I'm taking a personality class here at Stetson and I'm finding it very interesting how many theories are actually out there. I took psychology 101 in my senior year of high school and one of the people we discussed was Erik Erikson. Since then he's been my favorite. As a neo-freudian, he has taken personality to a whole new level. He describes in such detailed vagueness how a human develops from a child to an elderly person near death. And how the experience one goes through in life affects their emotional stability. I find it absolutely intriguing how many types of testing there are for pinpointing small charateristics of one's essence. That is what personality is if I dare to define it. It is the essence of any human being and everyone has different personalities. Some of us have the same charateristics, in fact probably most of us do, and that is why there are several types of personality.

to define it. It is the essence of any human being and everyone has different personalities. Some of us have the same charateristics, in fact probably most of us do, and that is why there are several types of personality. Why are you posting this stuff here, you flake.

Excerpts from netnews.sci.psychology.personality: 18-Sep-97 Personality Theory...or som.. by Melissa Gardner@stetson. to define it. It is the essence of any human being and everyone has different personalities. Some of us have the same charateristics, in fact probably most of us do, and that is why there are several types of personality. Why are you posting this stuff here, you flake. Oh, *nice* answer.  Maybe she's posting it here because it *is* a psychology newsgroup for the discussion of personality.  If you can't contribute something intelligent, why don't you keep your hands off the keyboard?

Why are you posting this stuff here, you flake. Oh, *nice* answer.  Maybe she's posting it here because it *is* a psychology newsgroup for the discussion of personality.  If you can't contribute something intelligent, why don't you keep your hands off the keyboard? If I can't contribute something intelligent?  Did you look at her orginal flake post which sounds like some sorority chick who is all excited about taking a personality class.  The problem with this b-board is that most of the people posting are all self-help book readers who think they are experts in psychology. -Tom

If I can't contribute something intelligent?  Did you look at her orginal flake post which sounds like some sorority chick who is all excited about taking a personality class.  The problem with this b-board is that most of the people posting are all self-help book readers who think they are experts in psychology. I read the original post, and it sounded exactly like what it was- a college student who was excited by something she had learned, probably out of a reputable text-book not a self help book.  She is taking a class after all; and like many young people she wrote in rather poetic rather than clinical terms.  What's your point? Do you expect everyone who posts here to have a doctorate in psychology and 20 years of clinical experience under their belt?  This is a public forum on psychology and personality theory (not a bulletin board, BTW- it's a Usenet newsgroup).  If someone posts their excitement about something they've learned, that's great!  I want people to be interested in and excited about psychology- and I don't want people discouraging that by putting down others who aren't as knowledgeable or as experienced in the field.  Who knows, maybe the original poster will end up being a major contributor to the field of psychology someday. I also like people posting about self-help books because it allows for the opportunity to help people separate the wheat from the chaff.  Not all self-help books are garbage, all though far too many are.  Some are even dangerous, like _The Courage to Heal_ (there's a whole thread or three on that in the archives and probably some stuff on John Price's Web site). Tolerance is probably a good thing to cultivate in this newsgroup, IMHO.