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Tammy Lau
Mrs. Nelson
AP Psychology, Period 4
30 March 2018
Personality Project
In order to figure out our personalities and who we are as an individual, we use
personality theories, such as psychodynamic and psychoanalytic, humanistic, trait,
social-cognitive, and positive psychology, to determine it. Psychoanalytic and psychodynamic
puts emphasis on our childhood memories and how our unconscious mind functions. Humanistic
theories focus on the potential for healthy personal growth. Trait theories is a characteristic
pattern of behavior or a disposition to feel and act, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer
reports. Social-cognitive views behavior as influenced by the interaction between people’s traits
and their social context. Positive psychology focuses on discovering and promoting strengths
that enable people to be successful. Psychoanalytic/psychodynamic and trait theories most
accurately explain my personality.
In the psychodynamic theory, Carl Jung’s and Isabel Briggs Myers’ personality inventory
is included, which has 16 different types of personality. In the test, it tests if you’re an introvert
or extrovert, intuition or sensing, feeling or thinking, and judging or perceiving. My results from
the test show that I am a ISFJ, which means that I am an introvert, sensing, feeling, and judging.
As for my results in percentage, in introversion over extraversion (9%), sensing over intuition
(9%), feeling over thinking (25%), and judging over perceiving (9%). “They often prefer doing
things alone or with one or two people they feel comfortable with. They take time to reflect so
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that they’ll have a clear idea of what they’ll be doing when they decide to act” (Myers Briggs).
As an introvert, this best fits me because although I like socializing, I only like doing things with
people that I’m close with and can relate with me easily. I also like to think before I react
because I become shy easily if I’m not confident in what I’m doing. “ISFJs are characterized
above all by their desire to serve others, their "need to be needed."” (Humanmetrics). This
reflects me strongly because I’m an individual that loves to help people in need. For example, if I
see a person struggling, I have the urge to want to help them. “Like most Is, ISFJs have a few,
close friends. They are extremely loyal to these, and are ready to provide emotional and practical
support at a moment's notice..Unlike with EPs, the older the friendship is, the more an ISFJ will
value it” (Humanmetrics). This finding is accurate about me because since I love to help, there is
an implication that I’m emotionally and physically there for people such as my friends and
family. I usually put others before myself and put my needs last.
In the psychodynamic theory, there are defense mechanism tests. There are eight different
types of defense mechanisms such as repression, regression, displacement, denial,
intellectualization, reaction formation, projection, and compensation. Out of all the eight defense
mechanisms, I scored the highest in projection and regression. Projection is an attempt to
attribute one’s own thoughts, feeling, and motives to another person. Regression involves taking
the position of a child in some problematic situation, rather than acting in a more adult way. I
demonstrate both of these defense mechanisms, thus making this accurate about me. For
projection, I often blame the other person for my own actions. I do this when I’m angry or sad
and I have no other way of dealing with my situations. As for regression, I usually cry or throw a
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small tantrum when I’m stressed or frustrated. Crying isn’t a mature way to solve my problems
yet I act childish and still do it.
In the humanistic theory, there is a Self-Assessment of Congruence test. I had a low score
as a result on this test which means that I have a low relationship between my real and ideal self.
Since I compare myself with others, I find that the reason why I have high standards for my ideal
self. Considering that I set high standards for how I want to look, this says that I have low
confidence and low self-esteem. Thus, the results of this test I found accurate because of what I
already knew about myself.
In the trait theory, there are multiple personality tests such as the Big Five Inventories.
There are five dimensions to the Big Five Inventories including openness, conscientiousness,
extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. My results say that I am close-minded, somewhat
conscientious, introverted, somewhat agreeable, and high-strung. My openness is in the 4th
percentile, conscientious is in the 62nd percentile, extraversion is in the 26th percentile,
agreeableness is in the 46th percentile, and neuroticism is in the 64th percentile. Along with the
percentiles, I feel like these results reflect upon me accurately. I prefer traditional and familiar
experiences, I always like to stay organized, many would say that I am reliable, I tend to be shy
in some situations, I’m not that forgiving nor irritable, and I tend to be nervous. Nonetheless, the
tests do not consider different situations that people can be in. There could be various factors
playing in a role, but the test only shows one perspective which is flawed.
In the social-cognitive theory, there is a test called self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is a
person’s belief that he or she has the ability, motivation, and resources to complete a task
successfully. On the scale of 8-40, I scored a 25 as a final result. My score fell under the below
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average self-efficacy section. The test is not reliable because a person’s feelings could change
throughout the day or occur during the day that could affect the test taker’s results. For example,
if someone had a tiring day, their score would be different if they weren’t as tiring that day.
In positive psychology, Martin Seligman has a test on signature strengths. The test gives
you five of your top strengths with 200 questions. My top five strengths are humor and
playfulness, capacity to love and be loved, leadership, hope, optimism, and future-mindedness.
Along with the other personality tests that I have taken, the results were similar with the other
tests but with a few more specifications. One factor that was not shown in any of the other tests
was humor and playfulness. Bringing smiles to other people is important to me and I try to see
the light side of all situations. The rest of my results of this test was explained in the other tests.
The test had more detailed questions and had more than one situation that could play as a factor
instead of one view point.
Going through all of my test results, most of them say that I am an introvert and care
about others. After taking these tests, I wasn’t as surprised by the results because I had already
had a sense of what personality I have, such as being an introvert, caring about others, and not
being very open-minded. If you were to ask anyone else besides myself, such as my friends and
family, they would mention the same things as I discussed. On the other hand, I only show who I
really am around people I’m comfortable with like my close friends and family. For example, at
school, I don’t really show my true self in my classes because I get shy unless I’m with my
friends. In conclusion, the way I act may change depending in the environment or mood that I
am in throughout the day and I can apply and reflect upon these personality theories everyday.
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Test Results
Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic Theory:
Defense Mechanism Inventory -
1) Regression: 40
2) Displacement: 30
3) Denial: 0
4) Repression: 30
5) Intellectualization: 20
6) Reaction formation: 0
7) Projection: 40
8) Compensation: 20
Carl Jung’s Personality Inventory - ISFJ
Humanistic Theory:
Self Assessment of Congruence -
List A
1. Funny 0
2. Kind 0
3. Relaxed 3
4. Organized 4
5. Careless 0
6. Happy 6
7. Strong 7
8. Serious 0
9. Shy 0
10. Plain 0
List B
1. Relaxed 1
2. Organized 2
3. Happy 3
4. Honest 0
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5. Strong 5
6. Out-going 0
7. Optimistic 0
8. Energetic 0
9. Intelligent 0
10. Attractive 0
Total Score: (List A + List B) / 1.1 = 28
Trait Theory:
Big Five Inventory -
Social-Cognitive Theory:
Self Efficacy -
Positive Psychology:
VIA Signature Strengths -
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