Interview-Profile Examination Between Two People.

¶ … interview-profile examination between two people. The subject of the interview is a 27-year-old drug counselor named Nicole. The writer explores various topics with Nicole and compares them to the writer's own answers to the same questions. The subject of this personality-attitudes profile interview is a 27-year-old drug counselor named Nicole. She lives in the same town that I do and has for the past 20 years.

She and I have a lot of things in common, as we have been friends for two decades, but we have also come to understand and accept our differences in personality and attitude as we have matured. When it comes to the learning and memory process Nicole reports that she learns and remembers information more easily and accurately if she is able to observe the behavior than if she simply reads about it.

For example she has counseled many people with drug issues, and sitting with them face-to-face where she can see their body language, their actions, their expressions and their eyes provides her with much more information than if she simply reads a report about those same attributes. She reported during the interview that the one on one observation seems to cement elements in her mind that are accurate, whereas a reading of a report causes her to judge or make assumptions that later turn out to be inaccurate.

I am the exact opposite. When I meet someone face-to-face I do enjoy the interaction and there are certain things that I can garner from the interview that I would not get without meeting the person, however, I absorb and comprehend much more accurately if I am able to read a report that provides the valuable information that I need. An example of this would be when I taught in my church children's Sunday School class.

I learned more about each student by reading and absorbing the previous teacher's notes than I would have by watching them in class. I comprehend better when I am allowed to read and absorb information. Nicole reported during the interview that she remembers things better that she observes in person than she does when she reads about it. Again, I am the opposite. If I can read about an event, person or thing, I can remember it accurately much longer than if I visually observe it.

I can recall the text in my mind, months and sometimes even years after the fact. Nicole believes that she does much better studying in at home where there are noises and distractions. She is able to tune out the distractions while at the same time, enjoy the comforts of her family around her while she studies. A prefer to study in a library.

It may be my attachment to reading and the accuracy that reading about things provides for my memory but I personally prefer to study in the quiet of the library. Our local library has a research area that is closed off from the other parts of the library and when I go there I get a feeling of purpose. It creates an atmosphere for me mentally that is about focus and work and comprehension. If I study at home I am easily distracted and do not concentrate as well.

Nicole reported during our interview that she has in fact taken part in the Meyer's Briggs personality test and that her results came back a ESFP personality. She agrees with the findings of the test as they point to exactly why she entered the profession that she entered and does things in the manner that she does. The extraversion, feeling and sensing part of the test described her perfectly she said. She does feel she is an extravert and would prefer to be around people than alone.

In addition one of the reasons she feels she learns about behaviors best is by observing them is that she senses their true motives and ambitions. She also agrees with the part of the test that labels her P. because she goes on her perceptions of situations. When I took the test I had similar results in that I was denoted an ESTP. I agree with the test results as well. I am an extravert personality. I love to talk and be noticed.

In addition I sense things and use that sensing to base many decisions on both in my personal and professional life. Nicole feels that her experiences as a young child dealing with drug addiction in her family contributed significantly to her personality development. She learned at a young age to sense things that were going on and she learned to use her feelings and not judge her parents but to have detached compassion for them.

These experiences helped her shape her personality in how she deals with the world on professional and personal level each day. I believe my need for quiet to study was developed by the fact that I did not have the chaos in my house that Nicole may have had. We had a quiet upbringing in which our needs were met with love and consistency which provided me with the personality tools to evaluate situations based on sensing as well.

Nicole does believe that she is an accurate self-monitor because she has to work with addiction issues in her job. Self-monitoring reactions and feelings about clients is an important element to that position, otherwise the recommendations she provided would be based in reaction not proactive research. She monitors herself through the use of a journal and recording her feelings and reactions to specific situations at work and at home to determine how well she is handling stress. A on the other hand am not very good at self-monitoring sometimes.

A tend to think more than feel and I don't actually understand how to monitor my reactions.