Personality
MEANING
Psychologically speaking, personality is all that a person is. It
is the totality of one’s behaviour towards oneself as well as others. It
includes everything about the person, his physical, emotional, social, mental
and spiritual make-up. It is all that a person has about him.
So definitely, the
term personality signifies something deeper than mere appearance or outward
behaviour. How should it be given a proper meaning or definition is a
difficult problem. Actually subjective nature does not allow to reach to
a clear-cut, well agreed definition. That is why, it has been defined by
many psychologists in so many ways according to their own points of view. Let
us first begin with J.B. Watson (1930) the famous behaviourist. He
defined personality in the words given below:
Personality is the
sum of activities that can be discovered by actual observations over a long
enough period of time to give reliable information.
Thus, Watson gives emphasis on the behaviour of an individual and
considers personality as nothing but the useful effect one makes upon the
person coming in his close contact. Morton Prince, accepting
the role of both heredity and environment, defines it as :
Personality is the
sum total of all the biological innate dispositions, impulses, tendencies, appetites
and instincts of the individual and the dispositions and tendencies acquired by
experience.
After evaluating 49
definitions of personality written by many eminent persons, All port summarizes
his own concept in the following words:
Personality is a dynamic
organization within the individual of those psycho-physical systems that
determine his unique adjustment to his environment.
Although All port
has tried to give a comprehensive definition of the term ‘personality’ by
including the words organization, dynamic, psycho-physical system, unique
adjustment and environment etc. yet he, like his predecessors, only describes
it. By emphasizing merely on theoretical aspect and describing it in
terms of behavioural or dynamic concepts, the true nature of personality cannot
be understood. Contemporary psychologists like R.B. Cattell and Eysenck
have so opined. They very strongly feel that if personality cannot be
demonstrated, measured and quantified, it should be called philosophy or art
and not personality theory in psychology.
The world
‘PERSONALITY’ is derived from a Latin word ‘persona’ which denotes the mask
worn by the actors while playing their role in the drama.
Personality is the
embodiment of physical, emotional, social, mental, moral and other traits of a
human being.
Each letter of the
word ‘PERSONALITY’ implies its meaning as follows:
P – denotes
Perception capacity
E – denotes
Emotional maturity
R – denotes
Responsiveness to the situation
S – denotes
Sociability
O – denotes
Originality
N – denotes
Neutrality
A – denotes
Appearance (external)
L –
denotes Leadership feeling
I
– denotes Integrated
T –
denotes Tendency
Y –
denotes Young (in thinking)
R.B. Cattell
Personality is that
which permits a prediction of what a person will do in a given situation.
Eysenck
Personality is the
more or less stable and enduring organization of a person’s character
temperament, intellect, and physique, which determine his unique adjustment to
the environment.
EVALUATION
OF EYSENCK DEFINITION
1. The definition gives a balanced consideration to heredity and
environment in building one’s personality.
2. Eysenck stresses on the concept of structure and organization and
criticizes just naming of some of the behavioural characteristics like bricks
in describing a home
3. This definition gives personality a physiological base.
4. It gives a complete picture of the human behaviour patterns by including
cognitive, conative, affective and somatic (constitutional) aspects.
5. This definition aims at making personality somewhat measurable and
assessable and thus gives it a scientific base.
The above-mentioned
characteristics do not suggest that Eysenck’s definition has explained
everything about the term’ personality’ nor does it claim that it does not have
any weak point. Like other definitions, this definition also suffers from
some limitations and drawbacks, which are given below:
(i) Eysenck
advocates that personality must have a physiological base, but such is not the
case always. Due to the very complex nature of personality, we cannot
always have a physiological base.
(ii) His
definition leads us to form an opinion that personality is fixed and cannot
be changed.
This is an extreme
approach. It is true that personality should be evaluated on the basis of
generality of the behaviour. However, on the other hand, changes cannot
be denied. A person, who is an extrovert, may turn into an introvert depending
upon so many intervening factors.
Thus for
understanding the concept of personality, the evolution of an ideal definition
still needs further research. In fact, concepts like personality are
difficult to be explained as they have the identity like sound or electricity
where the impact can be felt but their real nature is always undisclosed.
Something about them can be known by their utility or by describing some of
their characteristics and distinguishing features. Let us seek the
meaning of the term ‘personality’ on similar lines.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1_zconwt1A
SOME GLARING FACTS
ABOUT PERSONALITY
1. Firstly, personality is something unique and specific. Each one of us is
a unique pattern in ourselves. No two individuals, not even identical
twins, behave in precisely the same way over a period of time. Everyone
of us has specific characteristics for making adjustments.
2. The second main characteristic of personality is self-consciousness. The
man is described as a person or as having a personality when the idea of ‘self’
enters into his consciousness. In this connection H.R. Bhatia (1968) writes.
“We do not attribute personality to a dog and even a child cannot be described
as a personality because it has only a vague sense of personal identity.”
3. Personality includes everything about a person. It is all that a person
has about him. It includes all the behavior patterns, i.e. conative,
cognitive and affective, and covers not only the conscious activities but goes
deeper to semi-conscious and unconscious levels also.
4. It is not just a counting the bricks how can we describe the wall of a
house? It needs something more and actually personality is more than
this: It is an organization of some psycho-physical systems or some
behaviour characteristics and functions as a unified whole. Like when
describing an elephant, we cannot say that it is like a pillar only by
examining its legs. Similarly by looking at one’s physique or
sociability, we cannot pass judgment about one’s personality. It is only
when we carefully study all the aspects-biological as well as social-we can
form an idea bout his personality.
5. Personality is not static, it is dynamic and ever in the process of
change and modification. As we have said earlier, personality is all that a
person has about him. It gives him all that is needed for his unique
adjustment in his environment. The process of making adjustment to
environment is continuous. One has to struggle with the environmental as
well as the inner forces throughout one’s life. As a result, one has to
bring modifications and changes in one’s personality patterns and it makes the
nature of personality dynamic instead of static.
6. Every personality is the product of heredity and environment. Both
contribute significantly towards the development of the child’s personality.
7. Learning and acquisition of experiences contribute towards growth and development
of one’s personality. Every personality is the end product of this process of
learning and acquisition.
8. Everyone’s personality has one more distinguishing feature, that is
aiming to an end or some specific goal. Adler, in his book ‘individual Psychology’
opined that a man’s personality can be judged through a study and
interpretation of the goals he has set for himself to achieve and the
approaches he makes to the problems in his life. In this way, he gives a
very concise meaning to the personality of an individual by calling it
‘lifestyle of an individual’
Indeed this short
and concise explanation of the term has a wide meaning. It draws a
beautiful portrait of an individual’s totality. It may be understood as
the sum total of one’s way of behaving towards oneself as well as others.
It also predicts one’s nature of behaviour as to how will one behave in a
particular situation and one’s pattern of adjustment to the ever changing
forces of environment.
Determinants
MAJOR DETERMINANTS OF PERSONALITY
Man is a member of a complex society. His final aim
is self-actualization. His present is determined by the past experiences
and future expectations.
Man is born with some inborn capacities for personality
pattern. As he grows the personality pattern is determined by his needs
and the environment he faces.
Environmental factors activate the individual’s personality
along with the hereditary factors. The individual personality is not
permanent but it is growing and develops its existence. The factors
which influence the human personality are
a) Physique
b) Chemique
Ink –Blot Test
Hermann Rorschach
(1884-19220 A Swiss Psychiatrist developed this technique in the year
1921. Unfortunately he died after a year in 1922.
1. Test Material : The test has 10 cards on
which in-blots patterns are mounted on a stiff cardboard of 8×10”. Five blots
are made up of black and grey (card No. 1, 4, 5, 6 and 7). Two are black and
red (Card No. 2 and 3) and three are multi coloured (Card No. 8, 8 and 10)
The ink-blots are
highly unstructured and they do not have any specific meaning.
The cards are presented at a time in a particular order. The
individual is asked to specify what he/she sees in it,. The individual is
allowed to take his/he own time and is permitted to give any number of
responses he likes. The experimenter take note of the responses given by
the subject and the time taken for each card.
Scoring :
For scoring, the
responses are entered in specific symbols and are entered in four columns.
1. Location : Location refers to the part of the blot with which the
subject associates his response is identified. The responses are given in
symbols W-Whole blot, D-large details, d-small details, s-white spaces.
2. content : This deals with the content of the response realized by the
subject. Symbols re given. H-Human objects like rivers, mountains etc.,
O-Inanimate objects like lamp, shade etc.
3. Originality : If the response is original the symbol “O” is given
and if it is popularly recognized by many individuals, the symbol “P” is
given. Determinants : It emphasizes the manner of perception i.e. particular
characters which aid the subject to give his/her response. Symbols
are given as follows : Form
(f) Colour
(c) Movement (M) Shading (k)
Interpretation : In the table, different symbols are
taken into account i.e. retile frequencies are taken not of. On the basis of
the frequencies, interpretation is made.
For e.g.
1. In the number of “W” is greater than “d” the subject is considered
mature and Intelligent
2. If colour is more than movement, the subject is considered as extrovert.
3. Poor colour or colour naming responses are considered to indicate lack
of emotional control.
4. If the individual sees human beings, he/she is regarded as stable and if
animals he/she are seen is regarded as unstable.
Thus, the test is
used in the assessment of personality.
2.
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
The test consisting of perception of a certain picture in a thematic
manner (revealing imaginative themes) is called TAT or Thematic Apperception
Test. This test was developed by Murray and Morgan (the following
pictures)
Test material and
administration:
It consists of 30 pictures which portray human beings in a variety of
actual life situations. Ten of the cards are meant for males, 10 for females
and 10 for both. In this way, the maximum number of pictures used with
any subject is 20. The test is usually administered in two sessions,
using 10 pictures in each session. The pictures are presented one at a
time. They are vague and indefinite. The subject is told clearly
that this is a test of creative imagination and that there is no right and
wrong response. He has to make up a story for each of the pictures
presented to him, within a fixed time. He has to take care of the
following aspects while knitting the story :
1. What is going on the picture?
2. What has led to this scene?
iii. What would
happen in such a situation?
In making up the
stories the subject unconsciously projects so many characteristics of his
personality. There is no time to think. Therefore, the stories
express his own life-natural desires, likes and dislikes, ambitions, emotions,
sentiments etc. Its special value resides in its power of exploring the
underlying hidden drives, complexes and conflicts of the personality. An
expert examiner can know much about the personality of his subject by carefully
interpreting the given responses.
Scoring and
Interpretation :
Originally Murray analyzed the contents of the stories according to the
need and presses (the need of the hero and the environmental forces to which he
is exposed). Today this way of interpretation is not generally followed.
Nowadays, the system of scoring and interpretation takes into account the
following:
(a) Hero
of the story – What type of personality does he have?
(b) Theme
of the story – What is the nature of the theme or plot used in making
the story
(c) Style
of the story – Length of the story, language used, direct or
indirect
expression, forced or poor expression, organization of the contents,
originality and creativity etc.
§ The content of the story – What
interests, sentiments, attitudes do they depict. In
which manner (reality or fantasy) has the behaviour been expressed? What
inner state of the mind does the story reveal?
§ Test situation as a whole – The
subject’s reaction to be listed as whole
§ Particular emphasis or omissions – The
omission, addition, distortion and attention to particular details
§ Subject’s attitude towards authority and sex.
§ Outcome. Conclusion of the story – happy,
unhappy, comedy etc.,
As a whole, the
recurring themes and features contribute more than a single response towards
interpretation. Moreover, the global view of one’s personality should be
based on the responses of all the 20 pictures shown to the subject. There
are so many chances of misinterpreting the stories contents by an immature
examiner. Therefore, the future of TAT hangs on the possibility of
perfecting the interpreter more than in perfecting the material. He
should be given full opportunity for acquiring essential knowledge and training
for this purpose.
Cat (Children
Apperception Test)
TAT test works well with adults and adolescents but for children it is
not suitable. For children between 3 to 10 years, the CAT was developed
by D. Leopold Bellak.
Description of the
Test: It consists of 10 cards. The cards have pictures of animals instead of
human characters since it was thought that children could identify with animal
figures more readily than with persons. These animals are shown in
various life situations. For both sexes, all the 10 cards are
needed. The pictures are designed to evoke fantasies relating to a
child’s own experiences, reactions and feelings. Whatever story the child
makes, he projects himself. It is a colour-free test but it demands some
alterations according to the child’s local conditions.
Administering the
test : All the 10 cards are presented one by one and the subject is asked to
make up stories on them. The child should have confidence and he should
consider story-making a pleasant game.
Interpretation :
Interpretation of the stories is centered around the following eleven
variables:
1. Hero : The personality traits of the
hero as revealed in the story
2. Theme of the story : what particular theme has he
selected for the story building?
3. The end of the story : Happy ending or unhappy,
wishful, realistic or unrealistic.
4. attitude towards parental figures : Hatred,
respect, devotion, grateful, dependent, aggressive or fearful.
5. Family role : With whom does the child
identify himself with in the family.
6.Other outside figures introduced : Objects or
elements introduced in the story but not
shown in the picture.
7. Omitted or
ignored figures : Which figures are omitted or
ignored should be noted
as they may depict the wish of the subject that the figures were not
there.
8. Nature of the anxieties : Harassment,
loss of love, afraid of being left alone etc.,should also be noted.
9.Punishment for crime : The relationship between a crime committed in the story and
severity of punishment given for it.
10.Defense
and confidence : The type of defenses, flight,
aggression, passivity,
ted regression etc. the child takes,
nature of compliance or dependence, involvement in pleasure and
achievement, sex desire etc.
11.Other supplementary knowledge : The
language, the overall structure of the stories, time taken for completing
them and the reactions of the subject at the time of making the
story etc.,With all this knowledge an expert interpreter can pronounce judgment
on the various aspects of the child’s personality.
3. Word Association Test
In this technique there are a number of selected words. The
subject is told that: the examiner will utter a series of words. The
subject is told that :
(ii) after each
word the subject is to reply as quickly as possible with the first word
that Comes to his mind, and
(iii) there is no
right or wrong response.
The examiner then
records the reply to each word spoken by him; the reaction time and any unusual
speech or behaviour manifestations accompanying a given response. The contents
of the responses along with the other recorded things give clues for evaluating
the human personality and thus help a psychologist in his work.
4. Sentence-Completion Tests
The tests include a list of incomplete open-ended sentences, which
require completion by the subject in one or more words. The subject is
asked to go through the list and answer as quickly as possible (without giving a
second thought to his answers). For example, we can have the
following sentences:
I am worried
over…………..
My hope is
…………………
I feel proud when
…………..
My hero is ………………….
The sentence
completion tests are regarded as superior to word association because the
subject may respond with more than one word. Also there it is possible to have
a greater flexibility and variety of responses and more area of personality and
experiences may be tapped.
In addition to the
projective techniques mentioned above, there are some others which may prove
useful in many situations. These are play technique, drawing and painting
tests etc. Both these techniques are very useful in the case of small
children. In the former, the examiner
Observes the
spontaneous behaviour of the children while playing or constructing something
with the help of given material and in the latter, the natural free hand
drawing and paintings of the children are the matter of the study. Both
these techniques provide a good opportunity for the careful analysis of a
child’s personality.
5. Free Association and Dream Analysis Test :
This technique was
used by Freud to find out the repressed unconscious desires, emotions and
feelings of individual men and women. According to this method the
psycho-analyst first of all wins the confidence of the subject. The subject is
then asked to take a comfortable position and recline on a sofa and is
encouraged to talk about his trouble, freely. At a certain point in his
free conversation the subject stops and resists in expressing his ideas freely.
After many sittings of this type the analyst comes to know some significant
factors of personality. The analyst also interprets the dreams of the
subject. Certain repressed desires which the subject cannot express in
the conscious world find their expression in a different form in his
dreams. Thus an analysis of his dreams also gives a clue to his
personality.
Evaluation
of Projective Techniques :
Projective
techniques have some outstanding features which give them some sort of
superiority over the other techniques of assessing the personality. They
are given below.
1. The nature of appraisals being made by these techniques is usually
well-disguised. The subject is ordinarily not aware of the true purpose of the
test ad even if he has knowledge, he cannot know what aspects of his responses
are significant or what significance do they have. Therefore, there is no
danger of distortion of the response or to give selective responses by the
subject.
2. In these projective techniques, the tasks presented to the individual
are usually both novel and unstructured. The subject cannot depend upon an
established, conventional and stereotyped pattern of responses. He is to
respond quite independently. Therefore, by these techniques, we can be
saved from the danger or practice and coaching effects from which most tests
suffer.
3. Scope and area of their application is very wide. They make little or no
demand on literacy or academic skills and are equally useful for children as
well as adults.
4. Most of the essential aspects of the unconscious behaviour, of which the
subject himself has no knowledge, can be revealed through these techniques. In
this way, these techniques play a great role in disclosing the private world of
the subject and hence have a unique advantage of evaluating the total
personality of an individual.
Limitations
Despite all these
good points at their credit, the projective techniques also suffer from some
weakness. They are :
1. Standardized projective tests are costly. Also there is a shortage of
such tests.
2. The standardized work suffers from many weaknesses. Proper norms and
objective
Interpretation are
hardly available for these tests. Also they are not highly reliable and
valid.
1. They are time-consuming both in administration and scoring.
2. The interpretation task is subjective and needs well-trained and
experienced persons, who are generally not available.
But these above
mentioned limitations on the part of projective techniques do not make
them less
significant. In fact with the essential training and knowledge at his
command, an expert psychologist is sure to gain important information about the
subject, which is otherwise not available. On the other hand, it is also
true that the projective techniques alone are not the answer to all the
questions regarding human personality and adjustment. They should always
be supplemented with other techniques of the personality so that comprehensive
and detailed picture of the personality make-up of an individual is obtained.
INTEGRATED
PERSONALITY
A well integrated
personality has got the following characteristics:
1. Self-Consciousness :
A person with a
normal personality has no idea of self-regard and a feeling of
self-consciousness. He takes a critical view of praise and blame of others
about him. He tries to judge himself as others would judge him.
2. Personality is social :
We come to have an
idea of social consciousness, when we come in interaction with other
individuals in the society. It is by interaction with them that our
personality develops. It is only in this society that we come to know the
value of adjustment with others. The individual comes to have a
personality, when other react to his actions and qualities.
3. Personality continuously adjusts itself : It is in the society that the
individual comes across various types of stimuli. He has to adjust himself
accordingly. This adjustment depends on his organic structure, his attitude,
goals and dispositions. It is by adjustment, that the individual comes to
have personality.
4. Personality strives for goals :
All our actions
have some purpose in view. These purposes may be determined by our organic and
psychological needs. Some of them are also determined by the demands of
civilized society. Goals do determine the personality of the individual.
5. Unity of Personality :
As our entire body
functions in doing something; in the same way, all our actions are affected by
the total pattern or our personality. The child may not achieve this
unity at the infancy and childhood stage. As he matures, develops his
self-regarding sentiment, he comes to have integration of personality.
NON-PROJECTIVE
TECHNIQUES
1. Observation
The ways in which a student passes through his situations and
environments may be observed and his personality may be assessed. It we want to
find out the leadership qualities inherent in him, we have to observe his
behaviour in classroom, play ground, group activities, extra curricular
activities, teamwork in social activities etc. The observation has to be
recorded and analyzed to find out the possible leadership qualities in the
student.
Questionnaire
A list of questions
are given to a student and his personality is assessed through his promptness
in answering the questions.
For example, if you
want to find out whether an individual is an extrovert or an introvert, we have
to ask the following questions.
1. Would you like to be free?
Yes
Undecided
No
2. Do you have proper relations with Your friends?
Yes
Undecided
No
3. Personality Inventory
This is also of
similar questionnaire type with a slight difference. A questionnaire is used
for any purpose of test but the personality inventory is used only to evaluate
the assessment of personality. In questionnaire, questions are raised in
the form of questions with three alternate answers but in the inventory three
statements are given and one has to be answered. For e.g.
1. I always like to be wealthy
Yes
Undecided No
2. I cannot see others being unhappy
Yes
Undecided
No
The perfect example
for a personality inventory today is the Minnesota Multiphase Personality
Inventory (MMPI). This most popular inventory was prepared and standardized by
S.R. Hathaway and J.C. Mekinky. This inventory consists of 550 statements
which are to be answered in three alternatives namely, true, false and cannot
say.
On the basis of the
answers given, an individual’s personality is evaluated.
Sample item of MMPI
:
1. It makes me nervous to have to wait
True
Cannot
Say
False
2. Sexual things disgust me
True
Cannot
Say
False
This inventory is
intended for persons who are 16 years or older ones who are able to read and
understand. Each item is related to one of the nine clinical scales like:
1. Hypochondriasis (HS), 2. Depression (D), 3. Hysteria (Hy), 4.
Psychopathetic deviant (Pd), 5. Masculinity and feminity Interest (Mf), 6.
Paronia (pa), 7. Psychosthenia (pt), 8. Schizophrenia (Sc), 9. Hypomania (ma).
2. Rating Scales
In all personality assessment techniques the answers have to be given by
the individual but in rating scale personality of a individual is not assessed
by himself but by other persons who know the individual well. If a
student’s social behaviour is to be assessed, it is not to be assessed by
himself, but by a person who knows him well, preferably the teacher.
A rating scale
consists of 3 or 5 or 7 points on a scale. They are descriptive.
One point which most suits the person should be chosen for answering.
E.g. If we want to
evaluate the emotional behaviour of an individual the following five points
rating scale may be used.
Highly
Occasionally Socially
Very rarely
Not at all
Emotional
Emotional
Average
Emotional
Emotional
The teacher should
prefer on of the points which suits the pupil. But this method is highly
subjective and not objective.
5. Interviews
In an interview one
has to face a chain of questions directly and the personality of the individual
is assessed. Following are the two types of interview. In
structured interview answers to the questions are prepared well in advance and
then he/she attends the interview. But in an unstructured interview questions
are asked based on situations and needs.
Physique & Chemique
Physique
The physique
comprises factors like appearance, complexion, body-built,
symmetric-proportion, colour and physical beauty, etc. The individual’s
personality is not determined by the physique factor directly, but it has its
own indirect bearing on the individual’s personality development. For example,
the physically handicapped usually are abnormal both physically and
psychologically. But some physically handicapped persons develop
themselves into normal personalities.
1. Chemique
Chemique means the
feasible effects of the ductless (endocrine) glands on human body. The
endocrine glands release chemical substance called hormones and spread it into
the blood stream. If these glands do not function properly, it will
affect the structure of the body and the behaviour, and personality of the
individual.
The functions of
the major endocrine glands are as follows:
1. i) The pituitary gland: It has two lower rounded parts (lobes) which lie
at the base of the brain. It produces pituitary hormone which influences the
growth and development of other glands and control the chemical equilibrium of
the body. The surplus activities of the gland may result in an abnormal growth
of the body whereas insufficient activity will result in the subnormal growth
of body and sexual development.
1. ii) The thyroid gland : It has two lobes situated on either side of the
larynx. The hormone is called thyroxin. The abnormal secretion of
thyroxin will lead to nervousness, restlessness, dizziness and loss of sleep
whereas the deficiency of thyroxin will result in swelling of face, abnormal
growth of lips, abdomen and tongue. Hence the gland plays an important
role in maintaining the personality.
§ iii) The adrenal glands : We have two kidneys and are covered by two
adrenal glands. The glands are situated just
above the kidneys. The hormone is called drenalin. It
activates the heart to maintain the blood circulation normal.
1. iv) The sex glands (gonads): These glands have key role for the sex
motivation. The male sex glands are the testes which secrete
the hormones called ‘estrogen’ and protogen. These
hormones have great importance on the
development of personality and growth of the body. The secretions of
male and female sex glands influence the growth and
development of the characteristics that differentiate the male from the
female. The secondary sex characteristics develop with the secretions of
the hormones
1. Environment
The growth of individual’s personality largely depends upon his environmental
factors. Without considering one’s environment the personality of a person
cannot be explained. The environment has impacts on the personal
development. Following are the environmental factors which influence the
personality development.
1. Home : Family influences the
personality of an individual to a very great extent. The attitude of parents
towards the child, towards one another, towards other people, and the events
and objects influence one’s personality. Family has the predominant role
in shaping the individual’s personality. The behaviour showed by parents
towards the child, relatives and friends and other objects influence one’s
personality. Unfriendly relationships also affect the individual.
2. School : The personality of a child is
also influenced by the following school factors.
3. Cheerfulness : Cheerfulness means the happy
and gay state of mind under all circumstances. In order to teach children to
remain cheerful, healthy and cheerful surroundings of things and people should
be created and restraints and frustrations should be minimized.
4. Enthusiasm : Enthusiasm means strong
eagerness with courage and energy. In order to infuse the spirit of enthusiasm
in children pleasant and encouraging experiences of life should be taken and
stories of romance and adventure should be told to them.
5. Sense of humour : Humor means light mood. It
helps a person to take things lightly and to keep irritation away. In
order to create sense of humor in children, they should be surrounded with
funny and humorous persons and serious attitude in dealings should be avoided.
6. Courage : Courage is exactly opposite of
cowardice. Children can be made courageous by telling them about brave and
courageous personalities and events of adventure from history and mythology and
by teaching them to help themselves.
7. Unselfishness : Unselfishness is opposite to
self-centeredness. Children can be made unselfish by inducing them to mix with
others and to share their joys and sorrows.
8. Sympathy : Sympathy is linked with
unselfishness. It means feeling for others. In order to make children
sympathetic towards others, they should be taught to spare their things for
others.
9. Calmness : Calmness is opposite of
excitedness. It makes a person restful. Calmness can be fostered in
children by keeping them in calm and quite environment and by avoiding the
situations of tension and excitement.
10.
Self-confidence : Self-confidence means confidence in one-self. One who lacks
self-confidence develops feeling of inferiority. He becomes nervous and
feels embarrassed in the presence of strangers or when he is asked to come to
the stage to speak, or to sing, or to act. Constant fault-finding in a child
and his undue criticism destroy self-confidence. Self-confidence can be
fostered in children by giving them ample opportunities to show their
abilities, by praising their efforts, by making them feel that they are capable
of doing everything and by encouraging them to do things themselves.
Freedom develops self-confidence and helplessness breaks it down.
11.
Self-assertiveness : Self-assertiveness means to exert oneself and to take a
lead. It is a natural tendency in children and it should not be
curbed. In order to develop self-assertiveness in children, they should
be encouraged to assert themselves in various fields, to come forward and to
express themselves.
12.
Society : The society and its circumstances, the environments also play a
vital role in deciding one’s personality development.
13.
Cultural differences : An individual’s personality is also determined by the culture in
which he/she is reared.
14.
Learning
Learning is a
life-long process through which the individual accumulates experiences and it
influences his/her personality and its development.
Theories /
Approaches of Personality
The theories of personality are classified under four categories:
1. Type Theory : Based upon the physical
characteristics the people are categorized into different types.
2. Trait Theory : Trait means special or peculiar
features. This theory explains personality in terms of traits. Raymond
B.Cattell’s theory is the best example of this type of theories.
3. Trait-cum-type Theroy : These
theories make use of both the above points. The best known among them is
the view of H.J.Eysenck.
4. Psychoanalytic Theory : The aim of
this theory is to explain the growth and development of personality. The well
accepted among them is Freud’s theory of Personality.
1.Type Theory :
1. Hippocrates’ Classification :
Hippocrates, one of
the disciples of the great philosopher Aristotle, grouped personality on the
basis of individual’s temperament and suggested the following types:
|
1.Choleric
– Emotionally weak, bodily strong and easily tempted 2.Melancholic – Emotionally
and bodily weak-Pessimist (who fails to understand hat
is happiness.) 3.Phlegmatic –
Emotionally strong – able to control his emotions – bodily weak –
lazy type – always happy. 4.Sanguine
– Bodily strong – Energetic – control type – an optimist (who
knows,
understands what is happiness) |
1. Kretschmer’s
Classification
Ernst Kretschmer,
the German Psychologist has classified individuals on the basis of certain body
types and assigned personality characteristics to each of them.
|
Body
Type
Body
Characteristics
Personality Characteristics |
|
1.
Pyknic
Fat types, in whom
fat
Social and helping to others (having fat
) is more than
muscle Bodies) |
|
2.
Athletic
Healthy,
balance
Energetic, optimist, (balanced
body) between
muscles can
adjust to any situation and
bone development |
|
3.
Leptosomatic Thin, lean and
tall,
Unsociable, shy, pessimist (ean and
thin) no muscle, only
bone
and always alone |
Projective Technique
PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES:
Projective Techniques try to evaluate the unconscious behaviour of the
individuals. They try to evaluate the total personality of an individual and
not separate segments.
Projective
techniques are based on the phenomenon of projection. In these
techniques, relatively indefinite and unstructured stimuli are provided to the
subject and he is asked to structure them in the way he likes. While
doing so, he unconsciously projects his own desires, hopes, fears, repressed
wishes etc. in an imperfect form.
Following are the
common projective techniques which are in existence :
1. In Blot Test
2. Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
3. Sentence Completion Test
4. Story Telling and Story Completion Test
5. Free Association and Dream Analysis Test
Sheldon’s
Classification
William H. Sheldon
also classified certain body types and gave certain personality
characteristics. He also classified human beings into certain types according
to their physical structures and attached certain temperamental characteristics
to them as given in figure
Personality
Type Somatic
or body structure Personality
Characteristics description
1. Endomorphic
Person having highly
developed
Easy going, sociable and viscera but weak somatic affectionate.
structure. (Like Kretschmer’s Pyknic
types) Craving for
muscular
2.
Mesomorphic
balanced development of
viscera activity,
self-assertive. and somatic structure. Loves risk and adventure (Like
Kretschmer’s Athletic type)
3. Ectomorphic Weak
somatic structure as well Pessimistic, unsociable and as
undeveloped viscera. Reserved. (Like Kretschmer’s Leptosomatic)
The approach adopted by the above
psychologists to classify on the basis of correlation between structure of the
body and personality characteristics, is lopsided. It is somewhat misleading.
There does not exist such perfect body-mind or body-heart correlation as the
propagators of these approaches have assumed.
1. Jung’s
Classification :
Jung (Carl Gustav Jung) divided people into three types depending on
their social behaviour and status.
1. Introvert: Introvert is one who is more
interested in his own thoughts and feelings than in things outside himself.
They are interested in writing reading, day dreaming etc. They want to deliver
their views through writing than speaking.
2. Extrovert : Extroverts are those persons
interested in what goes on around them than in their own thoughts and feelings.
They are social and friendly with everyone. Therefore, extroverts are the
persons who look outward rather than inward. They are chiefly interested in
objective things, events, other people and their activities.
3. Ambivert : No one is either completely
an introvert or an extrovert. Everybody is a combination of the two. If
the introversion and extroversion are equally balanced, the person is called
ambient.
Trait Theory
According to the famous English Psychologist, R.B. Cattell and
individual’s nature and behavioural patterns are fundamental to the study of
personality. These are called as personality traits. Any quality which
is firm and does not yield to any change easily is called a trait. An
individual’s personality is a synthesis and collection of all such
characteristics or traits. Cattell, classified two types of traits.
a. Surface Traits :
We can realize surface traits, external traits in an
individual’s behaviour. Eg.
Irritability. He will be excited to irritation very easily.
b. Source
Traits : Every individual has his own source traits (internal traits).
These are inherent. Surface traits depend on source traits. An individual
may have a surface trait of irritability when he has a source trait of
emotionality. These traits are permanent.
According to
Cattell, a collection of these traits is an individual’s personality.
Type-cum-Trait Theory
The famous German
Psychologists Hans J. Eysenck, advocated his own views regarding
personality. This theory is a combination of both the type and trait
approaches. Eysenck classified four types of personality. They are 1)
Introvert, 2) Extrovert, 3) Neurotic and 4) Psychotic.
The above kinds of
personality are derived on the basis of a collection of personality traits.
Let us consider a
specific response which later develops into a habitual response. These
habitual responses will cultivate traits. Such traits in a multitude
develop into a personality type.
For example we ask
a boy to do a specific work. But he is not able to do the work. He
may not wish to see you. This response is the outcome of a specific
situation. This is called specific response. This is the first
stage.
Similarly we can
ask him to do another kind of work on another event. Then we can find
that he is not interested in doing that work also. His disobedience
becomes a habit in him. Gradually it becomes a habitual response in
him. This is the second stage.
Because of his
inert (lazy) nature, he fails to join others. He seems always to be aloof
and it becomes his nature. This is the third stage.
All these traits
will make a particular personality of him. This personality type is
called introversion. This is the fourth stage.
Psychoanalytic
Theories
The aim of this
theory is to explain the growth and development of personality. The well
accepted among them is Freud’s theory of personality.
The father of
Psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud is the founder of the school of psychology which
is called as psychoanalysis. According to him personality consists of Id,
Ego and Superego. The Id likes to find pleasure and avoid pains and is
impulsive. It works with the seeking the pleasure principle. The term
‘Id’ refers to the totality of biological drives. Ego is an obstacle to
the philosophy of Id. It works with the reality principle. Superego
refers to conscience. This is made up of the moral values and judgments
according to conscience.
The super ego
serves as a censor by judging the actions of the Ego and impulses of the Id.
“Ends justify the means” is the philosophy of Id. Thus, Id is like animal
demanding gratification. Ego tries to get satisfaction out of Id
impulses. Super-ego is the conscience. According to psychoanalytic
theory, the interaction among the three is the cause for the development of
personality.
For e.g. a boy
wants to have a book which belongs to another. Id says him to take it
irrespective of whom it belongs. Ego advises him that it belongs to
somebody and he should not take it without permission. Super ego
properly will advise him that if he wants it the other boy should be ready to
give and he should not get it through anti-social ways. Ego and the super-ego
have an impact on the human behaviour and development of personality.
Assesments / Tools and Techniques
MEASUREMENT OF PERSONALITY
Introduction
Everybody is
curious to know about his own personality or that of others. We want to
describe it and know what type of personality or the personality traits are
possessed by us or others. It needs the knowledge and skill for the
assessment or measurement of personality. There are various methods and
techniques which can help us in this task. But before discussing these
methods and techniques which can help us in this task. But before discussing
these methods and techniques, let us first decide about using the terms
assessment and measurement since it is often argued that personality can’t be
measured, it can only be assessed.
Whether Personality is Measured or Assessed?
The answer
of this question lies in a question itself-Is the measurement of personality
possible? If not then let us analyze difficulties that one faces while trying
to measure it.
Difficulties in the Measurement of Personality
There are
three basic elements involved in any process of measurement which are
responsible for the success or failure of this process. They are
(1) Nature of the thing we want to measure.
(2) Nature of the instruments with the help of which we
have to measure it.
(3) Nature of the person who is going to measure.
Let us evaluate the personality measure on the above
criteria.
Nature of the Thing (Personality)
Nature of the thing (Personality) is so complex that it is
hardly possible to make it an object for measurement. Firstly, because,
personality is not a thing. It is an idea, an abstraction. While
attempting for its measurement, we wrongly try to give it a concrete
shape. Secondly, what is tare in the personality, which we want to
measure, is not clear. Psychologists have no agreement about the
dimensions or elements of the personality. Thirdly, personality is a
dynamic phenomenon. It is not static. How can we measure a thing,
which is ever in a process of change and modification. The measurement
will certainly differ from time to time and hence it is not proper to call it
measurement.
Nature of the Instruments
The process of measurement, in addition to the subject of
measurement, requires the tools and the satisfactory units of
measurement. In personality measurement, we also encounter difficulties
in this direction such as
(a) There is no zero (starting point) for reference as the
base of personality. After all, no child is born with zero
personality.
(b) In measuring a rod, we can measure it in terms of the
units of length like centimeters, inches etc. In measuring
temperature, we have units in terms of degrees but in psychological
measurement, we do not have any such equal or regular unit of
measurement.
(c) For measurement, require scales or measuring
instruments that are exact, reliable and valid in terms of their
results. In the field of personality measurement, we do not find
such satisfactory instruments.
The Nature of the Person (Examiner)
To a great extent, the objectivity, reliability and
validity in any process of measurement depends upon the competency and
impartiality or objectivity on the part of the person who performs the task of
measurement. After all he is a human being with his own beliefs, likes
and dislikes, tastes and temperaments and hence we cannot check the influence
of his subjectivity on any work of personality measurement.
Various
kinds of techniques are used in psychology to evaluate one’s personality
characteristics and the various personality traits he/she possesses.
These techniques will help to find out the defects in individual personality
also. Hence all techniques can be used to evaluate the individual’s
personality
5.Self-test
Personality and Assessment
Choose the Correct Answer :
1.
The word ‘persona’ means
a. Actor’s
dress b. Actors’s hair
style c. Actor’s
mask d. Actor’s Face
2.
Consciousness, sub-consciousness and
unconsciousness are found in
a. Soul
b.
Behaviour
c. Mind
d. Personality
3.
Adrenal glands are situated
a. Above the
kidneys
b. In the sex organs
c. At the
base of the neck
d. At the base of the brain
4.
Who classified the individuals into
introverts and extroverts?
a.
Hippocrates b.
Kretchmer c.
Jung
d. Eynseck
5.
The person who gives medical
treatment to the mental illness people is
a.
Psychologist b.
Psychiatrist c.
Physician d.
Counselor
6.
An example for personality disorder
is
a. Paranoid
disorder
b. Schizopherina disorder
c. Maladjusted
behaviour d. Isolated behaviour
7. The disease that outbursts due to uncontrollable hatred
anger turned to open is
a. Amnesia b.
Hysteria
c. Schizophrenia d.
Hypomania
8. The Projective method of measuring personality is
a. Autobiography
b. Case history method
c. Story completion test
d. Interview method
9. An individuals regular and individualistic behaviour pattern is
denoted by
a. earning
b.
Motivation c.
Intelligence
d. Personality
10. Who said “Personality is a dynamic organization within the
individual of those “Psycho-physical systems that determine his unique
adjustment to his environment”
a. Goddard
b.
Allport
c. Standford
d. Guilford
11. Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) is used to measure
a. Attitude
b. Aptitude
c. Personality d. Intelligence
12. Differential Aptitude Test (DAT) measures
a. Personality
b. Intelligence c.
Aptitude d. Interest
13. “ Id “ Means
a. Pre-conscious mind
b. True conscious mind
c. Conscious mind
d.
Unconscious mind
14. “ Ego “ Means
a. Pre-conscious mind
b. True conscious mind
c. Conscious mind
d. Unconscious mind
15. “ Super Ego “ Means
a. Pre-conscious mind
b. True conscious mind
c. Conscious mind
d. Unconscious
mind
16 ‘ Libido ‘ Means
a. Life instinct
b. Unconscious mind
c. Sexual energy
d.
Death instinct
17. Personality disorder arises due to
a. Mental disorder
b. Mental
conflict
c. Delinquency
d. Inferiority complex
18. The Developmental theory of personality was formulated by
a. David McClelland
b. Sigmond Fred
c. Jean Piaget
d. David Ausubel
19. Ink-Blot test was developed by
a.Alfred Adler
b. Murray, Morgan c.
Gardner Murphy d. Hermann Rorschech
20. Ink-Blot test is used to measure
a. Intelligence
b. Teaching-Learning c.
Personality d.
Micro-Teaching
21. Thematic Apperception Test was developed by
a. Binet
b.
Murray
c. Gutherie
d.
Freud
22. How many cards are used in the Ink Blot Test?
a. 10
cards
b. 15 cards
c. 20 cards
d. 25 cards
23. How many cards are used in the Thematic Apperception Test
a. 10
cards
b. 20 cards
c. 30 cards
d. 40 card
24. Which is not the method to assess Personality
a. Sentence Completion
Testion b. Observation method
c. Case Study method
d. Experimental method
25. Sentence completion test was developed by
a. Klausmeir
b.
Pyane
c. Rorschech
d. Murray