Springtime with Spranger
Friday, March 19th, 2010Here at Data Dome we talk a lot about behavioral styles and how DISC can be used to measure both natural and adapted behaviors, but it is important to remember that behaviors alone are only part of the story. Examining values and motivators are essential for understanding an employee and for creating harmonious and productive work environments. One of the original thinkers in the area of values and motivators was the German philosopher and psychologist, Eduard Spranger.
In his book, Types of Men (1914), Spranger put forth his major contribution to personality theory; what he called value attitudes:
- The Theoretical whose dominant interest is the discovery of truth
- The Economic who is interested in what is useful
- The Aesthetic whose highest value is form and harmony
- The Social whose highest value is love of people
- The Political whose interest is primarily in power
- The Religious whose highest value is unity
Later, TTI founder, Bill Bonnstetter, changed the names of three of Spranger’s six attitudes:
- Economic became Utilitarian
- Political became Individualistic
- Religious became Traditional
These updated names are now a familiar part of the tools we use today.
