HBDI® Assessment Glossary for Thinking Styles

Access to the HBDI® Assessment Glossary for thinking styles is helpful to have on-hand. During the assessment, Thinkers are asked to evaluate and select words that they most identify with, which expresses how they relate to each thinking style (or preference). 

To ensure Thinkers are making an informed decision about their word selection, Herrmann provides a glossary for the given words and their definitions, in the context of Whole Brain® Thinking. 

• Accessing the Glossary
• Glossary Terms and Definitions

Accessing the Glossary

The glossary words and their corresponding definitions give Thinkers easy-access to the terms as they are completing their assessment, and learning about their own thinking preferences and those of their colleauges. The glossary can be accessed in multiple places within the Herrmann Platform.

The HBDI® assessment

The glossary appears as a hyperlink within the instructions of the assessment, on pages 6-8, 12 -14, and 16-19. When the hyperlink is clicked, a pop-up window of the glossary will appear on the assessment page.

The learning journey 

The glossary can be found throughout the learning journey as Thinkers are learning about their preferences. The modules can be accessed by logging into Thinker Portal > My Journey tile.

HBDI® Digital

Your digital results can be accessed through the Thinker Portal, My HBDI tile > Explore My Results > Frequently Asked Questions section)

Glossary Terms and Definitions

When the glossary is accessed through the Herrmann platform, it will appear in the preferred language selected by the Thinker. 

administrative	Activities such as word processing, mail, phone and procedures, schedules, rules, timing issues, associated with supporting an organization.
ambivert	Persons who are comfortable in large groups but also enjoy time alone. They tend to enjoy a balance between solitary activities and group activities. Too much time in groups would be tiring but too much time alone would be boring.
analytic	Breaking up things or ideas into parts and examining them to see how they fit together.
artistic	Taking enjoyment from or skillful in painting, drawing, music, or sculpture. Able to coordinate color, design, and texture for pleasing effects.
communicator	Being able to provide and receive information effectively.
conceptual	Able to conceive thoughts and ideas; to generalize abstract ideas from specific instances.
conservative	Tending toward maintaining traditional and proven views, conditions, and institutions.
controlled	Restrained, holding back, in charge of one’s emotions.
creative	Having unusual ideas and innovative thoughts. Able to put things together in new and imaginative ways.
critical	Exercising or involving careful judgement or evaluation, e.g., judging the feasibility of an idea or product.
detailed	Paying attention to the small items or parts of an idea or project.
dominant	Ruling or controlling; having strong impact on others.
emotional	Having feelings that are easily stirred; displaying those feelings.
empathetic	Able to understand how another person feels, and able to communicate that feeling.
expressing	Conveying your personal thought in oral, written, and non-verbal forms.
extrovert	More interested in people and things outside of self than internal thoughts and feelings. Quickly and easily exposes thoughts, reactions, feelings, etc. to others. Enjoys social interaction and draws energy from their surroundings. Enjoy being the center of attention and would rather take part in group activities than solitary activities. Would rather have a large network of acquaintances than just a few close friends.
factual	Focusing on the accurate, objective, descriptive elements of an event or situation.
feeling	Emotional and physical consequences of caring deeply.
financial	Competent in monitoring and handling of quantitative issues related to costs, budgets, and investments.
holistic	Able to perceive and understand the “big picture” without dwelling on individual elements of an idea, concepts, or situation. Can see the forest as contrasted with the trees.
imaginative	Able to form mental images of things not immediately available to the senses or never wholly perceived in reality; able to confront and deal with a problem in a new way.
implementation	Able to carry out an activity and ensure fulfillment by concrete measures and results.
innovating	Able to introduce new or novel ideas, methods, or devices.
integration	The ability to combine pieces, parts and elements of ideas, concepts and situations into a unified whole.
intellectual	Having superior reasoning powers; able to acquire and retain knowledge.
interpersonal	Easily able to develop and maintain meaningful and pleasant relationships with many different kinds of people.
introvert	Directed more toward inward reflection and understanding than toward people and things outside of self. Slow to expose reactions, feelings, and thoughts to others. May prefer to be alone or in small groups rather than in large social settings. Enjoy doing things like thinking and reading and are fine with spending time alone with their thoughts. Would rather have a few close friends than a large network of acquaintances.
intuitive	Knowing something without thinking it out - having instant understanding without need for facts or proof.
logical	Able to reason deductively from what has gone before.
mathematical	Perceiving and understanding numbers and being able to manipulate them to a desired end.
metaphorical	Able to understand and make use of visual and verbal figures of speech to suggest a likeness or an analogy in place of literal descriptions, e.g., “heart of gold.”
musical	Having an interest in or talent for music and/or dance.
organized	Able to arrange people, concepts, objects, elements, etc. into coherent relationships with each other.
original	Coming up with a new idea or concept or thing that has no past history.
people oriented	Inclined toward human beings in thought, word, and deed.
planning	Formulating methods or means to achieve a desired end in advance of taking actions to implement.
problem solving	Able to find solutions to difficult problems by reasoning.
quantitative	Oriented toward numerical relationships; inclined to know or seek exact measures.
rational	Making choices on the basis of reason as opposed to emotion.
reader	One who reads often and enjoys it.
reliable	A dependable individual with trustworthy qualities.
rigorous thinking	Having a thorough, detailed approach to problem-solving.
sequential	Dealing with things and ideas one after another or in order.
simultaneous	Able to process more than one type of mental input at a time, e.g. visual, verbal, and musical; able to attend to more than one activity at a time.
spatial	Able to perceive, understand and manipulate the relative positions of objects in space.
spiritual	Having to do with spirit or soul as apart from the body or material things.
symbolic	Able to use and understand objects, marks, and signs as representative of facts and ideas.
synthesizer	One who unites separate ideas, elements, or concepts into something new.
teaching/training	Able to explain ideas and procedures in a way that people can understand and apply them.
technical	Able to understand and apply engineering and scientific knowledge.
thinking	Neural activities stimulated by life’s events that result in mental outcomes.
verbal	Having good speaking skills; clear and effective with words.
warm and friendly	Verbal and non-verbal displays of interpersonal interest and affection.
well organized	Personal inclination to know about and appropriately arrange life’s activities and surrounding objects.
writer	One who communicates clearly with the written word and enjoys it.