Historical Background of Personality Profile

Authentic psychometric personality profiling must be based on some existing schools of

personality theories to predict human differences more accurately. Apparently, there are
six school of personality theories. They are:

1. Psychodynamic school of personality theory

2. Cognitive school of personality theory
3. Social learning school of personality theory
4. Humanistic school of personality theory
5. Biological school of personality theory
6. Trait theories (Not psychologically based)

The earliest personality theory developed from the biological theory was propagated by
Hippocrates based on the 4 bile. He classified personality into the following types:

1. Sanguine
2. Choleric
3. Melancholic
4. Phlegmatic

In the early nineties the psychodynamic theories of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung became
popular in understanding human pattern of behavior. While Sigmund Freud studies
abnormal behavior based on the id, ego and superego, his disciple Carl Jung focused on
the study of normal behavior based on four polar traits via

1. Extroversion Vs Introversion
2. Thinking Vs Feeling
3. Sensing Vs Intuition
4. Perceiving Vs Judging

Myer and Briggs, mother and daughter combined together to develop the infamous MBTI
based on the Jungerian theory slotting human personality into 16 types.

MBTI was mooted when critics begin to raise the question of people scoring almost even
or same points for each pair the four polar traits. Harrison Innerview , an extension of
Carl Jung Theory was developed in an effort to address this pitfall. Harrison came out
with the four types of balance

1. Balanced Versatility
2. Aggressive balance
3. Passive balance
4. Balanced deficiency
He develops twelve pairs of psychological opposites and claims that they are paradoxical
pairs.

In United Kingdom, Thomas Hendrix develops DISC based on the cognitive theory of
William Marston. While the development of MBTI and DISC are based on personality
theories, The Big Five Factors propagated by Goldberg is not based on any
psychological theory. He develops OCEAN based on the theory of taxonomy (trait
theory ) of Gordon Allport.

Apparently they are hundreds of psychometric personality instruments in the world.

Most of them are hybrids of the existing personality profiling mentioned above.

Bernard Ah Thau Tan believes that psychometric personality profiling based on one
theory has its limitation. (Refer to article How different personality theory interpret
human differences?)

He develops KYKO based on the integration of four schools of thought exclusive of the
Biological Theory and Trait theorists which are not psychologically based.

Bernard posits that human personality is made up of five dimensions via

1. Self Actualizing Dimension

2. Egocentric dimension
3. Sociocentric Dimension
4. Security Dimension
5. Adaptive Dimesion

He develops the five dimensions based on his premise that Behavior is motivated by need
satisfaction and deprivation.

Development of KYKO Self–Actualizing Dimension

Bernard combines the following gurus of self actualization to develop KYKO self
actualizing dimension - the need for achievement, growth, fulfillment and to find
meanings in life

1. Mc celland 3 Factor theory perceives self-actualization as high need for achievement.

People who want to become high achiever want to accomplish something in life. They

• Are responsible and are willing to work hard

• Show commitment to accomplish their goals
• Are goal and result- oriented
• Work for the bottom-line
 2. Aderfer ERG see self -actualization as high need for growth. People with high
growth needs seek opportunity to develop their potentials. They .

• Are eager to seek knowledge and skills

• See learning as a life long process
• Focus on people development
• Seek continuous improvement
• Want to progress in life

3. Abraham Maslow interprets self-actualization as a high need for fulfillment. People

with high need for fulfillment work to get satisfaction out of what they are doing. They

• Take initiatives
• Show enthusiasm
• Become highly motivated
• Are active and energetic

4. Carl Roger construes self-actualization as the peak of human development. People who
have achieve the peak of human development would have high need to find meanings in
life. They

• Hold on to ethical values

• Are honest and trustworthy
• Work for a better world in the future
• Are not tempted by power, status and wealth

Contrarily, people with low need for achieve do not want to accomplish anything in life.

They

• Work at a slow pace

• Shirk responsibilities
• Are not committed to work
• Drift along in life aimlessly

Likewise people with Low need for growth are not willing to develop themselves. They .

• Are indifferent to training

• Reluctant to improve oneself
• Not willing to learn
People with low need for fulfillment do not get satisfaction out of their work. Apparently
they

• Feel bored in what they are doing

• Lack initiatives
• Are unmotivated
• Lack interests
• Become passive and phlegmatic

People with low need to find meaning in life would drift along in life aimlessly. They are
generally prone to temptation and have no respect for ethical values

Bernard incorporates the theory of Sigmund Freud that human being lies in the
continuum of normal and abnormal. Normal type of human being are relatively healthy
in their psychological and mental disposition and manifest positive traits and
characteristics under normal circumstances. Abnormal type can be classified into two
types via psychotic and neurotic. Psychotic type suffer from almost a total loss of
rationality and are confined to the mental asylum. Neurotic types are relatively unhealthy
psychologically and mentally and manifest negative traits under normal circumstances.
He posits that people in the market lies in the continuum of normal and neurotic (premise
2) According to the social cognitive theory of Bandura and Kurt Lewin human behavior
is a function of the environment. Sigmund Freud posits that every human being is
neurotic to a certain degree. A normal type can become neurotic in an unfavorable
environment while a neurotic type can become normal in a favorable environment.
Hence, Bernard believes that human personality is dynamic and alive. It actualizes in a
favorable environment and deactualizies in an unfavorable environment.

Evidently KYKO self-actualizing dimension identify two personality types. They are:

1. High Self actualizing – normal type

2. Low self actualizing –neurotic type

Development of KYKO Egocentric Dimension

KYKO Egocentric dimension is developed based on the humanistic theory of

Mc Celland three factor Theory need for power

Abraham Maslow need for self-esteem

Apparently people with a high need for power want to take charge and control others and
the environment. They

• Want to make decision and lead

• Seek authority and status
 • Want praises and recognition
• Have the power to make things happen

People with high need for self-esteem are confident, live up to their image, want
prestige and seek challenges in life.

They

• Are status-conscious
• Buy branded goods
• Live in styles
• Want to be in the limelight
• Confident and persistent to accomplish what they set out to do

On the other hand, people with low need for power and esteem are generally
subservient and permissive. They

• Are gentle and soft spoken

• Accommodative and lenient
• Humble and shy
• Keep a low profile
• Avoid being in the limelight

KYKO Egocentric dimension identify two personality types: They are:

High Egocentric – Assertive type

Low Egocentric – Submissive type

Development of KYKO Sociocentric Dimension

The Sociocentric is derived from the Humanistic theory of

Maslow need for love, care and companionship

Mc celland need for affiliation
Alderfer need for relatedness

People with high need for love, care, and companionship are compassionate and have a
deep well for feelings. They

• Like companionship and shower affection on them

• Emotional and sensitive
• Romantic and sentimental
• Seek social activities
• Make a lot of friends
 • Help, cooperate and support friends
• Like to work things out together in teams

People with high need for affiliation and relatedness enjoy social interactions. They

• Like partying
• Work together as a team
• Emphasize espirit de corps
• Promote group identity and cohesiveness
• Believe in working synergistically and symbiotically

Alternatively, people with low need for love, care, affiliation and companionship are
unemotional, individualistic and prefer to work things out on their own. They

• Enjoy doing solitary activities

• Aloof and detached
• Avoid parties
• Find difficulty in expressing their feelings
• Like to do things alone
• Have few friends
• Avoid social functions

Two personality type can be identified from KYKO Sociocentric dimension. They are:

High Sociocentric – Sociable type

Low Sociocentric – Asocial type

Development of KYKO Security Dimension

The Security dimension is based on the humanistic theory of

Maslow need for safety
Part of the existence need of Alderfer

People with high need for security want safety, order, system, certainties and protection.
They

• Follow rule and regulations

• Save monies for the rainy day
• Do things in systematic and methodical order
• Plan, organize and schedule their activities
• Buy insurance to protect themselves and to safeguard their future
• Prefer the status quo and would resist changes
• Want certainties of what they are doing
 • Obey the laws and traffic rules

Contrarily, personality with low need for security want autonomy and freedom and are
adventurous and carefree. They

• Experiment with rules and regulations

• Tend to violate rules and regulations
• Spend monies lavishly
• Unmethodical and unsystematic in doing things
• Disorganize, unscheduled and messy
• Indifference in insuring themselves
• Prefer changes
• Prefer to work in a dynamic and turbulent environment
• Likely to beat the traffic rules

KYKO Security dimension identify two personality types. They are:

High security – Pragmatic Type

Low security – Adventurous Type

Development of KYKO Adaptive Dimension

Bernard develops the adaptive dimension by asking what would we do if we are starving
and have nothing and have no monies to buy food to keep ourselves alive?

People under such circumstances would have the following alternatives. They would try
to:

Borrow,
Beg,
Steal
Kill
Or die

People with high need for survival would try out alternatives such as borrow, beg, steal
or even kill whilst people with low need for survival will succumb to starvation and die.

Bernard introduces another situation by asking what would we do if our strong needs are
blocked?

For examples our dominant need to

• Marry a woman we love very much

 • Getting promoted to a senior position
• Stand for Presidency
• Becoming rich

People with high need to satisfy dominant needs will generate strategies and look for
ways and means to remove the blockages or barriers to satisfy them whilst people with
low need to satisfy dominant needs would yield to fate.

People with high need for survival and to satisfy dominant needs have a helicopter vision,
see things from many angles and know many ways of making things happen. They

• Are analytical and insightful

• See the world with many possibilities
• Flexible in their dealings
• Size up people and situations
• Adaptable to people and the environment
• Able to influence and persuade and convince others

On the other hand people with low need for survival and to satisfy dominant needs
have tunnel vision and see one way of getting things done. They

• Lack foresight
• Docile and fixed
• Straightforward and naïve
• Susceptible to others’ influences
• Gullible and too trusting
• Maintain the status quo
• Hold on to traditions and customs

From the adaptive dimension two personality types are identified. They are:

Dynamic type- High need for survival and to satisfy dominant needs
Static type - Low need for survival and to satisfy dominant needs

Bernard believes that KYKO adaptive dimension are supported by

1. Social Cognitive Theory (Stimulus- Gap – Response) which support the dynamic type.

2. Social learning theory of Pahlov and Skinner (Stimulus-response) which support the
static type
Thus Bernard includes Human personality lies in the continuum of static and dynamic as
one of his premises..

Conclusion

Bernard believes KYKO personality profile can predict human differences more
accurately than the existing personality profiling based on one theoretical construct.
Apparently, KYKO personality profile integrates four schools of personality thought via
the Psychodynamic Theory of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, Humanistic Theory of
Maslow, Mc Celland, Alderfer and Carl Roger, Social Cognitive Theory of Bandura and
Kurt Lewin and the Social Learning Theory of Pahlov and Skinner to predict human
differences. Bernard includes Human behavior is a function of the genes as one of his
premises. This premise is supported by the biological personality school of thought via
the Evolution theory.