When I used to do Network Marketing I learned about one way sales people learn how to interact with people is be able to recognize different personality types in yourself and others. It turns out that there are 4 types of personalities that have been identified. When I was first exposed to this information, it was presented as if each person fits in one type. However today, the conventional viewpoint is that we are all combinations of each type with one or two types dominantly affecting how we think and behave. Each of the four types have been called by different names. For the purposes of this post I will list them and the corresponding order matches for each trait or temperment. I also will provide links for more information and who came up with the identifications.
choleric
The choleric can be considered to be highly excitable: this person’s emotions are very easily aroused. This person is vehement in speech and action and his/her movements are carried out swiftly. He/she is bold and ambitious but tends to be incautious.
sanguine
Has a tendency towards excitement, whereas the phlegmatic have a tendency towards inhibition. The sanguine person is stable, yet active. He/she is courageous, hopeful, amorous and cheerful, but somewhat inconstant. He/she is courteous, lively, alert, and demonstrative.
phlegmatic
Stable and calm. He/she may even look cool, sluggish or apathetic. Normally quiet and reserved, he/she does not easily become friendly or antagonistic.
melancholic
Can be seen as the opposite of the choleric because this person is highly inhibited. The melancholic person is characterized by slowness of thought and a tendency to be depressed. The melancholic has difficulty making friends, but he/she is reliable because constancy and determination are the other traits.
Here is an online
personality test based on this idea.
In 1958, Isabel Myers and her mother Katheryn Briggs wrote a paper titled Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI for short), in which they proposed that there are actually sixteen different human personality types.
Ms. Myers had been reading various obscure psychology textbooks when she stumbled across Psychological Types. Being intelligent and perceptive, she immediately realized that here was a masterpiece of psychological thought, written by one of the greatest geniuses in human history. She read the book cover to cover, and thought long about how to expand Jung's ideas into a complete model of human personality.
Ms. Myers came to realize three things:
- That everyone chooses not only a first-choice or "Primary" function, but also a second-choice or "auxiliary" function.
- That if the primary function is judgmental, then the auxiliary function will be perceptive, and vice versa.
- That if the primary function is introverted, then the auxiliary function will be extraverted, and vice versa.
In this system, then, a person
has 2 choices for orientation, introvert (I) or extravert (E); two choices for method of information intake, sensing (S) or intuition (N); two choices for method of judgment, thinking (T) or feeling (F); and two choices as to which function is used in the outer world, judgment (J) or perception (P). Hence there are 2x2x2x2=16 different MBTI personality types, as shown in this chart:
| ISFJ | ISTJ | INFJ | INTJ |
| ISFP | ISTP | INFP | INTP |
| ESFJ | ESTJ | ENFJ | ENTJ |
| ESFP | ESTP | ENFP | ENTP |
Tests were created to help determine which of the sixteen types the test taker was, and after a time, when many people had taken these MBTI tests, personality "profiles" (correspondences between MBTI type and the personalities of individual people) emerged. When one examines these profiles and compares them with the "temperaments" of Hippocrates, a clear correspondence emerges:
- SJ = Guardians
- SP = Artisans
- NF = Idealists
- NT = Rationalists
Human Metrics is a website for take a test that scores you using these ideas.
RedThe Red color personalities make up 15 percent of the population and are very direct, totally self-contained and will not let you see their weaknesses. They are extremely focused, are very intense and like to get straight to the point. They must be in charge at all times and are totally motivated by money and success.
They dislike indecision and have no time for chit chat about family or relationships. When talking to a Red, it is important to stroke their ego, show them respect and let them believe they are in total control of the conversation at all times. Although they are very goal-oriented, they are short tempered, domineering, impatient and un-teachable.
Blue
Blues personalities are open and direct with their feelings and make up 15 percent of the population. Although th
ey make up a smaller percentage of the population, there are many Blues are drawn to network marketing because they are very fun-loving, high energy, extremely creative individuals. When you ask them a question, they will go on and on, giving you more information than you needed, and in the process probably forgetting what the question was to begin with.
Their weaknesses are that they tend to talk too much, are unorganized and are poor with follow-up (one of the best things you can do for a Blue is to teach them to use an auto-responder). But if you can train them to focus and to follow a system for success you will have one of the hardest working and resourceful team members you could ask for.
Yellow
Yellow personalities are open yet indirect with their feelings and make up 35 percent of the population. They are dependable, great listeners, exceptional team players, and are and supportive and nurturing. They are the best at using both sides of their brain. Key words to use when communicating with a Yellow are "team", "together", "relationship" and "family." They are very open with their feelings, but when you ask them a question they don’t volunteer any more information than is required. They enjoy life and hate pushy people or any kind of confrontation.
Their weaknesses are that they are overly sensitive, take things personally, tend to be followers and are not goal-oriented. However, if you take your time and build a strong relationship with them, teach them, and help them, you’ll have a remarkable and very loyal team member that "plays well with others."
Green
Green personalities make up 35 percent of the population. They are indirect, self-contained, and very pragmatic and logical. They rely on the confirmation of facts and figures before any decision can be made or any action can be taken. They are extremely organized, very good planners and are always accurate, persistent and great on follow-through.
They might, however, sometimes be perceived as being depressed and lonely. They tend to be over-analytical and hard to please, making them slow to begin any project until they have all the information required and it has been graphed, analyzed, dissected and scrutinized to their satisfaction. They hate pushy sales people and need to be allowed to sell themselves on your MLM business opportunity. After they do, their expertise and attention to detail will make them invaluable members of your network marketing team.
The above website even ma
ke an equivalence:
Equivalents for the 4 Personality Types
- Hippocrates (370 BC): Choleric, Sanguine, Phlegmatic,Melancholy
- Plato (340 BC): Guardian, Artisan, Philosopher, Scientist
- Kretschner (1920): Melancholic, Hypomanic, Anesthetic, Hyperasthetic
- Sprangler (1930): Religious, Aesthetic, Theoretic, Economic
- Fromm (1947): Hoarding, Exploiting, Receptive, Marketing
- Psycho-Geometrics (1978): Triangle, Squiggle, Circle, Square
- D.E.S.A.: Dominant, Expressive, Solid, Analytical
- LEAD Test: Leader, Expressor, Dependable, Analyst
- ARRAY (Knaupp): Production, Connection, Status Quo, Harmony
- PSI: Controller, Promoter, Supporter, Analyst
- Gary Smalley: Lion, Otter, Golden Retriever, Beaver
- Biblical Characters: Paul, Peter, Abraham, Moses
- Children's Literature: Rabbit, Tigger, Pooh, Eeyore
- Charlie Brown Characters: Lucy, Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Linus
I've recently learned about another way to look at these types. It's from the
Laugh Your Way to A Better Marriage ministry by Pastor Mark Gungor. He worked with Larry Bilotta on an online test. Each temperment is called countries: Perfect, Fun, Peace, and Control. What I like most about this test is that each trait is given a store so you can truly understand how much each trait fits you.
Here is the results of my Flag Test.
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