims’ guards.

Besides, the doll becomes more and more like the grungy-looking Charles Lee Ray we know from his human serial killer days, picking up tears, scars and grime that better fit the character of a slasher.

Behind the Scenes: Why Not Pick a Scarier Doll?

The idea that a regular toy a child and parents alike could trust that had so wildly saturated the toy industry marketplace to the point everybody wanted one made for a strongly vulnerable scenario.  At the time of the first Child’s Play movie in 1988, a popular chain of dolls had already hit the market in real life: the My Buddy doll. These dolls were so popular nearly everyone had one, despite the fact they were creepy as hell! Child’s Play writer, Don Mancini, admitted that these My Buddy dolls were his inspiration for the killer that is infamously known as Chucky today. In fact, the original script even called the killer “Buddy” instead, though it was not usable due to the real-life dolls flooding the toy industry. Combining Raggedy Ann, Raggedy Andy and My Buddy concepts, the Chucky doll designer Kevin Yagher was able to create the Chucky look we are familiar with.  The size never seemed to be an issue, and the writer and team appear to have relied on the psychological facets of horror instead, choosing to maintain the small size of the My Buddy doll while creating their horror slasher, Chucky. In fact, the Chucky doll’s small size contributes to the horrible fact he could be hiding anywhere!

Final Notes About Chucky and Child’s Play

The size of the doll in the Chucky films is by no means a measurement of the terror invoked by its presence on screen! And while Charles may not have chosen Chucky out of a wide selection of dolls, the small stature had plenty of advantages. After all, Chucky may be small but he is a thoroughly creepy doll who has the ability to strike fear into the heart of nearly any viewer!