we do this thing at work called a MPAS…

we do this thing at work called a MPAS…

Current Mood: curious
Current Music:Radiohead – Creep
stands for a Modified Personality Assessment Schedule.
Psych stuff … interesting. Uses words such as rigid, hypersensitive, aloof, active imagination … has questions to pose during an interview with a participant.

I was just pondering the power of such an assessment if we were able to give it at life changing points along a person’s life. into elementary, into high school, into college, at the first job, the first marriage, etc.

Except, can you ever get unguarded answers? What, exactly, are YOU willing to share with someone? What if you have secrets?

from a post a few days back I wrote: “hope peeps are doing well, I’ll try to break my weird addiction to not sharing in the next batch of posts. I promise.”

Self censorship, where I do not give all the details that would help you understand. I say things in a cryptic manner, because if I do not say it I do not have to deal with it.

Take, for example, the question “If you find yourself in line at the grocery, do you strike up a conversation with other people in line, or with the clerk once you get to the front of the line?”
An innocuous question. For someone of my age and stage in life. But for a 14 year old? Ah, different. And if I were to say “I was quite shy in junior high…”, and give examples of the things I recall from that stage in my life – such as wearing long sleeve shirts to cover up the scar from a wart I had removed from my elbow – well, of course it means nothing at all, and with my much more advanced knowledge of … oh, what ever. A freaked out teen in America who was anxious over their appearance? What a unique individual, eh? Just like all the rest of the unique individuals.

But I’m sure that I would either have not shared that I didn’t have enough friends, or that I wanted more, or different friends – why would I admit such a glaring character flaw – for if I was worthy, I’d have the friends; ergo, not worthy, and was stuck with only a few friends.

Ha ha ha… little did I know.

So back to the non-point of this – how do you get honest answers to personal questions, and if ever that would happen, what could you do with them?

Ah, just taking a stroll around the idea pond, watching the ripples…

ciao,
s.
( 1 comment )
 agincourtdb
2009-02-02 10:46 pm (UTC) Select:        
(68.84.129.35)
The only ways to get answers to those questions is either to earn the persons trust before asking, or not to ask, but to learn the answers by observation. Either way, there’s a time investment.