{"id":57879,"date":"2022-01-10T18:30:44","date_gmt":"2022-01-10T22:30:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=57879"},"modified":"2022-01-17T10:25:47","modified_gmt":"2022-01-17T14:25:47","slug":"surrounded-by-idiots-colors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/surrounded-by-idiots-colors\/","title":{"rendered":"Surrounded by Idiots: The 4 Colors and Their Traits"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>What are the traits of Thomas Erikson&#8217;s four personality colors? What are the negative perceptions of each color?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the book <em>Surrounded by Idiots, <\/em>colors are used to break down the most common personalities into four categories: Red, Yellow, Green, and Blue. Red and Yellow personalities are considered to be extroverted, while the Green and Blue personalities are introverted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here&#8217;s a breakdown of the four colors and the negative perceptions of each.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-an-introduction-to-the-colors\">An Introduction to the Colors<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In <em>Surrounded by Idiots, <\/em>colors are used to describe the four personality types: <strong>Red, Yellow, Green, and Blue<\/strong>. Throughout the text, he refers to people by personality type as Red people, Yellow people, and so on. Erikson\u2019s color model is based on the DISC personality-type model, which categorizes people as Dominant, Inspiring, Stable, or Compliant. He explains that <strong>he chose to use colors instead of the DISC terms because they are easier to understand, connect to, and remember. <\/strong>Here\u2019s how the two models compare:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"723\" height=\"376\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/color-chart.jpg\" alt=\"Thomas Erickson's color chart\n\" class=\"wp-image-58162\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/color-chart.jpg 723w, https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/color-chart-300x156.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 723px) 100vw, 723px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>The Psychology of Color<\/strong><br><br>Erikson explains that he chose to use colors instead of the DISC terms for ease of understanding, but he doesn\u2019t explain why he chose the colors that he did, or how he assigned them. One field of psychology specifically studies the effect of color on our bodies and minds. The research is highly anecdotal, but enough patterns have emerged that psychologists believe there are some universal truths when it comes to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.verywellmind.com\/color-psychology-2795824\">color psychology<\/a>.&nbsp;<br><br><strong>Red: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedaily.com\/releases\/2013\/05\/130516105655.htm#:~:text=Summary%3A%20Why%20do%20so%20many%20sports%20players,to%20be%20red%20have%20higher%20testosterone\">One study<\/a> found a link between the perception of dominance, the color red, and testosterone. The participants (all men) who chose to wear red during a competitive event were determined to have higher levels of testosterone than the participants who chose to wear blue. In a questionnaire, the participants who chose red wrote that they <a href=\"https:\/\/www.verywellmind.com\/the-color-psychology-of-red-2795821\">associated the color with dominance<\/a> and aggression, which they believed would help them in the competition.<br><br><strong>Yellow: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.verywellmind.com\/the-color-psychology-of-yellow-2795823\">Color psychology<\/a> says that people associate yellow with optimism, energy, and warmth\u2014very likely due to our relationship with the sun. It has also been shown to cause feelings of frustration and overwhelm when overdone.&nbsp;<br><br><strong>Green: <\/strong>Green often brings to mind images of nature, which tend to have a calming effect. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.verywellmind.com\/color-psychology-green-2795817\">Green has long been a symbol of fertility<\/a> and new life because of its connection to spring. Green environments have both water and sunshine, so it is perceived as a safe and nurturing color, where living things will thrive.<br><br><strong>Blue: <\/strong>Most people associate blue with water, which explains why it brings feelings of serenity and reliability. Unlike plant life, water doesn\u2019t change colors through the seasons; it is always the color you expect it to be. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.verywellmind.com\/the-color-psychology-of-blue-2795815\">Blue is perceived as conservative<\/a> and safe, but cold.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-negative-perceptions-of-each-color\">Negative Perceptions of Each Color<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em> <\/em>This section discusses <em>what others<\/em> <em>perceive<\/em> to be weaknesses of each color, or personality type.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-negative-perceptions-of-red-personality-types\">Negative Perceptions of Red Personality Types<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Overbearing: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/red-personality-type\/\">Red personality<\/a> types<strong> <\/strong>like to be in charge, so if there is a decision to be made, it will be their way or the highway. As a result, Erikson says those working with Red personalities often feel controlled and resent the lack of autonomy.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.psychologytoday.com\/us\/blog\/living-automatic\/202101\/how-do-controlling-and-controlled-personalities-interact\">There is a theory<\/a> that the desire to control others begins with \u201cconditioned helplessness\u201d in childhood. A child who isn\u2019t taught to solve problems herself and is instead catered to by her caregivers is likely to grow into an adult who demands more of the same. In these cases, bossing other people around keeps anxiety and low self-efficacy at bay.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Insensitive: <\/strong>Erikson asserts that this personality type avoids long conversations unless they\u2019re truly interested in the topic, and they\u2019re not subtle when expressing boredom. Most people perceive this behavior as cold-hearted and rude.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: In <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/the-fine-art-of-small-talk\"><em>The Fine Art of Small Talk<\/em><\/a><em>, <\/em>Debra Fine gives advice for <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/the-fine-art-of-small-talk\/part-1-2\">how to gracefully end a conversation<\/a>. Rather than ending it abruptly, as the Red personality is inclined to do, Fine recommends you thank or compliment the person, give a reason for your departure, and then follow through with the excuse.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-negative-perceptions-of-yellow-personality-types\">Negative Perceptions of Yellow Personality Types<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Overly talkative: <\/strong>Erikson says <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/yellow-personality-type\/\">Yellow personality<\/a> types tend to dominate every conversation, and other personality types struggle to get a word in edgewise. Erikson says the other colors (especially the introverted Blue personalities) quickly grow tired of listening to the nonstop talking.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: If you worry that you dominate conversations, try using the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.psychologytoday.com\/us\/blog\/how-do-life\/201501\/what-if-you-talk-too-much\">traffic light rule<\/a>: In the first 30 seconds of speaking, you have a green light (your listener\u2019s attention). In the following 30 seconds, you have a yellow light (you may or may not have your listener\u2019s attention). After one minute of speaking, imagine you have hit a red light\u2014stop and give your listener a chance to speak.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Scatterbrained: <\/strong>Erikson says that this personality type starts a lot of projects that they don\u2019t finish and they tend to have their own organizational systems that others can\u2019t understand. Yellow personalities are often late and they frequently forget deadlines and appointments. For all of these reasons, others perceive them to be scatterbrained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: Although a Yellow personality type\u2019s chaos may be off-putting, recent studies connect clutter with creativity. In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.psychologicalscience.org\/news\/releases\/tidy-desk-or-messy-desk-each-has-its-benefits.html\">one experiment<\/a>, participants were divided into two groups and asked to come up with new uses for a ping pong ball. The group that worked in a messy room came up with more innovative ideas for the ping pong ball than did the group that worked in a clean room, leading researchers to believe that disorganized environments benefit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-creative-process\/\">the creative process<\/a>.)&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-negative-perceptions-of-greens\">Negative Perceptions of Greens<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lazy: <\/strong>Erikson says that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/green-personality-type\/\">Green personality<\/a> types take their time mulling over decisions, they prefer to stay home over going out, and they aren\u2019t particularly ambitious. This personality is the least motivated to <em>move<\/em>, literally and figuratively. This leads the other personality types to characterize them as lazy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: The correlation between stillness and laziness is an American sentiment not shared by all cultures. <a href=\"https:\/\/20somethingfinance.com\/american-hours-worked-productivity-vacation\/\">Americans are often characterized by other nations as ambitious workaholics<\/a> who don\u2019t know <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/cant-relax\/\">how to relax<\/a>. Other countries encourage and celebrate leisure. Italy, for example, has a well-known phrase: <em>bel far niente<\/em>\u2014\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/eat-pray-love\/part-2\">the beauty of doing nothing<\/a>.\u201d)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Two-Faced: <\/strong>Erikson emphasizes that this personality type avoids conflict like the plague. They care deeply about how others perceive them, so they\u2019re careful not to rock the boat. Erikson notes that this doesn\u2019t mean that Green personalities don\u2019t have opinions of their own. Rather, instead of communicating their grievances directly, they often complain behind the other person\u2019s back.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: If you discover that a coworker has been complaining about you behind your back, <a href=\"https:\/\/upjourney.com\/how-to-deal-with-coworkers-who-talk-about-you-behind-your-back\">start by asking yourself<\/a> if you contributed to this behavior. Was there something you did or said that made you unapproachable? Confront the person in a straightforward manner but with empathy, ask why he felt he couldn\u2019t come to you directly, and then listen without judgment.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-negative-perceptions-of-blues\">Negative Perceptions of Blues<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Cold-Hearted: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/blue-personality-type\/\">Blue personality<\/a> types like to have space\u2014physically and emotionally. They tend to keep their social circles small, and they prefer to spend time alone or with their families. Their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/body-language-crucial-conversations\/\">body language<\/a> is closed off and they don\u2019t do small talk. For these reasons, others often perceive people with this personality to be cold and emotionless.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/what-is-avoidant-attachment-style-2018-3\">Avoidant attachment<\/a>\u201d is a term psychologists use to describe people who either avoid relationships or keep their partners at arm\u2019s length. There is an important distinction, however, between avoidant attachment and the personality trait Erikson describes here. One is closed off until she forms a deeper relationship, and the other is closed off <em>within<\/em> her deepest relationships\u2014often as the result of unresolved childhood trauma.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Negative: <\/strong>Blue personalities are quick to identify problems but rarely offer solutions (that\u2019s Red and Yellow personalities\u2019 territory). This behavior can drag down morale, but Erikson says people with Blue personality types believe they\u2019re being helpful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: There\u2019s an adage in business: \u201cDon\u2019t bring me problems, bring me solutions.\u201d Intended to avoid toxic complaining, <a href=\"https:\/\/hbr.org\/2017\/09\/the-problem-with-saying-dont-bring-me-problems-bring-me-solutions?registration=success\">\u201csolution-only thinking\u201d actually stifles cooperative problem-solving<\/a> and intimidates employees into not bringing up an issue until it\u2019s a crisis.)&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What are the traits of Thomas Erikson&#8217;s four personality colors? What are the negative perceptions of each color? In the book Surrounded by Idiots, colors are used to break down the most common personalities into four categories: Red, Yellow, Green, and Blue. Red and Yellow personalities are considered to be extroverted, while the Green and Blue personalities are introverted. Here&#8217;s a breakdown of the four colors and the negative perceptions of each.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":58164,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,24],"tags":[564],"class_list":["post-57879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-psychology","category-society","tag-surrounded-by-idiots","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Surrounded by Idiots: The 4 Colors and Their Traits - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In Thomas Erikson&#039;s book Surrounded by Idiots, he uses four colors to describe different personalities. Here&#039;s an explanation of each.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/surrounded-by-idiots-colors\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Surrounded by Idiots: The 4 Colors and Their Traits\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In Thomas Erikson&#039;s book Surrounded by Idiots, he uses four colors to describe different personalities. Here&#039;s an explanation of each.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/surrounded-by-idiots-colors\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-01-10T22:30:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-01-17T14:25:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/colored-feathers.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1191\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"761\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Hannah Aster\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Hannah Aster\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/surrounded-by-idiots-colors\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/surrounded-by-idiots-colors\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Hannah Aster\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f39f52830e4f7039a16e45d12354542f\"},\"headline\":\"Surrounded by Idiots: The 4 Colors and Their Traits\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-01-10T22:30:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-01-17T14:25:47+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/surrounded-by-idiots-colors\/\"},\"wordCount\":1389,\"commentCount\":2,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/surrounded-by-idiots-colors\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/colored-feathers.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Surrounded By Idiots\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Psychology\",\"Society\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/surrounded-by-idiots-colors\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/surrounded-by-idiots-colors\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/surrounded-by-idiots-colors\/\",\"name\":\"Surrounded by Idiots: The 4 Colors and Their Traits - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/surrounded-by-idiots-colors\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/surrounded-by-idiots-colors\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/colored-feathers.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-01-10T22:30:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-01-17T14:25:47+00:00\",\"description\":\"In Thomas Erikson's book Surrounded by Idiots, he uses four colors to describe different personalities. Here's an explanation of each.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/surrounded-by-idiots-colors\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/surrounded-by-idiots-colors\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/surrounded-by-idiots-colors\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/colored-feathers.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/colored-feathers.jpg\",\"width\":1191,\"height\":761},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/surrounded-by-idiots-colors\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Surrounded by Idiots: The 4 Colors and Their Traits\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"description\":\"The World&#039;s Best Book Summaries\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"width\":500,\"height\":74,\"caption\":\"Shortform Books\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f39f52830e4f7039a16e45d12354542f\",\"name\":\"Hannah Aster\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0302cb2690b70a21639bc6873e587f42d39d02385b7e59d8efd0d3e000ae7681?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0302cb2690b70a21639bc6873e587f42d39d02385b7e59d8efd0d3e000ae7681?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Hannah Aster\"},\"description\":\"Hannah is a seasoned writer and editor who started her journey with Shortform nearly five years ago. She grew up reading mostly fiction books but transitioned to non-fiction writing when she started her travel website in 2018. When she's not writing or traveling, you can find Hannah working on home reno projects, crafting, or taking care of plants.\",\"knowsAbout\":[\"Graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in English and minors in professional and creative writing\"],\"jobTitle\":\"SEO Team Lead\",\"worksFor\":\"Shortform\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/hannah\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Surrounded by Idiots: The 4 Colors and Their Traits - Shortform Books","description":"In Thomas Erikson's book Surrounded by Idiots, he uses four colors to describe different personalities. Here's an explanation of each.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/surrounded-by-idiots-colors\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Surrounded by Idiots: The 4 Colors and Their Traits","og_description":"In Thomas Erikson's book Surrounded by Idiots, he uses four colors to describe different personalities. Here's an explanation of each.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/surrounded-by-idiots-colors\/","og_site_name":"Shortform Books","article_published_time":"2022-01-10T22:30:44+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-01-17T14:25:47+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1191,"height":761,"url":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/colored-feathers.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Hannah Aster","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Hannah Aster","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/surrounded-by-idiots-colors\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/surrounded-by-idiots-colors\/"},"author":{"name":"Hannah Aster","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f39f52830e4f7039a16e45d12354542f"},"headline":"Surrounded by Idiots: The 4 Colors and Their Traits","datePublished":"2022-01-10T22:30:44+00:00","dateModified":"2022-01-17T14:25:47+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/surrounded-by-idiots-colors\/"},"wordCount":1389,"commentCount":2,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/surrounded-by-idiots-colors\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/colored-feathers.jpg","keywords":["Surrounded By Idiots"],"articleSection":["Psychology","Society"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/surrounded-by-idiots-colors\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/surrounded-by-idiots-colors\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/surrounded-by-idiots-colors\/","name":"Surrounded by Idiots: The 4 Colors and Their Traits - Shortform Books","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/surrounded-by-idiots-colors\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/surrounded-by-idiots-colors\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/colored-feathers.jpg","datePublished":"2022-01-10T22:30:44+00:00","dateModified":"2022-01-17T14:25:47+00:00","description":"In Thomas Erikson's book Surrounded by Idiots, he uses four colors to describe different personalities. Here's an explanation of each.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/surrounded-by-idiots-colors\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/surrounded-by-idiots-colors\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/surrounded-by-idiots-colors\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/colored-feathers.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/colored-feathers.jpg","width":1191,"height":761},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/surrounded-by-idiots-colors\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Surrounded by Idiots: The 4 Colors and Their Traits"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","name":"Shortform Books","description":"The World&#039;s Best Book Summaries","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Shortform Books","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","width":500,"height":74,"caption":"Shortform Books"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f39f52830e4f7039a16e45d12354542f","name":"Hannah Aster","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0302cb2690b70a21639bc6873e587f42d39d02385b7e59d8efd0d3e000ae7681?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0302cb2690b70a21639bc6873e587f42d39d02385b7e59d8efd0d3e000ae7681?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Hannah Aster"},"description":"Hannah is a seasoned writer and editor who started her journey with Shortform nearly five years ago. She grew up reading mostly fiction books but transitioned to non-fiction writing when she started her travel website in 2018. When she's not writing or traveling, you can find Hannah working on home reno projects, crafting, or taking care of plants.","knowsAbout":["Graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in English and minors in professional and creative writing"],"jobTitle":"SEO Team Lead","worksFor":"Shortform","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/hannah\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/colored-feathers.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57879","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57879"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57879\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58688,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57879\/revisions\/58688"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}