miss fortune
not to be trusted
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- Oct 4, 2007
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Yeah, like that one time when a dude got a pole through his freakin' head and his personality drastically changed. I don't think any typology theory would accurately explain that.
Even still, typology and trait-based theories like the Big Five might still be useful. The thing is, after we've theorized a bit, we've gotta find their limitations. We ask: do these theories hold up for individuals over time? Do they necessarily need to? For example, Multiplicity posits that our traits are situational. I believe that's a valid line of inquiry--probably a result of trying to tie theories back to the real world.
If they don't hold up for people over time, they might still be good as snapshots at points in time, typical representations for personal development, etc. We could use them to guide individuals' direction from the present moment, even if we don't pretend that their personalities are static.
I would take more of a snapshot approach than a static approach... I can attest that I'm definitely a different person than I was in High School (when I was the poser child of ExTJ)
and Phineas Gage! I remember reading about him as a kid!!!