MPC-003 : PERSONALITY: THEORIES AND ASSESSMENT

Tutor Marked Assignment (TMA)

Course Code: MPC 003
Assignment Code: MPC 003/ASST/TMA/2019-20
Marks: 100
Note: All questions are compulsory
SECTION-A
Answer the following questions in about 1000 words. 3 x 15 = 45 Marks

1. Discuss biological and environmental factors in personality development.

Answer- ​Biological Factors:- ​By and large, the influences of biological factors on personality
structure are limited and indirect.

The biological factors include genetic, hereditary factors, physical appearance and physique
and rate of maturation.

Most of these factors have been elaborately discussed in the chapter on development in this
book. For personality development, the characteristics such as—aggressiveness, nervousness,
timidity and sociability are strongly influenced by genetic endowment.

The constitutional make-up—which is also largely determined by heredity—influences a

person’s personality characteristics and influences his personality development in an indirect
way. The children reliably classified as active, moderately active or quiet are actually the
differences attributable to hereditary endowments, although training and learning may produce
noticable modifications. Here, the environment and culture provide a decisive role.

The influence cast by the physical appearance and physique have been thoroughly discussed
on the section of physical development and needs no repetition. Only thing to be pointed out is
that any deficiency in physical appearance or physique can be compensated by other
achievements made in the individual’s life.

The rate of maturing is another important factor in causing striking variations at various ages at
which the child reaches due to chronological development. The differences in behaviour is
noticeable in the relatively mature or immature adolescents of the same age.

This difference may be due to the adolescent’s exposure to different social-psychological

environments. A late maturing boy looks younger than his age and is likely to be regarded and
treated as immature by others, while the early maturing boy is likely to be credited with being
more grown-up socially and emotionally.

But a caution has to be considered in over-emphasizing the influence of physical characters on

personality development. Because, although the rate of maturing and associated factors may
affect personality development, the relationship between physical make-up and psychological
characteristics is not very rigid and categorical. The relationship can be influenced by a vast
number of complex, interacting factors determining the individual’s personality structure.

Environmental Factors of personality development: Some environmental factors which

affect the development of personality. Four important set of factors are explained below:

Social Acceptance: This is an important factor influencing personality development. We all live
in a social group where we expect approval and appreciation of the members of the group.
When a person’s performance behaviour and role play is according to group expectations, he
gets the approval of the group members. This is an important criteria for self-evaluation by an
individual and it influences his self-concept to a large extent.

This factor influences people differently based on the importance they lay on social acceptance.
To some people social acceptance holds no value. They will not be affected by the comments of
people or by the impression people have of them. People who lay importance on group and who
are liked by the group will have a more friendly and congenial nature than those who are
rejected by the group.

The degree of impact of social acceptance on the behaviour of the person will depend on two
factors:

● The level of security a person has about his status in the group, and

● The importance he gives to social acceptance.

If a person feels secure of his status, he will act freely and not get influenced by others. Again, if
the person attaches a lot of value to social acceptance, he will always try to act more to the
approval of the members of the group. High social acceptance makes people more outgoing,
flexible, daring and active than others with moderate social popularity. But such people, due,to
their feeling of superiority are not able to build close relationships with people. They fail to exude
the warmth which is required for building a close personal relationship. The reason why these
people remain aloof is that they have a feeling of superiority.

There are people who face social rejection as well, on the contrary. These people want Social
acceptance but people reject them. The person who faces rejection develops a lot of anger and
resentment against the people who have not shown him acceptance. Such persons also
become depressed, sad and unhappy. If rejection is faced early in life, the children may become
juvenile delinquents (committing a crime before adulthood) or criminals later in life. If in early life
a child has good social experiences, as an adult he would be better able to adjust in society and
become healthy social members, otherwise they may become antisocial elements.

Social Deprivation: This factor has a huge impact on personality development. Those people
who do not get the opportunities to experience social contacts including, love and affection are
called socially deprived. Such people become socially isolated and it is highly damaging for the
very young and the old people, influencing their personality adversely. Young children are not
able to develop a healthy and normal personality. They behave in a socially unacceptable
manner and people do not have favorable opinion of them.

Educational Factors: Educational factors are very important for the development of personality.
Teachers, school, college and how the child’s experiences are with them, how he regards them,
how his attitude is towards school and college, teachers and fellow students, and towards the
importance of studies affect his personality a lot. Students enjoy their time at school if they have
a favorable outlook towards academics and enjoy warm, cordial relationships with their teachers
and peer group. This brings confidence in them and raises their self-esteem.

The opposite happens if the children do not view education as a rewarding experience. If
students are psychologically and physically ready for education, their attitude will be favorable.
The emotional climate in the institution affects the attitude of the student towards it, also
motivating him or demotivating him. The child’s general emotional reactions, his classroom
behaviour, his self-evaluation and evaluation of others, all are affected by the environment in the
school.

In addition to the above, the student-teacher relationship plays a major role in influencing the
personality of the child. The approach of the teachers towards the students, the teacher’s
principles, the disciplinary techniques they use and the teacher’s personality as well’ s how the
child views it all are major factors. The students’ academic achievement is influenced in turn,
which influences his social and self-evaluation. Having a warm and friendly relationship with
teachers helps students to become high achievers while if it is hostile, punitive and rejecting,
child will not be able to achieve much. A comfortable relationship will improve self-confidence
and self-esteem.

Family Determinants: At all stages of life, family plays a major role in influencing the personality
of individuals, both directly and indirectly. The different child-training methods that are used to
shape a child’s personality, and how the members communicate their interest, attitude and
values directly influence personality. If parents show too much strictness, children become
dependent Upon external controls and even become impulsive when they are away from
parents influence.

Children follow their parents and their personality traits become similar to their parents through
imitation. For example, nervous, anxious and serious parents also make their children nervous
and they have sudden angry outbursts. Those children who live with warm, loving, intellectual
parents become social and wholesome personalities. Such children develop feelings of affection
and goodwill for people outside the home also.
2. Explain proprium in the development of selfhood.
Answer- Gordon Allport, a US psychologist and educator, developed an original theory of
personality. He set forth that the self organises you deep inside, and accounts for such as unity
of personality and continuity of personal memories. The adult personality has something unique
about it. Allport sought to understand human behavior and believed that most human behaviour
is aligned to a deep desire to function in some way that expresses the self. This he calls
appropriate functioning. Propriate functioning can be future-oriented too.

Propriate comes from the word proprium, which is a self-concept: Doing things in keeping with
what you really are, that is propriate functioning. But the word proprium never caught on. It may
be postulated that your deep self may take in the aspects of your experience that you come to
feel are most essential (as opposed to incidental).

Functional autonomy with Allport means "perseverative functional autonomy" and consists
mainly of habits. Propriate functional autonomy is somewhat more self-directed than habits.

Allport's understanding of the deep and often hidden desire to function so as to self-express
oneself became a developmental theory. In it, the self has seven functions that tend to arise at
certain times of one's life: For example, the self-image can rise between years four and six. The
time periods Allport allots for his proprium stages are very close to the time periods of Freud's
stages of libido development. Allport thinks that as the proprium develops, we can develop
personal traits or personal dispositions, that is, concrete behaviour consistencies that can be
quite easily recognized. And according to him there are common traits or dispositions within any
particular culture. Some traits are more closely tied to the proprium (oness self) than others.

Proprium is a non-essential property common to all the members of a class and attribute. The
Proprium was a term coined by Allport which represents the positive, creative, growth-seeking,
and forward-moving quality of human nature. Through this concept he listed seven stages of
development.

● The Sense of Bodily Self, which is a sense of one’s own body, including bodily
sensations, attests to one’s existence and therefore remains a lifelong anchor for
self-awareness.

● The Sense of Self-identity, which is the second aspect of the proprium is self-identity.
This is most evident when the child, through acquiring language, recognizes himself as a
distinct and constant point of reference.

● The Sense of Self-esteem or Pride, which is an individual’s evaluation of himself and the
urge to wan to do everything for oneself and take all of the credit.
 ● The Sense of Self-extension, occurs during the third year of life, which states that even
though some things are not inside my physical body they are still very much a part of
one’s life.

● The Self-image, or how others view “me” is another aspect of self-hood that emerges
during childhood.

● The Sense of Self as a Rational-Coper occurs between the ages of six and twelve in
which the child begins to realize fully that he has the rational capacity to find solutions to
life’s problems, so that they can cope effectively with reality demands.

● Propriate Striving, which Allport believed to be the core problem for the adolescent. It is
the selection of the occupation or other life goal, the adolescent knows that their future
must follow a plan, and in this sense makes them lose. their childhood.

Sense of body develops in the first two years of life. We have one, we feel its closeness, its
warmth. It has boundaries that pain and injury, touch and movement, make us aware of. Allport
had a favorite demonstration of this aspect of self: Imagine spitting saliva into a cup — and then
drinking it down! What’s the problem? It’s the same stuff you swallow all day long! But, of
course, it has gone out from your bodily self and become, thereby, foreign to you.

Self-identity also develops in the first two years. There comes a point were we recognize
ourselves as continuing, as having a past, present, and future. We see ourselves as individual
entities, separate and different from others. We even have a name! Will you be the same person
when you wake up tomorrow? Of course — we take that continuity for granted.

Self-esteem develops between two and four years old. There also comes a time when we
recognize that we have value, to others and to ourselves. This is especially tied to a continuing
development of our competencies. This, for Allport, is what the “anal” stage is really all about!

Self-extension develops between four and six. Certain things, people, and events around us
also come to be thought of as central and warm, essential to my existence. “My” is very close to
“me!” Some people define themselves in terms of their parents, spouse, or children, their clan,
gang, community, college, or nation. Some find their identity in activities: I’m a psychologist, a
student, a bricklayer. Some find identity in a place: my house, my hometown. When my child
does something wrong, why do I feel guilty? If someone scratches my car, why do I feel like
they just punches me?

Self-image also develops between four and six. This is the “looking-glass self,” the me as others
see me. This is the impression I make on others, my “look,” my social esteem or status,
including my sexual identity. It is the beginning of what conscience, ideal self, and persona.
Rational coping is learned predominantly in the years from six till twelve. The child begins to
develop his or her abilities to deal with life’s problems rationally and effectively. This is
analogous to Erikson’s “industry.”

Propriate striving doesn’t usually begin till after twelve years old. This is my self as goals, ideal,
plans, vocations, callings, a sense of direction, a sense of purpose. The culmination of propriate
striving, according to Allport, is the ability to say that I am the proprietor of my life.

3. Discuss Horney’s social foundation of personality.

Answer-
Karen Horney was a German psychoanalyst. Having first-hand experience with depression in
her childhood, Horney dedicated her time and work into school. Horney would enter medical
school at the beginning of the twentieth century, and she would eventually develop a theory of
neurosis that is still prominent today. Horney was considered a Neo-Freudian, someone who
believed in the basic foundation of Freud's principles, but she disagreed on some parts as well.
For example, Horney rejected Freud's views on female psychology. Karen Horney made
significant contributions in the areas of humanism, self-psychology, psychoanalysis, and
feminine psychology. Her opposition to Freud's theories about women generated more interest
in the psychology of women. Horney also believed that people were able to act as their own
therapists, emphasizing the personal role each person has in their own mental health and
encouraging self-analysis and self-help.

Horney was a Neo-Freudian, and therefore she believed in many of Freud's basic concepts,
however her ideas differed from Freud's as well. She believed childhood social, not sexual as
Freud believed, experiences were crucial to the formation personality. Also, Horney countered
Freud's assumption that women had a weaker superego and that they suffered from "penis
envy."

Karen Horney believed that neurosis resulted from basic anxiety caused by interpersonal
relationships. Her theory proposes that strategies used to cope with anxiety can be overused,
causing them to take on the appearance of needs. According to Horney, basic anxiety (and
therefore neurosis) could result from a variety of things including, " . . . direct or indirect
domination, indifference, erratic behavior, lack of respect for the child's individual needs, lack of
real guidance, disparaging attitudes, too much admiration or the absence of it, lack of reliable
warmth, having to take sides in parental disagreements, too much or too little responsibility,
over-protection, isolation from other children, injustice, discrimination, unkept promises, hostile
atmosphere, and so on and so on.”
These neurotic needs can be classified into three broad categories:

1. Needs that move you towards others. These neurotic needs cause individuals to seek
affirmation and acceptance from others and are often described as needy or clingy as they seek
out approval and love.

2. Needs that move you away from others. These neurotic needs create hostility and antisocial
behavior. These individuals are often described as cold, indifferent, and detached.

3. Needs that move you against others. These neurotic needs result in hostility and a need to
control other people. These individuals are often described as difficult, dominant, and unkind.

The neurotic needs come to existence because of a person’s intensive and compulsive pursuit
of their satisfaction as the only way to resolve basic anxiety. Satisfying these needs will not help
us feel safe and secure but will aid only in desire to escape the discomfort caused by our
anxiety. We pursue gratification of these needs solely to cope with anxiety, we tend to focus on
only one need and compulsively seek its satisfaction in all situations. Aggressive personalities
find their satisfaction in having their superiority affirmed through others by excelling and
receiving recognition. Satisfaction with detached personalities comes from being self-sufficient
and obtaining an emotional distance from everyone around them. Compliant personalities seek
their satisfaction from the affection and approval they receive from the people around them.
Compliant personality people tend to achieve a goal through the manipulation of others and the
present themselves as helpless; they tend to hide their desire for control and exploitation.

SECTION-B
Answer the following questions in about 400 words. 5 x 5 = 25 Marks
4. Explain the administration and scoring of Rorschach test.
Answer- Regardless of the label, the Rorschach provides a standard set of inkblot stimuli that
are used with children, adolescents, and adults in a wide range of settings where questions of
personality and problem solving are relevant, including psychiatric, medical, criminal, or legal
settings, as well as when assessing normal personality functioning. Using the Comprehensive
System’s guidelines for standardized administration and scoring, normative reference data are
available for children, adolescents, and adults. On average it takes about an hour and a half to
administer and score the test. During administration the examiner sits next to the test taker,
presents the cards sequentially, saying, “What might this be?” and then records all responses
verbatim. On average people give about twenty-two or twenty-three responses, and a minimum
of fourteen is required. To facilitate accurate scoring, the examiner reviews each response a
second time and strives to see it through the test taker’s eyes by clarifying the content of what is
seen, where it is located in the inkblot, and the perceptual features of the ink that contribute to
the response. Each response is then coded on dimensions that include location (e.g., the whole
inkblot versus an unusual detail), developmental quality (e.g., vague versus defined object),
determinants (e.g., movement, color, shading), form quality (e.g., how typical it is to see an
object in a particular location based on an extensive table derived from more than 200,000
responses), content (e.g., human, landscape), organizational synthesis, and a series of special
coding categories, many of which indicate disruptions in logic and thought processes. The
codes are then summed across all responses to form what is known as the structural summary,
which contains about seventy ratios, percentages, and derived scores that are considered
important for interpretation. In addition to formal scores, Rorschach interpretation is also based
on behaviors expressed during the testing, patterns of scores across responses, unique or
consistent themes in the responses, and unique or idiosyncratic perceptions.

Unlike interview-based measures or self-report questionnaires, the Rorschach does not have
people describe what they are like but has them show what they are like via the sample of
behavior provided in each response. By relying on an actual sample of behavior collected under
standardized conditions rather than a self-description, the Rorschach can provide information
about personality that may reside outside of a person’s conscious awareness.

The test was criticized extensively during the 1950s and 1960s for its lack of standardized
procedures, scoring methods, and norms.

Before 1970, there were as many as five scoring systems that differed so dramatically that they
essentially represented five different versions of the test. In 1973, John Exner published a
comprehensive new scoring system that combined the strongest elements of the earlier
systems. The Exner scoring system is now the standard approach used in the administration,
scoring, and interpretation of the Rorschach test.

5. Describe Cattell’s trait approach theory of personality.

Answer- Cattel’s Trait Theory (Approach): According to Raymond Cattell, personality is a
pattern of traits and that helps to understand his personality and predict his behaviour. Traits are
permanent and build the personality of an individual.

Classification of Traits

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Surface Traits and Source Traits: Surface Traits or Central Traits are the visible qualities of
personality like kindness, honesty, helpfulness, generosity, etc. On further study, he found
certain traits that appeared from time to time which indicated some deeper, more general
underlying factors of personality, called as source traits. The basic structure of the personality of
a person is made up of the source traits. They are the unifying factors of a person’s personality
that inter-correlate the surface traits. They are a few only but they predict the behavior of the
person. All of us have the source traits in us, for example, intelligence, but not to the same
extent, some have more of it, some have less of it. According to Cattell, there are 23 source
traits in normal people, of which 16 were studied in detail, He developed a 16 Personality
Questionnaire known as 16 PF Test.

The following are the sixteen factors identified by Cattell in normal personalities:

● Reserved vs Outgoing,
● Less intelligent vs more intelligent,
● Emotional vs stable,
● Humble vs assertive,
● Sober vs happy-go-lucky,
● Expedient vs conscientious,
● Shy vs venturesome,
● Tough-minded vs tender-minded,
● Trusting vs suspicious,
● Practical vs imaginative,
● Forthright vs shrewd,
● Placid vs apprehensive,
● Conservative vs experimenting,
● Group-tied vs self-sufficiency,
● Casual vs controlled, and
● Relaxed vs tense.

Along with these, Cattell proposed seven new factors: excitability, Zeppia vs Coasthenia,
boorishness vs mature socialization, sanguine casualness, group dedication with sensed
inadequacy and social panache vs explicit expression.

By using the 16 traits we can distinguish between normal and mad people (neurotics), but all
behavior away from normal and the characteristics of psychotic people cannot be studied.

Out of the surface traits of normal and abnormal personalities, Cattell found 12 new factors to
measure psycho pathological (that require medical attention) traits:
 ● Hypocondriasis (excessive concern about one’s health),
● Zestfulness (spirited and joyful),
● Brooding Discontent (thoughtful and dissatisfied),
● Anxious depression (due to worry),
● Energy euphoria (state of happiness),
● Guilt and resentment,
● Bored depression (due to a general feeling of boredom),
● Paranoia (a state of delusion),
● Psychopathic deviation,
● Schizophrenia (a mental disorder),
● Psychesthenia (psychological disorder)
● General Psychosis.

These characteristics are in bipolar format. Combining these 12 factors with the 16 PF, he
developed a new test called Cinical Analysis Questionnaire (CAQ) On developing this, Cattel
felt that he had found important source traits of both normal and abnormal personalities.

6. Explain the main criteria to standardize measures of personality.

Answer- Assessment techniques must meet four technical criteria before they can be
considered scientifically acceptable measures of individual differences in people’s enduring
qualities. These criteria are standardisation, norms, reliability, and validity. Let us deal with each
of these and understand what these terms mean.

A key concept in the measurement of personality dimensions is that of standardisation. This

concept refers to the uniform procedures that are followed in the administration and scoring of
an assessment tool. For instance, in self-report scale, the examiner must make every effort to
ensure that subjects read and understand the printed instructions, respond to the same
questions, and stay within any stated time limits. It also involves information (in the manual)
about the conditions under which the assessment test should or should not be given, who
should or should not take the test (sample group), specific procedures for scoring the test, and
the interpretative significance of the scores.

Norms - The standardisation of a personality assessment test includes information concerning

whether a particular “raw score” ranks low, high, or average relative to other “raw scores” on the
test. Such information, called test norms, provides standards with which the scores of various
individuals who take the test later can be compared. Usually, the raw scores on a test are
converted into percentile scores, which indicate the percentage of people who score at or below
a particular score. Thus, test norms permit the comparison of individual scores to a
representative group so as to quantify the individual’s relative rank standing to others.

Reliability - Any test whether personality or intelligence or aptitude etc. should have reliability
and this should be demonstrated. Reliability means that repeated administrations of the same
test or another form of test should yield reasonably the same results or scores. Thus, reliability
refers to the consistency or stability of an assessment technique when given to the same group
of people on two different occasions.

This kind of reliability is termed as test- retest reliability (Anastasi, 1968) . To determine test-
retest reliability, the scores from the first administration are correlated with those of the second
by a simple correlation procedure. The
magnitude of the resulting correlation coefficient gives us an estimate of the test’s consistency
over time. Although there are no fixed guidelines about acceptable levels of reliability, the
reliability coefficients for most psychological tests are above +.70. The closer this statistic
approaches +1.00, the more reliable the test is. In other words, when retested, people’s scores
should match their first scores quite closely.

A second kind of reliability is determined by splitting the test into two sets (e.g., odd-numbered
items versus even- numbered items), summing people’s scores for each set, and correlating the
two sets of summed scores with each other. The correlation between these sets is termed split-
half reliability.

7. Explain basic tenets of Social Learning theory.

Answer- Social Learning Theory, theorized by Albert Bandura, posits that people learn from
one another, via observation, imitation, and modeling. The theory has often been called a bridge
between behaviorist and cognitive learning theories because it encompasses attention,
memory, and motivation.

People learn through observing others’ behavior, attitudes, and outcomes of those behaviors[1].
“Most human behavior is learned observationally through modeling: from observing others, one
forms an idea of how new behaviors are performed, and on later occasions this coded
information serves as a guide for action.” (Bandura). Social learning theory explains human
behavior in terms of continuous reciprocal interaction between cognitive, behavioral, and
environmental influences.

NECESSARY CONDITIONS FOR EFFECTIVE MODELING

Attention — various factors increase or decrease the amount of attention paid. Includes
distinctiveness, affective valence, prevalence, complexity, functional value. One’s characteristics
(e.g. sensory capacities, arousal level, perceptual set, past reinforcement) affect attention.

Retention — remembering what you paid attention to. Includes symbolic coding, mental images,
cognitive organization, symbolic rehearsal, motor rehearsal

Reproduction — reproducing the image. Including physical capabilities, and self-observation of

reproduction.
Motivation — having a good reason to imitate. Includes motives such as past (i.e. traditional
behaviorism), promised (imagined incentives) and vicarious (seeing and recalling the reinforced
model)

Bandura believed in “reciprocal determinism”, that is, the world and a person’s behavior cause
each other, while behaviorism essentially states that one’s environment causes one’s behavior,
Bandura, who was studying adolescent aggression, found this too simplistic, and so in addition
he suggested that behavior causes environment as well. Later, Bandura soon considered
personality as an interaction between three components: the environment, behavior, and one’s
psychological processes (one’s ability to entertain images in minds and language).

8. Elucidate Maslow’s humanistic approach to personality.

Answer- As a leader of humanistic psychology, Abraham Maslow approached the study of
personality by focusing on subjective experiences, free will, and the innate drive toward
self-actualization. Maslow expanded the field of humanistic psychology to include an
explanation of how human needs change throughout an individual's lifespan, and how these
needs influence the development of personality.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs ranks human needs from the most basic physical needs to the
most advanced needs of self-actualization. A person must acquire and master each level of
need before proceeding to the next need. Maslow studied the personalities of self-actualizers
and found they had many things in common; he believed self-actualizers indicate a coherent
personality syndrome and represent optimal psychological health and functioning. Maslow's
ideas have been criticized for their lack of scientific rigor, as well as their Western cultural bias.

Maslow is perhaps most well-known for his hierarchy of needs theory, in which he proposes that
human beings have certain needs in common and that these needs must be met in a certain
order. These needs range from the most basic physiological needs for survival to higher-level
self-actualization and transcendence needs. Maslow's hierarchy is most often presented visually
as a pyramid, with the largest, most fundamental physiological needs at the bottom and the
smallest, most advanced self-actualization needs at the top. Each layer of the pyramid must be
fulfilled before moving up the pyramid to higher needs, and this process is continued throughout
the lifespan.

Maslow believed that successful fulfillment of each layer of needs was vital in the development
of personality. The highest need for self-actualization represents the achievement of our fullest
potential, and those individuals who finally achieved self-actualization were said to represent
optimal psychological health and functioning. Maslow stretched the field of psychological study
to include fully-functional individuals instead of only those with psychoses, and he shed a more
positive light on personality psychology.
SECTION-C
Answer the following questions in about 50 words. 10 x 3 = 30 Marks

9. Limitations of personality inventories

Answer- The Personality Assessment Inventory is a psychological test used to identify
abnormal personality characteristics in adults age 18 and older; it's frequently used to collect
information regarding clinical diagnoses, screening and treatment of psychological conditions.
While the Personality Assessment Inventory is a relatively reliable tool for diagnosing and
treating psychological conditions in adults, it is not without limitations.

The Personality Assessment Inventory takes the form of what is commonly referred to as a
self-report test, meaning patients answer the questions themselves, based on their own
perceptions. The test relies on the patient to provide honest answers for best results. Patients
must also have a complete understanding of the questions asked in order to provide adequate
answers. All of these factors may have an impact on the results of the test.

10 Nomothetic approach Vs Idiographic approach to personality

Answer- The nomothetic approach studies a large number of people at once to collect
quantitative research. They aim to generate explanations of behaviour that can be universal and
generalised to entire populations, they argue that qualitative data doesn't provide such
generalisations.

For example, the biological approach seeks universal explanations for behaviour, and this can
lead to drug therapies that can be used for all individuals. The research into fight or flight
suggested that it was a universal response to stress. However, research by Taylor suggested
otherwise (women have a 'tend and befriend' response). This shows how universal explanations
ignore the differences that the idiographic approach focuses on.

In contrast, The idiographic approach focuses on individual insights and feelings, it collects
qualitative data in order to gain in-depth and unique details on individuals rather than the
numerical data.

For example, Freud's (1909) analysis of Little Hans ( a boy whose fear of horses stemmed from
his jealousy towards his father) consisted of 150 pages of notes. Freud spent a lot of time
collecting detailed information about Little Hans in order to understand why he behaved the way
he did.

11. Multi-dimensional tests of personality

Answer- The Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) is a personality test meant to
measure normal personality developed by Auke Tellegen in 1982. It is currently sold by the
University of Minnesota Press.

The test in its various versions has had 300, 276 and 198 true-false items. The current version
is the 276 items one. There also exists a short form with 155 items (MPQ-BF). The
questionnaire gives ratings on four broad traits, Positive Emotional Temperament, Negative
Emotional Temperament, Constraint and Absorption, as well as 11 primary trait dimensions.

PEM – Positive Emotional Temperament

High Positive Emotional Temperament = behavior and temperamental characteristics conducive
to joy, and to active and rewarding engagement with social and work environments. Low
Positive Emotional Temperament = tendencies to experience joylessness, loss of interest, and
fatigue, reflecting non-pleasurable and possibly depressive disengagement. Associated with
Well-being, Social Potency, Achievement, and Social Closeness.

NEM – Negative Emotional Temperament

High Negative Emotional Temperament = proneness to experience anxiety, anger, and related
emotional and behavioral negative engagement. Low Negative Emotional Temperament = a
somewhat phlegmatic temperament, disposing to calm, relaxation, and other non-pleasurable
states of disengagement. Most distinctively related to Stress Reaction, Alienation, and
Aggression.

CON – Constraint
High Constraint = tendencies to inhibit and restrain impulse expression, unconventional
behavior, and risk-taking. Low Constraint = inclined to act on impulse, take risks, and ignore
conventional restrictions. Cluster of traits primarily linked to Control, Harm-avoidance, and
Traditionalism.

ABS – Absorption - Represents an openness to a wide array of absorbing and self-involving

sensory and imaginative experiences. These experiences may have either an integrative ("peak
experience") or a dissociative effect, depending on the presence of other personality
characteristics measured by the MPQ.

12 Construction Technique
Answer- Test construction strategies are the various ways that items in a psychological
measure are created and decided upon. They are most often associated with personality tests,
but can also be applied to other psychological constructs such as mood or psychopathology.
There are three commonly used general strategies: Inductive, Deductive, and Empirical. Scales
created today will often incorporate elements of all three methods.
 ● Inductive
● Deductive
● Empirical

Also known as itemetric or internal consistency methods. The inductive method begins by
constructing a wide variety of items with little or no relation to an established theory or previous
measure. The group of items is then answered by a large number of participants and analyzed
using various statistical methods, such as exploratory factor analysis or principal component
analysis.

Also known as rational, intuitive, or deductive method. The deductive method begins by
developing a theory for the construct of interest. This may include the use of a previously
established theory. After this, items are created that are believed to measure each facet of the
construct of interest. After item creation, initial items are selected or eliminated based upon
which will result in the strongest internal validity for each scale.

Also known as External or Criterion Group method. Empirical test construction attempts to
create a measure that differentiates between different established groups. For example, this
may include depressed and non-depressed individuals, or individuals high or low in levels of
aggression. The goal of item creation is to find items that will be answered differently by the
groups of interest. Items are traditionally constructed without expectation for how they will be
answered by each group. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory was initially
developed using this method.

13 Strengths and weaknesses of case study

Answer- ​ Strengths of Case Studies
● Provides detailed (rich qualitative) information.
● Provides insight for further research.
● Permitting investigation of otherwise impractical (or unethical) situations.

Limitations of Case Studies

● Can’t generalize the results to the wider population.
● Researchers' own subjective feeling may influence the case study (researcher bias).
● Difficult to replicate.
● Time-consuming.

14 Extraversion and cortical arousal.

Answer- Individuals with high levels of extraversion engage more in social activities. They tend
to be more talkative, outgoing and feel more at ease in groups. Extraverts enjoy being the focus
of attention and often accumulate a larger social network of friends and associates.
Extraversion is measured on a continuum, ranging from high (extraverted) to low (introverted).

Introverts tend to be quieter, shying away from large social gatherings, and they may feel
uncomfortable engaging with strangers. Instead, they maintain smaller groups of close friends
and are more likely to enjoy contemplative exercises.

Swiss psychoanalyst Carl Jung (1875-1961) suggested that extraversion-introversion levels

depend upon the focus of an individual’s psychic energy. In extraverts, he believed that this
energy was directed outwards - towards other people - resulting in more social interactions.
Meanwhile, introverts’ psychic energy is projected inwards, leading them to indulge in
inner-focussed, less sociable, activities (Jung, 1921).

15 Five factor model

Answer- The traits that constitute the five-factor model are extraversion, neuroticism, openness
to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. Extraversion, sometimes referred to as
surgency, is indicated by assertive, energetic, and gregarious behaviours. Neuroticism is
essentially equivalent to emotional instability and can be seen in irritable and moody
behaviours. Openness to experience, sometimes referred to as intellect, indicates an
individual’s inquisitiveness, thoughtfulness, and propensity for intellectually challenging tasks.
Agreeableness is indicated in empathic, sympathetic, and kind behaviours. Finally,
conscientiousness refers to an individual’s sense of responsibility and duty as well as foresight.

The five-factor model was developed in the 1980s and ’90s largely on the basis of the lexical
hypothesis, which suggested that the fundamental traits of human personality have, over time,
become encoded in language. According to this hypothesis, the task of the personality
psychologist is to cull the essential traits of personality from the thousands of adjectives found in
language that distinguish people according to their behavioral dispositions. The lexical
hypothesis can be traced to the 1930s, and the advent of multiple-factor analysis (a statistical
method for explaining individual differences in a range of observed attributes in terms of
differences in a smaller number of unobserved, or latent, attributes) in the same decade
provided an empirical method for culling these verbal descriptions. In the second half of the 20th
century, personality psychologists in fact relied primarily on factor analysis to discover and
validate many of their trait theories. A large number of personality psychologists concluded that
the five-factor model represented the most successful outcome of these efforts.

16 Personification
Answer- Personification is a figure of speech where human qualities are given to non-living
objects.
In the arts, personification means representing a non-human thing as if it were human.
Personification gives human traits and qualities, such as emotions, desires, sensations,
gestures and speech, often by way of a metaphor.

Personification is much used in visual arts. Examples in writing are "the leaves waved in the
wind", "the ocean heaved a sigh" or "the Sun smiled at us". In easy language personification is
just giving an example of a living being for a non-living thing. "The wind shouted". Obviously the
wind cannot really shout, only people can. This is what is called personification.

17 Extinction and spontaneous recovery

Answer- Extinction and spontaneous recovery are terms associated with conditioning.
Extinction refers to the phenomenon when the association between the stimulus and the
response weakens. For example, when Pavlov in his conditioning experiments kept presenting
a conditioned stimulus to his canine subjects, but not the food, the dogs would salivate less and
less. Spontaneous recovery is the re-emergence of a previously extinguished conditioned
response without any further learning.

Spontaneous recovery is a phenomenon that involves suddenly displaying a behavior that was
thought to be extinct. This can apply to responses that have been formed through both classical
and operant conditioning. Spontaneous recovery can be defined as the reappearance of the
conditioned response after a rest period or period of lessened response. If the conditioned
stimulus and unconditioned stimulus are no longer associated, extinction will occur very rapidly
after a spontaneous recovery.

18 Defense mechanisms
Answer- Sigmund Freud (1894, 1896) noted a number of ego defenses which he refers to
throughout his written works. His daughter Anna (1936) developed these ideas and elaborated
on them, adding ten of her own. Many psychoanalysts have also added further types of ego
defenses.

Defense mechanisms are psychological strategies that are unconsciously used to protect a
person from anxiety arising from unacceptable thoughts or feelings.

Defense mechanisms operate at an unconscious level and help ward off unpleasant feelings
(i.e., anxiety) or make good things feel better for the individual.

Ego-defense mechanisms are natural and normal. When they get out of proportion (i.e., used
with frequency), neuroses develop, such as anxiety states, phobias, obsessions, or hysteria.