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What makes you who you are as a person? You probably have some idea of your own personality type — are you bubbly or reserved, sensitive or thick-skinned? Psychologists who try to tease out the science of who we are define personality as individual differences in the way people tend to think, feel and behave.
There are many ways to measure personality, but psychologists have mostly given up on trying to divide humanity neatly into types. Instead, they focus on personality traits.
The most widely accepted of these traits are the Big Five:
Conveniently, you can remember these traits with the handy OCEAN mnemonic (or, if you prefer, CANOE works, too).
The Big Five are the ingredients that make up each individual's personality. A person might have a dash of openness, a lot of conscientiousness, an average amount of extraversion, plenty of agreeableness and almost no neuroticism at all. Or someone could be disagreeable, neurotic, introverted, conscientious and hardly open at all. Here's what each trait entails:
Openness is shorthand for "openness to experience." People who are high in openness enjoy adventure. They're curious and appreciate art, imagination and new things. The motto of the open individual might be "Variety is the spice of life."
People low in openness are just the opposite: They prefer to stick to their habits, avoid new experiences and probably aren't the most adventurous eaters. Changing personality is usually considered a tough process, but openness is a personality trait that's been shown to be subject to change in adulthood. In a 2011 study, people who took psilocybin, or hallucinogenic "magic mushrooms," became more open after the experience. The effect lasted at least a year, suggesting that it might be permanent.
Speaking of experimental drug use, California's try-anything culture is no myth. A study of personality traits across the United States released in 2013 found that openness is most prevalent on the West Coast.
People who are conscientious are organized and have a strong sense of duty. They're dependable, disciplined and achievement-focused. You won't find conscientious types jetting off on round-the-world journeys with only a backpack; they're planners.
People low in conscientiousness are more spontaneous and freewheeling. They may tend toward carelessness. Conscientiousness is a helpful trait to have, as it has been linked to achievement in school and on the job.
Extraversion versus introversion is possibly the most recognizable personality trait of the Big Five. The more of an extravert someone is, the more of a social butterfly they are. Extraverts are chatty, sociable and draw energy from crowds. They tend to be assertive and cheerful in their social interactions.
Introverts, on the other hand, need plenty of alone time, perhaps because their brains process social interaction differently. Introversion is often confused with shyness, but the two aren't the same. Shyness implies a fear of social interactions or an inability to function socially. Introverts can be perfectly charming at parties — they just prefer solo or small-group activities.
Agreeableness measures the extent of a person's warmth and kindness. The more agreeable someone is, the more likely they are to be trusting, helpful and compassionate. Disagreeable people are cold and suspicious of others, and they're less likely to cooperate.
Men who are high in agreeableness are judged to be better dancers by women, suggesting that body movement can signal personality. (Conscientiousness also makes for good dancers, according to the same 2011 study.) But in the workplace, disagreeable men actually earn morethan agreeable guys. Disagreeable women didn't show the same salary advantage, suggesting that a no-nonsense demeanor is uniquely beneficial to men.
To understand neuroticism, look no further than George Costanza of the long-running sitcom "Seinfeld." George is famous for his neuroses, which the show blames on his dysfunctional parents. He worries about everything, obsesses over germs and disease and once quits a job because his anxiety over not having access to a private bathroom is too overwhelming.
George may be high on the neuroticism scale, but the personality trait is real. People high in neuroticism worry frequently and easily slip into anxiety and depression. If all is going well, neurotic people tend to find things to worry about. One 2012 study found that when neurotic people with good salaries earned raises, the extra income actually made them less happy.
In contrast, people who are low in neuroticism tend to be emotionally stable and even-keeled.
Unsurprisingly, neuroticism is linked with plenty of bad health outcomes. Neurotic people die younger than the emotionally stable, possibly because they turn to tobacco and alcohol to ease their nerves.
Possibly the creepiest fact about neuroticism, though, is that parasites can make you feel that way. And we're not talking about the natural anxiety that might come with knowing that a tapeworm has made a home in your gut. Undetected infection by the parasite Toxoplasma gondii may make people more prone to neuroticism, a 2006 study found.
Though personality types have fallen out of favor in modern psychological research as too reductive, they're still used by career counselors and in the corporate world to help crystallize people's understanding of themselves. Perhaps the most famous of these is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. A questionnaire based on the work of early psychologist Carl Jung sorts people into categories based on four areas: sensation, intuition, feeling and thinking, as well as extraversion/introversion.
Sensing and intuition refer to how people prefer to gather information about the world, whether through concrete information (sensing) or emotional feelings (intuition). Thinking and feeling refer to how people make decisions. Thinking types go with logic, while feeling types follow their hearts.
The Myers-Briggs system is rounded out with the judging/perception dichotomy, which describes how people choose to interact with the world. Judging types like decisive action, while perceiving types prefer open options.
The use of the Myers-Briggs is controversial, as research suggests that types don’t correlate well with job satisfaction or abilities.
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questions!
A Better Way of Talking About Beauty
BEAUTY ESL QUESTIONS
1. Does beauty affect one's success in life?
2. Is it better to be physically attractive or intelligent?
3. Is it better to be physically attractive or wealthy?
4. Is beauty related to power?
Can you think of anyone who is in a position of power that is not physically attractive?
5. Do people spend too much time and money on beauty?
6. How much time should be spent on making yourself look better each day?
7. Who would you say is beautiful that others maybe wouldn't?
8. Do you think people should have cosmetic surgery to enhance their looks?
If so what is the minimum age when someone should have plastic surgery?
How popular is plastic surgery in your country?
What is the most popular feature for cosmetic alteration?
Do you think self-esteem affects beauty?
Do you think beauty affects self-esteem?
9. How important is beauty in your daily life?
10. Have you ever noticed anyone ever feeling pressured to be more beautiful?
11.What do you think of the proverb, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder?"
Do you have any proverbs or idioms from your country that relate to beauty?
12. What do you think "beauty is skin deep" means?
13. What are some beauty tips that you could share?
14. Do you think people with many tattoos can be beautiful?
How many tattoos are too many?
Would you ever get a tattoo?
Do you have a tattoo?
15. Do you think people with many piercings can be beautiful?
What kind of body piercing, if any, do you feel are acceptable?
What kind of piercing, if any, do you feel are unacceptable?
16. What personality trait is the most important for inner beauty?
17. How do you define beauty, using your own words?
18. Would you ever date someone who was not conventionally attractive?
19. What makes one person more attractive than another?
20. Do you think people from different countries than you see attractive the same way?
21. Is there someone famous that is considered beautiful, that you think is not?
22. Are beauty pageants good or bad?
23. Should children be entered into beauty pageants?
24. Do you think one gender or group worries more about beauty than another?
25. Would you want your children to be beautiful or talented?
26. What are some of the drawbacks of being beautiful?
27. What do you think about plastic surgery?
Would you ever have plastic surgery?
If so, what would you change?
28. What do you think of celebrities who get plastic surgery?
29. Do you think it's necessary to have plastic surgery if you are famous in order to be successful?
30. Do you think skin color affects whether a person is regarded as beautiful or not?
31. Do you think that fairer skin makes you more beautiful?
32. What are some advantages of being beautiful?
33. What makes someone beautiful in your country?
What differs between that idea and the American idea of beauty?
34. What do you think "beauty is skin deep" means?
35. How many different adjectives can you think of to describe a beautiful woman or a handsome man
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