True Colors Inc.
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True Colors is a personality assessment system adapted from the archetype model developed by professor of psychology David Keirsey. The Keirsey Temperament Sorter identifies individuals as one of four different types of temperament. The model draws upon the principles of personality psychology previously established by Hippocrates, Carl Jung, and Isabel Briggs Myers. The Keirsey Personality Sorter is different from the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator in that it identifies individuals according to how they act and communicate in their environment, rather than upon their internal mental processes.
Don Lowry, a student of David Keirsey, decided to adapt the Keirsey Temperament Sorter to provide career guidance according to personality type. In 1978, Lowry founded True Colors Inc., a program that identifies personality and career types according to the archetypes set forth by the Keirsey Temperament Sorter. True Colors Inc makes Keirsey’s psychological theory more tangible by assigning each personality type to a corresponding color. The program helps individuals to recognize their strengths by first helping them to better understand their personality types and the career paths that would be well-suited for them. The programs and seminars hosted by True Colors Inc are now used internationally by businesses, non-profit organizations, government programs, and universities. Several books have been written to integrate True Colors into the workplace and school systems, including Showing Your True Colors, by Mary Miscisin, Following Your True Colors to the Work You Love, Student’s Guide by Carolyn Kalil, Following Your True Colors to the Work You Love, Instructor’s Guide by Carol Imai, Peaceful Conversations, by Ann Kashiwa, and Peaceful Colors by Gail Shapiro.
[edit] Validity evidence
A search on PsycInfo in September 2007 found only two hits for a True Colors instrument and no peer reviewed articles authored by Don Lowry. Both hits were dissertations. The abstract from Honaker (2001) begins "With the increased use of the True Colors nationally over the last twenty years to date, no manual detailing any psychometric properties has been produced. The purpose of this research was to conduct a convergent validity study" (Honaker, 2001).
The results of Honaker's small (n = 56 students) validity study found significant convergence between scores on the True Colors Character Cards' Activity and Word Cluster Instrument with the MBTI. However, little support was found for True Colors convergent validity with the Strong Interest Inventory and Campbell Interest and Skill Survey, two widely accepted measures of career interest assessment. Therefore, the only available empirical evidence ties it to the MBTI, which has not yet been show to reliably predict job performance (see Murphy et al, 2005; Bayne, 1995; Boyle, 1995; Reeves, 1996), although it is useful for team building and organizational communication (Gardner et al, 1996).
In an attempt to determine the usefulness of True Colors in predicting job satisfaction, Nihart (2007) assessed 212 teachers but "found no evidence that True Colors’ score affected job satisfaction".
The True Colors website ([1]) reads much like the introductory paragraph to this article and is careful to avoid making any promises that the instrument will do anything other than entertain.
Bayne, R. (1995), The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator: A Critical Review and Practical Guide, Chapman & Hall, London,
Boyle, G.J. (1995), "Myers-Briggs type indicator (MBTI): some psychometric limitations", Australian Psychologist, Vol. 30 No.1, pp.71-4.
Gardner, W.L., Martinko, M.J. (1996), "Using the Myers-Briggs type indicator to study managers: a literature review and research agenda", Journal of Management, Vol. 22 No.1, pp.45-84.
Honaker, S.L. (2001). Convergent validity of True Colors(TM) Character Cards' Activity and Word Cluster Instrument with the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, Strong Interest Inventory, and Campbell Interest and Skill Survey Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering. 62(5-B), Nov 2001, 2530
Murphy, K.R., & Dzieweczynski, J. L (2005). Why Don’t Measures of Broad Dimensions of Personality Perform Better As Predictors of Job Performance? Human Performance, 18(4), 343–357.
Nihart, C. (2007). Personality in leadership: The effects on teacher job satisfaction. Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences. 67(12-A), 2007, 4403
Reeves, P.S. (1996). Relationship between success in the Mississippi cooperative extension service and personality type. Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences. 56(10-A), Apr 1996, 3821
[edit] True Colors
There are four colors assigned to the four personality types in the True Colors system. They are as follows:
Orange represents energy, consuming physiological potency, power, and strength. Orange is the expression of vital force, of nervous and glandular activity. Thus, it has the meaning of desire and all forms of appetite and craving. Those with Orange as a Primary Color feel the will to achieve results, to win, to be successful. They desire all things that offer intense living and full experience. Orange generates an impulse toward active doing: sport, struggle, competition and enterprising productivity. In temporal terms, Orange is the present. Orange thrives on adventure and appreciates spontaneity.
Gold is the body's natural perceptions. It represents a need to be responsible, to fulfill duties and obligations, to organize and structure our life and that of others. Those with Gold as a Primary Color value being practical and sensible. They believe that people should earn their way in life through work and service to others. Gold reflects a need to belong through carrying a share of the load in all areas of living. It represents stability, maintenance of the culture and the organization, efficiency, and dependability. It embraces the concepts of home and family with fierce loyalty and faithfulness.
Green expresses itself psychologically as human will in operation: as persistence and determination. Green is an expression of firmness and consistency. Its strength can lead to a resistance to change if it is not proven that the change will work or is warranted. Those with Green as a Primary Color value their intellect and capabilities above all else. Comfort in these areas creates a sense of personal security and self-esteem. Green characteristics seek to increase the certainty of their own values through being assertive and requiring differences from others in intellectual areas. They are rarely settled in their countenance, since they depend upon information rather than feelings to create a sense of well-being. Green expresses the grounding of theory and data in its practical applications and creative constructs.
Blue represents calm. Contemplation of this color pacifies the central nervous system. It creates physiological tranquility and psychological contentment. Those with Blue as a Primary Color value balance and harmony. They prefer lives free from tension... settled, united, and secure. Blue represents loyalty and a sense of belonging, and yet, when friends are involved, a vulnerability. Blue corresponds to depth in feeling and a relaxed sensitivity. It is characterized by empathy, aesthetic experiences, and reflective awareness.
