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There is no such thing as personality.

Seanan

Procrastinating
Joined
Feb 18, 2008
Messages
954
MBTI Type
INTJ
Well, just one really: Note my signature.;)

And... whoever said: The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. I'm not throwin that out anytime soon.
 

Valiant

Courage is immortality
Joined
Jul 7, 2007
Messages
3,895
MBTI Type
ENTJ
Enneagram
8w7
Instinctual Variant
sx/so
I very much agree with Seanan. Most of the time we do it like we've done it in the past. Behaviour patterns. And I think they in turn shape us to who we becomes. And the more you stick to something the harder it is to change.

For an example, I probably became an ESTP when I was little because I grew up the way I did. I was pretty much allowed to be a wild child at certain areas of life, my parents weren't much for rules THAT way, but the way they raised me was that I always have to be honest, empathic etc. And because my father is an ENTP techie I probably became a sensor from spending too much time inventing primitive gadgets in the bigass garage he has. I do not complain... My inventive capabilities are way beyond normal and I use them all the time to find quick solutions in social and technical situations.

Wheoa... That was a lot of elaboration. I do however believe that experiences in life can re-shape us to act after other behaviour patterns. When i'm depressed I become very INTP:ish for an example. So I don't think that personality types is a FIXED situation and a final decision of who you are or anything.

However i'm very much ESTP most of the time.
 

Valiant

Courage is immortality
Joined
Jul 7, 2007
Messages
3,895
MBTI Type
ENTJ
Enneagram
8w7
Instinctual Variant
sx/so
I am very balanced, and generally i'm a goddamn weirdo :smile:
But, Rhino, please elaborate on why i'm not like any ESTP's you've met?
 

rhinosaur

Just a statistic
Joined
Apr 23, 2007
Messages
1,464
MBTI Type
INTP
But, Rhino, please elaborate on why i'm not like any ESTP's you've met?
You don't sound like them. Read more of whatever's posts. She sounds like them.

Of course, I don't really know you, so none of this really means anything.
 

Valiant

Courage is immortality
Joined
Jul 7, 2007
Messages
3,895
MBTI Type
ENTJ
Enneagram
8w7
Instinctual Variant
sx/so
I read a lot, and i'm affected in how I express myself from the specific books i'm reading. I think the art of expressing thoughts in words is really the highest form of art, because it really has an effect.

If, for an example, my english was as bad as most european people speak and write it, you guys wouldn't even bother reading my posts. And there wouldn't even be a remote possibility of a polite reply.

Reading is generally not an ESTP trait, I know. But that's because of my family and relatives, we all read a lot. And most are highly educated people, and that has affected me pretty much I think.
 

ygolo

My termites win
Joined
Aug 6, 2007
Messages
5,986
I think the article was mainly asserting that "traits" are not really permanent things but situational. Not denying the stability of tendencies over time.

Just food for thought.

----
There is also on article in the most recent Psychology Today about learning the personality traits of courage, optimism, and joy.

Not easy to learn. But possible was the claim.
 

mortabunt

Permabanned
Joined
Apr 10, 2009
Messages
963
MBTI Type
type
Enneagram
5
There has to be something like personality, as people act diferently even if they are identical twins raised in the some home.
 

Eagle

New member
Joined
Mar 9, 2009
Messages
733
MBTI Type
ISTJ
Enneagram
1w9
Instinctual Variant
sx/so
Technically we could say that there is no such thing as personality since it comes from the term "persona" meaning mask. People might where many different "masks" in their eyes, but those "masks" still make up apart of who they are.

Then again we could say that there is such thing as personality for the same reasons we say it exists.
 

nightning

ish red no longer *sad*
Joined
Apr 23, 2007
Messages
3,741
MBTI Type
INfj
Does not understand why all these threads must be resurrected...

If you read up on personality psychology vs sociology... you'll see that personality contributes to only 10-30% of our actions... the rest is situationally determined. But that small percentage is still something. And knowing personality and context together we can better predict behaviour than just looking at situational determinants alone.
 

velocity

New member
Joined
Oct 22, 2008
Messages
477
MBTI Type
epic
yup yup
transcend personality in favor of individuality
and then realize you don't even have that :D (but the important thing is to keep learning, growing, and challenging yourself)
life is good. :D
 

Queen Kat

The Duchess of Oddity
Joined
Apr 3, 2009
Messages
3,053
MBTI Type
E.T.
Enneagram
7w8
I don't agree with that guy. I think that there IS something like personality, I'm just not sure if everybody has one. I know some people who look like they might be like zombies or something, because they're just nothing but walking and talking bodies that don't want anything.
 
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