I
wrote recently (here) about my thoughts on personality after beginning the
Monash University course (via futurelearn.com); Introduction to Psychology: The Psychology of Personality. On completing week two of the course, I got thinking
about all of the things that can impact a person’s personality. I mean, I talked
in my first post about how I believe that ‘personality’ is who you are but that
doesn’t mean that I think it’s ingrained in you – that it’s natural or always
stable throughout all kinds of circumstances and situations. I 100% believe
that your personality can be shaped by external events and how you internalize
these, how they change your views on the world and the way you react in different
situations.
I
recently started a new course with Monash University via futurelearn.com –
Introduction to Psychology: The Psychology of Personality and it, inevitably,
got me thinking a lot about personality, what it means to me, how it is
developed and how it can become ‘disordered.’
A
while ago now, the powers that be, renamed the diagnosis Borderline Personality
Disorder to Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder. I laughed when I was
told – it was just further evidence that the ultimate people to make such huge
decisions don’t actually know all that much about the things they make
decisions about. If they did, they’d know that, for the majority of service
users, the biggest problem with the phrasing of BPD was the ‘Personality’ part
and not the ‘Borderline’ bit. Yes, people unfamiliar to the diagnosis will
wonder what is meant by ‘borderline’ but that can be answered. I know there are
varied rationale behind the use of the word in the diagnosis; with the most
common one being that it means borderline between sanity and insanity but if
someone were to ask what is meant by ‘personality’ then it’s a different story
– personality is subjective. Everyone has their own definition of it and their
own belief on what shapes it. I mean, William Sheldon (1940) believed that personality
was determined by your body shape and size (somatology)! He held the assumption
that larger people (endomorphs) are more likely to be bold and assertive whereas
smaller people (ectomorphs) are more likely to be intellectual and introverted.
Once upon a time, I’m sure this theory was regarded very highly and agreed upon
by many but these days? I know I can’t speak for anyone else, but I felt like
laughing when I heard that this was a serious theory!
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