Who Created DISC Assessment

DISC History

DISC is rooted with Hippocrates around 400 BC, with the four temperaments - each was associated to certain moods, emotions and behaviors. Later, Freud & Jung first began studying human behavior, followed by Dr. William Moulton Marston (a lawyer and a physiological psychologist), who was the first to conduct research on the emotions of normal people. Marston developed the four behavior types in 1928 that precede what we use today.

HIPPOCRATES

400BC
Humors
Choleric
Sanguine
Phlegmatic
Melancholic

ARISTOTLE

400BC
Elements
Air
Fire
Water
Earth

CARL JUNG

1921
Functions
Sensing
Intuition
Feeling
Thinking

WILLIAM MARSTON

1928
Behavioral Styles
Dominance
Inducement
Submission
Compliance

DISC PERSONA

1970s
Behavioral Styles
Dominance
Inducement
Submission
Compliance

William Moulton Marston

Lawyer & Physiological Phychologist

Marston was the first to conduct research on the emotions of normal people, and he developed the four behavior types in 1928 that precede what we use today: Dominance, Inducement, Submission, and Compliance.

Emotions of Normal People

Marston was also credited with helping to contribute to the first polygraph test, creating the character Wonder Woman, and authoring several self-help books.
Marston believed that behavioral types came from people's sense of self and their interaction with the environment.

2 Dimensions that Influence Behavior

He included two dimensions that influence people’s emotional behavior:

Whether people view their environment as favorable or unfavorable.
Whether a person perceives himself as having control or lack of control over his environment.

Walter Clarke Industrial Psychologist

In 1956, Clarke created the DISC assessment based on Marston’s theory. He created the Activity Vector Analysis, a psychometric tool that was designed for use by businesses to help them choose qualified employees.

In 1965, DISC findings were published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology and the first self-description test was used asking respondents to choose between terms to identify their style.

There have been many versions of the DISC model and the assessment tool used, with varying degrees of validity and reliability.

While the assessments used today have evolved from the original work of Marston and Clarke, the same premise of four behavioral styles is used as the foundation and the continued development of the tools to embrace new science all the time comes from a rich history.