Unit VII
Persona =mask of music & dance
It includes both outlook & internal
mental qualities.
◦ Personality refers to the some total of all the
pattern of thinking, feeling, acting, &
behaving that are unique & distinguishes
one persons to another person.
2
Acc. to G. Allport “it is the dynamic organization
within the individual of those psychophysical
system that determine his unique adjustment to
his environment”.
Acc. to Cambridge dictionary of Psychology
personality is the dynamic organization within
the individual of common traits, behavior
patterns, values, interests, plans and motives,
self understanding and worldview, abilities, and
emotional patterns that determine characteristic
behavior and thought.
It is unique for each individual.
It is the sum total of physical &
psychological characteristics of a
individual.
It is the product of heredity, environment
& situation.
It is relatively stable.
It is also influenced by social interaction &
culture.
4
According to Freud, personality development
is influenced by personality structure(Id, Ego
& Superego),level of
consciousness(Conscious, sub-conscious &
unconscious) & early psychosexual
experiences.
Acc. to behaviorists personality is influenced
by learning.
Acc. to humanistic approach personality is
influenced by sense of self & need of growth.
Personality is very dynamic & may be
affected by various factors. There are;
biological & Social( environmental) factors.
1. Biological factors; Heredity, endocrine
glands, nervous system & physique.
Heredity: it is the sum of characteristics &
associated potentialities transmitted
genetically to an individual organism. We
are similar to our parents(large extent) In
both mental & physical qualities because of
heredity.
6
Endocrine glands: Many hormones do play
role in personality development. for; e.g . The
Somatotropin hormone secreted by pituitary
glands, plays role in physical growth of
individual. Under secretion of this hormones
is responsible for dwarfism. Similarly sex
hormones secreted by sex glands are
responsible for primary & secondary sexual
characteristics of male & female.
Nervous system: it plays important role in
personality of individual. For e.g. the
amygdala & hippocampus play role in
memory, learning.
Physique: three types ;
endomorphs,mesomorphs & ectomorphs
Endomorphs have a soft &round body,
generally they are short & fat. They love
comfort & outgoing, having loving,
sociable nature.
Mesomorphs have rectangular-like body,&
muscular. They are energetic, assertive &
aggressive; adventurous, vigorous.
Ectomorphs have a thin delicate body,
usually reserved,lonely,self conscious,
fearful.
8
[Link] factors: both the physical &
social environment do play role in
personality development. When child birth,
the child’s personality is shaped & modeled
by community in which s/he lives. These
factors includes; family, school, religion,
culture, teachers, friends, economic
condition, etc all exert their influence.
Psychoanalytic theory of personality: Sigmund
Freud
Focuses on role of unconscious feelings and
impulses in behavior
Level of mind (conscious, subconscious and
unconscious)
Personality dynamics (Id, ego and superego)
Psychosexual development (Oral, Anal, Phalic,
latency and genitals); fixation; castration
anxiety
Sexual gratification; Oedipus complex
Defense mechanisms: In Freudian theory,
unconscious strategies that people use to
reduce anxiety by concealing the source of it
from themselves and others.
Repression, Regression, Displacement,
Rationalization, Denial, Projection,
Sublimation, Reaction formation are some
defense mechanisms.
Lack of compelling scientific data to support
theory
It is not clear that the stages of personality
Freud laid out provide an accurate description
of personality development
Vague nature of Freud’s theory also makes it
difficult to predict how an adult will display
certain developmental difficulties.
Freud made his observations and derived his
theory from a limited population
A model of personality that seeks to identify the
basic traits necessary to describe personality.
Traits are the consistent personality
characteristics and behaviors displayed in
different situations.
Trait theorists do not assume that some people
have a trait and others do not; rather, they
propose that all people possess certain traits but
the degree to which a particular trait applies to a
specific person varies and can be quantified.
Gordon Allport suggested that there are three
fundamental categories of traits: cardinal
central, and secondary (Allport, 1961, 1966)
◦ A cardinal trait is a single characteristic that directs
most of a person’s activities.
◦ Central traits are made up the core of personality.
Central traits, such as honesty and sociability, are
an individual’s major characteristics; they usually
number from five to ten in any one person.
◦ secondary traits are characteristics that affect
behavior in fewer situations and are less influential
than central or cardinal traits
Raymond Cattell (1965) suggested that 16 pairs
of source traits represent the basic dimensions of
personality. Using those source traits, he
developed the Sixteen Personality Factor
Questionnaire, or 16 PF, a measure that provides
scores for each of the source traits. Those 16
traits are: abstractedness, apprehension,
dominance, emotional stability, liveliness,
openness to change, perfectionism, privateness,
reasoning, rule consciousness, self reliance,
sensitivity, social boldness, tension, vigilance,
warmth
Various trait theories describing personality
come to very different conclusions about which
traits are the most fundamental and descriptive.
The difficulty in determining which of the
theories is the most accurate has led some
personality psychologists to question the validity
of trait conceptions of personality in general.
Traits do not provide explanations for behavior;
they merely describe it.
Laypersons certainly use traits to make
judgments of others
Emphasize the influence of cognition—thoughts,
feelings, expectations, and values—as well as
observation of others’ behavior, on personality.
According to Albert Bandura, one of the main
proponents of this point of view, people can
foresee the possible outcomes of certain
behaviors in a specific setting without actually
having to carry them out. This understanding
comes primarily through observational learning
—viewing the actions of others and observing the
consequences
Bandura places particular emphasis on the
role played by self-efficacy, belief in one’s
personal capabilities. Self-efficacy underlies
people’s faith in their ability to carry out a
specific task or produce a desired outcome.
People with high self-efficacy have higher
aspirations and greater persistence in
working to attain goals and ultimately achieve
greater success than those with lower self-
efficacy
Humanistic approaches to personality
emphasize people’s innate goodness and
desire to achieve higher levels of functioning.
Carl Rogers, 1971
All people have a fundamental need for self-
actualization, a state of self-fulfillment in
which people realize their highest potential,
each in a unique way.
People develop a need for positive regard that
reflects the desire to be loved and respected.
According to Rogers, one outgrowth of placing
importance on others’ opinions is that a conflict
may grow between people’s experiences and
their self-concepts , the set of beliefs they hold
about what they are like as individuals.
Ideal and real self concept
If the discrepancies are minor, so are the
consequences. But if the discrepancies are great,
they will lead to psychological disturbances in
daily functioning, such as the experience of
frequent anxiety.
Humanistic approaches have been criticized
for making the assumption that people are
basically “good”—a notion that is
unverifiable—and, equally important, for
using nonscientific values to build
supposedly scientific theories. Still,
humanistic theories have been important in
highlighting the uniqueness of human beings
and guiding the development of a significant
form of therapy designed to alleviate
psychological difficulties
Psychological tests, a standard measures are
devised to assess behavior objectively and
those tests are used by psychologists to help
people make decisions about their lives and
understand more about themselves.
Personality measurement techniques can be
divided into three major categories:
1. Inventory test or self report test:
2. Projective test:
3. Situational test:
self reporting inventories require individuals
to responds to certain statements if it
concerns them. This method is also known
as paper-pencil test. It consist of formal
questionnaire, statements, or adjectives with
alternate answers which applies to human
behavior. The most frequently used self
report personality inventories are:
Developed by Starke hathway
&[Link] of the Minnesota
University(1943).
It has widely used in clinical practices &
research in diagnosing psychological
disorders;depression,schizophrenia.
MMPI is a questionnaire which is based
on the 10 dimensions of personality. It
consists of 550 statements with ‘Yes,
'No, or I don’t know answers as an
alternative.
While taking the test the subject reads each
of the 550 items & decides whether or not it
applies to her/him. For example, I seldom sit
with strangers in a party. People often
disappoint me.
A revision of MMPI, the MMPI-2 has 567
statements with 10 clinical dimensions. The
revised version contains same scales &
scores in same way. It is standardized form &
widely accepted by other culture.
The 10 scales are:
1. Hypochondriasis (Hs)
2. Depression(D)
3. Hysteria(Hy)
4. Psychopathic deviation(Pd)
5. Masculinity/femininity(Mf)
6. Paranoia(Pa)
7. Psychasthenia(pt)
8. Schizophrenia(Sc)
9. Hypomania(Ma)
10. Social introversion(Si)
In general ,the greater the number & Magnitude
of deviant scores on the more likely that the
individual is severely disturbed. The MMPI has
been translated in more than 22 languages &
adapted for use many nations & cultures.
CPI was designed for use with normal
adolescents &adults. It is compared with
MMPI .It consists 20 CPI scales, such as
dominance, responsibility,& sociability. It is
used to predict academic
achievment,understand leadership potential,
to get information on personal-social
characteristics,& to study individuals in
various occupations .e.g.; I would never play
card game with a stranger. The CPI is widely
used & has been translated into 29
languages.
1. The results are reliable, as it yields
relatively consistent or repeatable
results.
2. The test is valid; as the test actually
measures what its developers intended
it to measure.
3. Inventories are standardized, which
means that the test is administered the
same way every time.
4. These are simple
5. Its economy in terms of using a large
sample people on the same sitting,
saving effort, money & time.
1. The inventory does not provide space
for the test taker to deliver his internal
self.
2. Do not provide much freedom of
choices.
3. Time required to administer & score
each test is lengthy.
4. Individual responses are usually not
honest.
5. Deeper layer can’t be accessed by
means of the direct questioning of
MMPI & CPI.
These test are free from cultural
influences,& present an ambiguous or
unstructured situation into which the
subject may read' individual ideas, wishes,
fear, conflicts, motives, intellectual level,
coping techniques,& fantasies which project
strong personality traits of an individual.
It provides more freedom to people in their
responses than inventories. Projective test
reveals unconscious inner self.
The Rorschach test: it is developed by
Herman Rorschach in [Link] test consist
of10 symmetrical inkblots of which 5 are
black & white And other are multicolored.
the test is usually done in three phases.
A. Free association phase. In this period the
subject is asked what he saw in each card.
The cards are presented serially & the
subject can rotate the cards in all four
directions.
The examiner records the subject’s
response,reactions,time taken for the
first response,total time taken & other
non verbal changes.
[Link] period: After the responses of all
ten cards, the examiner questions the
examinee about each response to find
out which part of blot was used to
respond. The examiner asked questions
such as” what gave you that impression?
& what made it seem like a..?the verbal
as well as the non-verbal comments,
gestures, mannerism, attitudes & other
behaviors are recorded.
[Link] of the limits: After the responses
have been tabulated & scored an
interpretation of Rorschach test is done on
the basis of four criteria:
location,determinants,content & originality
Location: The subject's preference for using
the whole blot(W);a large detail (D), a tiny
detail (d) is the indicators of his personality.
Determinants: Determinants covers
movement (M), animals motion (FM), colour
(C), and shading (K). Many subjects perceive
as though they are performing, or doing
something involving action, such as “kicking
feet”, “two bears climbing”, etc. Animals in
motion (FM) are considered to represent a
more infantile level of fantasy, which is not
based on external reality. The heavy reliance
on colour might may point out depression.
An excess of M indicates responsiveness to
inner impulses, and lack of C responses
indicate avoidance of emotional stimulation.
Content: The individuals’ responses are
divided into man, animal, trees, scene,
man made objects sexual indication,
attitudes, interests, etc.
Originality: The responses given by the
subject are divided into whether it is
popular, original and normal or
deviated from the normal responses of
other subjects.
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) was
developed at Harvard University by Henry
Murry and his collaborator Morgan in 1935.
TAT is based on the principle developed by
Freud in describing the influences of many
unconscious processes. The term
apperception in TAT means a readiness to
perceive in certain ways based on past
experiences.
TAT assumes that, people interpret ambiguous
pictures according to their motives,
preoccupations, defenses, conflicts, affection,
fear and a way of interpreting the world. It
consists of ambiguous stimuli showing human
figures of different age and sex in a variety of
activities. It is more structured than RT.
The TAT consists of 30 black and white
pictures plus a blank card from which the
subject has to make up stories. Some cards
are used for boys under 14, others for girls
under 14, for adult males, and for adult
females.
The usual administration involves 20 pictures
for a given person. Usually 10 pictures are
presented, with a short break of a full day
interval before the second set of 10 is
administered. In most test situations, all 20
cards are not presented in a single sitting.
TAT is an individual test in which each card is
presented one at a time to one individual.
The twenty pictures of each set are given in a
serial order.
Usually 5 minutes are allowed for each card,
but the subject is encouraged to fully express
their thoughts.
The Hero: important traits of the main
character
The Need: motives and interests of the main
character
The press: the forces and strength of the
environment
The Theme: the action and reaction between
the hero’s environment and this forces
The Outcome: the concluding situation, or
end of the story
Behavioral assessment: Direct measures of an
individual’s behavior used to describe
personality characteristics.
As with observational research, behavioral
assessment may be carried out naturalistically
by observing people in their own settings: in
the workplace, at home, or in school. In other
cases, behavioral assessment occurs in the
laboratory under controlled conditions in
which a psychologist sets up a situation and
observes an individual’s behavior
Time sampling
◦ A series of successive observation of an
individuals particular behavior over a period of
time are studied
◦ E.g. friendliness, social relationship
Episode sampling
◦ The behavior is studied for a longer time
depending upon certain phenomena than in a
time sampling
◦ E.g. aggressive behavior in different situations
Sociometry rating scale
◦ Describe the social and emotional relationship
among individuals in a group