INTRODUCTION

Self and personality refer to the characteristic

ways in which we define our existence. They also
refer to the ways in which our experiences are
organised and show up in our behaviour. From
common observation we know that different
people hold different ideas about themselves.
These ideas represent the self of a person. We
also know that different people behave in
different ways in a given situation, but the
behaviour of a particular person from one
situation to another generally remains fairly
stable. Such a relatively stable pattern of
behaviour represents the “personality” of that
person. Thus, different persons seem to possess
different personalities. These personalities are
reflected in the diverse behaviour of persons.
 WHAT IS SELF?

Self refers to the totality of an

individual’s
CONSCIOUS EXPERIENCES
IDEAS
THOUGHTS
FEELINGS WITH REGAED TO
HIMSELF/HERSELF
These experiences and ideas define
the existence of an individual both at
the personal and at social levels.
 SELF AS “SUBJECT” AND SELF AS
“OBJECT”

Self as “SUBJECT” means:

An entity that does something e.g. I am a dancer
It means- “I know who I am”
self is being described as a ‘KNOWER’
self actively engages in the process of knowing itself.
It is known as an “ACTOR”

Self as an “OBJECT” means:

An entity that gets affetced e.g. I am one who easily
gets hurt
It means something that can be ‘KNOWN’
self gets observed and comes to be known
It is known as “CONSEQUENCE”
 PERSONAL IDENTITYANDSOCIAL
IDENTITY

PERSONAL IDENTITY REFERS TO THOSE ATTRIBUTES

THAT MAKE A PERSON DIFFERENT FROM OTHERS.
When a person describes herself/himself by telling
her/his name (e.g., I am Sanjana or Karim), or her/ his
qualities or characteristics (e.g., I am honest or
hardworking person), or her/his potentialities or
capabilities (e.g., I am a singer or dancer), or her/his
beliefs (e.g., I am a believer in God or destiny), s/he
is disclosing her/his personal identity.

SOCIAL IDENTITY REFERS TO THOSE ASPECTS OF A

PRSON THAT LINK HIM/HER TO A SOCIAL OR
CULTURAL GROUP OR ARE DERIVED FROM IT.
When someone says that s/he is a Hindu or a
Muslim, a Brahmin or an adivasi or a North Indian or
a South Indian, or something like these, s/he is trying
to indicate her/his social identity. These descriptions
characterise the way people mentally represent
 KINDS OF SELF

There are several kinds of self. They

get formed as a result of our
interactions with our PHYSICAL and
SOCIO-CULTURAL ENVIRONMENTS.
Different kinds of self are:
I. BIOLOGICAL SELF
II. PERSONAL SELF
III. FAMILIAL/SOCIAL/RELATIONAL SELF
 BIOLOGICAL SELF

This self talks about our BIOLOGICAL

NEEDS.
The first elements of self may be noticed
when a newborn child cries for milk when
he/she is hungry. Although, this cry is
based on reflex, this later on leads to
development of awareness that ‘I am
hungry’. This biological self in the context
of socio-cultural environment modifies
itself. While you may feel hungry for a
chocolate, an Eskimo may no
 PERSONAL SELF

The PERSONAL SELF LEADS TO AN

ORIENTATION WHERE ONE FEELS
PRIMARILY CONCERENED ABOUT
HIMSELF/HERSELF.
Emphasis comes to be laid on those
aspects of life that relate only to the
concerned person, such as:
I. PERSONAL FREEDOM
II. PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY
III. PERSONAL ACHIEVEMNT
IV. PERSONAL COMFORTS
 SOCIAL SELF

SOCIAL SELF EMERGES IN RELATION WITH

OTHERS.
Emphasise comes to be laid on the following
aspects of life as:
I. COOPERATION
II. UNITY
III. AFFILIATION
IV. SACRIFICE
V. SUPPORT
VI. SHARING
This self values family and social
relationships. Hence, it is also referred to as
FAMILIAL or RELATIONAL SELF.
COGNITIVE ASPECTS OF SELF

Cognitive aspects of self includes:

SELF CONCEPT
SELF EFFICACY
SELF ESTEEM
 SELF CONCEPT

The way we PERCIEVE OURSELVES and the

ideas we hold about our competencies and
attributes is also called SELF CONCEPT.
At a very general level, this view of oneself
is, overall, either positive or negative. At a
more specific level, a person may have a
very positive view of her/his athletic bravery,
but a negative view of her/his academic
talents. At an even more specific level, one
may have a positive self-concept about
one’s reading ability but a negative one
about one’s mathematical skills. Finding out
an individual’s self-concept is not easy. The
most frequently used method involves
asking the person about herself/ himself.
 SELF ESTEEM

The VALUE JUDGMENT of a person about

herself/himself is called SELF ESTEEM.
Some people have high self-esteem, whereas
others may have low self-esteem. In order to
assess self-esteem we present a variety of
statements to a person, and ask her/ him to
indicate the extent to which those statements
are true for her or him. For example, we may ask
a child to indicate the extent to which
statements such as “I am good at homework”,
or “I am the one usually chosen for the games”,
or “I am highly liked by my peers”, are true of
her/ him. If a child reports these statements to
be true for her/him, her/his self-esteem will be
high in comparison to a person who says no.
 Studies indicate that by the age of 6 to
7 years, children seem to have formed
self esteem at least in four areas:
I. ACADEMIC COMPETENCE
II. SOCIAL COMPETENCE
III. PHYSICAL/ATHLETIC COMPETENCE
IV. PHYSICAL APPEARANCE
which become more refined with
age.
Our capacity to view ourselves in
terms of stable dispositions permits us
to combine separate self-evaluations
into a general psychological image of
ourselves. This is known as an overall
sense of self esteem.
 Self-esteem shows a strong relationship with our
everyday behaviour.

For example, children with high academic self-esteem

perform better in schools than those with low
academic self-esteem, and children with high social
self-esteem are more liked by their peers than those
with low social self-esteem.

On the other hand, children with low self-esteem in

all areas are often found to display anxiety,
depression, and increasing antisocial behaviour.

Studies have shown that warm and positive parenting

helps in the development of high self-esteem among
children as it allows them to know that they are
accepted as competent and worthwhile.

Children, whose parents help or make decisions for

them even when they do not need assistance, often
suffer from low self-esteem.
 SELF EFFICACY
People differ in the extent to which they believe they
themselves CONTROL THEIR LIFE OUTCOMES or the
outcomes are controlled by luck or fate or other
situational factors e.g. passing an examination.
A person who believes that s/he has the ability or
behaviours required by a particular situation
demonstrates high self-efficacy.
The notion of self-efficacy is based on BANDURA’S
SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY. Bandura’s initial studies
showed that children and adults learned behaviour by
observing and imitating others.
People’s expectations of mastery or achievement and
their convictions about their own effectiveness also
determine the types of behaviour in which they would
engage, as also the amount of risk they would
undertake.
A strong sense of self-efficacy allows people to select,
influence, and even construct the circumstances of their
own life. People with a strong sense of selfefficacy also
feel less fearful.
Self-efficacy can be developed.
People with high self-efficacy have
been found to stop smoking the
moment they decide to do so.
Our society, our parents and our own
positive experiences can help in the
development of a strong sense of
self efficacy by presenting positive
models during the formative years of
children.
BEHAVIOURAL ASPECTS OF SELF

Behavioural aspect of self includes:

SELF REGULATION
SELF CONTROL
 SELF REGULATION

SELF REGULATION REFERS TO OUR ABILITY

TO ORGANISE AND MONITOR OUR OWN
BEHAVIOUR.
People, who are able to change their
behaviour according to the demands of the
external environment, are high on self
monitoring.
Many situations of life require resistance to
situational pressures and control over
ourselves. This becomes possible through
what is commonly known as ‘WILL POWER’.
 SELF CONTROL

LEARNING TO DELAY OR DEFER THE

GRATIFICATION OF NEEDS IS CALLED SELF
CONTROL.
Self-control plays a key role in the fulfilment of
long-term goals. Indian cultural tradition
provides us with certain effective mechanisms
e.g. fasting in vrata or roza and nonattachment
with worldly things for developing self-control.
A number of psychological techniques of self-
control have also been suggested which are:
SELF-INSTRUCTION
OBSERVATION OF OURB OWN BEHAVIOUR
SELF-REINFORCEMENT
 SELF INSTRUCTION:
We often instruct ourselves to do
something and behave the way we want to.
Such instructions are quite effective in self-
regulation.
OBSERVATION OF OUR OWN BEHAVIOUR:
This provides us with necessary
information that may be used to change,
modify, or strengthen certain aspects of self.
SELF-REINFORCEMENT:
This involves rewarding behaviours that
have pleasant outcomes. For example, you
may go to see a movie with friends, if you
have done well in an examination.
These techniques have been tried out and
found quite effective with respect to self-
regulation and self-control.
 CULTURE AND SELF

Several aspects of self

seem to be linked to the
characteristic features of
the culture in which an
individual lives. Analysis of
self carried out in the
Indian cultural context
reveals a number of
important features that are
distinct from those found in
the Western cultural
context.
The most important
distinction between the
Indian and the Western
views is the WAY
BOUNDARY IS DRAWN
BETWEEN SELF AND
CHARACTERISTICS OF SELF IN WESTERN
CULTURE:
In the Western view, the boundary
appears to be relatively fixed.
The Western view seems to hold clear
dichotomies between self and other, man
and nature, subjective and objective.
In the Western culture, the self and the
group exist as two different entities with
clearly defined boundaries. Individual
members of the group maintain their
individuality.
In the Western culture they often remain
at a distance. That is why many Western
cultures are characterised as
individualistic.
CHARACTERISTICS OF “SELF” IN INDIAN
CULTURE:
The Indian view of self is characterised
by the shifting nature of the boundary.
Thus, our self at one moment of time
expands to fuse with the cosmos or
include the others. But at the next
moment, it seems to be completely
withdrawn from it and focused fully on
individual self e.g. our personal needs or
goals.
The Indian view does not make clear
dichotomies between self and other, man
and nature, subjective and objective.
In the Indian culture, the self is generally
not separated from one’s own group;
rather both remain in a state of
harmonious co-existence.
many Asian cultures are characterised as
collectivistic.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF
PERSONALITY
It has both PHYSICAL and
PSYCHOLOGICAL dimensions.
Its expression in terms of behaviour
is fairly UNIQUE in a given individual.
Its main features DO NOT easily
change with time.
It is dynamic in the sense that some
of its features may change due to
internal or external situational
demands. Thus, personality is
ADAPTABLE to situations.
 TYPE
APPROACHE
S
 The TYPE approaches attempts to comprehend
human personality by examining certain broad
patterns in the observed behavioural
characteristics of individuals. Each behavioural
pattern refers to one type in which individuals
are placed in terms of the similarity of their
behavioural characteristics with that pattern.
Personality typologies are usually very
appealing, but are too simplistic. Human
behaviour is highly complex and variable.
Assigning people to a particular personality type
is difficult. People do not fit into such simple
categorisation schemes so neatly.
Different type approaches are:
CHARAKH SAMITAH
HIPPOCRATES
SHELDON
JUNG
FRIEDMAN AND ROSENMAN- TYPE A , TYPE B
MORRIS- TYPE C , TYPE D
 CHARAKH SAMITAH
In India it is a famous treatise on AYURVEDA, classifies people
into the categories of
VATA
PITTA
KAPHA
on the basis of three humoural elements called TRIDOSHA.
Each refers to a type of temperament, called PRAKRITI i.e.
BASIC NATURE OF A PERSON.
Apart from this, there is also a typology of personality based
on the TRIGUNAS, i.e.
SATTVA- cleanliness, truthfulness, dutifulness, detachment,
discipline, etc.
RAJAS- intensive activity, desire for sense gratification,
dissatisfaction, envy for others, and a materialistic mentality,
etc.
TAMAS - anger, arrogance, depression, laziness, feeling of
helplessness, etc.
All the three gunas are present in each and every person
in different degrees. The dominance of one or the other guna
may lead to a particular type of behaviour.
 HIPPOCRATES

The Greek physician Hippocrates had

proposed a typology of personality
based on fluid or humour. He
classified people into four types i.e.
SANGUINE
PHLEGMATIC
MELANCHOLIC
CHLORIC
each characterised by specific
behavioural features.
 SHELDON
Using body build and temperament as the main
basis, Sheldon proposed the
ENDOMORPHIC –
Body Build- fat, soft and round
By Temperament- relaxed and sociable
MESOMORPHIC –
Body Build- strong musculature, are rectangular
with a strong body build
By Temperament- energetic and courageous
ECTOMORPHIC –
Body Build- thin, long and fragile
By Temperament- brainy, artistic and introvert
These body typologies are simple, and have
limited use in predicting behaviour of individuals.
They are more like stereotypes which people hold
 JUNG

Jung has proposed another important typology by

grouping people into:
1. INTROVERTS-
alone
tend to avoid others
withdraw themselves in the face of emotional
conflicts
shy
2. EXTRAVERTS-
sociable
outgoing
drawn to occupations that allow dealing directly with
people
react to stress by trying to lose themselves among
people and social activity
 FRIEDMAN AND ROSENMAN
Friedman and Rosenman have classified individuals into
a) TYPE-A
high motivation
lack patience
feel short of time
be in a great hurry
always burdened with work.
difficult to slow down and relax.
susceptible to problems like hypertension and coronary heart disease
(CHD). The risk of developing CHD with Type-A personality is
sometimes even greater than the risks caused by high blood pressure,
high cholesterol levels, or smoking.

a) TYPE-B ( opposite to TYPE-A)

calm
High level of satisfaction
relaxed

The two researchers were trying to identify PSYCHOSOCIAL

RISK FACTORS when they discovered these types.
 MORRIS

Morris classified people into

a) Type-C-
cooperative
unassertive
patient
suppress their negative emotions e.g., anger
show compliance to authority
proneness to cancer

b) Type-D personality is characterised by

proneness to Depression
 TRAIT
APPROACHES
 • These theories are mainly concerned with the
description or characterization of basic components
of personality.
• They are the ‘BUILDING BLOCKS’ of personality.
• We identify the primary characteristics of people.
• Psychological attributes, are clubbed into smaller
number of personality traits..
TRAIT IS CONSIDERED AS A RELATIVELY
ENDURING AATTRIBUTE OR QUALITY ON WHICH ONE
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERS FROM ONE ANOTHER. THEY
INCLUDE A RANGE OF POSSIBLE BEHAVIOURS THAT
ARE ACTIVATED ACCORDING TO THE DEMAND S OF
THE SITUATION.
• For example sociable means , cooperative,
friendly and helping, do behaviors that involve
social components
• To summarize,
a) Traits are relatively stable over time
b) They are consistent across situations,
(c) Their strengths and combinations vary
across individuals leading to individual differences
in personality.
CATTELL: PERSONALITY FACTORS

Raymond Cattell believed that there is a

COMMON STRUCTUR E on which people
differ from each other.
According to him, this structure could be
determined EMPERICALLY.
He applied a statistical technique –
FACTOR ANALYSIS to discover the common
structures.
He tried to identify “PRIMARY TRAITS” from a
huge array of descriptive adjectives found in
language.
He found 16 primary or source traits.
SOURCE TRAITS are the “BUILDING BLOCKS”
or sources of human personality. They are
stable.
For example, a person may be reserved or
outgoing, serious or happy-go-lucky, and
submissive or dominant.

When source traits are put together along with

other variables in the environment they make up
the SURFACE TRAITS, which are the traits we see
and think of as personality. They result out as
an INTERACTION of source traits.
For example, being altruistic would be
a surface trait while source traits that comprise
this would be being unselfishness, not greedy,
sharing, and being thoughtful.

Cattell developed a test called “SIXTEEN

PERSONALITY FACTOR QUESTIONNAIRE [16PF]”
for the assessment of personality. This test is
WIDELY used by psychologists.
 EYSENCK’S THEORY

H.J. Eysenck proposed that

personality could be reduced into
two broad dimensions. These are
BIOLOGICALLY and GENETICALLY
based. Each dimension subsumes a
number of specific traits.
(1) Neuroticism vs. emotional stability :
It refers to the degree to which people
have control over their feelings. At one
extreme of the dimension, we find people
who are neurotic. They are
Anxious
Moody
Touchy
Restless
Quickly lose control.

At the other extreme lie people who are

calm
even-tempered
Reliable
remain under control
(2) Extraversion vs. introversion :
At one extreme are those who are
active
gregarious
socially outgoing
impulsive
thrill seeking

At the other extreme are people who

are
passive
quiet
socially withdrawn
cautious
reserved
(3) Psychoticism vs. Sociability :
A person who scores high on
psychoticism dimension tends to be
Hostile
egocentric
antisocial

“EYSENCK PERSONALITY
QUESTIONNAIRE”
is the test which is used for studying
these dimensions of personality.
PAUL COSTA
and
ROBERT
McCRAE-

OCEAN
THEORY
 By-
SIGMUND FREUD
 SIGMUND FREUD
He was a PHYSICIAN, and developed this
theory in the course of his clinical practice.
Early in his career he used HYPNOSIS to treat
people with physical and emotional
problems. He noted that many of his patients
needed to talk about their problems, and
having talked about them, they often felt
better.

Freud used
1. Free association (a method in which a person
is asked to openly share all the thoughts,
feelings and ideas that come to her/his mind)
2. Dream analysis
3. Analysis of errors
to understand the internal functioning of the
mind.
Freud gave the following concepts-

Level of consciousness
Structure of Personality
Defense Mechanisms
Stages of Personality Development
 LEVEL OF
CONSCIOUSNESS
Freud tried to study the sources and consequences
of emotional conflicts and the way people deal with
these. In doing so, it visualizes the human mind in
terms of three levels of consciousness.

CONSCIOUS- which includes the thoughts,

feelings and actions of which people are aware.
PRECONSCIOUS- which includes mental activity
of which people may become aware only if they
attend to it closely.
UNCONSCIOUS- which includes mental activity
that people are unaware of. The unconscious is a
reservoir of instinctive or animal drives. It also
stores all ideas and wishes that are concealed
from conscious awareness
STRUCTURE OF
PERSONALITY
ID
It is the source of person instinctual energy.
It deals with immediate gratification of
primitive needs, sexual desires and
aggressive impulses.
It works on PLEASURE PRINCIPLE.
Freud considered much of the instinctual
energy to be sexual and rest as aggressive.
It does not care about moral values, society
or other individuals.)
Id is- demanding
unrealistic
works according to pleasure
principle
EXAMPLE- The id of a boy would tell him to
grab an ice cream cone and eat it when he
sees somebody selling ice cream.
EGO
It grows out of id and seeks to satisfy an
individual’s instinctual needs in accordance with
reality.
It works by the REALITY PRINCIPLE.
It often directs id towards more APPROPRIATE
WAYS of behaving.
Ego is – patient
reasonable
wroks by reality principle
EXAMPLE- The ego of a boy who wants to
grab the ice cream cone and eat it would tell him
that if does so then he might be
punished.Working on this reality principle, the
boy knows that the best way to achieve
gratification is to ask for permission to eat the
cone.
SUPEREGO
It is the MORAL BRANCH of mental
functioning.
Superego tells id and ego whether
gratification in a particular instance
is ethical or not.
It helps control the id by
INTERNALISING the PARENTAL
AUTHORITY through the process of
socialisation.
EXAMPLE- If a boy sees and wants
an ice cream cone and asks his
mother about it , his superego will
indicate whether his behaviour is
morally correct or not.
Relation among the various components of
structure of personality

In some people, the id is stronger than

the superego; in others, it is the
superego. The relative strength of the id,
ego and superego determines each
person’s stability.
Freud also assumed that id is energized
by two instinctual forces, called LIFE
INSTINCT and DEATH INSTINCT. He
paid less attention to the death instinct
and focused more on the life (or sexual)
instinct. The instinctual life force that
energizes the id is called LIBIDO. It
works on the pleasure principle, and
seeks immediate gratification.
 EGO DEFENCE
MECHANISMS
Defence Mechanism is a way of
REDUCING anxiety by distorting reality.
Although some some defence against
anxiety is normal and adaptive, people
who use these mechanisms to such an
extent that the reality is truly distorted
develop various forms of
maladjustment. Each defence
mechanism is a way for ego to to deal
with the uncomfortable feelings
reduced by anxiety.
 Various Defence Mechanisms
described by Freud are:
REPRESSION
PROJECTION
DENIAL
REACTION FORMATION
RATIONALISATION
REPRESSION-
When anxiety provoking behaviours or
thoughts are totally dismissed by unconscious.
Example- A child who is abused by a parent
later has no recollection of the events, but has
trouble forming relationships.

PROJECTION-
People attribute their own traits to others.
Example- a husband who has a hostile nature
might attribute this hostility to his wife and say
she has an anger management problem.

DENIAL-
Person totally refuses to accept reality.
Example- statement that you don't agree with
what has been said about your actions.
REACTION FORMATION-
A person defends against anxiety by adopting
behaviours opposite to his/her true feelings.
Example – A person with strong sexual urges,
who channels his/her energy into religious
fervour.

RATIONALISATION-
Person tries to make unreasonable feelings or
behaviour seem reasonable and acceptable.
Example- Someone who is passed over for a
promotion might rationalize the disappointment
by claiming to not have wanted so much
responsibility after all.
 Stages of
Personality
Development
Freud claims that the core aspects of personality
are established early, remain stable throughout
life, and can be changed only with great
difficulty. He proposed
“FIVE STAGE THEORY” of personality
development. Problems encountered at any
stage may arrest development.
Different stages proposed by him are-
ORAL STAGE
ANAL STAGE
PHALLIC STAGE
LATENCY STAGE
GENITAL STAGE
ORAL STAGE

A newborn’s instincts are focused on the

mouth. This is the infant’s primary
pleasure seeking centre. It is through the
mouth that the baby obtains food that
reduces hunger. The infant achieves oral
gratification through feeding, thumb
sucking, biting and babbling.
It is during these early months that
people’s basic feelings about the world are
established.
Thus, for Freud, an adult who considers the
world a bitter place probably had difficulty
during the oral stage of development.
ANAL STAGE

It is found that around ages two and three

the child learns to respond to some of the
demands of the society.
One of the principal demands made by
parents is that the child learns to control the
bodily functions of urination and defecation.
Most children at this age experience
pleasure in moving their bowels. The anal
area of the body becomes the focus of
certain pleasurable feelings.
This stage establishes the basis for conflict
between the id and the ego, and between
the desire for babyish pleasure and demand
for adult, controlled behaviour.
PHALLIC STAGE

This stage focuses on the GENITALS.

At around ages four and five children begin to
realise the differences between males and
females.
They become aware of sexuality and the sexual
relationship between their parents.
During this stage, the MALE CHILD ld experiences
the OEDIPUS COMPLEX, which involves love for
the mother, hostility towards the father, and the
consequent fear of punishment or castration by
the father.
A major developmental achievement of this stage
is the resolution of the Oedipus complex. This
takes place by accepting his father’s relationship
with his mother, and modelling his own behaviour
after his father.
For GIRLS, the Oedipus complex called
the ELECTRA COMPLEX follows a slightly
different course.
By attaching her love to the father a girl
tries to symbolically marry him and raise
a family. When she realises that this is
unlikely, she begins to identify with her
mother and copy her behaviour as a
means of getting (or, sharing in) her
father’s affection.
The critical component in resolving the
Oedipus complex is the development of
identification with the same sex parents.
In other words, boys give up sexual
feelings for their mothers and begin to
see their fathers as role models rather
than as rivals; girls give up their sexual
desires for their father and identify with
their mother.
LATENCY STAGE

This stage lasts from about seven

years until puberty.
During this period, the child
continues to grow physically, but
sexual urges are relatively inactive.
Much of a child’s energy is
channelled into SOCIAL or
ACHIEVEMNT related activities.
GENITAL STAGE

During this stage, the person attains

maturity in psychosexual development.
The sexuality, fears and repressed
feelings of earlier stages are once again
exhibited. People learn to deal with
members of the opposite sex in a socially
and sexually mature way.
However, if the journey towards this
stage is marked by excessive stress or
over-indulgence, it may cause fixation to
an earlier stage of development
Failure of a child to pass successfully
through a stage leads to FIXATION to that
stage. In this situation, the child’s
development gets arrested at an earlier
stage. For example, a child who does not
pass successfully through the phallic stage
fails to resolve the Oedipal complex and may
still feel hostile toward the parent of the
same sex. This failure may have serious
consequences for the child’s life. Such a boy
may come to consider that men are
generally hostile, and may wish to relate to
females in a dependable relationship. XJU
REGRESSION occurs when a person’s
resolution of problems at any stage of
development is less than adequate. In this
situation, people display behaviours typical
of a less mature stage of development. It
takes a person back to an earlier stage.
POST FREUDIAN APPROACHES

Number of theorists worked with

Freud and then moved on to develop
their own versions of the
psychoanalytic theory. These
theorists have been called NEO-
ANALYTIC, or POST FREUDIAN in
order to differentiate their work from
Freud’s.
CHARATERISTICS OF POST FREUDIAN
APPROACHES

These theories are characterised by

less prominent roles to sexual and
aggressive tendencies of the id and
expansion of the concept of ego. The
human qualities of CREATIVITY,
COMPETENCE, and PROBLEM
SOLVING ABILITIES are emphasised.
DIFFERENT POST-FREUDIAN APPORACHES

CARL JUNG: AIMS AND ASPIRATIONS

KAREN HORNEY: OPTIMISM
ALFRED ADLER: LIFESTYLE AND
SOCIAL INTEREST
ERICH FROMM: THE HUMAN
CONCERNS
ERIK ERIKSON: SEARCH FOR
IDENTITY
CARL JUNG: AIMS AND ASPIRATIONS

Jung worked with Freud in his early stages of career, but later
on he broke away from Freud.
Jung saw human beings guided as much by aims and
aspirations as by sex and aggression.
He developed his own theory of personality, called
ANALYTICAL PSYCHOLOGY.
The basic assumption of his theory is that personality consists
of competing forces and structures within the individual (that
must be balanced) rather than between the individual and the
demands of society, or between the individual and reality.
Jung claimed that there was a COLLECTIVE UNCONSCIOUS
consisting of ARCHETYPES or PRIMORDIAL IMAGES. These
are not individually acquired, but are inherited. The God or the
Mother Earth is a good example of archetypes. They are found
in myths, dreams and arts of all mankind.
Jung held that the self strives for unity and oneness. It is an
archetype that is expressed in many ways. He devoted much
of his efforts to the study of such expressions in various
traditions. According to him, for achieving unity and
wholeness, a person must become increasingly aware of the
wisdom available in one’s personal and collective unconscious,
and must learn to live in harmony with it.
KAREN HORNEY: OPTIMISM
Horney was another disciple of Freud who developed a theory
that deviated from basic Freudian principles. She adopted a
more optimistic view of human life with emphasis on HUMAN
GROWTH and SELF ACTUALISATION.
Horney’s major contribution lies in her challenge to Freud’s
treatment of women as inferior. According to her, each sex has
attributes to be admired by the other, and neither sex can be
viewed as superior or inferior.

She countered that women were more likely to be affected by

social and cultural factors than by biological factors. She
argued that psychological disorders were caused by
DISTURBED INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIP during childhood.
When parents’ behaviour toward a child is indifferent,
discouraging, and erratic, the child feels insecure and a feeling
called BASIC ANXIETY results. Deep resentment toward parents
or basic hostility occurs due to this anxiety.
By showing excessive dominance or indifference, or by
providing too much or too little approval, parents can generate
among children feelings of isolation and helplessness which
interfere with their healthy development.
ALFRED ADLER: LIFESTYLE AND SOCIAL
INTEREST

Adler’s theory is known as INDIVIDUAL

PSYCHOLOGY.
His basic assumption is that human behaviour is
PURPOSEFUL and GOAL DIRECTED.
Each one of us has the capacity to choose and
create.
Our PERSONAL GOALS are the SOURCES of our
MOTIVATION.
The goals that provide us with SECURITY and help
us in overcoming the feelings of inadequacy are
important in our personality development.
In Adler’s view, every individual suffers from the
feelings of inadequacy and guilt, i.e. INFERIORITY C
OMPLEX, which arise from childhood. Overcoming
this complex is essential for optimal personality
development.
ERICH FROMM: THE HUMAN CONCERNS

Fromm developed his theory from a SOCIAL

ORIENTATION.
He viewed human beings as basically social beings
who could be understood in terms of their
relationship with others.
He argued that psychological qualities such as
growth and realisation of potentials resulted from a
desire for FREEDOM, and striving for JUSTICE and
TRUTH.
Fromm holds that character traits (personality)
develop from our experiences with other
individuals. While culture is shaped by the mode of
existence of a given society, people’s dominant
character traits in a given society work as forces in
shaping the social processes and the culture itself.
His work recognises the value of positive qualities,
such as tenderness and love.
ERIK ERIKSON: SEARCH FOR IDENTITY

Erikson’s theory lays stress on rational,

conscious ego processes in personality
development. In his theory, development is
viewed as a lifelong process, and ego
identity is granted a central place in this
process.
His concept of IDENTITY CRISIS of adolescent
age has drawn considerable attention.
Erikson argues that young people must
generate for themselves a central
perspective and a direction that can give
them a meaningful sense of unity and
purpose.
CRITICISMS OF PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORY

The theories are largely based on case studies; they

lack a rigorous scientific basis.
They use small and atypical individuals as samples
for advancing generalisations.
The concepts are not properly defined, and it is
difficult to submit them to scientific testing.
Freud has used males as the prototype of all human
personality development. He overlooked female
experiences and perspectives. He treated women as
inferior.
Freud’s approach had a biological orientation.
Freud’s ideas about the role of defence mechanisms
have been questioned. For example, his claim that
projection reduces anxiety and stress has not found
support in several studies.
BEHAVIOURAL
APPROACH
This approach does not give importance
to the internal dynamics of behaviour.
The behaviourists believe in data, which
they feel are definable, observable, and
measurable.
Thus, they focus on learning of stimulus-
response connections and their
reinforcement. According to them,
personality can be best understood as
the response of an individual to the
environment.
They see the development simply as a
change in response characteristics, i.e. a
person learns new behaviours in
response to new environments and
stimuli.
For most behaviourists, the structural
unit of personality is the response.
Each response is a behaviour, which is
emitted to satisfy a specific need.
All of us eat because of hunger, but we are also very
choosy about foods. For example, children do not like
eating many of the vegetables (e.g., spinach, pumpkin,
gourds, etc.), but gradually they learn to eat them.
According to the behavioural approach, children may
initially learn to eat such vegetables in anticipation of
appreciation (reinforcement) from their parents. Later
on they may eventually learn to eat vegetables not
only because their parents are pleased with this
behaviour, but also because they acquire the taste of
those vegetables, and find them good. Thus, the core
tendency that organises behaviour is the reduction of
biological or social needs that energise behaviour. This
is accomplished through responses (behaviours) that
are reinforced.
The theories of classical conditioning (Pavlov),
instrumental conditioning (Skinner), and observational
learning (Bandura) view learning and maintenance of
behaviour from different angles. The principles of these
theories have been widely used in developing
personality theories. For example, observational
learning theory considers thought processes extremely
important in learning, but these find almost no place in
classical or instrumental conditioning theories.
Observational learning theory also emphasises social
learning (based on observation and imitation of others)
and self-regulation, which again is missed out in other
theories.
CULTURAL
APPROACH
This approach attempts to understand personality
in relation to the features of ecological and cultural
environment.
It proposes that a group’s ‘economic maintenance
system’ plays a vital role in the origin of cultural
and behavioural variations. The climatic
conditions, the nature of terrain of the habitat and
the availability of food (flora and fauna) in it
determine not only people’s economic activities,
but also their settlement patterns, social
structures, division of labour, and other features
such as childrearing practices. Taken together
these elements constitute a child’s overall learning
environment.
People’s skills, abilities, behavioural styles, and
value priorities are viewed as strongly linked to
these features. Rituals, ceremonies, religious
practices, arts, recreational activities, games and
play are the means through which people’s
personality gets projected in a culture. People
develop various personality (behavioural) qualities
in an attempt to adapt to the ecological and
cultural features of a group’s life.
Thus, the cultural approach considers personality
as an adaptation of individuals or groups to the
A good proportion of the world’s population, even
today, lives in forests and mountainous regions with
hunting and gathering (economic activities) as their
primary means of livelihood.
The Birhor (a tribal group) of Jharkhand represent such
a population. Most of them live a nomadic life, which
requires constant movement in small bands from one
forest to another in search of games and other forest
products (e.g., fruits, roots, mushrooms, honey, etc.).
In the Birhor society, children from an early age are
allowed enormous freedom to move into forests and
learn hunting and gathering skills.
Their child socialisation practices are also aimed at
making children INDEPENDANT(do many things without
help from elders), AUTONOMOUS(take several decisions
for themselves), and ACHIEVEMNT - ORIENTED(accept
risks and challenges such as those involved in hunting)
from an early age of life.
In agricultural societies, children are socialised to be
obedient to elders, nurturant to youngsters, and
responsible to their duties. Since these behavioural
qualities make people more functional in agricultural
societies, they become dominant features of people’s
personality in contrast to independence, autonomy and
achievement, which are more functional (and thus
highly valued) in hunting-gathering societies. Because
of different economic pursuits and
HUMANISTI
C
APPROACH
The humanistic theories are mainly
developed in response to FREUD’S
theory.

CARL ROGERS and ABRAHM MASLOW

have particularly contributed to the
development of humanistic perspective
on personality.
The humanistic approach emphasises the
significance of positive aspects of life
CARL ROGERS’ APPROACH
The most important idea proposed by Rogers is that of a FULLY
FUNCTIONING PERSON.
He believes that FULFILMENT is the MOTIVATING FORCE for
personality development.
People try to express their capabilities, potentials and talents
to the fullest extent possible.
There is an inborn tendency among persons that directs them
to actualise their inherited nature.
Rogers makes few basic assumptions about human behaviour.
One is that behaviour is goal-directed and worthwhile.
The second is that people who are innately good will almost
always choose adaptive, self-actualising behaviour. Rogers’
theory grew out of his experiences of listening to patients in
his clinic. He noted that self was an important element in the
experience of his clients. Thus, his theory is structured around
the concept of self. The theory assumes that people are
constantly engaged in the process of actualising their true self.
His theory is structured around the concept of self. The theory
assumes that people are constantly engaged in the process of
actualising their true self
Rogers suggests that each person also
has a concept of IDEAL SELF. AN IDEAL
SELF IS THE SELF THAT A PERSON
WANTS TO BE.
When there is a CORRESPONDENCE
between the real self and ideal self, a
person is generally HAPPY.
DISCREPENCY between the real self and
ideal self often results in UNHAPPINESS
and DISSATISFACTION.
Rogers’ basic principle is that people
have a tendency to maximise self-
concept through self-actualisation.
In this process, the self
GROWS,
EXPANDS and
becomes more SOCIAL.
Rogers views personality development as a continuous process.
It involves learning to evaluate oneself and mastering the process of
self actualisation.
He recognises the role of social influences in the development of self-
concept.
When social conditions are positive, the self-concept and self-esteem
are high. In contrast, when the conditions are negative, the self-
concept and self esteem are low.
People with high self concept and self-esteem are generally flexible and
open to new experiences, so that they can continue to grow and self
actualise.
This situation warrants that an atmosphere of UNCONDITIONAL
POSITIVE REGARD must be created in order to ensure enhancement of
people’s self-concept.
The CLIENT CENTERED THERAPY that Rogers developed basically
attempts to create this condition.
 ABRAHAM MASLOW’ APPROACH
Maslow has given a detailed account of
psychologically healthy people in terms of
their attainment of SELF ACTUALISATION-
A STATE IN WHICH PEOPLE HAVE REACHED
THEIR OWN FULLEST POTENTIAL.
Maslow had an OPTIMISTIC and POSITIVE
VIEW of man who has the potentialities for
LOVE
JOY
to do CREATIVE WORK
Human beings are considered free to
shape their lives and to self-actualise.
Self-actualisation becomes possible by
analysing the motivations that govern our
life.
We know that biological, security, and
belongingness needs (called survival
needs) are commonly found among
animals and human beings. Thus, an
individual’s sole concern with the
satisfaction of these needs reduces her/
him to the level of animals. The real
journey of human life begins with the
pursuit of self-esteem and self
actualisation needs.
 Assessment of Personality
A formal effort aimed at understanding personality of an individual is
termed as personality assessment.
Assessment refers to the procedures used to evaluate or
differentiate people on the basis of certain characteristics. The
goal of assessment is to understand and predict behaviour with
minimum error and maximum accuracy. In assessment, we try
to study what a person generally does, or how s/he behaves, in
a given situation. Besides promoting our understanding,
assessment is also useful for diagnosis, training, placement,
counselling, and other purposes
The most commonly used techniques are Psychometric Tests,
Self-Report Measures, Projective Techniques, and Behavioural
Analysis.
These techniques are rooted in different theoretical
orientations; hence they throw light on different aspects of
personality.
A. Self – report Measures by - Allport

These are fairly structured

measures, often based on
theory, that require subjects
to give verbal responses
using some kind of rating
scale.
The method requires the
subject to objectively report
her/his own feelings with
respect to various items.
The responses are accepted
at their face value.
They are scored in
 Limitations
Social desirability - It is a tendency on
the part of the respondent to endorse
items in a socially desirable manner.
Acquiescence -It is a tendency of the
subject to agree with items/questions
irrespective of their contents. It often
appears in the form of saying ‘yes’ to
items.
These tendencies render the
assessment of personality less
reliable.
 Examples of self –report measures

1) The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

Given by – Hathaway and Mc Kinley
A helping tool for psychiatric diagnosis, but the test has
been found very effective in identifying varieties of
psychopathology.
Its revised version is available as MMPI-2. It consists of
567 statement which are in the in the form of ‘true’ or
‘false’.
The test is divided into 10 subscales, which seek to
diagnose-. hypochondriasis, depression, hysteria,
psychopathic deviate, masculinity-femininity, paranoia,
psychasthenia, schizophrenia, mania and social
introversion
In India, Mallick and Joshi have developed the Jodhpur
Multiphasic Personality Inventory (JMPI) along the lines of
MMPI.
2)Eyesenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ)

Developed by Eysenck this test initially

assessed two dimensions of personality,
called introverted-extraverted and
emotionally stable-emotionally unstable.
These dimensions are characterised by 32
personality traits. Later on, Eysenck added a
third dimension, called psychoticism.
It is linked to psychopathology that
represents a lack of feeling for others, a
tough manner of interacting with people,
and a tendency to defy social conventions.
A person scoring high on this dimension
tends to be hostile, egocentric, and
antisocial. This test is also widely used.
 3) 16 Personality Questionnaire
i. This test was developed by Cattell. On the
basis of his studies, he identified a large set
of personality descriptors, which were
subjected to factor analysis to identify the
basic personality structure.
ii. The test provides with declarative
statements, and the subject responds to a
specific situation by choosing from a set of
given alternatives.
iii. The test can be used with high school level
students as well as with adults.
iv. It has been found extremely useful in career
guidance, vocational exploration, and
 B. Projective Techniques

They were developed to assess unconscious

motives or feelings.
A variety of projective techniques have been
developed; they use various kinds of
stimulus materials and situations for
assessing personality.
These techniques are based on the
assumption that a less structured or
unstructured stimulus or situation will allow
the individual to project her/his feelings,
desires and needs on to that situation. These
projections are interpreted by experts
 Characteristics
While the nature of stimuli and responses in
these techniques vary enormously, all of them
do share the following features:

(1) The stimuli are relatively or fully

unstructured and poorly defined.
(2) The person being assessed is usually not told
about the purpose of assessment and the
method of scoring and interpretation.
(3) The person is informed that there are no
correct or incorrect responses.
(4) Each response is considered to reveal a
significant aspect of personality.
(5) Scoring and interpretation are lengthy and
sometimes subjective.
 Advantage
Psychoanalytic theory tells us that a
large part of human behaviour is
governed by unconscious motives.
Direct methods of personality
assessment cannot uncover the
unconscious part of our behaviour.
Hence, they fail to provide us with a real
picture of an individual’s personality.
These problems can be overcome by
using indirect methods of assessment.
Projective techniques fall in this category
 Psychometric tests
Projective Technique

They cannot be They are scored in an

scored in any objective manner.
objective manner.
They generally
require qualitative
analyses for which a
rigorous training is
needed
B.1) Rorschach ink blot test

Based on Freud’s Unconscious theory.

Consists of 10 ink blots :- 5 Black and
White
3 Pastel
2 Red
Blots are printed in the centre of a white
cardboard of about 7 x ˆ10 size.
The blots were originally made by
dropping ink on a piece of paper and then
folding the paper in half (hence called
inkblot test).
Phases of Rorschach Ink Blot Test

Performance proper Inquiry

In the second phase,
In the first phase, called inquiry, a detailed
report of the response s
called performance prepared by asking the
proper, the subjects subject to tell where, how,
are shown the cards and on what basis was a
and are asked to tell particular response made.
what they see in each Fine judgment is necessary
to place the subject’s
of them. responses in a meaningful
context. The use and
interpretation of this test
requires extensive training
 B.2) The Thematic Apperception Test
Given By Morgan and Murray
There are 30 Black and White cards and 1 Blank card.
Each picture card depicts one or more people in a variety
of situations.
Each picture is printed on a card. Some cards are used
with adult males or females. Others are used with boys
or girls. Still others are used in some combinations.
Twenty cards are appropriate for a subject .
The cards are presented one at a time. The subject is
asked to tell a story describing the situation presented in
the picture:
what will happen in the future, and what the characters
are feeling and thinking? What led up to the situation,
what is happening at the moment,
A standard procedure is available for scoring TAT
responses.
The test has been modified for children and for the aged.
Uma Chaudhury’s Indian adaptation of TAT is also
B.3) Rozenwig’s-Picture Frustration study
(P-F study )

This test was developed by Rosenzweig to assess

how people express aggression in the face of a
frustrating situation.
The test presents with the help of cartoon like
pictures a series of situations in which one person
frustrates another, or calls attention to a frustrating
condition.
The subject is asked to tell what the other
(frustrated) person will say or do. The analysis of
responses is based on the type and direction of
aggression.
An attempt is made to examine whether the focus is
on the frustrating object, or on protection of the
frustrated person, or on constructive solution of the
problem.
The direction of aggression may be towards the
environment, towards oneself, or it may be tuned off
in an attempt to gloss over or evade the situation.
Pareek has adapted this test for use with the Indian
population.
B.4) Sentence Completion Test
This test makes use of a number of incomplete
sentences.
The starting part of the sentence is first presented and
the subject has to provide an ending to the sentence.
It is held that the type of endings used by the subjects
reflect their attitudes, motivation and conflicts.
The test pr ovides subjects with several opportunities
to reveal their underlying unconscious motivations.
A few sample items of a sentence completion test are
given below.
1. My father——————————————.
2. My greatest fear is —————————
3. The best thing about my mother is — ———————
4. I am proud of ————————————
 B.5) Draw-a- face test
It is a simple test in which the subject is asked to draw a person on
a sheet of paper. A pencil and eraser is provided to facilitate
drawing.
After the completion of the drawing, the subject is generally asked
to draw the figure of an opposite sex person.
Finally, the subject is asked to make a story about the person as if
s/he was a character in a novel or play. Some examples of
interpretations are as follows:
i. Omission of facial features suggests that the person tries to evade
a highly conflict-ridden interpersonal relationship
ii. Graphic emphasis on the neck suggests lack of control over
impulses.
iii. Disproportionately large head suggests organic brain disease and
preoccupation with headaches.
The analysis of personality with the help of projective techniques
appears fairly interesting. It helps us to understand unconscious
motives, deep-rooted conflicts, and emotional complexes of an
individual. However, the interpretation of the responses requires
sophisticated skills and specialised
C) Behavioural Analysis

A person’s behaviour in a variety of

situations can provide us with
meaningful information about her/his
personality. Observation of behaviour
serves as the basis of behavioural
analysis. An observer’s report may
contain data obtained from interview,
observation , ratings, nomination, and
situational tests. We will examine
these different procedures in some
detail.
C.1) Interview

Interview is a commonly used method for

assessing personality. This involves talking to
the person being assessed and asking specific
questions.
Diagnostic interviewing generally involves in-
depth interviewing which seeks to go beyond
the replies given by the person.
Interviews may be structured or unstructured
depending on the purpose or goals of
assessment.
Types of interview

STRUCTURED UNSTRUCTURED

The structured In unstructured

interviews address very interviews, the
specific questions and interviewer seeks to
follow a set procedure. develop an impression
This is often done to about a person by asking
make objective a number of questions.
comparison of persons The way a person
being interviewed. Use presents her/ himself
of rating scales may and answers the
further enhance the questions carries enough
objectivity of potential to reveal
evaluation. her/his personality.
C.2) Observation
Behavioural observation is another method which is very
commonly used for the assessment of personality. Although all of
us watch people and form impressions about their personality,
use of observation for personality assessment is a sophisticated
procedure that cannot be carried out by untrained people.
It requires careful training of the observer, and a fairly detailed
guideline about analysis of behaviours in order to assess the
personality of a given person.
For example, a clinical psychologist may like to observe her/his
client’s interaction with family members and home visitors. With
carefully designed observation, the clinical psychologist may gain
considerable insight into a client’s personality.
In spite of their frequent and widespread use, observation and
interview methods are characterised by the following limitations:
(1) Professional training required for collection of useful data
through these methods is quite demanding and timeconsuming.
(2) Maturity of the psychologist is a precondition for obtaining
valid data through these techniques.
(3) Mere presence of the observer may contaminate the results.
As a stranger, the observer may influence the behaviour of the
person being observed and thus not obtain good data.
D) Behavioural Ratings
Behavioural ratings are frequently used for
assessment of personality in educational and
industrial settings.
Behavioural ratings are generally taken from
people who know the assessee intimately and have
interacted with her/him over a period of time or
have had a chance to observe her/him.
They attempt to put individuals into certain
categories in terms of their behavioural qualities.
The categories may involve different numbers or
descriptive terms.
It has been found that use of numbers or general
descriptive adjectives in rating scales always
creates confusion for the rater. In order to use
ratings effectively, the traits should be clearly
defined in terms of carefully stated behavioural
anchors
 Disadvantages
The method of rating suffers from the following major
limitations:
(1) Raters often display certain biases that colour their
judgments of different traits. For example, most of us are
greatly influenced by a single favourable or unfavourable
trait. This often forms the basis of a rater’s overall
judgment of a person. This tendency is known as the halo
effect.

(2) Raters have a tendency to place individuals either in

the middle of the scale (called middle category bias) by
avoiding extreme positions, or in the extreme positions
(called extreme response bias) by avoiding middle
categories on the scale. These tendencies can be
overcome by providing raters with appropriate training or
by developing such scales in which the response bias is
likely to be small.
E) Nomination
This method is often used in obtaining peer
assessment. It can be used with persons who
have been in long-term interaction and who
know each other very well.
In using nomination, each person is asked to
choose one or more persons of the group with
whom s/he would like to work, study, play or
participate in any other activity.
The person may also be asked to specify the
reason for her/his choices.
Nominations thus received may be analysed to
understand the personality and behavioural
qualities of the person.
This technique has been found to be highly
dependable, although it may also be affected by
personal biases.
F) Situational Tests
A variety of situational tests have been devised for
the assessment of personality.
The most commonly used test of this kind is the
situational stress test.
It provides us with information about how a person
behaves under stressful situations.
The test requires a person to perform a given task
with other persons who are instructed to be non-
cooperative and interfering.
The test involves a kind of role playing. The person is
instructed to play a role for which s/he is observed.
A verbal report is also obtained on what s/he was
asked to do. The situation may be realistic one, or it
may be created through a video play