Thursday, April 10, 2014

Interaction Styles - Crafting Characters #AtoZChallenge


      Interactive behavior style refers to our "outer" observable behavior patterns when dealing with others as opposed to our "inner" state of emotions, desires and conflicts.  The Greek physician Hippocrates divided  temperament into four categories which roughly corresponded to the four humors (body fluids) and the four elements (air, fire, earth, water) which were thought to influence health and well-being. He referred to these temperaments as melancholic, phlegmatic, sanguine and choleric.

     Linda V. Berens in Understanding Yourself and Others:  An Introduction To Interaction Styles 2.0 also suggests that there are four innate styles/patterns of behavior which determine how we interact with each other. She refers to them as Chart-the-Course, Behind-the-Scenes, In-Charge and Get-Things-Going.  (These terms are apparently copyrighted, as is most of the information I've found, so there's a link at the end of the post if you'd like more information about Berens and the four interactive styles.)

     Your character's interactive style can help you to determine how he will respond in certain situations.

  • How will he react to relationship difficulties? (Attack, defend, give in, ignore/hope it blows over?)
  • What's his prime motivator when it comes to interacting with others? (Approval, power, respect, fitting in?)
  • How will he react in a crisis? (Take control, rely on others, solve with group, persuade others to his plan)


 Berens Interactive Styles - Synopsis


Engage Your Strengths Quiz

Adjectives for the day:  indigent, icterine, ignivomous, immarcescible, improvident, inchoate, infandous


8 comments:

  1. Really amazing the research you've done for this series. I'm really getting a lot out of it. Thanks Lisa.

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    1. Thanks Stu, I really did do a lot of digging for info!

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  2. I never thought of it in terms like this, but I do understand my characters and can properly pinpoint how they would behave and respond in certain situations. :)

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    1. I just liked the idea of grouping and labeling certain styles - although definitely not one-size-fits-all.

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  3. I've heard of those four personalities before. Yes, you've done a lot of research for this!

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    1. This is one particular personality assessment I'd never heard of.

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  4. These are new terms for me, thanks for sharing them! I'm so glad I found you. This theme works really well with mine!

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    1. Thanks for stopping by. Glad we found each other thanks to A to Z!

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