The 16 Personality Types, Descriptions for Self-Discovery (Paperback)

~ Linda V. Berens (Author), Dario Nardi (Author) "Over the years, philosophers and behavioral scientists have been trying to find ways to understand what they call personality..." (more)
Key Phrases: personality type code, best fit type pattern, sixteen type patterns, Promoter Executor, Analyzer Operator, Harmonizer Clarifier (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

... the authors cut right to the core concerns: ways to describe personality and discovering your best-fit type. -- Book Reader, Fall/Winter 2000/01

After 10 Years of working with personality type, I have finally read a description of myself I could have written! -- Karen Welcome, Staff OD Specialist, Adanced Micro Devices

By far the best type descriptions written. Finally, a resource that makes the differences between EXXX and IXXX easy to understand! -- Laurie Duckworth, Trainer, Eastman Chemical

The best I have read. Well written, easy to understand and very user friendly." -- Stephen Hulsey

These are the best descriptions of the sixteen personality types I have seen. -- Franklin D. Brown, Outplacement Director, Technifind Outplacement

Product Description

The 16 Personality Types, Descriptions for Self-Discovery is an invaluable tool for users of the MBTI and related instruments. These descriptions present a living systems approach to describing the 16 types. Dr. Berens and Dr. Nardi have captured the essence of the 16 type patterns and crafted descriptions to be used to by individuals to clarify their best-fit type.

This booklet provides the user with . . .
* an interactive process to help individuals clarify their own best-fit type.
* worksheets to help individuals better understand themselves and others.
* a brief description of the themes for each type pattern
* a snapshot for each type pattern
* a full page Portrait for each type pattern--written in third person
* a full page Self-Portrait-the long awaited Self-Discovery Descriptions - written in 1st Person
* appendices for a brief overview of temperament, interaction styles, and type dynamics and development.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 52 pages
• Publisher: Telos Publications; 1 edition (July 19, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966462475
• ISBN-13: 978-0966462470
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #49,330 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

82 of 83 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Buy for the Small Price, October 29, 2000

By	Matthew A. Festa (Orlando, FL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

152 of 160 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent booklet covering the essentials of the 16 Types, October 17, 1999

By	John Falt (Almonte, ON Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Someone has been following me around!, August 4, 1999

By A Customer

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!