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Address on Communications
at the 6th National Symposium of Biosafety
"If you want them to listen to what you say, talk their language."
Taibi Kahler, Ph.D.
The Process Communication Model (PCM) provides a reliable and validated method of
identifying and understanding personality structures, life passages, and communication
dynamics. Based on a scientific awardwinning clinical discovery [1] PCM has been
researched through thirty years and experienced by half a million people on five continents
in such applications as sales, business, education, politics, religion, medicine, parenting,
and personal relationships.
Individual personality structure is comprised of six, separate and mutually exclusive
behavior types, called Workaholic, Reactor, Persister, Rebel, Dreamer, and Promoter.
Likened to a six-floored condominium, personality structure is ordered, indicating the
relative amount of time a person experiences and demonstrates the behaviors of a given
type floor.
These second-by-second behaviors - - categorized by words, tones, gestures, postures
and facial expressions - - can be observed objectively with significantly high interjudge
reliability [2]. Additionally, test-retest reliability research indicates that once a persons
condominium order is set, that order seldom changes.[3] The Personality Pattern Inventory
[4], a 45 item questionnaire, validated to produce this condominium order, also measures
the amount of energy available to the individual to experience each personality floor.
Correlations for each personality type include: character strengths, management styles,
channels of communication, perceptual preferences, environmental choices, and
personality traits [5]. No one type is better or worse, more or less intelligent, or more or
less OK. Each has strengths and weaknesses. The following descriptions are based on
our collective research findings.
WORKAHOLIC PERSONALITY
Perception: Thinks first; identifies and categorizes people and things.
Character strengths: Logical, responsible and organized.
Examples: Mr. Spock, Des Cartes, Jonathan Hart, HAL, Emily Bronte, George
Washington Carver, Joan Crawford, Joe Friday
% of U.S. Population: 25%; 25% are female, 75% are male.
Facial Expressions: Horizontal lines on the forehead.
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Psychological Needs: Requires being recognized as a person. "I care about you," "Do
you like me for me?" Requires an environment that pampers the senses.
Distress sequences:
1st Degree: Overadapts and pleases others in an attempt to be accepted.
2nd Degree: Feels confused, makes mistakes or invites criticism. (Im not OKYoure OK.)
3rd Degree: Gets rejected: "I didnt feel wanted."
PERSISTER PERSONALITY PHASE
Psychological Needs: Requires conviction/belief recognition. "I admire that about you." "I
value your opinion." Requires work recognition. "Great job."
Distress Sequences:
1st Degree: Expects others to be perfect. Focuses on what is wrong instead of what is
right.
2nd Degree: Frustrated with people who dont share beliefs. Pushes beliefs (preaches at)
or crusades. Righteous and suspicious. (Im OKYoure not OK.)
3rd Degree: Forsakes others: "They dont have any commitment."
DREAMER PERSONALITY PHASE
Psychological Needs: Requires having private time and own space.
Distress Sequences:
1st Degree: Experiences having to be strong. Spreads self too thin.
2nd Degree: Feels shy, inadequate, embarrassed and withdraws. (Im not OK Youre
OK.)
3rd Degree: Gets left out: "Nobody told me what to do."
REBEL PERSONALITY PHASE P>Psychological Needs: Requires playful contact.
Enjoys humor. Likes stimulating fun environment.
Distress Sequences:
1st Degree: Tries to understand or tries do something. Invites others to think or do the
thinking for them. Delegates inappropriately.
2nd Degree: Gets kicked, becomes angry, and blames. (Im OKYoure not OK.)
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Those whose primary perception is emotions value relationships. The way they view the
world is by feeling about people and situations. They prize family and friendship.
Compassion is their currency. They comprise 30% of the population in North America.
Those whose primary perceptions is inactions value direction. The ways they view the
world is by reflecting about what is happening. They prize privacy and their own space.
Imagination is their currency. They comprise 10% of the population in North America.
Those whose primary perception is reactions value fun. The way they view the world is by
reacting to people and situations with likes and dislikes. They prize spontaneity and
creativity. Humor is their currency. They comprise 20% of the population in North America.
Those whose primary perception is actions value initiative. The way they view the world is
by experiencing situations and making things happen. They prize adaptability and self
sufficiency. Charm is their currency. They comprise 5% of the population in North America.
Problem: When people refuse to shift to one anothers perceptual frame of reference (i.e.,
the process of how we talk), they are tuning each other out and turning off what (i.e., the
content) each other is saying. Probable results: When the content is ignored, then:
miscommunication, no discussion, no consensus, incompatibility, learning suffers, morale
drops, and misunderstanding, conflict, and negative behaviors increase.
Solution: Determine which perception(s) a person is fluent in, and speak his/her
language(s) when delivering your intended message. Process precedes content.
Examples
Thoughts. References to data, information, logic, fairness, categories, time, agendas, and
order. Listen for: "Whowhatwhenwherewhy?" "think","facts", "
options", "ideas about".
Respond with: Clear, accurate information. Identify what is being done, why, and what
logical measures are being taken. "The facts are", "Our procedures include", "The
data indicate", "Probabilities suggest".
Opinions. References to beliefs, trust, loyalty, opinions, right/wrong, respect, morals,
values, and religion. Listen for: "You should", "We believe", "committed", "
trust", "opinion", "God".
Respond with: Assurance of being committed, dedicated, professional, trustworthy, and
conscientious. "We believe", "We are committed to", "Our mission is to", "We are
dedicated to your safety."
Emotions. References to feelings, family, friends, children, and the general welfare. Listen
for: "I feel", "In my heart", "family", "scared for my children".
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Respond with: Compassion, sensitivity, and authentic caring. Reaffirm with considerations
for the feelings of others. "We are here for you", "We can all help by caring for
another", "This is a time for us to open our hearts and live the Golden Rule."
Reactions. (likes and dislikes). References to reactions to things and people with likes
and dislikes. Listen for: "I hate this", "Great", "I cant stand", "Out of sight", "This is
the pits".
Respond with: Lively comments, upbeat attitude, and humorous quips [even in
emergencies we can keep our sense of humor and use it with those who "speak" it]. "Yeh!
I dont rank this as my favorite day either.", "Right on, Im wit chu!" "Give us a break,
pllleease."
Inactions. (reflections). References to needing directions, time to reflect, privacy, and our
space. Listen for: "I need to reflect on this", "Dont want to jump to conclusions.", "Dont
want to offend anybody."
Respond with: Imperatives. Be direct and tell the person what to do. Include ways they can
continue to take care of themselves. "Follow these three steps to make your home
safer", "Call these numbers for more directions", "Tune your radio to and get out
extra batteries."
Actions. References to initiate, action, immediacy, adaptability, and the end justifying the
means. Listen for: "Bottom line", "Enough talk", "best shot", "tell it like it is."
Respond with: Imperatives with action verbs. Be firm, energetic, and charismatic. "I hear
you! You want the straight talk", "Lock and load time; get extra water, food", "Bottom
line".
Distressed Behaviors
PCM identifies six distress sequences that people will experience and demonstrate. These
are predictable, repetitive, sequential, and observable. Each such distress sequence has
three levels, or successive degrees of intensity. First degree reflects attitudinal behaviors
of conditional worthiness. Second degree behaviors reflect an attitude of Im OK - - Youre
not OK, or Im not OK - - Youre OK. Third degree distress reflects an attitude of despair.
All of these attitudes are observable and categorizable by words, tones, gestures,
postures, and facial expressions.
Symptom. When people become distressed, they are likely to exhibit one of these six 2 nd
distress behaviors. Some people become over-controlling, and critical of others who
"cant" think. Some push their beliefs, and are critical of others who "break" their trust.
Some blame, and are blameless. Some manipulate, and create negative drama. Some
make needless mistakes, and invite criticism. And some passively wait for directions, and
withdraw.
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Dynamics. Understanding why people become distressed, and why some people become
parentally critical, some act like a vengeful child, and some show victim behaviors, is
crucial in knowing how to deal with each one.
PCM identifies and correlates the 2nd degree distressed behavior with the psychological
level need that the person is advertising that they want addressed positively.
Problem. The problem is to know what the distressed behavior really means, and how to
satisfy that psychological need of the particular [personality phase] individual. When
people are distressed, they do not think clearly, and cannot take in information effectively.
Solution. Invite people out of distress, and then focus on giving them content information.
A Workaholic phase person in 2nd degree distress parentally attacks (Im OK - - Youre not
OK) with being over-controlling, and being critical of others who dont think clearly, dont
give all the facts, or who are not time conscious. What she/he really needs is to be given
facts, reasons, plans, information, and time frames.
A Persister phase person in 2nd degree distress parentally attacks (Im OK - - Youre not
OK) with pushing beliefs, scolding, or preaching at people. What he/she really needs is to
have fears allayed, and to be able to trust and believe in the person, organization, and/or
information presented.
A Rebel phase person in 2nd degree distress becomes vengeful and blaming with, "If it
werent for you." What he/she really needs is playful reassurance that everything is going
to be alright. Humor is healing to this personality.
A Promoter phase person in 2nd degree distress becomes vindictive and manipulative with
negative drama, bending or breaking rules, or pitting two people or factions against one
another. What she/he really needs is to have this energy channeled into positive
excitement and action.
A Reactor [Harmonizer] phase person in 2nd degree distress sets him/herself up to be a
victim, makes mistakes, does not think clearly, and may invite criticism or persecution.
What he/she really needs is to be considered and accepted as a person, and reassured of
being important and cared for.
A Dreamer phase person in 2nd degree distress passively waits, withdraws, and may feel
inadequate. What he/she really needs is to be given step-by-step directions as to what to
do.
Examples
Distressed Workaholic phase: (Critical of others who don't think)
"Doesn't anybody in your organization know what they're doing? Nobody can answer a
question intelligently! You're the fourth robot I've talked to, and nobody can give me the
information I want!"
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"I can appreciate how you might feel in this situation. We're all in it together. We're a family,
and you're not going to get left out. I'm glad you're here, and it's my job to help you."
Distressed Dreamer phase: (Passively waits and becomes immobile.)
"I didn't know what to do, so I just didn't do anything."
Strategy: (Take charge. Be directive.)
"No problem. Just follow these instructions. First..."
Conclusion.
To be effective in communicating, translate the information into the persons favorite
perceptual language. To deal effectively with distressed people, first determine which 2 nd
degree distress behavior a person is in, then respond with giving him/her the positive form
of psychological need(s) that is behind the "masked" behavior.
The following selective, annotated research articles and papers highlight the importance of
personality structure when considering personality strategies.
Dr. McGuire, the psychiatric consultant for NASA for almost four decades in the selection
and training of astronauts, states, "PCM has proven useful in predicting crew
incompatibilities and probable modes of malfunction." [8]
In an unpublished paper, Dr. Knaupp of Arizona State University found that teachers and
students who have differing personality structures will have more miscommunication, and
the resulting negative coping strategies will be used by both teacher and student are
predictable as a function of their personality typing in PCM. [9]
In her 1987 dissertation, Dr. Shcolnik found that PCM was a useful model for
understanding how compatible a couple will be in a marital relationship. PCM can predict
accurately what a certain personality type and phase individual would experience in a
relationship with someone who is a different personality type or phase. [10]
In his 1987 research, funded by the National Institute for Handicapped Research, Dr. Fass
found significant differences among personality types and related post high school
success with learning disabled adults. He concluded that the use of Process
Communication Model provides a viable basis for increasing our understanding of
learning disabled students and adults. [11]
In his 1992 article in the Executive Educator, Dr. Gilbert reported the results of PCM
training in the Apache Junction school district over a three year period:
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the district reduced employee turnover from 43% to less than 3% (in spite of the fact that
the district offered lower salaries than in neighboring districts). Student achievement in
every grade increased dramatically, failure rate in grades seven and eight dropped from
20% to less than 2%, the need for student discipline dropped substantially, graduation
rates increased, the percentage of students going on to college or some other kind of
postsecondary training increased from 19% to more than 43%, employee satisfaction and
morale reached an all time high, and parents and students grew increasingly satisfied with
school. Dr. William Wright was given the Superintendent of the Year Award for
implementing PCM. [12]
In his 1994 dissertation, Dr. Wallin found that a students grade is significantly affected by
the difference in the PCM personality structure between that of the teacher and that of the
student.[13]
In his 1994 dissertation, Dr. Carpenter found PCM to be a valuable model for teachers in
the understanding of and brief interventions with Reactor personality type depressed
children.[14]
In her 1995 dissertation, Dr. Hawking found that teachers trained in Process
Communication positively affect student performance through understanding different
student personality type needs and preferences.[15]
In a research grant funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Dr. Hopewell found that
children in the Boys & Girls Clubs who were exposed to the PCM program had an
enhanced self-concept and greater self esteem. Also, there was overall improvement in
morale and camaraderie, an increased involvement in activities, and a desire for
recognition for accomplishment.[16]
In his 1997 thesis, Mr. Johnston found that PCM offers the mediator valuable information
on what "not" to say or do, and then what and how to say the "best" thing to each
negotiator. Furthermore the mediator can use this model to monitor himself/herself for
insight into self behavior and a template for making self management decisions.[12]
In 1998, Dr. Gilbert presented research findings about at-risk kids at the annual convention
of the International Listening Association. Parents and educators can be described
predominantly by three personality types as characterized by the Process Communication
Model. Children at-risk are predominantly two other types, and the adults in their lives
have little energy to deal with them effectively.[18]
In her 1998 dissertation, Dr. Bailey found that there were personality characteristics within
a students personality that would predispose him or her toward exhibiting what were
perceived by teachers as inattentive and/or hyperactive-impulse behaviors. The most
compelling finding was that miscommunication between teachers and students due to a
difference in personality type may be the reason many students are referred for and
consequently labeled with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.[19]
References
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Kahler, Taibi, Ph.D., "The Miniscript", Transactional Analysis Journal, 4:1, January
1974, pp. 26-42.
"Personality Pattern Inventory Validation Procedures", Kahler Communications,
Little Rock, 1990.
Stansbury, Pat, "Report of Adherence to theory discovered when the Personality
Pattern Inventory was administered to subjects twice." Kahler Communications,
Little Rock, 1990.
"The Personality Pattern Inventory", Taibi Kahler Associates, Little Rock, 1982.
"Personality Pattern Inventory Validation Procedures", op.cit.
Ibid.
Ibid.
McGuire, Terence, M.D., "Astronauts, reflections on current selection methodology,
astronaut personality, and the space station"(unpublished).
Knaupp, Jon, Ph.D., "Preservice teachers ranking of personality characteristics
preferred by primary students, middle students, parents and administrators,"
Arizona State University (unpublished).
Shcolnik, Bonnie, Ph.D., "The Process Communication Model concept of
developmental processes: the effects of phase development in husbands on marital
satisfaction of wives", The Fielding Institute, 1987 (Dissertation).
Faas, Larry, Ph.D., "Personality patterns of successful and unsuccessful learning in
disabled adults," paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American
Educational Research Association in Washington, D.C., 1987. (Funded by the
National Institute for Handicapped Research, U.S. Department of Education).
Gilbert, Michael, Ed.D., "Dreamers, rebels, and others: Personality styles affect
communication", Executive Educator, 1992.
Wallin, Mark, Ph.D., "Making the grade. The effects of teacher personality types on
student grading practices", Northern Arizona University, 1994. (Dissertation).
Carpenter, Craig, Ed.D., "Depressed children: brief intervention strategies for
teachers", Arizona State University, 1994. (Dissertation).
Hawking, Nancy, Ed.D., "A study of the impact on student achievement by teachers
trained in Process Communication", University of Arkansas at Little Rock, 1995.
(Dissertation).
Hopewell, Sylvester, Ed.D., "Targeted outreach delinquency prevention program
assessment", paper submitted to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta, 1997.
(Research funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance).
Johnston, Richard, M.A., "The value of the Process Communication Model to a
mediator", McGregor School of Antioch University, 1997. (Thesis).
Gilbert, Michael, Ed.D., "Are your kids at risk? Do you listen to how they speak to
you more than just what they say?", paper presented at annual convention of the
International Listening Association, 1998.
Bailey, Rebecca, Ed.D., "An investigation of personality types of adolescents who
have been rated by classroom teachers to exhibit inattentive and/or hyperactiveimpulsive behaviors", University of Arkansas at Little Rock, 1998. (Dissertation).
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