True Colors :)
A Personality Theory
Theory
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There are generally considered to be four
“healthy” personality types.
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Unhealthy = Sociopath/ Psychopath
True Colors is a system that assigns each
personality type a color:
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Orange 35%
Gold 35%
Blue 18%
Green 12%
The Rule of Fours
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Hippocrates
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Greeks
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Fire, earth, air, water
Jung
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Choleric, Melancholic, Phlegmatic, Sanguine
Extroverted, Introverted, Perceiving, Judging
Friedman/ Sperry
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Type A, Type B, Right Brained, Left Brained
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Mendel
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Pavlov
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DNA: Adenine, Guanine, Cytosine, Thymine
Nomi/Besher
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Canine Types: Excitatory, Inhibitory, Steadfast, Energetic
Watson/Crick
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Handwriting Types: Angular, Arcade, Garland, Thread
Blood Types: A, AB, B, O
Turner/Greco
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Compass: North, South, East, West
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The point here is that “experts” have
identified four basic personality types
for most of human history.
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True Colors uses colors to identify the
four basic personality types.
Natural Color
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Most of us have some characteristics
of all four colors, but show one color
significantly more than the others.
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This is called our “NATURAL COLOR”
Polar Color
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The color we demonstrate the least is
called our “POLAR COLOR”
Our Personal Color Spectrum
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Color 1: Natural Inborn Personality
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Genetic
Color 2: Developed as we grew up
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Environmental
Coping Mechanism
Modeling
Influence of care giver
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Color 3: Part of our personality that
represents our potential
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We develop this as we mature… May not show until
middle age.
Color 4: Undeveloped
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These characteristics often annoy us in other people.
Even our closest friends are not usually this color
Romantic relationships with people of this color are
likely to fail or be high conflict.
Balanced Color Spectrum
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Rare… Especially in teens
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This is unique to well-rounded
individuals.
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Take the True Colors Mini Survey
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Arrange your four cards on your desk
in the order that you feel they describe
you.
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Complete questions 1-4 on your
worksheet.
ORANGES… Needs
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Freedom
Adventure
Fun/Play
Spontaneity
Variety/ Change
Money
Recognition
Expression
ORANGES… Joys
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People
Having Fun
Performing
Excitement
ORANGES… Strengths
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Independence
Flexibility (adapt to change)
Energy
Optimism
Courage!
ORANGES… Frustrations
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Lack of money
Being on time
Waiting
Rigidity (in schedule or people)
Unnecessary routine
ORANGE… Facts/ Concerns
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Most high school drop outs are orange
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Especially males
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WHY?
Most common color in American prison
population.
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WHY?
GOLD… Needs
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Loyalty
Dependability
Perfectionism
Responsibility
Honesty
GOLD… Joys
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Family
Job satisfaction
Home
Order
Helping/ giving to others
GOLD… Strengths
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Organization
Commitment
Consistency
Responsibility
Dependibility
GOLD… Frustrations
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Not having control
Change
Disloyalty
Money insecurity
Inconsistency
GOLD… Facts/Concerns
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Golds take rejection very personally.
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Golds are the tradition keepers in
families
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Very conservative
BLUE…Needs
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Romance!
Family
Honesty
Friendship
Harmony
Compassion
BLUE… Joys
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Romantic Relationships
Music
Affection
Friendships
BLUE… Strengths
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Communication
Creative
Nurturing
Sincerity
Listening
BLUE… Frustrations
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Disharmony
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Fake
Drama
Uncaring
Discrimination
Lack of romance
BLUE… Facts
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Blues are often peacemakers in families and
friendships
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Most at-risk in our population is the
adolescent blue male.
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Compassionate parents
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Least likely to divorce/ Healthy marriages
GREEN… Needs
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Challenge
Need to understand (Why?)
Accuracy
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Numbers
Facts
Autonomy
GREEN… Joys
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High Achievement
Recognition of achievement/ ideas
Meeting challenges
Investigation
GREEN… Strengths
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Confidence
Logic
Problem solving
Determination
GREEN… Frustrations
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Rules
Unfairness
Incompetency
Confusion
Nonsense Rules
Errors
GREEN… Facts/Concerns
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Least understood personality type
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Not in the mainstream
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Complex
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May be workaholics
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May be bullied in school years
Dyad
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Your top two types are called your personal Dyad.
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Sometimes your Dyad changes as you age if you
spend time cultivating your third color.
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Identifying your Dyad is important because it gives
you a clear picture of your personal strengths.
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(Picture this as a Venn Diagram)
Triad
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Your personal Triad is composed of your top
three personality colors.
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Identifying your Triad allows you to fully
evaluate your core personality traits and use
them in mate and career selection
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(Picture this as a triquetra)
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The more equal and balanced your top
three colors are, the more difficult it will be
to determine the order of dominance.
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Identify the weakest link first. Your dominant
color will always be the opposite of that
color.
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Gold vs. Orange
Blue vs. Green