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Welcome
I have a passion for understanding individual differences whether these differences come from our innate natural predispositions or in response to the environments we find ourselves in. I look forward to sharing and discussing these ideas with you.
I have started off with two articles—Type as a Tool to Promote Ego Development and Five Lenses of Coaching. This blog is a work in progress as I add more articles and more categories. Please visit often and sign on to make comments. I hope you find useful insights and ideas.
Warm regards,
Linda
Out of a Box and Into Interpersonal Agility™
Set-up or Getting Started
During the Session Watch Your Language and Continue to Clarify Type
Open Closing
Temperament and ‘temperament’
People often ask me about various other ‘temperament’ models and how they relate. Years ago (in the pre-internet mid 1980’s) when I was going to the post office frequently to mail my dissertation drafts back and forth to David Keirsey for review, the postal clerk asked me what I was mailing so often. Then he asked me what it was about. When I told him temperament, he said his wife had one of those! Over the years as I’ve researched more and more about temperament I discovered that in general the term means something different in the mainstream psychology literature than the way David Keirsey wrote about it
Mainstream Definition
Classic ‘temperament’ theory goes back to the belief that there were different humors in the body, blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile that were at the root of differences in human behavior. There was a search for physical basis for behavior. Over the years, longitudinal studies have been done with children into adults and certain characteristics seem to have remained throughout the research subjects’ lifetimes. The most researched characteristics have been with the Eysenck definitions of introversion and extroversion, with support for there being a biological basis for these ‘traits’. (Note that Eysenck’s definitions are different than Jung’s.) Typical ‘temperament’ characteristics include activity, reactivity, regularity, initial reactions, adaptability, intensity, mood, distractibility, persistence, attention span, sensitivity, easy, difficult, slow to warm up to others and other traits. The Five-Factor Model is based on a factor analysis of personality characteristics including the ‘temperament’ ones and then clustering them in five groups. Some of these ‘temperament’ models seem to be pattern related, but they focus mostly on mood, emotionality, and energy. These relate more to the Interaction Style model than Keirsey’s temperament model.
Keirsey® Temperament Theory
I’ve heard Keirsey explain and discuss his model in college courses on psychopathology, in full day workshops and at conferences. My first exposure was about four different clusters of psychopathological symptoms. In these classes, the assertion was that people engage in dysfunctional, symptomatic behavior to defend themselves against a threat to their core psychological needs. In later years, Keirsey focused mostly on behavior patterns since these are observable. His descriptions cover a wide range of psychological characteristics that are more psychological than physical. In his book, Please Understand Me® II, he described each temperament in terms of language, Intellect (talents), interests, orientations (time and place) , self-image (self-esteem, self-respect, self-confidence), values (being, trusting, yearning, seeking, prizing, aspiring), and social roles. None of these seem physiological in the way the classic temperament theory is currently described. Yet, there is support for Keirsey’s interpretation of the classic ‘temperament’ theory. It is just different than the way others have described it.
My View of Temperament Theory
I’d not use the name temperament at all if the model wouldn’t lose the rich contribution of David Keirsey and the many people who think of his descriptions as the four temperaments. What I’ve come to understand about the patterns Keirsey suggested is that there is a different kind of information involved—Conation. The conative aspect of our being is about our will. That is why I say it is about Why We Do What We Do. It refers to core psychological needs, values, and talents, so something more than behavior.
Does this fit with your understanding of how Temperament theory works and what it addresses?
Transformative and Transactional Leadership
Trees, Type and Me
I love the header photo of this blog. For some reason, I have a thing about trees. If you've seen the Understanding Yourself and Others books you'll notice that all the cover images are of leaves and trees.
I love looking at trees, especially in a natural setting. I love the textures, the different colors and the sounds when the wind blows through them. One of my workshop participants gave me a book on the healing power of trees. There does seem to be something healing about trees. When flying over Portland, Oregon and looking out the plane window, I commented to my colleague on how I loved the trees. She responded that I wasn't being very good to myself living in Southern California in a tract home with few trees. That was over 15 years ago and I still live in the same setting, but outside my window in my home office, I do have some trees to look at. So the trees in the photo are my dream of the kind of setting I'd like to live in. Maybe I will some day if my path takes me there. In the meantime, I treasure the visits I make to places where there are trees!
Years ago when we first bought our house, I studied up on landscaping and pruning since we were young and would be doing the yard work ourselves. I loved that there was information on how to prune so the natural growth pattern would still be honored. As we replace plants, I research them to see if they will soon outgrow their space. I find it painful when plants have to be pruned so much they lose their natural shape.
So what does this have to do with type? Trees are a powerful metaphor for helping understand what type is. There are two basic kinds of trees—conifers and broad leaf. (They tell me palms are a grass and not trees!). The essential qualities of each kind of tree are different. All conifers have waxy needles and produce cones. All broad leaf trees have flat leaves. Within each kind of tree are more kinds of trees, each with their own essential qualities. The pattern for the characteristics and growth of each kind of tree is there in the smallest sapling. When they are planted in an environment that gives them the light, water, and nutrients they need, they grow strong. Their unique character comes as the wind and other forces shape each one somewhat differently.
Like tress we all have a natural, innate pattern of growth in all aspects of our being. These patterns can be classified into types with certain essential characteristics that are required to maintain the innate pattern. We come into the world with a pattern potential to fulfill. And the world pushes against that pattern so we adapt and develop. This development can make us interesting and unlike any others of our type. Unlike trees, we can choose how we respond to those forces and that is a measure of our character.
So, like with the trees and plants in my yard, I like helping people understand and uncover what comes naturally to them and the various models of type help me do that.
I'd love to hear any thoughts this has evoked in you so please comment.
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