Dimensions of Behaviour

In professional and personal dealings with people, most of us experience conflicts from time to time. We may not put our fingers on the cause, but something about the interaction is uncomfortable. Then, too, there are those times when we first meet someone, and after several minutes, we feel as if we have known them for many years.

When we "click" like this with people, we often call it chemistry or say that we get "good vibes," "we are on the same wavelength," or "they just get me." Our ability to develop and maintain that "chemistry" with many different kinds of people across cultures and races is crucial to professional and personal success. That "click" is dimension-matching.

As you read the descriptions of each dimension, think about new insights into your preferences. You might prefer relationships to tasks, and perhaps you act slower rather than faster, or maybe you like to tell people what you think rather than keep it to yourself.

Think about the people around you in the office or your personal life… what style do their behavioural tendencies reflect?

Merrill Social Styles Model

The Merrill Social Styles Model recognizes that people are different and others may not wish to be treated the same way you do. Patterns that work for you may not work for them. In short, the model allows for individual differences and preferences and serves as a valuable guide for many relationship situations.

The Merrill social styles form a personality model that includes three colonial types. These styles each have different properties and thought processes. This simple and practical tool can be used to understand individual differences within the organization. Each employee has other qualities and approaches their job differently. These differences can, if visible, be used to discover and utilize as much potential as possible.

Psychologists David Merrill and Roger Reid also recognized this potential in the 1980s. Following B. F. Skinner's discoveries regarding behaviourism and James Taylor's behavioural descriptions, these two psychologists discovered that people's behaviour follows two continua: assertiveness and responsiveness. While they worked at a large insurance firm in the United States, they studied whether behaviour could predict leadership potential. They reasoned that they could create a culture with only highly effective leaders if that were possible.

As mentioned above, the factor analysis consisted of two scales: assertiveness and responsiveness. This resulted in a model with quadrants representing a social style: the Merrill colonial style. In practice, salespeople can effectively use it to find out what type of personality they're dealing with.

Three Behavioural Dimensions

Three behavioural dimensions lie at the core of the Merrill social styles. These include a behavioural field in which people have various capacities and, therefore, can make different choices. Musicality is a behavioural dimension, for instance. Some people enjoy playing an instrument, others do not. Some people can hold a rhythm; others cannot tap along with a simple beat. These behaviours create different levels, from highly musical to less musical.

The two behavioural dimensions Merrill and Reid focussed on when developing the four social styles were assertiveness and responsiveness. An additional behavioural dimension was added later: versatility. Each of the behavioural dimensions is explained below.

Assertiveness

Assertiveness has a particular meaning in the Merrill social styles theory. The original study defined it as 'the extent to which other people see you as a person who tries to convince others of your point of view.' Very assertive people try to influence others with things that are important to them. Less powerful people achieve the things they feel are essential differently. They let others know what they think or create a solution to a problem that bothers them. Merrill and Reid developed a horizontal line with four levels of assertiveness. From high to low: ABCD—hence the term 'A-type personality.'

Responsiveness

This model defines responsiveness as 'the extent to which other people see that you control your emotions or reveal and share them.' People who 'react' very fast and share their emotions are straightforward to read in their voice, body posture, facial expression, and choice of words. People who score less on responsiveness are easier to read. They give away fewer vocal or visible signs and don't discuss emotions. These people prefer facts and circumstances. Once again, Merrill and Reid divided the scale for responsiveness into four levels.

Versatility

The third dimension used in the Merrill social styles model is versatility, defined as 'the extent to which others experience you as a person who is willing to change preferred behaviour to make others more comfortable.' T.'s is a critical dimension. There is no best position on the scales of responsiveness and assertiveness, high or low. It is possible to score better on versatility. Below are the quadrants into which the dimensions fit. Check out my next article to see how the model works!