Coping with Seven Disruptive Personality Types in the Classroom

Appendix C: Summary of Disruptive Classroom PersonalityStyles and Recommended Responses• Explosive• Antisocial• Passive-Aggressive• Narcissistic• Paranoid• Litigious• Compulsive#1: Explosive StyleCharacteristics• Characterized by volatility, shouting,profanity, bullying, making threats• Most suffer intermittently and areharmless• Others may get out of control repeatedlyand pose a threatResponseRemember: Safety first• Ask student to quiet down, return to seat,leave• If student persists, dismiss class andcontact security• Document incident and send todesignated dean or judicial affairs office• Prior warning required by due processExceptions to free speech• Decibel level• Obscene or abusive language• Relevancy to topic• Time—no long, effusive monologues#2: Antisocial StyleCharacteristics• Characterized by cheating, stealing,forging documents, exploiting others• Also known as sociopathic style• Can also physically hurt or even killothers• Suffers from deficient or flawedconscience• Plays by a different set of rules• Has own set of amoral values andprecepts• Low regard for law or codes of conduct• Perceives others’ good qualities asvulnerabilities to be exploited• Charm, wit, intelligence, charismaenable them to be engaging andseductiveResponse• Regarding cheating, honor codes canwork well• Regarding plagiarism, define it in thesyllabus• Make penalties proportionate and spellout rules each semester• Apply rules to all students in equalmeasure46