I just finished my Personality Theory class at Salt Lake Community College. I don't know why but I kindy want to share my final. Nerdy, right...? I'm a huge nerd!
I presented my final in the form of a painting/photo slideshow, with an explanatory paper.
I guess I'm a tiny bit excited about art therapy.... :) Okay, I'm really excited to do more stuff like this.
Here is the video:
I presented my final in the form of a painting/photo slideshow, with an explanatory paper.
I guess I'm a tiny bit excited about art therapy.... :) Okay, I'm really excited to do more stuff like this.
Here is the video:
and here is part of the paper: (in case anyone actually has that kind of time on their hands to read someone's final paper)
To begin to understand
personality I organized the traits perspective combined with biological,
genetic, and inherited perspectives, where traits are inherent at birth and
exist and play a crucial role throughout our lives as they interact with other
theories at different stages. These traits also include dispositions and
tendencies that each individual has. For example a person with a disposition to
be pessimistic will tend to see the glass as half empty in various situations
as they move throughout their life.
With our inherent traits we move
into the psychosocial perspective, which includes Erickson’s developmental
stages and attachment theory as well as our environment, interaction with the
world, and the crises in our lives and how we internalize and interpret our
experiences. We see the interplay between our traits and our experiences as we
enter each new developmental stage of life. Each developmental stage also influences
how we view our world and experiences and affects our behavior and ultimately
our personality. Also introduced at this point is the learning perspective
where we learn what is expected of us in society and find the balance between
our nature and what is socially acceptable. In this stage, as a result of much
gathered information throughout our lives, we develop scripts and schemas about
ourselves. We use our experiences to create beliefs and more broadly define who
we are or our perceived self image and also begin to compare our self image
with our ideal self.
Lastly we take a look at self
actualization and self determination. As
Maslow states we all have a desire to improve as people and achieve our ideal
self, becoming a “fully functioning person.” As a part of self actualization we
use the cognitive perspective and self-regulation. We utilize such tools as the
hierarchical feedback system and negative feedback loop described within the
self-regulation perspective, where we set goals to achieve our ideal self and
reevaluate outcomes, making adjustments along the way.
I don’t mention psychoanalysis in
any one group of perspectives because psychoanalysis is a constant factor that
plays a role in our personality through all the other perspectives and is too
complex to group into one category. However, psychoanalysis and the ongoing
push and pull between id and ego is ever present in every stage and group of
factors that contribute to personality as we learn to work towards self actualization and the ultimate balance between id and
ego where two components work together. I felt that in painting my perspective
it would be a perfect way to exemplify the ever present and ongoing yet sometimes
intangible element of psychoanalysis throughout our entire exploration of
personality. Creating the art served as a process of continuous exploration and
discovery and similar to that of becoming conscious in psychoanalysis as well
as symbolizes the complexity of the relationship between ego and id and the
layering consciousness.
In painting my perspective I also
wanted to explore personality theory as it relates to me, illustrating my own
inherent traits, dispositions and tendencies, pinpointing my own schemas and
scripts that I have patterned my self-image after. I wanted to illustrate my own
desire to achieve my ideal self and the steps towards self actualization, while
accepting that I still have the same dispositions and tendencies that I did as
a child. In doing this I realized that part of self actualization is accepting
what is and being in process of self actualizing, rather than self
actualization as an end goal. We have moments of self actualization but we can
keep progressing and learning because we are constantly moving through
different stages and having different experiences.
Personality can be described as a combination of the three groups of theories, traits, psychosocial and self
actualization, that work together and the process of moving in and out of focus
as we see our personalities evolve. Although this seems to illustrate a process
that our personality evolves as we grow, each of these groups influences our
personality simultaneously. Each aspect of personality is in effect at
different times and at the same time. Each group explained contributes to one’s
personality in an individualized way, depending on inherent dispositions
situations, context, perception, stage in life, and past and current
experiences and determination to improve and grow as a person.
