Every person has traits which epitomize the kind of person he/she is. They are distinguishing qualities in an individual’s character. Personality, on the other hand, refers to the sum total of the social, mental, physical, and emotional characteristics of a person (Goldberg & Lewis, 26) . Knowingly or unknowingly, personality defines us as people. Personality is influenced by many factors like the environment, genetics, societal variables, and parenting. The aim of this paper is to analyze the characteristics of my personality. It focuses specifically on how my personality has developed over years. Every day, I go through many new experiences, and for that reason, my personality has developed further.
Personality traits are the ingredients which make up a person’s personality. Some traits I have include extraversion, openness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and agreeableness. When I say that I have openness as a personality trait, I mean am open to new experiences. People with this trait love adventure and it is not different for me. Am always curious and I appreciate art, as well as imagination and learning new things. I always love to share my experiences with my friend and I don’t stick to my habits. What makes openness different from other traits is that it is subject to change especially in adulthood. According to a study conducted in 2013, taking psilocybin or magic mushrooms might give you this trait (Hu & Timothy, 935). To understand the type of personality traits one has, questionnaires are given to the participant who reply to the sequence of descriptive statements. I too took a questionnaire and although I learned much about myself, using them was not without downsides. One downside about it is that people may respond to the question with answers which portray them in a more positive way. Although mine is a genuine and a trait I acquired since birth, other people may respond positively when asked how open they are to new experience because openness is always considered as a desirable trait.
My other personality trait is conscientiousness and that means that I am not only organized in my dealings but also I possess a strong sense of responsibility. My mother always acknowledges the way am disciplined, goal-oriented and dependable. Experts always say that people with this trait are linked to achievement in work and school which I find true. However, high conscientiousness people are known to be stubborn for the reason that they never want to listen to advice because they think they are right. Sometimes I express this trait at a higher degree and even fight with my siblings when I feel they are doing the wrong thing. Extraversion is also another trait that builds my personality but I sometimes swing from extrovert to introvert, but extraversion is more dominant. An extrovert person is very social, chatty, and his ability to draw energy from people. Sometimes when I feel like an introvert, I may consider having a few bottles of beer to raise my spirit. Introvert people, on the other hand, spent time alone because their brains perceive social interaction differently. It is a trait linked to shyness which infers fright to social interactions or incapability to function socially. Introverts are boring in parties because they sit alone unlike extroverts like me who will not leave without drama.
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Agreeableness is my fourth personality trait and it describes the extent of my personal kindness and warmth towards other beings. When I was in high school, I was presented with an award of being the kindest person in the whole institution. I always try to smile even when everything is not alright and I never do things to hurt people on purpose. I care about other people feelings and I place their wants before mine. Men who possess a high degree of this trait are considered good dancers by people because they think their body movements indicate their personality. Conversely, disagreeable people more so men earn more than agreeable men according to a study that was conducted in 2015 because they focus on their work and don’t care about the dealings of others. Many people who are not agreeable are perceived as envious and they always show it to those people who perform better than them. They are also very challenging and competitive not only in schools but in workplaces as well and for that reason, they always feel threatened when you perform better. Agreeable people, on the other hand, are submissive and naïve, and this what give them their honest nature.
The last personality trait I will discuss in this article is neuroticism which if I can say, is my negative trait. It refers to my tendency to psychological stress. For me, I will complain about anything even when I feel my parents are not performing their parental roles as they should. I tend to experience hostile emotions very fast like vulnerability, anger, depression, and anxiety. When I visited a psychologist, he told me neuroticism was the degree of impulse control and emotional stability and I could develop high blood pressure and other associated illnesses if I could not control it. People with high stability always manifest themselves as calm and stable but those with low stability-dynamic people will always feel insecure and unstable. The psychologist told me that I had high levels of neuroticism and that’s why I felt worried frequently and fell into depression when I was bothered by small issues. For me, I always visit an expert whenever I feel bothered in order to avoid its dynamic consequences. As he told me, neuroticism people always die younger compared to those who are emotionally stable. However, it is a controllable condition if only you practice a healthy lifestyle rather than using alcohol or tobacco to ease your nerves. Another study was conducted in 2006 and it was brought to light that parasites can also bring about this trait. Am not referring to the natural anxiety that can come about when you learn that you have worms in the stomach. There is an undetected illness that is caused by parasite Toxoplasma gondii which make individuals susceptible to neuroticism.
As I pointed out earlier, personalities are what make us people unique and different from each other. The question is how do we develop these traits which give us these personalities? Can we change personality? How do we become the people we are today? To give a response to these answers, various prominent scholars and theorist have developed theories which describe different stages and steps which take place on the road to develop these personalities. The first theory is the psychosexual development theory by Freud which suggests that personality only develops in steps that are correlated to precise erogenous zones (Borman & Walter, a127). He also suggested that failure to complete these stages may lead to personality issues in adulthood. He explained that during physical growth, there are certain parts of the body which become very vital and a source of latent pleasure, frustrations or both (erogenous zones). He believed that life is built round pleasure and tension, and tension may come to build sexual energy. This theory might have a connection to my neurotic trait because as I grew up, my friends always spent time with girls and enjoyed doing sex which I never paid attention to. I had a bad attitude towards girls and it would have moved from bad to worse if not for the psychologist who told me that I had low libido. It is until that time when I understood my problem and started showing some sexual interest in girls.
Another theory is the psychosocial development by Erikson that explains how social relationships affect personality development. His theory goes beyond childhood to development across a person’s entire lifespan. He clearly elucidates that in every step of psychosocial development, a person may face catastrophe in which a duty must be mastered. People who complete these stages arise with a sense of well-being and mastery. A crisis is what builds our character, and this has a direct connection with almost all my positive personality traits. If I did not face my libido crisis, I would never be man enough to talk to girls and I would have continued with my selfish ways. People should try to resolve their crisis at every stage or else they would struggle for the remainder of their lives.
In conclusion, individuals who don’t portray clear predisposition of the traits mentioned above are perceived reasonable, moderate and adaptable, or sometimes calculating, inscrutable, and unprincipled. Life experiences and how a person was raised impact these traits. A study revealed that environment and genetics play a vital role in determining a person’s personality.
Work Cited
- Goldberg, Lewis R. “The structure of phenotypic personality traits.” American psychologist 48.1 (2006): 26.
- Hu, Jia, and Timothy A. Judge. “Leader–team complementarity: Exploring the interactive effects of leader personality traits and team power distance values on team processes and performance.” Journal of Applied Psychology 102.6 (2017): 935.
- Borman, Walter C. “Implications of Personality Theory and Research for the Rating of.” Performance measurement and theory 25 (2017): 127.
