the life styles inventory act 1993 vol27 iss05 finkelstein

8/11/2019 The Life Styles Inventory Act 1993 Vol27 Iss05 Finkelstein

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Article from:

The Actuary

May 1993 Volume 27, No. 5


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12 The c tuary - - M a y 1 9 93

The com plete actuary

T he L ife Styles Inven tory

by

Alan F inkels te in

f y o u w e r e a s k e d t o d e s c r i b e

y o u r p e r s o n a l i t y , s p e c i f i c

s t r e n g t h s a n d w e a k n e s s e s ,

h o w y o u th i n k a n d b e h a v e , a n d h o w

y o u f e e l a b o u t y o u r s e l f a n d o t h e r s ,

w h e r e w o u l d y o u b eg i n ? W h i c h p h r a s e

i s m o s t r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f y o u r

p e r s o n a l i t y ?

C o n s t r u c t i v e - - S e l f- e n h an c i n g

t h i n k i n g a n d b e h a v i o r t h a t

c o n t r i b u t e t o w a r d s h e a l t h y r e l a ti o n -

s h i p s , w o r k i n g e f f e c t i v e l y w i t h p e o -

p l e , a n d s k i l l a t a c c o m p l i s h i n g t a s k s

P a s s i v e / D e f e n s i v e - - S e lf -

p r o t e c t i n g t h i n k i n g a n d b e h a v i o r

t h a t p r o m o t e t h e f u l f i l l m e n t o f s e c u -

r i ty n e e d s t h r o u g h i n t e r a c ti o n w i t h

p e o p l e

A g g r e s s i v e / D e f e n s i v e - - S e lf -

p r o m o t i n g t h i n k i n g a n d b e h a v i o r

u s e d t o m a i n t a i n s t a t u s o r p o s i t i o n

a n d f u lf il l s e c u r i t y n e e d s t h r o u g h

t a s k - r e l a t e d a c t i v i ti e s

W h i c h o f t h e f o l l o w i n g s e e m i n g l y

c o n t r a d i c t o r y p a t t e r n s o f t h o u g h t a n d

b e h a v i o r a r e a m o r e a c c u r a t e d e s c r i p -

t i o n o f w h o y o u a r e ?

H u m a n i s t i c / E n c o u r a g i n g -

I n t e r e s t e d i n o t h e r p e o p l e , t e n d t o

c a r e a b o u t o t h e r s , a n d a b l e t o

e n c o u r a g e t h e m t o i m p r o v e o r

O p p o s i t i o n a l - - D i s ag r ee w i t h

o t h e r s , s e e k a t t e n t i o n b y b e i n g c r it i-

c a l a n d c y n i c a l, a n d r e s p o n d t o

o t h e r s w i t h s k e p t i c i s m a n d s a r c a s m

A f f i li a t i v e - - C o m m i t t e d t o f o r m i n g

a n d s u s t a i n i n g s a t i s f y i n g r e l a t i o n -

s h ip s , s t r e n g t h e n i n g i n t e r p e r s o n a l

s k i l l s , a n d m o t i v a t i n g o t h e r s t h r o u g h

g e n u i n e p r a i s e a n d f r i e n d l i n e s s o r

P o w e r - - U s e fo r ce , i n ti m i d a t i o n ,

a n d c o e r c i o n t o g e t r e s u l t s a n d g a i n

p r e s t i g e , s t a t u s , a n d i n f l u e n c e ( i n

o t h e r w o r d s , a l a c k o f c o n f i d e n c e i n

o t h e r s ' a b i l i t i e s )

A p p r o v a l - - N e e d t o b e a c c e p t e d b y

o t h e r s t o i n c r e a s e o r s u s t a i n f e e l i n g s

o f s e lf - w o r t h a n d p r e o c c u p i e d w i t h

t h e o p i n i o n s o f o t h e r s o r

ompetit ive - - N e e d t o c o m p e t e

w i t h a n d c o m p a r e o n e s e l f w i t h

o t h e r s t o i n c r e a s e o r s u s t a i n

f e e l i n g s o f s e l f - w o r t h ; a wi n - l o s e

o r i e n t a t i o n t h a t d i s t o r t s p e r s p e c -

t i v e s a n d g o a l s

C o n v e n t i o n a l - - T e n d t o a c t i n a

c o n f o r m i n g w a y r a t h e r t h a n

L i fe S t y l e s In v e n t o r y 1

C i r c u m p l e x

.~,...~. S A T ~5F A C T I 0 N N E E D $ . . . . ~

' ~ ' - S E C U R I T Y NEED S . /

Source: From th e Life Style s Inventory: Self-Description SLI l la nd Serf-

Deve lopm ent Guide . P lymouth , MI . Hum an Synerg is t ic s , Inc. , 1989 .

C o p y r i g h t 1 9 8 9 b y H u m a n S y n e r g i s t k s , I n c. R e p r i n t e d b y p e r m i ss i o n .

~ h u m a n

s y n e r g i s t k s '

d i s p l a y i n g o r i g i n a l i t y ; m i s t a k e s a r e

c o v e r e d u p b e c a u s e a l o w p r o f i l e i s

m a i n t a i n e d o r

P e r f e c t i o n i s t - - P r e o c c u p i e d w i t h

f l a w l e s s r e s u l t s i n e v e r y d e t a i l a n d

t e n d t o p l a c e e x c e s s i v e d e m a n d s o n

s e l f a n d o t h e r s

A c h i e v e m e n t - - A b l e t o a t ta i n

h i g h - q u a l i t y r e s u l t s o n c h a l l e n g i n g

p r o j e c t s b y p o s s e s s i n g t h e s k i l l s

n e c e s s a r y f o r e f f e c t i v e p l a n n i n g a n d

p r o b l e m s o l v in g o r

D e p e n d e n t - - L a c k o f s e l f- r e sp e c t

t h a t r e s u l t s i n f e e l i n g u n a b l e t o

a c c o m p l i s h t h i n g s a n d r e ly i n g o n

o t h e r s t o d e t e r m i n e o n e ' s b e h a v i o r

S e l f - A c t u a l i z i n g - - C o n c e r n e d w i t h

s e l f d e v e l o p m e n t , c r e a t i v i t y , r e s p o n

s i b il i ty , a n d a c c e p t a n c e o f s e lf ,

o t h e r s , a n d s i t u a t i o n s a s t h e y a r e

A v o i d a n c e - - T e n d t o w i t h d r aw

f r o m s i t u a t i o n s p e r c e i v e d a s

t h r e a t e n i n g a n d f e el g u il ty a b o u t

r e a l o r i m a g i n e d m i s t a k e s

T o h e l p y o u b e t t e r u n d e r s t a n d

y o u r s e l f , H u m a n S y n e r g i s t i c o f


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The Actuary - May 1993

7he above profile depicts a very ineffective

7K.sprojLe shows a highly effective key-leve1

manuger -- one whose company was losing

manager whose company recently experienced

~OO;OOO month.

one of the most profitable yearr in its history.

Plymouth, Michigan, has developed a

tool known as the Life Styles

Inventory (LS]). The leaders guide

states, The LS1provides you with a

valuable opportunity to look at your

thinking and behavior - to recognize

your specific strengths. as well as any

stumbling blocks that may be

standing in your way. You can use

what you learn to initiate positive

aI

anges in how you think and act and

crease your personal and

professional effectiveness.

The self-development guide uses

the following steps:

The Life Styles Inventor

You are asked for candi Cr esponses to

240 phrases: 0 indicates the phrase

is unlike you: 1 indicates the phrase

is like you quite often: and 2

indicates the phrase is like you most

of the time. Your scores are then tabu-

lated.on a scoring sheet.

The Life Styles Circumplex

Your scores n the first step are .

transferred to a circular diagram

resembling a clock. (Shown on the

previous page.) The

12

positions on

the circumplex correspond to the life

styles previously mentioned. Note the

scales are not uniform. For example, a

score of 24 falls within the 25th

percentile for :Affiliative (2 oclock).

but the same score falls within the

91st-99th percentile for Power (8

oclock). The six concentric rings

radiating from the center of the

circumplex correspond to the

following percentiles:

(a) Low - 10th

(b) Low - 25th

(c) Medium - 50th

(d) Medium - 75th

(e) High - 90th

(f) High - 99th

The two profiles on this page are

shaded to show how scores radiate

from the center.

Interpreting the scores

The self-development guide explains

in detail the characteristics of each lif

style. with variations depending on

whether your score fe11nto the low,

medium. or high range. In addition,

the guide shows how one life style

relates to other styles.

For example. a low score on the

Perfectionistic style (10 oclock) ind

cates you are relatively free from

perfectionistic drives and are probabl

realistic about what you can

accomplish. However, a very low sco

indicates you are working below you

potential and may have difficulty

setting and maintaining appropriate

performance standards.

The self-development guide cites

many examples where the life styles

either complement or contradict one

another. The guide also includes a

chart titled. The LS1Thinking Style

and Effective Management. a self-

improvement plan, and a bibliography

of suggested reading.

The guide also suggests that you

retake the Life Styles Inventory in

three to six months to identify

specific changes in your thinking and

behavior and to determine your

progress.

Those interested can contact

Human Synergistics at 38819

Plymouth Road, Plymouth, MI 48170

4290, telephone: 3131459-1030.

Alan Finkelstein is assistant actuary at

Provident Mutual Life tnsurance Company,

Philadelphia, and a member of the Committee

on Management and Personal Development.

A heuristic approach to solving probability problems

by jonathan Balsam

A

ctuaries are, first and .

foremost. problem solvers.

The Societv of Actuaries

recently gave this opmion official

sanction by formalizing a course

equirement in problem solving (part

a

the two-and-a-half-day Fellowship

dmissions Course).

Like problem solversin any field.

we face the danger that. burdened

with scores of well-studied solution

techniques, we may lose sight of a

problems structure and simplicity.

Risk and probability are areas

especially fraught with this danger. To

see a problems simplicity. we often

must step back and try to see the

forest despite its proliferation of

distracting trees.

Fortunately. we are not alone. A

formal science beginning in the early

part of this century attempts to

characterize and analyze problem solv-

ing techniques. This science is called

heuristics. Its name stems from the

Greek word for find. familiar to us in

the present perfect tense as eureka,

which we associate with the blinding

inspiration felt by a naked

Archimedes dashing through the

streets of ancient Syracuse n triumph

Heuristics codifies the thought

processes atent in a flash of inspira-

tion, providing those of us who lack

Archimedes gifts with problem-

solving techniques that are more

likely to be effective than giving up

and taking a hot bath.

contfnued on page

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the life styles inventory act 1993 vol27 iss05 finkelstein

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