Understanding Personality - Essay Example

Understanding Personality Personality is important as a basis for understanding how to counsel people. Personalities differ among individuals as their environment, gender, ethnicity, education level and rearing all play an essential part to the development of their ability to resolve conflict. For instance, an uneducated black man from a rural environment may diffuse a tense situation differently from an highly educated black woman raised in the suburbs. However, there is a flip side to this scenario as the variable would be the tense situation.

The situation itself must be take into consideration because what is considered tense to one individual may not incite the same reaction in another individual. Personality can be described as the combination of attributes such as behavioral, temperamental, emotional and mental traits that make a person an unique individual. Ones personality typically derives from a combination of externalities such as environment, and educational level combined with internalaties such as gender, and ethnicity.

Ones personality made up of their various characteristics operate to influence ones overall behavior which can be described as personality dynamics. An individuals personality dynamics are also molded by cognitive processes and culture. Ones cognitive processes describes how one interpret situations and their concluded answer to their interpretation of the thought process. This can vary by culture as culture is a sense of connection to a social group and since thought process is a variable, culture influences on ones thought process may create that variable as attitudes and feelings of a group may differ from culture to culture.

For instance, the police beating Rodney King which incited a riot in Los Angeles, California in 1991. The police officers were acquitted of the usage of excessive force by a predominantly white jury that consisted of only 2 minorities which neither were from Black descent. The jury found that Rodney King resisted arrest inspite of the visual and physical evidence that insinuated excessive force. The outrage from the verdict infused folks from the Black culture as their cognitive perception of the interpretation of the visual evidence differed greatly from the jury.

The cognitive process of the Blacks in that area had preconceived ideologies about police brutality that differed from other cultures which in turn incited a riot. The preconceived belief about police brutality had an influence on the personality dynamics of the Blacks that participated in the riots. Although the act could be deemed vile by some, the cognitive process which impacted the culture found the riot justifiable. The environment in which the rioters were reared had experienced countless bouts of police brutality which influenced their overall cognitive beliefs about the police and their role in their culture.

However, the role of the police in the cognitive process of a different culture may vastly differ if that culture have never experienced negative behavior by their police. There are several important influences on personality dynamics that impact ones personality. Gender can impact ones personality. Women are typically more nurturing than men therfore they may bring a more sensitive outlook to diffuse a situation. Also, ones child rearing may impact their personality. If one has been raised in an environment where hostility and violence are use as problem resolutions, then one may take that stance when conflict resolution is present.

Educational level may influence personality dynamics. One of higher learning typically analyzes a situation and possible outcomes more thoroughly therefore the mode by which they resolve an issue may differ from one with lower levels of learning. Finally, culture has an impact on personality dynamics. The norms and beliefs of a culture may arise when rendering decisions and interpreting situations through the cognitive thought process. Personality is an unique trait that differs among each individual.

A combination of externalities and internal views collectively impact that individuals thought process and decision making process when resolving conflicts. Variables such as environment, culture, gender and educational level all play an intricate part in the development of ones personality and personality dynamic.