Personality: part 1 One of the things that psychologists have tried to do for a very long time is to make generalizations about how “certain people” are likely to act in any given situation. This information might also be good in trying to figure out who best fits a job description. So, what is personality? What does it do? How is it measured?

What is personality? Generally speaking, personality is a fixed pattern of behaviour that changes very little (if at all) over time. This pattern of behaviour – to some extent – dictates exactly how you will act or react to certain situations. Think of these: Aggressive or Submissive Depressed Self Centered Megalomaniac Just to name a couple

How do you get these? As with the Nature vs. Nurture discussion, there is no one answer. Research has suggested that personality (in some part) has a genetic component. Much can be said, however, for the fact that many personality types seem to have their roots in a person’s early childhood experiences. A traumatic childhood, for example, may increase the likelihood that a person may show aggressive behaviours later in life.

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory 1.I like mechanics magazines 2.I have a good appetite 3.I wake up fresh & rested most mornings 4.I think I would like the work of a librarian 5.I am easily awakened by noise 6.I like to read newspaper articles on crime 7.My hands and feet are usually warm enough 8.My daily life is full of things that keep me interested 9.I am about as able to work as I ever was 10.There seems to be a lump in my throat many times 11.A person should try to understand his dreams and be guided by or take warning from them 12.I enjoy detective or mystery stories 13.I work under a great deal of tension 14.I have diarrhea once a month or more 15.Once in a while I think of things too bad to talk about 16.I am sure I get a raw deal from life 17.My father was a good man

Such tests are “normed.” This means that a group of researchers thought up a bunch of questions. Then they tested these on a group of random subjects. Now you don’t want any participant to get an “A.” So you take out all of the questions that everyone got correct AND all the questions that no one could answer correctly. Now you have to go back and test the SAME people over again with the revised test. What you want is for everyone to be able to get a C most of the time. Your test is now normed. When you get a score, that “raw” score means nothing. Your “real” score comes from comparing you to the people who took the test originally

Projective tests

Rorschach These tests are called “projective tests.” They take a fairly anonymous stimuli and ask the subject to tell a story about the object or to explain what something is. Whenever we tell a story about something, we get at least some of the information from our own experience. Therefore, but telling a story about an anonymous object, we can know a little something about the person telling it. (Recall the scene from “Armageddon” as it pertains to this test)

No personality test can tell everything about a person No personality test can tell everything about a person. These tests should be used by a clinician in order to tell that psychologist that (due to the test results) their initial ideas about that individual are either correct, or incorrect. In many cases you want to ask the client (or patient) what they think about your clinical results. However, in this case this is not a prudent idea. If you tell the client what you think about them (especially if it is negative or abnormal) the person will either: stop talking to you, misguide you, or become so oppositional that you can no longer work with them. A clinician should not lie to the patient, but when asked one should try to put the best “spin” on it that you can.

Personality dictates how you will react to many different type of situation: More often than not, are you angry? When you get into a fight, do you immediately go quiet? When you are mad at someone, do you long for revenge? These may not be situational; this may be part of who you are and how you react no matter the circumstance.

I don’t like that, Can I change? Well, Yes / No. If you get angry all the time, can you change that reaction? Yes you can. However, if you are confronted by a very serious and emotional situation, it may be that “your old self” comes out just as strong as it did before. The best way to change yourself is to monitor your emotions, have good friends, stay away from drugs and to be in positive relationships. This means that the chances of you being overwhelmed would be extremely low and your inner impulses are more likely to be controlled or at least tempered.