Personality

This should probably be a topic left to the people with psychology degrees, but it is something I’m intrigued by – just how much are our actions and thoughts governed by our personalities? Does personality determine our actions and thoughts, or do actions and thoughts determine personality? Some might say that it’s a bit of both, but to me that’s not really a satisfying answer, because I want to know how much of each, which is of primary relevance. I want to know in what situations we are powerless to act and think how we like, and in what circumstances we are immune from any bias.

I’d like to think that I am always in control of my actions, that if I want to do something I can do it, and if I want to avoid doing something then I can do that too. The problem is, things just don’t seem to be that simple. I might “want” to go to bed early and get ready for my day tomorrow, but something compels me to stay up watching the Ashes while typing up a blog on the topic of personality. Some might say that it is within my power to just turn off the television and go to bed. But what about people with addictions, who are supposedly in a position whereby they can not refrain from doing what they’re compelled to do? And even if they are powerless to change their actions, then what is it that renders them powerless? Is it personality? Is it a physical addiction which anybody, of any personality, could be prone to? Is it just a matter of external circumstance? Is it a combination of all these, and if so, in what ratio? We come to a similar position we were at before in that we’ve got all these possibilities but we can’t clarify where they fit in with each other.

I think there’s an element of addiction in my watching of cricket. Sure, I can turn off the television and go to bed, but the fact is I don’t (although that can only be determined in hindsight, and one problem I have with Science is that it’s all to do with hindsight). It’s a topic I can’t quite get my head around, there are just so many issues and variables at work. More importantly is its relevance, I don’t see this as some dry, irrelevant academic topic. How much control I have over my actions goes a long way in determining how guilty I feel, how proud I feel or how contented I feel. It also matters a lot in my perceptions of others, how I judge someone’s actions and therefore their character (one’s character and one’s actions – another connection which is hard to make), whether I feel grateful for something done, whether I feel angry at something that happened. And going beyond the personal sphere, one’s control of their actions means everything in a court of law.