PERSONALITY AND ITS THEORIES ,USES OF PERSONALITY TESTS

I have made this ppt in a simple manner for the students that can be easy for them to understand. I tried to cover the various personality theories in one ppt

1. PERSONALITY Dr Sonia Kapur Assistant Professor Guru Nanak Dev University

2. PERSONALITY Personality refers to individual differences in characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving. The word personality itself stems from the Latin word persona, which refers to a theatrical mask worn by performers in order to either project different roles or disguise their identities. Personality is defined as the characteristic sets of behaviors, cognitions, and emotional patterns that evolve from biological and environmental factors. There is no generally agreed upon definition of personality, most theories focus on motivation and psychological interactions with one's environment.

3. FREUD’S PSYCHOANALYTIC THOERY OF PERSONALITY According to Sigmund Freud, human personality is complex and has more than a single component. In his famous psychoanalytic theory, Freud states that personality is composed of three elements known as the id, the ego, and the superego. These elements work together to create complex human behaviors. ID : The id, the most primitive of the three structures, is concerned with instant gratification of basic physical needs and urges. SUPEREGO : The superego is concerned with social rules and morals—similar to what many people call their ” conscience ” or their “moral compass.” It develops as a child learns what their culture considers right and wrong. Ego : In contrast to the instinctual id and the moral superego, the ego is the rational, pragmatic part of our personality. Its job is to balance the demands of the id and superego in the practical context of reality

4. ERIK ERIKSON’S THEORY OF PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Erikson maintained that personality develops in a predetermined order through eight stages of psychosocial development, from infancy to adulthood. During each stage, the person experiences a psychosocial crisis which could have a positive or negative outcome for personality development. 1. Trust vs. Mistrust Trust vs. mistrust is the first stage in Erik Erikson's theory of psychosocial development. This stage begins at birth continues to approximately 18 months of age. During this stage, the infant is uncertain about the world in which they live, and looks towards their primary caregiver for stability and consistency of care.

5. 2. Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt Autonomy versus shame and doubt is the second stage of Erik Erikson's stages of psychosocial development. This stage occurs between the ages of 18 months to approximately 3 years. According to Erikson, children at this stage are focused on developing a sense of personal control over physical skills and a sense of independence.

6. 3. Initiative vs. Guilt Initiative versus guilt is the third stage of Erik Erikson's theory of psychosocial development. During the initiative versus guilt stage, children assert themselves more frequently through directing play and other social interaction. 4. Industry vs. Inferiority Erikson's fourth psychosocial crisis, involving industry (competence) vs. Inferiority occurs during childhood between the ages of five and twelve. Children are at the stage where they will be learning to read and write, to do sums, to do things on their own. Teachers begin to take an important role in the child’s life as they teach the child specific skills 5. Identity vs. Role Confusion The fifth stage of Erik Erikson's theory of psychosocial development is identity vs. role confusion, and it occurs during adolescence, from about 12-18 years. During this stage, adolescents search for a sense of self and personal identity, through an intense exploration of personal values, beliefs, and goals.

7. 6. Intimacy vs. Isolation Intimacy versus isolation is the sixth stage of Erik Erikson's theory of psychosocial development. This stage takes place during young adulthood between the ages of approximately 18 to 40 yrs. During this stage, the major conflict centers on forming intimate, loving relationships with other people. 7. Generativity vs. Stagnation Generativity versus stagnation is the seventh of eight stages of Erik Erikson's theory of psychosocial development. This stage takes place during during middle adulthood (ages 40 to 65 yrs). We give back to society through raising our children, being productive at work, and becoming involved in community activities and organizations. 8. Ego Integrity vs. Despair Ego integrity versus despair is the eighth and final stage of Erik Erikson’s stage theory of psychosocial development. This stage begins at approximately age 65 and ends at death. It is during this time that we contemplate our accomplishments and can develop integrity if we see ourselves as leading a successful life.

8. PERSPECTIVE OF TRAIT THEORISTS Unlike many other theories of personality, such as psychoanalytic or humanistic theories, the trait approach to personality is focused on differences between individuals. The combination and interaction of various traits form a personality that is unique to each individual. Trait theorists believe personality can be understood via the approach that all people have certain traits, or characteristic ways of behaving. Do you tend to be sociable or shy? Passive or aggressive? Optimistic or pessimistic? Moody or even-tempered? Early trait theorists tried to describe all human personality traits. So basically we’ll discuss about the trait theories by Eysenck, Cattell, And Gordon Allport.

9. EYSENCK’S PERSONALITY THEORY British psychologist Hans Eysenck developed a model of personality based upon just three universal trails. Introversion/extraversion : Introversion involves directing attention to inner experiences, while extroversion relates to focusing attention outward on other people and the environment. A person high in introversion might be quiet and reserved, while an individual high in extroversion might be sociable and outgoing. Neuroticism/emotional stability : This dimension of Eysenck’s trait theory is related to moodiness versus even-temperateness. Neuroticism refers to an individual’s tendency to become upset or emotional, while stability refers to the tendency to remain emotionally constant. Psychoticism/Normality : Later, after studying individuals suffering from mental illness, Eysenck added a personality dimension he called psychoticism to his trait theory. Individuals who are high on this trait tend to have difficulty dealing with reality and may be antisocial, hostile, non-empathetic, and manipulative.

10. CATTELL’S 16 PF THEORY Trait theorist Raymond Cattell reduced the number of main personality traits from Allport’s initial list of over 4,000 down to 171. He did so primarily by eliminating uncommon traits and combining common characteristics. Next, Cattell rated a large sample of individuals for these 171 different traits. Then, using a statistical technique known as factor analysis, he identified closely related terms and eventually reduced his list to just 16 key personality traits. According to Cattell, these 16 traits are the source of all human personality. He also developed one of the most widely used personality assessments known as the "16 Personality Factor Questionnaire."

11. GORDON ALLPORT’S TRAIT THEORY Gordon Allport found that one English-language dictionary alone contained more than 4,000 words describing different personality traits. He categorized these traits into three levels: Cardinal traits : Allport suggested that cardinal traits are rare, and dominate, usually developing later in life. They tend to define a person to such an extent that their names become synonymous with their personality. Examples of this include the following descriptive terms: Machiavellian, narcissistic, Don Juan, and Christ-like. Central traits : These general characteristics form basic personality foundations. While central traits are not as dominating as cardinal traits, they describe the major characteristics you might use to describe another person. Terms such as "intelligent," "honest," "shy," and "anxious" are considered central traits. Secondary traits : Secondary traits are sometimes related to attitudes or preferences. They often appear only in certain situations or under specific circumstances. Some examples include public speaking anxiety, or impatience while waiting in line.

12. CARL ROGERS’S PERSONALITY THEORY Rogers believed that people are inherently good and creative. They become destructive only when a poor self-concept or external constraints override the valuing process. Carl Rogers believed that for a person to achieve self-actualization they must be in a state of congruence. Ideal Self vs. Real Self : Rogers further divided the self into two categories: the ideal self and the real self. The ideal self is the person that you would like to be; the real self is the person you actually are. Rogers focused on the idea that we need to achieve consistency between these two selves. High congruence leads to a greater sense of self- worth and a healthy, productive life. Conversely, when there is a great discrepancy between our ideal and actual selves i.e. incongruence, it can lead to maladjustment.

13. ABRAHAM MASLOW’S HUMANISTIC THEORY Maslow first introduced his concept of a hierarchy of needs. This hierarchy suggests that people are motivated to fulfill basic needs before moving on to other, more advanced needs. There are five different levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Maslow’s needs starting at the lowest level, known as physiological needs. Maslow's hierarchy is most often displayed as a pyramid. The lowest levels of the pyramid are made up of the most basic needs, while the most complex needs are at the top of the pyramid. As people progress up the pyramid, needs become increasingly psychological and social. Soon, the need for love, friendship, and intimacy becomes important.

14. BANDURA’S SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY In social learning theory, Albert Bandura (1977) agrees with the behaviorist learning theories of classical conditioning and operant conditioning. However, he adds two important ideas: Mediating processes occur between stimuli & responses. Behavior is learned from the environment through the process of observational learning. Observational Learning Children observe the people around them behaving in various ways. This is illustrated during the famous Bobo doll experiment (Bandura, 1961). Individuals that are observed are called models. In society, children are surrounded by many influential models, such as parents within the family, characters on children’s TV, friends within their peer group and teachers at school. These models provide examples of behavior to observe and imitate, e.g., masculine and feminine, pro and anti-social, etc. First, the child is more likely to attend to and imitate those people it perceives as similar to itself. Second, the people around the child will respond to the behavior it imitates with either reinforcement or punishment.

15. Mediational Processes SLT is often described as the ‘bridge’ between traditional learning theory (i.e., behaviorism) and the cognitive approach. This is because it focuses on how mental (cognitive) factors are involved in learning. There are four mediational processes proposed by Bandura: Attention: The individual needs to pay attention to the behavior and its consequences and form a mental representation of the behavior. For a behavior to be imitated, it has to grab our attention. Retention: How well the behavior is remembered. The behavior may be noticed but is it not always remembered which obviously prevents imitation. It is important therefore that a memory of the behavior is formed to be performed later by the observer. Reproduction: This is the ability to perform the behavior that the model has just demonstrated. We see much behavior on a daily basis that we would like to be able to imitate but that this not always possible. We are limited by our physical ability and for that reason, even if we wish to reproduce the behavior, we cannot. Motivation: The will to perform the behavior. The rewards and punishment that follow a behavior will be considered by the observer. If the perceived rewards outweigh the perceived costs (if there are any), then the behavior will be more likely to be imitated by the observer.

16. TYPE THEORY BY GIORDANO TYPE – A PERSONALITY personality seem to possess high motivation, lack patience, feel short of time and being always burdened with work. Such people find difficult to slow down and relax. They are more susceptible to problems like hypertension and coronary heart disease (CHD). TYPE – B PERSONALITY seem to be more tolerant of others and relaxed as compared to type – A. They are more reflective, experience lower level of anxiety and display a higher level of imagination and creativity

17. HOLLANDER’S PERSONALITY THEORY Hollander proposed that personality has three levels that interact to form personality. Behavior occurs from the influence of inherited traits and learned experiences. A large volume of research has been undertaken into the relationship between personality and sporting behavior.

18. INTERACTIONIST APPROACH BY BOWER This theory combines trait theory and social learning theory. It suggests that we base our behavior on inherent traits that we then adapt to the situation we are in. Behavior changes with the situation. B = F(P), where behavior is For example, a very talkative person opts for archery as his sport

19. WHAT IS A PERSONALITY TEST ? A personality test is a tool used to assess human personality. Personality testing and assessment refer to techniques designed to measure the characteristic patterns of traits that people exhibit across various situations. Personality tests can be used to help clarify a clinical diagnosis, guide therapeutic interventions, and help predict how people may respond in different situations. There are three basic types of personality tests: objective tests and projective tests and subjective tests . 1 .Objective tests involve having test-takers read questions and then rate how well the question or statement applies to them. One of the most common self-report inventories is the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). 2. Projective tests involve presenting the test-taker with a vague scene, object, or scenario and then asking them to give their interpretation of the test item. One well-known example of a projective test is the Rorschach Inkblot Test. 3. Subjective tests are those in which the individual is permitted to disclose what he knows about himself as an object of observation. They are based on what the subject himself has to say about his traits, attitudes, personal experiences, aims, needs and interests. For example, a questionnaire or an inventory.

20. USES OF PERSONALITY TESTS Personality tests are administered for a number of different purposes, including: Assessing theories Evaluating the effectiveness of therapy Diagnosing psychological problems Looking at changes in personality Screening job candidates. Other settings where personality testing may be used are in school psychology, career and occupational counseling, relationship counseling, clinical psychology, and employment testing.

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