...Joan Didion: What is Home? In Joan Didion’s essay “On Going Home” she writes about leading a double life. She feels like one person when she’s with her husband and daughter in Los Angeles, and a completely different person when back “home” surrounded by her childhood family in the Central Valley of California. During this particular trip, she begins to reflect on her life in Los Angeles. Didion contemplates the fact that she often feels uneasy around her husband, just like he feels uneasy being around her family. At a crossroad, she must decide not only who she is, and the life she wants, but also the kind of life she wants for her daughter. Her life in Los Angeles has cleansed her from her youth—one that was dusty and full of useless trinkets. She ponders the time her husband wrote the word “D-U-S-T” on those useless trinkets and she remembers her feelings of sadness and indignation. She says, “We live in dusty houses…filled with mementos quite without value to him” (139-40). The dust-covered trinkets signify what is important to her, or what needs to be addressed in her marriage. Yet, these objects just lay there waiting for someone to see them—for someone to dust them off and care for them—not unlike how Didion wishes her husband would see her and nurture her in their marriage. Didion wonders which of her two homes is normal or if they are both flawed. When she and her husband are with her family, he becomes apprehensive about her behavior, “…because once there I fall...
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...Defining Personality Personality, this common thread weaves its way through the life of every person on earth, subsequently making each person's behavior different from the next. There are a number of theories on how personality develops; however, none have pinned the development of personality to any one definition. With this in mind, this paper encompasses a discussion surrounding some definitions of personality, examines research methodology that help explain personality development, and the factors that influence personality development. Personality Perspectives For many years people studied personality and theorized about where this behavior came from. Personality is a unique aspect to each individual and is "…a pattern of relatively permanent traits and unique characteristics that give both consistency and individuality to a person’s behavior" (Feist & Feist, 2009, p. 4). In addition, speculation of personality development centers on genetics and the environment. However, there are challenges in the interpretation of personality development test data, as there are a number of perspectives trying to define personality and each theory is unique to the perspective of the theorist. If one looks toward psychoanalyses for an answer, Sigmund Freud, Alfred Adler, or Carl Jung would contend that personality is a result of early childhood experiences and "…ongoing compromise among numerous independently operating mental subsystems" (Funder, 2001, p. 199). Thus, expressing...
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... She wears highly decorative clothing of embroidered silk rather than a more practical linen or wool. Even her purse, an object that only has to carry belongings, is decorated with silk tassels and “perled with latoun” (line 143). The apron she wears at first suggests some sense of practicality, as she does not want to dirty the clothes beneath it, but it is described as “whit as morne milk” (line 128), which shows the opposite: that this is another ornamental object that is as unsoiled as the rest of her clothing. The unstained white of her apron and undergarments give her the outward appearance of purity, while the reader knows that internally she is far from pure. Following the account of Alison's clothing comes a brief personality description. Rather...
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...To learn about communication and being able to work with other people, you should learn each person’s learning style and personality style. There are three different learning styles: visual learners, auditory learners, and tactile/kinesthetic learners. To better understand each style we will look more closely at each individual sytle. First, lets look at visual learners. Visual learners learn best through seeing. Visual learners learn best by seeing facial expressions and by seeing body language. They also tend to sit in the front of classrooms or meetings to avoid distractions (example: people’s bodies blocking their views). Visual learners do better when they have displays they can see (example: videos, illustrated textbooks, and handouts). Visual learners usually take very detailed notes during lectures or discussions. This way they are able to take in and remember more information. The second type of learning style is auditory learners. Auditory learners learn best through listening. Auditory learners tend to talk things through, listen to lectures, listening to what other people say, and verbal discussions. Because they learn through listening, written information does not help them until it is voiced out loud. They also tend to use a tape recorder during lectures so that they can re-play the tape later and better absorb the information. The third type of learning style is tactile/kinesthetic learners. Tactile/kinesthetic learners learn best through touching, moving...
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...Laurie Ewart J3400 Reflection Paper #1 9/18/13 Secondary Research-Chapter 5 As public relations professional, research would be one of the most important aspects of your career. Research should be your first step before launching a new product or marketing plan. If you fail to do the research first, you risk wasting a great deal of time and money on your project. Researching your target marketing is a huge benefit. Secondary research is essentially a summary of data that has already been collected. If you have a question to answer you can easily access the data and analyze it in order to get the answer you are looking for. This is opposed to primary data, which you would have to conduct new research to get the information you need. While secondary research seems to take much less effort, it still had its advantages and disadvantages. One of the main advantages to secondary research is that it is cost and time effective. Since you will not have to conduct the research you would have very little money and time in simply accessing the data from another source. The amount of time you would save by not conducting research you can now spend on analyzing data or any other areas of your plan that it is needed. Another advantage to secondary research is that you have several different sources that you can utilize to find your data. There are many websites that offer this type of information. One of the largest drawbacks of secondary research is that the results are usually...
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...01-Ellis-45685:01-Ellis-45685 7/16/2008 7:00 PM Page 1 Chapter 1 The Study of Personality Introduction Chapter Goals • Provide an overview of the controversies in the field of personality • Explain the purpose and utility of studying personality to mental health professionals • Review the various definitions of human personality • Offer insights into the history of personality theories • Introduce some of the methods used to measure or evaluate personality • Present some of the major personality theorists who have developed the concepts we will be studying S ubdisciplines of psychology such as social psychology, cognitive psychology, and indus- trial psychology endeavor to find common principles that will explain everyone’s behavior. These subfields have achieved considerable success in doing so, since we are all similar in many ways. Despite our similarities, however, there is little doubt that each human being is unique—different from every other individual on the planet. Seeking to understand human commonalities and seeking to account for individual differences are complementary, insofar as we cannot fully apprehend differences if we cannot identify our common characteristics. Personality psychology looks for answers to numerous questions. In what ways do human beings differ? In what situations and along what dimensions do they differ? Why do they differ? How much do they differ? How consistent are human differences? Can they be measured...
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... If he chooses Sarah, he may not be able to have her because of the way that she feels. Although Macon still feels connected to Sarah, he is more compatible with Muriel. Sarah is arguably much more normal than Macon, depending on which definition of normal is used. Sarah is more of a team player than Macon is. Macon keeps to his systems, while Sarah wants them to make decisions together. “What harm would it do to wait it out? You’d be showing some concern. You’d be telling me we’re in this together” (4). Macon replies, “I’ve got a system, Sarah. You know I drive according to a system” (4). She can come off as being over dramatic at times, and somewhat annoying, but that could possibly be because we are used to Macon’s mundane personality. Macon still feels that he might in some way be responsible for his son’s death. Sarah tries to convince him that he is not. She does not support his...
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...Summary of a Research Article Dasani Smith Psychology, 100 Professor Smith February 5, 2012 Written Summary of a Research Article Early childhood professionals have individual preferences about how they like children to behave (Eddowes, Aldridge, & Culpepper, 1994). Early childhood professionals also play a critical role in helping children accept themselves as unique (Aldridge, 1993). While students preparing to work with young children learn about cognitive, physical, social, and emotional development, they often neglect to study personality development (Aldridge & Cowles, 1990). The study of personality is important because a child's temperament influences the teacher more than the child's intelligence (Lerner & Lerner, 1986). In fact, teachers often give grades and implement classroom management strategies based upon specific children's temperaments (Pullis & Cadwell, 1982). Temperament is the part of the personality with which each child is born. According to Chess and Thomas (1987) temperament refers to individual differences in physiological responsiveness. It includes the characteristic way that an individual responds emotionally to people and objects. Chess and Thomas (1977) found nine temperament categories which they believed were present at birth. These categories include the following: Activity Level. Does the child display mostly active or inactive stress? Rhythm city or Regularity. Is the child predictable or unpredictable regarding sleeping...
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...To everybody, friend plays an important part in our life, so topics which involve in friend become more and more common. There is a debate that whether people who have different interests and personalities cannot be friend. From my perspective, I agree that people should make friend with the people who have same interests and personalities. The first reason why I hold this view is that it must be easier for two people to communicate with each other when they have same interests and personalities. On one hand people always focus on what they are interested in, so they will catch all opportunities to understand it, including communication, on the other hand, the chat with tow people who have same interests and personalities can avoid the embarrassment of silent. I will take an example of myself. Once I went out with tow friends, one has the same interests and personalities to me, while the other has diverse interests and personalities from us. From my own feeling, I would like to talk with the former one better. Another aspect can never be ignore is that it is possible for two people with diverse interests and personalities to produce divergence and contradiction. In other words, two people with different interests and personalities may have two ideas to same things, so when they stand in an opposite opinion, their friendship perhaps confront with a big challenge, and this challenge possesses destructiveness. It is really possible to cause their friendship to be end. There...
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...Strategies for diverse personalities and learning styles Personalities and learning styles influence how one effectively communicate and collaborates with others. Understanding the characters of various individuals will enhance success of project completions, setting and accomplishing goals, and forming cohesive teams. Identifying learning and personality styles help one to avoid barriers that can hinder one from reaching important deadlines. Understanding diverse learning styles and personalities will allow one to develop strategies that will promote successful relationships and effective exchange of ideas. Communication is paramount in the academic arena. Individuals who discuss various topics must understand one another in order to reach a common understanding. Responding appropriately to questions is necessary to conclude a solution. Group effort is necessary and will require all parties to possess a mutual agreement in decision-making. Personality and learning style assessments are prominent in developing a successful plan for diverse individuals. Strategies to promote effective communication and collaboration for a learner who rely on body movements, lectures, and oral instructions, and quiet settings include assessment instruments, maximizing ones strengths and abilities, eliminating activities that are unfruitful in reaching goals, and developing skills to overcome challenges. According to Carter, Bishop, and Kravits (2007), maximizing learning...
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...Chapter 4 – Critical Thinking Activity How Long Will You Live? Purpose: To analyze the combined effects of genetic history, personal health habits, socioeconomic status and social and personality characteristics as influences on health and life expectancy. Audience: Explain to a person who has not been studying influences on human development, what you learned by completing this assessment and how you can use information from the class to understand biological and life style choices on life expectancy. Format: Write a short paper 1-2 pages responding to the prompt below. Cite information from your text or another credible source to support the information presented. Use APA formatting, including in-text citations and use of a reference list. Please attach your paper in the DROPBOX provided for this assignment, NOT in the box that says “Comments.” The assignment is worth 10 points. See Rubric on second page for the grading point distribution. Task: After completing the How Long Will You Live assessment (completed in class, or at the end of this document if you were not in class), describe the change in your predicted life expectancy from your beginning life expectancy. What genetic and personal health factors had the most influence on the difference between these figures? What genetic and personal health factors had the least influence? Referring to the information in chapters...
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...explores the hectic journey of the Bundrens as they seek to bury their mother, and valuable lessons are learned along the way. The origins of their journey lead the family to understand that while each person has a different personality and some personalities cooperate better than others, such a relationship cannot be forced. In this case, death is the catalyst which forces the family to embark on their tumultuous...
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...Personality Reflection Paper Ronald Aliangan PSY/250 September 13th, 2014 My personality can be defined as an amiable person that really cares about others. I am outgoing, sensitive, emotional, and direct. I have been known to put other people’s needs in front of my own. I am not usually short on things to say. Also I love being around friends and family, but also really love to have my alone time. I have two older sisters that ironically have very different personalities then mine but they are both very similar to one another. All of my life I have been a popular person that excelled at athletics, and have been a bit defined by that sadly enough. I also have a creative side. I like painting, drawing, and playing the guitar. As I know, this is a vast way of defining my personality, but I feel this is the best way that I know how. My key personality features are that I am outgoing, charismatic, friendly, loving, and impatient. Some concepts that people may use when explaining me would be, “bull in a china shop”, and “hard on the outside but soft on the inside”. Generally I different around everyone. There is a significant difference in the way I act around my friends and family opposed to the way I would act around a person that had quite a bit of age on me, at least in the topics I would discuss and the way I would discuss them. I would be lying if I said that I didn’t act different around the oposite sex then when I am just hanging out...
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...Personality Reflection Many people question what personality is and how personality is determined and measured. All human beings are born with a unique personality, which develops and matures similarly to physical growth, and the degree of development and maturity is contingent upon environment and upbringing. This paper will reflect upon the concept of what personality is, and address questions relevant to personality testing and its reliability and validity. What is Personality? “Personality is the combination of characteristics or qualities that form an individual's distinctive character” ("Personality," 2012). This textbook definition is an excellent summation of what personality is, as there is no one way to describe personality, since it is a blend of key aspects such as: unconscious, ego forces, cognitive, biological, conditioning, traits and predispositions, spiritual, and interaction (Friedman & Schustack, pp. 2-3, 2009). Combined, these eight perspectives can assist in the definition and understanding the complexities of an individual’s personality. Personality is what defines us as unique individuals, what attracts or repels us to each other, and ultimately personality determines our outlook and approach in regards to living life. My Defining Personality Features I believe I possess both positive and negative key personality features, as do many people. Positive personality features that define myself are being extroverted, sympathetic to others feelings...
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...Personality John Bryant PSY/405 July 20, 2012 Dr. Carmel Munroe Personality Human beings are born inherently with his or her individual personality. In the following essay the author of this essay will examine personality in detail. First I intend to define personality where I will give some characteristics of personality and inform the reader what personality is. Secondly the author of this essay will examine the theoretical approaches in the study of personality and give some examples of schools of thought based on personality. Last the author of this essay will analyze influential factors that influence human personality development and compare nature versus nurture and what affect if any that has on personality. The aforementioned topics will be researched to create an understanding of human personality. An individual’s personality is made up by multiple factors that inclusively become one’s personality. Some of the characteristics of an individual’s personality are the individual’s patterns of thoughts, feelings, and certain behaviors that the individual exhibits. To understand personality one has to factor in key traits within a person and understand that personality is organized and consistent. Humans express their individual personality in different situations and tend to have stable responses to the situation. An individual’s personality tends to stay constant throughout his or her entire life with few to no changes occurring throughout. Personality is solely...
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