W. W. Norton & Company | The Personality Puzzle, 4th ed.

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Chapter 8: The Anatomy and Physiology of Personality

Chart your family medical and psychological tree!

Instructions: Many diseases run in families. The U. S. Surgeon General says that every American should construct a family medical tree long before you think you might need one! You should make two family trees, one medical and the other psychological. First, visit the United States Department of Health and Human Services web site to get started (http://www.hhs.gov/familyhistory/). (Note: Other sites include Oprah's web site http://www.oprah.com/omagazine/200504/omag_200504_tree.jhtml, which is not necessarily scientific but it does include a readily available list of psychological symptoms that could be noted on your family tree just to get you started; as well as the MAYO Clinic's web site http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/medical-history/HQ01707.) Another resource for psychological symptoms is to obtain a copy of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale [Overall J. E., & Gorham D. R. (1962). The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale. Psychological Report, 10, 799-812] and use those behaviors, plus any other behaviors you or your family members think may be important to note. If you do not know, ask your parents or other family members! The idea is to get the information NOW (while you can) and then SAVE IT for later (when you might really need it). Go back as far in your family history as people can reliably remember.

Similarly you might want to develop a family psychological tree of personality traits. (Hum, have you ever wondered where you got your intelligence from? your stubbornness? your kind disposition? your self-consciousness?) You might be surprised to find what runs in your family, and then you can think about how many of those traits might be biological (or if they are socially learned), or you can take an interactionist perspective and consider both biology and social learning as the origins of your personality.

Insert the relevant information below each person's name, or number the squares, and then attach one piece of paper for each square that contains medical and psychological information. It does not need to be fancy, just accurate and thorough. Note: This activity is not just for those who are high on conscientiousness!