Personality Psychology

Personality Psychology Reflective Essay Throughout the semester we learned about six domains of knowledge that define an individual’s personality. The first domain of knowledge is the dispositional domain and it explains who we are and how we are different from each other. The second domain of knowledge is the biological domain and it explains the facets of an individual’s personality that are dictated by an individual’s genetics, psychophysiology and evolution. The third domain of knowledge is the intrapsychic domain and it analyzes the hidden and subconscious aspects of an individual’s personality, such as, sexual drives and defense mechanisms. The fourth domain of knowledge is the cognitive/experiential domain and it explains how individuals perceive different situations, how they interpret these situations and the conscious goals that people look for in themselves and others. The fifth domain of knowledge is the social and cultural domain and it describes how personality conflicts with society and how society and culture conflict with personality. Finally, the sixth domain of knowledge is the adjustment domain and it evaluates an individual’s resilience to life events. There are many ways that I can incorporate all of this knowledge into my professional career as a Health Psychologist. In the future I want to work in a hospital alongside doctors and I want to help patients cope with illnesses that may be life threatening to a person mentally and physically. For example, the cognitive/experiential domain looks for the perceptions of how people may view an illness, which will tell me a lot about how to treat the person, help them cope with the situation as well as aid in creating a medical regime most complementary to their personality so as to ensure that it is followed. My overall impression of the course was great. I thought the professor did a great job explaining all of the domains in a way that translated very well into relevant and real-life