From a very young age, we all “try on” the behaviors of Blue, Gold, Green, and Orange temperaments much like we test-drive a new car. We take each temperament out for a spin to check for comfort, fit, and style. We learn what behaviors come naturally and those that bring us success in specific situations. We experiment until we discover the style that is just right — the set of behaviors and motivations that are uniquely ours.
The Early Years
The test-drive process typically occurs from the time we are infants to adolescence. As an infant, a child’s primary developmental task involves learning to communicate his or her wants and needs. In the toddler years, children move into that all-important gross motor stage. In these stages, children are typically active, vocal, and in need of immediate feedback. In other words, the behavior they exhibit tends to be on the Orange side.
When school begins, most children are still highly in the gross motor arena. As the early elementary years progress, gross motor Orange makes way for a more accurate picture of temperament. To be sure, students in these early grades are still taking the temperaments out for a spin. However, these are the years where behaviors and motivations unique to the child and his or her primary color begin to form predictable patterns.
Disappearing Patterns
The predictable patterns of behavior and motivation in the early elementary years begin to shift as the need for acceptance and peer pressure captures the attention of students. In addition, most children at this time are in the midst of a growth spurt and have headed briefly back to the gross motor realm to adjust to it.
In the preteen and teen years, students take their clues from other students, television, movies, the Internet, and other popular media sources. These are the purveyors of cool. Much of what these sources espouse is highly Orange. Given the social and emotional baggage these students are carrying with them, it should come as no surprise that a large number of students in these grade levels (approximately 4th – 12th) identify themselves as Orange. At this age it’s not cool to be a Green; it’s even less cool to be a Gold.
Reappearing Patterns
Statistics have shown that only about 40% of the general population is actually Orange. What happened here? Is this group of students being less than honest? Is temperament identification impossible? The answer to both of these questions is no.
When attempting to help students (and adults) discover their unique temperament style, it is vital to remember that perception is everything. When asked what is most like them, students may indeed answer in the way they perceive themselves at that time. This is not a deceitful answer. It’s a perception based on external factors rather than on internal motivations. Students who go through the personality instrument and charting process know whether they are being true to their real preferences or true to their peer group (although they may not disclose this aloud).
The patterns that were beginning to appear in the early elementary grades will begin to reappear. The student will revert to the behaviors and motivations that were inherently his or hers. Along the way, they have learned some key facets of the other temperaments. They have begun the process of celebrating the strengths of temperaments that are not their own.
The Concept of Spectrum
When we talk about a person’s color spectrum, we are referring to the concept that a person’s personality style is a unique combination of all four temperaments.
This combination of all four colors plays a huge part in identifying temperaments with students in grades K-12. Most of these children are still test-driving the temperaments. Often, looking past an identified primary color will allow those who work with this population to get a more accurate picture. Students may tell you that they are Orange for peer purposes and then identify a second color that truly depicts their preferences and values.
Students of school age need to feel safe to experiment in their environments. They have given their teachers a great opportunity to teach the concept of “doing” other colors. However, their teachers must remember that while many (maybe even a majority) students are behaving as Orange or Blue, a good number of those students need to learn that their natural temperament is not only acceptable, but it’s cool!