Seah Zeyen A131580 Journal 5

Seah Zeyen A131580

                On the 24^th of August 2011, I attended the ZT 2253 Management of Emotions lecture given by Dr. Zamri. This will be my fifth and last journal.

                During the lecture, we were given three tasks: Task 1, watch a video clip played by the lecturer and relate it with the Psychoanalytic Theory; Task 2: take the self-scoring MBTI Personality Test and determine your personality type; and Task 3: take the self-scoring Big Five Personality Tests and find out your personality traits and give comments.

                For the first task, the video played was about depression and the will to stand up once again. Basically, it shows how a person who is initially suffering from depression can pull himself together and do something significant to change his thinking and therefore make his life worth living. What I learned from the video is that, depressed people frequently feel sad and lonely and tend to have negative thoughts all the time. They have low self-esteem, think of themselves as a total failure and they sense that despite all the efforts they put in it still seem like nothing in their life works. More importantly, they feel unloved, unneeded and unwanted which leads them to have suicidal thoughts. From my reading, 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.

                For the next task, we were taught two types of personality: Type A and B. An A type person eats quickly, gets up early, is always in a hurry, impatient, organized, a perfectionist, frequently checks the clock, drives faster than normal and are quite competitive. On the other hand, a type B person acts calmly, drives at speed limit or maybe less, is easy going, eats slowly, patient, never in a rush or worry, speaks slowly and appears more relaxed and less anxious. However I realized that I have characteristics of both types of personality. For example, I have a habit of waking up early, like to get things done as soon as possible, I am a well-organized person but not everything has to be perfect, I glance at my watch often so that I can make full use of my time, I drive following the speed limit, I admit that I am competitive when I need to be, I never rush to finish my meal, and lastly, people think that I am an easy going person.

Then, we were asked to do a self-scoring MBTI (Myers Briggs Type Indicator) personality test. After the test, I found out that I am an Introverted person, meaning that I think or reflect first then I act, I regularly require an amount of private time to recharge my batteries, I am motivated internally and my mind is sometimes so active it is 'closed' to the outside world and I prefer one-to-one communication or relationship. The test also showed that I have Sensing characteristics rather than intuitive characteristics, which means I mentally live in now and attending to present opportunities, I use common sense and to me, creating practical solutions is automatic-instinctual. Many of my friends say that I have a rich memory recall in detail of facts and past events. I best improvise from past experience. I like clear concrete information and dislike guessing when facts given are 'fuzzy'. Besides that, the test showed that I have Thinking characteristics instead of feeling characteristics. I instinctively search for facts and logic in a decision situation, naturally notice tasks and work to be accomplished, able to easily provide an objective and critical analysis, and can accept conflict as a natural, normal part of relationship with people. Last but not least, the test explains that I am a Judging kind of person, not receiving, meaning that I plan many details in advance of moving into action, focus on task-related actions and complete meaningful segments before moving on, work best and avoid stress when able to keep ahead of deadline, and naturally use targets, dates and standards to manage life.                 

In the end, the combination of alphabet I got is: ISTJ, which describes my personality as introverted sensing type. Introverted sensing people are dependable, reliable and trustworthy. They feel useful when their roles and responsibilities are clearly established and they can monitor their activities and productivity. They tend to be rather modest, thrifty, careful and wise with both money and possessions. They manage their time well and are realistic about how much time and resources will be needed. When they purchase something, it is after careful consideration; rarely will they buy something without having a known need or use for it. They may keep possessions for a lifetime and treasure those that were given to them. They tend to have a good memory for specific facts that are necessary in their day-to-day life at work and at home. They accumulate facts and details to orient themselves, relying on repeated experiences that have been proven trustworthy. They tend to shy away from surprises and what is perceived as unnecessary change.

The third task is to do the self-scoring Big Five Personality Test. The Big five factors are openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism (OCEAN). When I finished the test, I found out that I belong to personality trait type C (conscientiousness) where I have a tendency to show self-discipline, act dutifully, and aim for achievement and exhibit planned rather than spontaneous behavior.

In conclusion, after the lecture, I get to know and understand myself a little better and I will use the advantages I have in me wisely and try to minimize my negative personality traits.