Three parts of the mind

Long ago, experts in the field of psychology (Plato, Aristotle, etc.) determined that there are three parts of the mind that we each have. These three parts make up our whole person. These three parts represent how we feel, do, and think during our individual creative processes. What we feel impacts how we will do and that influences what we think (in that order). As complex human beings, these traits combine to be unique from person to person and are hard to detect in shorter windows of time without the help of reliable assessment tools.

Affective (Relating "Feel" Style)

 A person acquires these by choice.

  • Personality

  • Attitudes

  • Emotions

  • Wants

  • Desires

  • Preferences

  • Values

  • Beliefs

  • Feelings

  • Motivations

  • Social styles

  • Ways of caring

  • Likes and dislikes

Examples of affective assessments:

  • DiSC

  • ProfileXT (Behavioral Traits)

  • Myers-Briggs

  • Profiles Performance Indicator

  • Profiles Sales & Customer Service

  • Profiles Step One

  • Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Style

  • StrengthsFinder

  • LPI

Conative (Striving "Do" Talents)

A person acquires these innately.

  • How one acts

  • Behaviors

  • Actions

  • Natural talents

  • Uses of time

  • How one strives

  • Performances

  • Instincts

  • How one avoids

  • Forces, drives, urges

  • Necessities

  • Natural ways of doing

  • Innate forces

  • Commitments

  • Self-control

  • The executive brain

  • Mental energies

  • Inclinations

  • Will or won’t do

  • “God-given gifts”

Examples of conative assessments:

  • Kolbe Wisdom Kolbe Indexes A, B and C

Cognitive (Thinking "Think" Skills)

A person acquires these developmentally.

  • Education

  • Training

  • Skills

  • Experiences

  • Reasoning

  • Habits

  • Thinking styles

  • Learning styles

  • Knowledge

  • Learned behaviors

  • Biography – Data

  • Applications

  • Judgments

  • Understanding

  • Memories

  • Can and can’t do

Examples of cognitive assessments:

  • ProfileXT (Thinking Style)

  • Hermann Brain Dominance

  • Various skill tests

  • IQ tests

>>Read more about the Insight Whole Mind recruiting and selection process

LeadershipShelley MooreLeadership