The DISC Model: The Four Styles and How They Compare to the Interpersonal Circle

What the DISC model is

DISC sorts people into four styles. The letters usually stand for Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Conscientiousness, though some versions use Compliance for the last one. A person's result names the style or styles they lean toward.

The four styles come from two questions about behavior. One question is how fast-paced and outspoken a person tends to be. The other is how much a person tends to focus on people as opposed to tasks. Crossing the two questions gives four boxes, one for each letter.

DISC is a model, not a single test. Many different companies sell DISC assessments, and each one writes its own questions and its own reports. Two DISC assessments from two publishers can ask very different questions.

The four DISC styles

Each DISC style describes a way of acting that a person tends to fall back on. Publishers word them differently, but the four usually look like this.

• D, Dominance. Fast-paced and focused on results. A person who leans D tends to push for a decision, say what they think, and take on a challenge head-on. In a meeting that has stalled, they are the one asking who will do what by Friday.
• I, Influence. Fast-paced and focused on people. A person who leans I tends to be upbeat, talkative and persuasive. At a work event, they are the one introducing two people and getting a group laughing.
• S, Steadiness. Steady-paced and focused on people. A person who leans S tends to be patient, supportive and loyal. When a coworker is struggling, they are the one who quietly covers a shift and asks how things are going.
• C, Conscientiousness. Steady-paced and focused on tasks. A person who leans C tends to be careful, accurate and private. Before a report goes out, they are the one checking every number.

Where DISC came from

The model goes back to William Moulton Marston, a psychologist who described four patterns of behavior in a 1928 book called Emotions of Normal People. Marston described the patterns but never built a test for them.

The questionnaires came later. In the 1940s and 1950s, Walter Clarke built a workplace questionnaire on similar ideas. In the 1970s, John Geier built one of the first questionnaires to use the DISC letters directly. Since then, many publishers have built their own.

What the interpersonal circle is

The interpersonal circle comes from academic psychology. It was first drawn in the 1950s by a group of researchers working with Timothy Leary, and Jerry Wiggins rebuilt it in the late 1970s into the version researchers use today.

The circle uses two lines. One runs from Leading to Listening: how much of the talking a person tends to do. The other runs from Warmth to Directness: how much a person tends to check in on others. The circle around those lines is cut into eight styles, with a ninth zone in the center.

In 2009, Patrick Markey and Charlotte Markey published a short public-domain set of questions for the circle. Researchers have used the circle for decades to study how people act in conversations, friendships and couples.

How the two models compare

The two models cover similar ground. Both ask how much a person takes charge and how much a person focuses on other people. Where they differ is in how they draw the map and where the questions come from.

• Four boxes or a circle. DISC uses four styles. The circle uses eight styles and a center, so a person who is between two DISC boxes has a zone of their own on the circle.
• Letters or zones. A DISC result is usually given as one or two letters. A circle result is a zone, and the circle shows how close that zone is to its neighbors.
• The lines sit at different angles. The circle's two lines and DISC's two questions are close relatives, but they are not the same lines. Compared with the DISC map, the circle's lines are rotated partway around.
• Where the questions come from. DISC questions differ by publisher, and most are owned by the company that sells them. The circle has a public-domain set of questions, the Markey and Markey set, with its own published research. Research on one publisher's DISC questions does not carry over to another publisher's questions.
• Where each is used. DISC is used mostly at work, for teams and training. The circle is used mostly in research on relationships, from first conversations to long marriages.

Where each DISC style sits near the circle

When the DISC map and the interpersonal circle are laid over each other, each DISC style covers ground close to one of the circle's diagonal zones. The match is approximate, because the questions are different and the lines sit at different angles.

• D sits near Outspoken, where Leading meets Directness: speaking up and saying so when something is wrong.
• I sits near Extraverted, where Leading meets Warmth: starting conversations and keeping an eye on how people are doing.
• S sits near Easygoing, where Listening meets Warmth: going along with others and keeping things friendly.
• C sits near Introverted, where Listening meets Directness: keeping to oneself until trust is built.

DISC, the circle and the Big Five

Both models overlap with the Big Five, the five traits psychologists use most often to describe personality. The circle's Leading or Listening line sits close to Extraversion, and its Warmth or Directness line sits close to Agreeableness.

That means the circle looks at two of the five traits together, as they show up between people. It leaves out the other three: Openness, Conscientiousness and Emotional Stability. Someone who wants the whole picture of personality is better served by the Big Five, and someone who wants a closer look at how they act around others is better served by the circle.

Does an interpersonal style test give a DISC result?

No. An interpersonal style test places a person on the interpersonal circle. It does not give a DISC style, and its results do not convert into DISC letters.

Some ground overlaps. A person who comes out as taking charge on one model will often lean toward Leading on the other. But the questions are different, the lines sit at different angles, and the circle has nine zones instead of four. Any one-to-one conversion would claim more than either model supports.

The selfwyse interpersonal style test is not a DISC assessment and is not affiliated with any company that publishes one.

DISC or the interpersonal circle: which to take

If a workplace already uses a DISC assessment, taking that one makes sense, because the whole team will be speaking the same four letters.

The interpersonal circle suits a different job. It is free to take on selfwyse, and it places a person in one of nine zones instead of four boxes. It is also built for comparing two people or a small group side by side. A couple, two siblings or a group of friends can each take it and see how their styles meet.

Common questions

What are the four DISC personality styles?

The four DISC styles are usually Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Conscientiousness. D and I are fast-paced, S and C are steadier. I and S focus on people, while D and C focus more on tasks and results.

Is there a free alternative to a DISC assessment?

The interpersonal circle covers similar ground to DISC and has public-domain research questions. The selfwyse interpersonal style test uses them and is free. It is not a DISC assessment and does not give DISC letters; it places a person on the circle instead.

What does DISC stand for?

DISC usually stands for Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Conscientiousness. Some versions use Compliance for the fourth letter. The letters name four styles that come from two questions about how people behave.

Is the interpersonal circle the same as DISC?

No. Both use two similar lines to describe how people act, but the circle has eight styles and a center instead of four boxes. Its lines sit at different angles from the DISC questions, and one widely used set of its questions is public domain.

Can an interpersonal style result be turned into a DISC style?

Not reliably. Each DISC style sits near one of the circle's diagonal zones, but the two models ask different questions and draw their lines at different angles. A person near the edge of a zone could match either neighboring letter, so there is no one-to-one conversion.