This program has been designed to allow you to do an in-depth analysis of some of the negative aspects or faults of your personality. It is the partner program to the virtues analysis section of the present authoring program. It is our hope that constructing a clearer picture of your faults will help you understand the impact of your personality traits on your life in the past, present, and future.
It is probably best to complete this exercise if you are in a normal to good mood, so that you can tolerate the self-criticism. If you are feeling sad, lonely, or depressed, you should probably do the virtues analysis instead. This exercise will take you 60-90 minutes, depending on your choices. You will be asked first to read some information about basic personality theory and then to select 2-10 faults from each of five lists of faults (one list per basic personality trait).
Then you will be presented with the faults you have selected, and asked to choose a final list of the faults you think have most interfered with your life. You will be asked to write for about 10 minutes, later, for each fault you choose, after you have rank-ordered them in importance. We recommend that you choose 6-9 faults (for 60 to 90 minutes of work), but you can choose as many as you like. Just remember that you will be asked to write about each one. You will be asked to describe how this fault has impacted you negatively, in the past; what you might have done differently; and what you could do now and in the future to rectify or eliminate this fault.
To complete the following exercise, there are a number of things that are useful to know. (you may have encountered this information previously if you have completed the virtues analysis program, but it might be worthwhile to review it):
Everybody's personality is composed of two higher-order traits. The first higher-order trait is known as plasticity, and can be thought of as the tendency to be flexible, exploratory, curious, and quick to adapt. The second higher-order trait is known as stability, and can be thought of as the tendency to be structured, organized, emotionally stable and focused.
Plasticity, the first higher-order trait, can be further broken down into two sub-traits: Extraversion (the tendency to be enthusiastic and dominant) and Openness (the tendency to be open-minded and intelligent).