Observation

When we have Observation imprinting, we are naturally removed and withhold ourselves from participating with others. Others rightly perceive that we are judgmental. People feel under surveillance and scrutiny when they are the focus of an Observation-imprinted person. This is because individuals naturally believe that people in Observation imprinting are going to judge and find fault with them. For example, Rep. Joseph McCarthy, who headed the House Committee on Un-American Activities in the early to mid-1950’s capitalized on the fear of surveillance to obtain confessions. What’s more, he felt justified pressuring individuals to inform on their friends who might be Communists.

This reflects the negative effect of Observation imprinting. It is also true that many people feel self-conscious when they are being observed by others, which could reflect either a natural Observation Mode or Observation imprinting. The more reactive we are about our ability to see and be with others, the more likely it is that we are engaging Observation imprinting, rather than natural Observation Mode. This is because there is some judgment that goes on when we are doing Observation imprinting.

Since Observation is the neutral position, it usually gets along with all other Modes in an equal way. The only one it has some difficulty with is Reserved, where individuals feel very self-conscious, because they are shy about other people observing them. In the United States, Observation and Observation imprinting is the most common Mode (with Passion following as a close second). This is because Observation in the U.S. is almost a culturally mandated way of expanding and improving our creative processes. This is because of the large number of Think-First individuals (explained in Chapter 6) who keep returning to Observation as a way to determine if some new possibility has occurred. The most important element of Observation is that it provides time for assessment and feedback.

Individuals like Leonard Nimoy are great examples of both Observation and Think-First combinations. His neutrality sets him apart and makes him believable as a scientist on the TV show, “Star Trek”. Since then his works of poetry have further amplified his focus on bringing new ideas together in a systematic way that allows a natural cyclic process of engagement, disengagement, observation, and observation again. Almost 30% of the world has a natural primary Mode of Observation, with almost 65% of the population doing Observation as one of their Modes. In the world today, there is more imprinting for Observation than any other Mode, which means it is likely that 90% of the world has some degree of Observation imprinting. Observation is amplified by the Goals of Discrimination, Dominance, and Growth, and is minimized by the Goals of Submission, Acceptance, or Re-Evaluation.

Primary Focus—Learning and assimilating new information. We can identify this mode by the degree of neutrality a person operates from when first meeting someone else. The greater the neutrality, the more likely they are observers first. They then move to one of the other modes when they are clear how they want to deal with the situation.
Responsive characteristics—Clarity, awareness, attention, absorptive, spectator, observer, having a neutral perspective.
Reactive characteristics—Surveillance, scrutiny, removed, inactive, withholding.
Number of individuals primarily using this mode: 50%.
Examples: Patrick Stewart, Jennifer Aniston, Jim Lehrer, Robert “Bob” Dole, Diane Sawyer, Barbara Walters, Chevy Chase, Kris Kristofferson, Mary Tyler Moore, Phil Collins, Alan Ginsberg, Ted Koppel, Margaret Mead