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William Moulton Marston (1893 - 1947), received
his Ph.D. from Harvard and spent most of his adult life as
a teaching and consulting psychologist. A prolific writer,
Marston was a contributor to the American Journal of Psychology,
The Encyclopedia Britannica, The Encyclopedia of Psychology,
in addition to authoring and co-authoring five books.
Marston is best known for his success with the
lie detector. In his book, “The Lie Detector”, published
in 1938, he documented the theory and use of the tool. Today,
lie detectors are used worldwide by law enforcement officials.
Most people are unaware this eminent psychologist
was the originator, writer and producer of “Wonder Woman”.
This comic strip provided a strong female role model and with
the “Lasso of Truth”, villains were compelled to
tell the truth.
In 1928 he published, “Emotions of Normal
People”, in which he described the DISC theory we still
use today in behavioral research. Marston described four categories
of human response. Dominance, the drive to overcome opposing
forces perceived inferior to the strength of self; Influence
(Marston used the term inducement), the attempt to ally forces
to ourselves through persuasive means; Steadiness (Marston
used the term submission), the acquiescence of the self to
a perceived allied force; and Compliance, the subordination
of the self to a hostile force of superior strength.
Today, 75 years after its publication, Marston’s
work has been enhanced by continuous behavioral research.
The importance of his contribution in identifying four distinct
categories and the measurement of the strength of this response
in the explanation of human behavior has remained undiminished.
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