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Michael Apter Interview

What is Reversal Theory and how did you come to develop the Reversal Theory?

Reversal Theory is a distinctive theory of personality, motivation and emotion that focuses on the way people change during the course of every day life. The key insight is that our experience is shaped by a set of alternative ways of seeing the world, each based on a different motive. People are driven by four pairs of these opposite states of being, eight in all, and are constantly moving back and forth through a dynamic reversal pattern within each pair. People need to experience all eight of these motivational states on a regular basic if they are to live happy and productive lives.

Where does Reversal Theory come from?

It's a long story that dates back to work I was doing with a psychiatrist in a child guidance clinic back in the 1970s. Suffice it to say that the theory has developed on the basis of a great deal of research that has been done since then by researchers in many countries. There are in fact over 400 papers and chapters that have been published and 18 books. There is an international Reversal Theory Society (www.reversaltheory.org)

How does the Reversal Theory translate from individuals to organizations?

All eight motivational states have an essential role to play in individuals and in groups of people, whether large business organizations, small teams, even families. When an individual gets stuck in one state without reversing to its opposite, that individual will miss out on various satisfactions and pleasures that life has to offer, and contribute less than he or she might have done to other people, including their work teams.

How is Reversal Theory different from other management and motivation methods?

Many personality profiles tell you who you are. That’s it. So you might change a little but in essence you’ll be the same person next year and the next. But

life isn’t like that, and work certainly isn’t. Our world is ever changing and so must we be too if we are to thrive in it. The science of Reversal Theory helps us to explore an individual’s or team’s personality from a dynamic, motivational perspective. Reversal Theory can highlight sources of frustration and conflict, help target motivational interventions, and even weigh up the impact of different strategies in order to generate practical solutions and open up possibilities for change, satisfaction and performance. In brief, rather than telling them who they are, Reversal Theory indicates how the employee might change to become more effective and fulfilled at work. It is also worth noting that, unlike the MBTI, which can be described as a measure of 'cognitive style,' Reversal Theory is all about what can be called 'motivational style.' The two approaches are therefore, in some respects, complementary.

Do people/organizations have natural orientations toward one side or the other? Have you developed a self-assessment tool?

Yes, within each pair of motivational states, the individual may have a tendency towards one or the other. This is referred to as 'dominance" in the theory. The Apter Motivational Style Profile measures the extent of such dominances across each of the four pairs of states. Team dynamics can be understood by looking at the profiles of all the members of the team. But there is also an instrument, the "Apter Leadership Profile System" that measures the 'microclimate' created in a team by the team's leader (and compares this with what the leader intended). There is also a measure of the climate of a whole organization, called the "Apter Work Impact System." In all cases, such profiles are just the starting point for understanding the details of the situation and identifying changes that may be needed.

Some organizations strive to articulate and foster a new culture. For example, my organization is bound by federal regulations and has operated for decades under the threat of punishment, so that employees are afraid to venture beyond the tried-and-true. As competitors proliferate, we are falling behind. Therefore, senior leadership wants to foster a culture of innovation, responsible risk-taking, and entrepreneurship. Could the Reversal Theory help my organization establish a new culture?

There are many things we can do to help, some of them arising from my analysis of risk-taking in my book "Danger: Our Quest for Excitement" and some from Steve Carter's book "The Road to Audacity.” There is also a version of the Apter Motivational Style Profile, called the "Change Agent Profile," which focuses on the way that the individual can best contribute to change in his or her organization given their particular profile.

We look forward to your workshop next Tuesday!

As do I.

BIO for Michael Apter, Ph.D.

Michael Apter has worked with organizations within industry, government and the not for profit sector. His background is as a research psychologist, and he is the prime originator of Reversal Theory. In developing Reversal Theory he has collaborated with researchers and practitioners in many different countries, and traveled widely. He has written or edited sixteen books on this and other topics, as well as numerous papers and book contributions to other published works. He has presented many papers at conferences around the world.

Michael received both his bachelors’ degree and doctorate from Bristol University (UK), in the early 1960s. He also spent time at Princeton, Oxford and King’s College London while he was working on his Ph.D. He initially worked as a research psychologist for a company developing training materials. Subsequently he was on the faculty of the University of Wales in Cardiff for many years, holding the senior position of Reader within the University.

Michael has held a number of visiting professorships, including at Bergen (Norway), Barcelona (Spain), and the University of British Columbia (Canada). He has also been a visiting professor at several American universities including Northwestern, Yale, Chicago and Georgetown.

He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society, and a Life Fellow of the Netherlands Institute of Advanced Studies. He currently lives in Washington, DC.

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