CBSE Class 12 Psychology Self And Personality Assignment

Question. How do you define personality? What are the main approaches to the study of personality?
Answer. Personality refers to our characteristic ways of responding to individuals and situations. For example, a person who is socially active, assertive, talkative and fun-loving is an extrovert personality. Personality refers to unique and relatively stable qualities that characterize an individual’s behaviour across different situations over a period of time. Consistency in behaviour, thought and emotion of an individual across situations and time-periods characterizes his/her personality. For example, an honest person is more likely to remain honest irrespective of time or situation.

The main approaches to the study of personality are:
(i) Type Approaches (ii) Trait Approaches
(iii) Interactional Approach (iv) Psychodynamic Approach
(v) Post-Freudian Approaches (vi) Behavioural Approach
(vii) Cultural Approach (viii) Humanistic Approach

Question. What is meant by structured personality tests? Which are the two most widely used structured personality tests?
Answer. Self-report Measures are structured personality tests that require subjects to give verbal responses on a rating scale. The method requires the subject to objectively report her/his own feelings with respect to various items. They are scored in quantitative terms and interpreted on the basis of norms developed for the test.
Some of the self-report measures (structured personality tests) are:
(i) The Minnesota Multiphase Personality Inventory (MMPI): It contains 567 statements in which the subject has to state true or false. The test is divided into 10 subsets and diagnoses depression, hysteria, psychopathology, schizophrenia, mania, socialintroversion etc.
(ii) Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ): This test measures personality traits on three dimensions Introversion-Extraversion, Neuroticism-Emotional stability and Psychoticism-Sociability.
(iii) Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16 PF): This test was developed by Cattell. On the basis of his studies, he identified a large set of personality descriptors, which were subjected to factor analysis to identify the basic personality structure. This test provides with declarative statements and the subject responds to a specific situation by choosing from a set of given alternatives.

Question. Arihant wants to become a singer even though he belongs to a family of doctors. Though his family members claim to love him but strongly disapprove his choice of career. Using Carl Rogers’ terminology, describe the attitudes shown by Arihant’s family.
Answer. Rogers views personality development as a continuous process. It involves learning to evaluate oneself and mastering the process of self-actualisation. He recognises the role of social influences in the development of self-concept. When social conditions are positive, the self-concept and self-esteem are high. In contrast, when the conditions are negative, the self-concept and self-esteem are low. People with high self-concept and self-esteem are generally flexible and open to new experiences, so that they can continue to grow and self-actualise.
Human beings are motivated by the desire for personal growth and self-actualisation, and an innate need to grow emotionally. When these needs are curbed by society and family, in this case Arihant’s family, human beings experience psychological distress. Self-actualisation is defined as an innate or inborn force that moves the person to become more complex, balanced, and integrated, i.e. achieving the complexity and balance without being fragmented. Integrated means a sense of whole and being a complete person. Just as lack of food or water causes distress, frustration of self-actualisation also causes distress. Self-actualisation requires free emotional expression. The family and society curb emotional expression, as it is feared that a free expression of emotions can harm society by unleashing destructive forces. This curb leads to destructive behaviour and negative emotions by thwarting the process of emotional integration.

Question. What is trait approach to personality? How does it differ from type approach?
Answer. Trait approach focuses on the specific psychological attributes along which individuals tend to differ in consistent and stable ways. For example, an individual with extraversion traits are active, gregarious, impulsive and thrill-seeking.
Type approaches comprehend human personality by examining certain broad patterns in the observed behavioural characteristics of individuals. For example, Type-A personality possesses high motivation, lack patience, feel short of time, are in a great hurry and always feel burdened with work.

Question. What is the main proposition of humanistic approach to personality? What did Maslow mean by self-actualisation?
Answer. Humanistic approach to personality was proposed by Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow, emphasise personal responsibility and innovate tendencies toward personal growth. They focus on the importance of people’s subjective attitudes, feelings and beliefs especially with regard to the self. Human beings are most creative, growing, fully functioning and self-actualising people, and fulfillment is the motivating force for personality development. Psychologically healthy persons live life to the fullest.
Two assumptions by Rogers are that
- Behaviour is goal directed or worthwhile
- People choose adaptive and self-actualising behaviour
Humanistic theories emphasise personal responsibility and innovate tendencies toward personal growth. They focus on the importance of people’s subjective attitudes, feelings and beliefs especially with regard to the self. Human beings are most creative, growing, fully functioning and self-actualising people. Psychologically healthy persons live life to the fullest.
Rogers suggest that each person has a concept of ideal self, what a person would like to be. When there is a correspondence between real self and ideal self, a person is generally happy. Discrepancy between real self and ideal self results in unhappiness and dissatisfaction. People have a tendency to maximize self-concept through self actualisation. When a person has high self-concept, s/he has a high self-esteem and vice-versa. People with high self-esteem are flexible and open to new experiences. An atmosphere of unconditional positive regard must be created in order to ensure enhancement of people’s self-concept. This theory emphasizes the significance of positive aspects of life which may be supported by the following diagram.

Maslow has given a detailed account of psychologically healthy people in terms of their attainment of self-actualisation, a state in which people have reached their own fullest potential. Maslow had an optimistic and positive view of man who has the potentialities for love, joy and to do creative work. Human beings are considered free to shape their lives and to self-actualise. Self-actualisation becomes possible by analysing the motivations that govern our life. We know that biological, security, and belongingness needs (called survival needs) are commonly found among animals and human beings. Thus, an individual’s sole concern with the satisfaction of these needs reduces her/ him to the level of animals. The real journey of human life begins with the pursuit of self-esteem and self-actualisation needs. The humanistic approach emphasises the significance of positive aspects of life.

CBSE Class 12 Psychology Self And Personality Assignment Objective Type Questions 

Question. Ability to organise and monitor our own behaviour refers to _____________.
Answer. Self-regulation

Question. Learning to delay or defer the gratification of needs is called _____________.
Answer. Self-control

Question. Dream interpretation and _____________ are two important methods of eliciting intrapsychic conflicts in psychoanalysis.
Answer. Free association

Question. The conscious ego operates according to _____________ principle.
Answer. Reality

Question. Tendency to place individuals in the extreme positions is called _____________ bias.
Answer. Extreme response

Question. An _____________ is a face to face interaction between two or more persons to obtain information.
Answer. Interview 

Question. Participant observation involves becoming an active member of the setting where observation takes place. (True/False)
Answer. True

Question. You just found a wallet in a movies hall. Which aspect of your personality, according to psychoanalytic theory, would urge you to return it to the owner?
Answer. Super ego

Question. The instinctual life force that energises the id is called _____________.
Answer. Libido

Question. Adler’s theory is known as _____________.
Answer. Individual psychology

Question.  _____________ is a method in which a person provides factual information about herself/ himself. 
Answer. Self-Report

Question. Tendency of respondent to endorse items in a socially desirable manner is known as:
(a) Acquiescence
(b) Self-report
(c) Social desirability
(d) Halo effect
Answer. C

Question. A _____________ refers to the characteristics in which one individual differs from another in a relatively permanent and consistent way.
(a) Personality
(b) Trait
(c) Humanistic
(d) concept
Answer. B

Question. TAT of personality measurement is a type of
(a) Questionnaire
(b) Self-report inventory
(c) Projective test
(d) Paper-pencil test
Answer. C

Question. Dismissing anxiety provoking behaviours or thoughts from the unconscious is known as
(a) Projection
(b) Rationalisation
(c) Repression
(d) Denial
Answer. C

Question. The notion of self-efficacy is based on
(a) Behaviourist school of thought
(b) Rogers theory
(c) Skinner theory of learning
(d) Bandura’s social learning theory
Answer. Bandura’s social learning theory

CBSE Class 12 Psychology Self And Personality Assignment Very Short Answer Questions

Question. Describe any two factors from the 5-Factor Model of Personality. 
Answer. The Big Five Factors include:
- Openness to experience: Those who score high on this factor are imaginative, curious, open to new ideas, and interested in cultural pursuits. In contrast, those who score low are rigid.
- Extraversion: It characterizes people who are socially active, assertive, talkative and fun-loving. On its opposite are people who are shy.
- Agreeableness: This factor characterises people who are helpful, co-operative, friendly, caring, and nurturing. On the opposite are people who are hostile and selfcentered.
- Neuroticism: People who score high on this factor are emotionally unstable, anxious, worried, fearful, distressed, irritable and hypertensive. On the opposite side are people who are well adjusted.
- Conscientiousness: Those who score high on this factor are achievement-oriented, dependable, responsible, prudent, hardworking and self-controlled. On the opposite are people who are impulsive.

Question. What is self-control or delay of gratification?
Answer. Learning to delay or defer the gratification of needs is called self-control. For example, fasting in vrata or roza.

Question. Describe Type-A personality. 
Answer. (i) Type A personality possess high motivation, lack patience, feel short of time.
(ii) Seem to be in a hurry and feel burdened with work.
(iii) They are susceptible to problems like hyper-tension and coronary heart disease.

Question. What are defence mechanisms?
Answer. Human behaviour reflects an attempt to deal with or escape from anxiety. Freud described various defence mechanisms which people use to reduce anxiety by distorting reality.

Question. Explain the term ‘reaction formation’. 
Answer. Reaction Formation is a type of defence mechanism in which a person defends against anxiety by adopting behaviours opposite to his or her true feelings. For e.g., a person with strong sexual urges channelises his or her energy into religious activity.

Question. Define personality.
Answer. Personality refers to our characteristic ways of responding to individuals and situations. For example, a person who is socially active, assertive, talkative and fun-loving is an extrovert personality. Personality refers to unique and relatively stable qualities that characterize an individual’s behaviour across different situations over a period of time. Consistency in behaviour, thought and emotion of an individual across situations and time-periods characterizes his/her personality. For example, an honest person is more likely to remain honest irrespective of time or situation.

Question. What is self?
Answer. Self refers to the totality of an individual’s conscious experiences, ideas, thoughts and feelings with regard to himself or herself. For example, an adivasi or an Indian. A newly born child has no idea about his self. As a child grows older, the idea of self emerges and its formation begins. Parents, friends, teachers, etc., help in this. Our interaction with other people, our experiences, and the meaning we give to them, serve as the basis of our self.

Question. State two advantages of using observation as a technique. 
Answer. Advantages of Observation method:
(i) It allows behaviour to be seen and studied in its natural setting.
(ii) People from outside, or those already working in a setting, can be trained to use it.

Question. Critically evaluate the method of behaviour rating for assessing personality.
Answer. Behaviour ratings are used for assessment of personality in educational and industrial settings. In this individuals are put into certain categories in terms of their behavioural qualities. These ratings have drawbacks such as halo effect, middle category bias and extreme response bias.

Question. Describe nomination as a method of assessment.
Answer. This method is used in obtaining peer assessment. In this each person is asked to choose one or more persons of the group with whom she/he would like to work, study, play or participate in an activity. The person may be asked to specify the reason for his or her choices.

Question. What are situational stress tests?
Answer. The most commonly used test of this kind is the situational stress test. It involves a kind of role-playing in which a person performs a task with other persons who are noncooperative and interfering. Thus this test provides us with information about how a person behaves under stressful situations.

Question. What is personal identity? 
Answer. Personal identity refers to those attributes of a person that make him or her different from others. For example, I am Sanjana or I am honest.

Question. Explain the term social identity.
Answer. Social identity refers to those aspects of a person that link him or her to a social or cultural group. For example, he is a Hindu or an adivasi.

Question. Give the characteristics of extroverts.
Answer. Extroverts are sociable, outgoing, active, gregarious, impulsive, thrill-seeking, assertive,talkative, fun-loving, drawn to occupations that allow dealing directly with people and react to stress by trying to lose themselves among people and social activity.

CBSE Class 12 Psychology Self And Personality Assignment Short Answer Questions-I

Question. Is personality a dynamic organization? Explain.
Answer. Dynamic means change due to internal or external demands. Allport proposed that individuals possess a number of traits which are dynamic in nature. They determine behaviour in such a manner that an individual approaches different situations with similar plAnswer. He acknowledged that people sharing the same traits might express them in different ways, and any variation in traits would elicit a different response in the same situation.

Question. Describe Eysenck’s theory of personality.
Answer. H. J. Eysenck proposed that personality could be reduced into three dimensions:
(i) Neuroticism vs. Emotional Stability: At one end of the dimension there are people who are neurotic who are anxious, moody, touchy, restless and quickly lose control. At the other extreme lie people who are calm, even-tempered, reliable and remain under control.
(ii) Extraversion vs. Introversion: At one extreme are people who are outgoing, active,gregarious, impulsive and thrill-seeking while at the other end are people who are withdrawn, passive quiet, cautious and reserved.
(iii) Psychoticism vs. Sociability: A psychotic person is hostile, egocentric and antisocial.

Question. What are the three levels of consciousness proposed by Sigmund Freud?
Answer. Freud described the human mind in terms of three levels of consciousness:
(i) Conscious: It includes the thoughts, feelings and actions of which people are aware.
(ii) Preconscious: It includes mental activity of which people may become aware only if they attend to it closely.
(iii) Unconscious: It includes mental activity that people are unaware of.

Question. Explain the interactional approach to personality. 
Answer. The interactional approach to the study of personality holds that situational characteristics play an important role in determining our behaviour. People may behave as dependent or independent not because of their internal personality trait, but because of external rewards or threats available in a particular situation. For example, people’s behaviour in a market, courtroom or a place of worship.

Question. Discuss personality types given by Sheldon.
Answer. Sheldon proposed the following personality types:
(i) Endomorphs: They are fat, soft and round. By temperament they are relaxed and sociable.
(ii) Mesomorphs: They have strong musculature, are rectangular with a strong body build. They are energetic and courageous.
(iii) Ectomorphs: They are thin, long, fragile in body build. They are brainy, artistic and introvert.

Question. Describe the structure of personality.
Answer. According to Freud, there are three structural elements of personality:
(i) Id: It deals with immediate gratification of primitive needs, sexual desires and aggressive impulses. It is based on the pleasure principle in which people seek pleasure and try to avoid pain. For example, a boy who wants an ice-cream cone, will grab the cone and eat it.
(ii) Ego: It grows out of id, and seeks to satisfy an individual’s instinctual needs in accordance with reality. It works on the reality principle. For example, a boy who wants an icecream cone, will ask for permission to eat the cone.
(iii) Superego: The superego tells the id and ego whether gratification in a particular instance is ethical. It is the administrative division of personality. For example a boy who wants an ice-cream cone, his superego will indicate whether his behaviour is morally correct.
Obtaining the ice-cream cone will create guilt, fear or anxiety in the boy.

Unconscious is composed of these three competing forces. In some people, the id is stronger while in others it is the superego. The relative strength of the id, ego and superego determines each person’s stability. The instinctual life force that energizes the id is called libido. It works on the pleasure principle, and seeks immediate gratification.

Question. State the techniques of self-control. 
OR
Enumerate any three psychological techniques of self-control. 
Answer. The psychological techniques of self-control are:
(i) Observation of our own behaviour: This refers to changing, modifying or strengthening certain aspects of self.
(ii) Self instruction: This refers to instructing ourselves to do something and behave accordingly.
(iii) Self-reinforcement: This involves rewarding behaviours that have pleasant consequences. For, e.g., going to a movie after doing well in exams.

Question. How parents can contribute in developing self-esteem of the child?
Answer. Warm and positive parenting helps in development of high self-esteem among children as it allows them to know that they are accepted as competent and worthwhile. Children whose parents help or make decisions for them even when they do not need assistance, often suffer from low self-esteem.

Question. Describe the relationship between culture and self.
OR
Explain the views of self in different cultures. 
Answer. Many aspects of self are linked with the characteristic features of the culture in which one lives. Analysis of self in Indian cultural context shows many features that are distinct from those found in the Western cultural context. Western cultures are characterized as individualistic, with rigid boundaries between self and others, whereas Asian cultures are characterized as collectivistic with flexible boundaries between self and others.

Question. Discuss main propositions of behavioural approach to the study of personality.
Answer. Behaviourists believe in data which are definable, observable, measurable and scientifically verifiable. They focus on learning of stimulus-response connections and their reinforcement. Personality is not biologically determined and is learned through classical conditioning, operant conditioning and modelling. The principles of theories of classical conditioning (Pavlov), instrumental conditioning (Skinner) and observational learning (Bandura) have been widely used in developing personality theories. A response is the structural unit of behaviour. If a particular response is positively reinforced, then it is repeated again and again and becomes a part of habit. Personality is basically a bundle of habits. For example, initially children eat vegetables such as spinach, pumpkin and gourds because of appreciation or reinforcement from their parents, but later they develop the taste of these vegetables.

Question. Describe the cultural approach to the study of personality.
Answer. This approach attempts to understand personality in relation to the features of ecological and cultural environment. In agricultural societies, children are socialized to be obedient to elders, nurturant to youngsters and responsible to their duties. In contrast huntinggathering societies show independence, autonomy and are achievement-oriented.

Question. Explain ego defence mechanisms. Illustrate with examples, the projection as a defence mechanism. 
Answer. According to Freud, defence mechanisms are ways in which the ego unconsciously tries to cope with unacceptable Id desires or impulses. Human behaviour reflects an attempt to deal with or escape from anxiety. Freud described various defence mechanisms which people use to reduce anxiety by distorting reality. Defence mechanisms reduce anxiety temporarily. The optimum use of defence mechanisms is useful, normal and adaptive but excessive use is harmful which can even lead to distortion of reality and develop various forms of maladjustment and psychological problems.
In projection people attribute their own traits to others. For e.g., a person who has strong aggressive tendencies may see other people as acting in an excessively aggressive way towards him or her.
By means of projection an individual:
- blames others for his own shortcomings, mistakes, anxiety, guilt, misdeeds.
- blames others for his own unacceptable impulses, thoughts and desires.
For example, a student failing in an examination blames either fate for being bad or the teacher for being unfair.

Question. Explain the techniques of behavioural analysis used in personality assessment.
OR
Describe the two procedure of behavioural analysis.
Answer. The techniques of behavioural analysis used in personality assessment are:
- Interview: This involves seeking information from a person on a one-to-one basis. This can be structured or unstructured. For example, an employer selecting employees for his/her organization.
- Observation: This involves employing systematic, organized and objective procedures to record behavioural phenomenon occurring in a natural situation. This can be participant or non-participant in nature. E.g. observing mother-child interactions.
- Behaviour ratings are used for assessment of personality in educational and industrial settings. In this, individuals are put into certain categories in terms of their behavioural qualities. These ratings have drawbacks such as halo effect, middle category bias and extreme response bias.
- Nomination: This method is used in obtaining peer assessment. In this each person is asked to choose one or more persons of the group with whom s/he would like to work, study, play or participate in an activity. The person may be asked to specify the reason for his or her choices.
- Situational Tests: The most commonly used test of this kind is the situational stress test. It involves a kind of role-playing in which a person performs a task with other persons who are non-cooperative and interfering. Thus this test provides us with information about how a person behaves under stressful situations.

Question. What are behaviour ratings? Give two limitations of behaviour ratings.
OR
Explain behaviour ratings used in assessment of personality.
Answer. In behavioural ratings the subjects are asked to put individuals whom they know into categories in terms of their behavioural qualities. The categories may involve numbers or descriptive adjectives. Behaviour ratings are used for assessment of personality in educational and industrial settings. In this, individuals are put into certain categories or ratings in terms of their behavioural qualities such as strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree and strongly agree.
Limitations of behaviour ratings are:
(a) A favourable or unfavourable trait forms a basis of a rater’s overall judgment of a person. This tendency is known as halo effect.
(b) Raters have a tendency to place individuals either in the middle of the scale (called middle category bias) or in extreme positions (called extreme response bias).

Question. Describe the unconscious as described by Sigmund Freud.
Answer. According to Freud, the unconscious is a reservoir of instinctive and animal drives. It also stores all ideas and wishes that are concealed from conscious awareness because they lead to psychological conflicts. The sexual desires cannot be expressed openly and are therefore repressed. People constantly struggle to find socially acceptable ways to express these unconscious impulses or to keep those impulses away from being expressed. Unsuccessful resolution of conflicts results in abnormal behaviour. Analysis of forgetting, mispronunciations, jokes and dreams provide us with a means to approach the unconscious. The basic goal of psychoanalytic therapy is to bring the repressed unconscious material into consciousness, thereby helping people to live in a more self-aware and integrated manner.

Question. How is fixation different from regression?
Answer. Failure of a child to pass successfully through a stage leads to fixation to the stage. For example a child who does not pass successfully through the phallic stage fails to resolve the Oedipus complex and may still feel hostile toward parent of the same sex. He may consider that men are generally hostile and may want to relate to females in a dependable relationship.
Regression occurs when a person’s resolution of problems at any stage of development is less than adequate. In this situation, people display behaviours typical of a less mature stage of development.

Question. Differentiate between repression and regression.
Answer. In Repression anxiety-provoking behaviours or thoughts are totally dismissed by the unconscious. When people repress a feeling or desire, they become totally unaware of that wish or desire.
Regression occurs when a person’s resolution of problems at any stage of development is less than adequate. In this situation, people display behaviours typical of a less mature stage of development.

Question. What are the major criticisms against the psychodynamic theories?
Answer. The major criticisms of psychodynamic theories are as follows:
(i) The theories are largely based on case studies that lack a scientific basis.
(ii) They use small and atypical individuals as samples for advancing generalizations.
(iii) The concepts are not properly defined and it is difficult to submit them to scientific testing.
(iv) Freud has used males as the prototype of all human personality development. He overlooked female experiences and perspectives.

Question. Discuss the main propositions of the humanistic approach to personality.
Answer. Humanistic approach to personality was proposed by Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow, emphasise personal responsibility and innovate tendencies towards personal growth. They focus on the importance of people’s subjective attitudes, feelings and beliefs, especially with regard to the self. Human beings are most creative, growing, fully functioning and self-actualising people, fulfillment is the motivating force for personality development. Psychologically healthy persons live life to the fullest.
Two assumptions by Rogers are that
- Behaviour is goal directed or worthwhile
- People choose adaptive and self-actualising behaviour
Humanistic theories emphasise personal responsibility and innovate tendencies toward personal growth. They focus on the importance of people’s subjective attitudes, feelings and beliefs especially with regard to the self. Human beings are most creative, growing, fully functioning and self-actualising people. Psychologically healthy persons live life to the fullest.
Rogers suggest that each person has a concept of ideal self, what a person would like to be. When there is a correspondence between real self and ideal self, a person is generally happy. Discrepancy between real self and ideal self results in unhappiness and dissatisfaction. People have a tendency to maximize self-concept through selfactualisation. When a person has high self-concept, s/he has a high self-esteem and vice-versa. People with high self-esteem are flexible and open to new experiences.

An atmosphere of unconditional positive regard must be created in order to ensure enhancement of people’s self-concept. This theory emphasizes the significance of positive aspects of life which may be supported by the following diagram.

 

CBSE Class 12 Psychology Self And Personality Assignment Long Answer Questions

Question. What do projective techniques bring from the unconscious mind? Explain briefly the projective techniques with examples.
Answer. Projective techniques were developed to assess unconscious motives and feelings. These techniques are based on the assumption that a less structured or unstructured stimulus or situation will allow the individual to project his/her feelings, desires and needs on to that situation.
(i) Rorschach Inkblot test: This test consists of 10 inkblots, 5 of them are in black and white, 2 in red ink and the remaining 3 in pastel colours. The blots were prepared by dropping ink on a piece of paper and folding the paper in half. The subjects are shown the cards and are asked to tell what they see in each of the cards and where, how and what basis was a particular response made.
(ii) Thematic Apperception Test (TAT): This test consists of black and white picture cards and a blank card. Each picture card depicts one or more people in a variety of situations. The cards are presented one at a time. The subject is asked to tell a story describing the situation presented in the picture: what led up to the situation, what is happening at the moment, what will happen in the future and what the characters are feeling and thinking.
(iii) Rosenzweig’s Picture-Frustration Study (P-F Study): This test presents with the help of cartoon like pictures in which one person frustrates another or calls attention to a frustrating condition. Observation is made whether the subject protects the frustrated person or finds a constructive solution to the problem. The direction of aggression may be towards the environment, towards oneself or may be to avoid the situation.
(iv) Sentence Completion Test: This test makes use of a number of incomplete sentences.
The starting part of the sentence is first presented and the subject has to provide an ending to the sentence. These endings reflect the subject’s attitudes, motivation and conflicts.
Examples of sentence completion tests are:
(a) My father ____________.
(b) My greatest fear is _____________.
(c) I am proud of _______________.
(v) Draw-a-Person Test: In this test the subject has to draw a person on a sheet of paper and then the figure of an opposite sex. Then the subject is asked to make a story about the person as if s/he was a character in a novel or play. Some examples of interpretations are:
(a) Omission of facial features suggests that the person tries to evade a highly conflict-ridden interpersonal relationship.
(b) Graphic emphasis on the neck suggests lack of control over impulses.
(c) Disproportionately large head suggests organic brain disease and pre-occupation with headaches.

Question. What are defence mechanisms? Explain with examples.
Answer. According to Freud, defence mechanisms are ways in which the ego unconsciously tries to cope with unacceptable Id desires or impulses. Human behaviour reflects an attempt to deal with or escape from anxiety. Freud described various defence mechanisms which people use to reduce anxiety by distorting reality. Defence mechanisms reduce anxiety temporarily. The optimum use of defence mechanisms is useful, normal and adaptive but excessive use is harmful which can even lead to distortion of reality and develop various forms of maladjustment and psychological problems.The various defence mechanisms are:
(i) Repression: In this, anxiety-provoking behaviours or thoughts are totally dismissed by the unconscious. For example, when people repress a feeling or desire, they become totally unaware of that wish or desire.
(ii) Projection: In this, people attribute their own traits to others. For e.g. a person who has strong aggressive tendencies may see other people as acting in an excessively aggressive way towards him or her. By means of projection an individual:
- blames others for his own shortcomings, mistakes, anxiety, guilt, misdeeds.
- blames others for his own unacceptable impulses, thoughts and desires.
For example, a student failing in an examination blames the teacher for being unfair or the fate being bad (bad luck).
(iii) Denial: In this, a person totally refuses to accept reality. For example, someone suffering from HIV/AIDS may altogether deny his or her illness.
(iv) Reaction Formation: In this, a person defends against anxiety by adopting behaviours opposite to his or her true feelings. For example, a person with strong sexual urges channels his or her energy into religious fervour.
(v) Rationalisation: In this, a person tries to make unreasonable feelings or behaviour seem reasonable and acceptable. For example, a person eats the chocolate giving the reason that it will melt in the sun in his pocket.
(vi) Displacement: A frustrated person may show aggressive behaviour towards a weaker person. For example, members of a majority group in a society may be prejudiced against members of a minority group, and may show aggressive behaviour towards a minority group member, such as using abusive language or physically assaulting the minority group member.

Important Notes for Class 12 Psychology Chapter 2 Self And Personality

Chapter At A Glance

Personality is an individual’s unique and relatively stable patterns of behaviour, thoughts and emotions. Different people behave differently in a given situation, but the behaviour of a particular person from one situation to another generally remains stable. Such a relatively stable pattern of behaviour represents the personality of a person. The literal meaning of personality is derived from the Latin word ‘persona’, the mask used by actors in the Roman theatre for changing their facial make-up. After putting on the mask, the audience expected the person to perform a role in a particular manner. It did not mean that the person enacting the given role necessarily possessed those qualities. Different people possess different personalities. According to Freud there are three levels of consciousness namely the conscious, the preconscious and the unconscious. The three basic parts of personality are id, ego and superego which correspond roughly to desire, reason and conscience. The id is irrational and impulsive, seeking immediate gratification. The ego is realistic and logical, postponing gratification until it can be achieved in socially acceptable ways, the super-ego imposes a moral code. Freud believed that all human beings move through a series of psychosexual stages viz. oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital stages. Humanistic theories of personality suggest that human beings are constantly struggling to control the sexual and aggressive impulses of the id. Humanistic theories of personality suggest that people strive for personal development and growth. Rogers believed that many individuals fail to become fully functioning persons because distorted self-concepts interfere with personal growth. According to Maslow, self-actualisation is a stage in which an individual has reached his or her maximum potential and becomes the best human being he or she can be. Allport suggested that human beings possess a small number of central traits that account for uniqueness in individuals. According to Cattell, there are sixteen source traits that underlie differences between individuals on many specific dimensions. Research findings point to the conclusion that there are five basic dimensions of personality: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability and openness to experience. The Type A behaviour pattern involves a cluster of traits: impatience, competitiveness and hostility. People high in the Type A behaviour pattern are more likely to experience heart attacks.

1. Discuss the concept of ‘self’.

2. What is meant by ‘personal identity’ and ‘social identity’? Explain with the help of example.

3. Define the following;

(i) Self-concept

(ii) Self-esteem

(iii) Self-efficacy

(iv) Self-regulation

(v) Self-control

(vi) Personality

(vii) Libido

(viii) Fixation

(ix) Regression

(x) Archetypes

4. How does self-esteem show a strong relationship with our everyday behaviour?

5. What role does self-efficacy play in our day-to-day life?

6. What are the 3 techniques of self-control?

7. Give at least 3 differences between western and Indian concept of self.

8. What are the characteristic features of personality?

9. Differentiate between type and trait approaches of personality.

10. Enumerate and explain the various type approaches of personality.

11. Name and discuss the various trait approaches of personality.