What compells people to create/study personality theories?

[Athenian200]

I know that I've been studying them for a long time, but I wonder exactly what would contribute to it for others? I can tell you what it is for me:

1. To understand myself.

2. To know a little about a person's self-image/personality so I have a better idea how to deal with them, and understand them.

3. It's fascinating and intricate, with so many variations and ideas.

 

[htb]

1. An interest in behavioral taxonomy or self-discovery.

2. Kthulu.

a. That hand.​

b. The window! The window!​

 

[ygolo]

To attempt to understand people (Prognosis, not good so far).

 

[Ghost of the dead horse]

1) Needed when I experienced a burnout.

I wanted to do this when I experienced burnout and couldn't do my previous way of life. My personality experienced a forced discontinuity at the moment, as opposed to develepment. So I wanted to see what I could do and how to think about it, and if there where other things in me that I could do happily.

2) People can be known better and faster and many problems bypassed if you know how people think, feel and act, and care and appreciate it.

3) There are some tendencies in people to feel/think certain way, but without recognizing it, people can just follow outside pressure and adapt to the point of their internal emptiness and bad feelings. So it's better to know oneself and know where your real strengths and desires are in the long run.

 

[INTJMom]

To understand and accept myself.
To improve myself.
To understand and accept others.

 

[ptgatsby]

In my case;

As a child, to understand why I was bullied... what made people tick.

As a teenager, to understand why I started to become like them.

As a young 20s, to understand how to communicate.

At late 20s, where I am now, to see how to make things happen - how to work in groups, how to communicate, how to help my SO, how to deal with my own shortcomings. Everything from before and a bit more towards "manipulation" now, I suppose.

 

[Athenian200]

In my case;

As a child, to understand why I was bullied... what made people tick.

As a teenager, to understand why I started to become like them.

You mean you went around punching and threatening people and getting into trouble? Why didn't you say so earlier? Now I believe you're an xSTP.

But anyway, those are good reasons.

It seems as though most of us are doing this to understand other people and ourselves. I guess that's something we all have in common.

 

[Randomnity]

To understand my motivations better.
To understand others' motivations.
To better interact with others. (hasn't helped much with this though)

 

[ptgatsby]

You mean you went around punching and threatening people and getting into trouble? Why didn't you say so earlier? Now I believe you're an xSTP.

Heh, I wish. No, it was just verbal and it wasn't major. I can't let it go though, either... so when that cognitive dissonance ended, I made it a goal to understand how it had happened to me.

 

[INTJMom]

.

 

[Athenian200]

Heh, I wish. No, it was just verbal and it wasn't major. I can't let it go though, either... so when that cognitive dissonance ended, I made it a goal to understand how it had happened to me.

Well, that's nothing to worry about. I've verbally bullied people more often than I care to admit. Although usually I try to be more diplomatic. And it isn't like I've never gotten mad enough to physically hurt someone, although I feel really, really, bad and self-loathing for several days if I do that.

So verbal bullying doesn't prove you're an S. Sorry.

 

[ptgatsby]

Well, that's nothing to worry about. I've verbally bullied people more often than I care to admit. Although usually I try to be more diplomatic. And it isn't like I've never gotten mad enough to physically hurt someone, although I feel really, really, bad and self-loathing for several days if I do that.

I think it was traumatic to me because I saw myself a certain way - someone who would never do what others had done to me. However, once I moved beyond the black-white stage of life and I realised what I was doing, it more or less crushed part of my identity. The recovery from that... well, I never fully recovered. It brought a rather large loss of self, of ego... and it drove me to understand myself and others.

The problem is, if I remember correctly, you have a higher neurotic rating. It sounds to me more like you lashed out, whereas I actually took on the bully role.

So verbal bullying doesn't prove you're an S. Sorry.

Hmmm, just to be clear, I don't really care at this point anymore

 

[quietgirl]

I was introduced to it awhile back by my mother, but I continued to explore it on my own - mainly to figure myself out! I was always a mystery to myself and others as a child and MBTI sheds some light on who i am. Furthermore, it helps me accept and work on my negative qualities.

I like theory in general. I like to pick it apart, study it's components, and work it all into some complex system. It's fascinating to me.

People fascinate me, despite my introversion. I'm especially interested in interactions between people and how to make them as diplomatic as possible. I enjoy understanding others.

 

[Randomnity]

Well, that's nothing to worry about. I've verbally bullied people more often than I care to admit.

For the record, I would much, much rather have been physically bullied as a child than the verbal bullying I got. That's probably weird, but I never minded getting banged up.

I'm probably misunderstanding you, I guess I'm just bristling a little at you saying that being intentionally mean to people is "nothing to worry about".

 

[Athenian200]

For the record, I would much, much rather have been physically bullied as a child than the verbal bullying I got. That's probably weird, but I never minded getting banged up.

I'm probably misunderstanding you, I guess I'm just bristling a little at you saying that being intentionally mean to people is "nothing to worry about".

Well, I guess I've always been able to sort of ignore a verbal insult, because I know the following:

1. Reacting badly to it is what they want me to do, and it won't do me any good.

2. I may be able to use it to guilt them later on.

3. Even if they don't like me, I can use it to make them look bad.

4. If I don't react to it, and the person is a bully, they're less likely to continue to pursue that course of action if it doesn't successfully agitate me.

So when someone insults me, they're not really hurting me... now, attacking me on the other hand would be a frightening problem.

It's probably the difference between Ni and Se. You're a lot more sensitive than I would have thought. I'll have to reconsider my idea of SP's as aggressive... because what's aggressive to me is nothing to them, and what's nothing to me is aggressive to them. Amazing that two people could be so different.

Come to think of it, I seem much more bothered when I see someone hurting another person's feelings than when someone attacks me personally. (although I don't really care for either.)

 

[ygolo]

A bit off topic, but what constitutes verbal bullying?

I think personal attacks on particular people or their traits may be contrued as verbal bullying.

I don't believe, I've participated in that. But I have used plenty of strong language that others sometime finds offensive (I don't mean cursing).

Where do you draw the line?

 

[Athenian200]

A bit off topic, but what constitutes verbal bullying?

I think personal attacks on particular people or their traits may be contrued as verbal bullying.

I don't believe, I've participated in that. But I have used plenty of strong language that others sometime finds offensive (I don't mean cursing).

Where do you draw the line?

Well, I think it would include cursing. But it can also involve jeers and mocking, pointing out a person's flaws unmercifully, and spreading rumors about the person.

 

[Kiddo]

To understand and accept myself.
To improve myself.
To understand and accept others.

Same here.

 

[ptgatsby]

A bit off topic, but what constitutes verbal bullying?

I think in this case verbal means more non-physical. That's because it comes out in all sorts of styles - that group of girls laughing and pointing, the jock yelling in your face, the relentless comments in the hall or just social isolation.

I agree with Randomnity, I would of preferred physical more than the rest, although I got some of both and they both really suck.

I think personal attacks on particular people or their traits may be contrued as verbal bullying.

It can be, but bullying is more about style than content. It needs to be degrading and isolating.

 

[hotmale]

I know that I've been studying them for a long time, but I wonder exactly what would contribute to it for others? I can tell you what it is for me:

1. To understand myself.

2. To know a little about a person's self-image/personality so I have a better idea how to deal with them, and understand them.

3. It's fascinating and intricate, with so many variations and ideas.

Mainly it's very useful in management situations where you have to deal with other people's way of interaction. Although to be honest, I think studying personality is an entertaining form of solving puzzles- however those who use it to study their neuroses- are probably in the majority demographic who mainly like self-help books: such as How To Become A Stud In Real Life, How To Be The Most Wanted Girl In The World or Why My Father and Mother Hated and Bullied Me As A Child etc. You won't believe how unbelievably best-selling these inane things are.