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Please Understand Me II: Temperament, Character, Intelligence (平装)
by David Keirsey
| Category:
Personality differences, Interpersonal skills, Relationship, Social science |
| Market price: ¥ 138.00
MSL price:
¥ 158.00
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| Stock:
Pre-order item, lead time 3-7 weeks upon payment [ COD term does not apply to pre-order items ] |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
An all-time bestseller, an excellent resource with masterful treatment of the subject matter, this book promotes self-discovery and/or understanding for others and offers to make our world a better place to live and work in. |
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AllReviews |
1 Total 1 pages 5 items |
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Mark Hammond (MSL quote), USA
<2008-04-29 00:00>
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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St. Chris (MSL quote), USA
<2008-04-29 00:00>
First off, I'm a skeptic, a scientific thinker in the CSICOP mold. I first encountered David Keirsey's writings on the web site, Keirsey dot com, and thought: A classification system that divides people into sixteen "personality types"? Sounds like astrology -- and I count myself among the firm unbelievers. But I was still curious, and the online questionnaires yielded a reasonably accurate description of me, so I bought the book and dove in. I went straight to the profile of my own type (INTP) to see how much of it I could write off as universal generalities.
I was stunned. Keirsey hit some crucial nerves. There's one passage especially, about the Rational temperament's perception of time, that described me uncannily and does NOT fit non-Rationals I know. It was like cracking open a fortune cookie and finding my suit measurements. This knocked down my resistance, and I began reading other profiles pertaining to people close to me -- which was easy to do, because each type has its own self-contained section with all the relevant details. Now, many personality types have details in common, and as a result, Keirsey repeats himself a lot. This can be understandably irritating if you're trying to read the book cover-to-cover, but it serves well for skipping around, for quick reference -- which is the book's greatest strength. It's not a narrative, it's a reference.
In addition to laying out type and temperament details, Keirsey relates the history of four-element personality theory, starting with the ancients and culminating with Jung, Myers, and Briggs. And he emphasizes the danger of what he calls the "Pygmalion Project," our tendency to interpret others' differences (from ourselves) as faults or misunderstandings to be corrected -- to try to change other people's basic nature, an endeavor which can only cause worse problems.
Personally speaking, I've learned from Keirsey to better understand my wife (and vice versa), my mother-in-law, many friends (and I've learned why I chose these friends), my boss...once you get a feel for this stuff, it illuminates all sorts of relationships. The book has chapters on love and marriage, too, highlighting the special dynamics between particular paired types. (More often than not, one's ideal mate is NOT a carbon-copy, but a contrasting type who speaks the same language.) I've learned to ease off from struggling against people's basic ways of thinking, feeling, working, and communicating. Better to learn to speak their language and to understand their motivations, which may be radically different from yours. It makes a big, positive difference.
Admittedly, Keirsey is a Rational himself -- logical, unsentimental, about as un-Oprah as you can get -- and he unabashedly writes that way, which can make the text a bit dry and technical at times. (No disrespect to Oprah. I understand and respect her a lot more too, thanks to Keirsey.) But I believe it's worth the effort for anyone to read at least selected parts of this book, because the insights are so very useful. Consider it a reference manual for understanding other people. You might like manuals or they might drive you crazy, but when you find that one part that answers your question, the reward is worth the work. |
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Max More (MSL quote), USA
<2008-04-29 00:00>
The earlier version of this book, Please Understand Me, by Keirsey and Bates, sold nearly 2 million copies since its publication in 1978. The book's popularity came from its great usefulness as a training and counseling guide. Many business people are at least passably familiar with the Myers-Brigg's personality typology. This book updates and expands on the previous book, while remaining highly readable and more practical than ever. Myers and Briggs distinguished 16 personality types. Keirsey maintains this typology but groups them into four categories: the Rational (NT), Idealist (NF), Artisan (SP), and Guardian (SJ). These may not be the only possible groupings, but a great many readers have found these personality groupings to illuminate overall personality and temperament types. Keirsey has added four kinds of intelligence (tactical, logistical, diplomatic, and strategic) to the Myers-Briggs framework, with each of the personality types having a different balance of these abilities.
In a business environment, this book can improve understanding of other people in your organization. By taking the Keirsey Temperament Sorter and the Keirsey Four-Types Sorter, you will gain a better understanding of your own strengths and weaknesses. Once you have understood this framework, you will soon find that you can quickly identify the personality types of people with whom you interact. This can be an advantage in a competitive situation, as well as in fostering intra-organizational cooperation and communication. Many executives are already familiar with communication barriers between technologists and managers. This book provides a detailed perspective to recognize these and more subtle differences in perception, emotional responses, and cognitive style. One beneficial result of absorbing this book is an enhanced appreciation of the differences between individuals. Rather than seeing differences as a problem, this framework enables you to combine differing strengths within a team to form a more effective whole. We all know that each of us has strengths and weaknesses. This book helps identify them with more precision and offers insights on optimizing communication between the types. As with any intellectual construct that classifies human beings, a degree of skepticism is called for. This typology is not set in stone and there is a danger of being too quick to mentally fit an individual into one of the four temperaments or 16 types. Nevertheless, this is probably the most plausible and usable personality typing system available. This book can help everyone in an organization take practical steps to follow the frequent managerial exhortations to work as a team.
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Daniel J. Hamlow (MSL quote), USA
<2008-04-29 00:00>
I first heard of the Keirsey test in my Organizational Behavior class, back when I was going for a business degree. I'm in history now, but Keirsey opened up a door for me, the exploration of temperaments, why people are the way they are, how many ways they can be different, and what occupations they are suited for. If only people could find out how fascinating this topic is, it would make them be more analytical.
The first two times I took the Keirsey Test, I was classified as an Inspector Guardian. That cannot be, I thought. I decided that I would garner more information from the book rather than the web site, so purchase the book I did. I read the book, and have found myself as a Rational, an INTJ--that's Introverted, iNtuitive, Thinking, and Judgmental, or Mastermind Rational. Now that fit me more to a tee. I trusted logic, didn't care too much for rules, although I grudgingly followed them when I didn't have a choice, I am calm and detached, efficiency, autonomy, thinking in the long-term, skeptical, and like sci-fi books/movies a lot. And people like me are in short supply, so that makes me a rara avis of sorts. Cogito ergo sum--that's my motto.
Keirsey goes through each temperament in detail, citing examples from books, movies, and historical figures. Within each temperament, he goes through the four types. There is a further section of leadership and companionship. I found out my opposite number is a Champion Idealist, or ENFP, Extraverted, iNtuitive, Feeling, and Probing. I don't think I'll ever find that rarest of birds to fill that hole in my soul, but at least I know what I need to look for.
I learned more about my Rational cousins, such as Aristotle, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, and Thomas Jefferson, and the latter has become my favorite president as a result. Most of my other heroes have been Idealists, such as Gandhi, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Martin Luther King Jr. A pity we comprise 15-20% of the total population. Hopefully that fraction will be a proportional 1:1:1:1.
That's not to say I pooh-pooh the 80-85% who are Guardians or Artisans. Paul McCartney, Marilyn Monroe, Dario Argento, and Madonna are Artisans whose art I appreciate very much. As for Guardians, I'd probably like the friendly Guardians the best, as my late grandmother was a Provider Guardian.
Keirsey also helped me explain why I was swept away by Bill Clinton, because he's a Performer Artisan. That guy was the life and soul of the party, optimistic, a bit of a playboy, but at least I know why. And although I disagreed with Reagan's policies, I have to admit, he was an amiable enough guy. Yes, he's an Artisan as well.
The test itself and the scorer are in the book, as well as a mini-assessment in the back, which found me to be a Rational first and an Idealist second, which fits, since Rationals are closet romantics.
Apart from finding myself, whenever I watch a movie or TV program, I have always gotten in the habit of typewatching characters by temperament, which adds to the dimension of cinematic analysis. I've found myself liking Rational and Idealist characters such as Russell Crowe in A Beautiful Mind and Juliette Binoche in Chocolat. Movies with these temperament types as stars would make watching movies more enjoyable, especially foreign films or little known productions from Miramax.
An invaluable book, which if more people read, might help ease tensions and make a better world. So people, accept others for who they are and don't try to change them, because to quote that sailor-cum-philosopher, "I am what I am." And to the rest of you, as Polonius told Laertes, "to thine own self be true."
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Econdude (MSL quote) , USA
<2008-04-29 00:00>
Keirsey is sort of the Adam Smith of Social Psychology. Please Understand Me II (different and better than Please Understand Me) synthesizes and draws out what Western Civilization has known since at least the time of the ancient Greeks. All of us possess one of four general and distinct temperaments, and in turn also possess one of four specific and distinct temperaments from within one of the general groups. If such a thing as a "handbook" regarding human nature exists, Keirsey's book is it.
Please Understand Me II gives a few chapters of background at the beginning (most importantly, the propensities for tool usage and communication, resulting in a simple 2x2 matrix illustration), and then the next four chapters are devoted to each different general temperament: Artisan, Guardian, Idealist, Rational. The rest of the chapters build on the former, covering Parenting, Childhood, Leadership, inter alia.
It's difficult to emphasize how essential this book is to your personal library. The book is very approachable to the interested and intelligent reader (and according to Keirsey, who WOULDN'T that be...), especially considering Keirsey's rigorous treatment of an important and perhaps even previously neglected area of Social Science.
The book may seem mostly theoretical to some, but after reading the book you will probably have no choice but apply the theory you learned to your interactions with others. Not only is the book helpful as a guide to observing and "reading" people, it also is an excellent tool for self-understanding (and even includes tests to help you determine your specific type).
Excellent resource...fascinating topic...masterful treatment of the subject matter. I wholeheartedly (and thoughtfully, and excitedly, and steadfastly) recommend Please Understand Me II.
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1 Total 1 pages 5 items |
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