School PSY/405 2018.08.06 2 questions

Professor: Here are 2 questions posed to the class: 1) If you believe there is human nature where does it originate? (evolution, God, nurture?) 2) Are there some basic characteristics that all humans in all countries, cultures, religions, share? Response: I am a religious person. I believe God put us here with the right to make our own decisions. There will always be consequences (good and bad) to our actions. That being said, the consequences of what our early ancestors chose to do (for example, setting up a farm in a healthy valley vs. steep mountainous terrain), trickles down, generation after generation. This is a form of evolution. Nurture changes the immediate, which can later affect future generations and how they nurture their own offspring. So in my belief system, God has little to do with how we evolve because we make our own choices which affects everything else. Probably the only basic, universal characteristics that all humans everywhere share is the humanoid form and most internal organs. Everything else varies so largely that they cannot be shared.

School PSY/405 2018.08.04 Adler's Belief

Professor: Do you agree or disagree with Adler's belief that social interest is inherent in people and is the ultimate standard of psychological health? Why? Response: I do believe that for most of the world social interest is inherent, but I believe the ultimate standard of psychological health is clearly divided by several factors other than socialization. Freud seemed to be a minor introvert, which could be why he focused more on sexual components than social like Alder did. Yes, human nature strives for connecting with people. Most, not all people become depressed when they cannot socialize in varying degrees. Animal nature is to reproduce and spread its seed. Humans have split from our mammalian counterparts and that is no longer the only driving factor pushing us forward. Just because reproduction is no longer key for humans, doesn't mean sex isn't. It's still in our DNA to seek out things that make us happy, whether that be physical pleasure or emotional pleasure that is dominant is very hard to say. I know being on the fence isn't ideal, but I would say for the average human that sex and social are both key factors to psychological health.

School PSY/405 2018.08.03 Personality types

Professor: I am a huge fan of the 16 personality type indicator called Meyers-Briggs. Some of you may have done this test in school or even at work! It doesn't mean you fit in a box. Actually what I love about this test is it's about how your 4 letters interact with each other. And within each letter you can be high or low or in the middle on a spectrum. I find that knowing someone's personality type helps me understand them, communicate with them better, and enjoy them! This made all the difference in my immediate family. My mom used to annoy me so bad because our personality types clash but once I figured it out it, we could relate to each other so much better! Now we laugh at our differences instead of being frustrated with each other! I am an "ESFJ" What are you? **Marriage hint - have your spouse or older children take this quiz and compare your personalities** http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp Response: I am INTJ Introvert(25%) iNtuitive(28%) Thinking(1%) Judging(28%). I do prefer being an indoor person, but if there is a time I can be around just one person, maybe two, it is what I would prefer. Going out when a store is really busy gives me anxiety, but if I go into a store that is empty, I feel at ease most of the time. It has changed a little as of late. Fortunately I have a good general idea of why I act the way I act in public and how I plan things out. I used to love order in my life, but with 4 kids, all with some type of "disability," I have had to put my strict love of order in the back seat. This is good in a few ways because before I was far more of a tyrant. As I read through the description of my personality type I noticed most things have pertained to me in the past and some now. My personality has changed by certain key triggers throughout my life.

School PSY/405 2018.08.03 Predicting behavior

Professor: Is it possible to predict an individual's behavior? If so, how? If not, why not? Response: Predicting an individual's behavior is possible in my opinion, but it takes a lot of research and observation. If someone wants to know how another will behave in the future, they could look in their past. Studying a persons past actions and how they've lived their lives might be very helpful when coming up with how one might behave in the given situation. Looking at key emotions and how the subject is reacting with them in a given situation would also be an interesting observation. This study seemed like it would be a fun observation, although it's on the more technical side. It focuses more on the traits of warmth and competence (Harris, L. 2016). Harris, L. 2016, Journal of Behavioral Decision Making. Oct2016, Vol. 29 Issue 4, p419-436. 18p.

School PSY/405 2018.08.04 Same personality

Professor: Is it possible for two individuals to have the same personality? If so, how? If not, why not? Response: While nothing is impossible, in which science is constantly evolving and growing, the possibility of this is basically non existent seeing as there are untold amounts of personality variables. Everything that a person has been through throughout their lives helps to ever so slightly shape their unique personality. Even before a person is born, their genetic history will help shape their personality. For instance, if a person grows up in a regular domestic home but their ancestors, near or far back, immigrated from another country, they may have a respect for immigrants and the suffering and the work they went through to get to their home. Another example is for those that haven't immigrated in the last millennia may be more protective of their home and heritage and may not want others to tarnish it (their thoughts). In the text Feist stated (2013)"Characteristics are unique qualities of an individual that include such attributes as temperament, physique, and intelligence" (pg 31). Even twins have their own unique personalities. Traits also can contribute to a person's unique personality and behavior. Feist, J. 2013, Theories of Personality, Eighth edition,

School PSY/405 2018.08.05 Change over time

Professor: Why is important to understand personality and do you think it is possible for an individual's personality to change over time? Response: If a person understands personality and why people act the way they act, this understanding can help said person to do basically everything better (or worse) in life. They can better socialize, they can help people out mentally, and they can even solve serious issues with themselves or close friends in times of crisis if they are in clear enough of a mindset to do so. Personality of any individual can change over time, depending on a variety of sources. Internally a person can make an overall lifestyle change if they realize that their personality is a problem, and work constantly to become the person that they want to be. Externally if there is a trauma that happens to them, it can change the way their brain works. A person's personality can change also by using chemicals. If they have a shortage of certain chemicals in the brain, they can take certain medications that can help them out. If they are depressed, taking depression medication can help out, and in the long run, change their personality.

School PSY/405 2018.08.06 Choice

Professor: Do you believe an individual has a choice in constructing their personality? Why or why not? Response: I believe we are mostly responsible for our personality and how our overall behavior develops. There will always be our genetic past of where we come from and what we are born into that will form a path that we should follow, but if we actively seek to control and better ourselves it can change our overall personality. There are always those outside sources such as when a person is sexually abused or when they have been through severe trauma that can change the way our brain produces certain chemicals or the way our brain takes in certain chemicals. It's just like nature vs. nurture. A person can be raised one way their whole life (nurture), but if they are born with some issue mentally (nature), that is something that cannot be changed. Professor Response: Good point Rebecca! What can happen to someone's personality when they go through a traumatic experience? Another example is when children are abused (physically, emotionally, sexually, verbally etc.). Some theorists may argue that their actual personalities later in life are shaped by their abuse or trauma. Other theorists might say that a person's true personality is suppressed because of their abuse. My mom grew up with a very controlling father who expected each of his 4 children to be exactly like him. He verbally abused my mom often because she was the exact opposite personality than him and he didn't understand her. He didn't understand why she appeared so flighty because she was always inside her own head thinking of lots of new, imaginative ideas. He didn't understand why she felt the need to talk so much or why she was so social or why she didn't do well in conventional school. My mom went on to marry my Dad who is not like her father at all. My mom feels that it wasn't until she married my non-judgmental, very accepting father that her "true" personality came out. She would argue though that it was always there, just suppressed. What do you guys think about that? Response: I believe it varies from person to person on whether or not a traumatic experience will manifest right away, leaks out slowly, or shapes us differently immediately. Your mother sounds like she was showing her own personality, but most of it was suppressed. She probably would have turned out extremely different if she didn't have the controlling nature of her father constantly hanging over her. Even for people that don't get along with their parents, the urge to please them is constantly at the back of their mind. My own personally has changed vastly from when I was a child. I grew up with 7 siblings in a home that was strictly religious and whenever we would lie or misbehave my mom would take a long oak stick and spank us until our rear ends were numb. When she would tell us to go get the stick, horror and adrenaline would flood through us (or at least me). In addition to the physical abuse, my eldest brother sexually abused my two older sisters and myself for many years, mostly in our sleep. I actually didn't know about my portion of the abuse until 20 years old when a detective I was reporting to about another more severe abuse came to get my statement. He read the previous report and wanted to make sure my new report about the other abuse wasn't the same situation. After coming across psychology at a young age, I started to understand myself better and why I acted the way I did. I had had several previous emotional issues in school and were clearly not normal. Looking back on everything now I can clearly understand my life since I actively decided to change the way I express emotions.