Perception and Evolution of Personality

Today in class I talked with Dr. Bonica about personality testing and the way results can differ when we answer the test and when someone who knows us answers the questions for us. It got me thinking about a conversation I had a few months ago when talking with one of my best friends. She has been one of my best friends since middle school and has stayed one of my best friends through college. We were having a conversation and I remember saying that I felt I figured out who I was pretty early in high school and hadn't changed much since then. She told me out of all of our friends she felt I had changed the most. That really got me thinking about how well we can really know ourselves. It is certainly possible to have a developed sense of self, but how well do we do at being objective about ourselves? My mentor also talked about how when she took the personality tests at different points in her life that she got different results. I wonder if a change in personality is gradual or incremental. Is there a certain base of who we are that has ever-changing aspects? I am really excited to learn more about theories of personality and why we are who we are. It will be exciting to dive into the topic of personality and although we have done some testing and exercises, we haven't fully talked about the theories and science behind it. It is a very interesting topic and I am excited to learn more and present my findings to the class.