Strength Finder Essay

Cole Lewis
University of Kentucky
CIS 110
September 10, 2014

The Clifton Strengths Finder is an interesting study into the human psyche. It
claims, via a forty-minute test, to outline the common themes behind your personal
talents. And to some degree this is true. However, the test lacks compensation for
the many variables present while taking the exam. Variables that if manipulated
would bring forth different interpretations of someones strengths.
Clifton fails to acknowledge the current mood of the test takers effect on
their results. For instance if one were to take the exam after a day of competing, as
was my case when taking the exam, one might be more apt to react more strongly to
the questions involving competition. This would lead to a false interpretation of
ones own abilities.
Even more so people rarely have a realistic view of there own personality. It
is a human tendency to live under false pretenses. This means, in relation to the
exam, that one is more likely to get the results they want rather than those that fit
them.
This is not to say the entire test is useless. Nothing could be less true. The
insight it provides, however, should not be taken at face value. The observations of
the test are reflective of a lot more than Cliftons claim, and therefore, much more
valuable. If we can realize that our behavior is affected by our culture and mood, and
if we can understand how we see ourselves, compared to how others see us, we can
reach across social barriers and communicate more effectively.
This was true in my case. When I asked two close friends from different
friend groups their opinions of the results their answers were surprising. While
both agreed that all the strengths partially described me, they vastly disagreed on
the order. What makes this more intriguing is the fact that I did not notice all of the
environmental molding I do on a daily basis.
These self-manipulations are prevalent, and healthy part of society. People,
when surrounded with like-minded peers, are more likely to become amplified
versions of themselves. Just as people, when surrounded by others with whom they
do not share much in common with, are more likely to tone their attitudes now.
Humans even have a tendency to manipulate their characteristics to best fit
the situation, e.g., an athlete becomes more competitive during athletic events.
Without this common survival technique groups could not coexist. While people are
much in the same, we are all unique. Understanding this basic principal is the key to
uniting different cultures.
If anything this exam has reinvigorated my love psychology and social
sciences. Trying to think through these complex issues and find the underlying
cause has taught me a lot about myself. This part of me resonated the strength of
ideation. My conceptual thinking style often times separates me from the rest of
society.
I am constantly coming up with abstract ways to explain the world around
me, but often times when I try to explain them I leave gaps. I make automatic
associations based upon my thought processes and I often jump from thing to thing
without explain there connection. To combat this I have to appeal to others thinking
types- a daunting task to say the least.

This is where my other strengths come in to play. I am empathetic, and can

often times pick up on others styles of thought. Before I would just not voice my
opinions unless I thought others did not have a similar trains of thought. But now I
realize that if I tailor my message I can share my ideas with anyone. Instead of
letting minute differences fence me of from the rest of society, I can use them to
bring me closer together.
It is this connection to everyone that makes this strength finder interesting.
Despite the flaws pointed out in the system the raw data is applicable to nearly all
aspects of life. The observations people make about the data means so much more
than the data itself; but then again, that idea could be because of my tendency to
create ideations.

Reference:
Clifton Strengths Finder. (n.d.). Retrieved September 11, 2014.