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Descriptor Terms, Letter Codes, and Colors

The Personality Lingo® personality style descriptor terms are Connector, Planner, Thinker, and Mover. You will notice that references to letter codes and colors are often included alongside these terms in parenthesis.

CONNECTOR (NF-Blue)

PLANNER (SJ-Gold)

THINKER (NT-Green)

MOVER (SP-Orange)

Personality Lingo descriptor terms, letter codes, and colors

The 2-letter coding referenced alongside the Personality Lingo descriptor terms for the personality styles corresponds to the Jungian dichotomies as defined by Myers-Briggs. This letter-coding is widely used to represent the four fundamental Temperaments.

Four Styles, Rooted in Timeless Questions

While Personality Lingo simplifies complex psychological ideas into relatable terms, its roots reach deep into the timeless questions that have long guided our understanding of human behavior.

Four Styles, Rooted in Timeless Questions - image of two philosophers debating a topic
Each personality style reflects observable patterns of motivation, perception, and behavior—but these patterns didn’t come out of nowhere, nor were they the invention of any one individual.
They arise from enduring questions about human nature that have echoed through philosophy, literature, and psychology for centuries. These timeless inquiries continue to shape how we understand ourselves and interact with the world today.

Gathering Information (Sensing vs. Intuition)

How do we know what is true?
  • Some philosophers believed truth is found through direct experience—by observing the physical world with our senses. Others believed it is discovered through internal insight and imagination.
  • We’ve come to recognize that people gather information in different ways. Some are drawn to what’s practical and concrete, while others focus on patterns and possibilities. Each approach brings valuable perspective.

Making Decisions (Thinking vs. Feeling)

How should we decide what’s right?
  • Some thinkers argued for logic, analysis, and objective reasoning. Others insisted that emotions and empathy play a crucial role in moral judgment.
  • These ancient debates continue to influence how we balance reason with emotion in everyday choices and how we define a well-lived life.

Orientation (Extraversion vs. Introversion)

Where do we draw our energy from?
  • Is the Good Life found in active engagement with the world, or in quiet reflection within ourselves?
  • Do we find clarity through interaction and expression or through solitude and introspection?
Note: All four personality styles can be expressed through either an extraverted or introverted lens. Extraverts tend to communicate with their top personality style and Introverts tend to communicate outwardly with their second style, using their top style for processing thoughts on the inside.

Mode of Operation (Judging vs. Perceiving)

What is the best way to live?
  • Some believed in order, discipline, and defined structure. Others championed spontaneity, adaptability, and freedom to shape life as it unfolds.
  • You may have noticed how some people love a clear plan while others feel most alive when leaving room for the unexpected.

Each of these dichotomies reflects a pair of instinctual mental mechanisms that help us walk our own path in life. While we all have access to both sides of each dimension, many people naturally favor one end of the spectrum over the other.

The Jungian mental mechanisms are the building blocks of the four fundamental personality styles.
These combinations reveal the deeper motivations and priorities that shape how each style interacts with the world.
Intuition + Feeling = CONNECTOR (NF)

Connectors seek harmony and meaning, guided by compassion and vision.

Sensing + Judging = PLANNER (SJ)

Planners build security through structure, valuing duty and dependability.

Intuition + Thinking = THINKER (NT)
Thinkers pursue truth through objective analysis, thriving on ideas and innovation.
Sensing + Perceiving = MOVER (SP)

Movers engage life through experience, driven by energy and spontaneity.

Colors are often associated with the four fundamental personality styles as they are a great way to express a feeling-tone.

Don Lowry is credited as being one of the first in modern times to simplify much of the complicated psychological language by assigning each temperament an easy to remember color.

Don Lowry's True Colors Model - theatre

The colors Blue, Gold, Green, and Orange were selected to go alongside the Personality Lingo descriptor terms because of the predominance and popularity of personality systems using them.

Don selected the colors to represent a mood or metaphor as follows:
Blue (NF)
The color Blue fosters psychological contentment and physical tranquility. This color has been shown to soothe the central nervous system.
Gold (SJ)

The color Gold represents value, stability, and strength. Associated metaphors include “good as gold” and “gold standard.”

Green (NT)
The color Green is an expression of logic and the systems of nature. This is a refreshing color associated with nourishment and growth.
Orange (SP)
The color Orange urges you to wake up, pay attention, and seize the moment. It is a color often used to promote action, motivation, and excitement.
The Personality Lingo system is designed to stand alone without the use of letters or colors. It is not necessary to use letter coding or color associations with the Personality Lingo system. These references to the letters and colors are provided for trainers and participants who have a background in other systems to be able to easily transfer their knowledge and quickly become fluent in Personality Lingo.
Once the Personality Lingo terms (Mover, Connector, Thinker, and Planner) are introduced to participants along with letters or colors, it is common for a facilitator to verbally use the terms they are most comfortable using. It is the trainer’s prerogative to use the lingo they feel is the most appropriate, efficient, and effective for their audiences.
Personality Lingo concepts are in alignment with Carl Jung’s psychological type theory, the Myers-Briggs letter code system, David Keirsey’s Four Fundamental Temperaments, and Don Lowry’s True Colors system. For more information on the comparison of systems visit: https://personalitylingo.com/personality-systems-compared

Learn more about the Personality Styles

Personality Lingo Personality Test Mini Training Toolkit

Read Style Profiles

Compassionate Communication

Nonviolent Communication (NVC), also called Compassionate Communication, is a process developed by Marshall Rosenberg in the 1960s. Rosenburg discovered an insightful way of working through the conflict that arises when two individuals have contrasting strategies for having their own needs and values met. His process involves identifying one’s own needs, the needs of others, and the feelings that surround these needs.

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