Unit I: Personality: Concept, Trait Theories (Eysenck; Costa & McRae), Psychoanalytic

Theory (Freud) and Humanistic Theory (Rogers), Measurement of Personality

(Self-Report Measures, Projective Methods and Behavioural Assessment).

The term personality is derived from the Latin word „Persona‟ which means „the mask‟,
which the Greek actors used to wear while playing their part on the stage. In this sense the term
personality means the physical or outward appearance of an individual. Similarly we often hear
people saying that such and such person is having a „fine personality‟ or „attractive personality‟ or
„dashing personality‟. This kind of common sense view of personality is impressionistic and is often
found erroneous. Such a view just refers to the external or outer physical features of a person. In
psychology, the term personality has a different meaning. It refers to a person‟s unique and
relatively stable qualities that characterize behaviour patterns across different situations and over a
period of time. It is a common observation that different people respond to the same situation in
different ways. Also, underlying the behaviour of each individual, there seems to be some
coherence, order and consistency. The term „personality‟ is used to characterize all these aspects of
an individual.
A number of researchers have tried to describe and define personality.
Woodworth: “Personality refers to the total qualities of an individual which are expressed in
thoughts, manners and habits.”
Cattell: Personality is “that which permits a prediction of what a person will do in a given
situation.”
Eysenck: “Personality is more or less stable and enduring organization of a person‟s character,
temperament, intellect and physique, which determine his unique adjustment to the
environment.”
Out of several existing definitions of personality, the most widely accepted definition is the
one given by Gorden W. Allport. According to him, “Personality is a dynamic organization
within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his unique adjustment to
his environment.”
By the word „dynamic‟ Allport means that human personality is a developing and changing
organization of habits, attitudes and traits and it is not a static thing.
The word „organization‟ means combination of many traits internal as well as external in a
harmonious manner.

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The word „psychophysical‟ means both mental and physical aspects of personality should be taken
into consideration.
The word „determine‟ emphasizes the motivational role of the psychophysical systems.
The word „unique‟ refers to the distinctiveness or uniqueness in the personality of every individual.
The term „adjustment to the environment‟ means that with the help of personality an individual
adjusts to his environment or surroundings.
Characteristics of Personality
On the basis of various definitions of personality, we can infer the characteristics of
personality as given below:-
1. Personality is something unique and specific. Every one of us is a unique person in oneself.
However, the uniqueness of an individual‟s personality does not mean that she/ he has
nothing to share with others in terms of traits and characteristics of personality. She/ He may
have certain characteristics, which she/ he shares with others and at the same time many
others which are unique to her/ him.
2. Personality refers to consistency in behaviour, thoughts and emotions across situations and
across time periods. An honest person remains honest for a longer period of time and in
different situations.
3. Although the personality of an individual remains stable to a large extent but it cannot be said
to be static. It is dynamic and continuously in the process of change and modification.
4. Personality includes all the behaviour patterns (cognitive, affective and conative) and covers
not only the conscious activities but subconscious and unconscious also.
5. Personality is not just a collection of so many traits or characteristics. It is an organization of
psychophysical systems and functions as a unified whole.
6. Personality is a product of interaction between heredity and environment. An individual‟s
genetic make-up, family, education, culture etc. all has a tremendous influence on
personality.
7. Personality is not synonymous with one‟s character. Character is an ethical concept. It
represents a moral estimate of the individual while personality is a more comprehensive term,
which includes character as one of its constituents.

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 8. Personality is different from temperament, which is a system of emotional disposition.
Temperament just represents the affective side of one‟s personality. Personality is much more
than one‟s temperament.
9. Personality helps in predicting behaviour. In the words of Cattell personality is “that which
permits a prediction of what a person will do in a given situation.
10. Personality of an individual can be described as well as measured.
THEORIES OF PERSONALITY
Theories of personality are hypothetical statements about the structure and functioning of individual
personalities. These help to achieve two of the major goals –
(i) Understanding the structure, origins and correlates of personality;
(ii) Predicting behaviour and life events based on what we know about personality.
Different theories make different predictions about the way people will respond and adapt to
certain conditions. Each of them throws light on some aspects of personality but not on all aspects.
Trait Theories of Personality
These theories are concerned with the basic components or building blocks of personality.
While human beings display a very wide range of variation in personality, yet it is possible to see
them as a combination of a smaller number of personality traits. A trait is considered as a relatively
enduring way in which one individual differ from another. Traits are relatively permanent and
consistent general behaviour pattern that an individual exhibits in most situations, such as being
honest, shy, aggressive, lazy, dull, dependent etc. Trait theories of personality focus on identifying
key dimensions of personality.
Gordon W. Allport (1887-1967) was the first theorist who rejected the notion of a relatively
limited number of personality types and advocated the trait approach to describe personality. Allport
thought that the words people use to describe themselves and others provide a window on the human
personality. In order to find out how many traits are responsible for describing personality, Allport
and one of his colleague, Odbert (1936) analysed about 18000 terms taken from a dictionary that
could be used by people to describe each other and they finally came up with a total 4541
psychological traits for describing human personality. To Allport, personality is the dynamic
organization of all the behavioural traits that an individual possesses. Allport distinguished three
types of traits namely, cardinal traits, central traits and secondary traits.

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 Raymond Cattell considered personality as an integration of traits, which may be broadly,
classified as Surface traits and Source traits. Surface traits, as the name indicates are the explicit or
overt or the manifested traits which an individual reflects while he interacts which his environment.
Source traits, on the contrary, are the underlying traits, which are relatively independent and
represent the fundamental modes of behaiour. Source traits are identified when surface trait
correlation clusters are factor analyzed using a statistical technique known as factor analysis.
In order to identify the underlying source traits of personality Cattell used a technique similar
to the one used by Allport and Odbert (1930) who had earlier identified 4541 personality traits after
analyzing about 18000 word taken from a dictionary. Cattell reduced this huge number of adjectives
to a more workable size by removing all the synonyms. By this process the list was reduced to 170
which captured most of the major meanings in the original list. Cattell then asked college students to
describe their acquaintances using the 170 adjectives and by factor analyzing the inter-correlations,
he extracted 16 grouping or clusters of traits. The 16 factors thus identified were said by Cattell to
reflect key characteristics or source or primary traits of the human personality.
Some of the important trait theories of personality are:
Eysenck‟s Type-cum-Trait Approach to Personality
While Cattell used factor-analysis to extract 16 basic factors of personality, H. J. Eysenck, a
German-born British Psychologist went a step further in making use of factor analysis technique by
extracting second-order factors, thus, grouping traits into definite personality types. But Eysenck‟s
„types‟ are like a personality dimension – a continuum on which an individual lie. Thus he favours a
dimensional as opposed to a typological approach. Initially, Eysenck (1953) proposed two
dimensions only to describe personality – introversion – extraversion (E) and neuroticism –
stability (N). But later on he added a third dimension, namely, psychoticism – normality (P).
From descriptive viewpoint Introversion – Extraversion (E) dimension refers to the degree
to which one‟s basic orientation is turned toward the self or outward toward the external world. The
introvert tends to withdraw into himself, particularly in times of emotional stress and conflicts; he
tends to be shy, prefers to work alone and is orderly, restrained and serious. Extravert on the other
hand is a sociable person who thrives on human company and seeks out exciting activities. He is
restless, impulsive and tends to choose occupations that permit him to deal directly with people such
as sales or promotional activities.

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Neuroticism – Stability (N) is a dimension of emotionality varying from calm, well-adjusted,
reliable individual at the stable end to those who are moody, anxious, temperamental and unreliable
at the Neuroticism end.
Psychoticism – Normality (P) dimension, which Eysenck added later on, refers to predisposition to
psychotic breakdown. A person high on psychoticism is a tough, insensitive type of person.
Eysenck has tried to give physiological basis (causative basis) to his dimensions of personality.
Eysenck proposed that introversion – extraversion (E) dimension is linked to inherited
characteristics of ARAS (Ascending Reticular Activating System), a part of the brain that controls
an individual‟s level of arousal. Eysenck believes that introverts inherit more of a tendency to be

aroused and that they have a basic tendency to inhibit their arousal. As a result, introverts tend to
avoid extreme excitement; seek out calm, quiet conditions and shy away from the activities or
arousal caused by social interaction. Extraverts on the other hand are genetically predisposed to be
under –aroused and thus they seek arousal and excitement and so they show extravert characteristics.

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 Neuroticism – Stability (N) dimension is related to Autonomic Nervous System (ANS).
The neuroticism is believed to have a more sensitive ANS than a stable person and thus acquires a
surplus of conditioned anxiety responses. Eysenck regards this surplus as being the basis of neurotic
anxiety, obsessional and depressive neuroses.
Physiological basis for the third dimension – psychoticism – normality is not well –
documented.
According to the Eysenck, the structure of personality may be described with only three
factors. But how can three score adequately summaries all the complexities that go into making up a
person‟s individuality? Eysenck answers this question in the following way through his hierarchical
model of personality:

1. At the lowest level are specific responses. These refer to particular pieces of behaviour such
as talking to strangers in a train.
2. At the next level are habitual responses which are composed of clusters of specific responses.
For example ability to easily strike friendship.
3. The third level consists of traits which are composed of clusters of specific habitual responses
such as Sociability.
4. The forth level represents the organization of these traits into a „type‟. A type is defined as a
group of correlated traits. For example traits of sociability, impulsivity etc. group together to
make a type-Extraversion.
Thus Eysenck‟s hierarchical model of personality represents a type-cum-trait approach to
personality.
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Costa & McCrae‟s Five-Factor (Big Five) Model of Personality
The fundamental work on trait dimensions conducted by Allport, Cattell, Eysenck, and many
others has led to contemporary trait models, the most important and well-validated of which is
the Five-Factor (Big Five) Model of Personality given by Paul Costa and Robert McCrae
According to this model, there are five fundamental underlying trait dimensions that are stable
across time, cross-culturally shared, and explain a substantial proportion of behavior (Costa &
McCrae, 1992; Goldberg, 1982). These five dimensions (sometimes known as the “Big Five”)
are openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism. It can
be denoted by the acronym „OCEAN‟. Each trait represents a continuum. Individuals can fall
anywhere on the continuum for each trait. Each of the Big Five personality traits contains six
facets. A facet is a specific and unique aspect of a broader personality trait.
Following table describe these five dimensions and their Facets briefly:
Dimension Description Facets
1. Openness to experience Creative, intellectual, and open- Fantasy, Aesthetics, Feelings,
minded versus simple, shallow, and Actions, Ideas, Values
unintelligent
2. Conscientiousness Organized, responsible, and cautious Competence, Order, Dutifulness,
versus careless, frivolous, and Achievement Striving, Self-
irresponsible Discipline, Deliberation
3. Extraversion Talkative, energetic, and assertive Gregariousness, Assertiveness,
versus quiet, reserved, and shy Activity, Excitement Seeking,
Positive Emotion
4. Agreeableness Sympathetic, kind, and affectionate Trust, Straightforwardness,
versus cold, quarrelsome, and cruel Altruism, Compliance, Modesty,
Tender mindedness
5. Neuroticism Stable, calm, and contented versus Hostility, Depression, Self-
anxious, unstable, and temperamental consciousness, Impulsiveness,
Vulnerability to Stress

A large body of research evidence has supported the five-factor model. The Big Five
dimensions seem to be cross-cultural, because the same five factors have been identified in
participants in China, Japan, Italy, Hungary, Turkey, and many other countries. The Big Five
dimensions also accurately predict behavior. For instance, a pattern of high conscientiousness, low
neuroticism, and high agreeableness predicts successful job performance. Scores on the Big Five
dimensions also predict the performance of U.S. presidents; ratings of openness to experience are
correlated positively with ratings of presidential success, whereas ratings of agreeableness are

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correlated negatively with success. The Big Five factors are also increasingly being used in helping
researchers understand the dimensions of psychological disorders such as anxiety and depression.
An advantage of the five-factor approach is that it is parsimonious. Rather than studying
hundreds of traits, researchers can focus on only five underlying dimensions. The Big Five may also
capture other dimensions that have been of interest to psychologists. For instance, the trait
dimension of need for achievement relates to the Big Five variable of conscientiousness, and self-
esteem relates to low neuroticism. On the other hand, the Big Five factors do not seem to capture all
the important dimensions of personality. For instance, the Big Five does not capture moral behavior,
although this variable is important in many theories of personality. And there is evidence that the
Big Five factors are not exactly the same across all cultures.
The Psychoanalytic Approach
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), father of psychoanalysis, is by far, the most famous figure in
the history of psychology. He was characterized by his biographer Ernest Jones as “the Darwin of
the mind”.
Freud‟s Theory of Personality
Freud entered private medical practice soon after graduating from medical school. A turning
point in his early career came when he won a research grant to travel to Paris to observe the work of
Jean-Martin Charcot, who was then using hypnosis to treat several types of mental disorders.
When Freud returned to Vienna, he worked with Joseph Breuer, a colleague who was using
hypnosis in the treatment of hysteria -a condition in which individuals experienced physical
symptoms such as blindness, deafness or paralysis of arms or legs for which there seemed to be no
underlying physical cause. Out of these experiences and his growing clinical practice, Freud
gradually developed his theories of human personality and mental illness. His ideas were complex
and touched on many different issues. With respect to personality, however, four topics are most
central: levels of consciousness, the structure of personality, anxiety and defense mechanisms, and
psychosexual stages of development.
Levels of Consciousness:
According to Freud most of the mind lays below the surface-below the threshold of conscious
experience. Above this boundary is the area of the conscious. This includes our current thoughts:
whatever we are thinking about or experiencing at a given moment. Beneath this conscious area is
the much larger preconscious. This contains memories that are not part of current thought but can
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readily be brought to mind if the need arises. Finally, beneath the preconscious, and forming the
bulk of the human mind, is the unconscious: thoughts, desires, and impulses of which we remain
largely unaware. Although some of this material has always been unconscious, Freud believed that
much of it was once conscious but has been actively repressed-driven from consciousness because it
was too anxiety-provoking. For example, Freud contended that shameful experiences or
unacceptable sexual or aggressive urges are often driven deep within the unconscious. The fact that
we are not aware of them, however, in no way prevents them from affecting our behaviour. Indeed,
Freud believed that many of the symptoms experienced by his patients were disguised and indirect
reflections of repressed thoughts and desires. This is why one major goal, of psychoanalysis-the
method of treating psychological disorders devised by Freud - is to bring repressed material back
into consciousness. Presumably, once such material is made conscious and patients gain insight into
the early life experiences that caused them to repress it in the first place, important causes of mental
illness are removed.
Freud believed that one way of probing the unconscious was through the interpretation of
dreams. In dreams, Freud believed, we can give expression to impulses and desires we find
unacceptable during our waking hours. Unfortunately, there is little scientific evidence for this view.
The Structure of Personality
Id, Ego and Superego
Freud suggested that personality consist largely of three parts: the id, the ego and the
superego. These correspond, roughly to desire, reason and conscience.
The Id consists of all our primitive, innate urges. These include various bodily needs,
sexual desire and aggressive impulses. According to Freud, the id is totally unconscious and
operates in accordance with what he termed the pleasure principle. It demands immediate, total
gratification and is not capable of considering the potential costs of seeking this goal.
Unfortunately; the world offers few opportunities for instant pleasure. Moreover, attempting
to gratify many of our innate urges would soon get us into serious trouble. It is in response to these
facts that the second structure of personality, the ego, develops. The ego‟s task is to hold the id in
check until conditions allows for satisfaction of its impulses. Thus, the ego operates in accordance
with the reality principle. It takes into account external conditions and the consequences of various
actions and directs behaviour so as to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. The ego is partly

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conscious but not entirely; thus, some of its actions for example, its eternal struggle with the id are
outside our conscious knowledge or understanding.
The final aspect of personality described by Freud is the superego. It too seeks to control
satisfaction of id impulses, but, in contrast to the ego, it is concerned with morality - with whether
various ways that could potentially satisfy id impulses are right or wrong. Thus, the superego
operates in accordance with the moral principle. The superego permits us to gratify such impulses
only when it is morally correct to do so not simply when it is safe or feasible, as required by the ego.
The superego is acquired from our parents and through experience and represents our
internalization of the moral teachings and norms of our society. Unfortunately, such teachings are
often quite inflexible and leave little room for gratification of our basic desires - they require us to be
good all the time. Because of this fact, the ego faces another difficult task. It must strike a balance
between our primitive urges (the id) and our learned moral constraints (the superego). Freud felt that
this constant struggle among id, ego and superego plays a key role in personality and in many
psychological disorders. Moreover, he suggested that the struggle was often visible in everyday
behaviour in what have come to be known as Freudian slips – errors in speech that actually reflect
unconscious impulses.
Anxiety and Defence Mechanism: Self-protection by the Ego
In its constant struggle to prevent the eruption of dangerous id impulses, the ego faces a
difficult task. Yet for most people, most of the time, the ego succeeds. Sometimes, though, id
impulses grow so strong that they threaten to get out of control. At this point, Freud contended, the
ego may resort to one of several different defense mechanisms. These are all designed to keep
unacceptable impulses from the id out of consciousness and to prevent their open expression.
Defense mechanisms take many different forms. While they differ in form, all serve the function of
reducing anxiety by keeping unacceptable urges and impulses from breaking into consciousness.
Defense Mechanisms: Reactions to Anxiety
Defense Its Basic Nature Example
Mechanisms
Repression “Forgetting – or pushing from A woman fails to recognize her
consciousness into unconsciousness attraction to handsome new son-in-
– unacceptable thoughts or law.
impulses
Rationalization Conjuring up socially acceptable A young women explains that she ate
reasons for thoughts or actions an entire chocolate cake so that it
based on unacceptable motives wouldn‟t spoil in the summer heat
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Displacement Redirecting an emotional response A man redirects anger from his boss to
from a dangerous object to a safe his child.
one
Projection Transferring unacceptable motives A man who feels strong hostility
or impulses to other toward a neighbor perceives the
neighbor as being hostile to him.
Regression Responding to a threatening A student asks a professor to raise his
situation in a way appropriate to an grade; when she refuses, the student
earlier age or level of development throws a temper tantrum.

Psychosexual Stages of Development

The most controversial aspect of Freud‟s theory of personality is his ideas about its formation
or development. Freud‟s views in this respect have been described through psychosexual stages of
development: innately determined stages of sexual development through which, presumably, we all
pass, and which strongly shape the nature of our personality. Before turning to the stages
themselves, however, we must first consider two important concepts relating to them: libido and
fixation.
Libido refers to the instinctual life force that energizes the id. Release of libido is closely
related to pleasure, but the focus of such pleasure and expression of libido-changes as we develop.
In each stage of development, we obtain different kinds of pleasure and leave behind a small amount
of our libido – this is the normal course of event. If an excessive amount of libido energy is tied to a
particular stage, however, fixation results. This can stem from either too little or too much
gratification during this stage, and in either case the result is harmful. Because the individual has left
too much “psychic energy” behind, less is available for full adult development. The outcome may be
an adult personality reflecting the stage or stages at which fixation has occurred. To put it another
way, if too much energy is drained by fixation at earlier stages of development, the amount
remaining may be insufficient to power movement to full adult development. Then an individual
may show an immature personality and several psychological disorders.
According to Freud, as we grow and develop, different parts of the body serve as the focus of
our quest for pleasure. There are five stages of psychosexual development as narrated by Freud:
1. Oral Stage: In the initial oral stage, lasting until we are about eighteen months old, we seek
pleasure mainly through the mouth. If too much or too little gratification occurs during this stage, an
individual may become fixated at it. Too little gratification results in a personality that is overly

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dependent on others; too much, especially after the child has developed some teeth, results in a
personality that is excessively hostile, especially through verbal sarcasm.
2. Anal Stage: The next stage occurs in response to efforts by parents to toilet train their children.
During the anal stage, the process of elimination becomes the primary focus of pleasure. Fixation at
this stage, stemming from overly harsh toilet-training experiences, may result in individuals who are
excessively orderly or compulsive – they can‟t leave any job unfinished and strive for perfection and
neatness in everything they do. In contrast, fixation stemming from very relaxed toilet training may
result in people who are undisciplined, impulsive, and excessively generous.
3. Phallic Stage: At about age four, the genitals become the primary source of pleasure, and
children enter the phallic stage. Freud speculated that at this time we fantasize about sex with our
opposite-sex parent - a phenomenon he termed the Oedipus complex, after Rex Oedipus, a
character in ancient Greek literature who unknowingly killed his father and then married his mother.
Fear of punishment for such desires then enters the picture. Among boys the feared punishment is
castration, leading to castration anxiety. Among girls the feared punishment is loss of love. In both
cases, these fears bring about resolution of the Oedipus complex and identification with the same
sex parent. In other words, little boys give up sexual desires for their mothers and come to see their
fathers as models rather than as rivals; little girls give up their sexual desires for their father and
come to see their mothers as models.
Perhaps one of Freud‟s most controversial suggestions is the idea that little girls experience
penis envy stemming from their own lack of a male organ. Freud suggested that because of such
envy, girls experience strong feelings of inferiority and envy-feelings they carry with them in
disguised form even in adult life. Many psychologists object strongly to these ideas, and there is
virtually no evidence for them.
4. Latency Stage: After resolution of the Oedipus conflict, children enter the latency stage, during
which sexual urges are, according to Freud, at a minimum.
5. Genital Stage: Finally, during puberty adolescents enter the genital stage. During this stage
pleasure is again focused on the genitals. Now, however, lust is blended with affection, and people
become capable of adult love. According to Freud, progression to this stage is possible only if
serious fixation has not occurred at earlier stages. If such fixation exists, development is blocked and
various disorders result.

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Freud‟s Theory: An Overall Evaluation
Freud‟s place in history is assured: His ideas and writings have exerted a profound impact on
society. But what about his theory of personality? Is it currently accepted by most psychologists?
The answer is definitely not. The reasons are clear. First, many critics have pointed out that Freud‟s
theory is not really a scientific theory at all. Some of his ideas, or hypotheses derived from them,
can be tested. But many concepts in his theory cannot be measured or studied systematically. How,
for instance can one go about observing an id, a fixation, or it the psychic energy contained in the
libido? A theory that cannot be tested is largely useless, and this criticism does apply to many of
Freud‟s ideas.
Second, several of Freud‟s proposals are not consistent with the findings of modern research-
for instance, his ideas about the meaning of dreams. Third, in constructing his theory, Freud relied
heavily on a small number of case studies - no more than a dozen at most. Almost all of these
persons came from wealthy backgrounds and lived in a large and sophisticated city within a single
culture. Thus, they were not representative of human beings generally.
For these and other reasons, Freud‟s theory of personality is not currently accepted by most
psychologists. Yet several of his insights-especially, his ideas about levels of consciousness and
about the importance of anxiety in psychological disorders have contributed to our understanding of
human behaviour and personality. So although his theories don‟t measure up to the rigorous
standards of science required by modern psychology, there is no doubt that Freud has a profound
and lasting impact on modern thought.
Humanistic Theories: Emphasis on Growth
Psychoanalytic theories of personality take a dim view of a human nature, contending that we
must struggle constantly to control our animal impulses if we are to function as healthy, rational
adults. Is this view accurate? Many psychologists doubt it. They believe that human strivings for
growth, dignity and Self-determination are just as important, if not more important, in the
development of personality than the primitive motives Freud emphasized. Because of their more
optimistic ideas about human nature such views are known as humanistic theories. These theories
differ widely in the concepts on which they focus, but they share the following characteristics.
First, humanistic theories emphasize personal responsibility. Each of us is largely
responsible for what happens to us. Our fate is mostly in our own hands; we are not merely chips
driven here and there by dark forces within our personalities.
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 Second, while these theories don‟t deny the importance of past experience, they generally
focus on the present. True, we may be influenced by traumatic events early in life. Yet these do not
have to shape our entire adult lives, and the capacity to overcome them and to go is both real and
powerful.
Third, humanistic theories stress the importance of personal growth. People are not content
with merely meeting their current needs. They wish to progress towards “bigger” goals such as
becoming the best they can be. Only when obstacles interfere with such growth that the process gets
interrupted. A key goal of therapy, therefore, should be the removal of obstacles that prevent natural
growth processes from proceeding.
Rogers‟s Self Theory
Becoming a Fully Functioning Person
One central assumption of Rogers‟s theory was this: Left to their own device, human beings
show many positive characteristics and move, over the course of their lives, toward becoming fully
functioning persons. What are such persons like? Rogers suggested that they are people who strive
to experience life to the fullest, who live in the here and now, and who trust their own feelings. They
are sensitive to the needs and rights of others, but they do not allow society‟s standards to shape
their feelings or actions to an excessive degree. Fully functioning people aren‟t saints; they can-and
do- act in ways they later regret. But throughout life, their actions are dominated by constructive
impulses. They are in close touch with their own values and feelings and experience life more
deeply than most other persons.
If all human beings possess the capacity to become fully functioning persons, why don‟t they
all succeed? Why aren‟t we surrounded by models of health and happy adjustment? The answer,
Rogers contends, lies in the anxiety generated when life experiences are inconsistent with our ideas
about ourselves-in short, when a gap develops between our self-concept (our belief and knowledge
about ourselves) and reality or our perceptions of it. For example, imagine a young girl who is quite
independent and self-reliant, and who thinks of herself in this way. After her older sibling dies in an
accident, however, her parents begin to baby her and convey to her the message, over and over
again, that she is vulnerable and must be sheltered from the outside world. This treatment is highly
inconsistent with her self-concept. As a result, she experiences anxiety and adopts one or more
psychological defenses to reduce it. The most common of these defenses is distortion- changing our
perceptions of realty so that they are consistent with our self-concept. For example, the girl may
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come to believe that her parents aren‟t being overprotective; they are just showing normal concern
for her safety. Another defense process is denial; she may refuse to admit to herself that as a result of
being babied, she is indeed losing her independence.
In the short run, such tactics can be successful; they help reduce anxiety. Ultimately,
however, they produce sizeable gaps between an individual‟s self-concept and reality. For instance,
the girl may cling to the belief that she is independent when in fact, as a result of her parent‟s
treatment, she is becoming increasingly helpless. The larger such gaps, Rogers contends, the greater
an individual‟s maladjustment and personal unhappiness. Rogers suggested that distortions in the
self-concept are common, because most people grow up in an atmosphere of conditional positive
regard. That is, they learn that others, such as their parents, will approve of them only when they
behave in certain ways and express certain feelings. As a result, many people are forced to deny the
existence of various impulses and feelings, and their self-concepts become badly distorted.
How can such distorted self-concepts be repaired so that healthy development can continue?
Rogers suggests that therapists can help accomplish this goal by placing individuals in an
atmosphere of unconditional positive regard – a setting in which they will be accepted by the
therapist no matter what they say or do. Such conditions are provided by client-centered therapy, a
form of therapy developed by Carl Rogers.
Humanistic Theories: An Evaluation
Several of the ideas first proposed by Rogers, Maslow, and other humanistic theorists have
entered into the mainstream of psychology. But humanistic theories have also been subject to strong
criticism. Many psychologists are uncomfortable with the strong emphasis on personal responsibility
or free will. Humanistic theories propose that individuals are responsible for their own actions and
can change these if they wish to do so. To an extent, this is certainly true. Yet it conflicts with
determinism, the idea that behaviour is determined by numerous factors and can be predicted from
them. Such determinism is a basic assumption of all science, so questioning it makes many
psychologists uneasy.
Second, many key concepts of humanistic theories are loosely defined. What, precisely, is
self-actualization? A peak experience? A fully functioning person? Until such terms are clearly
defined, it is difficult to conduct systematic research on them. Despite such criticism, the impact of
humanistic theories has persisted, and does indeed constitute a lasting contribution to our
understanding of human personality.
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Assessment of personality
To know and understand people and to describe them, is a task in which every body is
interested. In our day-to-day life, we use our past experience, observation, conversation, information
from others in order to understand people and to predict what they will do in a given situation. Such
informal assessments, however, are influenced by hearsay, stereotypes, moods, needs, personal
biases etc. the formal efforts to analyze and measure personalities are termed as personality
assessment. Such assessment refers to the procedure to evaluate or differentiate people on the basis
of certain characteristics. It tries to study the typical responses or what the person most often does in
a situation. The goal of assessment is to predict behaviour with minimum error and maximum
accuracy.
The number of available personality tests runs into several hundred. For convenience, these
tests can be divided into the following three categories –
i. Self – Report Measures
ii. Projective Method
iii. Behavioural Assessment
1. Self Report Measure
One way of measuring personality involves asking individuals to respond to a self-report
inventory or questionnaire. Such measures (sometimes known as objective tests of personality)
contain questions or statements to which individuals respond in various ways. For example, a
questionnaire might ask to indicate the extent to which each of a set of statements is true or false
about themselves or the extent to which they agree or disagree with various sentences.
Answers to the questions on these objective tests are scored by means of special keys. The
score obtained by a person is then compared with those obtained by hundreds or even thousands of
other people who have taken the test previously. In this way, an individual‟s relative standing on the
trait being measured can be determined.
Some of the important self-report measures are:-
1. Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
This is very widely used personality assessment test, especially in clinical settings. It was
developed during the 1930s but underwent many revisions. The current version called Minnesota
MultiphasicPersonality Inventory, Version II, Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF), which
specifically tests for abnormal behavior and thinking patterns in personality and psychopathology.
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The current questionnaire consists of 338 statements such as “I am often very tense” or “I believe I
am being plotted against.” The person taking the test must answer “true,” “false,” or “cannot say.”
The MMPI-2-RF has 12 clinical scales, 10 validity scales, and numerous scales for specific
problems (e.g., family problems, aggression, anxiety, etc.). Clinical scales relate to various forms of
psychological disorders. The validity scales are designed to determine whether or to what extent
people are trying to fake their answers. Besides assessment of personality or psychopathology, the
MMPI-2-RF is also useful for other purposes. In addition to being a valuable tool for mental health
settings, it has also been used for vocational guidance and job screening.
2. The 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire (16 PF)
In developing the 16 PF Raymond Cattell and his associates have used factor analysis to
identify 16 factors of personality, which they assume capture the source traits or key traits of human
personality. Some consider the 16 PF the most comprehensive approach to traits assessment yet
developed.
3. The Myers – Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
Another inventory in common use is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), which is
based on the ideas of Carl Jung and looks at four personality dimensions:
i. The sensing/ intuition (S/N) dimension,
ii. the thinking/ feeling (T/F) dimension,
iii. the introversion/ extraversion (I/E) dimension, and
iv. the perceiving/ judging (P/J) dimension.
The various combinations of these dimensions result in 16 personality types. The Myers-
Briggs is often used to assess personality to help people know the kinds of careers for which
they may be best suited for.
4. The Edwards Personal Preference Schedule (EPPS)
It is based on the theory of personality presented by Henry Murray. It is used to assess the 15
key needs or motives as suggested by Henry Murray. It has a forced-choice format.
II. Projective Methods
In contrast to questionnaires and inventories, projective tests of personality adopt a very
different approach. They present individuals with ambiguous stimuli that can be interpreted in many
different ways. These ambiguous stimuli can be inkblots (as in Rorschach Ink Blot Test) or
ambiguous scenes or pictures (as in Thematic Appreception Test on TAT). Persons taking the test
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are asked to indicate what they see or to make up a story about the stimulus and so. Since the stimuli
themselves are ambiguous, it is assumed that the answers given by respondents will reflect various
aspects of their personality. In other words, different people will see different things in these stimuli
because these persons differ from one another in important ways.
Projective methods are based on the projective hypothesis derived from Freud‟s personality
theory. The basic idea is that, the way people respond to a vague or ambiguous situation is often a
projection of their underlying feelings or motives. When they give meaning to the ambiguous
stimuli, much of the meaning comes from within the person responding. Thus projective methods
are intended to provide access to unconscious impulses and motives of which the test takers
themselves may not be aware of.
Projective methods are many and varied. Some are completion techniques; in which subjects
are asked to complete a sentence or a story which is incomplete. Others are expressive techniques, in
which subjects express themselves via play, drawing, or drama.
Two of the most frequently used projective tests are –
1. The Rorschach Ink Blot Test
It was developed in the year 1912 by a Swiss psychiatrist Hermann Rorschach. He prepared
a set of 10 inkblots, 5 black and white and 5 multi coloured printed on separate cards. Subjects are
presented with the cards, one at a time, and asked questions such as “what might be this”? After
writing down as many answers as the subject give for each blot, more details are asked from the
subject. The first phase of the test is called the free-association phase; the second phase is called the
inquiry. Responses to this test can be scored in terms of location, contents, originality and
determinants of the responses.

Figure shows example of Rorschach Ink Blot Cards

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2. Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
The TAT is based on Murray‟s theory of needs and was developed in 1935 by Henry Murray and his
colleagues Morgan. It is designed to assess people‟s basic needs by having them tell stories after
seeing a picture printed on a card. The TAT includes a standard set of 30 pictures, but it is rare that
all 30 are included in any one testing. Instead, the tester selects pictures involving themes which are
of special significance to the test taker. On the basis of the stories written by the subject his/her
personality is inferred.

Fig. shows a sample of TAT Card

Other types of projective tests include the Sentence Completion test, Draw-A-Person, and
House-Tree-Person. In the Sentence Completion test, the client is given a series of sentence
beginnings, such as “I wish my mother …” or “Almost every day I feel …” and asked to finish the
sentence, whereas in the Draw-A-Person and House-Tree-Person, the client is asked to draw the
named items.
Available evidence casts doubt on the reliability and validity of projective tests and these are
considered somewhat outdated, but many psychologists and psychiatrists still use this type of
testing. One advantage is that client‟s answers on these tests are used as a starting point for digging
deeper into the client‟s conflicts, concerns, and anxieties.

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III. Behaviour Assessment
It includes several methods, each one aimed at some aspect of the individual‟s observable
behavior or to watch how behavior unfold in the real world.
Under this technique fall the following methods –
1. Problem Checklist
Such checklists ask for specific details of a person‟s difficulties in one particular problem
area. For example, a fear checklist might list objects and situations that many people avoid and ask
the person to indicate which one he or she avoids.
2. Rating Scale and Frequency Count
In a rating scale, a numerical value is assigned to specific behaviour that is listed in the scale. In
a frequency count, the assessor literally counts the frequency of certain behaviors within a specified
time limit. Educators make use of both rating scales and frequency counts to diagnose behavioral
problems such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and aspects of personality such as
social-skill level through the various grade levels.
3. Behaviour Sampling Techniques
These include direct observation of actual behaviour of a person either in real-life settings of
home, school, or workplace or in laboratory sit&uations. Such techniques are considered as
indispensable by many behaviorally oriented psychologists.
Such tests show high reliability and good validity.
Uses of Personality Testing
Personality testing is done for many reasons. A personnel psychologist may want to identify
people whose personality characteristics should make them good sales person. A clinical
psychologist often uses personality tests to evaluate psychological disorders.
Following are some of the uses of personality testing –
1. To Diagnose Personal Problems
Everyone faces one or the other type of problems in life. Personality tests such as adjustment
and problem checklist inventories are helpful to diagnose adjustment problems of people.
2. Help to provide Educational and Vocational Guidance
Information provided by personality tests helps guidance experts to assist the student to
choose courses or occupations of his/her choice.
3. Help to know emotional problems of students
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 Many personality tests such as MMPI and Rorschach Ink Blot and TAT help to understand
the unconscious conflicts or complexes of students.
4. Useful for selection
Personality tests are helpful to match the requirements of a job and the personality
characteristics of employees. These tests help to identify people whose personality characteristics
will make them successful employees.
5. Help to assess the growth and development of personality
Since facilitating the growth and development of an individual‟s personality is an important
educational objective, personality tests are useful, in particular, to assess the growth and
development of personality.

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