The Social Style Model is a powerful tool in understanding behavioral differences and creating strategies for communicating effectively. Developed in the 1960s by Dr. David Merrill and Roger Reid, and based on behavioral "themes" that people often exhibit, this model gauges a person's assertive and responsive behaviors and categorizes the person accordingly into one of four quadrants: Amiable, Driving, Analytical, or Expressive. Pinpointing individuals' Social Styles helps them understand their verbal and non-verbal communication tendencies and see how they are perceived by people of other Social Styles. This knowledge, when applied, helps people behave appropriately for their audience, tailoring their image, content, presentation, and feedback effectively.
Myers-Briggs Temperament Inventory
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a self-report personality inventory designed to give people information about their Jungian psychological type preferences. Isabel Briggs Myers and Katherine Cook Briggs began developing the MBTI in the early 1940s to make C. G. Jung's theory of human personality understandable and useful in everyday life.
MBTI results indicate the respondent's likely preferences on four dimensions:
Extraversion (E) OR Introversion (I)
Sensing (S) OR Intuition (N)
Thinking (T) OR Feeling (F)
Judging (J) OR Perceiving (P)
The FIRO-B, developed by Dr. Will Shutz, is a rich tool for examining interpersonal dynamics. It is one of the most widely used indicators of interpersonal style. It measures how a person typically behaves toward others and how that person would like others to behave toward him or her.
The FIRO-B offers a way to identify the interpersonal style that suits each person and the appropriateness of this style in various relationships. It measures the degree to which a person expresses towards others – or wants from them – three kinds of behavior: inclusion: the need to include others, or to be included; control: the need to control or influence others, or to be controlled or influenced; and affection: the need to be warm and close to others, or to have them be warm and close.
The Strength Deployment Inventory is a self-scoring motivational assessment tool. It measures an individual's Motivational Value System during a typical situation and when the person faces conflict or opposition. While many other tools measure behavior, the SDI goes beyond behavior into the motivations and values that underlie those behaviors. The applications of the SDI are many, including building awareness of self and others, leadership development, team building, conflict management, and dispute resolution and mediation.
The Strength Deployment Inventory also acts as a profiling tool that gives respondents insight into the nature of effective relationships and the role that they play in them. The SDI is based on Relationship Awareness Theory, researched and developed by Dr. Elias H. Porter. This theory argues that behavior is driven by an individual's value system and that augmenting our understanding of both our own and others’ motivations is a critical component in the development of interpersonal skills.
True Colors, developed by Don Lowry, sorts people into four colors: Gold, Blue, Green, and Orange. Although no one is exclusively one color, the system uses the colors to represent specific personality types.
Gold: These are people who tend to be orderly and dependable, thrive on structure, and enjoy helping others. Blue: They are sensitive, empathetic, loyal, and enthusiastic. Green: These are the analytical, logical, and intellectual types; they become irritated with drill and routine. Orange: Generally, they are people who are active, competitive, energetic, and impulsive. They seek variety and dislike rules.
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