Insights of Chapter Two

When reading chapter two, I wanted to give myself my own Holland personality type that are similar to the Big Five personality traits. These personality characteristics build on interactions with the environment (nature) as well as your own experiences and how you are shaped (nurture). Rarely is an individual a single personality type, they are typically a combination of traits (Brown, 2012).  The six traits that Holland proposed are: realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, and conventional. Since the code comprised of the top three characteristics when the assessment is given, I will give my insight to the top three characteristics I mostly associate myself with.

The personality trait I frequently portray is social. These individuals “deal with the environment by using skills to interact with and relate to others” (Brown, 2012). Growing up I would always surround myself with others and I developed great interpersonal skills. These interpersonal skills can be translated into my future career goals of becoming a therapist. Therapists should show unconditional positive regard, empathy, and genuineness that are key elements in client-centered therapy proposed by Carl Rogers. I believe that these elements go hand in hand with the social personality trait.

Investigative is another personality trait I associate myself with. These individuals “deal with the environment by using intellect- manipulating ideas, words, and symbols” (Brown, 2012). I think that my education has shaped me into this personality type. In psychology we are always learning about the theories and scientific methods. Since I have social as my main personality type, I think that it cancels out the idea that the investigative type is unsociable and introverted. By being social and investigative it allows me to work well with a team and can also get the work done efficiently.

The third trait I represent is enterprising.  These individuals “cope with the environment by expressing adventurous, dominant, enthusiastic, and impulsive qualities” (Brown, 2012). I have always looked for thrill seeking adventures and create fun experiences for myself, but I am also grounded. I know when I can have fun and when it is time to be serious. I wouldn’t say that my thrill seeking behavior is towards the recognition of dominance like Holland says; it is just merely for the excitement.

After picking all of my personality traits that I most associate myself with to give myself the Holland code, I found that I am certainly not one personality trait I am a combination of all three. I’m not sure if there could ever be just one personality type to describe someone. When combining personality types I think that it can create an ideal work environment for an individual.

Brown, D. (2012). Career information, career counseling, and career development (10^th ed.). New York: Pearson.