Here's How to Reach Me: Matching Instruction to Personality Types in Your Classroom
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PCM Research
The Process Communication Model (PCM) is a powerful communication tool developed by Dr. Taibi Kahler, a clinical psychologist in Little Rock, Arkansas. Briefly stated, PCM provides a way for teachers and others to communicate with and motivate people by shifting to their preferred frame of reference.
PCM helps teachers identify six different personality types based on individuals’ perceptions of the world (i.e., how they take in and process information). Each person prefers to communicate in different ways depending on his or her personality type.
In order to communicate effectively, then, the authors suggests that people learn to speak the “languages” that other people prefer. The research shows that doing so will significantly increase the likelihood that the content of their message is “heard” and acted on.
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Motivation and the 6 Primary Personality Types
How can teachers use their knowledge of personality types to ensure that they reach every student every day? One way is to use this understanding to motivate students.
Using Personality Types to Meet Student Needs
PCM research (see sidebar) has shown that in addition to a preferred perception, each of the six personality types has a favorite channel of communication, and each has different motivational needs that must be met (Kahler, 2000). If students’ needs are met positively, they are much more likely to react positively to their teachers and the learning environment. If students’ needs are not met positively, they may get into distress and do things to get negative attention. What they do will vary depending on their personality type.
For example, some students may act the part of the class clown, throw chairs, hit or kick their classmates, or swear at their teachers. Others may create negative drama by manipulating fellow students or teachers. Kahler (1974) and others describe these offensive behaviors as the means by which people get their motivational needs met negatively. The distress behaviors for each specific type are discussed in Chapters 9 and 11 of the book.
Preventing Student Distress
When people get into distress, their ability to think is impaired, and they almost always will experience negative learning situations and make life miserable for those around them. Research and experience using PCM in school settings show that if students get their motivational needs met positively in school, these negative behaviors will be greatly reduced or completely disappear.
When teachers help students get their motivational needs met positively, the students will have a better attitude toward school, will learn more, and will act out less in class (Bradley & Smith, 1999; Gilbert, 1992; Gilbert & Bailey, 2000). A bonus for teachers is that they will be less tired at the end of the day (Jackson & Pauley, 1999).
How can teachers motivate every student individually? Each of the six types has different motivational needs:
- Reactor students need personal recognition and sensory stimulation. They like an environment that feels comfortable and nest-like. They also respond to soothing music, earth-tone colors, and pleasant smells. They like to talk about people, especially those who are close to them — their parents, their siblings, their friends, or their children or spouses. They need to be appreciated just because they are nice people. In short, they need unconditional acceptance. They like sincere compliments about their looks, their clothes, their jewelry, their home, and so forth. Reactor students may work for A’s, but only because they want to please their parents or their teachers. Grades are not their primary motivation.
- Workaholic students need to be recognized for their ability to think clearly and for their hard work. They need to hear "Good job." "Well done." "Good idea." Time structure also is important to them. They need to know when assignments are due and how the day will be structured. They work for A’s because when they receive them they are recognized for their work.
- Persister students also need to hear "Good job," or "Good idea" and to have their work recognized. It is even more important to them that people respect their convictions and commitment to standards and ask their opinions of things, however. Persister students work for A’s and frequently help other students with their work.
- Dreamer students’ primary motivation is solitude. In order to function well in school, they need their own private time and private space. They do not participate in lengthy discussions. They prefer teachers who tell them concisely what to do, show them how to do it, and then leave them alone to accomplish the task. Grades are not their primary motivation.
- Rebel students need playful contact. They like to have fun and are not necessarily motivated by getting good grades. They like to be on stage in the classroom, and they appreciate teachers who are relaxed and who have fun with them. They learn best from teachers who include fun things in their lessons.
- Promoter students are motivated by excitement. They like to have something going on all the time. They are thrill seekers who need action and movement. They get bored when people talk a lot. For them action is where it’s at.
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Rebels, Promoters, and Dreamers are the students who have the most difficulty in school. These are typically the least-developed personalities among educators, and many teachers do not speak these students’ language and have great difficulty motivating those who have these dominant personality types. These students are often seen by their teachers as unmotivated or as having attention or behavior disorders or even learning disabilities.
When teachers are aware of the needs of each of the types, they can build in methods for helping each type of student get their needs met. For instance, they can greet Reactors at the door and tell them how nice they look or how glad they are to see them. They can recognize Persisters and Workaholics for their hard work and great ideas. Games and/or jokes can be built into many lessons to grab the attention of Rebels and Promoters, and teachers can make sure that Dreamers get some solitude during the day. (See Chapter 10 for further ideas on meeting individual needs in the classroom.)
Adapted from Here's How to Reach Me: Matching Instruction to Personality Types in Your Classroom, by Judith Pauley, Ph.D., Dianne Bradley, Ph.D., & Joseph Pauley. © Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., Inc. All rights reserved.
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