Although we haven't agreed upon a specific definition of personality,
memories of psych 101 suggest that psychologists use the term to refer
either to individual mannerisms and attitudes in general, or to sets of
distinguishable personal characteristics which can be classified into
various typologies. Both of these definitions seem to imply a core self
which exists throughout an individual's lifetime.
If the creation of self is an ongoing process, everyone's individual
perspective is constantly changing. In addition to being informed by
emergent situations, the self is always reevaluating past experiences and
updating expectations for the future. Thus, "personality" cannot exist in
any permanent sense.
Our "personalities" seem the same because our selves usually change very
slowly and in ways that are only noticable in retrospect. We seem to have
the same "personality" from day to day, but looking back at who I was a year
ago, 5 years ago, 10 years ago, I see *very* different
selves/"personalities". From my own experience it seems that the biggest
influences on how and when I've changed the most came from the different
reference groups I've had. The existence of these reference groups was in
turn affected by my own choices and actions informed by my past, the
situation at hand, and thoughts about the future.
Jessica Maguire
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Hedonistic Paradox: The person who constantly seeks pleasure for himself
will not find it, yet the person who helps others find pleasure will, in the
process, find pleasure for himself.