C O G N I T I V E B E H AV I O U R A L T H E R A P Y P R A C T I T I O N E R C O U R S E A MODEL OF PERSONALITY A MODEL OF PERSONALITY This model gives a spectrum of personality and behaviour which doesn’t limit people with labels and boxes. Neuroticism and stability exist on a spectrum which we can manage through a process; the same goes for extroversion and introversion. Whilst people will, in many cases, exhibit more extroverted tendencies than introverted (and vice versa), extroversion and introversion rarely exist as a dichotomy: people will usually always have traits of each and exist on a spectrum between the two. Many of us feel envious of other people for traits in their personality that we lack. We may envy someone who is calmer, more confident, more outgoing, more talkative, more reserved, more patient or friendlier. However, more often than not, this envy is underlined with a sense of hopelessness and defeatism. When we see these traits in other people which we admire and would like to emulate, most people believe emulation is impossible. What we and our clients need to learn and accept it that our personality consists of our attitudes, beliefs, actions and behaviours more than it does our genetic disposition. Because we mentally and verbally label ourselves, we find ourselves going through life acting in accordance with who we believe we are, yet if we were to start making shifts in our beliefs and identity, all aspects of our lives change, including our personality. This model draws from the psychology of difference Hans J. Eysenck was born in Berlin in 1916 and was known as a leading figure in postwar British psychology and the emergence of clinical psychology, having forefronted new behavioural treatment regimes over more traditional psychoanalysis. EXTRAVERSION-INTROVERSION Eysenck was a deeply controversial figure, for both his frequent declarations of the unscientificness of psychoanalysis and for his view of the heritability of intelligence demonstrated in his book The IQ Argument: Race, Intelligence, and Education. However, in his 1990 biography, Eysenck moved away from his staunch argument that genetics were responsible for racial differences in intelligence and instead proposed that environment and experience were two of the most significant factors shaping intelligence. Extraversion-introversion is a central dimension of human personality theories popularised by Carl Jung. Extraversion is primarily identified in individuals who obtain energy and gratification from sources external to themselves. They take pleasure from being part of social gatherings which includes, but not limited to, parties, classrooms, public marches, group sports, clubs and business or political groups. Extroverts are known to work well in communities and groups and find more reward in spending time with others than they do alone. A MODEL OF PERSONALITY Introverts, on the other hand, are primarily interested in their own mental self. They are more reflective and withdrawn from others, with many reporting they have their energy drained by social interactions of any kind. They tend to focus on single, solitary activities at a time and place significant importance in being selective with those they spend their time with, particularly when it comes to romantic partnerships. Extroversion and introversion exist as a continuum; one fits more on a scale of extroversion/ introversion than they are posited as one or the other. Eysenck believed that both linked to levels of brain activity, also known as cortical arousal. He argued that it was because extraverts experienced lower levels of cortical arousal that they sought arousal from external stimuli, whilst introverts avoided any risk of being over-aroused by stimuli (Eysenck, 1979). NEUROTICISM-EMOTIONAL STABILITY Neuroticism refers to an individual’s tendency to respond with negative emotions to negative experiences such as threat, frustration, anxiety, stress or loss. Those with high neurotic tendencies focus on the negative incidents in life a disproportionate amount and respond in an extreme manner to insignificant matters to the point that they find it difficult or impossible to cope. High neuroticism correlates with many different mental and physical disorders and has also been known to negatively impact the quality and longevity of our lives. On the other hand, those with more emotional stability manage to stay more grounded during stressful or demanding events, can tolerate failings and remain calm during frightening or dangerous situations. Eysenck’s scale helps you identify where on the scale people’s personalities lie. For example, a person who is considered sociable is more extroverted than someone who is quiet, passive and unsociable. The trouble is that personality models such as this were used to define people; psychologists and psychiatrists would evaluate people’s behaviours and place them definitively on the scale without allowing for nuance and change. This is why it’s important to make a distinction between personality and identity. Personalities are susceptible to changing conditions, states of mind, circumstance, shifts in beliefs, behaviours and attitudes, whereas identity is a core system which we allow to grow and, in turn, alter our identity accordingly. The depth of insight we have about ourselves determines how we go on to interact with other people. The idea of changing parts of our personality can cause some internal conflict; people become afraid that altering one part of themselves will cause an internal cosmic shift which will undo all that is good in you. One of the most common fears in this aspect is that some people with depression are afraid of losing their empathy or artist talent, so whilst they know depression is holding them back in life, one small part of themselves recoils from the idea of committing to recovery because they’re frightened of who they’ll become without depression. The way to overcome the paralysing fear of ‘losing yourself’ when adapting your personality is by asking yourself, ``what are other people missing out on if I don’t change this part of my personality? Or, what am I missing out on?’ A MODEL OF PERSONALITY If a person is moody, rigid or anxious in their thinking (cognitively inflexible), their emotions will remain relatively consistent. If this person remains moody and anxious and doesn’t attempt to change their thinking (or tried but fails to), they will feel defeated and go on to identify themselves by how they feel: I feel therefore I am what I feel. The deeper their identity becomes embedded into their emotions, the less susceptible they’ll be to changing, because experiencing any other emotion or way of thinking will feel incongruent and insincere to them. Granted, you might have felt anxious or depressed for years, but developing a new habit or attitude towards life isn’t impossible. You’re not destined to be isolated, depressed, anxious and lonely - you’re destined to the life you make for yourself. Committing to new pushing your comfort zone and breaking your personality identities is challenging and, potentially, stressful and upsetting, but if you maintain a fixed definition of who you are, nothing in your life will change. The same goes for your clients: their mindsets and the way they see themselves has to change in order for them to see a change in themselves and their lives. Changing our personalities in certain emotional and behavioural aspects doesn’t mean we rid ourselves of all detrimental and negative emotions. Being perfectly happy, calm, outgoing and talkative all the time can make you unrelatable to others, and our negative emotions can guide us through our priorities, goals, mindsets and decisions. Maintaining a healthy balance of positive and negative emotions and behaviours makes us more relatable to other people and keeps our self-awareness in check. Eysenck’s scale allows people to create a more defined and identifiable life goals and objectives by seeing what lies on the opposite end of the scale to who they are, both good and bad. The scale isn’t intended to define and label people - its intention is to broaden people’s maps and help them visualise what they would be and who they would be if they existed on the other end of the spectrum. The question to ask clients is ‘ this is who you are right now, but how else might you be in order to achieve the outcomes you want in life?’ EXERCISE - Feel free to use yourself or with your clients Identify how you can start changing to become more like the person you’d ideally like to be. On the following page is a diagram similar to that on the board during the lecture, featuring a list of personality traits. Circle or highlight those which you identify most with and challenge yourself to examine the ones that are holding you back in life. What can you change about how you are that would help you progress further in life and make you more like your ideal self? Are there traits on here that you identify as holding you back or are there traits you’d like to adopt? On a new page, redraw the diagram and add any more you can think of to the diagram, listing in three different colours the traits you have, the ones you’d like, and the ones you’d like to change/limit/manage. You can never be perfect. We are always going to behave imperfectly; but by acknowledging your detrimental traits, you will become more knowledgeable about managing them and ensuring they are no longer impeding your growth. A MODEL OF PERSONALITY EXTROVERT Active Sociable Optimistic Outgoing Impulsive Talkative Changeable Responsive Excitable Easygoing Aggressive Lively (SANGUINE) Carefree (CHOLERIC) Restless Leadership Touchy STABLE NEUROTIC Calm Moody (PHLEGMATIC) Passive (MELANCHOLIC) Reliable Anxious Rigid Controlled Sober Peaceful Pessimistic Thoughtful Reserved Careful Unsociable Even-tempered Even-Quiet INTROVERT
