CLASS – XII PSYCHOLOGY NOTES

SELF AND PERSONALITY

➔ Self and personality refer to the characteristic ways in which we define our existence.

➔ FORMATION OF SELF
◆ A newly born child has no idea of its self. As a child grows older, the idea of self emerges and
its formation begins. Parents, friends, teachers and other significant persons play a vital role
in shaping a child’s ideas about self.
◆ Our interaction with other people, our experiences, and the meaning we give to them, serve
as the basis of our self.
◆ The structure of self is modifiable in the light of our own experiences and the experiences
we have of other people.

➔ IDENTITY

Personal identity Personal identity refers to those attributes of a person that make them different
from others. Eg. a person’s name, beliefs, etc.

Social identity Social identity refers to those aspects of a person that link them to a social or
cultural group or are derived from it. Eg. I am atheist, Bengali, Indian, etc.

➔ SELF
◆ Self refers to the totality of an individual’s conscious experiences, ideas, thoughts and
feelings with regard to herself or himself. Kinds of self:

Biological self Our biological needs lead to the development of a ‘biological self’.
The first elements of self may be noticed when a newborn child cries for milk
when it is hungry. Although this cry is based on reflex, this later on leads to
development of an awareness of hunger.

Personal self The personal self leads to an orientation in which one feels primarily concerned
with oneself. Emphasis comes to be laid on those aspects of life that relate to
the concerned person, such as personal freedom, personal responsibility,
personal achievement, or personal comforts

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 Social/familial/ The social self emerges in relation with others and emphasises such aspects of
life as cooperation, unity, affiliation, sacrifice, support or sharing. This self values
relational self
family and social relationships. Hence, it is also referred to as familial or
relational self.

➔ SELF AS A SUBJECT AND OBJECT

◆ When the self is described as an entity that does something, the self is described as a
‘subject.’ (e.g., I am a dancer). Knower.
◆ When the self is described as an entity on which something is done, the self is described as
an ‘object’ which gets affected (e.g., I easily get hurt). Something to be known.

➔ COGNITIVE AND BEHAVIOURAL ASPECTS OF SELF

Definition Nature Measurement

Self concept The way we perceive ❏ At a very general level, this view of The most frequently
ourselves and the oneself is, overall, either positive or used method to find
(Cognitive)
ideas we hold about negative. a person’s self
our competencies ❏ At a more specific level, a person concept involves
and attributes is also may have a very positive view of asking the person
called self-concept. their athletic ability, but a negative about herself/
himself.
view of her/his academic talents.
❏ At an even more specific level, one
may have a positive self-concept
about one’s reading ability but a
negative one about one’s
mathematical skills.

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Self esteem As persons we ❏ Studies indicate that by the age of 6 ❏ In order to assess
always make some to 7 years, children seem to have self-esteem we
(Cognitive)
judgment about our formed self- esteem at least in four present a variety
own value or worth. areas: academic competence, social of statements to
This value judgment competence, physical/ athletic a person, and ask
of a person about competence, and physical her/ him to
herself/himself is appearance, which become more indicate the
called self-esteem.
refined with age. extent to which
❏ Our capacity to view ourselves in those statements
terms of stable dispositions permits are true for her
us to combine separate self- or him.
evaluations into a general ❏ For example, we
psychological image of ourselves. This may ask a child
is known as an overall sense of self- to indicate the
esteem. extent to which
❏ Self-esteem shows a strong statements such
relationship with our everyday as “I am good at
behaviour. For example, children with homework”, or “I
high academic self-esteem perform am the one
better in schools than those with low usually chosen
academic self-esteem. for the games”,
❏ Children whose parents make or “I am highly
decisions for them even when they liked by my
do not need assistance, often suffer peers”, are true
from low self-esteem. Children with of her/ him.
low self-esteem in all areas are often ❏ If a child reports
found to display anxiety, depression, these statements
and increasing antisocial behaviour. to be true for
Studies have shown that warm and her/him, her/his
positive parenting helps in the self-esteem will
development of high self-esteem be high in
among children as it allows them to comparison to
know that they are accepted as someone who
competent and worthwhile says “no”.

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Self efficacy People differ in the ❏ Albert Bandura’s initial studies
extent to which they showed that children and adults
(Cognitive)
believe they learned behaviour by observing and
themselves control imitating others.
their life outcomes ❏ People’s expectations of mastery or
or the outcomes are achievement and their convictions
controlled by luck or about their own effectiveness also
fate or other
determine the types of behaviour in
situational factors,
which they would engage, as also the
e.g. passing an
amount of risk they would undertake.
examination. A
person who believes Eg. People with high self-efficacy have
that s/he has the been found to stop smoking the
ability or behaviours moment they decide to do so.
required by a ❏ A strong sense of self-efficacy allows
particular situation people to select, influence, and even
demonstrates high construct the circumstances of their
self-efficacy. own life. People with a strong sense
of self- efficacy also feel less fearful.
❏ Self-efficacy can be developed. Our
society, our parents and our own
positive experiences can help in the
development of a strong sense of
self- efficacy by presenting positive
models during the formative years of
children

Self regulation People, who are able ❏ Many situations of life require
to change their resistance to situational pressures
(Behavioural)
behaviour according and control over ourselves. This
to the demands of becomes possible through what is
the external commonly known as ‘will power’.
environment, are ❏ Learning to delay or defer the
high on self- gratification of needs is called self-
monitoring. Self-
control.
regulation refers to
❏ Self-control plays a key role in the
our ability to
fulfilment of long-term goals.
organise and
monitor our own ❏ Indian cultural tradition provides us
behaviour with certain effective mechanisms
e.g., fasting in vrata or roza

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 ➔ EFFECTIVE TECHNIQUES OF SELF-CONTROL
◆ Observation of own behaviour is one of them. This provides us with necessary information
that may be used to change, modify, or strengthen certain aspects of self.
◆ Self-instruction is another important technique. We often instruct ourselves to do something
and behave the way we want to. Such instructions are quite effective in self-regulation.
◆ Self-reinforcement is the third technique. This involves rewarding behaviours that have
pleasant outcomes. For example, you may go to see a movie with friends, if you have done
well in an examination.

➔ CULTURE AND SELF

◆ Analysis of self carried out in the Indian cultural context reveals a number of important
features that are distinct from those found in the Western cultural context.

Indian context Western context

The Indian view of self is characterised by the In the Western view of the boundary between
shifting nature of the boundary between self and the self and the other, the distinction is
the other. relatively fixed.

Our self at one moment of time expands to fuse The Western view seems to hold clear
with the cosmos or include the others. But at the dichotomies between self and other, man and
next moment, it seems to be completely nature, subjective and objective.
withdrawn from it and focused fully on the
individual self.

In the Indian culture, the self is generally not The self and the group exist as two different
separated from one’s own group; rather both entities with clearly defined boundaries.
remain in a state of harmonious co-existence. Individual members of the group maintain their
Hence, many Asian cultures are characterised as individuality. They often remain at a distance
collectivistic. and are hence called individualistic cultures.

➔ PERSONALITY
◆ The literal meaning of personality is derived from the Latin word persona, the mask used by
actors in the Roman theatre for changing their facial make-up. After putting on the mask, the

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 audience expected the person to perform a role in a particular manner. It did not, however,
mean that the person enacting the given role necessarily possessed those qualities.

➔ PERSONALITY AND ITS CHARACTERISTICS

◆ Personality refers to our characteristic ways of responding to individuals and situations.
◆ In one sense, personality refers to unique and relatively stable qualities that characterise an
individual’s behaviour across different situations over a period of time. Consistency in
behaviour, thought and emotion of an individual across situations and across time periods
characterises her/his personality. For example, an honest person is more likely to remain
honest irrespective of time or situation.
◆ People do show variations in their behaviour. Situational variations in behaviour occur as
they help individuals in adapting to their environmental circumstances.
◆ Personality is characterised by the following features:
● It has both physical and psychological components.
● Its expression in terms of behaviour is fairly unique in a given individual.
● Its main features do not easily change with time.
● It is dynamic in the sense that some of its features may change due to internal or
external situational demands. Thus, personality is adaptive to situations.

➔ USES OF CHARACTERISING PERSONALITY

◆ We can predict how that person will probably behave in a variety of circumstances.
◆ An understanding of personality allows us to deal with people in realistic and acceptable
ways. For example, a child who has feelings of inferiority needs to be treated differently from
a child who is self-confident.

➔ MAJOR APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF PERSONALITY

◆ A number of approaches and theories based on different models of human behaviour have
been developed to understand and explain behavioural differences among individuals, and
behavioural consistencies within an individual.
❏ TYPE APPROACHES
➔ The type approach attempts to comprehend human personality by examining certain broad
patterns in the observed behavioural characteristics of individuals.
➔ Each behavioural pattern refers to one type in which individuals are placed in terms of the
similarity of their behavioural characteristics with that pattern.
➔ Personality types are used to represent and communicate a set of expected behaviours
based on similarities.
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 Theorist Types Basis

Fluid/ Hippocrates ➔ The Greek physician Hippocrates had proposed a Fluid/

typology of personality based on fluid or humour. He
humour humour
classified people into four types (i.e., sanguine,
phlegmatic, melancholic and choleric); each
characterised by specific behavioural features.

Ayurveda Charak ➔ In India, Charak Samhita, a famous treatise on Ayurveda, Humour

Samhita classifies people into the categories of vata, pitta and al
(treatise) kapha on the basis of three humoural elements called element
tridosha. Each refers to a type of temperament, called s of
prakriti (basic nature) of a person. Tridosh
a

Triguna ➔ There is a typology of personality based on the trigunas, Triguna

i.e. sattva, rajas, and tamas. s
◆ Sattva guna includes attributes like cleanliness,
truthfulness, dutifulness, detachment, discipline,
etc.
◆ Rajas guna includes intensive activity, desire for
sense gratification, dissatisfaction, envy for others,
and a materialistic mentality, etc.
◆ Tamas guna characterises anger, arrogance,
depression, laziness, feeling of helplessness, etc.
➔ All the three gunas are present in each and every person
in different degrees.

Body build Sheldon ➔ Using body build and temperament as the main basis, Body
and Sheldon proposed the Endomorphic, Mesomorphic, and build
tempera- Ectomorphic typology. and
ment ◆ The endomorphs are fat, soft and round. By temper
temperament they are relaxed and sociable. ament
◆ The mesomorphs have strong musculature, are
rectangular with a strong body build. They are
energetic and courageous.
◆ The ectomorphs are thin, long and fragile in body
build. They are brainy, artistic and introverted.
➔ These body typologies are simple, and have limited use

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 in predicting behaviour of individuals.

Introvert/ Carl Jung ➔ Jung has proposed an important typology by grouping Social
Extravert people into introverts and extraverts. interacti
➔ According to this typology, introverts are people who on and
prefer to be alone, tend to avoid others, withdraw prefere
themselves in the face of emotional conflicts, and are nces
shy.
➔ Extraverts, on the other hand, are sociable, outgoing,
drawn to occupations that allow dealing directly with
people, and react to stress by trying to lose themselves
among people and social activity.

Type Friedman and ➔ In recent years, Friedman and Rosenman have classified Psychos
A/B/C/D Rosenman/ individuals into Type-A and Type-B personalities. ocial
Morris ➔ The two researchers were trying to identify psychosocial risk
risk factors when they discovered these types. factors
◆ People characterised by Type-A personality seem to
possess high motivation, lack patience, feel short of
time, be in a great hurry, and feel like being always
burdened with work. They find it difficult to slow
down and relax. They are more susceptible to
problems like hypertension and coronary heart
disease (CHD).
◆ Type-B personality can be understood as the absence
of Type-A traits.
➔ Morris has suggested a Type-C personality, which is
prone to cancer. Individuals characterised by this
personality are cooperative, unassertive and patient.
They suppress their negative emotions (e.g., anger), and
show compliance to authority.
➔ More recently, a Type-D personality has been suggested,
which is characterised by proneness to depression.
➔ LIMITS
◆ Personality typologies are too simplistic.
◆ Assigning people to a particular personality type is difficult. People do not fit into such
simple categorisation schemes so neatly.

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 ❏ TRAIT APPROACHES
➔ The trait approach focuses on the specific psychological attributes along which individuals
tend to differ in consistent and stable ways. For example, one person may be less shy,
whereas another may be more; or one person may be less friendly, whereas another may be
more.
➔ Theorists try to discover the ‘building blocks’ of personality. Human beings display a wide
range of variations in psychological attributes, yet it is possible to club them into a smaller
number of personality traits.
➔ They represent traits along which individuals can be rated in terms of the degree of
presence or absence of the concerned behavioural quality or a trait.

➔ CHARACTERISTICS OF TRAITS
◆ A trait is considered as a relatively enduring attribute or quality on which one
individual differs from another.
◆ Traits are relatively stable over time
◆ They are generally consistent across situations
◆ Their strengths and combinations vary across individuals leading to individual
differences in personality.

Theorist Traits Basis

Cardinal, Gordon ➔ He proposed that individuals possess a ➔ Allport argued that

central and Allport number of traits, which are dynamic in the words people use
secondary (pioneer of nature. They determine behaviour in to describe
traits trait such a manner that an individual themselves and
approach) approaches different situations with others provide a basis
similar plans. The traits integrate stimuli for understanding
and responses which otherwise look human personality.
dissimilar. ➔ He analysed the
➔ Allport categorised traits into cardinal, words of English
central, and secondary. language to look for
◆ Cardinal traits are highly generalised traits which describe
dispositions. They indicate the goal a person.
around which a person’s entire life ➔ Allport held that the
seems to revolve. Mahatma Gandhi’s way a person reacts
non-violence and Hitler’s Nazism are to given situations
examples of cardinal traits. depends on her/his
◆ Less pervasive in effect, but still quite traits, although
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 generalised dispositions, are called people sharing the
central traits. These traits (e.g., warm, same traits might
sincere, diligent, etc.) are often used in express them in
writing a testimonial or job different ways.
recommendation for a person. ➔ Allport considered
◆ The least generalised characteristics of traits more like
a person are called secondary traits. intervening variables
Traits such as ‘likes mangoes’ or that occur between
‘prefers ethnic clothes’ are examples of the stimulus situation
secondary traits. and response of the
person. This means
that any variation in
traits would elicit a
different response to
the same situation.

Personality Raymond ➔ Cattell found 16 primary or source traits. ➔ Raymond Cattell

factors Cattell ➔ The source traits are stable, and are believed that there is
considered as the building blocks of a common structure
personality. on which people
➔ There are also a number of surface traits differ from each
that result out of the interaction of other.
source traits. ➔ This structure could
➔ Cattell described the source traits in be determined
terms of opposing tendencies. empirically.
➔ He developed a test, called Sixteen ➔ He tried to identify
Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF), the primary traits
for the assessment of personality. This from a huge array of
test is widely used by psychologists. descriptive adjectives
found in language.
➔ He applied a
statistical technique,
called factor analysis,
to discover the
common structures.

Eysenck’s H.J. Eysenck ➔ Each dimension subsumes a number of ➔ H.J. Eysenck

personality specific traits. These dimensions are: proposed that

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 factors ◆ Neuroticism vs. emotional stability: It personality could be
refers to the degree to which people reduced into two
have control over their feelings. At one broad dimensions.
extreme of the dimension, we find These are biologically
people who are neurotic. They are and genetically
anxious, moody, touchy, restless and based.
quickly lose control. At the other
extreme lie people who are calm,
even- tempered, reliable and remain
under control.
◆ Extraversion vs. introversion: It refers
to the degree to which people are
socially outgoing or socially
withdrawn. At one extreme are those
who are active, gregarious, impulsive
and thrill- seeking. At the other
extreme are people who are passive,
quiet, cautious and reserved.
◆ Later, Eysenck proposed a third
dimension, called Psychoticism vs.
Sociability, which is considered to
interact with the first two dimensions.
A person who scores high on the
psychoticism dimension tends to be
hostile, egocentric, and antisocial.
◆ Eysenck Personality Questionnaire is
the test which is used for studying
these dimensions of personality.

❏ INTERACTIONAL APPROACH
➔ The interactional approach holds that situational characteristics play an important role in
determining our behaviour.
➔ People may behave as dependent or independent not because of their internal personality
trait, but because of external rewards or threats available in a particular situation.
➔ The cross- situational consistency of traits is found to be quite low.
➔ Eg. How people’s behaviour in places like a market, a courtroom, or a place of worship
differs.

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 ❏ PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACH
➔ Freud’s contribution
◆ This approach owes largely to the contributions of Sigmund Freud. He was a physician, and
developed this theory in the course of his clinical practice.
◆ Early in his career he used hypnosis to treat people with physical and emotional problems.
He noted that many of his patients needed to talk about their problems, and having talked
about them, they often felt better.
◆ Freud used a) free association (a method in which a person is asked to openly share all the
thoughts, feelings and ideas that come to her/his mind), b) dream analysis, and c) analysis of
errors to understand the internal functioning of the mind.
➔ Freud’s theories
➔ LEVELS OF CONSCIOUSNESS

Definition

Conscious Includes the thoughts, feelings and actions of which people are aware.

Preconscious Includes mental activity of which people may become aware only if they
attend to it closely.

Unconscious Includes mental activity that people are unaware of.

◆ Freud’s theory considers the sources and consequences of emotional conflicts and the way
people deal with these.
◆ According to Freud, the unconscious is a reservoir of instinctive or animal drives. It also
stores all ideas and wishes that are concealed from conscious awareness, perhaps, because
they lead to psychological conflicts. Most of these arise from sexual desires which cannot be
expressed openly and therefore are repressed.
◆ People constantly struggle to find either some socially acceptable ways to express
unconscious impulses, or to keep those impulses away from being expressed.
◆ Unsuccessful resolution of conflicts results in abnormal behaviour. Analysis of forgetting,
mispronunciations, jokes and dreams provide us with a means to approach the unconscious.
◆ Freud developed a therapeutic procedure, called psychoanalysis. The basic goal of
psychoanalytic therapy is to bring the repressed unconscious materials to consciousness,
thereby helping people to live in a more self-aware and integrated manner.

➔ STRUCTURE OF PERSONALITY
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 ◆ In terms of individual functioning Freud thought of the unconscious as being composed of
three competing forces- the primary structural elements of personality, i.e. id, ego, and
superego.
◆ They reside in the unconscious as forces, and they can be inferred from the ways people
behave. In some people, the id is stronger than the superego; in others, it is the superego.
The relative strength of the id, ego and superego determines each person’s stability.
◆ Freud also assumed that id is energised by two instinctual forces, called life instinct and
death instinct. He paid less attention to the death instinct and focused more on the life (or
sexual) instinct. The instinctual life force that energises the id is called libido. It works on the
pleasure principle, and seeks immediate gratification.

Definition Principle Nature

Id It is the source of a person’s The instinctual life force that Freud considered
instinctual energy. It deals with energises the id is called libido. It much of a person’s
immediate gratification of works on the pleasure principle, instinctual energy to
primitive needs, sexual desires and seeks immediate be sexual, and the
and aggressive impulses. gratification. rest as aggressive.
Id does not care for
It assumes that people seek
moral values,
pleasure and try to avoid pain.
society, or other
individuals.

Ego It grows out of id, and seeks to It works by the reality principle, Thus, while the id is
satisfy an individual’s instinctual and often directs the id towards demanding,
needs in accordance with reality. more appropriate ways of unrealistic and
behaving. For example, the id of works according to
a boy, who wants an ice-cream pleasure principle,
cone, tells him to grab the cone the ego is patient,
and eat it. His ego tells him that if reasonable, and
he grabs the cone without works by the reality
asking, he may be punished. principle.
Working on the reality principle,
the boy knows that the best way
to achieve gratification is to ask
for permission to eat the cone.

Superego The superego tells the id and the The best way to characterise the
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 ego whether gratification in a superego is to think of it as the
particular instance is ethical. It moral branch of mental
helps control the id by functioning.
internalising the parental
authority through the process of
socialisation. For example, if a
boy sees and wants an ice-
cream cone and asks his mother
for it, his superego will indicate
that his behaviour is morally
correct.

➔ Thus, in terms of individual functioning Freud thought of the unconscious as being composed of
three competing forces. In some people, the id is stronger than the superego; in others, it is the
superego. The relative strength of the id, ego and superego determines each person’s stability.
➔ Freud also assumed that id is energised by two instinctual forces, called life instinct and death
instinct.
➔ He paid less attention to the death instinct and focused more on the life (or sexual) instinct. The
instinctual life force that energises the id is called libido. It works on the pleasure principle, and
seeks immediate gratification.

➔ EGO DEFENCE MECHANISMS

◆ According to Freud, much of human behaviour reflects an attempt to deal with or escape
from anxiety. Thus, how the ego deals with anxiety largely determines how people behave.
◆ Freud believed that people avoid anxiety mainly by developing defence mechanisms that try
to defend the ego against the awareness of the instinctual needs.
◆ Thus, defence mechanism is a way of reducing anxiety by distorting reality. Although some
defence against anxiety is normal and adaptive, people who use these mechanisms to such
an extent that reality is truly distorted develop various forms of maladjustment.
◆ People who use defence mechanisms are often unaware of doing so.

Definition Example

Repression Anxiety- provoking behaviours or When a person says, “I do not know why I
thoughts are totally dismissed by the did that”, some repressed feeling or
unconscious. When people repress a desire is expressing itself.
feeling or desire, they become totally

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 unaware of that wish or desire.

Projection In projection, people attribute their own A person who has strong aggressive
traits to others. tendencies may see other people as
acting in an excessively aggressive way
towards her/him.

Denial In denial, a person totally refuses to Someone suffering from HIV/AIDS may
accept reality. altogether deny her/ his illness.

Reaction In reaction formation, a person defends A person with strong sexual urges, who
Formation against anxiety by adopting behaviours channels her/his energy into religious
opposite to her/his true feelings. fervour, presents a classical example of
reaction formation.

Rationalisation In rationalisation, a person tries to make When a student buys a set of new pens
unreasonable feelings or behaviour after doing poorly in an examination, s/he
seem reasonable and acceptable. may try to rationalise her/his behaviour
by asserting, “I will do much better with
these pens.”

➔ STAGES OF PERSONALITY/PSYCHOSEXUAL DEVELOPMENT

◆ Freud claims that the core aspects of personality are established early, remain stable
throughout life, and can be changed only with great difficulty. He proposed a five-stage
theory of personality development. Problems encountered at any stage may arrest
development, and have long-term effect on a person’s life:
➔ Oral Stage
◆ A newborn’s instincts are focused on the mouth. This is the infant’s primary pleasure seeking
centre. It is through the mouth that the baby obtains food that reduces hunger.
◆ The infant achieves oral gratification through feeding, thumb sucking, biting and babbling.
◆ It is during these early months that people’s basic feelings about the world are established.
Thus, for Freud, an adult who considers the world a bitter place probably had difficulty
during the oral stage of development.
➔ Anal Stage
◆ It is found that around ages two and three the child learns to respond to some of the
demands of the society.

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 ◆ One of the principal demands made by parents is that the child learns to control the bodily
functions of urination and defecation.
◆ Most children at this age experience pleasure in moving their bowels. The anal area of the
body becomes the focus of certain pleasurable feelings.
◆ This stage establishes the basis for conflict between the id and the ego, and between the
desire for babyish pleasure and demand for adult, controlled behaviour.
➔ Phallic Stage
◆ This stage focuses on the genitals.
◆ At around ages four and five children begin to realise the differences between males and
females. They become aware of sexuality and the sexual relationship between their parents.
◆ Oedipus Complex (Boys)
● During this stage, the male child experiences the Oedipus Complex, which involves
love for the mother, hostility towards the father, and the consequent fear of
punishment or castration by the father (Oedipus was a Greek king who unknowingly
killed his father and then married his mother).
● A major developmental achievement of this stage is the resolution of the Oedipus
complex. This takes place by accepting his father’s relationship with his mother, and
modelling his own behaviour after his father.

◆ Electra Complex (Girls)

● For girls, the Electra complex (after Electra, a Greek character, who induced her
brother to kill their mother) follows a slightly different course. By attaching her love
to the father a girl tries to symbolically marry him and raise a family.
● When she realises that this is unlikely, she begins to identify with her mother and
copy her behaviour as a means of getting (or, sharing in) her father’s affection.
◆ The critical component in resolving the Oedipus complex is the development of
identification with the same sex parents. In other words, boys give up sexual feelings for
their mothers and begin to see their fathers as role models rather than as rivals; girls give up
their sexual desires for their father and identify with their mother.
➔ Latency Stage
◆ This stage lasts from about seven years until puberty.
◆ During this period, the child continues to grow physically, but sexual urges are relatively
inactive.
◆ Much of a child’s energy is channelled into social or achievement- related activities.
➔ Genital Stage

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 ◆ During this stage, the person attains maturity in psychosexual development. The sexuality,
fears and repressed feelings of earlier stages are once again exhibited.
◆ People learn to deal with members of the opposite sex in a socially and sexually mature way.
◆ However, if the journey towards this stage is marked by excessive stress or over-indulgence,
it may cause fixation to an earlier stage of development.
➔ Fixation
◆ As children proceed from one stage to another stage of development, they seem to adjust
their view of the world. Failure of a child to pass successfully through a stage leads to
fixation to that stage.
◆ In this situation, the child’s development gets arrested at an earlier stage. For example, a
child who does not pass successfully through the phallic stage fails to resolve the Oedipal
complex and may still feel hostile toward the parent of the same sex.
➔ Regression
◆ It is also a likely outcome in such situations. It takes a person back to an earlier stage.
Regression occurs when a person’s resolution of problems at any stage of development is
less than adequate. In this situation, people display behaviours typical of a less mature stage
of development. Eg. Stomping foot, throwing tantrums, bed wetting etc.

❏ POST-FREUDIAN/NEO-ANALYTIC APPROACHES
➔ A number of theorists worked with Freud and moved on to develop their own versions of
the psychoanalytic theory. These theorists have been called neo-analytic or post- Freudian in
order to differentiate their work from Freud’s.
➔ These theories are characterised by less prominent roles to sexual and aggressive tendencies
of the id and expansion of the concept of ego.
➔ The human qualities of creativity, competence, and problem solving abilities are
emphasised.

Worked on Guiding philosophY Theory

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 Carl Jung Aims and ● Jung saw human beings guided ● Jung claimed that there was a
aspirations as much by aims and aspirations collective unconscious consisting of
as by sex and aggression. archetypes or primordial images.
● He developed his own theory of These are not individually acquired,
personality, called analytical but are inherited. They are found in
psychology. myths, dreams and arts of all
● The basic assumption of his mankind. Eg. The God or the
theory is that personality Mother
consists of competing forces and ● Jung held that the self strives for
structures within the individual unity and oneness. It is an
(that must be balanced) rather archetype that is expressed in
than between the individual and many ways.
the demands of society, or ● A person must become increasingly
between the individual and aware of the wisdom available in
reality. one’s personal and collective
unconscious, and must learn to live
in harmony with it.

Karen Optimism ● She adopted a more optimistic ● She argued that psychological
Horney view of human life with disorders were caused by disturbed
emphasis on human growth and interpersonal relationship during
self- actualisation. childhood.
● Horney’s major contribution lies ● When parents’ behaviour toward a
in her challenge to Freud’s child is indifferent, discouraging,
treatment of women as inferior. and erratic, the child feels insecure
According to her, each sex has and a feeling called basic anxiety
attributes to be admired by the results. Deep resentment toward
other, and neither sex can be parents or basic hostility occurs due
viewed as superior or inferior. to this anxiety.
● She countered that women ● By showing excessive dominance or
were more likely to be affected indifference, or by providing too
by social and cultural factors much or too little approval, parents
than by biological factors. can generate among children
feelings of isolation and
helplessness which interfere with
their healthy development.

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 Alfred Lifestyle and ● Adler’s theory is known as ● Our personal goals are the sources
Adler social individual psychology. His basic of our motivation. The goals that
interest assumption is that human provide us with security and help
behaviour is purposeful and us in overcoming the feelings of
goal- directed. inadequacy are important in our
personality development.
● In Adler’s view, every individual
suffers from the feelings of
inadequacy and guilt, i.e. inferiority
complex, which arise from
childhood. Overcoming this
complex is essential for optimal
personality development.

Erich The human ● In contrast to Freud’s biological ● Fromm holds that character traits
Fromm concerns orientation, Fromm developed (personality) develop from our
his theory from a social experiences with other individuals.
orientation. ● His work recognises the value of
● He viewed human beings as positive qualities, such as
basically social beings who tenderness and love in personality
could be understood in terms of development.
their relationship with others.
● He argued that psychological
qualities such as growth and
realisation of potentials resulted
from a desire for freedom, and
striving for justice and truth.

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 Erik Search for Erikson’s theory lays stress on ● In his theory, development is
Erikson identity rational, conscious ego processes in viewed as a lifelong process, and
personality development. ego identity is granted a central
place in this process.
● His concept of identity crisis of
adolescent age has drawn
considerable attention.
● Erikson argues that young people
must generate for themselves a
central perspective and a direction
that can give them a meaningful
sense of unity and purpose.

➔ CRITICISMS
➔ Psychodynamic theories face strong criticisms from many quarters:
◆ The theories are largely based on case studies; they lack a rigorous scientific basis.
◆ They use small and atypical individuals as samples for advancing generalisations.
◆ The concepts are not properly defined, and it is difficult to submit them to scientific testing.
◆ Freud has used males as the prototype of all human personality development. He
overlooked female experiences and perspectives.

❏ BEHAVIOURAL APPROACH
➔ The behaviourists believe in data, which they feel are definable, observable, and
measurable. Thus, they focus on learning of stimulus-response connections and their
reinforcement. According to them, personality can be best understood as the response of an
individual to the environment. They see the development simply as a change in response
characteristics, i.e. a person learns new behaviours in response to new environments and
stimuli.
➔ The structural unit of personality is the response. Each response is a behaviour, which is
emitted to satisfy a specific need.
➔ According to the behavioural approach, children may initially learn a response in anticipation
of appreciation (reinforcement). Later on they may acquire the response too. Thus, the core
tendency that organises behaviour is the reduction of biological or social needs that energise
behaviour.
➔ The theories of classical conditioning (Pavlov), instrumental conditioning (Skinner), and
observational learning (Bandura) view learning and maintenance of behaviour from different
angles. The principles of these theories have been widely used in developing personality
theories.
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 ➔ For example, observational learning theory considers thought processes extremely
important in learning, but these find almost no place in classical or instrumental
conditioning theories. Observational learning theory also emphasises social learning (based
on observation and imitation of others) and self-regulation, which again is missed out in
other theories.

❏ CULTURAL APPROACH
➔ This approach attempts to understand personality in relation to the features of ecological
and cultural environment.
➔ It proposes that a group’s ‘economic maintenance system’ plays a vital role in the origin of
cultural and behavioural variations.
➔ The climatic conditions, the nature of terrain of the habitat and the availability of food (flora
and fauna) determine people’s economic activities, their settlement patterns, social
structures, division of labour, and other features such as child rearing practices. People’s
skills, abilities, behavioural styles, and value priorities are viewed as strongly linked to these
features.
➔ Rituals, ceremonies, religious practices, arts, recreational activities, games and play are the
means through which people’s personality gets projected in a culture.
➔ The cultural approach considers personality as an adaptation of individuals or groups to the
demands of their ecology and culture.
➔ Examples:
◆ Birhor community of Jharkhand
● A good proportion of the world’s population lives in forests and mountainous
regions with hunting and gathering (economic activities) as their primary
means of livelihood. The Birhor (a tribal group) of Jharkhand represent such a
population. Most of them live a nomadic life, which requires constant
movement in small bands from one forest to another in search of games and
other forest products (e.g., fruits, roots, mushrooms, honey, etc.)
● In the Birhor society, children from an early age are allowed enormous
freedom to move into forests and learn hunting and gathering skills. Their
child socialisation practices are also aimed at making children independent
(do many things without help from elders), autonomous (take several
decisions for themselves), and achievement-oriented (accept risks and
challenges such as those involved in hunting) from an early age of life.
◆ Agricultural societies
● In agricultural societies, children are socialised to be obedient to elders,
nurturant to youngsters, and responsible to their duties.
● Since these behavioural qualities make people more functional in agricultural
societies, they become dominant features of people’s personality in contrast
to independence, autonomy and achievement, which are more functional
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 (and thus highly valued) in hunting-gathering societies. Because of different
economic pursuits and cultural demands, children in hunting- gathering and
agricultural societies develop and display different personality patterns.

❏ HUMANISTIC APPROACH
➔ Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow have particularly contributed to the development of humanistic
perspective on personality.
➔ Carl Rogers
◆ Rogers’ theory grew out of his experiences of listening to patients in his clinic. He noted that
self was an important element in the experience of his clients. Thus, his theory is structured
around the concept of self. It assumes that people are constantly engaged in the process of
actualising their true self.
◆ Fully functional self
● The most important idea proposed by Rogers is that of a fully functioning person. He
believes that fulfilment is the motivating force for personality development. People
try to express their capabilities, potentials and talents to the fullest extent possible.
There is an inborn tendency among persons that directs them to actualise their
inherited nature.
◆ Goal directed self actualisation
● Rogers makes two basic assumptions about human behaviour. One is that behaviour
is goal-directed and worthwhile. The second is that people (who are innately good)
will almost always choose adaptive, self-actualising behaviour.
◆ Ideal self
● Rogers suggests that each person also has a concept of ideal self. An ideal self is the
self that a person would like to be. When there is a correspondence between the real
self and ideal self, a person is generally happy. Discrepancy between the real self and
ideal self often results in unhappiness and dissatisfaction. Rogers’ basic principle is
that people have a tendency to maximise self-concept through self-actualisation. In
this process, the self grows, expands and becomes more social.
◆ Continuous process
● Rogers views personality development as a continuous process. It involves learning
to evaluate oneself and mastering the process of self- actualisation. He recognises
the role of social influences in the development of self-concept.
◆ Influence of social conditions
● When social conditions are positive, the self-concept and self-esteem are high. In
contrast, when the conditions are negative, the self-concept and self- esteem are
low. People with high self- concept and self-esteem are generally flexible and open to
new experiences, so that they can continue to grow and self-actualise.
◆ Client centred therapy

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 ● This situation warrants that an atmosphere of unconditional positive regard must be
created in order to ensure enhancement of people’s self-concept. The client-centred
therapy that Rogers developed basically attempts to create this condition.
➔ Abraham Maslow
◆ Maslow has given a detailed account of psychologically healthy people in terms of their
attainment of self-actualisation, a state in which people have reached their own fullest
potential.
◆ Maslow had an optimistic and positive view of man who has the potentialities for love, joy
and to do creative work. Human beings are considered free to shape their lives and to self-
actualise.
◆ Self-actualisation becomes possible by analysing the motivations that govern our life.
◆ Biological, security, and belongingness needs (called survival needs) are commonly found
among animals and human beings. Thus, an individual’s sole concern with the satisfaction of
these needs reduces her/ him to the level of animals.
◆ The real journey of human life begins with the pursuit of self-esteem and self- actualisation
needs.

❏ ASSESSMENT OF PERSONALITY
❏ In our personal lives, we rely on our past experiences, observations, conversations and
information obtained from other persons to understand and describe people. This approach
to understanding others may be influenced by a number of factors that may colour our
judgement and reduce objectivity.
❏ Hence, we need to organise our efforts more formally to analyse personalities.
❏ A formal effort aimed at understanding the personality of an individual is termed as
personality assessment.
❏ Assessment refers to the procedures used to evaluate or differentiate people on the basis of
certain characteristics.
❏ The goal of assessment is to understand and predict behaviour with minimum error and
maximum accuracy.
❏ In assessment, we try to study what a person generally does, or how s/he behaves, in a
given situation. Besides promoting our understanding, assessment is also useful for
diagnosis, training, placement, counselling, and other purposes.
❏ Techniques of assessment:
● Psychometric tests
● Self report measures
● Projective techniques
● Behavioural analysis

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 ➔ SELF-REPORT MEASURES/DIRECT TECHNIQUE
◆ Gordon Allport suggested that the best method to assess a person is by asking her/him
about herself/himself. This led to the use of self-report measures.
◆ These are fairly structured measures, often based on theory, that require subjects to give
verbal responses using some kind of rating scale.
◆ The method requires the subject to objectively report her/his own feelings with respect to
various items. The responses are accepted at their face value.
◆ They are scored in quantitative terms and interpreted on the basis of norms developed for
the test.
◆ WELL KNOWN SELF REPORT TESTS

Researcher Structure Use

Minnesota Hathaway ● It consists of 567 statements. The ● This inventory is widely

Multiphasic and subject has to judge each used as a test in personality
personality McKinley statement as ‘true’ or ‘false’ for assessment.
inventory her/ him. ● Hathaway and McKinley
(MMPI) ● The test is divided into 10 developed this test as a
subscales, which seek to diagnose helping tool for psychiatric
hypochondriasis, depression, diagnosis, but the test has
hysteria, psychopathic deviate, been found very effective in
masculinity-femininity, paranoia, identifying varieties of
psychasthenia, schizophrenia, psychopathology.
mania and social introversion. ● Its revised version is
● In India, Mallick and Joshi have available as MMPI-2.
developed the Jodhpur Multiphasic
Personality Inventory (JMPI) along
the lines of MMPI.

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 Eysenck H.J. Eysenck ● This test initially assessed two ● A person scoring high on
Personality dimensions of personality, called this dimension tends to be
questionnaire introverted-extraverted and hostile, egocentric, and
(EPQ) emotionally stable-emotionally antisocial. This test is also
unstable. widely used.
● These dimensions are
characterised by 32 personality
traits.
● Later on, Eysenck added a third
dimension, called psychoticism
which is linked to psychopathology
that represents a lack of feeling for
others, a tough manner of
interacting with people, and a
tendency to defy social
conventions.

Sixteen Raymond ● On the basis of his studies, Cattell ● The test can be used with
personality Cattell identified a large set of personality high school level students
factor descriptors, which were subjected as well as with adults.
questionnaire to factor analysis to identify the ● It has been found extremely
(16 PF) basic personality structure. useful in career guidance,
● The test provides declarative vocational exploration, and
statements, and the subject occupational testing.
responds to a specific situation by
choosing from a set of given
alternatives.

➔ LIMITATIONS
◆ Social desirability is a tendency on the part of the respondent to endorse items in a socially
desirable manner.
◆ Acquiescence is another issue. It is a tendency of the subject to agree with items/questions
irrespective of their contents. It often appears in the form of saying ‘yes’ to items. These
tendencies render the assessment of personality less reliable.
◆ Psychological testing and understanding personality requires great skill and training. Unless
one has acquired these to an optimum level under careful supervision of an expert, one
should not venture into testing and interpreting them.
◆ People generally become self- conscious and hesitate to share their private feelings,
thoughts, and motivations.
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 ➔ PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES
◆ A large part of human behaviour is governed by unconscious motives (Psychoanalytic
theory- Freud). Direct methods of personality assessment cannot uncover the unconscious
part of our behaviour. Hence, they fail to provide us with a real picture of an individual’s
personality.
◆ Projective techniques were developed to assess unconscious motives and feelings.
◆ These techniques are based on the assumption that a less structured or unstructured
stimulus or situation will allow the individual to project her/his feelings, desires and needs
on to that situation
◆ These projections are interpreted by experts.
◆ A variety of projective techniques have been developed; some of them require reporting
associations with stimuli (e.g., words, inkblots), some involve story writing around pictures,
some require sentence completions, some require expression through drawings, and some
require choice of stimuli from a large set of stimuli.
◆ CHARACTERISTICS OF STIMULI USED IN PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES
● The stimuli are relatively or fully unstructured and poorly defined.
● The person being assessed is usually not told about the purpose of assessment and
the method of scoring and interpretation.
● The person is informed that there are no correct or incorrect responses.
● Each response is considered to reveal a significant aspect of personality.
● Scoring and interpretation are lengthy and sometimes subjective.
◆ Projective techniques cannot be scored in any objective manner.
◆ They generally require qualitative analyses for which a rigorous training is needed.

◆ WELL KNOWN PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES

Researcher Structure Interpretation

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Rorschach Hermann ● The test consists of 10 inkblots. ● In the second phase, called
Rorschach Five of them are in black and inquiry, a detailed report of
Inkblot test
white, two with some red ink, the response is prepared by
and the remaining three in some asking the subject to tell
pastel colours. where, how, and on what
● The blots are symmetrical in basis a particular response
design with a specific shape or was made.
form. Each blot is printed in the ● Fine judgment is necessary to
centre of a white cardboard of place the subject’s responses
about 7”ˆ10” size. in a meaningful context. The
● The blots were originally made use and interpretation of this
by dropping ink on a piece of test requires extensive
paper and then folding the paper training.
in half (hence called inkblot test). ● Computer techniques too
● The cards are administered have been developed for
individually in two phases. In the analysis of data.
first phase, called performance
proper, the subjects are shown
the cards and are asked to tell
what they see in each of them.

Thematic Morgan and ● The test consists of 30 black and ● The subject is asked to tell a
Apperception Murray white picture cards and one story describing the situation
test (TAT) blank card. Each picture card presented in the picture:
depicts one or more people in a What led up to the situation,
variety of situations. what is happening at the
● Each picture is printed on a card. moment, what will happen in
Twenty cards are appropriate for the future, and what the
a subject, although a lesser characters are feeling and
number of cards (even five) have thinking?
also been successfully used. ● A standard procedure is
● The cards are presented one at a available for scoring TAT
time. responses.
● The test has been modified
for children and for the aged.
Uma Chaudhury’s Indian
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 adaptation of TAT is also
available.

Rosenzweig’s Rosenzweig ● This test was developed to assess ● The analysis of responses is
picture - how people express aggression in based on the type and
frustration the face of a frustrating situation. direction of aggression.
study ● The test presents with the help of ● An attempt is made to
(PF study) cartoon-like pictures a series of examine whether the focus is
situations in which one person on the frustrating object, or
frustrates another, or calls on protection of the
attention to a frustrating frustrated person, or on
condition. constructive solution of the
● The subject is asked to tell what problem.
the other (frustrated) person will ● The direction of aggression
say or do. may be towards the
environment, towards
oneself, or it may be tuned off
in an attempt to gloss over or
evade the situation.
● Pareek has adapted this test
for use with the Indian
population.

Sentence ● This test makes use of a number ● It is held that the type of
completion of incomplete sentences. endings used by the subjects
test ● The starting part of the sentence reflect their attitudes,
is first presented and the subject motivation and conflicts.
has to provide an ending to the ● The test provides subjects
sentence. with several opportunities to
reveal their underlying
unconscious motivations.

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Draw-a- ● It is a simple test in which the ● Some examples of
subject is asked to draw a person interpretations are as follows:
person test
on a sheet of paper with the help ● Omission of facial features
of a pencil and eraser. suggests that the person tries
● After the completion of the to evade a highly conflict-
drawing, the subject is generally ridden interpersonal
asked to draw the figure of an relationship.
opposite sex person. ● Graphic emphasis on the neck
● Finally, the subject is asked to suggests lack of control over
make a story about the person as impulses.
if s/he was a character in a novel ● Disproportionately large head
or play. suggests organic brain disease
and pre- occupation with
headaches.

◆ Use: It helps us to understand unconscious motives, deep-rooted conflicts, and emotional

complexes of an individual.
◆ Limitations:
● The interpretation of the responses requires sophisticated skills and specialised
training.
● There are problems associated with the reliability of scoring and validity of
interpretations.

➔ BEHAVIOURAL ANALYSIS
➔ A person’s behaviour in a variety of situations can provide us with meaningful information about
her/his personality.
➔ Observation of behaviour serves as the basis of behavioural analysis.
➔ An observer’s report may contain data obtained from interview, observation, ratings, nomination,
and situational tests.

Definition Structure Use

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 Interview Interview is a commonly ● Diagnostic interviewing generally Interviews may
used method for involves in-depth interviewing which be structured or
assessing personality seeks to go beyond the replies given unstructured
which involves talking to by the person. depending on the
the person being ● In unstructured interviews, the purpose or goals
assessed and asking interviewer seeks to develop an of assessment:
specific questions. impression about a person by asking
a number of questions. The way a
person presents her/ himself and
answers the questions carries enough
potential to reveal her/his
personality.
● The structured interviews address
very specific questions and follow a
set procedure. This is often done to
make objective comparison of
persons being interviewed. Use of
rating scales may further enhance the
objectivity of evaluations.

Observation The use of observation

requires careful training
of the observer, and a
fairly detailed guideline
about analysis of
behaviours in order to
assess the personality of
a given person.

◆ LIMITATIONS OF OBSERVATION
● Professional training required for collection of useful data through these methods is
quite demanding and time- consuming.
● Maturity of the psychologist is a precondition for obtaining valid data through these
techniques.
● Mere presence of the observer may contaminate the results. As a stranger, the
observer may influence the behaviour of the person being observed and thus not
obtain good data.

➔ Behavioural Ratings

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 ◆ Behavioural ratings are frequently used for assessment of personality in educational and
industrial settings.
◆ Behavioural ratings are generally taken from people who know the assessee intimately and
have interacted with her/him over a period of time or have had a chance to observe
her/him.
◆ They attempt to put individuals into certain categories in terms of their behavioural
qualities. The categories may involve different numbers or descriptive terms.
◆ It has been found that use of numbers or general descriptive adjectives in rating scales
always creates confusion for the rater. In order to use ratings effectively, the traits should be
clearly defined in terms of carefully stated behavioural anchors.
◆ LIMITATIONS OF RATING
● Raters often display certain biases that colour their judgments of different traits. For
example, most of us are greatly influenced by a single favourable or unfavourable
trait. This often forms the basis of a rater’s overall judgment of a person. This
tendency is known as the halo effect.
● Raters have a tendency to place individuals either in the middle of the scale (called
middle category bias) by avoiding extreme positions, or in the extreme positions
(called extreme response bias) by avoiding middle categories on the scale.
● These tendencies can be overcome by providing raters with
○ a) appropriate training or by
○ b) developing such scales in which the response bias is likely to be small.

Definition Structure Use

Nomination This method is ● In using nomination, each person is Nominations thus received
often used in asked to choose one or more persons may be analysed to
obtaining peer of the group with whom s/he would understand the personality
assessment. like to work, study, play or participate and behavioural qualities of
in any other activity. the person.
● The person may also be asked to
specify the reason for her/his choices.

Situational The most ● The test requires a person to perform It provides us with
tests commonly used a given task with other persons who information about how a
test of this kind is are instructed to be non-cooperative person behaves under
the situational and interfering. stressful situations.
stress test. ● The test involves a kind of role playing.
The person is instructed to play a role
for which s/he is observed.

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 ● A verbal report is also obtained on
what s/he was asked to do. The
situation may be realistic one, or it
may be created through a video play.

◆ Nominations: LIMITATIONS
● May be affected by personal biases.

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