Personality and Perception, Essay Example

Introduction

An individual has three levels of personality: dispositional traits, characteristic adaptations, and life stories. The below essay will attempt to compare how one  can perceive themselves on these three levels, and how different self-perception can be from how other people see the individual. Using my own example and personality analysis, I would like to examine the differences between how I perceive myself, how I think others perceive me, and how they actually do, based on interviews with people who know me.

How I Perceive Myself

I believe that my dispositional traits are openness to experience and extroversion (McCrae & Costa, 2008). I always believed that I am an outgoing person who makes friends quickly, and think about people before thinking about myself. I like connecting with others, and I think in communities, instead of on the individual level. In college, I am always the person who takes on a new initiative, comes up with a new idea, and joins a cause. I like creating events, organizing parties, therefore, I would consider myself an extravert person with a forward and outward focus.

At the same time, I believe that my personal circumstances have also influenced my personality. Characteristic adaptations, according to McAdams & Pals (2006, p. 208) are ‘‘motivational, social-cognitive, and developmental adaptations, contextualized in time, place, and/or social role,”. I have always played an important role in my family, taking part in decisions, discussions about my future, and researching opportunities to make my and my family’s life better. At an early age, I became very streetwise, being able to do the shopping, getting discount coupons for food, and saving up my pocket money for bigger purchases. Therefore, I developed a sense of value and responsibility for my own actions, as well as other people’s lives. This adaptation has enabled me to become proactive researching sport opportunities, taking charge of my future, obtaining funding and scholarship, and getting the best training and education possible. While I started out with an outgoing and fun-loving personality as a child. I became a responsible person, and adapted to the challenges that I faced during  high school and the time when I had to select my future college.

I also believe that my life stories have influenced my personality development in a unique way. I was a lively child, and because I was friends with everyone, I often got into trouble at school. I remember a significant event when I got pulled over by the teacher because of something that I did not do. I was told by this teacher that one of my friends blamed breaking a window on me. I was shocked, as I knew that the person was aware I did not do it. Still, I had a hard time to understand as a child that other people would put themselves first and get others into trouble just to escape punishment. From that day, I paid more attention to who I go out with and spend time with, and I believe that this life story has affected my personality development. I did not become a suspicious young person, but certainly adapted a more careful approach. McAdams  (2006, p. 14) states that “particular values and moral orientations are reflected and shaped by life narratives”, and this is certainly true in my case.

How I Believe Others Perceive Me

I believe that my teachers perceive me as a hard-working individual who likes helping others and making the most of every assignment. I also think that they believe me to be creative, as well as innovative, always finding new approaches and connections.

My mother thinks that I have grown into a mature, responsible person, who does not waste time on playing games, or watching television. She knows that I put my friends and family first. I think that she used to be worried about me because I had too many friends and spent very little time at home. Now she sees that I spend time on things that I believe are important, such as sports, education, helping my friends, and attending charity events.

By best friend – I believe  – perceives me as a person who is always ready to come up with a new idea, and an individual who likes being there when needed. I have been told before that I am possibly the busiest person in the city, as I am always on the move, meeting people,  and doing something.

How Others Actually Perceive Me

Asking people about how they perceive me has revealed that some of them only see one side of me, and it is not possible for every aspect of personality to come through in one situation. I think, therefore, that personality influenced behavior, but situations also determine which levels and aspects of the personality are perceived. Looking at the self-standards model of cognitive dissonance (the difference between self-perception and the perception of others), it is evident that other people’s perception is based on their values (Stone & Cooper, 2000). My mother thinks I am a fun-loving person, my teachers believe I am simply lucky, and my friend thinks I lack a clear direction, as it has been revealed in the interviews.

Overall Summary and Sport Focus

It is important in sports to be outgoing and have a level of extroversion, as well as openness to experience. Without it, people would settle with lower achievements to play careful. While I like my friends, I am also determined to achieve my goals in sports and education, and this is a personality trait that is perceived by my mother and teachers, but not my friends. They simply think I am too busy, however, I am just working on my sports career.

References

McAdams, D. P., & Pals, J. L. (2006). A new Big Five: Fundamental principles for an integrative science of personality. American Psychologist, 61, 204–217.

McAdams, D. P. (2006). The role of narrative in personality psychology today. Narrative Inquiry,16(1), 11-18.

McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T. Jr., (2008). The five factor theory of personality. In O. P. John, R. W. Robins, & L. A. Pervin (Eds.), Handbook of personality: Theory and research (pp. 159–181). New York: Guilford Press

Stone, J., & Cooper, J. (2001). A self-standards model of cognitive dissonance. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 37(3), 228-243.