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Personality StylesAttachment TwoLesson One: Who Am I Today?Personality StylesIn 1984, John Oldham M.D. began work on a personality system comprised of sixteen stylesfor normally healthy people, each exerting a certain influence over us. Some styles playheavily in our personality while others are virtually non-existent. Everyone has one style that ispredominant (the basic style). In most people, there is one basic style with about two to fivesupporting styles, and the rest of the styles play a moderate to zero am.htmEach of the sixteen personality styles is described on the succeeding pages. Characteristics,Basic Desire/Pleasure and Basic Fear/Distress for each style are included.Personality StylesAdventurousDescription: Throw caution to the winds -- here comes the Adventurer. Who but Adventurerswould have taken those long leaps for mankind -- crossed the oceans, broken the soundbarrier, walked on the moon? The men and women with this personality style venture wheremost mortals fear to tread. They are not bound by the same terrors and worries that limit mostof us. They live on the edge, challenging boundaries and restrictions, pitting themselves forbetter or for worse in a thrilling game against their own mortality. No risk, no reward, theysay. Indeed, for people with the Adventurous personality style, the risk is the reward.Characteristics: Nonconformity. Men and women who have the Adventurous personality style live bytheir own internal code of values. They are not strongly influenced by other people orby the norms of society.Challenge. To live is to dare. Adventurers love the thrill of risk and routinely engage inhigh-risk activities. www.learningtogive.org1

Mutual independence. They do not worry too much about others, for they expect eachhuman being to be responsible for him/herself. Persuasiveness. They are silver-tongued, gifted in the gentle art of winning friends andinfluencing people.Wanderlust. They love to keep moving. They settle down only to have the urge to pickup and go, explore, move out, move on. They do not worry about finding work, andlive well by their talents, skills, ingenuity and wits.Wild oats. In their childhood and adolescence, people with the Adventurouspersonality style were usually high-spirited hell-raisers and mischief makers.True grit. They are courageous, physically bold, and tough. They will stand up toanyone who dares to take advantage of them.No regrets. Adventurers live in the present. They do not feel guilty about the past oranxious about the future. Life is meant to be experienced now . Basic Desire/Pleasure: adventure Basic Fear/Distress: routineThe best way to get along with an Adventurer is:The type of job an Adventurer might be interested in is:AggressiveDescription: Who's the boss? The Aggressive type, of course. While others may aspire toleadership, Aggressive men and women move instinctively to the helm. They are born toassume command as surely as is the top dog in their pack. Theirs is a strong, forcefulpersonality style, more inherently powerful than any of the others. They can undertake hugeresponsibilities without fear of failure. They wield power with ease. They never back awayfrom a fight. They compete with the supreme confidence of champions. How these individualsuse the power that seems always at their fingertips depends on other styles in their patterns.When put to the service of a greater good, the Aggressive personality style can inspire a manor woman to great leadership, especially in times of crisis. www.learningtogive.org2

Characteristics: Command. Aggressive individuals take charge. They are comfortable with power,authority and responsibility.Hierarchy. They operate best within a traditional power structure where everyoneknows his or her place and the lines of authority are clear.Tight ship. They are highly disciplined and impose rules of order that they expectothers in their charge to follow.Expedience. Aggressive men and women are highly goal-directed. They take apractical, pragmatic approach to accomplishing their objectives. They do what isnecessary to get the job done.Guts. They are neither squeamish nor fainthearted. They can function well and bravelyin difficult and dangerous situations without being distracted by fear or horror. The rough-and-tumble. Aggressive people like action and adventure. They arephysically assertive and often participate in or enjoy playing competitive sports,especially contact sports.Basic Desire/Pleasure: power Basic Fear/Distress: submittingThe best way to get along with an Aggressive is:The type of job an Aggressive might be interested in is:ArtisticDescription: Mood swings. Shifts from a moderately upbeat, outgoing, creative character to awithdrawn and sullen depressive one. When in a high state, they can be highly productive,original, humorous and engaging. During a low state they become self-absorbed, pessimisticand apathetic. The mood swings happen regularly in cycles.Characteristics: www.learningtogive.org3

Mood swings. Those of the Artistic temperament tend to experience a greater range ofemotion than those of any other type. They are highly emotional. Artistic inclinations. The Artistic type is the most inclined of all the types to be involvedwith the fine arts, music or literature. They take an artistic approach to all aspects oftheir lives.Independent work. The Artistic type spends a great deal of time alone.Relationships secondary. Those of the Artistic temperament are quite likely to chooserelationships which will further their work rather than relationships which areintrinsically rewarding, and their relatives may find that family relations take secondplace.Great productivity. Persons of the Artistic type are highly disciplined, gifted withsuperior powers of concentration, and capable of producing great quantities of highquality work; they also enjoy frequent periods of recreation and inactivity.Keen perceptions. The Artistic temperament is especially attuned to color, line, texture,shading - touch, motion, seeing and hearing in harmony. The senses of Artisticindividuals seem more keenly tuned than those of others.Kindness. Although those of the Artistic type may adopt an aggressive, tough exterior,they are remarkably gentle, kind and generous.Extroversion and introversion. The interpersonal conduct of those of the Artistic typealternates between the greatest extremes of sociability and being sociallyuncommunicative.Love of nature. In many individuals of the Artistic type there may be found aninstinctive longing for the natural, the pastoral, rural living. They are quite at home inthe wilds and nature seems to welcome them.Basic Desire/Pleasure: creativity Basic Fear/Distress: being unable to createThe best way to get along with an Artistic is:The type of job an Artistic might be interested in is: www.learningtogive.org4

ConscientiousDescription: Conscientious-style people are the men and women of strong moral principleand absolute certainty, and they won't rest until the job is done and done right. They are loyalto their families, their causes and their superiors. Hard work is a hallmark of this personalitystyle. Conscientious types achieve . The Conscientious flourishes where the work ethic thrives.Characteristics: Hard work. The Conscientious person is dedicated to work, works very hard and is capable of intense, single-minded effort.The right thing. To be Conscientious is to be a person of conscience. These are menand women of strong moral principles and values. Opinions and beliefs on anysubject are rarely held lightly. Conscientious individuals want to do the right thing. The right way. Everything must be done “right,” and the Conscientious person has aclear understanding of what that means, from the correct way to balance thecheckbook, to the best strategy to achieve the boss's objectives, to how to fit everysingle dirty dish into the dishwasher.Perfectionism. The Conscientious person likes all tasks and projects to be complete tothe final detail, without even minor flaws.Perseverance. They stick to their convictions and opinions. Opposition only serves tostrengthen their dogged determination.Order and detail. Conscientious people like the appearance of orderliness andtidiness. They are good organizers, catalogers and list makers. No detail is too smallfor Conscientious consideration.Prudence. Thrifty, careful and cautious in all areas of their lives, Conscientiousindividuals do not give in to reckless abandon or wild excess.Accumulation. A “pack rat,” the Conscientious person saves and collects things,reluctant to discard anything that has, formerly had or someday may have value forhim or her. www.learningtogive.org5

Basic Desire/Pleasure: perfection Basic Fear/Distress: imperfectionThe best way to get along with a Conscientious is:The type of job a Conscientious might be interested in is:DevotedDescription: Devoted types care , and that's what makes their lives worth living. You won't findanyone more loving, more solicitous of you, more concerned for your needs and feelings orfor those of a group as a whole. At their best, individuals with this style are loyal, considerate,ever-so-helpful players on the team. Their needs are those of the group or of its leader, andtheir happiness comes from the fulfillment of others' directives and goals. Devoted people arethe ones who tell you, “I'm happy if you're happy” and mean it. The Devoted style iscommon in our society, and it occurs among both men and women.Characteristics: Commitment. Individuals with the Devoted personality style are thoroughly dedicated to the relationships in their lives. They place the highest value on sustainedrelationships; they respect the institution of marriage as well as unofficial avowals ofcommitment; and they work hard to keep their relationships together.Togetherness. They prefer the company of one or more people to being alone.Teamwork. People with this personality style would rather follow than lead. They arecooperative and respectful of authority and institutions. They easily rely on others andtake direction well. Deference. When making decisions, they are happy to seek out others' opinions andto follow their advice.Harmony. Devoted individuals are careful to promote good feelings betweenthemselves and the important people in their lives. To promote harmony, they tend tobe polite, agreeable and tactful. www.learningtogive.org6