Speaking to Purple and Red Levels

Here Barrett talks about how to best interact with the "Purple" and "Red" stages of development. Purple tends to be the home of egocentric drives, a magical worldview, and impulsiveness. It is expressed through magic/animism, kin-spirits, and such. Young children primarily operate with a Purple worldview. Purple in any line of development is fundamental, or "square one" for any and all new tasks. Purple emotions and cognition can be seen driving cultural phenomena such as Burning Man, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or superhero-themed comic books or movies. The Red stage of development is the marker of egocentric drives based on power, where "might makes right," aggression rules, and there is a limited capacity to take the role of an "other." Red impulses are classically seen in grade school and early high school, where bullying, teasing, and the like are the norm. Red motivations can be seen in Ultimate Fighting contests, which have no fixed rules (fixed rules come into being at the next Altitude, Blue), teenage rebellion and the movies that cater to it (The Fast and the Furious), gang dynamics (where the stronger rule the weaker). Learn how to spot this mind-set and effectively communicate with people at this level of development.