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Please Understand Me: Character and Temperament Types | 
 enlarge | Authors: David Keirsey, Marilyn Bates
Publisher: Prometheus Nemesis Book Company
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  89 reviews
Sales Rank: 3387
Media: Paperback
Edition: 5th
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 210
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.2 x 0.5
ISBN: 0960695400
Dewey Decimal Number: 155.26
EAN: 9780960695409
ASIN: 0960695400
Publication Date: November 1984
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com Review
Does your spouse's need to alphabetically organize books on the shelves puzzle you? Do your boss's tsunami-like moods leave you exasperated? Do your child's constant questions make you batty? If you've ever wanted to change your mate, your coworkers, or a family member, then "Put down your chisel," advise David Keirsey and Marilyn Bates in this book of personality types. We are different for a reason, and that reason is probably more good than bad. Keirsey and Bates believe that not only is it impossible to truly change others (which they call embarking on a "Pygmalion project"), it's much more important to understand and affirm differences. Sounds easier than it is, you might say. Well, this book is a guide for putting an end to the Pygmalion projects in your life and starting on the path to acceptance. For anyone acquainted with the ubiquitous Myers-Briggs personality test, Please Understand Me will be familiar territory--but gone over with a fine-toothed comb. And for the uninitiated, this book will be a quick introduction to personality typing the Myers-Briggs way--with a Jungian accent. After presenting a brief rundown of 20th-century psychology movements, Keirsey and Bates encourage you to take the 70-question "Keirsey Temperament Sorter," a sort of mini-Myers-Briggs test that places you in 1 of 16 personality types. Like the Myers-Briggs system, this test sorts your personality into groups of extraversion/introversion (E/I), sensation/intuition (S/N), thinking/feeling (T/F), and perceiving/judging (P/J). Unlike the Myers-Briggs system, Please Understand Me also presents four easy-to-remember temperament types--Dionysian (freedom first), Epimethean (wants to be useful), Promethean (desires power), and Apollonian (searches for self)--that underlie the 16 possible personalities identified by the test. The book then delves into a detailed analysis of each type, with sections on mates, children, and leaders. An appendix paints portraits of the 16 possible personality types. Unless you're already a true personality-typing devotee, this book may seem a little esoteric, especially the somewhat "in" references to psychological theory that few laypeople will be likely to understand. But give it a chance and you may find that you'll begin to understand why you always know where to find Anna Karenina on the shelf (you have an ESTJ husband), why your boss is sarcastic one day and praises your achievements the next (she's an NF), and why knowing the reason that the sun comes up in the same place every day is important to your little one (he's Promethean). You may even find that once you accept quirks and ticks in others, they will understand you a little better, too. --Stefanie Durbin
Product Description
This book is excellent for understanding your own character and it is in new conditions. No marks or breaks on any of the pages.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 84 more reviews...
 Reductionist characterization - it works, b*tches! September 27, 2008
After you read this book, you may feel that the idea that there are only 16 types of people in the world is cynical and dehumanizing. The problem is, the idea is a pretty accurate one. I have yet to meet someone who could not be described using an MBTI.
Many conflicts, if not all of them, are due to people criticizing the personality of others, whether it is the ENFP complaining that the INTJ is "heartless and robotic", or the ISTJ telling the INFP that he "has his head stuck in the clouds".
If you, or someone close to you is an INxx, you will *need* a book like this to understand your situation. Only about 6% of people fall into this category, and as a result, INxx's often feel "different". These differences can lead to misunderstanding of not treated properly.
There are many websites that talk about the MBTI, but none of them go into as much detail as this book. If you are not sure you want to buy this, do a Google search on MBTI first. If you are interested in what you see, get this book.
- Kevin Song, INTP
Helps to understand yourself September 21, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Please Understand Me is an old book on personality and a good book. It helps you to understand the stable personality traits that you cannot change in the Kiersey model of personality which is a lot like the Myers Briggs. All in all an informative read.
The Personality Code is another great personality book that's neat because it's more modern and includes a code that lets you go online and take a personality test. It also breaks people down into 14 types and shows you which of the 14 is your anti type.
 Knowing there is a problem is half the battle... June 7, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
As a military leader, it is essential to motivate your organization. "Please Understand Me: Character & Temperament Types", by Keirsey and Bates, is an excellent primer in basic personality types.
With an understanding of the basic temperament types, leaders will be able to identify key attributes of each of the temperament types in their workers. Some people will fit the cookie-cutter descriptions quite nicely, others may vary their temperament types depending on the situation. The ability to recognize the key attributes to each of the temperaments will enable you to apply the right motivation technique at the time.
What's the right motivation technique to apply? This book doesn't answer that question, which is my main complaint with it.
This book is a fascinating look at the basic personality types. It was a great read, but I was looking for more.
My favourite book May 1, 2008
Well, it gave me a more powerful tool in oder to understand me as well as other people. Well explained, rich information and interesting stories about each type of 16s. However the author should work out more and deeper
Please Understand Me February 13, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Please Understand Me: Character and Temperament Types
This is an excellent way to look at the temperament types without delving too deeply into areas that are not productive for your purposes.
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