Emotional Profiling

In the field of profiling, emotional profiling holds significant importance. In the last century, Paul Ekman made a major contribution to the study of emotions and emotional profiling. His work on emotions remains classic to this day. However, modern profiling has greatly expanded Ekman’s theory, especially regarding the structure, causes, and consequences of emotions.

Emotions have a substantial impact on our perception filters and, therefore, play a direct role in shaping our values and beliefs. A well-constructed emotional profile of a person includes not only the identification of their basic emotion but also describes their core values and beliefs, which are essential components of profiling.

Basic Signs of Sadness and Joy

Let’s look at a simplified description of Paul Ekman’s indicators for two emotions: sadness and joy. The tables in his work show that each emotion is characterized by its own set of external signs, which allow us to identify the emotion. Ekman focused primarily on these external signs, while providing less detail about the causes and consequences of emotions, as well as the thinking style and perception of a person with a particular basic emotion.

Modern profiling addresses this gap. Below are excerpts from a more comprehensive description of these important profiling components:

Personality Traits and Values Associated with Sadness

For a person whose basic emotion is sadness, the following personality traits are typical: reserved, closed-off, conservative, unhurried, reliable, unchanging, consistent, traditional, wise, experienced, thorough, methodical, responsible, respectful, restrained, condescending, phlegmatic, and economical.

The core values associated with this emotion include: longevity, wisdom, experience, consistency, reputation, family, respect, and stability.

As we can see, these qualities and values closely match the personality and values of Don Corleone, whom we discussed not long ago.

Personality Traits and Values Associated with Joy

Here are some excerpts describing the emotion of joy:

Personality traits: adventurous, artistic, cheerful, inventive, proactive, creative, original, sensual, quick-witted, spontaneous, and goal-oriented.

Key values that a person seeks to realize in this state include: excitement, fun, individualism, creativity, uniqueness, surprise, originality, extraordinariness, interest, sensuality, spontaneity, and expressiveness.

As we can see, these qualities and values closely match our recent description of Sollozzo, who unsuccessfully negotiated with Don Corleone.

Emotional Profiling in Communication

Ultimately, we see that the emotions, personality traits, and core values of our negotiators differ too much for them to reach an agreement. Sollozzo would have needed to adjust his communication style to demonstrate values and qualities more aligned with those of Don Corleone.

Therefore, emotional profiling can significantly complement metaprogram profiling and provide valuable information that can be used to improve the effectiveness of business communication.