I don’t know how many people are familiar with Leary’s grid and the personality epitome based on dyadic relationship.Understanding our behaviours and whats going on in our mind is not an easy task.Leary has conducted so many personality tests however I found one of his test highly elaborated which was described by Peter Shepherd(Transforming the mind). So far, we have seen and experienced by all means that humans behave totally chaotic,irrational or on the other side they need a proper structure in order to function properly.
It has been recognised for a very long time that if someone is messed up, then they might show some sort of functional deficit and that someone else who is very structured and functional has a minimal or not brain dificit at all.So fair enough.We as humans act and think differently and our behaviours doesnt shift from the norm.However Shepherd argues that we think and act like robots and our system is implanted with very synchronised types of humanoid robots.He states:”Consider four specific cases: Subject #1 is Responsible/Over-conventional (Phlegmatic). S/he is friendly, considerate, helpful solidly successful and wants things to run smoothly for the good of all, whatever the compromises. S/he spoils people with kindness, forgives anything, agrees with everybody and actually enjoys governing those who cannot govern themselves. The noble Lion. This person is probably a total robot, i.e. if s/he can never give orders in a strict way, is never ever to doubt others, is never ego-centered, etc. On the other hand if s/he can move out of this viewpoint in appropriate circumstances (exercising hostility against an attacker or admitting weakness when overwhelmed) then s/he has a conditioned predilection for ‘friendly strength’ but is not totally robotized by it.
Subject #2 has, after the same twenty years of imprinting and conditioning, landed in the Melancholy quadrant (friendly weakness). S/he is self-critical, shy, timid, easily led, spineless and always looking for someone to take charge, to make the decisions. The unearthly angel or in modern parlance, the flower child.
Subject #3 is predominantly in the Bilious (hostile weakness) quadrant. S/he distrusts everybody, rebels against everything, speaks constantly in sarcasms, complains chronically and is generally bitter, resentful and (to some extent) paranoid, while skillfully avoiding any action that would require taking personal responsibility. The sullen Bull.
Subject #4 is Choleric (hostile strength) and is regarded as bossy, cold, unfeeling, dictatorial, self-important, boastful, etc., but still in the judgment of most, ‘a good leader’. S/he will always try to take over, to be top dog. The imperial Eagle. Each will explain to you, with great conviction, why each of these robotic, endlessly repeated reflexes are caused by the situations around them, i.e. by the behaviour of other people.
To be honest I found this one very thoughtful reading.Interestingly enough, I could categorise myself in one of these grids however our behaviours could easily be transformed or adapted by reinforcements and consequences.And in most cases what we reinforce in our daily life is what we get by what we doing.Remember Ghandi’s quote:be the change you want to see in the world?To be frank most of our problems are happening because we are often disconnected by our reality and don’t try to use common sense and run a reality check by the end of the day.We often tend to preach a lesson we don’t follow.Suffice it to say that many behaviour settles for creating and accepting who we are as individuals.It also enhance our ability to embed what we do best,confidence,self fulfilment,sense of worthiness and not at last to involve emotion and passion in our arrays of collaboration.Although we display a robotic nature we err by nature and to err is human.
mimipopa 