Unfeeling Personalities

Sometimes my co-workers can be shallow, dishonest, unreliable, and generally fake when it comes to how they are at work. You can go into work one day and they are laughing and Joking with you, and the next day they can be snapping at you and treating you like you murdered someone. I usually Just deal with this at work, then go home and vent to my boyfriend about them. I never imagined that a simple test in a college class could change how I looked at my co-workers. We had to complete what is called the Golden Personality test for my First
Semester Seminar course, which took place from March 3rd to April 26th. This test was written by John P. Golden, who is an economic and social scientist. This test that he wrote presents a way to better understand not only the type of personality we have, but also what type of personality those around us have. Taking this test was meant to show the differences and similarities between personality types, and as a result, would make us more prepared to work with all the different types of people we may come across in our lives.
When I first went to take this test, I wasn’t really ere about how accurate it would be, but I believe that taking this test has made working with the people in my life, such as home, work, and school, a lot less difficult. Here are my reasons why I believe this test was effective. After you take this test, which is comprised of various questions about how we react to situations, people, places, etc. , you are given an “official” personality type.

This personality type is based off of your answers to the questions taken from sixteen different possible types, is represented by four letters, and each letter in the resonantly type describes aspects that stand out about your personality based upon your answers to the questions given. The test is also separated out into sections that show how you react and feel in life. The personality type that I was identified as when I took this test was an ‘NEFF’. The letters in my personality type stand for Extroversion, Intuiting, Feeling, and Judging.
The first section of the Golden Personality Test represents where and how you focus your energy in life. This could either be as an Extrovert, or an Introvert. An Extrovert is someone who enjoys being around others and focuses on people, places, etc. The opposite of that is the Introvert. Introverts like to keep to themselves, and although they still like the company of others, it is usually over the internet, such as in video games. When I took this test, my results showed that I don’t really have a clear preference on how and where I focus my energy, but I may prefer to be more Extroverted than Introverted.
This would mean that I focus my energy more on tangible things and people, and am a little more social and active, rather than sousing my energy on my thoughts and ideas and keeping solely to myself. I would have to say that I agree with this part of the test. I can be more social and tend to direct most of my energy toward people and things, but I also can be very reflective and want quiet time too. I love spending time with my friends and family, but I enjoy just sitting and being quiet in the woods by myself. Another good example of this is my music choices.
If you were to look at my play list, you would see everything from Lady Gaga and Kathy Perry, to Any and Celtic Woman. The second section of this test represents how you gather your information. This can be classified as either Sensing, or Intuiting. I was classified as someone who has a slight preference toward Intuiting. This would mean that I process information in a more ‘symbolic and global fashion’, and less in an ‘exact, detailed, and literal fashion’. It also means that I think more about what is possible and the big picture, rather than what are known and more practical issues.
I would say that I agree with this one as well. I do a lot of both types of information-gathering, but I tend to lean more award using my intuition. The facts’ are not always 100% accurate, even though we like to think so. The world is constantly changing; including so-called fact’, but our intuition stays the same and generally points us in the right direction. The next section of the Golden Personality test focuses on how you make decisions. This can be classified as either Thinking, or Feeling. This test showed that I lean more heavily toward the Feeling aspect rather than the Thinking aspect.
This means that I focus more on how my decisions will affect others rather than focusing n logic and rationality. I have to agree with this because I know that I tend to make my decisions based upon how I think it will affect others around me and less on the ‘normal’ way that people make decisions, which is usually based more on what is rational and logical. I like to describe it as me following my heart’. The fourth section of the test shows how you generally approach life. You can either be classified as Judging, or Perceiving.
I was classified as having a clear preference toward the Judging aspect rather than the Perceiving aspect. This would mean that I prefer an orderly, organized, and systematic approach to life, rather than a flexible and open-ended one. I would agree with this part of the test as well, except I believe I am closer to being in the middle ground of the two aspects, rather than preferring one more heavily than the other. I like order and things being organized and planned out, but I also like to Just go and do things on a whim and don’t really need to plan every single detail out.
The final section of the Golden Personality Test shows how you respond to daily life and what life throws at us each day. This is broken down in the test into two focuses: Tense, or Calm. This test showed that I typically respond to daily stress in more of a calm fashion rather than in a tense fashion. This means that I am more optimistic, calm, and relaxed about how things go in life. I agree with this section almost 100% because although I can be cautious and unsure of how things will go, I tend to be calmer and laid back about things than others.
If something isn’t working out, I tend to respond more in a cool and collected fashion rather than acting like it is he end of the world’. I definitely worry and am concerned with how things may go, but overall, I am cool and collected in stressful situations. This test is meant to show us what type of person we are, and in turn, make it easier to understand those around us. Overall, I would have to say that I agree with the results that this test provided for me. There are a few discrepancies with how it described my personality, but overall it was very accurate. People are diverse, and no two people are exactly alike.
I believe that this test is already helping me not only utter understand how my personality comes across to others, but also to understand better those that I work with in my Job, school, and anywhere else I come into contact and work with people. I now know why my co-workers act the way they do, and instead of Jumping to conclusions and Just thinking that they are horrible co- workers, I stop and take a look at what is going on with them. Sometimes there is a good reason they are acting the way they are. I am being more empathetic, less judgmental, and I am taking a closer look at the world around me and the people in it.