At the beginning of the last century, Dr. William Marston created the DISC model for personality study, defining four “cardinal points”, the same (?Influence?And? Compliance?). A famous cartoon character would be created with this model as a source of inspiration.
Around 400 a. C. , the Greek Hippocrates, founder of classical medicine, developed the theory of the “four moods”. According to this abstract architecture, the four fluids present in the human body (blood, mucus, yellow bile and black bile) must be balanced. however, it is more common for one of them to predominate, thus generating a certain type of temperament: phlegmatic, angry and melancholy blood.
- Approximately 1.
- 500 years later.
- The eighth edition of “All Stars Comics” was released.
- With a new heroine named Wonder Woman (one of the first and possibly the most popular).
- Its creator.
- Charles Moulton.
- Is the author of the edition.
- But what does this have to do with Hippocrates’ theory?.
Easy: Charles Moulton was nothing more than the pseudonym under which William Marston, a former psychology professor and inventor of the polygraph, was hiding, who had conceived his comic strip as a tool to promote both a feminist reference for girls in the United States in the 1940s and for the “subliminal revelation” of some of his psychological theories.
These theories were based on his MODEL DISC, the first model of study of the personality of the modern era based, like that of Hippocrates, on four “cardinal points”. human behavior. These milestones represented four extreme personalities that appear in combination in all: the different possible combinations define the specific DISC profiles of each person.
The model name comes from the abbreviations of these personalities: Dominance (D), Induction (I), Submission (S), and Compliance (C). Note that in Portuguese, the most common thing is to translate terms like ‘Dominance’. , ‘Influence’, ‘ESstability’ and ‘Conformity’. However, since this translation can be problematic (because it introduces negative nuances into two personality styles), sometimes the S appears as “Serenity” and C as “compliance”.
Professor Marston, an unconventional private man, was not very interested in the study of mental illness as a psychologist: he was interested in applying psychology outside a purely clinical environment, with “normal” people as the object of study. In fact, was it precisely in a book titled? The emotions of normal people?Where he first detailed disc in 1928.
What is the actual meaning of each of disc’s 4 acronyms, and based on what criteria is this differentiation established?The DISC model takes into account two axes: the way in which the individual perceives himself in relation to the social environment (top or bottom) and the environment is perceived as favorable or antagonistic. Thus, the four behavior styles according to Marston are as follows:
Since Marston has never patented (or registered the trademark) for the DISC model – nor did it when he invented the first polygraph – there are now several methodologies and tests that result from it, many of them commercial and applied to areas such as HR: knowing the behavior profile of a candidate for a particular position can be critical for those responsible for selecting a company’s staff.
It has also been widely used by mentors in educational settings to understand students’ reactions and motivations. Thanks to the application of the DISC model, it is also possible to deepen the self-awareness of our own behavior, what, among other things?can help us adapt our communication strategies with others.
The film “Professor Marston and Wonder Women” was recently released, which addresses both her private life and the relationship between comics and her DISC model.