153 of 161 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent booklet covering the essentials of the 16 Types, October 17, 1999
This review is from: The 16 Personality Types, Descriptions for Self-Discovery (Paperback)
With the explosion of new books on type in the last few years, you might wonder what more could be written to be put into an introductory booklet on the sixteen types. Well, Linda Berens and Dario Nardi have done just that. As a student of David Keirsey, Dr. Berens has long been an advocate of the concept of temperament and has been a key force in having the concept become accepted in the Manual for the new Form M of the MBTI. Dr. Nardi was a collaborator with Dr. Berens on her previous booklet: Understanding Yourself and Others: An Introduction to Temperament.
Imagine you are shown an oval shadow. What do you think produced it? Depending on the angle of the light, it could be a sphere, a cone or a cylinder. Now move the position of the light on the unknown object. The shadow now might appear as a diamond. With a few more clues you may determine that the object was a cylinder. This is a metaphor for describing personality. When you are helping people determine their personalities, you help them compare themselves to patterns that have been found to apply to various other defined personality types. The authors call them best-fit type patterns. The descriptions are not composited based on preferences or temperaments but are observable holistic patterns. They are also careful to show that the concepts do not place people in a box, but rather give them a vocabulary to understand differences and similarities. The graphics chosen are simple but effective in demonstrating these concepts.
The authors have used the Johari Window (a training diagram from the days of group dynamics) to show that a description of the type is a combination of how others see us and how we see ourselves. Next you are encouraged to read over brief descriptions of the sixteen types, read the two page descriptions of the types that seem to fit, and then choose the one type that fits best.
People used to seeing the Myers-Briggs Type Table will find the sixteen types arranged in a different pattern. Here they are grouped according to temperament or in a Temperament MatrixTM. So, if you have identified your temperament, you would start in that quadrant and read those descriptions first to find the one most likely to match your type.
The sixteen types are each described in a two-page format. On one side is the objective description, including a short snapshot summary, and then a longer portrait that describes the theme of the type and the type in relationships. The other page describes how it feels to be in that type. These descriptions are a composite of responses to the question What is it like to be you? by four individuals (two men and two women) who have identified themselves as that type. My wife and I both felt our descriptions were quite accurate and insightful.
Having identified your type, you are encouraged to further use the Johari Window to use it as a matrix to identify new learnings about yourself, and to go on and take action to further develop your personality.
The booklet has two appendices: one elaborates on the theory relating temperament to type, and the other provides notes for facilitators.
While it has some very useful information for people trained in the use of the MBTI, they may want to experience the full presentation by a TRI trained facilitator to fully benefit from the material. This is a very worthwhile book to add to your MBTI library. But be warned! You may feel that your presentations are somewhat lacking and that you need to find out more about The Self-Discovery ProcessSM. You may get so excited that you will want to see that all of your clients get a copy of the book as well.
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82 of 84 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Excellent Buy for the Small Price, October 29, 2000
This review is from: The 16 Personality Types, Descriptions for Self-Discovery (Paperback)
Having an amateur interest in psychology (and particularly Jung), I have read a few books on the subject of personality type, and I found "Descriptions for Self-Discovery" to be a good purchase for the small price. The book provides fairly small, two page descriptions of each personality type, briefly detailing the traits. A good deal of information is stored in the two-page synopsis, but there is no functional analysis of the types, so look elsewhere for deeper textbook-style reading. I also found that people tested for the first time reacted well to the short and descriptive type-models, and were interested in learning more after being "primed" with the information in this book. A good aid for counselors aiming to deepen initial interest and active participation in self-discovery with patients.
This book is not a reference for psychologists, but is well worth the small price for its unique and easily digestible type descriptions.
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38 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Someone has been following me around!, August 4, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: The 16 Personality Types, Descriptions for Self-Discovery (Paperback)
These descriptions are the best I have read. The self-discovery description of my type ( INFP ) was spooky. I really like the introduction of how to find your best type, it is a really unique way of looking at the MBTI. The section on relationships is especially interesting, it really helps me get an idea of people I know. I teach a psychology class at the local college and use the Keirsey Temperament Sorter. I am going to order a copy for every one of my students. Great work!
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