1. What did you learn about yourself?
As I contemplate the results of the assessments, I have realized that I seem to be self-aware of my own strengths and life philosophies. Nothing the VIA Survey of Character Strengths told me was a surprise to me. For example, my top strengths are treating people fairly (justice), appreciation of beauty, and open-mindedness; whereas, my humility and sense of faith were my lowest ranked strengths. Similarly, I also had already realized that I appreciated life and that it had a purpose. I did not need surveys such as the Meaning of Life Questionnaire or the Satisfaction with Life Scale to identify my feelings about my existence. I also learned that I may be a little cynical because I do not have much respect for surveys such as these when they feel like a parlor game and seem created to sell their book Authentic Happiness.
2. How would you use these assessments as tools for clients? …show more content…
I appreciate the fact that the VIA Survey focuses on a client’s best qualities, but allows a glimpse of the client’s strengths that fall low on the list while remaining positive. With this information, the client can determine if their strengths will be effective in a chosen career or which strengths may need more support to acquire their career of interest. Because surveys are used to start conversation or explore avenues of awareness, I would probably not use the other two surveys because I could assess the client through qualitative dialogue and other value based exercises to determine how “purpose” and “meaning” is indicated for the