Extroverted Sensing (Se): Ariel is by default a cheerful person who lives in the moment. She happily embraces everything she sees, feels, touches, smells, or hears. She has to experience it all- when she stumbles on a sunken ship, she must look at and touch everything, admire the unique beauty of every single object.When she and Eric visit his kingdom, she must see everything it has to offer and wants him to experience it with her. She craves excitement and adapts quickly. She likes driving the carriage and quickly figures out how to use it, not caring that she's sending them right over a cliff! Ariel is also very opportunistic. When offered a dangerous deal with Ursula, she takes it, no questions asked, knowing she won't have another chance to be human like this. She is a pretty concrete thinking: she can't imagine that humans could be evil if they make such wonderful objects. Her father's strict rule about not going near the humans gets in the way of her fun, therefore it's bad and unfair.
Introverted Feeling (Fi): Ariel doesn't believe humans are inherently dangerous, and is frustrated with her father for thinking they are. She doesn't value her culture's traditions, such as the princesses' concert, and doesn't care how bad it may make her look to others for skipping it. She wants her father to accept her for who she is, and is elated that Eric does, that he "gets" her and doesn't mind her quirky nature.
Extroverted Thinking (Te): Once Ariel's made her mind up about something, she's quick to do it. She doesn't falter when it comes to decision-making. She is usually level-handed in danger, acting quickly and fearlessly to get herself or others to safety. She willingly accepts Ursula's deal despite knowing how dangerous she is. She enjoys leading, from taking Flounder to the abandoned ship to explore to deciding where she and Eric will go on their little trip to the city.
Introverted Intuition (Ni): Though Ariel very much lives in the present and rarely considers the future or its consequences, she is extremely determined in the one goal she has: to become human and make Prince Eric fall in love with her. She intuitively knows the humans are not as bad as her father thinks, despite having no evidence for this belief.
Note: I know it's widely believed that Ariel is an ENFP, but I think many, many Sensors get mistyped as NFs simply for our imaginative sides. Not all ENFPs are quirky Manic Pixie Dream Girls and hyperactive kids. Sensors are very creative thinkers due to our careful observance of the beauty and details around us in the world. Not to mention, Ariel is just far too much of a concrete thinking who lives in the moment to fall into the Intuitive type.
