Individual Differences
Individual Differences in behavior, development, emotion, and cognition help explain the variation that exists between individuals. Differential psychology is concerned with the study of individual differences in broad areas such as personality, temperament, intelligence, genetics, gender, interests, and goals… to name a few. Within a social context, we learn what to expect from others, how to make sense of the world, and who we are based on individual differences. These differences include inborn temperament, personality traits, schemas, and attachment patterns. One of the main goals in individual differences research is to predict ongoing behavior. The idea is that based on particular differences or a certain combination of qualities, it is possible to explain and predict a person’s behavior. For instance, research indicates a wealth of ways in which personality trait differences impact and predict important outcomes such as occupational success, marital satisfaction, mental disorders, and even mortality rates.
Through the lens of mindfulness, individual differences allow for deeper insight into the ways in which your personal life story, characteristics, and ambitions combine to make “you.” When you take the time and energy to explore your personal patterns of relating with others, interacting with the world, and true desires in life, self-awareness expands. Research increasingly supports the potential for qualities thought to be “unchangeable” to be flexible and adaptable based on the behaviors that we choose. For instance, studies indicate that trait mindfulness can be strengthened through regular meditation practices. In the realm of individual differences, qualities termed as “traits” are generally considered to be longstanding over the lifespan. In contrast, characteristics defined as “states” are thought of as temporary, environmentally induced, and changeable.
Identify & Accept Your Shadow Self
“One must have chaos in oneself in order to give birth to a dancing star.” – Friedrich Nietzsche We all carry an image of ourselves in our minds of who we are, what we are like, and what qualities we have. We form this sense of self through repeated experiences in the world with others…
Read MoreKeirsey: The Four Temperaments
“People seem not to see that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson In yesterday’s post, we learned about the basic principles underlying the Keirsey Temperament Sorter (KTS-II). Dr. David Keirsey, educational psychologist and creator of the KTS-II, defines temperament as “a configuration of observable personality traits,…
Read MoreUnderstanding the Keirsey Temperament Sorter
“Whenever two people meet there are six present. There is the man as he sees himself, each as the other person sees him, and each man as he really is.” – William James Temperament and personality shape the way that we see ourselves and others, the way that we choose to interact with others, our…
Read MoreSelf-Serving Bias: “I’m Above Average”
“The true means of being misled is to believe oneself finer than the others.” – Francois de La Rochefoucauld The vast majority of us have a general sense of being smarter, funnier, or better-looking than your run of the mill “average” person. But how is this possible? We can’t all be above average … right?…
Read MoreMyers-Briggs: Psychological Type & Relationships
“Are we not like two volumes of one book?” – Marceline Desbordes-Valmore An understanding of your and your partner’s personalities allows you to appreciate the ways in which you are similar and dissimilar. When we fully understand the complexities of personality “preferences” we are able to appreciate differences and understand how to best work together…
Read MoreMyers-Briggs: 8 Extroverted Personality Types
“It is always good to know, if only in passing, charming human beings. It refreshes one like flowers and woods and clear brooks.” – George Eliot The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) divides personality into 16 distinct types, based on Carl Jung‘s theory of psychological type. We all exhibit different “preferences” for ways of being and interacting with…
Read MoreMyers-Briggs: 8 Introverted Personality Types
“It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinions; it is easy in solitude to live after your own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) organizes personality into…
Read MoreUnderstanding the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
“Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody.” – Mark Twain The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is based upon the ideas of Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung (1875-1961), who wrote that “what appears to be random behavior is actually the result of differences in the way people prefer to…
Read MoreWhat is Post-traumatic Stress Disorder?
“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.” – Kahlil Gibran When an individual experiences a traumatic stressor, a wide array of distressing symptoms may arise. Depending upon one’s individual physiology, temperamental disposition, and life experiences, very different responses may occur as the result of trauma. The…
Read MoreHow to Accept the Unknown “Self”
“A single event can awaken within us a stranger totally unknown to us. To live is to be slowly born.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupery Is it really possible to ever completely know ourselves? For many of us, we sometimes think, feel, or behave in ways that “don’t seem like us.” What does this really mean? …
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