Customer Reviews

Understanding Yourself and Others: An Introduction to the 4 Temperaments-3.0

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I was introduced to Linda Berens' workbooks through a course I'm taking via TypeInsights. Dr. Berens et al. have developed a threefold model of temperament, interactive (social) style and cognitive dynamics which dovetail or "triangulate" to help one discover his "best-fit" Jungian personality type, the "core type" which was innate at his birth. While it takes much longer to go through the sort of guided self-discovery that this series of workbooks makes possible, the results are much more reliable than simply taking a "test" such as the famous MBTI, and one learns much more about one's psyche and those of others along the way.

Without question, the threefold model of Berens et al. is the most helpful, least confusing and best documented model of the normal human personality that I have ever seen, and I recommend this and the other workbooks as highly as any book I have EVER seen of ANY kind whatever.

This particular workbook details the contribution to the model that owes the most to the 2500 years of recorded study of human personality: temperament. The summary of how temperament has been viewed and labeled over the centuries is extremely valuable all by itself (for one thing, further research illustrates how some theorists have gotten very muddled on the subject). Each of the four temperaments has four personality types within it, and interestingly each type has one of four possible interactive styles. There is a beautiful internal logic in the model that has powerful predictive value and practical application, and Berens takes great pains to be as clear and thorough as possible without drowning the reader in jargon. She obviously cares about human beings and the human psyche, deeply.

My life coach (Vicky Jo Varner of TypeInsights - see her CD Type Insights: The Eight Level Model of Psychological Type) and I used this workbook as the first step in removing the fallacy from my mind that my "core type" is INTJ (as the MBTI has consistently indicated for decades). I am actually ENFP: Catalyst temperament, Get-Things-Going interactive style, and Discoverer Advocate personality type (in Berens' terminology). INTJ and some closely allied types are simply roles that I thought I had to put on. And the best part is, using Berens' workbooks and other means puts the results beyond doubt, so that when I start thinking of myself in outmoded ways, I can remind myself, "No, THIS is how you function most naturally, and THESE are the strengths and weaknesses that go with that functionality." All of which is more liberating than I can tell you...

This book is a wonderful introduction to exploring Temperament theory! Read this book first, then observe how your Temperament shows up in your everyday life and in your relationships. I use this as the foundation to my workshops and coaching.