Knowing Oneself

Self
- is the essence of a person: his
thoughts, feelings and actions,
experiences, beliefs, values,
principles and relationships. It also
includes life purpose, meaning, and
aspirations.
 Psychology
• Self is defined as the cognitive and
affective representation of one’s
identity. It is then defined in terms of
human characteristics such as
behavior and thought.
• A person’s identity is defined by his or her thoughts
& feeling as well as experiences.

Personality
referred to as the set of behaviors, feelings, thoughts,
and motives that identifies an individual. It is the
essence of who we are.
Personality

• Unique & relatively enduring

set of behaviors, feelings
thoughts & motives that
characterizes an individual.
 2 key factors
• Uniqueness of an individual’s thoughts,
feelings & behavior.

• Being relatively enduring or being

consistent, over different situations and
over time.
• Friendly- sunny disposition, readiness to
give advice, generosity to those in need.
(the uniqueness is shown by how a
person’s physical and behavioral traits are
combined)
• Consistency- develop friendship among
his peers. (co-workers)
 But…
• Sickness can oftentimes change the
consistency of an individual’s
personality. ( Alzheimer's disease)

causes depression, irritability,

anger, outbursts, hallucinations
 Nature and Nurture
• Nature- heredity
• Nurture- environment
(combination of genes, environmental
exposure and experiences, and cultural
background)
Trait theory- is an approach in identifying types of
personality based on certain traits or attributes

Costa and McRae- develop a scheme

to describe personality
- based on their research, discovered
the existence of five universal and widely
agreed upon dimensions of personality. (BIG
FIVE or FIVE FACTOR MODEL)
• Openness to experience- curiosity,
interest, imagination, and creativity to
new ideas.
• Conscientiousness (desire to do a task
well)- planning, organizing, hardworking,
controlling, persevering, and punctuality
• Extraversion- sociable, talkative, active,
outgoing and fun-loving
• Agreeableness- friendly, warm, trusting,
generous and kind-hearted
• Neuroticism- (low scores) calm, relaxed
and comfortable
Ways to measure personality
• Observing people’s behavior (loneliness
• Personality test:
– Rorschach inkblot test

-Myers-Briggs Type Indicator ( MBTI)

 Myers- Briggs Type Indicator
• Katherine Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers
developed this based on four preferences
of individuals.
– Extraversion or Introversion
– Sensing or Intuition
– Thinking or Feeling
– Judgment or Perception
 Extraversion (E)
Often enjoys talking to anyone
Often thinks out loud
Often talks, then perhaps thinks
Often drawn to the outer world of
people and objects
Often energized by time with others
Often likes being in groups of people
Often energized by interaction
Often has many friends
Often appears enthusiastic and
expressive
Often open about personal information
Often does best work in action
 
Inroversion (I)
Often selective about which people to
talk toy
Often thinks, then sometimes acts
Often drawn to the inner world of
ideas and reflections
Often taken by surprise by the outer
world
Often energized by time alone
Often prefers being in small groups or
with just one other person
Can enjoy solitude
Often has a small select group of
friends
Can appear reserved and quiet
Often internally aware
Often protective of personal
information
Often does best work in reflection
S or N (Sensing or Intuition) is how one
prefers to process information, whether
through the use of senses such as being able
to describe what one sees, or intuitively like
dealing with ideas.
 Sensing
• Sensors focus on the present. They are
“here and now” people. They are factual
and process information through the five
senses. They see things as they are because
they are concrete and literal thinkers. They
trust what is certain. Sensors value realism
and common sense. They especially like
ideas with practical applications.
• I remember events as snapshots of what actually
happened.
• I solve problems by working through facts until I
understand the problem.
• I am pragmatic and look to the "bottom line."
• I start with facts and then form a big picture.
• I trust experience first and trust words and symbols
less.
• Sometimes I pay so much attention to facts, either
present or past, that I miss new possibilities.
 Intuition
• Intuitive people live in the future and are
immersed in the world of possibilities.
They process information through
patterns and impressions. Intuitive people
value inspiration and imagination. They
gather knowledge by reading between the
lines. Their abstract nature attracts them
toward deep ideas and concepts. They see
the “big picture”.
• I remember events by what I read "between the lines"
about their meaning.
• I solve problems by leaping between different ideas and
possibilities.
• I am interested in doing things that are new and
different.
• I like to see the big picture, then to find out the facts.
• I trust impressions, symbols, and metaphors more than
what I actually experienced
• Sometimes I think so much about new possibilities that I
never look at how to make them a reality.
• T or F (Thinking or Feeling) is how an
individual prefers to make decisions,
either thinking or using logic and analysis,
or feeling which uses the cognitive senses
based on values or beliefs.
 Thinking
• When I make a decision, I like to find the
basic truth or principle to be applied,
regardless of the specific situation
involved. I like to analyze pros and cons,
and then be consistent and logical in
deciding. I try to be impersonal, so I won't
let my personal wishes--or other people's
wishes--influence me.
• I enjoy technical and scientific fields where logic
is important.
• I notice inconsistencies.
• I look for logical explanations or solutions to most
everything.
• I make decisions with my head and want to be
fair.
• I believe telling the truth is more important than
being tactful.
• Sometimes I miss or don't value the "people" part
of a situation.
• I can be seen as too task-oriented, uncaring, or
indifferent.
 Feeling
• I believe I can make the best decisions by
weighing what people care about and the
points-of-view of persons involved in a
situation. I am concerned with values and
what is the best for the people involved. I
like to do whatever will establish or
maintain harmony. In my relationships, I
appear caring, warm, and tactful.
• I have a people or communications orientation.
• I am concerned with harmony and nervous when
it is missing.
• I look for what is important to others and
express concern for others.
• I make decisions with my heart and want to be
compassionate.
• I believe being tactful is more important than
telling the "cold" truth.
• Sometimes I miss seeing or communicating the
"hard truth" of situations.
• I am sometimes experienced by others as too
idealistic, mushy, or indirect.
Thinking (T) Feeling (F)
Head Heart
Objective Subjective
Tough-minded Relative worth
Practical Connections
Competent Warmth
Analyze Affirming
Evaluate Appreciate
Critique Empathize
Frank Harmony
Debate Tactful
Precision Compassionate
Consistent Values
Logic Caring
• J or P (Judgment or Perception) is how an
individual prefers to manage one’s life,
whether through judging, which means a
planned and organized life, versus
perception, which has a more flexible
approach to living.
 Judging
• I use my decision-making (Judging)
preference in my outer life. To others, I
seem to prefer a planned or orderly way of
life, like to have things settled and
organized, feel more comfortable when
decisions are made, and like to bring life
under control as much as possible.
• I like to have things decided.
• I appear to be task oriented.
• I like to make lists of things to do.
• I like to get my work done before playing.
• I plan work to avoid rushing just before a
deadline.
• Sometimes I focus so much on the goal
that I miss new information.
 Perceiving
• I use my perceiving function in my outer
life. To others, I seem to prefer a flexible
and spontaneous way of life, and I like to
understand and adapt to the world rather
than organize it. Others see me staying
open to new experiences and information.
• I like to stay open to respond to whatever happens.
• I appear to be loose and casual. I like to keep plans
to a minimum.
• I like to approach work as play or mix work and
play.
• I work in bursts of energy.
• I am stimulated by an approaching deadline.
• Sometimes I stay open to new information so long I
miss making decisions when they are needed.
 Judging (J) Perceiving (P)
Planning Adaptable
Organized Spontaneous
Decisive Curious
Closure Openness
Structure Flow
Deliberate Discoveries
Making decisions Gathering information
Purposeful Flexible
Work, then play Mix work and play (work can be play)
Outcome Process
Sustained effort Zest for experience
Settled options Open-mindedness
 You are at a cocktail party given by
an acquaintance. Shortly after
arriving you realize everyone
attending has an opposing political,
religious and social view to yours.
What do you do?
• Leave immediately.
• Challenge their views; it should be simple
to point out how WRONG everyone is.
• Enjoy yourself; everyone is entitled to
their own opinions. No need to flee or
argue.
 Your supervisor at work is trying to
tell you the details of a project but is
obviously rambling, spending time on
tangential items, and not getting to
the main point. What do you do?
• Listen patiently, you will be able to figure
this out once your supervisor leaves.
• Interrupt politely by asking direct
questions; basically forcing your
supervisor to be succinct. You don't have
time for this.
• Knowing oneself takes a lifetime of
reflection and analysis.
• To judge a person based on a single
pattern of behavior is like deciding without
analyzing the pros and cons of a situation.
 • What does it really take to
know and understand people?
What does it take to know
oneself better?
How One Gets to Know Oneself?
• 1. Understanding Personality
-having a clear grasp of what personality
is. It consists of physical, mental, emotional,
social and spiritual.
• 2. Appreciating Values
– Values pertain to moral codes, norms of
conduct and ethical principles a person
adheres to.
– Guide the day-day life
– Integrity, honesty, loyalty, industry,
excellence, and professionalim
(play a big role in interpersonal
relations, decision making, problem
solving, and career choice)
 3. Knowing the Body and Physical
Attributes
- Childhood- adolescence marks several
changes in the body which the person
becomes aware of.
- One can feel sensations such as pain,
pleasure, warmth and fatigue.
- Physical attributes differ due to genetics,
age, lifestyle, ailment.
4. Recognizing Dreams and Aspirations

• Serves as roadmap to the future. (life

worth living)
• A person’s goals and ambitions in life
• A person should explore opportunities and
paths to achieve his goals
• Doctor, accountant etc.. – preparatory
course- requirements and skills needed
and specialization to pursue.
5. Identifying Likes and Dislikes
• What brings satisfaction (to pursue) and
dissatisfaction (to avoid) to a person.
• It’s important to know what will make a
person happy and contented.
• Spells the foundation in the pursuit of
personal goals in life.
 6. Embracing the Past
• A big part of knowledge about oneself
constitutes the past.
• Experiences in the past serve as lessons in
life. (how a person sees the past and draws
inspiration from it to continue on with
his/her life)
 7. Understanding Self- Perception and
Others’ Perceptions
• Knowledge of the self is a product of one’s
own perception, view of oneself in relation
to other people, others’ perceptions, and
how a person truly is based on objective
reality.
• Johari window