About the BEST Series
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The BEST classifications are based on William M. Marston’s, Ned Herrmann’s, and James Brewer’s work measuring the dominant patterns of behavior in individuals. By adapting and expanding Marston’s and Herrmann’s works (and updating his own, twins, and intelligence research studies), the author of the BEST Instrument series, Dr. James Brewer, developed a basic description of each of the four types of personalities. BEST is an acronym for:
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Bold
Expressive
Sympathetic
Technical
The Bold personality is stimulated by the challenge of new adventure. The Expressive thrives on being around others and persuading them to his/her point of view. The Sympathetic personality is patient, dependable, loyal, and a good listener. The Technical personality is controlled, cautious, precise, and rule-oriented. Each type has needs and preferences which are the keys to understanding and motivating each personality.
BEST Instruments were developed over a period of twenty years, and have been taken by countless individuals, including employees at over 40% of the Fortune 500 companies. Validity and reliability studies were made using data collected from more than 4,000 administrations of the BEST instruments, and, in all cases, the instrument results were consistent, and reported face validity was well over 90%.
