12th Grade – Psychology

The first E.Q. test I took was geared towards someone in the workplace. It asked questions with hypothetical situations that could arise at work, then listed four choices you could make in response to the situation. I scored a 55%, which falls in the average range. The second E.Q. test I took was similar to the first one, only it was about everyday situations dealing with friends or loved ones. Again, this quiz listed the situation with four responses you could choose from. I scored a 50%, which is again average. The quizzes must have been fairly accurate, as I scored almost the same score on both. It was at times hard to be honest with my answers, as I knew what the best answer was, but I had to think what I would really do in the situation.

I need to work most on my emotional honesty. I am not confident enough at times, so I don’t speak up or voice my opinion on things. I would like to become better at just saying what I think and not have second thoughts about it. I think most of my other areas are good. I can empathize well with other people and feel for them, but I think sometimes I may misread their emotions. Conflict handling is easy for me, as I know how to deal with problems and manage time well. I probably need to work on my resilience and change, too. When I’m put down or fail at something, I usually take it more personally than I should. I am too hard on myself at times. I also don’t like change very much, so I need to try and be more open to new things. My self-control is fine, I have no problems with that. Lastly, my emotional self-awareness is good as I can recognize where my weak spots are. I just need to keep working at them.

Last Monday in psychology class I was paired with one of my classmates, N.K. We were to interview one another to learn about some of our interests and beliefs. We did not know each other very well, so each response would be like uncovering a piece of a puzzle to figure out who the other person is and what they stand for. I asked N.K. about twenty questions from a sheet that was to guide the interview, and she did the same to me, but with a few different questions. The interview ranged from basic questions such as “What is your name?” to deeper questions like “What is your biggest fear in life?”.

N.K. has been living in Malvern for fourteen years. She said the best thing about living here is her dog. Right away I could tell she had a real compassion for animals. She lives only with one other person, which is her mom. Her dad passed away when she was only seven years old and she has no brothers or sisters. N.K’s mom works as a quality insurance manager, which she thinks includes making software for insurance companies. She distinctly remembered that her dad was a lawyer. The fact that she knew exactly what her dad’s job was, but didn’t really know what her mom does, I think shows that she cared for him a lot.

When asked what hobbies she enjoys, N.K. laughed and couldn’t really think of any. She said tanning, working at Wawa, and shopping. Her favorite holiday is Christmas and her favorite TV show is America’s Next Top Model. When asked what her dream career would be, she said marketing. I think all of these facts about her aren’t just a coincidence. She obviously cares a lot about her appearance from the fact that one of her favorite hobbies is tanning and that her favorite TV show is America’s Next Top Model. The fact that one of her other favorite hobbies is shopping, that she has a job, and that her favorite holiday is Christmas shows that she likes to spend money and get new things. All of this adds up and makes perfect sense that her dream career would be marketing, where she would influence what people buy with different marketing tactics such as making the product have a good appearance.

When asked about her biggest fear in life, N.K. responded by saying she doesn’t want to be poor; she wants to be self sufficient. She doesn’t want to depend on other people. I think this shows that she has a lot of maturity by not wanting to rely on other people. She wants to be able to say that she got herself to where she is in life. I think this attitude may stem from the fact that her father passed away when she was young and she probably was probably forced to be independent at times when her mother was at work.

When asked what makes her sad, N.K. said that passing by the puppy mills makes her very sad, almost sad enough to cry. She really cares about animals, as I noted early in the interview, and this shows she is a compassionate person. She cares for animals and doesn’t want to think about them being hurt or killed.

The interview went well, but now as I look back, I realize that I should have delved deeper into some of the questions, but I now know much more about her than I did before and have a new respect for N.K.’s ambition and compassion.