BookSummary: The Normal Personality-A New Way of Thinking about People

Book-Normal Personality
Author-Steven Reiss
ISBN-978-052-0521707442
Chapters: 10
Pages: 213
myRating: 5 Stars

QuickGuide-NormalPersonality.xls
BookSummary-NormalPersonality.pdf

Normal Personality-The Book
If you want to understand who you are, what are your strengths and weaknesses, why are you so different from other people, why sometimes you don’t get along well with other people or your spouse or your significant others – this book is for you.

My Notes
I took some notes and placed it in excel format so that I will be able to see my 16-Desires and what it means in a simple way possible and be able to review quickly for later use.  I could not find a free motivation profile test online so I developed my own [ QuickGuide-NormalPersonality.xls]  using simple excel formulas. This is not an official Reiss Motivation Profile test but I think if you try to answer the Q&A portion on Sheet 1 and 2 slowly and honestly, you will be able to get a good picture of your motivation profile and then understand who you really are.  If you let your spouse/future partner take the test also using worksheet #2, the comparison is plotted side by side in worksheet #3 and match/mismatched are highlighted.

Please read the book first before you deep dive in understanding  about RMP and what the author is trying to convey regarding the 16 Desires that he came up with and why.  The author’s view regarding Freud’s many theories in psychoanalysis are intriguing but has validity and truth.

My objectives in reading the book are to find meaning of failures in life in general and understand why relationship between two initially loving and romantic couple degrades overtime and how to place countermeasures so not to repeat the mistakes of others or to prevent from a life or a relationship disaster to become a second or third occurrence.  Reading the book, knowing the 16 Desires and understanding what it means made my personal understanding better of why I sometimes do certain things or feel.

16 Desires Questionnaires
[if you don’t have Excel in your computer or unable to use the Excel file to view your 16 Desires profile, please email your answers to [email protected]. ]

[1] Insufficient
[2] Low-Intensity
[3] Average
[4] High-Intensity
[5] Excessive

Motive	Description
Acceptance	1. You are noticeably more insecure than most people are.
Acceptance	2. You have more difficulty than most people handling criticism.
Acceptance	3. You have a reputation for being inconsistent in your performance.
Curiosity	1. You have a reputation for being analytical or thoughtful.
Curiosity	2. Your ideas are very important to you.
Curiosity	3. You have a reputation as a thinker.
Eating	1. You derive a lot of pleasure from eating.
Eating	2. You have a tendency to be overweight.
Eating	3. You know a lot about gourmet foods.
Family	1. Your children are everything to you.
Family	2. You like to be around children.
Family	3. You spend a lot of time with your family.
Honor	1. You make it a point to do your duty.
Honor	2. You have a reputation for loyalty.
Honor	3. Your word is your bond.
Idealism	1. You have compassion for poor and sick people.
Idealism	2. You admire people whose work benefits humanity or the needy.
Idealism	3. You give generously to charities.
Independence	1. It is very important to you to be self-reliant.
Independence	2. You have a reputation for being stubborn.
Independence	3. You have a reputation for doing things your way.
Order	1. You have a reputation for being well organized.
Order	2. You have a reputation for cleanliness.
Order	3. You have difficulty adapting to change.
Physical Activity	1. Working out is important to your happiness.
Physical Activity	2. Twice you made an athletic team (high school plus college combined).
Physical Activity	3. Being fit is very important to you.
Power	1. You have a reputation as a self-starter.
Power	2. You seek leadership roles.
Power	3. You have a tendency to give others unsolicited advice.
Romance	1. You dress attractively almost every day.
Romance	2. Sex is essential to your happiness.
Romance	3. People who attract many sex partners impress you.
Saving	1. You mend old rather than buy new replacements.
Saving	2. You hate throwing things away.
Saving	3. You have a reputation for being frugal.
Social Contact	1. You are good at social networking.
Social Contact	2. You have a reputation for being friendly.
Social Contact	3. You have a more active social life than most people you know.
Status	1. You have a reputation for being a formal person.
Status	2. You usually buy the most prestigious items you can afford.
Status	3. You are impressed with wealthy people.
Tranquility	1. You are a worrier.
Tranquility	2. You have panic attacks.
Tranquility	3. You have little tolerance for pain.
Vengeance	1. You get into many quarrels, arguments, or fights.
Vengeance	2. You have a reputation for being a competitor or a fighter.
Vengeance	3. Winning is very important to you.

Sample 16 Desire Profile of a husband and wife
Mismatches-Curiosity and Physical Activity [not so relevant to the survival of a relationship.

A mismatch on Honor [the desire to behave morally] is the #1 cause of a relationship problem.
Honor example: lying, not keeping your word or promises, loyalty