Process Communication
Process Communication
How to tell them … The Process Communication – Book by Gérard Collignon (preface by Taïbi Kahler) – 1994.
In the 1970s, an American psychologist, Taïbi Kahler, evolved Transactional Analysis and developed the Process Com model.
As you could guess, Process Com it is a methodology on communication:
“Our future is not just based on our understanding of ourselves. We must also know how to communicate and demonstrate to others who we are and what we are “
This model for which he receives the Eric Berne prize in 1977, is called the mini-scenario. From the mini-scenario comes 6 types of personality.
The Process Com is under copyright of TKA and KCI.
Our needs for psychological satisfaction
Taïbi Kahler’s work has established that the satisfaction of psychological needs is an essential source of motivation that induces specific behaviors. These behaviors can be divided into 6 personality types. Each individual has, in variable proportions, his part of every of the 6 types.
By this way, an individual can have the characteristics of several types at a time. Nevertheless one of them constitutes its dominant (called: Base).
Each type provides 3 pieces of information: the main source of motivation, the preferred mode of communication and how to deal with stress.
In other words, if an individual does not obtain satisfaction in a positive way for his needs, he will look for it in a negative way, adopting ineffective behaviors and therefore an inappropriate mode of communication.
Indeed, since childhood, we have learned that it is better to receive negative attention than no attention at all.
Thus, in the absence of any sign of recognition, the stress appears and then inappropriate behaviors.
Stress
Taibi Kahler has identified 3 levels of negative stress leading to individuals in harmful situations of communication.
At the first level of stress, we activate the famous “Drivers” (here there are 5). Be Strong Child / Parent – Be Perfect Child / Parent – Please – Try Hard – The last usual driver in Transactional Analysis “Hurry Up” is not specific to any of the 6 personality types. The drivers are in transactional analyzes the anchored parental injunctions during childhood that we often reproduce unconsciously being adult.
At the second level of stress we activate mechanisms of failure.
The 3rd level of stress is more rare and corresponds to 1 deep crisis, depression, burn out …
Under stress, we are no longer in clear thinking, and as a result, we are often unaware of our negative behaviors.
A summary table of the correspondences between the drivers and the mechanisms is available in our article “to choose between Process Com and Enneagram”.
6 types of Personality
Each individual has in him the 6 types of personality. It happens that we activate more actively a type other than its base. This is called “phase”.
The 6 types are :
- Harmonizer
- Thinker
- Rebel
- Promoter
- Persister
- Imaginer.
The descriptions of every types are indicated at the end of this article. There is no type better than another.
Each of us being a mix of these 6 personalities, this represents 720 ways to be. If we consider a rate of energy per type, the number of possibilities is infinite.
Each of us can feel all the psychological needs but with varying intensities.
Communication
A person, without stress, will adapt to his environment and choose (or not) a type of personality to communicate.
It depends on its ability to adapt to its different interlocutors.
But in case of stress (psychological needs not fulfilled), it will return to its Base or its Phasing.
The degradation of a relationship, the installation of unspoken (unsaid) often come from an absence or an inadequacy of the communication.
Very often, we expect that our interlocutor will or should adapt him-self.
We can adapt ourselves.
Be careful, a relationship is bidirectional. You have to be two, and the desire to adapt must be shared. Everyone must accept responsibility and difference and respect each other’s.
Find your personality type:
Harmonizer
• Importance to sensations, to the quality of the human relationship.
• He has a concern for the image that others have of himself: he likes to be loved.
For example, some people prefer that we like their ideas, their charm, their actions …
• He integrates things and people with the Felt (feeling).
• Harmonizer knows how to create harmony and is attentive to the needs of others.
• Sometimes he has trouble asserting himself. His main difficulty is to say “no”, to know the limits.
• Under stress, he tends to devalue himself, to believe that everything is his fault.
• His best healing: positive signs of recognition for himself.
Existential question: Am I kind?
Need: Feeling recognized as a person, which is loved
Driver: Please
% of the Western population: 30%
% of women: 75 %
Thinker
• Logic is its leitmotif.
• The organization’s cute sin.
• The sense of responsibility his daily bread
• And time … his master. He is the king of planning.
• The most important for him is to be recognized for his reflection and achievements
Existential question: Am I competent?
Need: to be recognized for his work or skills
Driver: Be Perfect
% of Western population: 25%
% of women: 40%
Imaginer
• The imaginer needs time to be ready …
• It should not be taken out too fast of his … isolation.
• You have to respect his needs in terms of time and loneliness. Don’t push him to discuss of everything.
• His security is his intimate world. He has a great capacity for introspection and reflection.
• He needs to receive clear instructions and to remain free of means.
• Action is not vital for him.
Existential question: Am I willing?
Need solitude
Driver: Be strong
% of Western population: 10%
% of women: 75%
Persever
• His gift of observation is great. It’s a person of commitment.
• He sets a goal and needs to achieve it.
• He seeks first to know the opinion of his interlocutor, or to expose his own
• His weak point? Listening … because his natural motivation is first to be heard
• Under stress, he tends to see only what is wrong. Focused on errors, it becomes more and more rigid.
Existential question: Am I trustworthy?
Need to be recognized for his opinions, his work and his contribution
Driver: Be perfect Parent
% of Western population: 10%
% of women: 25%
Promoter
• An adventurer, there are only challenges that interests him.
• In fact he does not know how to stop.
• The value … is the action. It does not hold up without showing gestures of impatience, even agitation.
• On the other hand, it is difficult for him to provide regular work for a long period.
• Like the Rebels, he lives in the present moment.
• 2 things irritate him: feelings and addiction.
• What stimulates him: everything that resists.
• When he wants something that’s all and right away.
Existential question: Am I alive?
Need excitations, to go to the limits
Driver: Be strong Parent
% of Western population: 5%
% of women: 40%
Rebel
• Original customized clothing, elastic hours, trend to look for fun everywhere
• It works poorly from direct requests and poorly supports directivity
• The Rebel lives in the present moment
• He reacts badly to the constraint, turns on himself and becomes very quickly unpleasant and blame easily in this situation
• You have to joke a few seconds before you get down to business
Existential question: Am I acceptable?
Need for positive contact
Driver: Try hard
% of Western population: 20%
% of women: 60%
Distribution of the 6 personality types in the Western population by gender
