Hartman Personality Profile

Classifying the Motive Types

The main idea behind the Hartman Personality Profile is that all people possess one of four driving "core motives." The driving core motives are classified into four colors: Red, motivated by power; Blue, motivated by intimacy; White, motivated by peace; and Yellow, motivated by fun. Hartman believes the system is simple and at the same time profound.

Reds

Reds are the power wielders of the world. Reds use logic, vision and determination. From a Red perspective, emotion has nothing to do with completing tasks.

Reds are: Action oriented, Assertive, Confident, Decisive, Determined, Disciplined, Independent, Leaders, Logical, Pragmatic, Proactive, Productive, Responsible, and Task-Dominant.

Reds often have to be right. They may come across as harsh and critical, even when they don't mean to. Reds can be cheap. They may tend to give priority to work over personal relationships. Reds may be poor listeners. They can also exhibit controlling and domineering traits.

Blues

Life is a sequence of commitments for blues. They thrive on relationships and willingly sacrifice personal gain. Blues are highly demanding perfectionists. They can be distrusting and worry prone. They are complex and intuitive and can be very opinionated. Blues can also be emotional and moody. Blues can be self-righteous and insecure and can also be very self-disciplined and sincere.

Blues are steady, ordered and enduring. Blues love with passion. They bring culture and dependency to society and home. They are highly committed and loyal. They are comfortable in creative environments. They strive to be the best they can be.

Blues are the most controlling of the four colors. They can be insecure and judgmental. Lacking trust, they find themselves resentful or unforgiving. They often fail at seeing the positive side of life. They want to be loved and accepted, constantly seeking understanding from others while often refusing to understand and accept themselves.

Whites

Motivated by Peace, Whites will do anything to avoid confrontation. Their only demands from life are the things that make them feel comfortable. That feeling fosters their need to feel good inside.

Whites are kind, considerate, patient and accepting. They are devoid of ego. They are good at constructing thoughts that did not exist before, just from careful listening and taking time to think things through.

Whites don't commonly share what they are feeling, understanding or seeing. They won't express conflict. Whites may be unwilling to set goals. They dislike working at someone else's pace. They can be somewhat self-deprecating.

Yellows

Yellows are motivated by Fun. They are here to have a great time. They are known for being spontaneous, optimistic, and sometimes self centered.

Yellows are enthusiastic. They are very persuasive. They are spontaneous in nature. They are always looking for something new to do.

They develop friendships with ease but can be very self-centered, keeping them from forming meaningful relationships. Often they have lots of friends, but only on a superficial level. Yellows may have difficulty getting down to business.

Criticism

The Hartman Institute and its many subsidiaries offer "coaches" to businesses seeking to improve interpersonal relations, for career counseling, or to collect data for use in hiring practices. The test informally passes most psychometric measures of reliability and face validity, but this may be attributed to the open predictability of the test. The criteria are likely self-fulfilling to an extent. Although internal and small sample corporate-sponsored data have been posted, no peer-reviewed double-blind studies of the psychometric value of the test exist.