Self-Awareness
Chapter 2
Few people even scratch the surface, much less
exhaust
the contemplation of their own experience.
Randolph
Bourne, Essayist
Learning Objectives
Define
self-awareness and cite its benefits.
Explain
the factors that influence peoples values.
Define
personality and list the big five personality traits.
Compare
and contrast skills, knowledge, and interests.
Explain
how personality, skills, and interests relate to career choice.
Finding Your Direction
Self-Awareness The
process of paying attention to yourself.
2.
Self-Honesty The
ability to see your strengths and weaknesses clearly.
Success Secret
Self-honesty helps you get in touch with your dreams,
values and interests.
Personal Journal 2.1 How Well Do
You Know Yourself?
Finding Your
Direction continued
3. Self-Consciousness The
tendency to frequently think about and observe yourself.
Private self-consciousness Understanding yourself.
Public self-consciousness Understanding how your
behavior affects others.
Success Secret
Too much
self-consciousness can produce anxiety.
Activity 7: How Self-Conscious Are You?
The Self-Monitoring Scale
Is each
of the following statements true or false?
1. I find it hard to imitate the behavior of
other people.
2. At parties or social gatherings, I do not attempt to say or do
things that others will like.
3. I can only argue for ideas that I already believe.
4. I can make impromptu speeches even on topics about which I have
almost no information.
5. I guess I put on a show to impress or entertain others.
6. I would probably make a good actor.
7. In a group I am rarely the center of attention.
8. In different situations and with different people I often act like
very different persons.
9. I am not particularly good at making other people like me.
10. I'm not always the person I
appear to be.
11. I would not change my
opinions (or the way I do things) in order to please someone.
12. I have considered being an entertainer.
13. I have never been good at games like charades or improvisational
acting.
14. I have trouble changing my behavior to suit different people and
different situations.
15. At
a party I let others keep the jokes and stories going.
16. I
feel a bit awkward in public and do not show up quite as well as I should.
17. I
can look anyone in the eye and tell a lie (if for a right end).
18. I
may deceive people by being friendly when I really dislike them.
Scoring the Test
T-4,5,6,8,10,12,17,18
F-1,2,3,7,9,11,13,14,15,16
>13 high
<7 low 7---13 Average
Impression
Management
Putting your best foot forward
Awareness of the public self?
How do first impressions stem from
SELF-MONITORING??
Social-Learning Theory
Modeling: The social-learning process by which
behavior is observed and imitated
Locus of Control: The expectancy that ones reinforcements
are generally controlled by internal or external factors
Self-Efficacy: The belief that one is capable of
performing the behaviors required to produce a desired outcome.
Locus of Control Scale
1. I
usually get what I want in life.
2. I need to be kept
informed about news events.
3. I never know where I
stand with other people.
4. I do not really believe
in luck or chance.
5. I think that I could
easily win a lottery.
6. If I do not succeed on a
task, I tend to give up.
7. I usually convince
others to do things my way.
8. People make a difference
in controlling crime.
9. The success I have is
largely a matter of chance.
10. Marriage is largely a
gamble for most people.
11. People must be the
master of their own fate.
12. It is not important for
me to vote.
13. My life seems like a
series of random events.
14. I never try anything
that I am not sure of.
15. I earn the respect and
honors I receive.
16. A person can get rich by taking risks.
17. Leaders are successful when they work
hard.
18. Persistence and hard work usually lead
to success.
19. It is difficult to know who my real
friends are.
20. Other people usually control my life.
SCORING
Give yourself five points for every matching
answer.
1. T
2. T
3. F
4. T
5. F
6. F
7. T
8. T
9. F
10. F
11. T
12. F
13. F
14. T
15. T
16. F
17. T
18. T
19. F
20. F
INTERPRETATION
0-15 Very strong external locus of control
20-35 External locus of control
40-60 Both external and internal locus of control
65-80 Internal locus of control
85-100 Very strong internal locus of control
The Internal-External
Control Scale (popularly called locus of control scale) attempts to measure
the degree to which people perceive a causal relationship between their own
efforts and environmental consequences. People who score high (in the direction
of internal control) believe that reinforcement is generally contingent on
their own actions or personal traits.
Internal tends to be self-motivated and
optimistic, tend to take responsibility for their actions and see themselves as
the cause of what happens in their life.
They try to learn what went wrong when they make mistakes so they can
correct them.
External tend not to see the connection
between their actions and what happens.
Will often blame others for their problems and mistakes. They may fear change and tend to look to
others to motivate them. They often feel
nothing can be done when things go wrong and will blame, fate.
Identifying
Your Emotions Figure 2.1
I
Feel Comfortable
Identifying
Your Emotions Figure 2.1
I
Feel Uncomfortable
4. Emotional
Awareness The process of
recognizing, identifying and accepting your emotions.
5. Identifying
Your Emotions:
Pay attention to how your body feels.
What occurred right before the
emotion started?
Success Secrets
Develop
the courage to handle painful emotions.
Look for
the exact word to express what you feel.
Personal
Journal 1.1 Ingredients of Success
Defining Your Dreams
Dream An aspiration, hope, or
vision for the future that
gives your life purpose.
No dream is better than any other.
No dream is too big to achieve, or too
small to count.
Reclaiming Your Dreams
Think back to childhood, before you worried
about what other people might think. What did you want to be when you grew up?
Success Secret
A dream can be anything you want it to be.
Personal Journal 2.2 What are your dreams?
The Vision Quest
A search for your direction in life
(destiny?) a sense of what you are moving towards in life and allies that may
help you along your path.
An alternative term, is a wishing quest.
Wishstorming brainstorming about what you
would wish for if you had unlimited wishes
How to Wishstorm
Be specific in what you
imagine, i.e. the make, model, color, upholstery etc. of your car, not just a
new car.
What would you do if you
had six days to live? What activities would you seek out, where would you like
to visit, who would you go and see, what would you say? How would your strategy change if you had six
months instead?
Ground Hog Day
What would you do if you were immortal and
could live forever?
The goal of these exercises is a sense of
clarity understanding your goals and what the real purpose behind those goals
might be.
What will this goal get for me? What needs
are really being met?
Visualization
Our earliest memories are in images, not in
words. We can communicate with our
unconscious by using imagery, as that is the language of the unconscious.
Visualizations can alter your emotions,
behavior and even physiology.
Sports Performance
Richardson (1969) tested three groups of
boys in free throws.
1 practiced shooting, 1 group did nothing, 3rd
group visualized shooting and making free throws.
What do you think happened?
Group 1 improved 24%
Group 2 showed no change
Group 3 (visualization group) improved 23%
Self-Regulation
1. Establish short term goals.
2. Reward yourself with something concrete
when you attain a short term goal.
3. Establish your own standard for success.
4. Realistically appraise your abilities and
form goals based on strengths.
Getting In Touch With Your
Values
Values The
beliefs and principles you choose to live by.
Ethics The principles you use to define acceptable
behavior and decide what is right and wrong for you.
What values are important
to you? Adventure,
Commitment, Community, Compassion, Courage, Creativity, Environmentalism,
Fairness, Financial Security, Fun, Generosity, Hard Work, Health, Honesty,
Independence, Integrity, Kindness, Knowledge, Learning, Loyalty, Relationships,
Responsibility, Social Responsibility, Solitude, Spirituality, Tolerance, etc.
Values continued
We can become
confused about our values
when we adopt
other peoples values as our own.
Did I
choose this value or copy it from someone else?
Does
this value make me feel good about myself?
Will
other people benefit if I act according to this value?
Will
something truly bad happen if I dont follow this value?
Is this
value flexible enough to allow me to pursue my needs and goals?
Activity 8: Values Inventory
Your Values At Work
No job
can suit all of your values perfectly.
It is
important to find a balance between fulfillment in work and in life.
Success Secrets
Values are beliefs, not absolutes.
Values
guide your choices in life.
Discovering
Your Strengths
Personality and Individuality
Personality The relatively stable pattern of behavior
that distinguishes you from all other people.
Trait A durable disposition to behave in a certain
way regardless of the situation. Traits are shaped by our genes, but also by
our upbringing and experiences.
Activity 9: Personality
Self-Portrait
The Big Five Personality
Traits
Openness Imaginativeness, openness to new people,
ideas, and experiences.
Conscientiousness Self-discipline and desire to achieve
Extroversion Assertiveness, sociability, and interest in
excitement and activity.
Agreeableness Trustworthiness, warmth and cooperativeness.
Neuroticism Resistance to negative emotions such as
anxiety, anger and depression.
Success Secret
Use your
personality traits to help you succeed.
Exploring Your Skills &
Interests
Skill The ability to do something specific as a
result of learning and practice
Job-specific ability to do a specific
job/task.
Transferable skills abilities you can use
in a variety of jobs/tasks.
Knowledge An understanding of facts or principles in a
particular subject area. Knowledge isnt a skill until it is combined with
real-world experience.
Skills & Interests
continued
If you arent
sure what your skills are, ask yourself:
What do
I have experience doing?
What
areas of knowledge do I have?
What
projects have I completed at home, work, or school?
What
problems have I solved? What skills did that show?
What do
I enjoy doing? What kinds of skills does this require?
Activity
10: Skills Assessment
Multiple
Skills, Multiple Intelligences
Intelligence
A set of abilities that enables you to
solve certain types of real-world problems.
Discover Your Learning Style
Redefining Intelligence: Other
Learning Styles and Abilities
Gardners Multiple
Intelligences
Linguistic
intelligence
involves sensitivity to spoken and written language, the ability to learn
languages, and the capacity to use language to accomplish certain goals. This
intelligence includes the ability to effectively use language to express
oneself rhetorically or poetically; and language as a means to remember
information. Writers, poets, lawyers and speakers are among those that Howard
Gardner sees as having high linguistic intelligence.
Logical-mathematical
intelligence consists of the
capacity to analyze problems logically, carry out mathematical operations, and
investigate issues scientifically. In Howard Gardner's words, it entails the
ability to detect patterns, reason deductively and think logically. This
intelligence is most often associated with scientific and mathematical
thinking.
Musical intelligence involves skill in the performance,
composition, and appreciation of musical patterns. It encompasses the capacity
to recognize and compose musical pitches, tones, and rhythms. According to
Howard Gardner musical intelligence runs in an almost structural parallel to
linguistic intelligence.
Bodily-kinesthetic
intelligence entails the
potential of using one's whole body or parts of the body to solve problems. It
is the ability to use mental abilities to coordinate bodily movements. Howard
Gardner sees mental and physical activity as related.
Spatial intelligence involves the potential to recognize and use
the patterns of wide space and more confined areas.
Interpersonal
intelligence is concerned with
the capacity to understand the intentions, motivations and desires of other
people. It allows people to work effectively with others. Educators,
salespeople, religious and political leaders and counselors all need a
well-developed interpersonal intelligence.
Intrapersonal
intelligence entails the
capacity to understand oneself, to appreciate one's feelings, fears and
motivations. In Howard Gardner's view it involves having an effective working
model of ourselves, and to be able to use such information to regulate our
lives.
Naturalistic intelligence is the ability to
recognize patterns, make connections in nature, assemble collections, and identify plants and animals
Discovering Your Interests
Interests Personal preferences for specific topics or
activities.
What do you like and enjoy?
Success Secret
Skills and interests go hand in hand.
Personal Journal 2.3 Explore
Your Interests
Realistic doers
who prefer hands-on activities to activities involving words or relationships.
mechanical abilities,
making things, Pilot, electrician, engineer, construction worker.
Investigative thinkers
who like to investigate and solve problems.
abstract thinking, new
knowledge, testing hypotheses, research scientist, physicist, chemist, medical
researcher, college professor.
Conventional organizers
who thrive in situations with rules and structure
self-disciplined, orderly,
routine tasks, clerical worker, accountant, bank teller, data entry worker.
Enterprising
persuaders
who enjoy using their verbal
risk takers, enjoy business.
Sales managers, real estate brokers, business owners.
Social helpers
who value relationships more than intellectual or physical activity.
work with people,
especially helping relationships. Social worker, counselor, teacher, health
care worker, clinical psychologist.
Artistic creators
who value self-expression
creative, imaginative,
emotional, unconventional perspectives. Painting, sculpting, music, writing,
and dance.
WHAT TO REMEMBER AND CONSIDER
WHEN TAKING CAREER TESTS
You should take several
tests, rather than just one. Why?
There is no one best test
everyone recommends.
There is no one test that
always gives better results than the others.
No test should necessarily
be assumed to be accurate.
Dont let tests make you
forget that you are a unique human being.
Let your intuition be you
guide.
You are not finished with a
test until you have done some serious self exploration about:
Your goals
The goals of your goals
Your passions - likes and
dislikes
Your strengths and
weaknesses
Your level of motivation
Putting It All Together
Self-Awareness
and Work
Why Work Matters Most of us
will spend about 80,000 hours of our lives at work. The work you do, therefore,
has an enormous impact on your success and happiness.
Satisfaction Gaining
self-worth from a job well done.
Relationships Learning from other people.
Meaning Fulfilling
your personal purpose in life.
Success Secret
Let your skills and interests
guide your career choices.
Myths About Work
1. By
nature, work is unpleasant.
2. If I do
what I enjoy, I wont make any money.
3. If I
dont know what I want to do for the rest of my life, there must be something
wrong with me.
4. Im the
only one who doesnt have a fixed occupational goal.
5. There is
one, and only one, perfect career for me.
6. Somewhere,
there is an expert or a test that will tell me exactly what I should do for the
rest of my life.
7. A real
job is 9 to 5, five days a week, working for someone else.
8. What I
do at work defines who I am as a person.
9. Once I
choose a career, I should stick with it no matter what.
10. You have
to suffer to get ahead.
Success Secrets
Myths spring from negative work attitudes.
Work can
and should be something you enjoy.