During this unit, we learned all about the structure of our personality and our gender identities. A person’s gender identity is composed from many different variables. Someone’s sexual orientation lays out the basic direction of their sexual and romantic attraction towards the same sex, the opposite sex, or both genders. Although our sexual orientation is assumed at birth, some people struggle with their sexual orientation as they grow up and begin to experiment with themselves. As they mature and begin to think for themselves, people can discover that the line between gay, straight, and bi are not as clearly drawn as most people think. For those who may chose to change their sexual orientation risk negative reactions from family and friends, which is brought on by ignorance or just plain homophobia. Not only is sexual orientation something that some people wrestle with, there are more issues that are also out of their control. There are many sexual dysfunctions that are problems in a person’s sexual behavior or performance that has the tendency of causing much distress and frustration. Lot of these sexual dysfunctions are completely out of someone’s control, as they may have surfaced from a biological cause. Things like erectile dysfunction is something that is often hereditary and passed down from parent to child. Other things like performance anxiety surface from psychological causes, which can become rooted during an unstable relationships. Both of these different types of sexual dysfunctions can be helped with therapy like sensate-focus exercises.
Moving into learnings about the personality, we studied masculinity and femininity, which are a person’s tendencies and interests that are set by stereotypical ideas about what it means to be masculine or feminine. For example, men are associated with ruggedness while women are associated with gentleness. Not every man is completely masculine while not all women are completely feminine. Men who posses some feminine tendencies may be labeled as metrosexuals while women who have some masculine tendencies are labeled a tomboys. The ability to identify where you stand on the scale is a part of creating your self-theory, which is the process of creating a sense of self and individuality.
Moving into learnings about the personality, we studied masculinity and femininity, which are a person’s tendencies and interests that are set by stereotypical ideas about what it means to be masculine or feminine. For example, men are associated with ruggedness while women are associated with gentleness. Not every man is completely masculine while not all women are completely feminine. Men who posses some feminine tendencies may be labeled as metrosexuals while women who have some masculine tendencies are labeled a tomboys. The ability to identify where you stand on the scale is a part of creating your self-theory, which is the process of creating a sense of self and individuality.
Another part in creating this big idea of “me” or “I” can be achieved by identifying the three mental entities that create a person’s personality. By identifying your id, ego, & superego, you can understand your unconscious behavior, your intellectual demands, and your internal moral compass. When seeking to satisfy your ego, a person will try to meet their subconscious demands in a practical and socially acceptable way. The ego uses defense mechanisms to prevent anxiety or tension if their desires are unattainable or if they fail to reach these subconscious goals. Different things like repression allow people to forget about their problems while denial is choosing to ignore the truth of the matter. There are also many defense mechanisms like reaction formation, rationalization, projection, |
sublimation, regression, and displacement that are used to adjust and adapt to the many demands of the id that the ego works to meet. While learning about this, I was able to understand that I often use reaction formation to make up for not being able to live up to the high standards that I set for myself. I often care way too much about what other people think of me, so if I get any sort of negative feedback from someone, I try to completely eliminate that fault instead of altering it so it suits me better. For example, if someone were to say that I am too boisterous or loud spoken, I would react by not speaking up hardly at all or saying it in a way that people couldn’t possibly be offended by it. Through this unit, I was able to identify that this might not be the most affective way to deal with my faults. Since then, I have been not only trying to just accept who I am regardless of what anyone else thinks, but I have also been trying to not make as drastic changes. This is not only an effort to neutralize my defensive tendencies, but to boost my own self-esteem without the approval of others.
Lastly, we learned about our personality traits by taking multiple personality tests and relating our results to our lives, experiences, and personality. As demonstrated in the video below, I was able to develop my trait perspective of myself throughout this unit. From observing the results of my personality tests, I was able to visualize and understand who I am as an individual. To be honest, I never realized how much I am driven by independence and rationalism. I am so often characterized as someone who does what they want and is more-so of a free spirit. After seeing in my results that I am also an extremely analytical and independent person, I was also able to understand why my label as a “free spirit” is encouraging but also stressful at the same time. Without this unit, my understanding of myself would not be as developed as it is today, but I am sure that I still have so much to learn in the coming years. | If the link doesn't work, it's right here. |