The Danger of DISC: A Primary Weapon In Mary Kay’s Arsenal Of Manipulative Recruiting Tactics

Here’s a bit of trivia* for you:

What does comic book heroine Wonder Woman and Mary Kay Cosmetics have in common?

In 1928, a polymoric Harvard psychologist and comic-book writer named William Moulton Marston came up with a theory about personality profiles.

Unlike the heroine he later invented, Marston’s theory–known as DISC Profiling–can either be an instrument of value (good) or a weapon (evil) in the hands when used by people with ill intent.

In sum, Marston theorized:

…that the behavioral expression of emotions could be categorized into four primary types, stemming from the person’s perceptions of self in relationship to his or her environment. These four types were labeled by Marston as Dominance (D), Inducement (I), Submission (S), and Compliance (C).

Since Marston’s initial theory was first introduced, it has been modified by others. Today, DISC personality types encompass these four personality types:

• Dominance: Direct, decisive independent and to the point. Bottom line and results oriented. They are often strong-willed, enjoy challenges and immediate results.
• Influence: Optimistic, social and out going. They enjoy being on teams, sharing openly, entertaining and motivating others.
• Steadiness: A team players, cooperative and supportive of others. They prefer being in the background, working in a stable environment. They are often good listeners prefer to avoid conflict and change.
• Conscientiousness: Cautious and Concerned. They are focused on quality, details and accuracy.

While many companies utilize the DISC personality types to profile people for jobs, Mary Kay Cosmetics’ recruiters often use it “like the Bible” to manipulate women into the world of Mary Kay.

There are even skits (see below) and complete scripts on how to use DISC in Mary Kay,

According to one Pink Truth article on DISC Manipulation in Mary Kay:

D.I.S.C is very watered down and simplified for [Mary Kay] people. Most Human Resource people would laugh at how simplified the D.I.S.C. system is. Regardless, it’s like the Bible in Mary Kay.

Every director is encouraged to memorize the D.I.S.C. personality types and teach it to their downlines and consultants.
….
The D.I.S.C. personality analysis system is just another way to manipulate people into doing what they want them to do. They even give you words to say to “deal” with whatever personality type you’re talking to. The real skill comes in being able to get over your OWN personality type and to recognize the type of others’. Then you’ll know how to “work them” and “get them to sign” and how to best “pull inventory” from them.

One Mary Kay document, before explaining how to overcome objections, actually uses animals to describe DISC personalities:

Your basic information for each personality is:

• D – Panther – Likes the money, position and be the boss; her fear is being taken advantage of
• I – Peacock – Likes the fun, recognition, people interaction; her fear is loss of social status
• S – Dolphin – Is very family oriented, team player, goes by the rules, likes a plan; her fear is loss of security
• C – Owl – She is detailed oriented, likes to learn everything and have all the facts; her fear is being criticized.

Here are just a few examples of DISC in the hands of Mary Kaybots:

DISC is more than a mere tool for recruiting women into the Pink Fog, in the hands of many Mary Kay recruiters, it is a weapon used to lure unsuspecting women and their families into an abyss of moral and financial decay.

* Trivia Answer: William Marston, the polyamorous psychologist who came up with the DISC personality theory also created the comic-book heroine Wonder Woman.

Mary Kay DISC Team Building Close – Barbara Whitaker by MaryKayVictims