Altruism

1. I would like to describe the influence of altruism in my life. The majority of people are self-interested by their nature, but it is possible to develop some selfless qualities in one’s behavior. For example, I wanted to participate in one of local contests, but the number of participants was limited. My friend had such an opportunity as well, but she knew that it was almost my dream. Thus, she proposed me to participate in this competition. I understood that it was a self-sacrifice from her perspective, and I was very grateful of her.

After the contest, we became even closer friends. I also tried to help her and proposed her to become a leader of our mutual project. She also understood that it was an example of self-sacrifice, and she began to respect me even further. I think that this situation also demonstrates the role of such concepts from Chapter 11 as conformity and group thinking. Those people who experience the influence of altruism try to adjust their behavior accordingly. They also want to help and sacrifice their interests for the sake of others. I think that it is the foundation of any modern civilization. Under the influence of conformity and group thinking, people begin to take into account not only their own interests, but those of the other people.

However, it may be observed only among people of good culture and consciousness. Otherwise, only some group of people will sacrifice for the sake of others, while another group will act selfishly. It will destroy the basis of mutually the beneficial cooperation and will negatively affect the feelings of all the parties involved. Thus, I am happy to have such altruistic friends, and I try to behave accordingly in relation to them. I think that my understanding of altruism helped me to select the correct responsive strategy (also being altruistic) that contributed to our friendship.

2. The understanding of self-schema and self-concept has specified some basic characteristics of my personality. In general, I believe that it is not easy to determine the essence of one’s personality and adequately represent one’s internal world. Since self-serving bias always exists, a person cannot always objectively analyze his/her actions and motivations. In order to better comprehend one’s personality, it is reasonable to use different scientific approaches to personality. To my mind, all of them are useful, but the cognitive approach seems to be the most helpful for me, as it shows that cognitive processes influence one’s behavior directly.

I try to use this information not only for the better understanding of myself, but also in order to generate corresponding changes. I believe that I should become more rational in my choices and actions. I should integrate logical thinking into my feelings, as I am often motivated exclusively by emotions, which causes a number of negative consequences. I think that my defense mechanisms should become more oriented towards the objective facts, as I may treat some people unfairly due to the prevalence of my emotions. My temperament is unstable, and predictability of my reactions in some situations is low.

The information from Chapter 12 has demonstrated that my personality is much more complex than it seems. In some cases, my behavior may even demonstrate the opposite reactions in similar situations. I suggest that all this knowledge is highly practically-oriented and may help me to reach my objectives and introduce the necessary changes. In general, I do not want to radically change my behavior and worldview. I just aim at becoming a better integrated and coherent personality. I want to determine the key principles that may help me to understand other people better and communicate with them in a mutually beneficial way.