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Summary: Portal into differing personalities.
Review: I found the book to be very good. It went along way in explaining why people differ and the characterisitics we can expect to find in each different personality type. Outstanding explanation on why couple's encounter problems in their relationships. Enjoyed the pointers on child-rearing as well. Would have liked to see the book expanded in child-rearing tips and how to identify the personality of a child. This deficiency kept me from giving it 5 stars.
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Summary: The definitive work on Temperament theory.
Review: Book Review: Please Understand Me II by David Keirsey, Prometheus Nemesis Book Co.. 1998, 350 pg. By Jack Falt Back in 1978 Keirsey and Bates wrote Please Understand Me. It was one of the first books to popularize the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory (MBTI), and it included "The Keirsey Temperament Sorter" so people could get a sense of what their psychological type was. However, Keirsey and Bates main interest in the MBTI was to use it as a way to determine temperament. They saw that the SP, SJ, NF and NT grouping of types fit the four temperaments that Hippocrates had written about twenty-five hundred years ago. Keirsey had long been interested in the concept of temperament, and while he does discuss the MBTI preferences, both books focus mainly on temperament. Unfortunately, in the first book he labelled the four temperaments with the names of Greek gods, Dionysus, Epimetheus, Apollo and Prometheus. I found these names really difficult to work with when I first read the original book, and had to have a dictionary in my hand to make any sense out of some of the material. In the intervening years Keirsey (Marilyn Bates has since died) renamed them: Artisan for the SP, Guardian for the SJ, Idealist for the NF, and Rational for the NT, which made for easier reading. In the revised edition "The Keirsey Temperament Sorter II" has been updated with some different questions, and this can still be used to determine your type. He has added "The Keirsey FourTypes Sorter" which determines only your temperament. Both of these quizzes are also on his web site: The book discusses in detail the similarities between temperaments and MBTI, and also how they are different. The MBTI bases psychological type on internal mental functioning. Keirsey finds it more useful to stick to what can be observed or people's behaviour: how people use words and tools. Words are either abstract or concrete, and tools are used in a mainly cooperative or utilitarian way. Thus, SPs use mainly concrete words and use tools in a utilitarian way; SJs are concrete and cooperative; NFs are abstract and cooperative; and NTs are abstract and utilitarian. According to Keirsey, temperament determines behaviour. Keirsey devotes a chapter to each temperament, including a description of each of the four psychological types included in that temperament, e.g. Rationals include: INTJ, INTP, ENTP and ENTJ. As would be expected the descriptions focus more on behaviour than on internal thought processes. Each temperament is described in terms of language, intellect, interest, orientation, self- image, values and social role. The book is well set up as it has numerous charts, and while emphasizing a specific temperament, it also shows the corresponding entries for the other three temperaments. Having given a basic description of each temperament, the book then devotes a chapter to the three main areas of life: mating, parenting and leading. In mating styles the Artisan is the Playmate, the Guardian is the Helpmate, the Idealist is the Soulmate, and the Rational is the Mindmate. While any temperament can and does marry any of the four temperaments, Keirsey finds that people tend to be attracted to their opposite: Artisans to Guardians, and Idealists to Rationals. He further describes how each temperament is likely to get along with each of the other temperaments and then gives further detail into how the temperament is likely to interact with each of the four types within the opposite temperament, e.g. an Artisan with a Guardian (ISTJ, ISFJ, ESTJ and ESFJ). In the Parenting chapter, Keirsey describes children with each of the four temperaments and describes each of the combinations of temperament of parent and child. The Artisan parent tends to be the Liberator and is very tolerant of the child's behaviour. The Guardian parent sees the job of parenting as one of socializing the child. The Idealist parent wants to harmonize all relationships the child has. The Rational parent wants children to become individuals. The main task of all parents is to stimulate children to help them develop their potential. There are also descriptions of how each temperament learns best. In his work as a school psychologist, Keirsey found that many behaviour problems were the result of poor instruction techniques rather than problems such as ADD or ADHS. The Artisan child needs lots of hands-on learning. The Guardian is more willing to do what he is told. The Idealist wants to be authentic and get along. The Rational just loves to soak up information, but quickly spots the teacher who doesn't know the material. The final chapter looks at leadership. Keirsey sees leadership as a function of intelligence. He sees that each temperament has a main intellectual skill with lesser ability in the other forms of intelligence. Artisans are best at tactics, Guardians at logistics, Idealists at diplomacy, and Rationals at strategy. Churchill was a good example of a tactician. He could quickly accesses what was happening and knew what to do next. Washington was the man to lead the new nation with his ability to organize all of the details needed to bring the country out of the chaos of war. Gandhi used his example of passive resistance as the diplomatic way to bring about the end of British rule in India. Lincoln, the Rational, used his skill at strategy to give the leadership required to win the civil war. Keirsey makes the point that each of these intelligences are needed in society. As such, each intellectual skill is equally valid. Unfortunately, most intelligence tests do not measure these traits. This updated version of Please understand Me II is almost double the size of the original. In the intervening years Keirsey has accumulated a lot of additional material that he has included in his latest book. There is a great deal of useful information for those who prefer the MBTI, and you might find that the concept of temperament is well worth considering and another useful tool to add to your psychological tool bag. < P > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jack Falt is qualified in the administration of the MBTI . Through his company called Appreciating Differences he gives workshops and presentations on MBTI and True Colors. He is president of the APT - Ottawa-Carleton chapter, and is the membership coordinator for the Ontario Aassoc. of APT. END
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Summary: Great followup to Please Understand Me!
Review: Kiersey has added more research and redefined some of the classifications from the earlier work. This new book gives a different view of the types identified by Kiersey and Bates earlier studies. If you enjoyed the first book the second is a must read!
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Summary: This book is excellent and I highly recommend it.
Review: David Keirsey has once again made a complex subject very easy to understand. Extending his original theories have made type theory finally fit. I have been able to apply my understanding of others in my life and what a difference. If you want a thought provoking book with quick application in your life, this is it.
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Summary: "Please Understand Me II" is Keirsey at his best.
Review: I almost didn't buy this book because I thought it was just a new version of Keirsey and Bates' "Please Understand Me." The appeal of Keirsey and Bates' original work was that it covered much of the information upon which the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is based is a very readable manner. Rather than reading like a psychological treatise, it read like a book written for the general public. I am glad that I bought "Please Understand Me II." It exceeded my expectations. Keirsey's new book is much better than the original Keirsey and Bates book. I had read Keirsey and Bates at a time when I was taking an MBTI qualifying course, and I found it had value to me because it brought the concepts of personality type more alive than the text from the Consulting Psychologists Press. Although we were also using Kroeger and Thyssen's "Type Talk" and "Type Talk at Work," Keirsey gave me an added dimension. I liked it so much that I purchased Stephen Montgomery's "Pygmalion Project: Love and Coercion Among the Types : The Guardian," to get more information. The basic appeal of a book on personality type is to gain a better understanding of ourselves, our "significant others," and people with whom we work. You might go so far as to say that it gives us an insight into what makes people tick. However, the real purpose of the study of personality type for the layman is to develop an understanding of what Isabel Myers called the "gifts differing." Each personality type has certain qualities that are unique. An understanding of those values adds dimension to interpersonal relationships, whether they be relationships within a family, significant others, or within a work group. The strengths of some members of a group add value to that group, compensate for weaknesses of other members, and make the group more effective. Rather than work with Myers and Briggs's 16 psychological types, Keirsey emphasizes the four temperaments which he developed from the scholarship associated with the MBTI. That was the fundamental strength of Keirsey and Bates' original book, and Keirsey advances that construct one step more by including information about certain "intelligences" associated with the temperaments. I found that "Please Understand Me II" is much more than a self-help psychology book. It goes to great lengths beyond the original Keirsey and Bates publication to provide additional depth to the concept of psychological type, both from a historical background establishing the scientific basis for the study of psychological type, but also from the point of view of the scholar in making the study of psychological type much more understandable. I feel that this book has value not just to the general public, but also to students of psychology, personnel and human resources personnel, as well as the clergy and mental health professionals. People who read this book should also read Stephen Montgomery's "Pygmalion Project," Isabel Myers' "Gifts Differing," and Kroeger and Thyssen's "Type Talk" and "Type Talk at Work."
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Summary: Simply One of the Best Personalilty Observations Available
Review: I've read a number of personality and temperment studies, and this is quite simply the best one I've seen to date (01/16/2005). It is extremely easy to read without the use of complicated language. The knowledge is practical and fairly easy to remember, as long as you're trying. Get it, read it, study it, and give it as a gift! I don't give many 5's.
This author expounds his earlier work of the same title to include devoted chapters to the major areas of most peoples' lives; that of marriage/dating (amusingly labeled "Mating"), parenting, and leadership (i.e work). Each one of these chapters is worth the price of this book in themselves. This book is a lesson in tolerance, understanding, and harmonious relationships.
Of course, there's a temperment sorter for the reader to take and in-depth descriptions of each of the sixteen personality types using the Meyers-Briggs classifications (i.e. I or E, N or S, N or T, and J or P). I think this author's definitions are more intuitive than Meyers and Briggs. With the use of easy to understand figures, anyone can figure out the temperments of those people around us with a high degree of accuracy with very little practice.
I simply love the way that Keirsey breaks down the various temperments into four basic types (Artisians, Rationals, Guardians, and Idealists) and discusses each types' strengths and areas in need of development (of which none of us are immune). The simplistic use of diplomat, strategist, tactician, and logistics makes this book easy for anyone to understand.
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Summary: May the best book on the subject, but ..............Arrogant
Review: I've read for second time, its amazing, may change your life.
If you want know a little more check suestilo.com, try Or wilson learning series on social styles or Disc books, basically is the same but from differente angle. May helps uderstand better all that knowledge!!
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Summary: Excellent read.
Review: Wow. Where does one even begin with this masterpiece? To say that this is a good book is a real understatement. It is a virtually perfect diamond in the rough. Properly accepted and applied, it just may do to psychology what The Origin of Species did to biology and what The Wealth of Nations did to economics. Legions of books have been written about the fundamental function of human minds. So why this one, you ask? Because it is dead-on and has something for everyone. Keirsey combines the cutting-edge research of Myers and Briggs with the time-tested philosophy that people's personality falls into one of four basic groups: the Guardians, the Artisans, the Idealists, and the Rationals. He then goes on to describe the basic worldviews of the four temperaments. They are astonishingly accurate. You will often experiences sheer exhilaration when you let this book show you who you really are. The feeling of having words given to aspects of your personality that you already knew but could not tangibly state, is indescribable. But this is only the beginning. You will find the answers to an incredible array of life's dilemmas compacted in this marvel of literature: --So many personality differences and stereotypes between men and women are summarized in one page of this one book, in the form of the Thinking/Feeling preference.
--Extending on this thought, gone are the ways of attempting to stereotype people based on race, religion, or sex. Now we have the tools to type people according to who they really are. This book is applicable in any culture and any time.
--Many other mysteries of life will be answered. For example, why does your boss seem so insistent on being the BOSS as opposed to simply hearing out a logical point-of-view? (Hint: Guardians and Rationals are opposites.) Or why, those of you who believe that the spirit is good and the flesh is evil, do so many people sell out to fleshy desires? (Hint: Artisans and Idealists are opposites.) Or why do some of your subordinates at work demand an answer for every single explanation you make and act downright anti-establishment in the process? (See hint #1.)
--The chapter on childhood and parenting alone is worth the price of the entire book. So much family dysfunctionality would be healed if parents would understand its principles.
--Finally, we have a guide to choosing a mate that works! This section is also, by itself, worth the entire price of the book. The lone weakness of this book is that Keirsey, a Rational, allowed substantial personal bias into his work. This partiality is especially notable in the section on mating, where he goes to great lengths to defend the weaknesses of a Rational's style of romance. The irony is that Rationals are, according to Keirsey, the most impartial and the most self-critical of the styles. Why he failed to apply himself here is unclear. Simply put, this glitch reduces the book from six stars to five. Take the bias tongue-in-cheek and buy this book. Now. And make its message a staple of your life. Hint: it is so powerful that you probably won't have to try. It will set in on its own and give you freedom in dealing with people as you have probably never had before.
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Summary: Many uses for this information...
Review: This book promotes self-discovery and/or understanding for others. I recommend it highly for all. I have run into very few people who are not facinated at how well Keirsey describes many of their traits. The previously-mentioned redundancy in many of the chapters is helpful if you just want to skip ahead to the section on your type. The one reservation I have found is his tendency to use technical words that have confused some people who are not used to these types of books. However, this is often not much of a problem for NT Rationals like me. ;) Buy it. I find it very unlikely that you will regret it.
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Summary: Please understand the workplace!
Review: This sequel deals mainly how the 16 different Myers Brigg psychological types behave and perform at work. It shows natural inclination and aptitudes associated with each type. If the first book (Please Understand Me) made for an excellent shrink in your pocket, this sequel makes for a first class career counselor in your pocket. The tests within each books are excellent and most revealing of your own personality and aptitude. The Myers Brigg foundation underlying these books is excellent. I think it is far more accurate than many other alternative psychological classification systems such as the Enneagram and others.
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