I attended ZT 2253 Management of Emotions lecture given by Dr. Zamri on 24th August 2011 (Wednesday). We were requested to come out with a journal after the lecture as our coursework.
At the beginning of this session, Dr. Zamri showed us a video clip which is related the Psychoanalytic Theory. Psychoanalytic theory refers to the definition and dynamics of personality development which underlie and guide psychoanalytic and psychodynamic psychotherapy. First laid out by Sigmund Freud, psychoanalytic theory has undergone many refinements since his work (see psychoanalysis). Psychoanalytic theory came to full prominence as a critical force in the last third of the twentieth century as part of 'the flow of critical discourse after the 1960s', and in association above all with the name of Jacques Lacan. The method of psychological therapy originated by Sigmund Freud in which free association, dream interpretation, and analysis of resistance and transference are used to explore repressed or unconscious impulses, anxieties, and internal conflicts, in order to free psychic energy for mature love and work. Or can be the theory of personality developed by Freud that focuses on repression and unconscious forces and includes the concepts of infantile sexuality, resistance, transference, and division of the psyche into the id, ego, and superego.
For the first task, a video was played by Dr. Zamri. The video was about depression and the determination of the character to fight the depression. In short, the video shows how a person who is initially suffering from depression to recover from it and do something significant to change his thinking and therefore make his life better. According to psychologist Paul Hauck, there are three types of depression-causing thinking but the two main types are self-blame, self-pity and pity for others. Self-blame happens when you think that something about you, usually something you did, is so terrible that you become worthless in your own eyes. Usually depressed people think that they are a worthless piece of garbage, or something to that effect. Whereas self-pity is the act of repetitively thinking: 'Poor me. Everything about me and my life is so terrible. Nothing goes right. Everything goes wrong. I'm helpless.' So, to relate depression with the Psychoanalytical Theory, this group of people unconsciously applies their emotions, motives and past memories that they are not aware of on their present behavior and which later on influence their personality development. With some support from the people surrounding,and most importantly ,self aid by being positive and not self-pity,we are able to get through the bottom of our lives and see the gleaming sunlight again,just like the perfect ending of the character of the video
Then, we were asked to do the self-scoring MBTI Personality Test. This interesting test helps to determine our personality type in general. MBTI stands for Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, it is one of the most widely used personality-assessment instrument in the world. Under MBTI, individuals are classified as extroverted or introverted (E or I), sensing or intuitive (S or N), thinking or feeling (T or F), and judging or perceiving (J or P). MBTI shows us the huge variety of individualism in this world and that individual can actually be classified in so many different types.
According to Wikipedia, as the MBTI Manual states, the indicator "is designed to implement a theory; therefore the theory must be understood to understand the MBTI". Typological model regards psychological type as similar to left or right handedness: individuals are either born with, or develop, certain preferred ways of thinking and acting. The MBTI sorts some of these psychological differences into four opposite pairs, or dichotomies, with a resulting 16 possible psychological types. None of these types are better or worse; however, Briggs and Myers theorized that individuals naturally prefer one overall combination of type differences. The 16 types are typically referred to by an abbreviation of four letters—the initial letters of each of their four type preferences (except in the case of intuition, which uses the abbreviation N to distinguish it from Introversion). For instance:
Four dichotomies:
| Dichotomies | |
| Extraversion (E) - | (I) Introversion |
| Sensing (S) - | (N) Intuition |
| Thinking (T) - | (F) Feeling |
| Judgment (J) - | (P) Perception |
Myers-Briggs literature uses the terms extraversion and introversion as Jung first used them. Extraversion means "outward-turning" and introversion means "inward-turning." These specific definitions vary somewhat from the popular usage of the words. Note that extraversion is the spelling used in MBTI publications. The preferences for extraversion and introversion are often called as attitudes. Briggs and Myers recognized that each of the cognitive functions can operate in the external world of behavior, action, people, and things (extraverted attitude) or the internal world of ideas and reflection (introverted attitude).
The MBTI assessment sorts for an overall preference for one or the other. People who prefer extraversion draw energy from action: they tend to act, then reflect, then act further. If they are inactive, their motivation tends to decline. To rebuild their energy, extraverts need breaks from time spent in reflection. Conversely, those who prefer introversion expend energy through action: they prefer to reflect, then act, then reflect again. To rebuild their energy, introverts need quiet time alone, away from activity.
Besides that, Jung identified two pairs of psychological functions: The two perceiving functions, sensing and intuition and the two judging functions, thinking and feeling.According to the Myers-Briggs typology model, each person uses one of these four functions more dominantly and proficiently than the other three; however, all four functions are used at different times depending on the circumstances.
Sensing and intuition are the information-gathering (perceiving) functions. They describe how new information is understood and interpreted. Individuals who prefer sensing are more likely to trust information that is in the present, tangible and concrete: that is, information that can be understood by the five senses. They tend to distrust hunches, which seem to come "out of nowhere." They prefer to look for details and facts. On the other hand, those who prefer intuition tend to trust information that is more abstract or theoretical, that can be associated with other information (either remembered or discovered by seeking a wider context or pattern). They may be more interested in future possibilities. They tend to trust those flashes of insight that seem to bubble up from the unconscious mind. The meaning is in how the data relates to the pattern or theory.
Thinking and feeling are the decision-making (judging) functions. The thinking and feeling functions are both used to make rational decisions, based on the data received from their information-gathering functions (sensing or intuition). Those who prefer thinking tend to decide things from a more detached standpoint, measuring the decision by what seems reasonable, logical, causal, and consistent and matching a given set of rules. Those who prefer feeling tend to come to decisions by associating or empathizing with the situation, looking at it 'from the inside' and weighing the situation to achieve, on balance, the greatest harmony, consensus and fit, considering the needs of the people involved.
The MBTI test revealed that I am more of an introverted person. I prefer to have frequent internal thinking and I like being alone compared to extrovert. Besides that, I have sensing characteristic rather than intuitive. I think the result of MBTI test was quite accurate, despite some characteristic of introverts that I do not think I possess. I am quite shy when meeting new people. I would never be the one who start the conversation with a newly met people. Besides that, I would rather stay at home, spending quality time for example reading or drawing to relieve my stress, rather than going out to socialize like extrovert.
Before the end of the session, we were asked to do the self-scoring Big Five Personality Test. The Big Five Personality Test consists of 5 factors: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism (OCEAN). The test revealed that I belong to personality trait type C (conscientiousness) where self-discipline, reliability, achievement inclined and organization constitute an important part of my life. I partially agreed to the test result.
As a conclusion, I am glad to have this lecture given by Dr. Zamri because it helps me to have a better self-understanding. By knowing which types of personality we are, we can improve on our weaknesses and know which our advantages are. Thanks.
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