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People Types and Tiger Stripes

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People Types and Tiger Stripes. Gordon Lawrence. Gainesville, FL: Center for Applications of Psychological Type, Inc., 2000. 222 pp.

Dr. Gordon Lawrence's, People Types and Tiger Stripes, published by the Center for Applications of Psychological Type, outfits the personality Type practitioner with an easy to grasp discussion of Personality Type theory (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) that specifically illustrates its usefulness in the educational arena.

In less than 100 pages, anyone interested in the subject of Personality Type Preference, pioneered by Isabel Myers Briggs, will discover the basic concepts of Type Theory and learn to recognize their own kind of Type behavior. Part 2 delves deeper into the dynamics of type, particularly how the mental processes of Type function in individuals, and the application of Type. The book is filled with understandable charts, practical exercises, and helpful explanations. This book will prove a useful resource for those who are interested in the learning process and designing curricula that capitalizes on the knowledge of Type Preference.

I have especially appreciated Dr. Lawrence's approach to the Mental Processes as "habits of the mind" and his explanation of Type Dynamics, a particularly difficult concept to grasp when explaining Type. Practitioners will also find new ways of illustrating Type and explaining its many nuances.

Lawrence, (an ENTP) goes out of his way to practice what he says about learning styles. This book is for all Types. He has something for the linear learner, as well as "a-linear" learners, those "Intuitives" and "Perceptives" who like to jump in the middle of it.

I use my copy of "Types and Stripes" frequently. I have found it a ready resource when explaining Type to organizations and in my instructional role as an adult teacher.

I first read the book in 1988 or 1989 and found myself not wanting to put it down. I used it to help me facilitate a group of senior leaders in the military. I observed the leaders and found that my type was so much different that it was causing poor communications (I was a Maximum Scale "E" and they were Maximum Scale "I"). The book helped me to recognize the strengths and weaknesses in understanding types. It also guided me to using type more frequently in the workplace.
After retiring from the military, I started using type again in my first job as an Elementary School Teacher. I read Dr Lawrences' book again...this time with more enthusiasm. The book helped me to work better with my teaching team, students, and of course the staff. The differences appeared to be more similar as I applied People Types to Tiger Stripes. I actually found myself laughing at the way people (in general) behaved and how similar they were in their behavior with type.
I am currently working for the Government teaching adults. Most of my job is about behavior change processes. I use the book today (2003) to assist me with the Myers Briggs Type Instrument (MBTI) in large groups. Groups learn in a Cognitive environment (usually 100 participants) and after a 4 hour lecture they move to small group (groups of 12 to 15) to apply type to the small group and behaviors that appear typical to the type. The book is also a reading source in our Institute and is frequently read by students. Applying the principles of type are more easily defined in People Types and Tiger Stripes. It is written for the basic level of knowledge used in type and can be quickly applied to any given group.
I have a personal copy and encourage anyone to purchase and read the book. I will read it over and over again for my job and my personal life.

"This book presents ways to recognize the basic ingredients in behavior that make up a motivation pattern, and then to make an educated, shortcut prediction about what strategy will work best with...the wide variety of...people we teach and supervise."

Dr. Lawrence was a close associate of Isabel Briggs Myers, who with her mother Katharine C. Briggs developed the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) based on the work of Carl Jung. This work is an excellent layman's introduction to the MBTI. It is written in an intelligent yet eminently readable style, with a plethora of practical examples. The included self-tests were especially helpful as I prepared for my week of training at the Center for the Application of Psychological Type (CAPT).

The MBTI has a broad range of applications, including career guidance, personal counseling, team building, etc.
Dr. Lawrence's long experience in the field of education makes this book of particular interest and usefulness to all levels of educators. He also provides worksheets to assist in the classroom analysis of learning styles in relation to type.

Despite the massive quantity of useful information packed into the over 200 pages of this work, the writing style is conversational and easy-to-understand. I managed to read it on my flight from Charleston to Gainesville, FL (granted, I had a two hour layover in Atlanta).

As a supervisor (and former teacher), I highly recommend this work to other supervisors (and current teachers).

One things bears mentioning right off the bat -- this is a textbook for teachers and educators; it is not a general guide to MBTI. The examples focus on learning styles and motivating students, and I would infer that there is a particular focus on secondary (high school) education. The book is clearly written for use as a textbook in a class or workshop, with "exercises" designed for use in a group setting at each chapter's end. For example, activities include sharing & discussing your reactions to your own MBTI profile, guessing each other's profile, recording & discussing one another's reactions while eating an apple, etc . . .. I'm a bit of an MBTI junkie and purchased this book without knowing the focus. It's a good guide to the MBTI, with applications in multiple arenas, but the focus is definitely on MBTI applied to the academic environment and the target audience is clearly teachers.

That said, the book is worthwhile reading for anyone interested in the MBTI, as it underscores the challenges faced by teachers in crafting classroom activities that are effective across the board. There aren't just "good" students and "poor" students -- In a typical classroom, nearly half of the students are extraverted sensing (ES) types, while fewer than one in eight are introverted intuiting (IN). The interactive, hands on approach to learning favored by ES types might not be so effective for INs. Most classroom environments naturally favor certain types over others. Introverts work well on self-paced, individual assignments. Extraverts thrive in team-based activities and enjoy engaging in classroom dialogue (which can be overwhelming and chaotic, and actually disrupt the learning process for introverts). Some students like to read and reflect and plan before doing. Others like to dive right in and do. To compound the multiple student preferences, each teacher has individual preferences that are likely reflected in her/his teaching style and classroom environment. The challenge is for teachers to recognize these preferences and create an environment that provides learning opportunities for students of all types and preferences. One-size-fits-all education doesn't work.

Dr. Lawrence provides great detail about uses and abuses of MBTI typing and is generous with examples of how type theory can help address problem situation in instructional environments. This is not the simplest MBTI book out there -- although it is written in very accessible style, there is a fair amount of detail and much analysis of the preferences in combination, wth discussions of dominant, secondary and tertiary functions. I'm not sure all the detail sinks in on the first reading, but I expect that this is a book an educator might revisit from time to time for insight on how to work with a particularly challenging student. I wouldn't recommend this as an introduction to the MBTI for non-educators, but for and educator, or for someone with a decent understanding of MBTI and an interest in application of MBTI in the education setting, this is a useful resource.

This book is an excellent resource for classroom teachers who want ways to apply the concept of personality types to their instructional planning. It contains a quick and dirty survey for students use that identifies 4 out of the 8 preferences of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator. I have found it extremely useful in my work with pre-service and in-service teachers.

This book is an excellent resource when consulting with groups regarding personality preference styles. It has great exercises that show type differences. It also discusses our type and how engrained it is in each of us. It discusses how we can develop all of the types and make the most of these assets. The book also gives great summaries of each of the 16 different types. An awesome tool for teachers and consultants to use as a reference when working with type. I'd recommend it!