Recently I attended an interview that require me to do some personality test. It test your suitability to the job. You have to choose the sequence that best described you. I found it ridiculous at first, but when I continue to think about it, this is not the best way to know a person but it is necessary to recruit a suitable person for particular job.
This is an interesting assessment but I always confuse with my own personality so I do not think I do well in this test. So I decided to find out my real personality and character and started my research on this topic.
First, I need to know what is the difference between character and personality. The word personality originated from Latin word persona, meaning mask. It is the image that one presents in front of others. One's personality can and may change at some point in life.
Character is something within you and is always there . Character takes far longer to puzzle out. One's character normally moulded depending on his environment.The word character derived from ancient greek (χαρακτήρ).
I always eager in find out what is my personality. My personality easily influenced by the environment, by people. I want to know more about myself, it is something that can decide out fate and our path. Just like what stated in Sun Tzu's The Art of War : “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result
of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every
victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the
enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” (知己知彼，百战不殆) I always keep this in mind.
To understand yourself, you need to know about your character flaw, personality defect or even some personality disorder. It is a key point to decide whether you will fail or success in life. Two different people who come from same background, same environment and same IQ, but at the end one succeeded, one failed, why? This is because of the two different character, two fate. The successful people good in observation and they know how to analyse themselves and others' personality or character. Or what you can say, they can read people. You can always change your personality, I believe that it is something that can be controlled. Sometimes you need to have different experience or throw yourself into new environment to do that.天降大任于斯人也， 必先苦其心志, 劳其筋骨, 饿其体肤。 Sometimes you have to experience some difficulties in order to be success. It is the best training to your mentality and make you stronger from inner side, so called inner strength.
Below is the personality test from Dr Phil who gave on Oprah. You can try it. This is a real test given by the Human
Relations Dept. at many of the major corporations today. It helps them
get better insight concerning their employees and prospective employees.
Dr Phil's test begin..
1. When do you feel your best?
a) in the morning
b) during the afternoon & and early evening
c) late at night
2. You usually walk
a) fairly fast, with long steps
b) fairly fast, with little steps
c) less fast head up, looking the world in the face
d) less fast, head down
e) very slowly
3. When talking to people you
a) stand with your arms folded
b) have your hands clasped
c) have one or both your hands on your hips
d) touch or push the person to whom you are talking
e) play with your ear, touch your chin, or smooth your hair
4. When relaxing, you sit with
a) your knees bent with your legs neatly side by side
b) your legs crossed
c) your legs stretched out or straight
d) one leg curled under you
5. When something really amuses you, you react with
a) a big, appreciative laugh
b) a laugh, but not a loud one
c) a quiet chuckle
d) a sheepish smile
6. When you go to a party or social gathering
a) make a loud entrance so everyone notices you
b) make a quiet entrance, looking around for someone you know
c) make the quietest entrance, trying to stay unnoticed
7. You're working very hard, concentrating hard, and you're interrupted; do you ...
a) welcome the break
b) feel extremely irritated
c) vary between these two extremes
8. Which of the following colors do you like most?
a) Red or orange
b) black
c) yellow or light blue
d) green
e) dark blue or purple
f) white
g) brown or gray
9. When you are in bed at night, in those last few moments before going to sleep, you lie
a) stretched out on your back
b) stretched out face down on your stomach
c) on your side, slightly curled
d) with your head on one arm
e) with your head under the covers
10. You often dream that you are
a) falling
b) fighting or struggling
c) searching for something or somebody
d) flying or floating
e) you usually have dreamless sleep
f) your dreams are always pleasant
POINTS:
1. (a) 2 (b) 4 (c) 6
2. (a) 6 (b) 4 (c) 7 (d) 2 (e) 1
3. (a) 4 (b) 2 (c) 5 (d) 7 (e) 6
4. (a) 4 (b) 6 (c) 2 (d) 1
5. (a) 6 (b) 4 (c) 3 (d) 5 (e) 2
6. (a) 6 (b) 4 (c) 2
7. (a) 6 (b) 2 (c) 4
8. (a) 6 (b) 7 (c) 5 (d) 4 (e) 3 (f) 2 (g) 1
9. (a) 7 (b) 6 (c) 4 (d) 2 (e) 1
10. (a) 4 (b) 2 (c) 3 (d) 5 (e) 6 (f) 1
Now add up the total number of points.
OVER 60 POINTS: Others see you as someone the should "handle with care".
You're seen as vain, self-centered, and who is extremely dominant.
Others may admire you, wishing they could be more like you, but don't
always trust you, hesitating to become too deeply involved with you.
51 TO 60 POINTS: Others see you as an exciting, highly volatile, rather
impulsive personality; a natural leader, who's quick to make decisions,
though not always the right ones. They see you as bold and
adventuresome, someone who will try anything once; someone who takes
chances and enjoys an adventure. They enjoy being in your company
because of the excitement your radiate.
41 TO 50 POINTS: Others see you as fresh, lively, charming, amusing,
practical, and always interesting; someone who's constantly in the
center of attention, but sufficiently well-balanced not to let it go to
their head. They also see you as kind, considerate, and understanding;
someone who'll always cheer them up and help them out.
31 TO 40 POINTS: Others see you as sensible, cautious, careful &
practical. They see you as clever, gifted, or talented, but modest. Not a
person who makes friends too quickly or easily, but someone who's
extremely loyal to friends you do make and who expect the same loyalty
in return. Those who really get to know you realize it takes a lot to
shake your trust in your friends, but equally that it takes you a long
time to get over it if that trust is ever broken.
21 TO 30 POINTS: Your friends see you as painstaking and fussy. They see
you as very cautious, extremely careful, a slow and steady plodder.
It'd really surprise them if you ever did something impulsively or on
the spur of the moment, expecting you to examine everything carefully
from every angle and then, usually decide against it. They think this
reaction is caused partly by your careful nature.
UNDER 21 POINTS: People think you are shy, nervous, and indecisive,
someone who needs looking after, who always wants someone else to make
the decisions & who doesn't want to get involved with anyone or
anything. They see you as a worrier who always sees problems that don't
exist. Some people think you're boring. Only those who know you well
know that you aren't.
I got 44 points. How many points have you got?
There are many people who see me as a quiet, shy and introvert girls who hardly open my mouth. But to some people, I am outgoing, talkative girl. Sometimes, I become confuse, why I act differently in different environment? Which one is my real personality? Sometimes I am very active, sometimes I can just sit quietly and by my own for whole day! But human behaviour is something very complicated which need a lot of informations and take time to analyse.
Well, there are few types of personality disorders.
1. Paranoid Personality Disorder
You may feel very suspicious of others without there being a reason to be. This suspicion can make you feel other people are lying to you.
2. Schizoid Personality Disorder
With schizoid personality disorder, you may have few social
relationships and will prefer to be alone. You might actually be very
shy, but other people may think you are quite cold and distant.
3. Dependent Personality Disorder
You may allow other people to take responsibility for parts of your life. You may lack self confidence or unable to do thing alone. You may find that you put your own needs second to the needs of others, and feel hopeless or fear being alone.
4. Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder
You may feel anxious about issue that seems organized or messy. Everything you do must be just right, and nothing can be left to chance. You may be overly cautious about things and be preoccupied with detail. Others may view you as being controlling.
5. Narcissistic Personality Disorder
Narcissistic personality disorder can mean you have a sense of inflated
self-importance. You may have fantasies about unlimited success and want
attention and admiration. You may feel you are more entitled to things
than other people, and act selfishly to gain such success. You may do
this because inside, you don’t feel significant or important.
6. Multiple Personality Disorder
Two or more identities or personality states
There is one more personality which I call it cycloid personality which I am really interested of which is quite close to my behaviour. I also think of ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) , but this is normally occur on children. I do not have this problem at all during my childhood. Lets talk about Cyclothymia. It is characterized by numerous mood swings, with periods of
hypomanic symptoms that do not meet criteria for a hypomanic episode.
Hypomanic episodes. Symptoms of the
hypomanic episode include unusually good mood or cheerfulness (
euphoria), extreme optimism, inflated self-esteem, rapid speech,
racing thoughts,
aggressive or hostile behavior, lack of consideration for others,
agitation, massively increased physical activity, risky behavior,
spending sprees, increased drive to perform or achieve goals, increased
sexual drive, decreased need for sleep, tendency to be easily
distracted, and inability to concentrate.
Depressive/dysthymic episodes. Symptoms of the
depressive/dysthymic phase
include difficulty making decisions, problems concentrating, poor
memory recall, guilt, self-criticism, low self-esteem, pessimism,
self-destructive thinking, constant sadness, apathy, hopelessness,
helplessness and irritability. Also common are quick temper, poor
judgment, lack of motivation, social withdrawal, appetite change, lack
of sexual desire, self-neglect, fatigue, insomnia and sleepiness.
Cycloid personality is something that swing between hypomanic and depressive which is quite common in many people. One of the example is Isaac Newton.
The latest part is more toward analysis of personality disorder instead of the normal personality. But it can be a reference to most of the people too. Enjoy the journey of discovering yourself...
