Purple dots shop with urgency and determination, yellow dots examine articles in depth, blue dots like to feel their potential purchases, and red dots do it because it makes logical sense.
About 300 Alexandra residents can now justify their spending habits, after "getting dotted" during a communication training seminar in the town on Thursday night.
Get Dotted was organised by Central Otago Victim Support and former Ranfurly communication training specialist Amy Scott, as a fundraising event to establish a youth trust for the town.
Central Otago's police, local authority figures, businesses, and families joined in on the fun, as each member of the audience learnt their precognitive behaviours and the subsequent differences between themselves and others.
To no-one's surprise, many of the Alexandra police officers showed their practical red dots with pride, while Central Otago mayor Malcolm Macpherson asked for sympathy after declaring himself a self-diagnosed purple dot.
The evening drew laughs from some of the crowd, and embarrassed self-discovery for others.
It took two hours for the entire audience to determine which dotty behaviour they associated with, after which a supper was served, and the evening progressed with colour co-ordinated groups.
More than one-quarter of the audience identified with sensationist blue dots, and a good mix of people filled in the gaps with visionist purple, pictorialist yellow, and rationalist red.
Central Otago Victim Support service co-ordinator Joy Watson said the money raised was still being counted, and a few grants were yet to come in.
She said more than 30 youth from Central Otago towns had already signed up for a three-day course starting in Alexandra at 9am on Sunday, which would use the dots communication technique.
The money raised from Get Dotted on Thursday would fund the course, so it was free for youth involved.
They will receive communication training and practical advice about how to cope with situations throughout life, including at work, home, and school.
