They distilled human behavior into sixteen distinct personality types. Inspired by their research, clinical psychologist and author, Dr.  David Keirsey condensed their sixteen types into four groups he calls Guardian, Artisan, Rational, and Idealist. Others have either  contributed or continued to expand personality research and its influence on human behavior. Personality type testing now runs the  gamut from helping people make career choices to helping people choose marriage partners.  Not only does personality type influence how one learns, it also influences how one teaches. Learning one’s personality type helps an  instructor recognize how he or she instructs. Why is it important to recognize personal instruction style? The match or mismatch  between the way an instructor teaches and the way an individual learns contributes to instructional satisfaction or dissatisfaction.  Learners whose styles are compatible with the teaching styles of an instructor tend to retain information longer, apply it more  effectively, learn more, and have a more positive attitude toward the course in general. Although an instructor cannot change his or  her preferred style of teaching to match a learning style, steps can be taken to actively bridge the differences.  Consider the Derek’s dilemma with Jason described at the beginning of this chapter. Derek knows he is the type of instructor who  provides a clear, precise syllabus and has a tendency to explain with step-by-step procedures. His teaching style relies on traditional  techniques and he often finds himself teaching as he was taught. Observation leads Derek to believe Jason is the type of person who  needs the action, excitement, and variation reflected in his career choice. In an effort to focus Jason on the need to learn all aspects of  flight, Derek sets up a scenario for the day that features how to scout locations for future adventure tours.  By adjusting the flight scenario, Derek pushes himself out of his lock-step approach to teaching. He has also added an element of  variation to the lesson that not only interests Jason, but is one of the reasons he wants to learn to fly.  Motivation is the reason one acts or behaves in a certain way and lies at the heart of goals. A goal is the object of a person’s effort.  Motivation prompts learners to engage in hard work and affects learner success. Being smart or coordinated seldom guarantees  success, but motivation routinely propels learners to the top. An important part of an aviation instructor’s job is to discover what  motivates each learner and to use this information to encourage him or her to work hard.  Motivation is probably the dominant force that governs the learner’s progress and ability to understand and can be used to the  advantage of the instructor. Motivation comes in many guises. It may be negative or positive. Negative motivation may engender fear,  for example. While negative motivation may be useful in certain situations, characteristically it is not as effective in promoting  efficient learning as positive motivation.  [Figure 2-2]  Positive motivation is provided by the promise or achievement of rewards.  These rewards may be personal or social, they may involve financial gain, satisfaction of the self-concept, personal gain, or public  recognition.  2-2  Motivation  Figure 2-1.  The average age of a learner pilot is 34, while the average age of a maintenance learner is 25. 