Chapter 13- Personality

Things that influence my personality would be my birth order, environment, genes, and friends and family. As an only child I have different experiences than many of my friends. I tend to receive all the attention at home, I don't have anyone else besides myself to look after, and due to things I tend to have a very sheltered lifestyle. (which is not necessarily a bad thing) Genes affect my personality because they help decide what qualities I am going to have. I know there is an adage that you will be exactly like your parents when you're older. Whether this has to do with our genetic make-up or the environment in which we grow up in - I don't know. The environment helps influence my personality. I live in a really rural community, so therefore our values are different from those that live bigger, or urban areas. My friends personalities and values affect my personality. What they think, what they do, and how they say definitely affects my personality. (our ideals happen to be very similar) I think all these things in one way or another affect my personality.

As far as theories of personality go, I would say the theory that I like is Carl Roger's Self Theory. This theory basically deals with our self image, how we as individuals view ourselves, how we would ideally like ourselves to be, how positive feedback is important to us as individuals, and how these things are most likely in a positive, accepting, genuine environment. I would say that this theory does jive with my personality. I tend to assess my personality and compare it what or how I want my personality to be. I would consider myself to be a nice person so I do like it when I am accepted, or I get approval from others because it lets me know that I am making the right decisions. When I am not accepted it tends to hurt because it makes me wonder what it is about my personality that is not acceptable or what I change about it to make it better. It is extremely important to me to receive positive feedback. I would say that this theory does thrive and jive with my personality because the people that I am generally around are positive, empathetic, nice, and accepting.

The defense mechanisms that I find myself using most often are rationalization and denial. I would say that if I am not sure about a decision that I have just made, I try and justify to myself and possibly others. Denial I would use when I try to overlook something. An example is when I am trying to give a person the benefit of the doubt even though I know that they did what they are being accused of.