Appreciating Differences- Jack Falt - Ottawa area, Ontario, Canada

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Book Review by Jack Falt

Linda V. Berens, Ph.D., Understanding Yourself and Others: An Introduction to Temperament Telos Publications, Huntington Beach, CA, ISBN 0-9664624-9-1, 1998, 36 pgs

This new booklet is an update of a previous booklet on temperament. Dr. Berens has reorganized the material and has added new information from her own work. Its general layout, charts and spacing on the pages make it easy to read and to find information. Although a Rational herself, Dr. Berens has been very conscious of presenting the material so it will appeal to all four temperaments. A "Leader's Guide" is available from Dr. Berens company: Temperament Research Institute. Visit her web at www.tri-network.com.

Understanding . . . begins with an overview of how people are different, the history of temperament, what temperament is, and how to determine your own temperament. While the booklet is intended as an adjunct to a workshop, the material is quite self-explanatory for the knowledgeable layperson.

The four temperaments, Artisan, Guardian, Idealist and Rational, are described in detail with a couple of pages for each temperament. Then there are a number of charts that compare the temperaments. An interesting chart is Dr. Berens's "Temperament Targets" with their key words that can be compared temperament to temperament. The concentric circles of the targets are: behaviours, talents, values and core needs, which she relates to the Johari Window (from the days when group dynamics was more in vogue) with its four panels: 1. known to others/self, 2. known to others, 3.known to self, and 4. unknown to self/others. All the words in the targets are described in a glossary in the appendix. (Rating these words on a scale from 1 to 4, and adding up the scores would make an unofficial inventory to help you come up with your preferred temperament.)

Since the booklet is focussed on temperament, the information does not use Jung/Myers theory terms to explain the material. However, in the appendix, Dr. Berens shows how the four temperaments relate to Jung/Myers theory, and how each temperament can further be divided into four types, making the total of the 16 psychological types.

This temperament booklet is a real gem to give out as a handout to temperament workshop participants. Even if you don't tend to use the concept of temperament in your presentations, it is well worth adding to your type and temperament library.

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