Type me for psychosophy
Hi there! I am quite new to psychosophy, since I was more occupied with attitudinal psyche, but I wanted to give this a try and learn more about it! Here's a questionnaire to type me! Some basic info: 24 year old male who is about to enter graduate school for psychology.
LOGIC:
Do you find that truth and understanding of systems in life are an important aspect that should be highly valued? How do you usually go about learning and forming an understanding of a concept?
Yes in a way. I don't feel driven or like it's my mission to find the truth for myself or for the world to know, but I do put a lot of effort at times to figuring out how things work ever since I was young. A word that has revolved around me that annoyed even adults was "why?". If a topic interested me enough, I would always ask questions about every angle and aspect I can think of about it without worrying if it sounded stupid. A lot of people do tell me that they do and that there is no point, but it rarely bothered me unless the situation got too dramatic or I was badly shamed out of it. The main way I went about understanding concepts or ideas was just talking and discussing about it with everyone, including the experts and even my parents about it, even if they had no clue about it at times. Other times, I would just dive in deep into it myself, reading about wikipedias, books, forum posts, etc. essentially surrounding my life around it for periods of times.
How easily do you find yourself changing opinions or viewpoints? What sorts of things can influence your views the most/least?
Easily to be honest. I will admit I get easily persuaded in my opinions and viewpoints with basic reasoning, but eventually try to center my opinions and viewpoints in a coherent, but flawed way of looking at it overall by making sense of it and discerning it myself.
Are you more likely to assume that you're right or wrong about an issue? Is it important for you to always be right?
How easy is it for you to admit it when you're wrong?
More likely to assume that I'm right, but it depends on my mood or the topic at heart. When I talk about something that I care about a lot or I feel like I'm in the mood to want to be right, even if I'm not sure, I do nearly everything I can to be right about it. It's not that easy a lot of times to admit that I'm wrong, but I know that it's important sometimes to just admit it to adapt to it and move on.
How do you react when someone disagrees with you during a logical debate? How do you go about defending your beliefs, it at all? Do these types of situations make you doubt your views easily?
I react with a bit of fear in me that I tend to hide within myself, but I oftentimes allow the person to explain. I go about defending my beliefs by first observing if there are any flaws in their reasoning and questioning how they arrived to such conclusions from their reasoning. I then also talk about how experience, both personal and other anecdotal, supports these reasonings These types of situations do make me doubt my views pretty easily, because I've been wrong and felt helpless in a lot of situations like this before.
How do you feel about debating logical chains and evidence? (Can discussions and debates help you sort your thoughts out, or are you more likely to see them as unnecessary? Do you find debates more stressful or fun?)
I find debates most of the time very fun to engage in as long as they are about topics I find interesting about and with the right people. Getting to hear what someone has to say and feeding that with thoughtful and insightful dialogue without necessarily trying to prove who is more right is how I prefer to have debates and discussions. I'm driven by curiosity and wanting to always find something interesting and new to talk about with others or by myself, while slightly preferring the former.
Do you feel the need to explain your own logical understanding to others? Do you feel the need to have others explain their understandings to you?
Absolutely! The more the merrier, to be honest. I like explaining every small detail of how I arrive at my understanding and conclusions, while wanting to ask for feedback and questions for what I presented. I also feel a strong need to ask for explanation, because deep inside me, I didn’t like ambiguity and lack of understanding behind people’s words.
VOLITION:
Do you consider yourself to be a naturally motivated person? What helps motivate you? Do you need others to motivate you and/or provide incentives for you to work?
Not really to be honest. Early on in my life, I kind of felt like I was drifting in life, which I didn’t like the feeling of. I slowly started picking up steam to make myself independent (trying exercise or meditation to clear my mind and learning to navigate my career choices in a trial and error way even if it was messy). Music, hopeful vision of my efforts, & positive feedback strongly motivate me, although I can sense that there is a lack of internal drive in me at times.
Are you someone who has a clear sense of direction and purpose? Is this something that matters to you? What do you gain a sense of meaning from?
I try a lot to show to both myself and other people that I have my life all planned out, but I know deep down, I don’t truly know whether a certain path is the right path for me. I constantly get doubts if I am the right person for this or if I will be fulfilled going forward with this, while overlooking other paths in my life. It does matter to me, as I want to be fulfilled in myself and make something significant I want to be proud of in the future, even if it seems unclear where to start for that.
How is your relationship with goals? Do you often share them with others (or help others with their goals)? Are you self-assured in what you set out to do, or are you more indecisive and/or easily persuaded by what others around you want?
I have a good relationship with my goals. The only problem is I often become overambitious and set my goals too high without taking factor of my own limits. Eventually, I do achieve a good amount of my goals, but not always in the most efficient way. I often share my goals, wanting to prove that I have my life in order (as mentioned in previous answer about showing to others about my life planned out). Alongside with that, I have no problem helping and even at times motivating others to strive towards their goals. Overall, I have no problems with short term goals to an extent, but feel more indecisive with my long term visions and goals, although I, in a sense, only try to figure these out myself (possibly due to it feeling like a waste of time to hear others’ advice on this as they don’t feel enough).
Are you bothered by failures and setbacks? How do you deal with them when they come up?
I only start to get seriously bothered by failures and setbacks if they keep happening consistently and to goals that I personally care a lot about. Sometimes, the initial failures /setbacks can get me wondering worst case scenario “what ifs”, but I still manage to adapt and tell myself I will be fine. When these failures and setbacks happen, I overthink a lot about my mistakes and how I got there. It can really drag on, causing me to be unable to rest or socialize until I solve this dilemma.
Are you someone who easily competes for things you truly desire? How do you feel about others telling you what to do, or trying to insert their desires into yours?
Yes. I take pride in certain things I care about and can get upset if the status or the things are taken away from me, although I try to tell myself to focus on what I can control. I sometimes compare myself with what others have and even sometimes check if I am in a competitive place in my life (e.g. checking if my school ranking or my ranking in school is good enough). I don’t like it at all when others try to tell me what to do in general, but I notice I unconsciously go along with their desires if I don’t notice any overt command like behavior at first.
How do you tend to act when you are part of a team? Are you more of a leader or a follower (or neither)? Do you have an easy time working cooperatively with others?
I try to act cooperatively, but more often than not, either I don’t feel like I felt like I was included or I find more differences between me and the group members. As a result, I prefer to act on things by myself, but when I am in groups I feel included in and share rapport with, I oftentimes take a big role and act cooperatively.
Do you consider yourself to be someone with a firm sense of identity? How do you feel when other people assert their ideas about who you are?
Not really. For a good while of my life, I wasn’t sure of my identity, which I only figured out bit by bit through trial and error (e.g. moving from major to major in college, not knowing what values to consider when looking for significant other, etc.). Even now, I don’t sense I have unshakeable confidence in my identity, although it has improved thanks to learning about socionics, enneagram, mbti, and life experience as an adult so far. I don’t really feel threatened by what other people’s ideas of me are (I even sometimes ask for advice on how I come off or who I seem).
PHYSICS:
How important are factors such as clothing, hygiene, and appearance to your everyday life? Do you feel confident in your body and tastes? Are you often swayed by trends and the opinions of others in terms of fashion and aesthetics?
Not that important to me, as long as I get the basics down and feel comfortable with these aspects of my everyday life, like making sure to e.g. brushing my teeth twice a day, showering every day, working out as much as I can, etc. I feel confident in my body and tastes all the time, especially when I feel fit, but I don’t put too much emphasis or thought to them. I’m indifferent to trends and opinions in terms of fashion or aesthetics.
How do you handle your senses being disturbed? Are you sensitive to problems like discomfort, sickness, and pain? (Or are you unaware/able to push past them/etc..)
When my senses are being disturbed, either I prioritize rest and alone time when they become too much to bear or I just push past them when I have goals I want to finish first or when I am around others I would want to accommodate first.
How is your relationship with physical activity? Are you someone who naturally desires a more comfortable and inert lifestyle, or do you have a hard time staying still? Do you find external encouragement and incentives for taking care of your body useful?
I don’t really enjoy strenuous physical work or activity (e.g. cardio, except if it comes with exploration or novelty). I desire a comfortable lifestyle, but definitely not inert, as I feel uncomfortable staying still for too long. When someone helps me wear something catching to the eye or when I work out hard, I feel confident and good about myself, but it’s not strong or meaningful enough for me to go out of my way to do it myself consistently.
Do you enjoy pushing yourself to try new foods, activities, or styles? How picky are you regarding these things, and what helps you decide what you want to explore?
Yes, I am interested in trying out new foods all the time and even plan on one day traveling the world to explore different cultures and iconic places to explore. I’m not picky about these at all, as long as they are pleasant to my senses and gets me to try out something new and different.
How is your relationship with your physical environment? Are you usually attuned to your surroundings? Is being organized something that matters to you and/or comes naturally? How do you feel when another person enters your space and tries to help you with it? (e.g. by cleaning)
My relationship with my physical environment is not that great. I can easily leave a mess around and don’t feel like I have an internal sense of organization or duty to tidy up the environment. I don’t mind it if someone helps me with this as long as they don’t become strict or nitpicky about every small detail.
How do you handle your finances and possessions? Is this an area of ease in your life, or do you find yourself becoming overly reckless or stingy? Do you consider yourself to be a materialistic person?
I handle my finances pretty well (like checking my finances every week or so), but I have had my moments where I overspent my budget or didn’t really care about refunds or wasted fees. I don’t consider myself to be materialistic, but I do have tendencies or wishes that lean to it if I had more than enough money for buying them.
How do you react to criticism or advice regarding how you handle any of the above things?
I react to them in a calm and indifferent manner for the most part (sometimes feel small tinges of insecurity when it comes to body weight, fat, spending habits, or fitness/looks).
EMOTIONS:
Does self-expression come naturally to you? What emotions do you find easier or harder to express? What goals do you have when dealing with your levels of emotional expression, if any?
Not necessarily, I could always feel that I hide certain parts of my emotions to myself to not disturb the peace around me. I find anger or any kind of emotions stemming from stress hard to deal with both in myself and in others. My main goals around emotional expression is to not disturb the peace around me as I probably discovered that they lead to obstacles when solving problems or cause distress in me myself, and to be playful around others through teasing or joking usually to lighten the mood and for my amusement.
Are you someone who is in touch with their inner emotional world? Are you good at understanding how you feel about something and why? Do you find others’ insight into how you are/should be feeling beneficial?
I don’t feel I have a intimate connection with my inner emotional world, as that has caused problems with others and goals in my life and from my recent discovery, I was afraid of feeling vulnerable to the extent of these emotions being expressed in the outside world. I am actually pretty good at understanding how I feel about something, but more often than not, I don’t listen to that part of me for the aforementioned reasons in this and previous answers. I definitely feel others’ insights into how I am/should be to be beneficial, although it depends more on how it is presented (with respect, sincerity, and kindness especially).
How good are you at balancing your focus between your own emotions and the emotions of others? Are you more naturally attuned to others’ feelings and reactions, or to your own?
I am much more focused on the emotions of others over those of mine where I can sometimes act as someone that people come to for advice or to calm things down with hopeful and positive thoughts.
How easily caught up on specific feelings do you become? Do you value being able to detach yourself from your emotions? (And is this something you’re good at?)
Pretty easily, as emotions, especially those with strong negative energy can linger around for a while. I value being able to detach myself from my emotions, but the stronger they are, the harder they are to hold in, and usually I do express this dissatisfaction in subtle ways over time.
How do you normally react when someone shares their emotions with you? Do you enjoy handling situations like these?
In the past, I wasn’t sure how to handle when someone shared their emotions with me, especially those that they sought for help and advice with. Nowadays, I am more comfortable in taking them and feel like I have gotten the handles on these aspects of others by giving them space and asking questions that help them dig deeper, although I learned to do this by learning about mbti, enneagram, socionics, psychology, and being around others with these experiences.
When others are speaking on topics regarding emotion, are you more inclined to express, engage, or pull away? Do you adjust to emotional atmospheres, or do you feel more separate from them? How comfortable are you with conversations focused on emotional vulnerability?
More inclined to engage, with a somewhat restrained expression. I can adjust to emotional atmospheres and often do, but it depends on who I am adjusting to and what my mood is like. I am comfortable with conversations focusing on emotional vulnerability as long as they don’t force me to talk in depth about my insecurities or make feel too bad about myself.