Mind Shapes: Understanding the Differences in Thinking and Communication [Paperback]

Alan R. Kahn (Author), Kris Austen Radcliffe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 30, 2005

In our everyday encounters, we are continuously challenged by people who think and respond in ways different from ourselves. Each one of us pays attention to different aspects of life, interprets experiences differently, understands certain issues better than others, communicates with differing styles, and uses different criteria for judging and believing others. Parents of a family with several children are usually amazed by the diverse ways in which the children develop. Managers are confounded by the unexpected misunderstandings among themselves and those they manage. Educators find it difficult to account for the broad spectrum of students' responses to a single course of study. And in relationships, one is often perplexed at the ways in which common, everyday words are sometimes interpreted. Those of us who study the ways in which people interact, continue to marvel at the differences people bring to thinking and communicating. For the past 20 years, Dr. Kahn has led a team of scientists in in-depth studies of the different brain processes leading to the different types of information processing in people. This research has developed tools which can measure how people reveal the structure of their thought processes in the flow of their communications. This has enabled the team to develop a model that organizes cognitive structures according to a new paradigm, one that explicitly shows the connections between cognition, input, and output. This paradigm identifies sixteen different ways in which people process information, and describes the underlying brain mechanisms which are responsible. Further, Mind Shapes presents how these differences developed through the stages of human evolution and the way they are expressed in the steps of modern child development. Theory and practicum come together as Mind Shapes links physiology of information processing to behavior, and shows how different people communicate, learn, and make decisions. This model has been successfully applied to education, management, consumer communications, and psychological counseling: dimensions of life where understanding human behavior and motivation are critical to success. Mind Shapes provides its readers with useful tools which were developed as a result of this experience.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Kahn's approach transforms the way we view others, and is especially helpful in improving communication in organizations…My graduate students tell me it has profoundly influenced the way they approach their professions." (David A. Shupe, Ph.D. )

"Kahn's approach transforms the way we view others, and is especially helpful in improving communication in organizations…My graduate students tell me it has profoundly influenced the way they approach their professions." (, )

About the Author

Alan R. Kahn received the MD degree from the University of Illinois in 1959. He was instrumental in the development of medical monitoring systems for the early aerospace program and provided weightlessness training for the original team of astronauts. He holds 21 patents and has published 102 scientific papers. Dr. Kahn still continues with his habit of inventing, patenting, and publishing. In the 1980s, Dr. Kahn turned his attention to studies on the types of information processing in the brains of different kinds of people. His background in Computer Engineering provided tools to study the ways the brain processes information, and his experience in Neurosurgery and Anesthesiology made it possible for him to relate the information processing to brain anatomy and physiology. Kris Austen Radcliff has worked with Dr. Kahn making this information accessible to the public.

Product Details

• Paperback: 340 pages
• Publisher: Paragon House (March 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557788499
• ISBN-13: 978-1557788498
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,435,405 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Advancing Personality Theory, Applications & Research Ideas, February 17, 2005

By 

Ernest M. Weiler, Ph.D. "Professor Weiler" (Cincinnati, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mind Shapes: Understanding the Differences in Thinking and Communication (Paperback)

Kahn05 & Radcliffe

MIND SHAPES-Understanding the Difference Between Thinking and Communication
By Alan R. Kahn, MD, and Kris Austen Radcliffe

(Feb 6, 2005)
***** Five Stars for advancing personality theory, applications & research ideas.

Jung's practical view of personality and profession serves as the launch pad for the Human Dimensions Model. Those familiar with the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) will be interested in the Post-Jungian innovations of the Human Dimensions Model (HDM) devised by Kahn and Radcliffe. Stimulated by the works of Walter Lowen, Merlin Donald, Richard Dawkins and others, the authors show how concepts of evolution, the meme, and right- vs. left-brain processing can determine how we work and play. The advanced reader will welcome the opportunity to explore the hypotheses proposed in this text. As a professional person, I personally found Dr. Kahn's workshops and classes very stimulating and enlightening. I strongly recommend the text for the advanced applications, the research potential, and the challenge to go beyond current personality theory.

Ernest M. Weiler, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus
Communication Sciences & Disorders
University of Cincinnati

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Understand differences in how we and others think, March 10, 2005

By 

F. Peter Seidel (Cincinnati, Ohio, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mind Shapes: Understanding the Differences in Thinking and Communication (Paperback)

Our world becomes more complex and dangerous every day. Access to information, understanding, and communication are essential for dealing with this. While we have developed new techniques and technologies to help us with this, the human brain is the same as it was 20.000 years ago. It created the modern world by specializing, but in doing so, individual humans developed very different ways of thinking. Too often we fail to understand how differently we think and how different our capabilities, and weaknesses are. This is dangerous because it creates conflicts and often gives individuals the idea that they know better than those with better knowledge or that they can do things better than those more qualified. We also often fail to recognize the shortcomings of those who fill important positions.

"Mind Shapes" give us a much needed understanding of the unique ways different personality types think. If this knowledge were broadly understood, governments would operate more efficiently and constructively; organizations would function better; we as individuals would get along better with others, and we would better understand ourselves. The gains would be tremendous. Just one example, people would demand that nations be governed by people who understood and were qualified to deal with the business of government and the world rather than those whose talents focus on achieving positions of power. This is an important book and should be widely read--for the good of all of us.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Going beyond correlation...to causation?, March 4, 2005

By 

Vijay K. Iyer (Murrysville, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mind Shapes: Understanding the Differences in Thinking and Communication (Paperback)

Having attended Alan's class on this subject in 1987, and reading Lowen's and Kent's book as part of this class, this book was a welcome return to the realm of how people process information differently. I am generally familiar with several "type indicator" models mostly based on Jung's concepts (MBTI, FIRO etc.) and this model seems to take it beyond that by attaching brain processes to behavior. The model is signficantly refined and improved over the past 15 years, and should provide a great resource for the researcher and for the casual reader. If you like to understand how different people think and are confounded by the chaos created by different personalities coming together, this book will prove to be a invaluable resource. When is the next book, Alan?

Vijay K. Iyer, Ph. D.; M.B.A.
Director, Corporate Business Development,
Respironics, Inc.