DPS GUWAHATI



Chapter 2- Self and PersonalityChapter outlineSelfPersonalityTheoriesAssessmentSelfSelf refers to the totality of an individual’s conscious experiences, ideas, thoughts and feelings with regard to herself or himself.Kinds of self:Personal self: Primarily concerned with oneself. Personal freedom, personal responsibility etc.Social self: Relation with otherscooperation, affiliation, sacrifice etc. values family and social relationship - familial or relational self.Self as subjectSelf as an objectDoes somethingSomething is doneEngage in the process of knowing itselfGets observed and comes to be knownEg: I know who I am – “I am a dancer”Self is being expressed as a knowerEg : Who does something - “I am one who easily gets hurt”. Self is something that can be known.Cognitive and behavioural aspects of selfSelf – concept: The way we perceive ourselves and the ideas we hold about our competencies and attributes is called self conceptSelf esteem: It is the value judgement of a person about herself/himself is called self-esteem. Self efficacy: It the belief people have that they themselves control their life outcomes or the outcomes are control by luck or fate or other situational factors. The notion of self efficacy is based on Bandura’s social learning theory.Self regulation: It refers to our ability to organise and monitor our own behaviour. Eg- fasting or roza are good examples of self control.Techniques of self control are:Observation of own behaviourSelf-instructionSelf reinforcementCulture and selfSelf In Indian cultureSelf in western cultureShifting nature of the boundaries. The boundary is relatively fixed. The self is not separated from one’s own group Individual members of the group maintain the individuality . It is called collectivistic.It is called individualisticConcept of personalityPersonality refers to our characteristics way responding to individuals and situations. It refers to the unique and relatively stable qualities that characterise an individual’s behaviour across different situations over a period of time.Personality is characterised by the following features:It has Physical and psychological components.Its expression in terms of behaviour is fairly unique in a given individualIts main features do not easily change with timeIt is dynamic in the sense that some of its features may change due to internal or external situational demands. Thus it is adaptive to nature.Major approaches to the study of personality Trait approachType approachPsychodynamic approachBehavioural approachCultural approachHumanistic approachType approachType approach attempts to comprehend human personality by examining certain broad pattern in the observed behavioural characteristics of individuals characteristics of individuals.Hippocrates: sanguine, phelgmatic, melancholic and cholericCharak Samhita: Vata, pita, kapha Three humorous element called tridosha. Each of them are termed as Prakriti .Trigunas i.e., sattava, rajas and tamas Sheldon’s typology: Sheldon proposed Endomorph, Mesomorph and Ectomorph. Jung’s typology : Jung grouped people as introvert and extravert. Friedman and Rosenman classified people as Type A and Type B Personalities. Type A people are always in a hurry, possess high motivation, lack patience and always feels burdened with work. They suffer from Coronary Heart disease (CHD).Type B has absence of type A traits.Morris has extended Type C which is prone to cancer. Type D personality are characterise by proneness to depression.Trait approachTrait : A trait is considered as a relatively enduring attribute or quality on which one individual differs from another. It is:Relatively stable over timeThey are generally consistent across situationsTheir strengths and combinations vary across individuals leading to individual differences in personality.Allport’s trait theoryGordon Allport is considered the pioneer of trait approach. Allport categorised traits into:Cardinal trait: These are highly generalised dispositions. For example – Gandhian.Central traits: These are less pervasive in effect , but still quite generalised, such as honest, punctual, warm etc.Secondary trait: These are least generalised characteristics which we tend to forget. For example: like mangoes, wear sari etc.Raymond B. CattellRaymond B. Cattell Statistical method called Factor Analysis.He found 16 primary factors or source traits.Source traits: these are stable and are considered to be building blocks of personality.Surface traits: they results out of the interaction of source traits. He describes source traits in terms of opposing tendencies.Cattell developed a test to assess 16 different types of personality which is called Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF)H.J. EysenckH.J. Eysenck propose that personality could be reduced into two broad dimensions which are biologically and genetically based.Neuroticism vs Emotionally Stable: Neurotics are moody, anxious, touchy, restless and quickly lose control. Emotionally stable are calm, even tempered , reliable and remain under controlExtraversion vs introversion: Extraverts are active, gregarious, impulsive ad thrill seeking. Introverts are passive, quite, cautious and reserved.Psychoticism vs Sociability. A person scoring high on psychoticism are hostile, egocentric and antisocial.Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) is use to measure intelligence on the basis of this theory.Difference between Type and Trait approachType approachTrait Approach1Comprehend human personality into observed behavioural characteristics 1Psychological attributes along which individuals tend to differ in consistent and stable way. 2Individuals are placed in terms of the similarity of their behavioural characteristics.2Individuals can be rated in terms of the degree of presence or absence of a trait. For example – ‘shyness’, ‘friendlyness’. 3The theories of this approach are: Sheldons typologyJungs typologyFriedman and Rosenman’s Type A and Type B3The theories of this approach are: Allports trait theoryCattell’s Personality factorEysenck’s personality thoeryInteractional approach:Interactional Approach says that situational characteristics play an important role in determining our behaviour. Psychodynamic ApproachLevels of ConsciousnessConscious: it includes thoughts , feelings and actions that people are aware of . Preconscious: It includes mental activities of which people may become aware only if they attend to it closely.Unconscious: It is considered to be the reservoir of instinctive or animal drives. For example : sexual desires.Psychoanalysis: It is a therapeutic approach which Freud developed to bring out the repressed unconsciousness to consciousness. Structure of personalityId: It is the source of a person’s instinctual energy. It works on pleasure principle. Ego: It works on reality principle and direct the id for appropriate behaviour. Superego: it is the moral branch of mental functioning. It is based on parental authority and socialization.Freud assumes that id , ego and superego is energised by life instinct and death instinct. The instinctual forces that energises the id is called libido.Ego Defence MechanismsDefence mechanism is a way of reducing anxiety by distorting reality. Freud described following ego defence mechanisms:Repression: Anxiety provoking behaviours or thoughts are totally repress by the unconsciousness. Projection: People attribute their own traits to othersDenial: In this a person totally refuses the reality. Reaction formation: adopting a behaviour opposing to his/her true behaviour. Rationalisation: making unreasonable feelings and behaviour seems reasonable and acceptable. Stages of personality development: Freud explained the Five stage theory of personality which have a long term effect on the person’s lifeOral stage: The newborns’s instincts are focused on the mouth. Anal stage: it is found around two and three years children experience pleasure by moving the bowels. Phallic stage: It starts from around age four or five. Children realise the difference between boy and a girl. They become aware of sexuality.Oedipus complex : It involves love towards the mother and hostility towards the father .Electra complex: By attaching the love towards the father girl symbolically marry her father and raise a family. Latency stage: This stage last from about seven years until puberty. Child’s energy is channelized into social or achievement related activities. Genital stage: This stage is marked by maturity in psychosexual development. Sexuality, fear and repressed feelings are again exhibitedFixation: Failure of a child to pass successfully through a stage leads to fixation to that stage. Regression: It takes a person back to an earlier stage of development when stressed. Post Freudian Approaches Carl Jung : Aims and aspirations: He developed his own theory of personality know as Anaytical Psychology. The basic assumption of this is that personality consists of competing forces and the structure within the individual rather than between the individual and the demands of the individual and reality.He gave the concept of Collective unconscious consisting of Archetypes. Karen Horney :She adopted a more optimistic view of human life. She also contributed by challenging Freud’s treatment of women as inferior. Psychological disorders like anxiety are caused by disturbed interpersonal relationship during childhood which develops feeling of insecurity resulting to basic anxiety.Alfred Adler: Lifestyle and social interestAlfred Adler gave the theory of Individual Psychology. His basic assumption is that human behaviour is purposeful and goal directed. Adler’s view every individual suffers from feeling of inadequacy and guilt i.e. Inferiority complex. Erik Erikson: Search for identity:This theory lays stress on rational, conscious, ego processes in personality development. Identity is granted a central place in the process. His concept of identity crisis of adolescent age has drawn considerable attention.Reasons for criticism of Psychodynamic theories:These theories are strongly condemned for following reasons:They are largely based on case studies and not based on scientific evidences.Small and atypical individuals were taken as sample groups for studies for advancing generalizations.Concepts are not properly defined. It is difficult to submit them to scientific testing.Freud theory has used males as 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.The theory focuses on study of stimulus – response connection and reinforcements. The theories of classical conditioning, instrumental conditioning and observational learning are use to develop personality theories..Humanistic approach: This approach is mainly built on the theories of Freud. Carl Roger and Abraham Maslow contributed for the development of this approach.Roger proposed the idea of a fully functional person. Rogers made two assumptions about human behaviour:Behaviour is goal directed.people choose adaptive self actualization behaviourHe observed that each person has a concept of True self and an Ideal self about himThey gave the therapy of Client centred therapy which used unconditional positive regard to ensure enhancement of clients self concept.As per Roger’s principle people have a tendency to maximize self concept through self actualization. Who is a Healthy Person as per humanistic approach?The Humanistic theory suggests that no one can be a healthy person by mere adjusting to the society.It involves following characteristics:Awareness of self , one’s feelings and their limits and accept themselves.Experience Here and Now i. e, Mindfulness.Do not live in the past and dwell in the future through anxious expectations and distorted defences.Cultural Approach: This approach attempts to understand personality in relation to the features of ecological and cultural environment. Rituals, ceremonies, religious practices, arts, recreational activities, games and plays In the Birhor tribe of Jharkhand Child’s socialization practice are aimed at making them independent, autonomous and achievement oriented. In agricultural societies , children and socialised to be obedient to elders, nurturant to youngsters and responsible to their duties . Assessment of personalitySelf Report: Subjects are made to objectively report his/her own feelings with respect to various items.Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)- Hathaway and Mc.Kinley hypochondriasis, depression, masculinity- femininity, paranoia, psychasthenia, schizophrenia, mania and social introversion567 statements in ‘true’ or ‘false’ Mallick and Joshi -Jodhpur Multiphasic Personality Inventory (JMPI)Eyesenck Personality Questionnaire – (EPQ)Developed by Eysenck Introverted / Extraverted and Emotionally stable/unstable. 32 personality characteristics.Later Eyesenck added 3rd dimension to this theory psychoticism Cattell- Sixteen personality factor questionnaire – (16PF)declarative statements.Career guidance, vocational exploration and occupational testing for students/adults.Limitations of Self-report tests:Social desirabilityAcquiescenceHesitant to openProjective Technique: Indirect method uncover the unconscious Methods includes: Reporting association with stimuli- words, inkblots, story writing around pictures, some require sentence completion, expression through drawings.Features of this technique:The stimuli are relatively or fully unstructured and poorly defined.The subject is not told about the purpose of assessment and method of scoring and interpretation.The person is informed that there is no correct or incorrect answer.Each response is considered to reveal a significant aspect of personality.Scoring and interpretation are lengthy and sometime subjective.Examples of Projective tests:Rorschach Inkblot Test:Harmann Rorschach. The tests consists of 10 inkblots ( 5 black and white, 2 red and remaining of pastel colours) printed in the centre of a cardboard of 7” to 10”.1st Phase- Performance proper2nd Phase- InquiryUse of the test requires extensive training to make fine judgement and interpretation.The Thematic Appreciation Test (TAT): Morgan and Murray. It consists of 30 black and white picture cards and 1 blank card. Method: One card is presented at a time, asking the subject to tell a story describing the situation presented in the picture:What led up to the situation?What is happening at the moment?What will happen in future?What are the characters thinking and feeling??Indian adaptation - Uma Chaudhary.Rozensweig’s Picture-Frustration study ( P-F Study): It was developed by Rozenweig to assess how people express aggression in a frustrating situation.The test consists cartoon like pictures depicting situations where one person is frustrating other.The subject is asked to describe:What the frustrated person will say or do?Pareek has adapted this test for Indian populationAnalysis is based on:The Type and Direction of aggression It is examined whether the focus is on frustrating object or protecting the frustrated person, or on constructive solution.Sentence Completion Test: ?This test makes use of number of incomplete sentences. e.g.My father………………….My greatest fear is……………..The best thing about my mother is……………..I am proud of………………5.Draw-a-Person test:Asked to draw a picture of a person.After the completion of the drawing, subject is asked to draw a picture of a person of opposite gender. Some examples of the interpretation as follows:Omission of facial features suggests that the person tries to evade a highly conflict-ridden interpersonal relationship.Graphic emphasis on the neck suggests lack of control over impulses.Disproportionately large size of the head suggests organic brain disease or preoccupation with headaches.Behavioural analysisBehavioural RatingsBehavioural ratings are frequently used for personality assessment of individuals in an educational or industrial settings.Limitations of Behavioural Rating method: ‘Halo effect.’middle of the scale (middle category bias) or extreme positions (called extreme response bias).Nominations: in this method people in a group who know each other for a long period are asked to nominate another person from the group with whom they would like to work/play/do some activity. Situational tests: Most commonly used test is –Situational Stress test. It provides us information on how a person behaves under stressful conditions. ***************** ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download