Prompt 1: After visiting the above sites, write briefly about what you learned and share

your personality type (your four letter “score” according to the Jung Personality Typology)
– or the four letter type that you believe most accurately describes you. Which of the two
instruments seemed to better capture your true personality? Why?

When I took the Jung test I found out that I was an INFJ. It broke it down as 22% introverted,
34% intuitive, 9% feeling, and 16% judging. When I took the Keirsey test it told me that based
on my INFJ result I was an idealist-counselor, which is someone who has strong desires to help
others, maintain a rich personal life, and cooperate with others. The typology breakdown also
mentioned that INFJ’s tend to stick up for the underdog, and that they are suspicious of people’s
true motives and meanings.
I think the Keirsey test was more accurate because it gave me a better breakdown and there
were also other options to explore, including career choices and social life. It also made me feel
like it knew exactly who I was. I was reading it and I was amazed at how elaborate the
description was and how much I related to it.

Prompt 2: Contrast the two different personality instruments. What similarities/differences

did you notice? What new insights/perspectives did the “Big 5” reveal that the Jung
Typology did not? Provide some examples of some of your behaviors – and how those
behaviors relate to your “Big Five” scores.

The Jung typology was nice because it told me that I was an introvert, and that I was intuitive
and feeling. It gave me characteristics more than anything. The 123 test was different because it
broke down your behaviors and told you what percentile you were in. I learned that I was in the
88% for openness and conscientiousness, which were my two highest. These mean that I am
open minded and experimental, disciplined, organized, and efficient in my actions. My lowest
was natural reactions at 14%. This means that I’m calm in high stress situations and that I am
not easily upset.
I find this to be true in many of my experiences. I spend a lot of my free time tidying and
organizing, and when things are busy at work I am always able to stay very level headed and
produce quality work.

Prompt 3: Share your results and what you learned about yourself based on your research
into these personality tests with a loved one, friend, or trusted colleague. (If possible, have
that person take your favorite of the personality tests as well.) Your goal here is to discover
some additional insights about yourself that you may have missed when you initially
reviewed and thought about your results. What did you learn by sharing/discussing your
results with someone else?

I shared the results with my mom because she is someone who knows me best. I mentioned to
her that I was low in the natural reactions category and she asked me about my anxiety. I have
chronic anxiety that I take medication for and she was asking me if the results said anything
about INFJ’s being susceptible to anxiety or wondering what other people feel about them since
they are always analyzing the world around them. She also mentioned that I am at 45%
extraversion on the 123 test. She thinks this is relevant because she always says I’m an
“Introverted extravert.” I like hanging out with people and sometimes I really hate to be alone. I
don’t like parties or large groups but I rarely isolate myself.
What I learned most from sharing this with my mom is that I view myself as a totally normal but
other people think I am reserved and that I sometimes spend a lot of time daydreaming. My
mom told me that I have a very elaborate view of the world and that I like to take time to think
about the human condition and our existence and why everything matters. I had her take the
Jung test and she was an ENTJ.

Prompt 4: Reflect on what you learned about the concept of emotional intelligence based on
what you read in your textbook and online. Based on your results with the above tools,
what would you consider to be your strengths and weaknesses with respect to emotional
intelligence? Discuss the concept with a loved one, friend, or trusted colleague. What are
their perceptions with respect to your self-appraisal?

When I took the emotional intelligence test it told me I had high emotional intelligence, and
that the work I put towards my goals tends to align with my personal values. It did, however,
warn me not to lose track of the “why.” I often work so hard to make sure that I am doing
everything right or to the fullest of my ability but I forget to give myself a reason to my behavior,
making it harder for me to put in my very best effort. I appreciate the reminder a lot to step
back and remember the purpose of the whole thing.
One of the key terms highlighted by McCann (2016) was persistence, which is the ability to
monitor and control the way you feel so that it doesn’t affect your work (p. 105). I feel that I am
good at remaining objective and keeping my sights on the goal rather than letting little things
disturb me or cloud my vision.

Prompt 5: Contrast your textbook’s discussion of the role of stress in human relations with
National Geographic’s documentary “Stress: Portrait of a Killer.” What, specifically, was
most interesting to you with respect to the film? What kinds of connections can you make
between stress, personality, and human relations? (Be explicit here, and cite your sources.)
Provide a couple of examples of specific stressful situations from your life – as well as your
own stress-related behaviors in those instances. In reviewing the “Moderators of Stress” in
Chapter 4 of your textbook, what are some of the factors that seem to moderate your stress
levels (specific personality traits/coping style/social support/coping strategies)? Discuss the
approaches which work best for you with respect to stress management, as well as
strategies you might employ to reduce your stress.

McCann (2016) talks about the phases of stress and how they eventually lead to exhaustion
phase where our body has been in such a severe state of phase that it starts to breakdown and
people can experience headaches and have issues with their immune response (p. 109). I thought
this was interesting because you’ll often notice that people who are stressed are sick frequently
and do not feel as well as someone who lives a leisurely lifestyle. The move was really
interesting and I thought it was interesting that the public’s view of stress was very different
thirty years ago. What I found most interesting was that those further up in the hierarchy had low
stress levels and very high dopamine, while the lower ranking baboons had high stress, high
blood pressure, and low levels of dopamine (“Stress”, 2008). This seems counterproductive.
Usually when people think of high stress jobs they think of managers in corporate business,
bankers, financers, accountants, and generally anyone who has a lot of responsibility. The
science is showing us that the stress does not come from responsibility but where you feel your
place is in a particular hierarchy. It was also noted that when the baboons went through a crisis
situation, the baboons who were more social and lower ranking were less likely to die (“Stress”,
2008). Those who know how to interact with others and make genuine connections have better
coping mechanisms than others. McGonigal (2013) discussed oxytocin and how it heightens
living creatures’ social needs and makes you want to tell people about how you’re feeling, and
how this response made a drastic decrease in the likeliness to die as a person who is stressed.
with others can increase our lifespan and quality of life. Our book explains the importance of
having social support which is the “awareness that the people in our lives care about us”
(McCann, 2016, p. 113). This is important because humans are so stressed out but sharing our
stress and communicating
I personally have a lot of stress. I work the 4am shift at my job. I have to wake up at 3:15 a.m. at
least four days a week and work until about 12:30 p.m. while being a full-time student,
maintaining a restful sleep cycle, and having time to interact with my friends and family. I also
struggle with anxiety and feel that I always have to keep myself busy so that I don’t start to
overthink things. I spend a lot of time using motion-focused coping, which helps to regulate
emotions and return us to a less heightened state (McCann, 2016, p. 112). I exercise regularly,
mediate, and work to keep my mind occupied and help myself feel less overwhelmed.

References

McCann, Vivian  (2016).  Human Relations:  The art and science of building effective
relationships (2nd ed.).  Pearson Education, Inc.

McGonigal, K. (2013). How to make stress your friend. Retrieved

from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcGyVTAoXEU

Stress, portrait of a killer - full documentary (2008). Retrieved

from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYG0ZuTv5rs