Overview of DiSC®
The DiSC®, and any related instrument to it (e.g., DISC®-360),
appears to be widely used and well respected. It was developed from the original
work of the psychologist William Marston. It is a quadrant behavioral model, and
was originally correlated with the personality factors in Cattell’s 16 PF (personality
factors). SYMLOG also correlates with numerous scales found in the factors of Cattell,
the MMPI, Thurstone, and Couch.
The DiSC® groups characteristics of behavior into four major styles.
The four styles are:
D = Dominance/Drive
I = Influence/Inducement
S = Steadiness/Submission
C = Conscientiousness/Compliance
The D and I have aspects of extroversion, in the classical psychological use.
The S and C are classical attributes of introversion.
These can be seen as part of the U-D dimension in SYMLOG, but the words used between
the two factors are neither opposite nor bi-polar, as in SYMLOG.
The D and C represent task-focused aspects of the personality (F-B dimension).
The I and S represent social aspects of the personality (P-N dimension).
This seems not unlike the many studies that look at concern for task/production
vs. concern for people, or Theory X vs. Theory Y, that have been used since the
early years of the discipline. Generally, these all measure in the SYMLOG PF quadrant,
and represent the classic polarization between F and P in SYMLOG.
This four-quadrant model is essentially another example of classical four quadrant
models that describe and label, but lack a measurement system, or underlying theoretical
basis (field theory in the case of SYMLOG).
Heuristic Comparison of DiSC® to SYMLOG®
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DiSC®
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SYMLOG®
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Word association with ranking system
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Measurement system with rating scale against a researched question
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Assessment of self
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Assessment of self, others, concepts, team and organization
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Assessment of self and report from others (DiSC 360)
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Assessment of self, others, concepts, team and organization, assessment from others
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one image only – self
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Multiple images – self, important concepts, other team members, team, culture, etc.
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4 behaviorally-based factors
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3 bi-polar dimensions
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Based on adjectives
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Based on adjectives, general behavior, or individual and organizational values
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results reported by quadrant
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results reported in field diagrams and bargraphs
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based on behavioral styles
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based on dimensions of social interaction – either behavior or values
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personality model
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personality model and social interaction theory
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15 unique styles named as classical profile patterns of behavior
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26 personality and role types
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High, medium, and low in each dimension, based on responses
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Over, under, within range based on responses measured against a normative profile
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28 adjectives/traits used for calculating strength in each of 4 categories, - integrated
into 1 of 15 classical patterns or “styles”
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26 items used to produce overall profile – dimensions both integrated and taken
separately as 26 vectors
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Descriptive results only
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Descriptive and proscriptive (results compared with norm for effective)
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Infers relationship to work environment
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Ability to ask directly on characteristics of work environment
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Reports only behavior, not the impact on others
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Can measure impact of behavior on others through direct report
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Additive model of factors
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Dimensions are integrated
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Factors are uni-dimensional
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Dimensions are bi-polar
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Copyright © SYMLOG Consulting Group, 2015
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