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P Pre Resent Auth Sent Auth Orin Oring: G: F Fa Aults Ults: (Index)
P Pre Resent Auth Sent Auth Orin Oring: G: F Fa Aults Ults: (Index)
Welcome to the Present Authoring: Faults component of the Self-Authoring suite. This exercise has
been designed to allow you to do an in-depth analysis of some of the negative aspects or faults of
your personality.
The exercise may take up to three hours to complete. You may quit the exercise any time by
clicking Exit/Home or shutting down your browser. If the current page is a page you have been
writing on, remember to click Save before exiting. The text that you entered on previous pages will
You can come back to the exercise later, and resume your work. Just go to
www.selfauthoring.com,
www.selfauthoring.com, click the Subscriber Login button (top right) and choose the Present
Authoring: Faults exercise. When you return, all your previous work will be waiting for you, and
you will be taken to the last point in the exercise you had completed.
[Index]
Faults Analysis
This program has been designed to allow you to do an in-depth analysis of some of the negative
aspects or faults of your personality. It is the partner program to the virtues analysis section of the
present authoring program. It is our hope that constructing a clearer picture of your faults will help
It is probably best to complete this exercise if you are in a normal to good mood, so that you can
tolerate the self-criticism. If you are feeling sad, lonely, or depressed, you should probably do the
virtues analysis instead. This exercise will take you 60-90 minutes, depending on your choices. You
will be asked first to read some information about basic personality theory and then to select 2-10
faults from each of five lists of faults (one list per basic personality trait).
Then you will be presented with the faults you have selected, and asked to choose a final list of the
faults you think have most interfered with your life. You will be asked to write for about 10
minutes, later, for each fault you choose, after you have rank-ordered them in importance. We
recommend that you choose 6-9 faults (for 60 to 90 minutes of work), but you can choose as many
as you like. Just remember that you will be asked to write about each one. You will be asked to
describe how this fault has impacted you negatively, in the past; what you might have done
differently; and what you could do now and in the future to rectify or eliminate this fault.
Completing the Exercise 2
On many pages, you will not be able to successfully click Next or Previous unless you have
provided a minimum of necessary text. If you do not, you will receive an error message, and the
Text boxes also have a maximum length. Pay attention, as you write, to the numbers above the
text boxes. Numbers like [180 / 1000] indicate that you have typed 180 characters out of a
maximum allowable of 1000. When you go over the maximum, the numbers above the text box
become red. Clicking Next, Previous, or Save will result in an error message and you will not be
able to proceed to the Next or Previous page. To resolve this, edit your text until the number of
characters is less than or equal to the maximum. These limitations have been established so that
We do encourage you to write in some detail, however, subject to those limitations. Our research
indicates that better results are obtained as the amount written by participants increases.
There is a progress bar in the t op right portion of the screen, which displays the percentage of the
exercise that you have already completed. If you hover over the bar with the mouse, you can see
approximately how much time it will still take to complete the exercise.
You may use the Index to jump to any page you have already completed. Clicking the [Index] link
will open the index. Clicking it again will close it. Remember to click Save to save any work on the
After you have completed the exercise, you will be taken to a Summary page. You can use that
[Index]
To complete the following exercise, there are a number of things that are useful to know. (you may
have encountered this information previously if you have completed the virtues analysis program,
Everybody's personality is composed of two higher-order traits. The first higher-order trait is
known as plasticity, and can be thought of as the tendency to be flexible, exploratory, curious, and
quick to adapt. The second higher-order trait is known as stability, and can be thought of as the
[Index]
Plasticity
Plasticity, the first higher-order trait, can be further broken down into two sub-traits: Extraversion
(the tendency to be enthusiastic and dominant) and Openness (the tendency to be open -minded
and intelligent).
• Sociable
• Active
• Adventurousness
• Positive
• Excitement-Seeking
• Gregarious
• Fantasy-prone
• Aesthetically-minded
• Philosophical
• Creative
• Intuitive
• Intellectual
Stability
Stability, the second higher-order trait, can be further broken down into three sub-traits:
negative emotional volatility and the tendency to withdraw), and Agreeableness (politeness and
• Competent
• Decisive
• Achievement-oriented
• Self-disciplined
• Deliberate
• Industrious
• Anxious (reversed)
• Angry (reversed)
• Hostile (reversed)
• Depressed (reversed)
• Self-Conscious (reversed)
• Vulnerable (reversed)
• Warm
• Trusting
• Straightforward
• Altruistic
• Modest
• Compliant
• Tender-minded
• Nice
[Index]
There are advantages and disadvantages to each trait, particularly at the extremes. Extremely
sociable, extraverted people can be dominant and impulsive, while introverted, quiet people can
easily become isolated and depressed. Extremely open people can be scattered and overwhelmed
by their own thoughts and ideas, while closed-minded people may become narrow and inflexible.
Exceptionally conscientious people can be obsessive about order, judgemental and rigid, while their
more carefree counterparts may be messy, undisciplined and careless. People very high in
emotional stability may engage in risky, dangerous behavior, while those who are more neurotic
can become so preoccupied by anxiety and pain that they are unable to function. Finally, extremely
agreeable people may never stand up for themselves, while those who are too assertive can be
Previous Next
[Index]
Change
Personality is reasonably stable over the lifespan, and is also powerfully influenced by hereditary or
genetic factors. Despite this, personality can broaden or even transform. As people age, for
example, they tend to become more agreeable, conscientious and emotionally stable.
Changing personality means changing habits of action, presumption and perception. Personality
change requires the formulation of clear future goals, as well as discipline and practice. People who
are too agreeable can learn to stand up for themselves. Disorderly people can become more
conscientious. Introverted people can become socially skilled. People who experience paralyzing
[Index]
Extraversion/Introversion
Select Relevant Items
Please select habits that apply to you. You can select up to 10 habits, and are required to select at
least 2. Be over-inclusive. Don’t worry if some of the bad habit descriptions do not really apply, as
you will get to specify the most typical habits later, when you make your final fault selection, prior
to writing.