Have you ever wondered why you click with some people instantly while struggling to relate to others? Understanding personality types may hold the key.
The 4 colour personality test is an insightful online assessment that HR professionals or anyone can use to decipher core personality traits – their own or someone else’s.
This guide will explore what exactly the 4-colour personality test is, the 4 different personality types it identifies, how to take it, and why knowing your colour can empower stronger relationships, communication and self-awareness.
With over 50 years of research behind the model, the 4 colour personality test remains a popular framework for decoding the mystery of human behaviour.
What is the 4 Colour Personality Test?
The 4 colour personality test is a model framing personality in 4 primary temperaments represented by colours: blue, green, yellow and red.
Backed by considerable research beginning in the 1950s, the test arose from Dr. Taylor Hartman’s efforts to make sense of contrasting personality types. His work builds upon that of renowned psychologists like Carl Jung and correlates strongly with modern models like Myers & Briggs and DiSC.
Unlike more abstract frameworks though, Hartman’s 4 colour system uses easy-to-grasp colours symbolising one’s orientation towards rules vs relationships and tasks vs emotions:
- Blues value relationships and heart over logic. Warm, empathetic and people-focused.
- Greens live logically and independently. Analytical, visionary and self-determined.
- Yellow aims to live meaningfully and self-actualize. Compassionate, intuitive and authentic.
- Red is action-oriented and embraces challenges. Dynamic, results-focused and bold.
Most individuals display a dominant colour influenced by their upbringing and life experiences. But we each contain shades of all four colour energies in our personality. The goal of the test is to clarify your unique colour mix so you can nurture your natural gifts while developing lesser strengths.
The 4 Different Personality Types
Let’s explore the core traits of each colour on the personality colour wheel:
Blues – The Helpers
- Motivated by intimacy and understanding in relationships
- Avoid tension and work to appease
- Excellent listeners who forge bonds easily
- Dependable, passive, and overly sensitive at times
- Strong desire to be seen, heard and understood
Greens – The Thinkers
- Motivated by independence, knowledge and competence
- Avoid showing emotion or needing others
- Objective analysis guides decisions
- Inventive, curious, sometimes overly critical
- Strong desire to achieve expertise and innovation
Yellow – The Achievers
- Motivated by meaning, purpose and self-growth
- Avoid selfishness, lack of authenticity
- Intuitive guides balanced by practicality
- Understanding, ethical and wise
- Strong desire to realize the highest life purpose
Red – The Adventurers
- Motivated by challenge and winning through skill
- Avoid routine, loss of control or being taken advantage of
- Confident, ambitious and persuasive
- Impulsive, outspoken and disdain bureaucracy
- Strong desire to overturn obstacles and make things happen
As you can see, each colour has natural strengths and weaknesses influencing behaviour. The test helps constructively answer why you excel in some areas while struggling in others.
Plus why do certain personality types grate on you while you connect easily with another?
How to Take the 4 Colour Personality Test
While various paper and online tests exist, Hartman’s PeopleMap Test is the original 4 colour personality assessment.
You simply answer a series of questions scoring your tendencies across four traits spectrums. Most people strongly resonate with one core colour and contain secondary hues informing their uniqueness.
Professionals often utilize the tool for leadership development, coaching, conflict reduction and team building. But anyone can benefit from discovering their colour energies.
Results distil how you think, communicate, problem solve, manage time, handle stress, experience change and approach work or relationships.
Plus the tool unveils your compatibility with other personality types. Are you quick-thinking Red frustrated by methodical Blue’s careful pace? Does emotionally in-tune Yello perplex cerebral Green?
Understanding interpersonal dynamics through the 4 colour lens explains why we vibe or clash with certain people.
Benefits of the 4 Colour Personality Test
Why spend time figuring out if you skew more Blue, Red, Green or Yello? For starters, self-understanding allows playing to your natural strengths while developing lesser utilised abilities.
Second, decoding your hardwiring aids all relationships whether at work, at home or socially. You can pinpoint similarities or differences fuelling connection/contention.
Third, aligning environments/roles to your true colours increases happiness and success.
Additional perks include:
- Improves self-awareness and emotional intelligence
- Forges better workplace, sales or leadership skills
- Allows consciously adapting to relate to anyone
- Boosts team cohesion, chemistry and collaboration
- Informs ideal career paths aligned with your nature
- Helps teachers reach and motivate students
- Benefits personal growth through your life phases
- Enhances dating, friendships and family connections
So if desiring better workplace effectiveness, relationships or simple self-mastery, the 4 colour test delivers. The highly validated system stands the test of time for good reason.
In our diverse world, comprehending hardwired inclinations aids coexistence and unity.
Final Thoughts
In summary, the 4-colour personality test is a research-proven system categorizing four core temperaments represented by colours.
Backed by over 50 years of study, the assessment builds self-awareness, emotional health, people skills and life fulfilment. By revealing your predominant personality shade and style, the tool allows playing to strengths, improve weaknesses and relate to anyone effectively.
So are you a People Person Blue seeking belonging? A Thinker Green on a quest for innovation? A Philosopher Yello longing for purpose? Or a Go-Getter Red driven by challenge?
Understanding your core wiring helps all aspects of life. Take the simple 4 colour personality test next time you seek clarity on your or another’s behaviour patterns or pathways to growth.
