Great Man/Trait Theory--#3

We have been learning a lot about ourselves in class, lately, including about our emotional intelligence and personality. I find it interesting to look at the personality tests because it shows interpretations of myself based on somewhat arbitrary questions.

For example, I took the Keirsey Temperament Test and received the result of "Rational."

Rationals are the problem solving temperament, particularly if the problem has to do with the many complex systems that make up the world around us. Rationals might tackle problems in organic systems such as plants and animals, or in mechanical systems such as railroads and computers, or in social systems such as families and companies and governments. But whatever systems fire their curiosity, Rationals will analyze them to understand how they work, so they can figure out how to make them work better.

I felt that these results, while indicative of my personality, were somewhat skewed by the fact that often, during the questionnaire, I found myself wondering what the questions meant or not being able to tell enough of a difference between the two options or finding myself fall somewhere in the middle.

I also took the Big Five Test.

	Your Results
Closed-Minded		Open to New Experiences
Disorganized		Conscientious
Introverted		Extraverted
Disagreeable		Agreeable
Calm / Relaxed		Nervous / High-Strung

It's interesting to see these results for me because there were a lot of determinations I didn't necessarily agree with. I scored relatively high on the Disorganized/Conscientious scale because I prefer my work space to be neat and orderly and because I am a generally careful person. However, I am, by nature, a very disorganized person and I ought to be more careful in my personal life. This distinction couldn't possibly be recognized in using the quiz questions. I think this is similarly shown in the disagreeable/agreeable zone. Because I can recognize areas that need improvement when I work in groups, the quiz interpreted that to mean that I am critical, yet it didn't consider my compassionate and highly forgiving nature at the same time.

After taking these personality tests, I have found them to be helpful in the area of self-knowledge, but there is a danger in relying upon them too heavily. I think my "Big Five" results could possibly turn off future employers or other people because it shows I am a harsh and callous person, yet that is very far from being true. And I also think that a lot of these determinations are CHOICES. We have the choice to be agreeable or disagreeable, I have the choice to act within a group as the inventor or as the field marshal. I adapt to situations depending upon the needs I see, and then I try my best to fill them. It is this very human aspect that trait theory ignores.