Social Style (Merrill-Reid)

What the Merrill-Reid measures

Developed in the early 1980s by industrial psychologists David Merrill and Roger Reid, the Social Styles model was designed specifically for the corporate environment. Rather than probing deep psychoanalytic traits (like the MBTI), it focuses strictly on observable behavior. The premise is that people possess a predictable pattern of behavior, and if you can quickly identify a client's or colleague's style, you can adapt your own communication to match theirs (a technique known as "versatility" or "style-flexing").

The dimensions it assesses

• Assertiveness (Ask vs. Tell): The degree to which a person's behaviors are seen by others as forceful or directive.
• Ask-Directed: Slower-paced, cautious, reserved, cooperative.
• Tell-Directed: Quick to act, risk-taking, competitive.
• Responsiveness (Control vs. Emote): The degree to which a person's behaviors are seen by others as emotionally expressive.
• Task-Directed (Control): Focuses on facts, logic, and data. Hides emotions.
• People-Directed (Emote): Focuses on relationships, feelings, and stories. Expresses emotions visibly.

What to do with your result

1. Selling to a Driver: Do not waste their time with small talk. Give them the bottom-line results immediately. Give them options so they feel they are in control of the final decision.
2. Selling to an Expressive: Talk about the "big picture" and the future. Show them how your product will make them look good to their peers. Use enthusiastic stories, not spreadsheets.
3. Selling to an Amiable: Build a personal relationship first. Never pressure them for a fast decision. Provide guarantees and show them how your product lowers risk and helps their team.
4. Selling to an Analytical: Provide extreme detail, data, charts, and historical proof. Give them the information and step back; let them process it alone without pressure.

Common questions about the Merrill-Reid

What does the Merrill-Reid measure?

Classification of observable workplace communication behaviors into four distinct "Social Styles" to improve sales conversions and team cohesion.

Can the Merrill-Reid diagnose me?

No. Social Style (Merrill-Reid) is a screening questionnaire, not a diagnostic tool. It can flag that something may need a closer look. It cannot tell you what is causing it. It describes tendencies rather than diagnosing anything, and no result here is a condition or something to fix.

Is this Merrill-Reid test really free?

Yes. No account, no email address, no payment. Psychometrics Today is funded by donations rather than advertising, which is also what allows us to publish instruments whose authors permit free but non-commercial use.

Are my answers stored or shared?

No. Your answers are scored inside your browser and never sent to us. There is no database of responses, because we never receive any. Closing the tab erases them, which is why results cannot be recovered afterwards.

How often should I retake the Merrill-Reid?

Traits and preferences move slowly, so retaking this every few months is more informative than retaking it often. Larger shifts usually follow a genuine change in circumstances.

How accurate is the Merrill-Reid?

Screening questionnaires are good at flagging that something merits attention and poor at establishing what it is. This one is sensitive to how you feel on the day you take it, and many instruments were validated on narrow populations whose cut-offs may not transfer cleanly to everyone. The references at the foot of this page are the primary sources.

Why can I not take the Merrill-Reid here?

SOCIAL STYLE is a Tracom trademark and commercial product. We will not reproduce a questionnaire we have no right to reproduce, so this page explains what it measures instead. Use original items describing assertiveness and responsiveness axes under a distinct name.