Everything DiSC® is a personal development learning experience that measures an individual’s preferences and tendencies based on the DiSC® model. But what is the DiSC® model?
The DiSC® Model
The DiSC® Model is a simple yet powerful model that describes four basic behavioral styles: D, i, S, and C. These serve as the foundation for each distinct Everything DiSC® application.
D: Dominance
i: Influence
S: Steadiness
C: Conscientiousness
Everyone is a blend of all four DiSC® styles—usually, one, two, or even three styles stand out. Unlike many personality tests, there is no perfect result or DiSC® style. Each person has a unique behavioral profile with different styles and priorities—no one style is better or worse than the next.
We believe that these differences in style can be extremely valuable. Once you assess these differences and harness their value, better workplace communication AND healthier organizations become possible.
Seems simple, right? It is. But it’s not simplistic. View our brochure About Everything DiSC®: Theory and Research View our brochure About Everything DiSC®: Theory and Research (PDF) to learn why.
DiSC® History & Science: A Brief History of Styles
For thousands of years, humans have been on a quest to better understand themselves and to better understand our human nature, and explain the differences among people. Personality profile systems have been around since 590 BCE. The earliest recorded assessment tool is from ancient Hebrew writings – Ezekiel’s Four Living Creatures – Ezekiel 1:1-28. Other well-known profiling systems include Hippocrates’ Four Humors (400 BCE), Galen’s Four Temperaments (190 and in modern times, Carl Jung’s Psychological Types (1923), the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (1958), Hartman’s Color Code (1987) and Kiersey’s Four Temperaments (1998).
The ancients believed that the differences in behavior were influenced by variations in the quality and quantity of our body fluids. They referred to the four temperaments as Choleric/Dominant (yellow bile,) Sanguine / Influence (blood,) Phlegmatic / Steadiness (phlegm,) and Melancholic / Conscientiousness (black bile.) References to this early terminology are still used today by some writers involved with religious education.
William Moulton Marston
The book, Emotions of Normal People, was published in the 1920s by William Moulton Marston. It forms the theoretical basis for the DiSC® Model of Behavior and the most recent DiSC® Classic Profile. Marston was not concerned with categorizing people into psychological types; rather he focused on categorizing behavior into four types. He theorized that effective people would behave in a manner consistent with the demands and expectations of the environment.
This suggests that even though a person may have a core behavioral preference that is most natural and comfortable for that person, a person’s behavior will vary from one situation to another
In the 1970s, Dr. John Geier developed an instrument called the Personal Profile System. He conducted further research to refine Marston’s model and determined the unique DiSC® Classical Profile Patterns which are based upon combinations of the various behavioral styles.
Four Behavior Style or Personality Style Categories
In more recent years, with advances in research and modern psychological theories, more sophisticated models of human behavior have evolved. However, one common denominator remains – they all group behavioral styles into four categories.
The science behind human personalities and behaviors has been researched for centuries. Theories behind the four personalities come from the combined findings of many well-educated psychologists and scientists. Learn more about some of the minds and theories behind our products.
The Four Temperaments – Although human personality profiles have existed since before modern civilization, one common denominator has rung true, behavioral styles are always grouped into four categories.
William Moulton Marston – As the author of Emotions of Normal People, William Marston focused on categorizing behavior into four types. He theorized that effective people would behave in a manner consistent with the demands and expectations of the environment.
