Peer Response one (E.H)Five Factor Personality TestThe Five Factor Personality Test (FFPT) is a test with which I am somewhat familiar as having taken in previous classes. The test and its associated

Peer Response one (E.H)

Five Factor Personality Test

The Five Factor Personality Test (FFPT) is a test with which I am somewhat familiar as having taken in previous classes. The test and its associated factors provide a potential snapshot of an individual’s interpersonal functioning (Buchanan, N.D.). On the FFPT, my scores are largely indicative of how I view my overall personality and how I interact with others.

Scores

Specifically on the test, my scores indicate that I am relatively extraverted and often seek out social interactions. Further, in such situations, I am relatively agreeable and get along well with others, but this is average in comparison with my peers. With respect to conscientiousness, based on my scores, I usually identify and stick to a task until its completion.

Additionally, my neuroticism, or propensity to experience negative thoughts and emotions is relatively low in comparison with this aforementioned peer group. Further, it is indicated in my scores on the FFPT, that I am generally open to new experiences and am interested in activities such as art and culture. Again, these scores are not surprising and very much correlate to how I perceive my own identity and functioning.

Influences on Personality Development

Looking back, I see a number of influences that have contributed to my personality development and potentially the scores on this measure. I believe that one major influence was my relationship with my paternal grandmother growing up. As both my parents worked, my grandmother took on a major role in raising me. From her, I learned that the world is relatively safe place and to be friendly with nearly all that you encounter. Additionally, I learned to appreciate the arts, particularly music and film.

Another major influence in my personality development were/are my social relationships. While my school environment was not always the safest and most pro-social with respect to behavior, I was fortunate to also have friends who made better choices. Further, these individuals were open and accepting. Thus, I did not have to engage in inauthentic behavior in an attempt to fit in or gain acceptance. This aforementioned openness also allowed me to reciprocate when interacting with new persons in my life, helping me to form friendships.

Present Functioning

Presently, these aforementioned personality traits are largely stable. I continue to have a general openness to new experiences and new people. I also tend to be relatively extroverted, though within the past several years, I have begun to enjoy and gain a greater appreciation for alone time. Overall, I believe my openness has helped me not only in interpersonal relationships, but also in my clinical work. Further, I believe that it helps me in building and maintaining helping relationships, as I can avoid being judgmental and expressing acceptance to my clients (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015).

Broderick, P. C., & Blewitt, P. (2015). The life span: Human development for helping professionals (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Buchanan, T. (n.d.). Five factor personality test. Retrieved March 10, 2013 from http://www.personalitytest.org.uk/

Peer Response two (A.A.W)

The Five Factor Model of Personality describes five major domains or traits, which are extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness (Buchanan, n.d). The scores I received were 35 for extraversion, which is relatively high, 27 for agreeableness, which is about average, 38 for conscientiousness, which is relatively high, 26 for neuroticism which is relatively high, and 28 for openness which is about average (Buchanan, n.d). These scores are determined by comparing my results to other’s that have taken this test.

Accuracy

I have taken multiple personality tests and I expected this test to be very lengthy, which is was not and I like that about this test. I believe my results are accurate for the most part. Having a high score for extraversion, conscientiousness, and neuroticism I feel really describes me because I am very outgoing but there are times where I like to stay to myself and I am always working hard to achieve my goals. I am also very insecure with myself and I have severe anxiety. I scored about average for agreeableness. I agree with my score for agreeableness because I tend am a friendly person but there are times when I am not as trusting so I feel that scoring about average is a good balance for this domain. The openness domain and my results for this is the only area I feel is inaccurate. I am very open to new things and I love learning about other cultures and art. I also have also described myself as creative and imaginative so I feel I should have scored relatively high for this trait. Personality traits are stable patterns in individuals and these help to distinguish individuals from one another (Specht,Egloff, & Schmukle, 2011). Learning about my own personality traits from this test gave insight into how I compare to others in these domains.

Two Influences

The first event that influenced me was the death of my grammy. This was a very hard time for me because I felt like I could have done more to prevent her from passing away so this has caused me a lot of anxiety. Although this happened years ago, it still affects me because I am afraid that I will miss signs from someone else important to me or that I have not helped someone as much as I could have. Trauma can affect one's personality traits and it is important for an individual to learn ways to cope with their trauma in order to be more self-efficient (Broderick, & Blewitt, 2015).

The second event that influenced me was joining the military and going through basic training. Basic training helped me to see that I am strong and achieve anything I set my mind to. I developed amazing relationships with so many different people while in training and this has helped me to continue to explore new cultures and meet new people in my life today.

Personality Traits Manifestation

When it comes to my career goals my personality traits, as well as events in my life, have influenced who I am today. Having anxiety due to my trauma and other life events have made me want to pursue a career in counseling because I want to help people that have gone through what I have. Being outgoing and open minded has helped me in my relationships because I feel it is easy for me to start up a conversation and discuss a range of topics without being judgemental. “A general sense of self-efficacy, optimism, self-esteem, personal control over important goals, and social support are among the characteristics that are associated with greater physical and emotional health and well-being “ (Broderick, & Blewitt, 2015, p. 544). Although I have anxiety and doubt myself at times, I am still very optimistic about my career and personal goals and I feel that I have a good support system in my life.

Summary

I enjoyed taking The Five Factor Model of Personality because it was short and I feel it accurately described my personality traits with little information. This test provides insight into one’s personality traits and how these can affect an individual’s life from childhood to adulthood. It was nice to learn and understand the different life events that have influenced who I am today and my personality.

References

Broderick, P. C., & Blewitt, P. (2015). The life span: Human development for helping professionals (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Buchanan, T. (n.d.). Five factor personality test. Retrieved March 10, 2013 from http://www.personalitytest.org.uk/

Specht, J., Egloff, B., & Schmukle, S. C. (2011). Stability and change of personality across the life course: The impact of age and major life events on mean-level and rank-order stability of the Big Five. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101(4), 862–882. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.