I tend to be a bit concerned by psychology books from people without psychology qualifications, but Cat was keen for me to read this book based on her encounters of the author in podcast form. Luckily, Psychology Today seems to have relatively positive things to say about the book so I decided to give it a go.
Regardless, attempts to pigeonhole people into psychological buckets have always made me uncomfortable — be they Myers Briggs, Strengths Finder, or now the Four Tendencies. Ironically under the Four Tendencies framework I think that would make me a Questioner, but the (very short) analysis quiz declared me to be an Obliger. I am very sure my management chain at work would agree that if I am an Obliger I’m definitely hiding it pretty well. I’m not really sure what that means to be honest.
I think on the other hand, if I think about the Four Tendencies as being simply a description of the permutations of weighting between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, that works better for me. I don’t know what that means for the quiz thing though. For example, I’ve always felt more intrinsically motivated than extrinsically — I’ll do things because I think they’re important, not because there’s a prize at the end.
(Please note, I still think performance bonuses are important!)
This book is very readable, although it took me way too long to finish because of other commitments in my life. I think even if the underlying theory is debunked, it is interesting to have a bit of a framework to think about how those around you respond to motivation. For example, at the work Christmas party I was talking to a friend who said he’ll only consistently exercise if missing a boot camp session would let the other people in the group down, not if he just wants to. That’s telling because its heavily aligned with this book, and also the complete opposite of my own lived experience with such things.
Psychology
Two Roads
May 3, 2018
257
