Reasoning About Complex Systems

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Reasoning AboutComplex Systems
Personality/Temperament Theory
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Minds are of three kinds  one is capable of
thinking for itself another is able to
understand the thinking of others and a third
can neither think for itself nor understand the
thinking of others. The first is of the highest
excellence, the second is excellent, and the
third is worthless. Machiavelli, The Prince
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Exclusion

• We will not consider
• Abnormal behavior
• Group behavior

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Personality Theory
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Character

• Learned behavior
• Character can be different in different
  situations
• Home
• Work
• Friends
• Vacation

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Temperament Theory

• Natural tendencies in behavior
• Do not change but are only tendencies
• Behavioral pre-dispositions that you are most
  comfortable with
• You can have characteristics of multiple
  temperaments
• No temperament is better than the others each
  has its own advantages
• The theory is that we tend to have a dominate
  temperament

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A Little History

• Hippocrates (370 B.C.), Plato (340 B.C.), and
  Artistotle (325 B.C.) all identified three - four
  kinds of people
• Ex. Hippocrates proposed that the highest of four
  body fluids determined type of personality
• Blood cheerful, active
• Phlegm apathetic, sluggish
• black bile sad, brooding
• yellow bile irritable, excitable

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A Little History

• This view of there being multiple temperaments
  persisted until the early 1900s when behaviorism
  (Pavlov, Skinner) became the prevailing view - we
  are born with a blank slate and conditioned by
  our experiences.
• Myers (1958) and Keirsey (1978) modernized the
  view of four temperaments

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Carl Jungs Dream (1909)

• Jung dreamed he was in a house. The top floor was
  modern, the first floor was medieval, and the
  basement was a primitive cave containing bones
  and skulls.
• He interpreted this as a metaphor for our
  conscious personality, our personal
  unconscious, and our collective unconscious
  which are common to us all.
• Psychology then should concentrate on studying
  the collective unconscious and its fundamental
  units (archetypes) that are common to us all.

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Carl Jung (1921)

• Three Categories
• Extraverted/Introverted
• Sensing/Intuitive
• Thinking/Feeling
• Everyone has an attitude
• Extraverted or Introverted
• Everyone has a primary function
• Sensing, Intuition, Thinking, or Feeling

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Jungs Functions

• Perceptive functions
• Sensing
• Intuitive
• Judgmental functions
• Thinking
• Feeling
• Primary function is the one most developed

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Jung - 8 combinations

• Extraverted
• Sensing
• Intuitive
• Thinking
• Feeling
• Introverted
• Sensing
• Intuitive
• Thinking
• Feeling

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Extraverted/Introverted

• How do you recharge your batteries?
• Extraverts find interpersonal interactions to be
  stimulating.
• Introverts must have some time alone.
• Do you prefer to study alone or in groups?

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Sensing/Intuitive

• How do you assimilate information?
• Sensing
• Deals with individual data items.
• Lives in the present.
• Acts quickly
• Intuitive
• Seeks to find underlying relationships among data
  items.
• Considers implications for the future.
• Thinks before acting

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Thinking/Feeling

• What are your objectives in making decisions?
• Thinking
• Seeks fair decisions based on facts
• Sees both positive and negative
• Does not freely compliment others
• Motivated by achievement
• Feeling
• Seeks diplomatic and compassionate decision
• Accentuates the positive
• Are quick to compliment others
• Motivated by appreciation

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Emotion vs. Feeling

• Father torches van after news of son's death
  CNN, August 26, 2004

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Myers-Briggs

• Added a fourth dimension to Jungs work.
• Judging/Perceiving
• Myers Briggs Type Indicator
• No Primary four dimensions to personality
• Yields 16 possible combinations

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Judging/Perceiving

• How do you organize your life?
• Judging
• Serious, Organized, Planned, On time, decisive
• Perceiving
• Playful, Spontaneous, Flexible, Often late,
  delays decisions

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16 Types

• Combinations of
• Extraverted/Introverted (E/I)
• Sensing/Intuitive (S/N)
• Thinking/Feeling (T/F)
• Judging/Perceiving (J/P)
• ESTJ, ISTJ, ESFJ, ISFJ
• ESTP, ISTP, ESFP, ISFP
• ENTJ, INTJ, ENTP, INTP
• ENFJ, INFJ, ENFP, INFP

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David Keirsey

• Uses three of the four dimensions to define four
  primary temperaments
• From Jung
• Sensing/Intuitive - How do you assimilate
  information?
• Thinking/Feeling - What are your objectives?
• From Myers Briggs
• Judging/Perceiving - How do you organize your
  life?
• Sensing/Intuitive is seen as a major dimension
• Sensing is combined with Judging/Perceiving
• Intuitive is combined with Thinking/Feeling

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Four Temperaments

• Guardian - "Security Seeking"
• Sensing-Judging
• Artisan - "Sensation Seeking "
• Sensing-Perceiving
• Idealists - "Identity Seeking"
• Intuitive-Feeling
• Rationals - "Knowledge Seeking"
• Intuitive-Thinking

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Jung vs. Keirsey

• Jung Primary Function
• Sensing
• Intuitive
• Thinking
• Feeling

• Keirsey Temperaments
• Sensing-Judging
• Sensing-Perceiving
• Intuitive-Feeling
• Intuitive-Thinking

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Guardian (Sensing-Judging)

• Focuses on details and the present
• Serious, Organized, Planner, On time
• "detailed," "persevering," and "thorough"
• Self-image is based on reliability, service, and
  respectability
• Managers, accountants, teachers, criminal justice
• Tend to be enculturating as parents, helpmates as
  spouses, and conformity oriented as children

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Colin Powell
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Artisan (Sensing-Perceiving)

• Focuses on details and the present
• Playful, Spontaneous, Flexible, Often late
• "easygoing," "enjoys life," and "persuasive"
• Self-image is based on graceful action, bold
  spirit, and adaptability to circumstance
• Entertainment/Art, marketing, surgeon, tradecraft
• Tend to be permissive as parents, playmates as
  spouses, and play oriented as children

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President Kennedy
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Idealists (Intuitive-Feeling)

• Interprets data in the context of relationships
  and future implications.
• Diplomatic, avoids conflict, seeks appreciation
• "sympathetic," "enthusiastic," "creative," and
  "insightful"
• Self image is based on empathy, benevolence, and
  authenticity
• Educator, counselor, activist, media, diplomat
• In their family interactions they strive for
  mutuality, provide spiritual intimacy for mates,
  opportunity for fantasy for their children, and
  for themselves continuous self-renewal.

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Oprah Winfrey
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Rationals (Intuitive-Thinking)

• Interprets data in the context of relationships
  and future implications.
• Fair, critical, seeks achievement
• "logical," "curious," and "independent"
• Self image is based on ingenuity, independence,
  and willpower
• Leadership positions, scientist, entrepreneur
• Tend to be individualizing as parents, mind mates
  as spouses, and learning oriented as children

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Walt Disney
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Summary

• Guardian
• Serious, Organized, Planned, On time
• "detailed," "persevering," and "thorough
• Artisan
• Playful, Improvises, seeks quick results, Often
  late
• "easygoing," "enjoys life," and "persuasive
• Idealist
• Diplomatic, avoids conflict, seeks appreciation
• "sympathetic," "enthusiastic," "creative," and
  "insightful
• Rationals
• Fair, critical, seeks achievement
• "logical," "curious," and "independent"

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Another View
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Harry Potter and the Four Temperaments

• Slytherin - resourcefulcunninguse any means to
  achieve their ends
• Hufflepuff - hard workerspatient just...loyal
• Gryffindor - chivalrousfight for whats right
  and good
• Ravenclaw - cleverready mindwit and learning

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Presidential Temperaments
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Frequency of Temperaments
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Temperaments and Reasoning

• Extraverted/Introverted
• Team work will improve your extravert skills
• Systems thinking will improve your introvert
  skills
• Sensing/Intuitive
• Sensing The systems approach uses data to
  simulate systems behavior
• Intuitive The systems approach uses
  relationships to model systems

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Temperaments and Reasoning

• Thinking/Feeling
• Thinking The systems approach stress logic and
  decisions based on facts
• Feeling Working on teams will help develop
  feeling skills
• Judging/Perceiving
• Judging The systems approach is an organized,
  planned approach to problem solving
• Perceiving The systems approach is deliberate
  and discourages quick decisions

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Your Temperament

• What temperament describes you best?
• Read detail descriptions of the temperaments at
  http//keirsey.com/matrix.html
• What temperament describes you least?

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• Fill out the short Myers Briggs Profile Analysis
• http//www.personalitypathways.com/type_inventory.
  html
• Fill out the profile sheet on the ITK 115 web site

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Books on Temperament Theory

• More on Temperaments
• People Patterns by Stephen Montgomery (about 13
  on amazon.com)
• Just Your Type Create the Relationship You've
  Always Wanted Using the Secrets of Personality
  Type by Paul D. Tieger, Barbara Barron-Tieger
  (about 16 on amazon.com)
• The Art of Speed Reading People How To Size
  People Up and Speak Their Language by Paul D.
  Tieger, Barbara Barron-Tieger (about 11 on
  amazon.com)

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End