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The Psychology of Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rarity


Celebrei

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I've just recently become a Brony myself, and from watching all the episodes of MLP season 1 and 2, I have come to notice the psychological makeup of these four ponies: Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rarity.

 

 

Twilight Sparkle: She seems to have a mild form of Asperger's Syndrome, she never truly sought friendship until Princess Celestia's advice, her socialization skills were learned in Ponyville, though imperfectly as she seems to prioritize organization and self-study over socialization, that's not to say that she does not care for her fellow ponies, it's just that her personality and interests are more Aspergian than anything else, she also tends to over analyze situations and meticulously explain simple facts. She also panics when things don't go as planned.

 

Pinkie Pie: She seems to have some form of ADHD and Neurosis, she's hyperactive and her endorphines are way off the charts, always cheerful and happy and she gets excited over the simplest things.

 

Fluttershy: Textbook case of Social Anxiety Disorder, while Twilight Sparkle exhibits more Asperger traits with her literal thinking, organizational commitment and esoteric interests, Fluttershy exhibits more of a Social Anxiety Disorder personality, with her extreme shyness towards other ponies and her fixation on little animals to vent off her feelings of inadequacy and insecurity from other ponies.

 

 

Rarity: Narcissism, She is a good-hearted pony deep inside but she tends to place too much value on physical beauty, she sees herself as very beautiful and has fantasies on joining the Pony Elite of Equestria, most of her lines on the show tends to emphasize aesthetic beauty over everything else.

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Good call with these cases. I'm a Psychology student myself, and I agree with pretty much everything on here. I never really thought of Twilight Sparkle as having some degree of Asperger's, but after looking it over, it fits mostly. However, she doesn't seem to have difficulties in social interactions rather than little experience at it. Difficulties would be Fluttershy's social anxiety, where as Twilight just sees it as another school subject to learn.

 

Pinkie Pie's pretty much on point, but I think I remember a psychological term for her saddened/angry "Pinkamina" side. I don't think it's bipolar disorder, but I feel there's a term for it somewhere.

 

Great post! It's awesome seeing that I'm not the only one that likes looking at character psychology in this show. :lol:

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I agree with most of what is said here, except the narccisism. And If I may add, I feel that pinkie pie may have a form of Tourette Syndrome in addition to other things previously said. I find this from being in assosiation with ADHD and the fact that she has twitches, similar to physical motor ticks of someone with TS. Do any of you see this in her? It makes it more fun to compare myself to Pinkie pie this way being that I have TS+.

Edited by TheBronyHeart
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Pinkie Pie is either ADHD or just full blown, ENFP type :P But I lean either way,

 

I just dunno about Rarity fantasising is really narcissistic, narcissists readily assume and enforce they're the best, she only dreams to be with the Elite, and that's normal for people to have goals and desires like that. At least I know that for females. Clinical narcissists take it upon their everyday lives and have disregard for others, which I think would clash with her generosity to much for it to even function..

 

I always felt Fluttershy had all the symptoms and mentality of a trauma survivor.. :(

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Pretty nice article ya got here, I'd agree with everything stated (even though I have a very limited knowledge of these conditions). One thing, though. Explain Pinkamena. She scares me.

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I don't know the exact name for it, but I think Fluttershy also has somewhat of a bipolar disorder. She is very shy at times, but she can easily become enraged as we have seen in Dragonshy, Stare Master, The Best Night Ever, and in Putting Your Hoof Down. That is one of the main reasons she is even my favorite character. You don't know what to expect with her sometimes. I think they should have an episode where Rainbow Dash helps her self-esteem in season 3 similar to how she helped in Hurricane Fluttershy.

 

|--(0)--|

 

techno915

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I do have to disagree with the narcissism diagnosis. To be narcissistic you have to think of yourself and only yourself. on many occasions it has shown Rarity to be kind and thoughtful of other ponies like when she makes the dresses for the others then spends endless hours to remake them when the others don't like them.

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Can't argue with any of that. It does look like all the ponies improved from this in later episodes to me.

 

Twilight is learning to worry less, the moral of "It's About Time", and I think she is becoming more social, and Fluttershy isn't just staying in her cottage, and was learning to be assertive after "Putting Your Hoof Down". But I can she how she worries alot, like when she was being made fun of back in Flight School for her lack of flying.

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(edited)

I do have to disagree with the narcissism diagnosis. To be narcissistic you have to think of yourself and only yourself. on many occasions it has shown Rarity to be kind and thoughtful of other ponies like when she makes the dresses for the others then spends endless hours to remake them when the others don't like them.

 

Well I did say Rarity is a good hearted pony and she truly cares for her friends, and Narcissism is not necessarily a psychological disorder and it may simply be a personality trait aka "Healthy Narcissism" wherein she is able to emphatsize and associate with her friends in contrast to unhealthy narcissism. :)

 

Btw Rarity also exhibits some form of OCD as shown in "Winter Wrap Up" episode, either that or she's just an uber perfectionist. ^_^

Edited by Celebrei
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Btw Rarity also exhibits some form of OCD as shown in "Winter Wrap Up" episode, either that or she's just an uber perfectionist. ^_^

 

I would have to say she shows more perfectionist then she is OCD. she dose fixate on something but it generally has a reason. She doesn't work on something just for busy work or because she always sees faults. she has a standard that things must meet.

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Psychological labeling can quickly become dangerous if we fail to distinguish whether an individual's psychological state is in such that it poses danger to not only him/herself but to the people around them as well. I feel there is no reason to go into such analysis with perhaps an exception for PP.

 

Regardless, I see Rarity as an individual with a highest potential ceiling out of all six, major part of TW's motivation heavily depends on her relationship with Celestia but Rarity is an individual who wants nothing but perfection, most of her tendency is a typical display of those who usually are clearly few levels above the rest of the people.

 

For example, I used to know this German guy who was scouted into Harvard's graduate chemistry program right after his graduation. He would play WoW nonestop, take 21~22 credit per semester yet still retain 4.0GPA. One day he decided that game wasn't worth his time and spent all that time including up to 4am just being trapped within his small lab during his undergraduate year. Furthermore, he was the most selfish and eccentric person I've ever known. For an example, the food must be a combination of cheese, tomato paste (pizza, pasta etc.) and if he's done, he's done and it doesn't matter if he's with other people; he leaves and goes on about his work. But people put up with it because he was just that brilliant and effective.

 

Those kind of behaviors are something nobody should tolerate, but there are times when we really need to let it go because that's precisely what makes them tick, if you restrict that kind of individual from doing even a small percent of his/her usual antic, they will either go nuts or becomes severely restricted in terms of their usual capability.

 

Creativity and mental instability goes hand in hand because it's about perceiving and understanding the world in a different manner than your usual norm spectrum, and Rarity shows plenty of it.

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I think we should see these ponies differences as a form of neurodiversity rather than a form of handicap, it's easy for society to judge people with a different neurological configuration than what is perceived to be as "normal" but it is neither a detriment to their personal progress nor a moral failure in their part that they are simply different from other ponies, they are good ponies as much as irl people with AS, ADHD, OCD,etc. are good people and I'm happy that despite their differences they are wholeheartedly accepted by their fellow ponies for who they are. :)

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I've just recently become a Brony myself, and from watching all the episodes of MLP season 1 and 2, I have come to notice the psychological makeup of these four ponies: Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rarity.

 

 

Twilight Sparkle: She seems to have a mild form of Asperger's Syndrome, she never truly sought friendship until Princess Celestia's advice, her socialization skills were learned in Ponyville, though imperfectly as she seems to prioritize organization and self-study over socialization, that's not to say that she does not care for her fellow ponies, it's just that her personality and interests are more Aspergian than anything else, she also tends to over analyze situations and meticulously explain simple facts. She also panics when things don't go as planned.

 

Pinkie Pie: She seems to have some form of ADHD and Neurosis, she's hyperactive and her endorphines are way off the charts, always cheerful and happy and she gets excited over the simplest things.

 

Fluttershy: Textbook case of Social Anxiety Disorder, while Twilight Sparkle exhibits more Asperger traits with her literal thinking, organizational commitment and esoteric interests, Fluttershy exhibits more of a Social Anxiety Disorder personality, with her extreme shyness towards other ponies and her fixation on little animals to vent off her feelings of inadequacy and insecurity from other ponies.

 

 

Rarity: Narcissism, She is a good-hearted pony deep inside but she tends to place too much value on physical beauty, she sees herself as very beautiful and has fantasies on joining the Pony Elite of Equestria, most of her lines on the show tends to emphasize aesthetic beauty over everything else.

 

Good call with these cases. I'm a Psychology student myself, and I agree with pretty much everything on here. I never really thought of Twilight Sparkle as having some degree of Asperger's, but after looking it over, it fits mostly. However, she doesn't seem to have difficulties in social interactions rather than little experience at it. Difficulties would be Fluttershy's social anxiety, where as Twilight just sees it as another school subject to learn.

 

Pinkie Pie's pretty much on point, but I think I remember a psychological term for her saddened/angry "Pinkamina" side. I don't think it's bipolar disorder, but I feel there's a term for it somewhere.

 

Great post! It's awesome seeing that I'm not the only one that likes looking at character psychology in this show. :lol:

 

Look of Kyronea's analysis. You can find them in "x fan club", where x is any of the mane 6, in the Sugarcube Corner forum, IIRC... (may be Everfree).

 

Anyways, I even did a thread on two of those:

 

Twilight Sparkle: http://mlpforums.com/topic/23558-mental-health-twilight-sparkle/

 

Pinkie Pie: http://mlpforums.com/topic/23547-mental-health-pinkie-pie/

 

[...]

Btw Rarity also exhibits some form of OCD as shown in "Winter Wrap Up" episode, either that or she's just an uber perfectionist.

^_^

 

Which brings to mind the question of how much of a difference there is in-between the two :P

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Oh, i love psycology! ALthough ts is an aspie, I was thinking Fluttershy migh be more of an autie. Fluttershy seems to be more avoidant than having social anxiety. SHe cries when gilda is mean to her, so instead of saying that fs has 'social anxiety disorder', Id say she more has avoidant personality disorder. Ive been a brony for longer than you, celebrei. I think I would know.

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Oh, i love psycology! ALthough ts is an aspie, I was thinking Fluttershy migh be more of an autie. Fluttershy seems to be more avoidant than having social anxiety. SHe cries when gilda is mean to her, so instead of saying that fs has 'social anxiety disorder', Id say she more has avoidant personality disorder. Ive been a brony for longer than you, celebrei. I think I would know.

 

i think she has both not impossible for itto be comorbid she prefers isolation over socialization thus she is avoidant and when forced into a social situation she has anxiety attacks.

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I had ADHD when i was younger (until i got medication for it) and i guess i acted alot like pinkie pie but my extra enthusiastic enthusiasm tended to push people away more than bring them in, and pinkies friends with everypony, so maybe its not ADHD?

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This was an interesting read, but these things only lie on the very face and surface of the ponies. I only feel like going into detail about Twilight right now though.

 

Twilight Sparkle lacked much social interaction in the first place. She seemed to have little to no companionship. This void of loneliness was probably filled with studying. I don't think she has Asbergers as much as she just seems introverted. To be honest I was somewhat ticked at this finding, because I myself share a similar personality to her. I enjoy looking and studying things, sometimes I prefer being alone. I'm not mentally impaired for those things, it's just how I work. Similarly, I had no true friends growing up, and filled the void with video games. This will lead to a personality that prefers being alone at times. Solitude is nice.

 

Her preference for organisation probably derives from her love to solve problems. Introverts tend to reflect on a lot of things, think about them. What better way to utilise this than to solve problems by thinking critically on something? That's why she's not very well at thinking on her feet. She requires time to analyse a situation. Disorganisation is a problem to fix, so she'll fix it. I do recall her going crazy over not having problems to fix. Fixing problems is something her life is built around. If she doesn't have any more issues to fix, there is nothing to do with life.

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I agree with your view...especially the one about Twilight. I have Aspergers, and can easily say i've experienced her intorverted habits first-hand. Well done. Most people do not see the specific condition and merely see her as a bookworm.

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This was an interesting read, but these things only lie on the very face and surface of the ponies. I only feel like going into detail about Twilight right now though.

 

Twilight Sparkle lacked much social interaction in the first place. She seemed to have little to no companionship. This void of loneliness was probably filled with studying. I don't think she has Asbergers as much as she just seems introverted. To be honest I was somewhat ticked at this finding, because I myself share a similar personality to her. I enjoy looking and studying things, sometimes I prefer being alone. I'm not mentally impaired for those things, it's just how I work. Similarly, I had no true friends growing up, and filled the void with video games. This will lead to a personality that prefers being alone at times. Solitude is nice.

 

Her preference for organisation probably derives from her love to solve problems. Introverts tend to reflect on a lot of things, think about them. What better way to utilise this than to solve problems by thinking critically on something? That's why she's not very well at thinking on her feet. She requires time to analyse a situation. Disorganisation is a problem to fix, so she'll fix it. I do recall her going crazy over not having problems to fix. Fixing problems is something her life is built around. If she doesn't have any more issues to fix, there is nothing to do with life.

 

To quote myself from another thread:

 

"

 

Here's the diagnosis requirements:

Two of the following:

 

  • 1. "Marked impairment" regarding nonverbal social cues (doesn't make eye contact, doesn't understand others' body language, etc);
  • 2. Failure to make friends;
  • 3a. Lack of appropriate social and emotional responses to others; or
  • 3b. Inability to spontaneously share enjoyment, interests and achievements with other people.

AND one of the following:

 

  • A. An abnormal and intense interest in one subject;
  • B. Adherence to a strict set of rules, routines and rituals;
  • C. Repetition of certain mannerisms like hand flapping, hair twisting or even whole body movements
  • D. An obsession in the parts or mechanics of objects.
Source found here thanks to google.

"

- Thread I'm quoting myself from: http://mlpforums.com...ilight-sparkle/

 

Moments in "Look Before You Sleep" and elsewhere very strongly indicate #1.

#2, were it not for the fact that she was essentially forced into it by extreme circumstances. She avoided them, and wanted to get them away, and sighed when they came with her on a life-threatening mission. She was certainly not eager to make friends.

 

Note, there's no mention of why. You could say: "Well, only because of x", but that's irrelevant.

 

#3b, possibly.

When she explained her anemometer in "Hurricane Fluttershy", that moment could be both fulfilling #1 and #3b, though arguably she did share reading with Rainbow Dash, but in counter-argument only as solving the problem of RD's boredome, not purely for the sake of sharing her interests.

Which, interestingly enough, she hasn't done (tried to share interests with other ponies).

 

And remember, only two of those need to be met.

 

 

 

Now to the second pool:

 

A: Magic. That's the reason she didn't make friends. She was studying and reading about magic!

B: I think twice in the series she's gone nuts over some small thing off of her schedule, nevermind the endless checklists and other such that was emphasized in "Lesson Zero".

 

 

 

I think the only reason people are so opposed to the idea that Twilight has aspergers is because they think that alienates her, it gives her a title which people perceive as negative and think: "No, not Twilight! She's not - <insert negative stereotype/preconception here>"

 

But actually, I think Twilight is a wonderful example that aspergers isn't a death sentence. Replace those negative stereotypes with her.

 

 

 

And by the way... You might want to look over that list, if the things you said are true. Because that sounds kind of like it...

 

[...]

 

Hey, you should check this out, too. It pretty solidly nails her actions/reactions in "Lesson Zero".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OCPD

It's late, so I won't lok into it so much now, but I'm eager to see what y'all think.

 

For Twilight Sparkle, of course.

Edited by Mattlight
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I think Rarity is more Histrionic than Narcististic (with a bit of OCD thrown in as well). I remember seeing speculation at one point that many unicorns are "mentally unstable" due to having all that magic so near their brains (or something like that).

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Actually most really smart and scientific people tend to have some level of aspergers. It is a 12 gene thing where each one you get raises your iq by 7 but if you have 4 or 5 you have aspergers and if you have 6+ you are autistic. This is a real danger when 2 driven scientist types marry and have children. You can have cases where 1 in 4 kids from the union would be full blown autistic.

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Actually most really smart and scientific people tend to have some level of aspergers. It is a 12 gene thing where each one you get raises your iq by 7 but if you have 4 or 5 you have aspergers and if you have 6+ you are autistic. This is a real danger when 2 driven scientist types marry and have children. You can have cases where 1 in 4 kids from the union would be full blown autistic.

It doesn't work like that, that's an extreme over simplification of polygenicity and in the end just pop psychology. There is no one specific cause of autism, and no cause is really well known. 

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