CHAPTER 2: SELF AND PERSONALITY

INTRODUCTION:
Self and personality are the two important aspects in the field of psychology, they are the characteristic ways in which
we define ourselves. They refer to the ways in which our experiences are organized and reflect in our behaviour. Every
individual has a different personality, even though they might be in similar situations. But a person’s own responses to
different situations generally revolve around similar theme. This theme is called personality. Personality comes from a
Latin word ‘Persona’ (mask). Personality includes external as well as internal factors.
Self includes everything related to one self. I, me, self and relationship with others, i.e., things and values that we relate
to ourselves. The subjective reality is personal to the individual and no one can feel the exact thing.

CONCEPT OF SELF:
 Self refers to the totality of an individual’s conscious experience, ideas, thoughts and feelings with regard to
themselves.
 Self is the awareness about ‘I’. The idea that self is the center of individual existence. We understand
environment, society, friends, and parents in relation to self.
 The idea of self emerges as we get older, a newborn has no idea about its self. Our interaction with the
environment and people, build our experiences and serves as basis for self. Everyone has their own idea of self
and it also keeps on growing and modifying as we grow.
o Personal identity refers to those attributes of a person that makes them different from other people.
This includes their name, qualities or characteristics, potentials and beliefs.
o Social Identity refers to those aspects of a person that connects them to a group (social or cultural).
This includes religion, country, state, etc. This description characterizes the way people mentally
represent themselves as a person.
 Personal identity and social identity together makes ‘self’.

I. Self as Subject and Object :

 Self as Subject: As subject the self actively engages in the process of knowing itself.
Example: I am a dancer

 Self as Object: As an object the self gets observed and comes to be known.
Example: I am the one who easily gets hurt.

II. Kinds of self:

Various kinds of self are formed with our physical and socio-cultural interactions. Two main types of self are:
1) Personal Self: Personal self is primarily concerned with one’s own self. It emerges with respect to our
own biological, psychological and social needs, i.e., personal responsibility, personal achievement or
personal comfort.
2) Social Self: Social self is concerned aspects of life that involves others, i.e., cooperation, unity,
affiliation, sacrifices, support or sharing. This self values family and social relationships.

I. Cognitive and behavioral aspects of self:

 Self-concept: The way one thinks about, evaluates or themselves and the ideas they hold about their attributes
and competencies is self-concept, i.e., to be aware of oneself. It can be positive, negative or even neutral.
Development of self-concept is very necessary for the development of behaviour, it is a part of reacting in a
particular way or displaying a specific kind of behaviour. Self-concept helps I differentiating ones existence
from the rest.
 Self-esteem: The value we place upon ourselves or evaluate ourselves is called self-esteem. These evaluations
incorporate our personal comparisons to others as well as perceiving others responses to them our self-esteem
may be high in certain areas whereas low in others. Children seem to form self-esteem in four general areas;
academic, social, athletic and appearance. Self-esteem impacts our everyday behaviour; our actions, reactions,
perceptions and judgements.
  Self-efficacy: the extent to which a person believes that whether the outcomes of everything in their life
depends on themselves or luck is called self-efficacy. A person with high self-efficacy has confidence that their
hard work can bring them any results, i.e., outcomes of their life are fully in their own control. The concept of
self-efficacy is based on Bandura’s Social Learning Theory, according to which, children and adults learned
behaviours by observing and copying others.
 Self-regulation: It refers to the ability to organize and monitor one’s own behaviour. People, who are able to
change their behaviour according to the demands of the external environment, are high on self-regulation.
Learning to delay gratification of needs is known as self-control. Techniques of self-control:
o Observation of Own behaviour: Collecting information about our behaviour that may use ti change,
monitor or strengthen certain aspects of self.
o Self-Instruction: We instruct ourselves to do something and we behave in the way we want.
o Self-reinforcement: rewarding behaviours that have pleasant outcomes.

II. Culture and self

Culture is linked with several aspects of self. Analysis of self in the Indian cultural context reveals its distinction from
the western culture. The most important distinction is boundary between self and others.
In the western view, this boundary is fixed. The Indian view of self is characterized by shifting nature of this boundary.

INDIVIDUAL GROUP

Western perspective

INDIVIDUAL GROUP

Indian perspective

The western view sees self and others as spate, as two different entities with clearly defined boundaries. Individual
members of the group maintain their individuality. This is often characterized as individualistic culture.
In Indian culture, the self exists as a part of the group, both remain in a state of harmonious co-existence. This is
characterized as collectivist culture.

CONCEPT OF PERSONALITY
Personality comes from a Latin word ‘persona’, which means mask. Personality refers to the internal and external
factors of an individual that makes them unique. Personality refers to our characteristic ways, our unique and relatively
stable qualities of responding to individuals and situations that determine an individual’s behaviour across different
situation over a period of time. Consistency in behaviour, thought and emotions of an individual across situations over a
period of time, determine their personality.
According Gordon Allport, ‘personality is a dynamic organization, within the individual, of those psychophysical
systems that determine their unique adjustments to their environment.’
Therefore, personality is characterized by the following features:
1. In includes both physical and psychological components
2. Its expression in terms of behaviour is unique.
3. The main features of personality do not easily change with time.
4. Some of its feature may change due to external or internal situations.

MAJOR APPROACHES TO PERSONALITY

Approaches

Post-
Type Trait Psychodynamic Behavioural Cultural Humanistic
Freudian

I. Type Approach
The type approach attempts to understand human personality by examining certain broad patterns in the observed
behavioral characteristics of individuals. Each pattern refers to one type in which individuals are placed in terms of
similarities of their characteristics with that pattern.
 Hippocrates: He proposed a typology theory based on bodily fluid: humor. Personality is defined by the
amount of each of the following:
o Sanguine : Blood (Optimistic) – Heart
o Phlegmatic: Phlegm (slow and lethargic) – Lungs
o Melancholic: Black Bile (sad, depressed) – Gall Bladder
o Choleric: Yellow Bile (angry) – Spleen
 Charak Shamita: Ayurveda in India classifies people on the basis on the basis of three humoral elements
known as Tridosh which are – Vatta, Pitta and Kaph. The tridosh in different combinations give 16 types of
personalities under three broad categories known as ‘Triguna’.
o Satvik or Satva Guna: It includes attributes like cleanliness, truthfulness, dutifulness, detachment,
discipline, wise, mindful, etc.
o Rajsik or Rajas Guna: It includes intensive activity, desire for sense of gratification, courageous, envy
for others, materialistic, intolerant, brave, impulsive, strong will power, etc.
o Tamsic or Tamas Guna: It includes anger, arrogance, laziness, feeling of helplessness, instability, no
intellect, etc.
 As per Sheldon: William Herbert Sheldon, and American psychologist categorized personality types based on
body build and temperament.
o Endomorph: They are heavy, round and soft. Their body fat is distributed all over the body. They are
fun to be around, happy, jolly and even tempered. They want to be comfortable all the time.
 o Mesomorphs: They are muscular and have strong build body. They are self-conscious, private, socially
anxious, assertive, competitive, energetic and courageous.
o Ectomorphs: They are thin, long and have fragile body built. They are introvert, intense, artistic, brainy
and thoughtful.
 As per Jung: **{FSTI}
Carl Jung’s personality theory is the concepts of extroversion and introversion. He was the first to distinguish
these two major attitudes or orientations of personality of people: Introverts and Extroverts.
o Extroverts: This type is most associated with an outgoing and talkative personality. These people are
drawn to occupation that involves dealing with people directly. These often deal with anxious situations
by hiding in the crowd.
o Introverts: This type if often associated with quiet, reflective, shy and preference for aloofness. These
people withdraw themselves in stressful or conflicting situation.
 As per Friedman and Rosenman:
The personality types proposed by cardiologist Friedman and Rosenman classified people based on the way in
which they cope with stress.
o Type A: People in this category are highly motivated, driven to achieve high, lack of patience. They
often overwork and overburden themselves. People with this personality are more susceptible to
hypertension and coronary heart disease, the stress their endure and their inability to manage it, makes
their systems go through undue amount of unmanaged and unhealed stress. At times risk of developing
CHD for type A people is higher than that of patient with high Blood pressure, cholesterol or smoking.
o Type B: People in this category tend to be more relaxed than type A personalities and are able to cope
with stress better. They are able to express their emotions better and control their anger more
effectively, they are less prone to potentially harmful repression of emotions. In other words, it can also
be understood as the absence of Type A traits.
o Type C: This personality type was later added to the list as suggestion made by Greer and Morris. This
personality type is indicated as being prone to Cancer. People in this category do not express emotions
like type A, but instead repress it and direct it inwards. They may appear calm and passive, but their
repressed anger and internalized stress causes hormonal imbalances which gives them a high risk of
cancer.
o Type D: This personality type was added by Denollet (2005). People with this personality type are more
likely to report tension, worry and dysphoria. It refers to a general propensity to psychological distress.
These people are more prone to depression than other personality types and tend to experience strong
negative emotions and reactions.
II. Trait Approach
Trait approach focuses on the specific psychological attributes along which individuals tend to differ in consistent and
subtle ways. Trait refers to the ways in which we generally describe a person. Traits can be defined as a stable
characteristic that causes a person to react or respond to any situation. This approach indicates that traits are always
constant regardless of the situation.
In simple words, ‘building blocks’ of personality. This approach attempts to identify primary characteristics of people.
Main features of trait are:
1) Traits are relatively stable over time
2) They are consistent across situations
3) Their strengths and combinations vary across individuals leading to individual differences in personality.

 Allport’s Trait Theory

Gordon Allport proposed that, ‘Individuals possess a number of traits, which are dynamic in nature’. This theory
proposed that individuals approach to different situations with similar plans. Allport argued that the words people
used to describe themselves and others provide a basis for understanding human personality.

The way a person reacts to a given situation depends on his traits, though people sharing the same trait might
express them in different ways. Allport analyzed words of English and arranged them into three categories that
depends on range of the trait.

Trigger  Trait Response

Allport categorized traits into the following three categories:

1. Cardinal traits: These traits are pervasive and they dominate and shape a person’s behaviour. These are highly
generalized in nature and indicate the goal around which a person’s entire life seems to revolve. Every
 behaviour is effected by this trait, it overshadows other traits. These traits are associated with some person to
explain them better or to understand the trait, for example – Hitler’s Nazism is termed as ‘Hitlerian’ or Mahatma
Gandhi’s Non-Violence is termed as ‘Gandhian’. These traits are generally one per individual.
2. Central traits: These are the traits generally used to explain the overall personality of an individual. These traits
are broad in effect and are generally 10 to 12 in a person. They explain the behaviour and may reflect in many
situations, however, not in all. For example: Intelligent, anxious, shy, etc.
3. Secondary traits: These are the least generalized characteristics of a person. These are specific, unique and
limited. They come out only in a certain situation and have specific range. For example: ‘likes mangoes’ or
prefer ethnic clothes.

 Cattel’s Trait Theory

Raymond Bernard Cattell defined trait as relatively permanent reaction tendencies that are the basis structural unit of
personality. He believed that there is a common structure on which people differ from each other. Cattel defined
personality as, ‘Personality is that which permits a prediction of what a person will do in a given situation’.
He applied a statistical technique, called factor analysis to discover the common structures. He found Primary traits or
source traits and surface traits.
1. Source traits: Cattel gave 16 source traits. The basic structure of the personality of a person is made up of source
traits. They are stable, and are considered the building blocks of personality. All of us have the source traits in
us, but not of the same extent. Source traits are cause of behaviour over an extended period of time.
For example: Intelligence. He even developed a test called Sixteen Personality Factors Questionnaire (16 PF).
2. Surface traits: There are also a number of surface traits that result out of the interaction of source traits. These
are less stable with no single source. They are seen in the outwards actions of a person, i.e., present on the
surface.

 Eysenck’s Theory
Hans Eysenck was a German psychologist who proposed a link between inheritance and personality. Eysenck was
convinced that not more than three traits are needed to account for most of human behaviour. Each dimension classifies
a number of specific traits:
1. Neuroticism vs Emotional stability: It refers to the degree to which people have control over their feelings and
reactions. Whenever our sympathetic nervous system is activated, it prepares us for ‘fight or flight’ situation, for
neuroticism the threshold for activation is low. People high on neuroticism tend to react more quickly to pain
and disturbing situations than stable people. People High on neuroticism are most likely to be anxious, tensed,
moody, have lack of autonomy and have low self-esteem. People with high emotional stability are calm, even
tempered, reliable and remain in control of their emotions.
2. Extraversion vs introversion: It refers to the degree to which people are socially outgoing and socially
withdrawn. Eysenck believed that introverts are over aroused, are sensitive and thus avoid situations that may
overpower them. Extroverts are under aroused and highly insensitive and thus seek for situations that excites
them. Extroverts are sociable, dominant risk taking, friendly, sensation seeking, expressive and active, however,
they are also irresponsible, lack reflection and are impulsive. Introverts are passive, quiet, cautious and reserved.
3. Psychoticism vs sociability: This is the last dimension he added later on to his theory. It is considered to interact
with the other two dimensions. It depends on the level of testosterone hormones. People high on testosterone are
high on psychoticism. People high on psychoticism are aggressive, assertive, egocentric, manipulative, lack
sympathy or empathy, achievement oriented and tough minded. They have disregard for common sense. People
high on sociability are friendly, active and reliable.

III. Psychodynamic Approach

Sigmund Freud is credited as the founder of psychodynamic approach. Freud used free association, dream analysis and
analysis of the errors to understand the functioning of human mind. Freud gave various theories in an attempt to
understand human mind.
 Level of Consciousness: Freud visualized human mind as three levels of consciousness-

Conscious

Pre Conscious
10% Unconscious

50-60%
 i) Conscious: This represents awareness at the present moment. This includes thoughts, feelings, actions
and reactions to that people are aware about. It is having the awareness of outside as well as of mental
functions happening inside.
ii) Pre Conscious: It consists of accessible information. This information comes to awareness once the
attention is diverted on focused towards it. It is possible that some of what might be perceived as
unconscious becomes subconscious and that conscious. For example: long forgotten childhood memory
emerges after decades.
iii) Unconscious: Consists of primitive, instinctual desires, as well as the information, that we cannot
access. Although our behavior might indicate those unconscious forces, we do not have access to the
information. According to Freud, most of this information are derived from sexual desires which cannot
be expressed openly and therefore are repressed.
 Psychoanalysis: Freud developed a therapeutic procedure called psychoanalysis. It the view of human nature
which emphasizes on early childhood. He said that the initial years of a person’s life decide ot determines the
kind of person they become. He focused on the past. The basis goal of psychoanalysis is to bring the repressed
unconscious materials to the consciousness. It is based on the idea that our thoughts, emotions and behaviors
are influenced by unconscious process and that by exploring these processes we can gain insight into our
behavior patterns. The goal of this therapy is to help a person achieve greater self-awareness and to resolve
internal conflicts that may be causing emotional distress.
 Structure of personality: According to Freud, there are three basic elements of personality:
1. Id: It is the primitive instinct that works on two forces: life instinct or Eros that represents means to
bring about life, procreate, continuation of Bloodline and survival; and death instinct or Thanatos that
represents destructive forces, aggression, recklessness, procreation while elimination. Id follows
pleasure principle, that are unconscious impulses that need to be gratified, it assumes that people seek
pleasure and try to avoid pain. Libido is the instinctual life force that energizes the id. Id deals with
immediate gratification of sexual desires and aggressive impulses.
2. Ego: Ego develops out of id. Its primary function is to satisfy the id in accordance with the reality and
minimizing guilt. It develops during the primary three years of a child’s life when the child interacts
with the world. It works on reality principle and directs the id towards more appropriate ways of
satisfying needs. Ego is patient, reasonable and works by reality principle.
3. Superego: This is the moral center of our personality. It tells the id and the ego whether the
gratification in a particular instance is ethical or not. It develops by the end of phallic stage. It helps
control id by internalizing the parental authority through the process of socialization.
 Ego Defense Mechanism: Freud suggested that human are in a constant attempt to escape or deal with anxiety.
The primary goal of ego is to satisfy id while keeping it guilt or anxiety free. Therefore, people avoid anxiety
by developing ego defense mechanism. Defense Mechanism is a way of reducing anxiety by distorting reality.
Freud describe various defense mechanisms including:
1. Repression: This is basically motivated forgetting. In this, anxiety provoking behavior or thoughts is
completely dismissed by the unconscious. It is an unconscious defense mechanism where a person is
unable to recall a threatening situation, person or event.
2. Projection: In this, people attribute their own feelings on to others. That is, if a person is angry, he may
see the person as an aggressive person.
3. Denial: In this, a person totally refuses to accept reality. When it becomes too much to handle, the
person responds by refusing to perceive it by denying it exists.
4. Reaction formation: When the person reaches a stage beyond denial, it is called reaction formation. In
this the person defends against anxiety by acting exact opposite of how they actually feel. Usually, the
opposite reaction is exaggerated.
 5. Rationalization: In this, a person tries to justify an act or behavior or event by stating unreasonable
statements in an attempt to accept it.
 Stages of Personality Development: Freud proposed a five stage developmental theory of personality also
known as psychosexual stages. These stages are:
1. Oral Stage: This stage occurs from birth to 18th months of age. The infant achieves oral gratification
through acts of feeding, biting, sucking and babbling. According to Freud, the first basic feelings about
the world is established at this stage, therefore bitter feeling of the world is due to difficulties during
this stage. Fixation at this stage, may lead to development of defense mechanism such as denial or
projection.
2. Anal stage: This stage represents the ages from 18 months to 3 years. This is the stage when the child
learns to control the bodily functions or urination and defecation. The Anal region is the focus of
pleasure seeking feelings at his stage by moving their bowels. Fixation at this stage has two personality
types, excessive obsession with cleanliness or messy and disorganized.
3. Phallic stage: This stage starts at 3 years of age through to 5 years of age. The stage focuses on
genitals. Children begin to realize the difference between males and females. At this stage, male child
experiences Oedipus complex, it involves desire for mother and hostility towards father. It also
involves fearing the father for punishment. For girls, this complex is called Electra complex. This
involves desires for father. The girl, symbolic marries the father and have a family. However when the
child realizes the unlikely scenario in either cases, they start to identify with the same sex parent, and
copy their behavior to obtain affection of the parent of opposite sex. The resolution of Oedipus and
Electra complex involves identification with the same sex parent.
4. Latency stage: This last from six years till puberty. During this stage, sexual feelings are repressed.
The child starts to learn about society, world, environment, etc. The child continues to grow physically.
The child starts to have same sex peers.
5. Genital stage: This stage starts from puberty to adulthood. According to Freud, the child has reached
the maturity of psychosexual stages. The repressed feelings, fears and sexuality of latency stage, are
once again active at this stage. The person is now interested in opposite sex relationships; whether
socially or sexually.
 According to Freud, from one stage to another, the child continuously adjusts his view of the world. If the child
fails to resolve the conflicts of any stage, it results in fixation at that stage. This fixation is carried to the
adulthood.
 Regression happens when the child is unsuccessful in passing a stage, and therefore returns to the maturity level
of the early stages.

IV. Post- Freudian Approaches

Freud’s approach served as base for several theories that developed from them. These theories, however, have less focus
on sexual desires and aggression and more on expansion of the concept of ego. These theories emphasis qualities such as
creativity, competence and problem solving. These theories are:
1. Carl Jung: Aims and Aspirations: Carl Jung stated that human beings are equally guided by aims and
aspirations as by sex and aggression. He gave his theory of personality called Analytical psychology. Jung
claimed that there exists a deep and least accessible part of our psyche called Collective Unconscious that
contains memories and patterns of behaviors inherited from man’s ancestral past. This collective
unconscious consists of various archetypes, four of them are:
i. Personna: Protective mask that we wear.
ii. Shadow: negative or inferior side of personality (animal tendencies)
iii. Anima: personification of all feminine tendencies present in a man.
iv. Animus: personification of all masculine tendencies present in a woman.
2. Karen Horney: Optimism: Karen Horney focused on human growth and self-actualization. she challenged
Freud’s view of women and stated that each sex has attributes to be admired by others and neither sex can
be viewed as superior or inferior. Her view of personality has various aspects:
i. Women were affected more by social and cultural factors and less by biological factors.
ii. She argued that psychological disorders are caused by disturbed interpersonal relationships
during childhood.
iii. Basic anxiety results from parent’s indifferent, discouraging and erratic behavior towards child.
This results in basic hostility towards parents.
3. Alfred Adler: Lifestyle and Social Interest: Adler called his theory ‘Individual psychology’. The basic
assumption of this theory is that human behavior is purposeful and goal directed; we have the capacity to
create our own personal goals. According to Adler, the goals provide with security and help us overcome the
 feeling of inadequacy. Adler stated that every individual goes through ‘inferiority complex’, i.e., a feeling of
inadequacy and guilt. Overcoming this complex is necessary for optimal development.
4. Eric Fromm: The Human Concern: He viewed humans as social beings that could be understood in terms
of the relationships they have with others. He argued that humans have an innate desire for freedom, justice
and truth, those results in growth and realization. Fromm stated that a person’s dominant characteristic helps
in shaping the cultural processes and culture.
5. Eric Erickson: Search for identity: Erickson gave the theory of psychosocial development, consisting of 8
stages lasting throughout life. Each stage has a conflict that needs to be resolved, success in which results in
development of a particular virtue. Erickson viewed development as a lifelong process. He argued that people
have a central perspective that can give them meaningful sense of unity and purpose.

Criticism of psychodynamic approach:

1. Theories are largely based on case studies and lack a scientific basis.
2. They have used small and rare case sample size.
3. The concepts are not properly defined.
4. Freud has used male as the prototype of all human personality development.

V. Behavioral Approach
1. This approach relies on data that are definable, observable and measurable. There focus is on learning of
stimulus response connections and their reinforcement.
2. Personality can be best understood as the response of an individual to the environment. This approach
sees the development as a change in response characteristics.
3. This approach believes that an individual’s personality is the result of their interaction with the society.
4. Behavioral approach deals with behavior and actions rather than thought an feelings behind those
actions.
5. Behavioral approach believes that personality is shaped by reinforcement in form of reward or
punishment.
6. The structural unit of personality is response, each response is a behavior, which is emitted to satisfy a
specific need.
7. There are various theories that view learning and maintenance of behavior from different angles:
a. Classical conditioning: Ivan Pavlov
b. Instrumental conditioning: B.F. Skinner
c. Observational learning: Albert Bandura

VI. Cultural Approach

1. This approach views personality in relation to the features of ecological and cultural environment.
2. It proposes that a group’s economic maintenance system is important in the origin of culture and behavioral
variations.
3. Ritual, ceremonies, religious practices, arts, recreational activities, games and play are the means through
which people’s personality gets projected in a culture.
4. People develop various qualities and traits in an attempt to adapt to cultural features of a group.
5. People belonging to a single culture tend to share certain traits.

VII. Humanistic Approach

1. This approach is based on individual conscious experiences from which people develop their self-concept.
2. In believes in the basic goodness and respect of mankind, understanding and acceptance of one’s own
existence.
3. Humanistic approach emphasizes on subjective meaningful and personal responsibility.
4. It is based on the assumption that present is the most important aspect of a person.
5. It is concerned for positive growth.
6. Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow have particularly contributed to the development of humanistic
perspective on personality.
7. Rogers believes that fulfillment is the motivating force for personality development. In his theory roger
made two basic assumptions:
i. Behavior is goal directed and worthwhile.
ii. People will almost always choose adaptive and self-actualized behavior.
8. Rogers believed that people express their fullest potential and the fulfillment is the motivating goals for
personality development.
 9. Roger also gave self as an important concept, that people constantly engage in the process of acquiring their
true self.
10. Development of self-concept is very necessary for development of behavior. After the development of self-
concept, person exists as a spate entity.

Ideal Self:
1. Roger also suggested that each person has a concept of ideal self. It is an idealized version of oneself
created out of experiences, society and their role models.
2. The person’s ideal self may not be consistent with what actually happens in life and experiences of life.
3. His basic principle is that people have a tendency to maximize self through self-actualization. In this
process thee self grows, expands and becomes more social.
4. When the social conditions are positive the self-concept and self-esteem are high.
5. There two conditions with self:

a. Congruent b. Incongruent

a. Congruent: The self-image is closer to ideal self, i.e., this is a well-adjusted person. This person
is closer to self-actualization.
b. Incongruent: The self-image is far from the ideal self, i.e., this is a poorly adjusted person.
6. Roger introduced the concept of ‘unconditional positive regard’ in order to enhance people’s self-
concept. Therefore, roger created ‘the client-centered therapy’ in order to create this condition.
7. Abraham Maslow stated that self-actualization is when people reach to their fullest potential.

ASSESSMENT OF PERSONALITY

1. Assessment is the procedure to evaluate or differentiate people on the basis of certain characteristics. Personality
assessment aims at understanding the personality of an individual.
2. The goal of assessment is to understand and predict the behavior with minimum error and maximum accuracy.
3. The most commonly used techniques of assessment are psychometric tests, self-report measures, projective
techniques and behavioral analysis.
I. Self-Report Measures: These are test that are structure and are verbal, they use rating scales. In this
method the subject is asked to respond to a set of item attributing to their own feeling, situation or reactions.
These tests are scored in quantitative terms and are interpreted on the basis of norms developed for the test.
Some self-report measures are:
1. The Minnesota Multiphasic Inventory (MMPI): This test was developed by Hathaway and McKinley
as a tool for psychiatric assistance. It was revised as MMPI-2, that consisted of 567 statements. The tests
was divided into 10 subscales which seek to diagnose-
i. Hypochondriasis
ii. Depression
iii. Hysteria
 iv. Psychopathic deviate
v. Masculinity-femininity
vi. Paranoia
vii. Psychasthenia
viii. Schizophrenia
ix. Mania
x. Social introversion

This scale was adopted in India by Mallick and Joshi as Jodhpur Multiphasic Inventory (JMPI).

2. Eysenck’s Personality Questionnaire: the initial version of this test was designed to test on two scales:
i. Introversion - extraversion
ii. Neuroticism – emotionally stable.
These dimensions were characterized by 32 personality traits. However later, Eysenck’s added a third
dimension: iii. Psychoticism – sociability.
3. Sixteen Personality Factors Questionnaire (16PF): This test was developed by Raymond Cattell. The
test has declarative statement to which the subject responds from a set of given options. This test is used
in career guidance, vocational exploration and occupational testing.

Problems with self-report measures:

1. Social desirability – The participants attempts to respond to items in a socially desirable manner.
2. Acquiescence – When the respondent aggress with the items irrespective of its content.

II. Projective Techniques: 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 their feelings, desires and needs. They use various kinds of stimulus
materials:
1. Reporting associations with stimulus (Inkblot, words, etc.)
2. Story writing around pictures.
3. Sentence completion
4. Expression through drawing
5. Choice of stimulus from a large set of stimulus.

Some of the Projective tests are given below:

1. The Rorschach Inkblot Test: The test was developed by Hermann Rorschach. The test consists of
10 inkblots. 5 are black and white, 2 have red ink and 3 are in pastel colors. The blots are
symmetrical, each blot is printed in the center of a white cardboard of 7 in X 10in , however, they were
originally made by dropping the ink on a piece of paper and folding it. These are administered in
two phases:
a. Performance Proper: The subjects are shown the cards and are asked what they see.
b. Inquiry: Then, a detailed report is prepared on where, how and why a particular response
was made.
2. The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT): This test was developed by Morgan and Murray. The
test consists of 30 black and white picture cards and 1 blank card. Each card has a situation, people
or situation in which the subject is asked to tell a story describing the picture. 20 cards are usually
administered on an adult at a time. After this, a standardized procedure is followed to score and
interpret TAT. Uma Chaudhary has adopted an Indian version of TAT.
 3. Rosenzweig’s Picture-Frustration Study (P-F study): This tests was designed to assess how
people express aggression in frustrating situation. Developed by Resenzweig, this test uses cartoon
like pictures to present a series of situations where one person frustrates another. The subject is
asked when the frustrated person will say. The analysis of response is based on the type and
direction of aggression. Pareek has adopted this test for Indian Population.
4. Sentence Completion Test: This test consist of a number of incomplete sentences, the starting is
presented and the subject has to complete the sentence. These ending represents the subject attitude,
motivation and conflicts. This test targets the person’s unconscious motivations and provides
several opportunities to deal with it.
5. Draw – a – Person: The subject is asked to draw the person on a sheet of paper. Then after this,
they are asked to draw someone of the opposite sex. Then, the person is asked to make a story about
it. These interpretations are done with some basic guidelines, for example:
a. Omission of facial feature: Trying to cover up or hide a conflicted relationship that also
carries guilt.
b. Emphasis on Neck: Lack of Control

III. Behavioral Analysis: Behavioral analysis is based on observation as a means to assess personality.
1. Interview: Interview involves talking to a person face to face, asking them specific questions serving
the aim of the interviewer. Diagnostic interviewing involves in-depth questioning. Interviews are
structured and Unstructured.
i. Structured Interviews: They follow a specific set of questions, in a sequence. In this, the
interviewer cannot add or subtract a question. These may also use rating scales to enhance the
objectivity of evaluation. They are generally closed ended questions.
ii. Unstructured Interviews: They do not follow any specific set of questions. In this, the
interviewer is free to add or subtract any question or change the sequence. This relies highly on
observation. These questions are open ended.

________________________________________ Enjoy!! _____________________________________