predicting human behavior | the Wakefield Doctrine

Monday -the Wakefield Doctrine- ‘because, at the end of the day, it has always been about the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers’

February 17, 2020 By clarkscottroger

Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)

Visitors to these pages, may of late, be tempted to think that this blog is about developing my writing chops. And, they would not be entirely wrong. When you think about the history of this blog, they are actually more correct than they know. This blog, from the first post back in June 2009, has been like one of those cardboard-cover, no-way-you-can-remove-a-single-page and don’t-even-think-about-rolling-up or folding-them-to-fit-anywhere-other-than-on-the-top-of-a-pile-of-textbooks.*

It’s no secret that once I started to meet people here in the blogosphere, I became aware of the fact that this is a world of the written word. (The inkblot-shaped island, Rhetoria, off the coast of the Noticia Archipelago, to be precise.) But I digress.

While I’ve always been painfully aware of my relative lack of skills in the written word, the drive provided by the Wakefield Doctrine overcame any temptation to get all Ed Sullivan’d when I’d read the posts and stories and such put forth by the people I hung out with here and on ‘the Facebook’.

The reason there are still new posts here is that, in a really interesting and odd relationship with an idea, I’ve been charged with the task of writing ‘the Perfect Wakefield Doctrine Post’.

Haven’t done it yet. Still trying. ‘Course, having spent this much time cranking out the wordage, it should come as no surprise that, in order to practice, (‘to practice is to improve‘), I’m found myself writing stories with topics that, to new Reader, might seem to have nothing to do with our little personality theory. (yeah, hah! as if).

(ok! Perfect Wakefield Doctrine blogpost Take: 787834.x)

The Wakefield Doctrine is a perspective on the world and the people who make it our personal reality. The Doctrine proposes that we are, all of us, born with the predisposition to experience our surroundings in one of three characteristic ways. These three are:

the reality of the Outsider(clarks)
the world of the Predator(scotts)
the life of the Herd Member(rogers)

At a very early age, (way young, like, one or two-years-of-age, probably just before the acquisition of language***), we settle into one of the three. We refer to this as one’s predominant worldview. The child does not, however, lose the capacity to experience the world as ‘the other two’. And, for many, there is a certain relative strength in the un-realized worldviews. Example: I am a clark (predominant worldview), with a (strong) secondary scottian aspect and a (weak) tertiary rogerian streak.

[Damn! Gots to stop in my effort to write the perfect Doctrine blogpost. The ‘real’ world is demanding my attention.]

but…but! Before I go, let me say a single thing about the Doctrine that serves to set it apart from all the other systems and schema for understanding how people deal with the world.

From the Wakefield Doctrine’s perspective, your approach to life the best way available. Your personality type is perfect. For you. Provided you’re willing to accept that ‘personality’ is for the purposes of our discussion, a shorthand for the strategies and styles of interacting with the world around us. For your world. The list of characteristics and identifiers for our three types are but descriptions. When you grew up and practiced the ways that helped you survive and thrive, what kind of reality were you contending with? Whether you were in the reality of the Outsider or the Predator or the Herd Member, we know how you approached the family, the friends, the neighborhood, the job, the world. With an understanding of the three worldviews, we know, (as you will know), more about the other person than should otherwise be possible.

The mission statement, (as a roger might say), of the Wakefield Doctrine is ‘to better appreciate how we relate ourselves to the world around us’.

The goal of learning the Doctrine is to develop the ‘other two ways’ to interact with the world in a dynamic balance.

…I do have to run. Be back.

*sure, put it between two text books, hell, if you’re in a hurry to stop in the middle of a crowed corridor, put two of ’em on top of each other and then in the middle of the pile of books.**

** hypo-birthday’d Readers? This was back in the day. One carried school books under a crooked arm, from class-to-class, on and off the bus.

*** from the Doctrine’s perspective, the common expression of ‘the babbling of an infant’ is more telling than most appreciate. Before settling into one of the three worldviews, in theory, the child is in all three. Their efforts to communicate is non-intelligible, not because they’re not making sense, its just they are speaking a language we’ve all forgotten. Call it Babelese. Makes a lot more sense, “How cute! Little clark is Babeling at us as if he could talk”

Pre-Nova Anno* -the Wakefield Doctrine-

December 30, 2019 By clarkscottroger

Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)

*just in case you forgot which blog you clicked on…

Surely this internet is every bit a Charles Atlas ad for clarks the world throughout (younger clarks? the photo at the top of the post should get you started.)

Hey! Just a minute, before you read any further. There are certain premiseses appurtenant in the most fundamental sense to the use of the Wakefield Doctrine as a tool for enhancing one’s variety of perspectives and self-improving oneself, and they are:

the Wakefield Doctrine is gender neutral
the Wakefield Doctrine is age and culture neutral

Perhaps expanding on this will also serve as an outline of our little personality theory.

The reason we can say, ‘the Wakefield Doctrine is gender neutral’ is that each of the three ‘personality types’ are descriptions of the personal reality one is experiencing. This is not a list of qualities, traits and characteristics of any individual, like all those other mix ‘n match, which-personality-type-do-you-hope-the-score says-you-are. (thats right, I’m looking at you, Oscar Meyers Briggs and Stratton schedule. INFP this.)

The Wakefield Doctrine proposes that we, all of us, grow up (and most importantly), develop our abilities and strategies for survival in one of three characteristic worlds, aka personal realities. They are:

the reality of a clark (the Outsider)
the world of a scott (the Predator)
the life of the roger (the Herd Member)

In simplest of terms, it is the nature/character of the worlds we grow up in that determine the way we interact with the world and the people that make it up.

This means that, when we use the Wakefield Doctrine to better understand people, we first observe their behavior with an eye towards understanding how they (the other person) are relating themselves to the world around them. Using the three personality types as a lens, we determine which (of the three) their acts and attitudes, beliefs and intentions are ‘clearest’. (You know, how, when you’re at the eye doctor and they make you look through that round-periscope thing and then change one lens at a time “Is this clear? Now, is this clearer than that?”)

You watching and thinking, “On the basis of the way that person is interacting with (fill in the blank) is it more consistent with being an Outsider(clark) or a Herd Member(Roger)”. Continue your observationing. Now they’re talking to the person (fill in the blank), “Is that conversation sensible from a scott(Predator) or a clark(Outsider)?”

The Wakefield Doctrine is all about acquiring an appreciation of ‘how I relate myself to the world around me’*

Charles Atlas? I identify more with the guy in the drawing. But it is my relationship to world as an Outsider that is useful to know, not gender. We’re lifeforms first, then clarks, scotts and rogers.

And….and! there’s this thing here called ‘the Everything Rule’ which states: ‘everyone does everything at one time or another’. This serves to remind us that, sure a roger could get sand kicked in his or her face. Hell, a scott could get sand kicked in his or her face. How they relate themselves to this occurrence is very different.

Thanks and a shoutout to Denise over at girlie. She posted an old Doctrine post on the Facebook and it jump-started this here post here.

* as always, I will say, ‘We said, how I relate myself to the world around me’ we did not say, ‘How I relate to the world around me’

Big difference, yo.

Filed Under: Featured, Psychology, the Wakefield Doctrine Tagged With: personality types, predicting human behavior, psychology of personality, relationships, self-development, the Wakefield Doctrine

Monday -the Wakefield Doctrine- ‘tell me one, immediately useful thing this Doctrine can do for me and I’ll Comment.’

July 29, 2019 By clarkscottroger

Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)

I have, for reasons un-examined, come to think of Monday as Cynthia’s Substitute Class Day. (You remember. The substitute teacher, (short-term substitute, not long-term; there is a total difference between the two, the former a clark or a scott, the latter a Roger), would start the class by saying that she/he would pick up where the regular teacher left off, and then ask the class where that was.)

Cast your mind back to, say, either the third or the sixth or, if you’ve done your reading, tenth grade. All three stages in your school life will serve quite nicely. So when the substitute teacher asks, the responses from your class were as follows: the first two from rogers, the third, a scott and the fourth and fifth, a collaboration between a clark and a scott.

Go ahead. I’ll wait.

Let’s listen to music while the more fastidious among us (no, not a bad thing, roger, not a bad thing). The selection today is inspired by Phyllis from an early morning conversation.

Alright, back?

The most useful thing to be derived from an understanding of the principles of the Wakefield Doctrine:

We, all of us, live in a world, experience a reality, that is, to a small but significant degree, personal. Nothing exotic, psychotic or otherwise weird. Simply personal. (Here, try this: you and I are standing on the sidewalk across the street from a popular local restaurant. It is the beginning of lunch hour and the restaurant is already crowded. Just as I’m about to say something about personal reality, we hear a voice. It is an acquaintance of both of us. Their tone is one of surprise. Neither of us believe that quality. I smile. You laugh.) In the scenario in parentheses all three people see the same restaurant. All three experience the ‘lets go have lunch’ quite differently.

That is half of the ‘immediately useful’ thing.

The other half is that we all experience the world from one of three perspectives, that of:

the Outsider(clark)
the Predator(scott)
the Herd Member(roger)

The nature and character of the three predominant worldviews is distinctive and different. Understanding all three will allow you to gain a sense of how the three luncheonnaires above are experiencing the prospect of crossing the street.

Learn the worldviews and you will be in a position to know the other person better than they know themselves. All of what you need to learn is in this site. Maybe next post we’ll consider the nature of the three worldviews.

Miz Cynthia!!! Miz Cynthia!!! I know! I know where the teacher left off!!!

Filed Under: Featured, Psychology, the Wakefield Doctrine Tagged With: predicting human behavior, self-improvement, the Wakefield Doctrine, three personality types

Monday -the Wakefield Doctrine- ‘of fear, worry and the here and now’

October 22, 2018 By clarkscottroger

Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)

Well, this certainly is a topic germane to the sociocalenderistic environment! Whether it’s the book report due within hours or the yearly review at work scheduled bright and early in the morning or the simple fact that you are insisting (to yourself) that, ‘this week things have to be different’, welcome to Monday! (Monday motto: “Thought it would be different, didn’cha? Nope. Not different, just …..more.”)

We’ve been spending time in the first half of the last few weeks writing Wakefield Doctrine posts that should serve both as refresher courses in the basics of our little personality theory and, at the same time, provide a reminder that the Doctrine is so…. er true? Seriously, I personally guarantee that you will know it was worth your effort, on the very first occasion when you remember enough of the Doctrine to correctly identify another person’s predominant worldview* while you are out and about your daily world.

Sorry, running out of time.

The topic? Damn…. ok, ok lets try this: throw a scary fear-doll into a room with a clark, scott and a roger. scotts will attack it, rogers will look for the exit (as the scott is attacking) and the clark will be busy in thought deciding if: a) any of this is real; b) if it is, does it matter or have the other two claimed it as their own and maybe it’s not appropriate to get involved, at least at the moment.

‘Worry’ is the used-to-be-really-hot, still-kinda-slutty sister of fear. It is, for a clark, an irresistible indulgence, for a roger the wrapping paper on a gift of unknown value and a scott simply a distraction.

* which are (if you’re a roger with a secondary clarklike aspect? absolutely permissible to have three of those little index cards, one for each of the three) a:

clark (the reality of the Outsider) One who looks different, either in a studied-disheveled way or a startling-contrasty way, ‘bright-and-sparkly accents in a gothic motif’. There’s always the temptation, when observing a clark, to think that maybe they’re putting you on… a nice power-tie worn with a leather coat and mis-matched shoes. They mumble and, at times sound like they’re grabbing words out of burlap bag thats been dragged behind the car all the way back from the Vocabulary Factory. There is a connection, not always helpful, always there.
scott (the world of the Predator) These guys are as un-mistakable as a Doberman at a ‘Cutest Kitten’ festival. And not in a bad way…well, mostly not in a bad way. Easy identifiers: Exclamation points like the silvery tinsel on the lower branches of a Christmas tree in a house full of five-year-olds. Hair-trigger reflexes and, most of all their eyes. Surefire identifier: the eyes of a scott. Always alert, usually attractive, never not paying attention. Total standout-from-clarks-and-rogers.
rogers (the life of the Herd Member) If there is a tough-to-be-sure-of-in-the-first-five-seconds, its rogers. They are confident as a scott (but use more personal pronouns), almost as smart as a clark (but will always make sure you notice) and they are meticulous. Even in their conversations. If you come back from a vacation, your rogerian manager will ask you about it while providing an easy to reply, multiple choice list. No, really! Just try it. “Where did you go. Where did you stay. What were the rooms like. Did you enjoy it……”

Filed Under: Featured, Psychology, the Wakefield Doctrine Tagged With: personality types, predicting human behavior, relationships, the Wakefield Doctrine

TToT -the Wakefield Doctrine-

July 28, 2018 By clarkscottroger

Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)

‘the nail in the coffin being carried by millennials: a modern ‘wallet’
yeah, right that’s a hundred dollar bill (well, three-quarters of one)…
“cash? what is this ‘cash’ you speak of? are you hiding food in the woods?“

This is our…. hey, it’s the last Saturday in July (aka… time to step up on the slingshot-to-October) lets not shave, wear socks or bother with capital letters. (there are those who say that my people, clarks, don’t have a wild side. ha!)

this is the Ten Things of Thankful. created once upon by Lizzi (of the House of Lewis) as her own clark-like bootstraps (through which she succeeded in changing her frame-of-reference). hosted by Kristi, it is a place to register your gratitude. writing style and format are… shall we agree on ‘tolerantly casual’? Ten is the number cited in the title, but, of course, there is a certain Book of Secret Rules (aka Secret Book of Rules) that allows for all sorts of tomfoolery*, provided it is of good intent.

1) Una

“Sheep’s in the meadow and the…”

2) Phyllis

3) the Writers Club Now this is a recent development. A club. People who enjoy writing. (Only requirement for membership: the willingness to answer the following question: Do you think there’d be a difference between being a member of a group or… belonging to a really cool club? (lol… no, I’m serious. And it’s an essay question. Compare and contrast. You remember!) Warning! The ‘clubhouse’ is a blog (at the link) when you get there you’ll see one Post. It is (as I refer to it in the most recent entry) the refrigerator wall for the club. at the moment. leave a comment, a question whatever. (The answer to the un-asked question: At this point some hardy souls, adventurous denizens of the world virtual. Val and Mimi, Denise and Kerry and Pat Brockett at present.)

4) hey Zoe! you owe me an answer to the qualifying question (for a trial membership in the Writers Club) and DSM-5 citation…. tell Joules to let the bears down from the tree and send a photo

5) new correspondent** Lorraine. She stopped in last weekend with a fun TToT post.

6) Pat for her joining in on a Six-duet over at the Six Sentence Story

7) Driveway Corn

(There’s a bright, golden haze on the ~~meadow~~ driveway
The corn is as high as a ~~elephant’s eye~~ rearview mirror
And it looks like it’s climbing clear up to the sky)

8) THIS SPACE AVAILABLE (this is for any Readers, fans, followers, blog wanderers and tourists, if you feel like you’d like to participate but are hesitant… (“I’m sure all those people are published and professional writers, surely I’ll look silly. except for that Doctrine guy, what’s the deal with him? Don’t he realize that people might not get the ‘humor’?”) send in your ‘One Thing of Thankful’ and we’ll put here at Number 8. Serially!

9) Sunday Supplement Phyllis and Una go for a non-9-mph-passenger-seat-with-the-window-a-safe-one-third-up-around-the-abandoned-golf-course-where-the-scents-and-smells-are-like-driving-through-the-Mall-of-America-at 33-mph-in-a-convertible-with-the-top-down ….walk.