What a type profile holds
Each of the nine types has a profile: a small set of ideas that explains why the same person keeps reaching for the same response. Behavior changes from day to day. The profile underneath it stays remarkably steady.
Read a profile from the bottom up. A message absorbed early shapes what you fear and what you want most. Those steer your attention. What other people meet is the surface that grows on top.
Above the waterline
What shows
Self-image, strength and blind spot
Just below
How it runs
Motivation, focus of attention and what you avoid
Deep down
Where it starts
Childhood message, core fear and core desire
Three layers of one profile
The root · Childhood message, fear, desire
An early message about what earns love or safety, a fear of losing it, and a desire to secure it. For the Aide: “You’re loved when you put others first.”
You might notice this when an old sentence from childhood still runs in your head during an ordinary day.
The drive · Motivation, focus, avoidance
What you keep moving toward, what your attention lands on first, and what you steer around. The Aide’s attention goes straight to what others need.
You might notice this when you walk into a room and know within seconds what you are scanning for.
The surface · Self-image, strength, blind spot
The story you tell about yourself, the gift people thank you for, and the part of the pattern you can’t see. The Aide sees “I am caring,” and misses the hope for something back.
You might notice this when a compliment fits perfectly and a criticism lands on a spot you never look at.
A question to take with you
Think of the last time you reacted more strongly than a moment deserved. What were you protecting just then?
Where do these profile terms come from?
Don Riso and Russ Hudson popularized basic fear, basic desire and the childhood message. Helen Palmer’s teaching put focus of attention at the center of typing. Self-image goes back to Claudio Naranjo’s idealized image of each type.