8-1 Discussion: Revisiting Your Own Theory of Personality For your initial post, we will answer the same questions presented to you in Module One. Create a theory that reflects your growth in this course by answering the following questions in about 10 to 15 sentences. How can you observe personality? Where does personality come from? What is the value of studying personality in yourself and others? Is personality changeable? Does it shift over time? Have your thoughts and opinions changed from the beginning of the course? Why or why not? If your thoughts have changed, share what theories or theorists had the most impact on you. Next, describe how studying personality connects to one of the following programmatic themes: Self-care Social justice Emotional intelligence Career connections Ethics It’s crazy to think that we have finally made it to our final week. Personally, I feel that I have truly learned so much and I hope each of you did too! Here are my thoughts on this week’s discussion post: • How can you observe personality? There are several techniques that can be utilized to observe personality. One way is by observing one’s body language cues. This includes paying attention to appearance, by observing how they dress, their posture physical movements and facial expressions. How they are dressed can indicate factors into one’s personality. For instance, someone dressed in jeans and a t-shirt can indicate comfort and casual, or wearing a three-piece suit can indicate success, also wearing a rosery, the star of David, or other religious items can indicate one’s spiritual values. One’s posture can indicate if they are a confident person, by if someone is walking tall and holding their head high, or if they seem to have low self-esteem, by seemingly cowering down. A person’s physical movements can also speak to one’s lOMoAR cPSD|3013804 personality, such as if a person is a lip bitter or picker can indicate anxiety or awkwardness. Whereas someone who crosses their legs and arms suggests defensiveness. One’s emotions can be etched on our faces, someone who clenches their jaw or grinding their teeth can indicate tension, whereas someone with smile lines can indicate happiness and joy. Secondly, listening to your intuition, this is a nonverbal technique is a perception via images and “ahha” moment rather than logic. Lastly having a sense of emotional energy, this refers to the “vibe” we give off. Some vibes can positive and open, and it can improve the moods of those around you, contrary some vibes can be simply draining which gives off instinctively indicate a desire to get away. (Orloff, 2014). • Where does personality come from? Personality comes from a complex and consistent combination of genetics and environmental factors. Genetics are responsible for being “building materials”, in combination with active interaction with the environment significantly influences the development of certain behaviors, thought patterns, and other personality features (Shiraev, 2016, p. 44). After analyzing how my personality developed, genetically I was predisposed to some mental health issues such as anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Environmentally, I was raises in a home with both parents still married, but my dad was gone for long periods of time due to his career. My mother always tried to remain fair and understanding, where my dad was stricter, and held high expectations from us. As I’ve grown, I can see how certain factors from each of my parents’ personalities have both positively and negatively impacted my personality development. • What is the value of studying personality in yourself and others? lOMoAR cPSD|3013804 Studying the personality of other as well as myself is extremely valuable. Personality is uniquely designed to make us who we are and influences every aspect of our lives. Researching personality pursues at least two general approaches: nomothetic and idiographic. The nomothetic approach uses the same method to compare many people or subjects to a certain average, standard or norm. Where the idiographic approach is person-centered and focuses on many characteristics integrated in a unique person (Shiraev, 2016, p. 72). Personality encompasses all the thoughts, behaviors patterns, and social attitudes that impact how we view ourselves and what we believe about the individuals we encounter along with the world around us (Cherry, 2021). Having the ability to comprehend not only our own personality but that of others is monumental and crucial to be more open-minded, which eventually leads one to becoming more aware of how the actions and behaviors of ourselves and other impacts one another. Generally speaking, there is an immense amount of value in studying personality as it gives the ability to have a better understanding of why certain people exert certain behaviors and characteristics which aids in having an overall better understanding of ourselves and those we come in contact with. • Is personality changeable? Does it shift over time? Through one’s journey though life their personality will fluctuate and evolve resulting from a variety of factors that have a significant impact on our lives. This can simply come from an interaction with another person, a life altering event, growth in our knowledge of a subject matter, or a significant change in the would/country/society that we live in. In order for us to adapt, our personalities need to evolve and develop. Although we may not be aware of a shift in our personalities, I strongly believe that certain events may alter one’s personality. Growing up, although I was dealing with some abuse, I overall tried to be happy