"True Colors™". The theory behind True Colors can be traced back to Hippocrates, who identified four different types of human beings; the Sanguine (buoyant, cheerful, hopeful, optimistic, sunny), the Choleric (angry, cantankerous, peevish, irate, testy), the Phlegmatic (languid, lethargic, listless, indifferent, passive), and the Melancholic (dejected, despondent, gloomy, morose). While these definitions are derived from Webster’s Thesaurus rather than from Hippocrates, you can see that each refers to very different personality or temperament characteristics.
In more recent years, Carl Jung described personality or temperament differences as a fundamental basis for understanding human beings. When his work, Psychological Type, was translated into English in 1923, it had a profound effect on Katherine C. Briggs, who had been studying differences in people for years. As a result, Briggs and her daughter, Isabel Briggs-Myers, developed the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), which is used worldwide. Their theory states that much of the random variation in human behavior is actually quite orderly. In their work, they identified and characterized sixteen (16) different types of people.
During the past thirty-five years, David Keirsey has refined the work of Myers-Briggs. In his publication, Please Understand Me, he returned to classifying personality and/or temperament into four types. According to Keirsey, these four different types are different in fundamental ways. They want different things. They have different motives, needs, and drives. They analyze, conceptualize, understand, and learn differently. These differences create natural barriers to interpersonal communication, making understanding between people of different types difficult.
The True Colors metaphor has been developed from the work of Keirsey. Don Lowry’s book, Keys to Personal Success, translates his theory into simple and practically applied information. It brings complex ideas out of both academia and psychotherapy and sets them in clear, real-life applications.
A considerable body of information supports the theory that there are four patterns of habitual human behavior or temperament: (Adickes, 1907; Spranger, 1920; Kreschmar, 1920, 1960; Fromm, 1947; Keirsey, 1967, 1978).
A growing body of knowledge also supports the theory that these four patterns of behavior are the key to individual self-esteem and its growth: (Jung, 1920; Hillman, 1979; Keirsey, 1973; Lawrence, 1979, 1980; Provost, 1987)
What Are TheTrue Colors?
Orange represents energy, consuming physiological, power, potency and strength. In temporal terms, Orange is the present. Orange represents desire and all forms of appetite and craving. Those with Orange as a Primary Color feel the will to achieve results, to win, to be successful. They seek things that offer intense living and full experience. Orange generates an impulse toward active doing: sport, struggle, competition and enterprising productivity.
Gold reflects a
need to belong through carrying a share of the load in all areas
of living. It represents stability, maintenance of the culture
and the organization, efficiency, and dependability. It embraces
the concepts of home and family with fierce loyalty and
faithfulness. Gold is the body's natural perceptions. It represents a need to be
responsible, to fulfill duties and obligations, to organize and
structure our life and that of others. Those with Gold as a
Primary Color value being practical and sensible. They believe
that people should earn their way in life through work and
service to others.
Green expresses itself psychologically as human will in operation: as
persistence and determination. Green is an expression of
firmness and consistency. Its strength can lead to a resistance
to change if it is not proven that the change will work or is
warranted. Those with Green as a Primary Color value their
intellect and capabilities above all else. Comfort in these
areas creates a sense of personal security and self-esteem. Green characteristics seek to increase the certainty of their own
values through being assertive and requiring differences from
others in intellectual areas. They are rarely settled in their
countenance, since they depend upon information rather than
feelings to create a sense of well-being. Green expresses the
grounding of theory and data in its practical applications and
creative constructs.
Blue represents calm. Contemplation of this color pacifies the central nervous system. It creates physiological tranquility and psychological contentment. Those with Blue as a Primary Color value balance and harmony. They prefer lives free from tension... settled, united, and secure.
Blue represents loyalty and a sense of belonging, and yet, when friends are involved, a vulnerability. Blue corresponds to depth in feeling and a relaxed sensitivity. It is characterized by empathy, aesthetic experiences, and reflective awareness.
Looking the DiSC Test or DISC Profile?
Based on our internal research we have decided to no longer offer the Online True Colors Test. We are recommending the DiSC Classic 2.O or the DiSC Classic 2 Plus personality/behavioral profiles to help clients understand themselves and others better. Recommended DISC sites: DiSC | DISC Personality Test | DiSC Classic 2.0 | DISC Profile by Inscape Publishing |