Chapter – 2

Self and Personality

In this post we have given the detailed notes of class 12 Psychology Chapter 2 (Self and Personality) in English. These notes are useful for the students who are going to appear in class 12 board exams.

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Chapter 2: Self and Personality

Introduction

• This chapter explores the concepts of self and personality, which are essential for understanding human behaviour.  
• By studying these concepts, we gain insights into our own identity, our unique traits, and our similarities with others.  

Concept of Self

• Self refers to the totality of an individual’s conscious experiences, ideas, thoughts, and feelings about themselves.  
• It is not something we are born with but develops over time through interactions with others and our experiences.  
• Personal identity encompasses the attributes that make a person unique, such as name, qualities, capabilities, and beliefs.  
• Social identity connects a person to a social or cultural group, such as religion, caste, or region.  

Cognitive and Behaviour al Aspects of Self

• Self-concept is an individual’s perception of themselves, including their competencies and attributes.
  • It can be positive or negative and can vary across different domains (e.g., academic, social, physical).  
• Self-esteem is an individual’s overall evaluation of their worth as a person.
  • It is shaped by factors like experiences, feedback from others, and cultural norms.  
  • High self-esteem is linked to positive outcomes, while low self-esteem can lead to anxiety, depression, and antisocial behaviour.  

• Self-efficacy is an individual’s belief in their ability to succeed in specific situations or accomplish tasks.
  • It is influenced by past experiences, social modelling, and verbal persuasion.  
  • High self-efficacy fosters confidence and persistence, while low self-efficacy can lead to avoidance and self-doubt.
• Self-regulation is the ability to monitor and control one’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviour s.
  • It involves setting goals, managing impulses, and adapting to changing circumstances.
  • Techniques for self-regulation include self-instruction, self-reinforcement, and seeking social support.  

Culture and Self

• Culture plays a significant role in shaping the concept of self.  
• Western cultures often emphasize individuality, autonomy, and a clear boundary between self and others.  
• Indian culture emphasizes interconnectedness, social harmony, and a fluid boundary between self and others.  

Concept of Personality

• Personality refers to the enduring patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviour s that distinguish individuals from one another.  
• It encompasses both psychological and physical characteristics.  
• Personality is relatively stable over time and across situations, but it can also be influenced by internal and external factors.  

Major Approaches to the Study of Personality

• Type Approaches: These approaches attempt to categorize individuals into distinct personality types based on shared characteristics.
  • Sheldon’s typology: Classifies individuals based on body build and temperament (endomorphic, mesomorphic, ectomorphic).  
  • Jung’s typology: Categorizes individuals based on social orientation (introvert, extrovert).  
  • Friedman and Rosenman’s typology: Classifies individuals based on behaviour al patterns (Type A, Type B).  
• Trait Approaches: These approaches focus on identifying and measuring specific psychological traits or dimensions that differ between individuals.
  • Allport’s Trait Theory: Categorizes traits into cardinal traits (highly pervasive and dominant), central traits (general descriptors), and secondary traits (situation-specific).  
  • Cattell’s Personality Factors: Uses factor analysis to identify 16 primary or source traits that underlie personality.  
  • Eysenck’s Theory: Proposes three dimensions of personality: introversion-extraversion, neuroticism-emotional stability, and psychoticism.  
  • Five-Factor Model of Personality: Identifies five broad domains of personality: openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism.  
• Psychodynamic Approach: This approach, developed by Sigmund Freud, emphasizes the role of unconscious motives, conflicts, and early childhood experiences in shaping personality.
  • Levels of Consciousness: Distinguishes between conscious (awareness), preconscious (accessible memories), and unconscious (hidden thoughts, desires, and conflicts).  
  • Structure of Personality: Proposes three interacting components of personality:
    • Id: The primitive, instinctual component driven by the pleasure principle.  
    • Ego: The rational component that mediates between the id and the demands of reality, operating on the reality principle.  
    • Superego: The moral component that internalizes societal values and parental standards.  
  • Ego defence Mechanisms: Unconscious strategies used by the ego to reduce anxiety and protect the self from threatening impulses.
    • Repression: Blocking unacceptable thoughts or desires from conscious awareness.  
    • Projection: Attributing one’s own unacceptable thoughts or feelings to others.  
    • Denial: Refusing to acknowledge or accept reality.  
    • Reaction Formation: Transforming an unacceptable impulse into its opposite.  
    • Rationalization: Justifying unacceptable thoughts or behaviour s with logical-sounding explanations.  

• Stages of Psychosexual Development: Freud proposed that personality develops through a series of stages, each associated with a particular erogenous zone and potential conflicts:
  • • Oral Stage (0-18 months): Focus on oral gratification (sucking, biting, chewing).  
    • Anal Stage (18-36 months): Focus on control of bowel and bladder movements.  
    • Phallic Stage (3-6 years): Focus on genitals and Oedipus/Electra complex.  
    • Latency Stage (6-puberty): Sexual urges are dormant, and energy is channelled into social and intellectual pursuits.  
    • Genital Stage (puberty onward): Mature sexual interests and relationships develop.  
• Post-Freudian Approaches: These approaches build upon Freud’s theory but emphasize different aspects of personality development.
  • Carl Jung: Emphasized the collective unconscious, archetypes, and the search for wholeness.  
  • Karen Horney: Challenged Freud’s views on women and emphasized the role of social and cultural factors in personality development.  
  • Alfred Adler: Focused on the importance of social interest, striving for superiority, and overcoming feelings of inferiority.  
  • Erich Fromm: Emphasized the social and cultural influences on personality and the importance of freedom and authenticity.  
  • Erik Erikson: Proposed a psychosocial theory of development, emphasizing the search for identity throughout the lifespan.  
• Behaviour al Approach: This approach focuses on the role of learning and environmental factors in shaping personality.
  • Classical Conditioning (Pavlov): Emphasizes the association between stimuli and responses.  
  • Operant Conditioning (Skinner): Emphasizes the role of reinforcement and punishment in shaping behaviour.  
  • Social Learning Theory (Bandura): Emphasizes the role of observation, imitation, and cognitive processes in learning.  
• Cultural Approach: This approach emphasizes the influence of culture on personality development.
  • It suggests that cultural norms, values, and practices shape individual behaviour and personality traits.  
• Humanistic Approach: This approach emphasizes the inherent goodness of human beings and their capacity for personal growth and self-actualization.
  • Carl Rogers: Proposed the concept of the fully functioning person, characterized by self-acceptance, openness to experience, and congruence between the real self and the ideal self.  
  • Abraham Maslow: Proposed a hierarchy of needs, with self-actualization at the top, representing the fulfilment of one’s potential.  

Assessment of Personality

• Personality assessment involves the use of systematic measures to evaluate and understand individual differences in personality.  
• Self-report Measures: These measures rely on individuals’ responses to questionnaires or interviews.
  • Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI): A widely used clinical inventory designed to assess various personality disorders and psychopathologies.  
  • Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ): Measures three dimensions of personality: introversion-extraversion, emotional stability-instability, and psychoticism.  
  • Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16 PF): Developed by Cattell to assess 16 basic personality traits.  
• Projective Techniques: These techniques present individuals with ambiguous stimuli and allow them to project their unconscious thoughts, feelings, and motives onto the stimuli.
  • Rorschach Inkblot Test: Individuals interpret a series of inkblots, revealing their underlying personality dynamics.  
  • Thematic Apperception Test (TAT): Individuals create stories based on a series of ambiguous pictures, revealing their needs, motives, and emotions.  
  • Rosenzweig’s Picture-Frustration Study: Assesses how individuals respond to frustrating situations, revealing their patterns of aggression.

Sentence Completion Test: Individuals complete incomplete sentences, revealing their underlying thoughts and feelings.

• Draw-a-Person Test: Individuals draw a person, and the drawing is analysed for clues about their personality.
• Behavioural Analysis: This approach involves observing and recording an individual’s behaviour in various situations to understand their personality.
  • Interview: A structured or unstructured conversation to gather information about an individual’s personality.
  • Observation: Observing an individual’s behaviour in natural or controlled settings.
  • Rating Scales: Using standardized scales to rate an individual’s behaviour on specific dimensions.
  • Nomination: Asking others to rate an individual’s personality.
  • Situational Tests: Placing an individual in a controlled situation and observing their behaviour .

Key Terms

• Self: The totality of an individual’s conscious experiences, ideas, thoughts, and feelings about themselves.
• Personality: The enduring patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviour s that distinguish individuals from one another.
• Self-concept: An individual’s perception of themselves, including their competencies and attributes.
• Self-esteem: An individual’s overall evaluation of their worth as a person.
• Self-efficacy: An individual’s belief in their ability to succeed in specific situations or accomplish tasks.
• Self-regulation: The ability to monitor and control one’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviour s.
• Traits: Enduring dimensions of personality characteristics that describe individual differences.
• Id: The primitive, instinctual component of personality driven by the pleasure principle.
• Ego: The rational component of personality that mediates between the id and the demands of reality.
• Superego: The moral component of personality that internalizes societal values and parental standards.
• Defence Mechanisms: Unconscious strategies used by the ego to reduce anxiety and protect the self from threatening impulses.
• Projective Techniques: Personality assessment techniques that present individuals with ambiguous stimuli and allow them to project their unconscious thoughts, feelings, and motives onto the stimuli.

Summary

• This chapter explored the concepts of self and personality, highlighting their importance in understanding human behaviour .
• The concept of self encompasses personal and social identity, self-concept, self-esteem, self-efficacy, and self-regulation.
• Culture plays a significant role in shaping the concept of self.
• The concept of personality refers to the enduring patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviour s that distinguish individuals from one another.
• Major approaches to the study of personality include type approaches, trait approaches, the psychodynamic approach, the behaviour al approach, the cultural approach, and the humanistic approach.
• Personality assessment involves the use of self-report measures, projective techniques, and behaviour al analysis to evaluate and understand individual differences in personality.

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