DISC Introduction

What is DISC

DISC is a 'human behavioral language' based on the research findings of the renowned American psychologist and human behavior scientist Dr. William Moulton Marston in the 1920s. It has evolved into one of the most widely used personality assessment tools globally. The four letters in DISC have almost become a universal language of personality because DISC applies to all human regardless their gender, race, culture, or economic status. It represents observable human behavior and emotions. To date, over 84 countries and more than 80 million people have taken the DISC test to understand their own and others' behavioral styles, and they are often surprised by its accuracy. The number of beneficiaries continues to grow.

The DISC theory posits that a person's behavior can be described along two primary dimensions. The first dimension is whether a person is active or passive. Active individuals prefer to lead rather than follow, often taking proactive actions and sometimes appearing impulsive. They enjoy creating opportunities. Passive individuals prefer to wait for opportunities and often need time to prepare before taking action. The second dimension is whether a person is open or restricted. Open individuals are friendly, trusting, expressive, value others' opinions, and have rich emotional expressions. Restricted individuals focus on facts, practicality, and evidence. They prefer to act based on their opinions, pay less attention to others' thoughts, and sometimes appear skeptical. These two dimensions form a cross, creating four quadrants representing the D, I, S, and C personality factors. These factors combine in varying proportions to form each person's unique personality. Despite the complexity of human behavior, it can be discerned, observed, and summarized by breaking it down into these four fundamental personality factors.

Various DISC Systems

To date, the DISC theoretical model has undergone millions of practical tests and has been proven to be one of the most effective personality and behavior assessment tools. Various institutions and researchers have further studied Dr. Marston's research findings and developed many different application systems. These systems adhere to similar classification criteria and theoretical frameworks. Sometimes, the differences between these systems may be only in the names, with some names being more precise while others are easier to remember. Of course, these different systems have differences in the depiction and analysis of candidates' behavioral styles, including aspects of detail and brevity, precision and roughness. Below are common systems and their corresponding names for personality factors.

GOODISC Personality Strings - Personality Codes

People's personalities vary greatly, but they can all be analyzed into the D, I, S, C dimensions. The Goodisc Professional Edition uses different percentages marked on the D, I, S, C dimensions to represent different personalities. Each dimension has a maximum value of 100%. These data can be abbreviated into a column of 'personality strings,' akin to 'personality codes.' People with the same personality string have extremely similar personalities, emotions, and behavioral styles. For example, if Sam's personality string is (D89I76S23C45), it means Sam's personality can be broken down into D: 89%, I: 76%, S: 23%, C: 45%. Lily's personality string (D23I43S77C87) indicates Lily's personality can be broken down into D: 23%, I: 43%, S: 77%, C: 87%. A simple observation reveals that Sam's D dimension is much higher than Lily's, while Sam's C dimension is much lower than Lily's. This indicates that Sam prefers decision-making, control, and command, whereas Lily prefers analytical thinking and correction. Sam's prominent trait is 'DI,' and Lily's prominent trait is 'CS.' This is a very preliminary and simple interpretation; a more detailed and accurate interpretation requires a deeper understanding of DISC or participation in the Goodisc test. Additionally, the Goodisc free version test uses five levels: 'very low, low, moderate, high, very high,' to roughly describe candidates' personality strings.