KNOWING
ONESELF
One of the key areas in
self-development is the
process of knowing
oneself .
By reflecting on one’s life
experiences and the events that
happened by chance in his/her
life, one is able to discover more
about oneself.
The learning process never ends for as
long as a person lives. It may sound
simple, but in order to understand
other aspects of one’s life, one must
first get to know who he/she truly is.
Learning about one’s
strengths and
limitations is one of the
most effective ways of
knowing oneself.
Teenagers have often
been in a position
where they do not
know where they would
fit in.
It must be a struggle to choose
between things that one really
LIKES and things that will
make one feel part of a
PREFERRED group of friends.
The knowledge of one’s own flaws and
weaknesses may make one think
negatively about oneself.
Questions like:
What are his/her unique
characteristics?
Does she/he have a healthy habits?
There are ways by which
one can get to know oneself
better, for example by
disclosing about oneself to
a friend or family member
that one TRUSTS.
One may also consider
making journal to
express his/her
thoughts and feelings
and eventually share
some of it.
Another way is by
actively participating
in group experiential
classroom learning
activities.
ACTIVITY #2:
“THE TWENTY-STATEMENT SURVEY”
I am ______________________________________________.
KNOWING
PERSONALITY
OR THE SELF
When one thinks of the
“self” what first comes to
your mind?
In Western mainstream
psychology, the self is
generally defined as
one’s personality or ego.
The word
“personality” came
from the Greek
word persona which
means MASK.
The term came from the
Greek costume of putting up a
show where actors donned
masks to portray different
personalities or selves.
It refer to one’s public face or the self one usually
shows to other people.
The self constitutes an individuals personal
identity with its typical ways of perceiving,
thinking, feeling, and behaving as one is raised by
his/her sociocultural environment through one’s
family, school, and community.
The self as raised by the various
social agents is expected to later
on be of service to needs and
goals of society of which it is
considered a citizen.
In Asian psychology, the self or
personality is but a frozen picture or
concept of the self from past conditioning
or how one was raised in the family and
community, that may no longer be true to
the evolving and wiser self in the present
time.
Personality refers to an
individual distinctly thinks
and behaves in different
situations and is relatively
stable across time.
CATTELL’S
CLASIFICATION
OF TRAITS
TYPE OF TRAITS
Common Traits
DESCRIPTION
These are traits which everyone shares.
Example: Everyone has some measure of
intelligence or extraversion.
Unique Traits
These are traits that distinguish us as
individuals.
Example: An interest in politics or sports such
as basketball.
Ability Traits
Skills or abilities that determine how well
we can work toward our goals.
Emotions or feelings that determine
Temperament how we react to people and situations.
Traits
Example: Include assertiveness and the
tendency to be fretful or easygoing.
These traits underlie our motivations and
Dynamic Traits
drive behavior.
Characteristics that are composed of
source traits or behavioral elements.
Surface Traits These can be unstable and impermanent
and may weaken or strengthen depending
on the situation.
Source Traits
These are the single, stable, and
permanent elements of behavior.
Constitutional
traits
Source traits that have biological
origins, such as behaviors arise from
too much alcohol consumption.
Environmentalmold Traits
Source traits that have environmental
origins such as behaviors influenced by
our friends, work environment, or
neighborhood.
Psychologists have long debated exactly
how personality should be defined and
described. One of these key ideas is
known as the trait theory of personality.
According to trait theory, human
personality is composed of a number of
broad traits or dispositions.
According to Cattell, there is a
continuum of personality traits. In
other words, each person contains all
of these 16 traits to a certain degree,
but they might be high in some traits
and low in others.
• Abstractedness: Imaginative versus practical
• Apprehension: Worried versus confident
• Dominance: Forceful versus submissive
• Emotional stability: Calm versus high-strung
• Liveliness: Spontaneous versus restrained
• Openness to change: Flexible versus attached to the
familiar
• Perfectionism: Controlled versus undisciplined
• Privateness: Discreet versus open
• Reasoning: Abstract versus concrete
• Rule-consciousness: Conforming versus nonconforming
• Self-reliance: Self-sufficient versus dependent
• Sensitivity: Tender-hearted versus tough-minded
• Social boldness: Uninhibited versus shy
• Tension: Inpatient versus relaxed
• Vigilance: Suspicious versus trusting
• Warmth: Outgoing versus reserved