Understanding People The Asian Way: The Asian Personality Profiling System
Origins of The Asian Personality Profiling System
Interestingly, the concept of Personality was explored more than 2000 years ago within the Chinese metaphysical system. The development of this type of ancient Chinese metaphysical study started during the Zhou dynasty (1046 to 256 BC) and came to flourish during the Han Dynasty (2nd century BC to 2nd century AD). During the Han period, the familiar elements of traditional Chinese culture – the Yin-Yang philosophy, theory of the 5 elements, Heaven and Earth, Confucian morality – were brought together to formalize the philosophical principles of Chinese Metaphysics which included Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practice that has the 5 element theory as a basis.
Since then, studies, research and reviews have been consistently recorded and updated over the last 2 millennium. This ancient wisdom has provided useful insights on a person’s strengths and preferences throughout Chinese history. However, it is more popularly known as a fortune-telling tool especially at the beginning of each Lunar New Year. Many would not consider it an exact science, particularly when there has been no self-awareness data collected on how this system can aid a person in understanding themselves, their intrinsic potential and strengths to be developed.
With a corporate background where I had to convince medical personnel including doctors with clinical evidence and proven data, many were surprised if not stunned why I ventured into the Chinese metaphysical field. So, after more than a decade utilizing this system to guide and coach others in understanding themselves for career development as well as understanding people around them to promote better communication and engagement, I decided to investigate the effectiveness of this system in helping others especially in the area of self-awareness.
As mentioned earlier, this article aims to introduce and explore the effectiveness of utilizing the Asian Personality Profiling System for an individual’s self-awareness. The Asian Personality Profiling System has been adapted from the traditional Bazi7 system to aid others in self-awareness, career development and communication.
Collecting Data for Self-Awareness Survey
To ensure reliability and validity, self-awareness scales were taken from
a) Maslach And Jackson, (The Measurement Of Experienced Burnout- Journal Of Occupational Behaviour, Vol. 2, 99-113 (1981), and
b) Grant (The Self-Reflection And Insight Scale: A New Measure Of Private Self-Consciousness Social Behavior And Personality, 2002, 30(8), 821-836).
Analysis of 293 survey respondents was done by a social scientist affiliated to McGill University, utilizing the “Pair Samples T-Test” statistical analysis method. The results demonstrated significant improvements in users’ self-awareness and emotional exhaustion levels in the following areas with statistically significant differences:
Self-Awareness
· I need to have a clearer idea of what my interests are.
· I need to have a clearer idea of my abilities, my major strengths, and weaknesses.
· I need to learn a way to match my needs and abilities with possible occupations.
· I wish I knew how my personality would fit with the people in the jobs I am thinking about.
· It’s hard to make a choice because I cannot decide what I value most from an occupation (for example, making money, security, serving others).
Emotional Exhaustion
· I have felt fatigued when I get up in the morning and have to face another day on the job.
· I have felt frustrated by my job.
Details of all the survey questions and results will be published in the 2nd edition of Book 2 – Being Happy and Successful – Managing Yourself and Others.
