每日跟讀#709: Personality Tests Are the Astrology of the Office

On his first day working at the University of Phoenix, Eric Shapiro found out the good news: He had tested red-yellow.

夏皮洛到美國亞利桑納州鳳凰城大學上班的第一天，就得知一個好消息：他測出的結果是紅黃色性格。

To the layperson this doesn’t mean much. But to those well-versed in the psychology of Taylor Hartman’s “Color Code,” as all employees of the University of Phoenix’s enrollment office were required to be, it was a career-maker.

對外行人來說，這沒什麼意義，但對熟知美國心理學家哈特曼「色彩密碼」心理學的人而言，這足以決定職涯發展。鳳凰城大學註冊辦公室所有職員都被要求熟悉這套心理學。

Red meant you were a person motivated by power and yellow by fun. This was an ideal combination for someone looking to climb the ranks in an admissions team that demanded the ability to schmooze and then hit recruitment targets: equal parts charisma and competitiveness.

紅色表示你會為權力而做事，黃色表示會為樂趣做事，對想在招生團隊中往上爬的人而言，紅黃兩色是理想的組合。招生團隊需要具備交際和達成招生目標的能力，人格魅力和競爭力同等重要。

“The dominant people in the office, most of the leadership staff including myself when I got promoted, we were heavy red and yellows,” said Shapiro, 36. “Yellows tend to be really good at working the room. Reds tend to be more type A, like bulls in a china shop. You’re passionate, you’re not sensitive, you get over things quicker.”

36歲的夏皮洛說：「這個辦公室的高層，領導階層中絕大多數的人，包括晉升後的我，都是重度的紅黃色性格。黃色性格的人善於透過交際贏得好感，紅色偏向A型人格，直率魯莽、熱情、不敏感，容易挺過不愉快的事。」

As Shapiro rose to be a manager, he became fluent in the color-code vocabulary. It helped him diagnose office problems and identify areas for professional growth.

夏皮洛晉升為經理時，已牢牢掌握色彩密碼的語彙。這套系統幫助他判斷辦公室的問題在哪，並認清每個人適合朝哪個專業方向發展。

The taxonomy didn’t typically have a direct influence on hiring decisions, Shapiro said, but managers knew which color types were most likely to thrive when reviewing applications. (He said a 45-minute assessment was included in the job application process to purportedly identify each subject’s primary behavioral motivator, which he added was later discontinued.)

夏皮洛說，這個分類法通常不會直接影響雇用的決定，不過，經理在審視應徵文件時，知道哪一種色彩類別的人最有可能表現傑出。（他說，應徵過程包括45分鐘的性格評估，據說這樣能辨明每個應徵者主要的行為動機，不過他也說，後來就沒做性格評估了。）

“We tried to be ethical but it’s tough because we were hiring for what’s actually a sales position, so if you were a blue-white those traits really didn’t line up,” he said (blues are motivated by desire for intimacy and the whites by peace).

夏皮洛說：「我們想符合職業規矩，但是很難，因為我們其實是在雇用業務人員，所以如果你是藍白色性格，這樣的特質就不適合。」（藍色性格的做事動機是追求親密感，白色尋求平靜。）

The code is just one example of the kinds of psychometric tests now being administered in workplaces. There’s CliftonStrengths, owned by Gallup, which tells you your five best professional qualities; there’s Insights Discovery, which assigns you a color and an associated workplace archetype like coordinator, inspirer or observer.

色彩密碼只是當前職場實施的心理測驗的例子之一。市面上還有蓋洛普公司推出的「克利夫頓優勢」，能告訴你你最好的五項職業特質；有「洞見發現」，會讓你知道你的性格色彩和相關的職業原型，如協調者、激勵者或觀察者。

The DiSC model, which has been used by the Times, diagnoses a person’s dominance, influence, steadiness and conscientiousness. A new test on the scene, Helen Fisher’s Temperament Inventory, identifies whether you’re a testosterone, dopamine, estrogen or serotonin, purportedly in the name of love.

紐約時報採用DiSC模型，測量人的支配性、影響力、穩定性和勤勉責任感。新推出的海倫．費雪「性格量表」，辨認你在愛情的名義下，其實是屬於睪固酮、多巴胺、雌激素或血清素人格。

Source article: https://paper.udn.com/udnpaper/POH0067/345636/web/#2L-15722568L