Observations Essay

Just like the process science proceeds through, the stepping stones to reaching the deepest understanding of one’s own personality, follow the same distinct pathway. The first step into anything, including both scientific understanding as well as the understanding of one’s personality, is to observe our surroundings. The way one can do this is by using solely one’s unassisted five natural senses (taste, smell, touch, sight, and hearing, but one can also do this with items that can enhance and assist our five senses. These observations are also called unsystematic observations. The second step in this process is called building theories which is doing exactly what it says, creating a theory. This is accomplished by collecting and analyzing the observations that were discovered in step one. In the third step, evaluating propositions, one takes the theories from step two that derived from the observations gathered in step one, this is tested through a process call ed the context of justification. This is where one attempts to justify why the theory may or may not be true as well as using observations to prove or disprove one’s theories. The term personality is defined as, the combination of different traits or qualities that form an individual’s distinct character. There are theories of the personality as well such as, trait theories, psychodynamic theories, behavioral theories, and humanist theories. Trait theories suggest that there are a limited number of personality types that are influenced by biological factors. Psychodynamic theories emphasize the influence of the unconscious mind of the personality. Behavioral theories suggest that the personality is formed through and are the result of an individual’s interaction with their environment. Humanist theories emphasize the importance of free will and individual experience in  the personality’s development. Based on the newly acquired knowledge about unsystematic observation, building theories, and evaluating propositions as well as the already known knowledge of the personality, I can apply these suggested processes to better understand my own personality. I have a real issue with road rage, and by using unsystematic observations I have noticed what things tend to trigger my road rage, such as people tailgating me, the way I drive personally, and the type of environments I tend to have to drive around in while on the go. I also observed my reactions to these situations and have begun to develop a theory and have been building a theory based off my observations. I have noticed I tend to be impatient in similar high pressure situations such as crowded areas and close contact situations, like malls and stores, which is very similar to when I am driving. I then have been to begin evaluating the propositions through the context of justification and have found that my observations have proven that my road rage results from my impatience in high pressure and close contact situations. Work Cited: http://psychology.about.com/od/overviewofpersonality/a/persondef.htm PART I THE BACKGROUND: PERSONS, HUMAN NATURE, AND CULTURE, Copyright  © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Roberts,Ashley Week 1 CheckPoint: Observations Write a 200- to 300-word response to the following: How have you used the scientific process (unsystematic observation, building theories, and evaluating propositions) in your life to better understand your personality? Provide an example in your response.