Their go-getting personality is constantly looking for ways to reach new heights. Wanderers are quite good at spotting new opportunities and finding solutions when everything seems lost. Or in other words, they are the ones to count on when not in a favorable environment. More than anything, it is evident that he wants to do all these things not because he actually needs to, but because he gets a tremendously powerful buzz out of taking on challenges and capturing the rewards.
Already a member? You can log-in using this link, here. See, I digest acres of complex ideas from various books and morph my findings into straight-to-the-point book summaries. The main goal is not only to help you understand the underlying ideas from famous, and not-so-famous, titles.
But, also, to help you stay curious, inspired, and well-informed. Above all, though, I want to help you transition from a passive online consumer to an active mindful go-getter with a sense of purpose. Read more about the membership, here. Abstract: Wondering why two people with the same set of experiences behave differently in a situation?
Highlights: Understanding other people, and yourself, will help you spot behavior patters. You should try to adjust your behavior. I have, according to the book, the qualities of poets and artists a knack for language, a contrarian attitude, an interest in the spiritual and the supernatural and notions such as veiled reality but the desire for certainty in mathematics.
So I don't like doing art only to be judged by subjective criteria, but I also feel alienated from time to time from the "pro-science" community that eschews philosophical and spiritual questions. However, high Openness combined with low rational and mathematical abilities is probably a surefire way to be off the deep end, so some people are better off having low Openness.
The book ends on an optimistic note that the personality traits and even factual life events do not fix the subjective narrative of our lives which plays a big part in how we response to events and, ultimately, who we are. Excerpt with some comments Mar 28, Mark rated it really liked it Shelves: psychology , science. This is a good cook's tour of one of the most widely used personality profile scales out there: OCEAN openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness and neuroticism.
Besides sketching each of these personality dimensions, giving examples from correspondence he has kept from some of his clients who strongly fit the profiles, and making evolutionary psychology arguments about why these traits should have arisen, Nettle also deals with the whole nature-nurture issue and the question of w This is a good cook's tour of one of the most widely used personality profile scales out there: OCEAN openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness and neuroticism.
Besides sketching each of these personality dimensions, giving examples from correspondence he has kept from some of his clients who strongly fit the profiles, and making evolutionary psychology arguments about why these traits should have arisen, Nettle also deals with the whole nature-nurture issue and the question of whether our personality types are etched in stone.
His answer: heredity seems to explain a good deal of personality, perhaps half, and while our personality profile may be something we largely inherit, the choices we make of how to use our personality strengths, and just as importantly, the narrative we tell ourselves and the world about what our life story means, are just as important as the tendencies we have. The book includes a short test at the back that you can take to get your basic position on the five scales.
And while some scales seem only desirable, like agreeableness, or only to be avoided, like neuroticism, Nettle makes the case that no single scale is all good or bad. Highly agreeable people have terrific empathy, but can unduly sacrifice their own goals for the sake of others.
High neuroticism scorers often see the glass as half empty, and bitter tasting at that, but the neurotics of the world may also play an important role in seeing things as they really are and criticizing societal conditions that need to be fixed.
All in all, enlightening and enjoyable. This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Big Five is real science, with strict statistical correlation and try to "quantify" the illusive personality as much as possible. And there are very distinct difference between the FIVE: 1. Extraversion - Response to reward dopamine reward system 2. Neutoticism - Response to threat amygdala, limbic system, serotonin 3.
Conscientiousness - Self control. Response inhibition how good you stop yourselves from drinking, being lazy, etc, Dosolateral perfrontal cortex 4. Agreeableness - How much you Big Five is real science, with strict statistical correlation and try to "quantify" the illusive personality as much as possible. Openness - Breath of mental associations But is it a personality at all??? What the difference it make except it give artist and poets??
And, the author made a very strong points: Adopted siblings growing up in the same household are no more alike in terms of personality traits than any two randomly chosen individuals from the same population I think this close the debate of nature vs nuture. Some menevures, though: 1. The older we get, we increase in Agreeableness and Conscientiousness, and decrease in Extraversion, Openness and Neutroticism.
Characteristic Behavior Patterns: You don't have to change yourself. You just have to change your self's outlet. Personal Life Story: Same experience could be explained and presented in totally different lights!
This in turn change your personality. May 22, Hdmsisk rated it it was amazing. We've all taken personality tests. This book explains why we have different personalities: brain structure, genes and evolution. Five different personality traits: extraversion, neuroticism, conscientiousness, agreeableness and openness.
Favorite line from book was approximately: If you lie awake worrying at night, it's because you come from a long line of people who lie awake worrying at night. Explained to me why most of the things I worry about don't come to pass. Our systems for processing ne We've all taken personality tests. Our systems for processing negative emotions are similar to smoke detectors in that they are set extra sensitive to prevent a false negative ie fire but no alarm because of this: even when your negative emotions are working correctly, most of the worries you have will be completely groundless.
I knew it! View 1 comment. Jul 04, Rafi rated it it was amazing. This was one of the rare books that held my interest first to last page. With each flip of one, a new light bulb fires and pieces of the puzzle that is me and my life seemed to fit in neatly.
Daniel's academic objective style, his constant reference to studies concerned and his overall layout set this book apart. Is it worth the reading?
In a word, absolutely. Is it necessary reading? In a couple of words, most definitely. You are guaranteed an exciting journey of self-discovery and understanding This was one of the rare books that held my interest first to last page. You are guaranteed an exciting journey of self-discovery and understanding of people and life all around you. Thank you for writing this book, it has definitely been worthwhile. Dec 09, John Kaufmann rated it really liked it Shelves: brain-cogsci-socialpsych.
Short, readable, concise, and, best of all, stimulating. The concepts are simple yet penetrating - all the more to make them easy to remember and apply. I now feel I have a better framework with which to view the attitudes and behaviors of myself and others. Feb 16, Stephanie rated it it was ok. This is a really interesting idea and I wanted to like this book. The author even states that he is trying to make this readable for the average non-academic reader And I learned that I have a medium-high streak of Neuroticism : This is a really interesting idea and I wanted to like this book.
And I learned that I have a medium-high streak of Neuroticism Twenty years after the Human Genome Project, this book explores the idea that personality could be genetic. It is well written, easy to understand, and says that more than just nurture, our neurotic tendencies can and should be blamed on our parents. I really enjoyed this book, and I find the study of personality really interesting. Daniel Nettle does a good job of laying down the science of personality without getting too Highly recommend.
Apr 23, Bridget rated it really liked it. Explanation of the basis for personality, both in evolution and physically in the brain. Very interesting Jul 13, Sarah Brennan-Green rated it it was ok. A bit dry for me. I like something with more anecdotes to explain a position. Apr 26, Gordon rated it liked it. Like most people, I agree that there are some quite fundamental differences between the way people respond to different situations that are reasonably consistent through time and not just "taste" or "choice", and which we might call personality.
This book is a a breezy and accessible piece of popular psychology writing and one that made me think in many places. It also tried to cite sources and explain the current scientific thinking, rather than the rather subjective personality systems that ar Like most people, I agree that there are some quite fundamental differences between the way people respond to different situations that are reasonably consistent through time and not just "taste" or "choice", and which we might call personality.
It also tried to cite sources and explain the current scientific thinking, rather than the rather subjective personality systems that are described in airport management books. I've personally found the MBTI helpful, the author is dismissive of it because of its obsession with binary distinctions but the tests themselves produce a continuous result that isn't that far off some of the "big 5".
I am not a psychologist. The "big 5" see other reviews start life as Principal Components. That is, there is good evidence they exist as an underlying factor across large survey samples, and you can look at what they correlate with in terms of behaviours, pathologies eg. Nettle's model is interesting - he argues that in the brain there are effectively 5 "amplifiers" in some basement of your brain that are share by a number of higher-level cognitive systems, and the "gain" on these are your big-5 scores.
This is broadly plausible and esp. They varies weakly with age and are almost unaffected by parenting! OCD as an effect of an overly-high 'control' setting, or alchoholism risk as relating to a low one with a high positive-stimulus score.
The book also suffers from the author's obsession with simplistic evolutionary "just so" stories. I'm not saying they're wrong, but saying "something could have evolved like this, if we make some me-Tarzan reductive assumptions about how hunter-gatherer societies worked" is typically unprovable and using it to then say "well, I know how this trait works and what it's for!
It also leads to a rather deterministic view of human nature. Yes, he has a chapter about how if, say, you're a type at risk of addiction you can choose to take steps to work around your underlying brain settings, but the overall tone is that you are as you are and you might as well get comfortable with it.
Similarly, I thought his rolling of "spiritual experience" into a kind of weird side effect of high-openness was dismissive and didn't really help me understand what that attribute was doing.
I also found the sweeping conclusion that parenting has no effect on the big 5 surprising and warranting more discussion than it did, especially given this split about how much the "higher level" parts of your brain might or might not be able to override these relatively inflexible underlying parameters.
I also recall the old psych undergrad joke that the "half life" of knowledge in psychology is about 10 years - in 10 years what we know now may still be true but will be known to be only half the truth. It will be interesting to see how well all of this ages. Apr 10, Tom Hartung rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: anyone interested in learning more about themself and others.
Shelves: personalities. He wrote it for people who want to learn more about the five factor model of understanding personalities. I am giving Personality 5 of 5 stars because it is the first book I have had the opportunity to read about what some call the "Big Five" personality factors.
To say that I found it "enlightening" would be an understatement. In truth, I am sure it will forever change how I view myself and others. I read Personality to learn more about personalities, because I like to visualize and draw them. Someone answering a questionnaire based on Jungian Archetypes can take comfort in the fact that there no right or wrong answers.
This is not necessarily true for questionnaires based on the five factor model, because it can identify real pathologies. Some people spend their whole lives studying and treating these pathologies, and when present they require the attention of a professional. At this time, how I integrate this unpleasant aspect of this model into my images is an open question.
In addition to describing the processes researchers have used to identify these factors and codify this model, Nettle includes some insights from evolutionary psychology. He also discusses some of the brain imaging experiments scientists have used to discover a neurological basis for personality. The author revisits these themes again at the end of the book and discusses the results of studies of twins.
Throughout the book — minor spoiler alert — he makes a very strong case for how we inherit much of makes up our personalities. One would not want to be entirely without worry. It would be as damaging to life decisions as the inability to feel physical pain is to peripheral physiology.
High Neuroticism scorers can bring to bear enormous powers of deep thought, detailed analysis, novel insight. They care about the details that others can't be bothered to follow up. Under some circumstances they do well academically. If you are a high-scorer, you may well be a member of a thinking profession such as an academic or a writer. High Neuroticism scorers, then, have hidden advantages.
The challenge for them is to find ways to deal with the negative sequels of their personality. Some people respond well to cognitive-behavioural therapy, some to meditation, many to exercise. Low-scorers, too, have disadvantages. You probably don't suffer much in life, which is good, but maybe you are not thoughtful enough. Maybe you let details go, and don't think deeply enough about future drawbacks or problems. Maybe you are too carefree or rose-spectacled to see every potentiality.
Agreeableness is a dimension of empathy towards others. High-scorers are often found in caring professions such as nursing and counselling.. They have larger-than-average social networks, and their relationships with others are harmonious.
They don't get into fights and are generally slow to anger. By contrast, the very lowest-scorers are sociopaths; they callously use others for their own ends. So far so good. It is better to be well-liked than to be a sociopath. However, in many fields, high Agreeableness reduces occupational attainment. Nice guys really do finish last, and moreover, plenty of our leaders have something of the sociopath about them. Successful artists and executives, though, tend to be rather low in Agreeableness.
This means that the high Agreeableness scorer may not be prepared to be hard-headed. You may stay in relationships that do you no good out of empathy for the others involved. Agreeableness is the most sexually-patterned of the Big Five, with — no prizes for guessing — women scoring more highly on average than men. This adds an interesting new perspective on the paucity of women in positions of power.
Many of them find it difficult to be callous enough. Should we be encouraging them to be more callous, or trying to change what we reward? Openness is a dimension of imagination. High-scorers make mental associations that go beyond what is given to the senses, or what is logically deducible. They are keen on poetry and the arts, and often have metaphysical or esoteric ideas.
Nobody wants to be called unimaginative, but when you stop and think about it, it is not evident that being imaginative in this sense is necessarily useful in life. Low-scorers can be very intelligent and capable, though they will be oriented towards the practical and the soluble.
High-scorers will be more able and willing to venture into the domains of the aesthetic. However, they can also develop eccentric, paranormal or even delusional beliefs, and fail to solve simply resolvable practical problems.
Neither a high nor a low score is inherently desirable; it is simple a matter of harnessing the strengths that you have. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Already subscribed? Log in. Forgotten your password? Want an ad-free experience? View offers.
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