Throughout Thomas Erikson’s work, he emphasizes the importance of adapting one’s own behavior and communication style to suit different people and situations. He insists, “Good communication is often a matter of adapting to others” (Location 1869, emphasis added). For Erikson, being able to perceive someone else’s personality traits and preferences—and adapt as needed—is a crucial aspect of emotional intelligence. He explains:

There’s often a lot of talk about how we must be flexible and adaptable so that we can cope with a variety of situations and are able to respond to many different types of people. The term has even been given a name—EI (Emotional intelligence) or EQ (Emotional quotient) (Location 1861).

One of Erikson’s major arguments in Surrounded by Idiots is that people should become curious, rather than judgmental, about other people’s traits and habits. This way, instead of becoming mired in conflict with others, they will hone their powers of perception and have more knowledge of how they can adapt their behavior to communicate best with the other person. For instance, if a Red type notices that someone tends to avoid conflict and seems “afraid of change,” they might guess that that person has a more