The DISC personality test, explained

Where DISC comes from

The DISC model was introduced by psychologist Dr. William Moulton Marston in his 1928 book Emotions of Normal People. Marston described four primary ways people respond to their environment. His work is in the public domain, and today many organizations use DISC for coaching, team building and communication training.

The four dimensions

DISC looks at two questions: Do you tend to be more outgoing or reserved? And do you focus more on tasks or people? The combinations produce four dimensions:

How the TraitBloom assessment works

You'll see 24 groups of four short phrases. In each group you choose the phrase that is most like you and the one that is least like you. There are no right answers, and the four dimensions are never labeled, so you can answer naturally.

Your raw scores are converted to percentiles from 1 to 99. Above the 50th percentile is considered “High” for that dimension; below is “Low.” Neither is better. Every combination has strengths and blind spots.

Three profiles, not one

Your choices produce three related profiles:

How to use your results

• Self-awareness: understand why some tasks energize you and others drain you.
• Communication: adapt how you speak to people with different styles.
• Coaching: focus development on the behaviors your role needs most.
• Teams: give everyone a shared, non-judgmental language for differences.

DISC describes behavior, not intelligence, skill or values. It should never be the only basis for hiring or employment decisions.

Want to go deeper? Read about each DISC profile, or see how real estate agents use DISC.