types of case study class 12 psychology

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CBSE Class 12 Psychology Important Case Study Based Questions 2023: Read and Solve for Tomorrow's Exam

Psychology important case study questions for cbse class 12: practice important psychology case study-based questions for cbse class 12. these questions are important for the upcoming cbse class 12 psychology board exam 2023..

  CBSE Class 12 Psychology Exam 2023: Hello students! kudos to the efforts you put into tackling your 2023 board examinations. We understand that the last few weeks were tremendously tiring, both mentally and physically. Don’t worry, take a deep breath and relax as this is the final phase of your CBSE examination 2023. The class 12 Psychology exam is the last in the lane. Its paper code is 037. The exam is planned for 05th April 2023, that is, tomorrow. The exam will be for 3 hours scheduled between 10.30 AM to 01.30 PM. We believe you have already solved the sample question and previous year papers for Class 12 Psychology and must be aware of the exam pattern. If not, please refer to the links below.

• CBSE Class 12 Psychology Previous Year Question Papers: Download pdf
• CBSE Board Class 12 Psychology Sample Paper 2022-23 in PDF

CBSE Class 12 Psychology, Important Case Study-Based Questions:

Case 1: .

Read the following case study and answer the questions that follow: 

Sundar, a college-going 20-year-old male, has moved from his home town to live in a big city. He has continuous fear of insecurity and feels that enemy soldiers are following him. He gets very tense when he spots anyone in a uniform and feels that they are coming to catch him. This intense anxiety is interfering with his work and relationship, and his friends are extremely concerned as it does not make any sense to them. Sundar occasionally laughs abruptly and inappropriately and sometimes stops speaking mid-sentence, scanning off in the distance as though he sees or hears something. He expresses concern about the television and radio in the room potentially being monitored by the enemies. His beliefs are fixed and if they are challenged, his tone becomes hostile. 

Q1. Based on the symptoms being exhibited, identify the disorder. Explain the other symptoms that can be seen in this disorder.

Q2. Define delusion and inappropriate affect. Support it with the symptoms given in the above case study.

Read the case and answer the questions that follow. 

Alfred  Binet, in 1905,  was requested by the French government to devise a method by which students who experienced difficulty in school could be identified.  Binet and his colleague,  Theodore  Simon,  began developing questions that focused on areas not explicitly taught in schools those days, such as memory, and attention skills related to problem-solving.  Using these questions, Binet determined which were the ones that served as the best predictors of school success. 

Binet quickly realised that some children were able to answer more advanced questions than older children were generally able to answer and vice versa.  Based on this observation, Binet suggested the concept of mental age or a measure of intelligence based on the average abilities of children of a  certain age group.  This first intelligence test is referred to as the Binet-Simon  Scale. He insisted that intelligence is influenced by many factors, it changes over time,  and it can only be compared in children with similar backgrounds. 

Q1 . Identify the approach on which the Binet-Simon Intelligence Scale is based. Discuss its features.

Q2 . ‘Binet quickly realised that some children were able to answer more advanced questions than older children were generally able to answer and vice versa’. Why do individuals differ in intelligence? Using examples, give reasons for your answer.

Read the following case study and answer the questions that follow :

All the Indian settlers were contemptuously and without distinction dubbed “coolies” and forbidden to walk on footpaths or be out at night without permits. 

Mahatma Gandhi quickly discovered colour discrimination in South Africa and confronted the realisation that being Indian subjected him to it as well. At a particular train station, railway employees ordered him out of the carriage despite his possessing a first-class ticket. Then on the stagecoach for the next leg of his journey, the coachman, who was white, boxed his ears. A Johannesburg hotel also barred him from lodging there. Indians were commonly forbidden to own land in Natal, while ownership was more permissible for native-born people. 

In 1894, the Natal Bar Association tried to reject Gandhi on the basis of race. He was nearly lynched in 1897 upon returning from India while disembarking from a ship moored at Durban after he, his family, and 600 other Indians had been forcibly quarantined, allegedly due to medical fears that they carried plague germs. 

Q1. What is the difference between prejudice and discrimination ? On the

basis of the incidents in the above case study, identify a situation for each

which are examples of prejudice and discrimination.

Q2. What do you think could have been a source of these prejudices ? Explain

any two sources. 

Read the given case carefully and answer the questions that follow: 

Harish belonged to a family of four children, him being the eldest. Unlike any first born, he was not given the attention he should have had. His father worked as an accountant, while his mother stayed at home to look after the kids. He dropped out of school and could barely manage to get work for a little salary.

His relationship with his family played an important role in building his disposition. He felt a certain feeling of insecurity with his siblings, especially his brother Tarun, who was able to finish college because of parental support.

Due to the hopelessness Harish felt, he started engaging in drinking alcohol with his high school friends. Parental negligence caused emotional turmoil. He also had insomnia which he used as a reason for drinking every night.

Over time, Harish had to drink more to feel the effects of the alcohol. He got grouchy or shaky and had other symptoms when he was not able to drink or when he tried to quit.

In such a case, the school would be the ideal setting for early identification and intervention. In addition, his connection to school would be one of the most significant protective factors for substance abuse. His school implemented a variety of early intervention strategies which did not help him as he was irregular and soon left school. Some protective factors in school would be the ability to genuinely experience positive emotions through good communication.

(i)It has been found that certain family systems are likely to produce abnormal functioning in individual members.

In the light of the above statement, the factors underlying Harish's condition can be related to model.

(A) Humanistic

(B) Behavioural

(C) Socio-cultural 

(D) Psychodynamic

(ii) Over time, Harish needed to drink more before he could feel the effects of the alcohol. This means that he built a alcohol. towards the

(A) Withdrawal

(B) Tolerance

(C) Stress inoculation

(D) All of the above

(iii)He got grouchy or shaky and had other symptoms when he was not able to drink or when he tried to quit. This refers to

(A) Low willpower symptoms.

(B) Addiction symptoms

(C) Withdrawal symptoms

(D) Tolerance symptoms

(iv) Which of the following is not true about substance related and addictive disorders?

(A) Alcoholism unites millions of families through social interactions and get-togethers.

(B) Intoxicated drivers are responsible for many road accidents. 

(C) It also has serious effects on the children of persons with this disorder.

(D) Excessive drinking can seriously damage physical health.

Read the given case carefully and answer the questions that follow:

Monty was only 16 years when he dealt with mixed emotions for every couple of months. He shares that sometimes he felt like he was on top of the world and that nobody could stop him. He would be extremely confident. Once these feelings subsided, he would become depressed and lock himself in the room. He would neither open the door for anyone nor come out.

He shares, "My grades were dropping as I started to breathe rapidly and worry about almost everything under the sun. I felt nervous, restless and tense, with an increased heart rate. My family tried to help but I wasn't ready to accept." His father took him to the doctor, who diagnosed him. Teenage is a tough phase as teenagers face various emotional and psychological issues. How can one differentiate that from a disorder? Watch out when one is hopeless and feels helpless. Or, when one is not able to control the powerful emotions. It has to be confirmed by a medical practitioner.

During his sessions, Monty tries to clear many myths. He gives his perspective of what he experienced and the treatment challenges. "When I was going through it, I wish I had met someone with similar experiences so that I could have talked to her/him and understood why I was behaving the way I was. By talking openly, I hope to help someone to cope with it and believe that it is going to be fine one day."

Now, for the last five years Monty has been off medication and he is leading a regular life. Society is opening up to address mental health issues in a positive way, but it always helps to listen to someone who has been through it.

(i)Monty's symptoms are likely to be those of

(A) ADHD and anxiety disorder

(B) Bipolar disorder and generalised anxiety disorder 

(C) Generalised anxiety disorder and oppositional defiant disorder

(D) Schizophrenia

(ii) During his sessions, Monty tried to clear many myths. Which one of the following is a myth?

(A) Normality is the same as conformity to social norms.

(B) Adaptive behaviour is not simply maintenance and survival but also includes growth and fulfilment.

(C) People are hesitant to consult a doctor or a psychologist because they are ashamed of their problems.

(D) Genetic and biochemical factors are involved in causing mental disorders.

(iii) With an understanding of Monty's condition, which of the following is a likely symptom he may also be experiencing?

(A) Frequent washing of hands

(B) Assuming alternate personalities

(C) Persistent body related symptoms, which may or may not be related to any serious medical condition

(D) Prolonged, vague, unexplained and intense fears that are not attached to any particular object

(iv) Teenage is a tough phase as teenagers face various emotional and psychological issues. The disorder manifested in the early stage of development is classified as,

(A) Feeding and eating disorder

(B) Trauma and stressor related disorder

(C) Neurodevelopmental disorder

(D) Somatic symptom disorder

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• On what day CBSE Class 12 Psychology 2023 exam is? + As per the official schedule, the CBSE class 12 psychology exam will be conducted on 05th April 2023. It would a Wednesday.
• Is it important to solve case study questions for CBSE Class 12 Psychology exam? + Yes, as per the updates made by the CBSE Board in the past few years, the psychology paper now carries case study questions. It is of 4 marks with multiple subparts. Thus, students are advised to practice case-based questions to score fully in this section.
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Class 12 Psychology Case Study Questions

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Are you having trouble preparing for the CBSE Class 12 Psychology Case Study Questions? Are you looking for a wide range of Class 12 Psychology Case Study Questions? Then you’ve landed in the right place. Students can explore Class 12 Psychology Case Study Questions to assist them in answering a range of questions concerning the case study.

Other ed-tech sites may provide limited study material for Class 12 Psychology students, but myCBSEguide has a variety of questions that cover all aspects of Class 12 Psychology including case study questions. Class 12 Psychology questions are designed to help students understand and retain the material covered. In addition, myCBSEguide also offers practice tests and sample papers to help students prepare for Class 12 Psychology exams.

All About Class 12 Psychology Case Study

What is a case study.

A case study is a scenario in a specific professional environment that students must analyze and answer based on specific questions provided about the circumstance. In many cases, the scenario or case study includes a variety of concerns or problems that must be addressed in a professional setting.

Case Study Questions in Class 12 Psychology

Class 12 Psychology Case-Based Questions are a new feature to the exam. Class 12 Psychology Case Study Questions are easy to comprehend and will help you get good grades. You may also get free access to the most recent NCERT textbooks for Class 12 Psychology and all other subjects on myCBSEguide, which had been designed in accordance with the most recent Class 12 CBSE/NCERT Psychology curriculum and examination pattern.

Sample Case Study Questions in Class 12 Psychology

Below are some examples of Class 12 Psychology Case Study Questions. These Class 12 Psychology Case Study Questions will be extremely beneficial in preparing for the upcoming Class 12 Psychology exams. Class 12 Psychology Case Study Questions are created by qualified teachers using the most recent CBSE/NCERT syllabus and books for the current academic year. If you revise your Class 12 Psychology exams and class tests on a regular basis, you will be able to achieve higher marks.

Class 12 Psychology Case Study Question 1

Read the case given below and answer the questions by choosing the most appropriate option: This is a story of three students Ruby, Radhika and Shankar who were enrolled in an Undergraduate Psychology Program in a University. Ruby was the admission officer’s dream. She was selected for the program as she had perfect entrance test scores, outstanding grades and excellent letters of recommendation. But when it was time for Ruby to start coming up with ideas of her own, she disappointed her professors. On the other hand, Radhika did not meet the admission officer’s expectations. She had good grades but low entrance exam scores. However, her letters of recommendation described her as a creative young woman. She could design and implement research work with minimal guidance at college. Shankar ranked somewhere in between the two students. He was satisfactory on almost every traditional measure of success. But rather than falling somewhere in the middle of his class at college, Shankar proved to be an outstanding student. His strength lay in the ability to not only adapt well to the demands of his new environment but also to modify the environment to suit his needs.

Identify the theory of intelligence which best explains the intelligence of all the three students in the story:

• One Factor Theory
• Theory of Primary Mental Abilities
• Hierarchical Model of Intelligence
• Triarchic Theory of Intelligence

Identify the type of intelligence Ruby possesses.

• Componential
• Experiential

Which of the following statement is NOT TRUE about Radhika’s intelligence?

• People high on this quickly find out which information is crucial in a given situation.
• It is also called experiential intelligence.
• It involves modifying the environment to suit the needs.
• It reflects in creative performances.

Two statements are given in the question below as Assertion (A) and Reasoning (R). Read the statements and choose the appropriate option. Assertion (A):  Shankar is not high in contextual intelligence. Reason (R):  Shankar was good at adapting well to the demands of his new environment and modifying the environment to suit his needs. Options:

• Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
• Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A.
• A is true, but R is false.
• A is false, but R is true.

Out of the three students mentioned in the story, who are/is more likely to be a successful entrepreneur?

• Radhika and Shankar
• Ruby and Radhika

Identify the three components of intelligence that Ruby is high on

• Knowledge acquisition, Meta, creativity
• Knowledge acquisition, Meta, performance
• Knowledge acquisition, Meta, planning
• Planning, performance, adaptability

Class 12 Psychology Case Study Question 2

Refer to the picture given below and answer the questions by choosing the most appropriate option:

Which type of personality assessment is being depicted in the above picture?

• Projective Technique
• Psychometric Tests
• Behavioural Analysis
• Self-report Measures

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of this test?

• It reveals the unconscious mind.
• It can be conducted only on an individual basis.
• Its interpretation is objective.
• The stimuli are unstructured.

Identify the name of the test from the options given below.

• Thematic Appreciation Test
• Thematic Apperception Test
• Theatre Apperception Test
• Theatre Appreciation Test

Which of the following statements are NOT true of this test? i. In the first phase, called performance proper, the subjects are shown the cards and are asked to tell what they see in each of them. ii. The second phase is called inquiry. iii. Each picture card depicts one or more people in a variety of situations. iv. The subject is asked to tell a story describing the situation presented in the picture. ​​​​​​​ Choose the correct option:

Which of the following is NOT a drawback of this test?

• It requires sophisticated skills and specialised training
• It has problems associated with reliability of scoring
• It has problems associated with validity of interpretations
• It is an indirect measure of assessment.

Identify the stimuli that are used in such kinds of tests as given in the above picture.

• Picture cards

NOTE- The following questions are for the Visually Impaired Candidates in lieu of questions 55 to 60. Answer the questions by choosing the most appropriate option.

Nafisa feels that she is liked by her peers in class. This reflects that she ________.

• is high on self-efficacy
• is high on social self-esteem
• possesses a high IQ
• is an introvert

Discrepancy between the real self and ideal self often results in ________.

• self-actualisation
• self-regulation
• unhappiness and dissatisfaction
• intrapsychic conflicts

If an individual is fat, soft and round along with a temperament that is relaxed and sociable, then he/she is said to have the characteristics of an:

Gurmeet was given a personality test to assess how he expresses aggression in the face of a frustrating situation. Identify the test most suitable for this.

• Rosenzweig Picture Frustration test
• Eysenck Personality questionnaire
• 16 Personality Factors Test

According to Karen Horney the origin of maladjustment can be traced to ________.

•  the inferiority feelings of childhood.
• basic anxiety resulting from disturbed interpersonal relations.
• overindulgence of the child at early stages of development.
• failure to deal with intrapsychic conflicts.

An individual’s sole concern with the satisfaction of ________ needs would reduce him/her to the level of animals.

• belongingness

Class 12 Psychology Case Study Question 3

Read the case given below and answer the questions

Mental health professionals have attempted to understand psychological disorders using different approaches through the ages. Today, we have sophisticated facilities and hospitals dedicated to the treatment of the mentally ill. While studying the history of psychological disorders it is interesting to note that some practices from ancient times are still in use. Take the case of Lakshmi and her daughter, Maya. Maya exhibits abnormal behaviours and Lakshmi believes that this is because of evil spirits that have possessed her. She has been taking her daughter to a self-proclaimed healer, who uses counter-magic and prayer to cure her. Stigma and lack of awareness prevents Lakshmi from using the modern facilities and hospitals that provide quality mental health care. On the other hand, when young Rita reported seeing people and hearing voices, mental health professionals at a modern facility were able to understand her hallucinations using a convergence of three approaches. Psychologists use official manuals like the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – 5th Edition (DSM-5) and International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) to indicate presence or absence of disorders. Today there is increased compassion for people who suffer from disorders and a lot of emphasis is placed on providing community care.

• Identify the method used by the healer to cure Maya’s illness. How does this theory from ancient times explain Maya’s treatment?
• Which approach do you think would best explain Rita’s treatment? How do you think DSM – 5 and ICD -10 help mental health professionals in indicating the presence or absence of disorders?

Class 12 Psychology syllabus at a glance

Class 12 Psychology students must have a better comprehension of Class 12 Psychology New curriculum in order to have a positive impression of the exam pattern and marking scheme. By studying the CBSE Class 12 Syllabus, students will learn the unit names, chapters within each unit, and sub-topics. Let’s have a look at the Class 12 Psychology Syllabus, which contains the topics that will be covered in the CBSE test framework.

CBSE Class – 12 Psychology (Code No. 037) Syllabus

Course Structure

Benefits of Solving Class 12 Psychology Case Study Question

• You will be able to locate significant case study problems in your class quizzes and examinations because we offer the best collection of Class 12 Psychology case study questions 2. You’ll be able to go over all of the crucial and challenging themes from your CBSE Class 12 Psychology textbooks again.
• Answers to all Class 12 Psychology case study questions have been supplied.
• Class 12 Psychology Students in Class will be able to download all Psychology chapter-by-chapter assignments and worksheets in PDF format.
• Class 12 Psychology Case Study Questions will aid in the enhancement and improvement of topic understanding, resulting in higher exam scores.

myCBSEguide: The best platform for Class 12 Psychology

myCBSEguide is the best platform for Class 12 Psychology students. It offers a wide range of resources that are not only helpful for academic purposes but also for personal development. The platform provides access to a variety of online courses, mock tests, and practice materials that can help Class 12 Psychology students ace their exams. Additionally, the forum on the website is a great place to interact with other students and get insights into different aspects of the subject. Overall, myCBSEguide is an invaluable resource for anyone pursuing Class 12 Psychology.

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4 thoughts on “Class 12 Psychology Case Study Questions”

where are the answers? atleast give answers with the questions so we can know our mistakes

No answers ?.

teri behen ko naman

Dude what about the answers?

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• Exam Questions Class 12

Psychology Class 12 Exam Questions

Please refer to Psychology Class 12 Exam Questions with solutions below. These important exams solved questions have been prepared based on the latest books and syllabus issued by CBSE, NCERT, and KVS. Our team of expert teachers of Class 12 Psychology has designed these based on the latest examination guidelines and the type of questions expected to come in the examinations.

Exam Questions Class 12 Psychology

We have provided exam questions with solutions for all chapters in Standard 12 Psychology. You should learn these before the examinations as the answers have been designed to help you get better marks. You can click on the chapter-wise links below to access all problems and solutions for free. These will also help you to clear all concepts and improve your understanding of Psychology in Class 12.

Chapterwise Important Questions Class 12 Psychology

It is important for students to prepare for Class 12 Psychology exams properly and practice questions and answers which have been designed based on the latest guidelines on the type of questions to be asked in the upcoming class 12 Psychology examination. We have also provided MCQ Questions for Class 12 Psychology which will be very useful for students. This year more MCQ-based questions and Case study-based questions are expected in examinations. We have provided all the latest questions which are expected to come in exams on our website. Students in Class 12 should download these questions in Pdf and share with teachers and friends.

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Psychology Case Study Examples: A Deep Dive into Real-life Scenarios

Peeling back the layers of the human mind is no easy task, but psychology case studies can help us do just that. Through these detailed analyses, we’re able to gain a deeper understanding of human behavior, emotions, and cognitive processes. I’ve always found it fascinating how a single person’s experience can shed light on broader psychological principles.

Over the years, psychologists have conducted numerous case studies—each with their own unique insights and implications. These investigations range from Phineas Gage’s accidental lobotomy to Genie Wiley’s tragic tale of isolation. Such examples not only enlighten us about specific disorders or occurrences but also continue to shape our overall understanding of psychology .

As we delve into some noteworthy examples , I assure you’ll appreciate how varied and intricate the field of psychology truly is. Whether you’re a budding psychologist or simply an eager learner, brace yourself for an intriguing exploration into the intricacies of the human psyche.

Understanding Psychology Case Studies

Diving headfirst into the world of psychology, it’s easy to come upon a valuable tool used by psychologists and researchers alike – case studies. I’m here to shed some light on these fascinating tools.

Psychology case studies, for those unfamiliar with them, are in-depth investigations carried out to gain a profound understanding of the subject – whether it’s an individual, group or phenomenon. They’re powerful because they provide detailed insights that other research methods might miss.

Let me share a few examples to clarify this concept further:

• One notable example is Freud’s study on Little Hans. This case study explored a 5-year-old boy’s fear of horses and related it back to Freud’s theories about psychosexual stages.
• Another classic example is Genie Wiley (a pseudonym), a feral child who was subjected to severe social isolation during her early years. Her heartbreaking story provided invaluable insights into language acquisition and critical periods in development.

You see, what sets psychology case studies apart is their focus on the ‘why’ and ‘how’. While surveys or experiments might tell us ‘what’, they often don’t dig deep enough into the inner workings behind human behavior.

It’s important though not to take these psychology case studies at face value. As enlightening as they can be, we must remember that they usually focus on one specific instance or individual. Thus, generalizing findings from single-case studies should be done cautiously.

To illustrate my point using numbers: let’s say we have 1 million people suffering from condition X worldwide; if only 20 unique cases have been studied so far (which would be quite typical for rare conditions), then our understanding is based on just 0.002% of the total cases! That’s why multiple sources and types of research are vital when trying to understand complex psychological phenomena fully.

In the grand scheme of things, psychology case studies are just one piece of the puzzle – albeit an essential one. They provide rich, detailed data that can form the foundation for further research and understanding. As we delve deeper into this fascinating field, it’s crucial to appreciate all the tools at our disposal – from surveys and experiments to these insightful case studies.

Importance of Case Studies in Psychology

I’ve always been fascinated by the human mind, and if you’re here, I bet you are too. Let’s dive right into why case studies play such a pivotal role in psychology.

One of the key reasons they matter so much is because they provide detailed insights into specific psychological phenomena. Unlike other research methods that might use large samples but only offer surface-level findings, case studies allow us to study complex behaviors, disorders, and even treatments at an intimate level. They often serve as a catalyst for new theories or help refine existing ones.

To illustrate this point, let’s look at one of psychology’s most famous case studies – Phineas Gage. He was a railroad construction foreman who survived a severe brain injury when an iron rod shot through his skull during an explosion in 1848. The dramatic personality changes he experienced after his accident led to significant advancements in our understanding of the brain’s role in personality and behavior.

Moreover, it’s worth noting that some rare conditions can only be studied through individual cases due to their uncommon nature. For instance, consider Genie Wiley – a girl discovered at age 13 having spent most of her life locked away from society by her parents. Her tragic story gave psychologists valuable insights into language acquisition and critical periods for learning.

Finally yet importantly, case studies also have practical applications for clinicians and therapists. Studying real-life examples can inform treatment plans and provide guidance on how theoretical concepts might apply to actual client situations.

• Detailed insights: Case studies offer comprehensive views on specific psychological phenomena.
• Catalyst for new theories: Real-life scenarios help shape our understanding of psychology .
• Study rare conditions: Unique cases can offer invaluable lessons about uncommon disorders.
• Practical applications: Clinicians benefit from studying real-world examples.

In short (but without wrapping up), it’s clear that case studies hold immense value within psychology – they illuminate what textbooks often can’t, offering a more nuanced understanding of human behavior.

Different Types of Psychology Case Studies

Diving headfirst into the world of psychology, I can’t help but be fascinated by the myriad types of case studies that revolve around this subject. Let’s take a closer look at some of them.

Firstly, we’ve got what’s known as ‘Explanatory Case Studies’. These are often used when a researcher wants to clarify complex phenomena or concepts. For example, a psychologist might use an explanatory case study to explore the reasons behind aggressive behavior in children.

Second on our list are ‘Exploratory Case Studies’, typically utilized when new and unexplored areas of research come up. They’re like pioneers; they pave the way for future studies. In psychological terms, exploratory case studies could be conducted to investigate emerging mental health conditions or under-researched therapeutic approaches.

Next up are ‘Descriptive Case Studies’. As the name suggests, these focus on depicting comprehensive and detailed profiles about a particular individual, group, or event within its natural context. A well-known example would be Sigmund Freud’s analysis of “Anna O”, which provided unique insights into hysteria.

Then there are ‘Intrinsic Case Studies’, which delve deep into one specific case because it is intrinsically interesting or unique in some way. It’s sorta like shining a spotlight onto an exceptional phenomenon. An instance would be studying savants—individuals with extraordinary abilities despite significant mental disabilities.

Lastly, we have ‘Instrumental Case Studies’. These aren’t focused on understanding a particular case per se but use it as an instrument to understand something else altogether—a bit like using one puzzle piece to make sense of the whole picture!

So there you have it! From explanatory to instrumental, each type serves its own unique purpose and adds another intriguing layer to our understanding of human behavior and cognition.

Exploring Real-Life Psychology Case Study Examples

Let’s roll up our sleeves and delve into some real-life psychology case study examples. By digging deep, we can glean valuable insights from these studies that have significantly contributed to our understanding of human behavior and mental processes.

First off, let me share the fascinating case of Phineas Gage. This gentleman was a 19th-century railroad construction foreman who survived an accident where a large iron rod was accidentally driven through his skull, damaging his frontal lobes. Astonishingly, he could walk and talk immediately after the accident but underwent dramatic personality changes, becoming impulsive and irresponsible. This case is often referenced in discussions about brain injury and personality change.

Next on my list is Genie Wiley’s heart-wrenching story. She was a victim of severe abuse and neglect resulting in her being socially isolated until she was 13 years old. Due to this horrific experience, Genie couldn’t acquire language skills typically as other children would do during their developmental stages. Her tragic story offers invaluable insight into the critical periods for language development in children.

Then there’s ‘Little Hans’, a classic Freudian case that delves into child psychology. At just five years old, Little Hans developed an irrational fear of horses -or so it seemed- which Sigmund Freud interpreted as symbolic anxiety stemming from suppressed sexual desires towards his mother—quite an interpretation! The study gave us Freud’s Oedipus Complex theory.

Lastly, I’d like to mention Patient H.M., an individual who became amnesiac following surgery to control seizures by removing parts of his hippocampus bilaterally. His inability to form new memories post-operation shed light on how different areas of our brains contribute to memory formation.

Each one of these real-life psychology case studies gives us a unique window into understanding complex human behaviors better – whether it’s dissecting the role our brain plays in shaping personality or unraveling the mysteries of fear, language acquisition, and memory.

How to Analyze a Psychology Case Study

Diving headfirst into a psychology case study, I understand it can seem like an intimidating task. But don’t worry, I’m here to guide you through the process.

First off, it’s essential to go through the case study thoroughly. Read it multiple times if needed. Each reading will likely reveal new information or perspectives you may have missed initially. Look out for any patterns or inconsistencies in the subject’s behavior and make note of them.

Next on your agenda should be understanding the theoretical frameworks that might be applicable in this scenario. Is there a cognitive-behavioral approach at play? Or does psychoanalysis provide better insights? Comparing these theories with observed behavior and symptoms can help shed light on underlying psychological issues.

Now, let’s talk data interpretation. If your case study includes raw data like surveys or diagnostic tests results, you’ll need to analyze them carefully. Here are some steps that could help:

• Identify what each piece of data represents
• Look for correlations between different pieces of data
• Compute statistics (mean, median, mode) if necessary
• Use graphs or charts for visual representation

Keep in mind; interpreting raw data requires both statistical knowledge and intuition about human behavior.

Finally, drafting conclusions is key in analyzing a psychology case study. Based on your observations, evaluations of theoretical approaches and interpretations of any given data – what do you conclude about the subject’s mental health status? Remember not to jump to conclusions hastily but instead base them solidly on evidence from your analysis.

In all this journey of analysis remember one thing: every person is unique and so are their experiences! So while theories and previous studies guide us, they never define an individual completely.

Applying Lessons from Psychology Case Studies

Let’s dive into how we can apply the lessons learned from psychology case studies. If you’ve ever studied psychology, you’ll know that case studies offer rich insights. They shed light on human behavior, mental health issues, and therapeutic techniques. But it’s not just about understanding theory. It’s also about implementing these valuable lessons in real-world situations.

One of the most famous psychological case studies is Phineas Gage’s story. This 19th-century railroad worker survived a severe brain injury which dramatically altered his personality. From this study, we gained crucial insight into how different brain areas are responsible for various aspects of our personality and behavior.

• Lesson: Recognizing that damage to specific brain areas can result in personality changes, enabling us to better understand certain mental conditions.

Sigmund Freud’s work with a patient known as ‘Anna O.’ is another landmark psychology case study. Anna displayed what was then called hysteria – symptoms included hallucinations and disturbances in speech and physical coordination – which Freud linked back to repressed memories of traumatic events.

• Lesson: The importance of exploring an individual’s history for understanding their current psychological problems – a principle at the heart of psychoanalysis.

Then there’s Genie Wiley’s case – a girl who suffered extreme neglect resulting in impaired social and linguistic development. Researchers used her tragic circumstances as an opportunity to explore theories around language acquisition and socialization.

• Lesson: Reinforcing the critical role early childhood experiences play in shaping cognitive development.

Lastly, let’s consider the Stanford Prison Experiment led by Philip Zimbardo examining how people conform to societal roles even when they lead to immoral actions.

• Lesson: Highlighting that situational forces can drastically impact human behavior beyond personal characteristics or morality.

These examples demonstrate that psychology case studies aren’t just academic exercises isolated from daily life. Instead, they provide profound lessons that help us make sense of complex human behaviors, mental health issues, and therapeutic strategies. By understanding these studies, we’re better equipped to apply their lessons in our own lives – whether it’s navigating personal relationships, working with diverse teams at work or even self-improvement.

Challenges and Critiques of Psychological Case Studies

Delving into the world of psychological case studies, it’s not all rosy. Sure, they offer an in-depth understanding of individual behavior and mental processes. Yet, they’re not without their share of challenges and criticisms.

One common critique is the lack of generalizability. Each case study is unique to its subject. We can’t always apply what we learn from one person to everyone else. I’ve come across instances where results varied dramatically between similar subjects, highlighting the inherent unpredictability in human behavior.

Another challenge lies within ethical boundaries. Often, sensitive information surfaces during these studies that could potentially harm the subject if disclosed improperly. To put it plainly, maintaining confidentiality while delivering a comprehensive account isn’t always easy.

Distortion due to subjective interpretations also poses substantial difficulties for psychologists conducting case studies. The researcher’s own bias may color their observations and conclusions – leading to skewed outcomes or misleading findings.

Moreover, there’s an ongoing debate about the scientific validity of case studies because they rely heavily on qualitative data rather than quantitative analysis. Some argue this makes them less reliable or objective when compared with other research methods such as experiments or surveys.

To summarize:

• Lack of generalizability
• Ethical dilemmas concerning privacy
• Potential distortion through subjective interpretation
• Questions about scientific validity

While these critiques present significant challenges, they do not diminish the value that psychological case studies bring to our understanding of human behavior and mental health struggles.

Conclusion: The Impact of Case Studies in Understanding Human Behavior

Case studies play a pivotal role in shedding light on human behavior. Throughout this article, I’ve discussed numerous examples that illustrate just how powerful these studies can be. Yet it’s the impact they have on our understanding of human psychology where their true value lies.

Take for instance the iconic study of Phineas Gage. It was through his tragic accident and subsequent personality change that we began to grasp the profound influence our frontal lobes have on our behavior. Without such a case study, we might still be in the dark about this crucial aspect of our neurology.

Let’s also consider Genie, the feral child who showed us the critical importance of social interaction during early development. Her heartbreaking story underscores just how vital appropriate nurturing is for healthy mental and emotional growth.

Here are some key takeaways from these case studies:

• Our brain structure significantly influences our behavior.
• Social interaction during formative years is vital for normal psychological development.
• Studying individual cases can reveal universal truths about human nature.

What stands out though, is not merely what these case studies teach us individually but collectively. They remind us that each person constitutes a unique combination of various factors—biological, psychological, and environmental—that shape their behavior.

One cannot overstate the significance of case studies in psychology—they are more than mere stories or isolated incidents; they’re windows into the complexities and nuances of human nature itself.

In wrapping up, I’d say that while statistics give us patterns and trends to understand groups, it’s these detailed narratives offered by case studies that help us comprehend individuals’ unique experiences within those groups—making them an invaluable part of psychological research.

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Henry Gustav Molaison, known as Patient H.M., is a landmark case study in psychology. After a surgery to alleviate severe epilepsy, which removed large portions of his hippocampus , he was left with anterograde amnesia , unable to form new explicit memories , thus offering crucial insights into the role of the hippocampus in memory formation.

• Henry Gustav Molaison (often referred to as H.M.) is a famous case of anterograde and retrograde amnesia in psychology.
• H. M. underwent brain surgery to remove his hippocampus and amygdala to control his seizures. As a result of his surgery, H.M.’s seizures decreased, but he could no longer form new memories or remember the prior 11 years of his life.
• He lost his ability to form many types of new memories (anterograde amnesia), such as new facts or faces, and the surgery also caused retrograde amnesia as he was able to recall childhood events but lost the ability to recall experiences a few years before his surgery.
• The case of H.M. and his life-long participation in studies gave researchers valuable insight into how memory functions and is organized in the brain. He is considered one of the most studied medical and psychological history cases.

Who is H.M.?

Henry Gustav Molaison, or “H.M” as he is commonly referred to by psychology and neuroscience textbooks, lost his memory on an operating table in 1953.

For years before his neurosurgery, H.M. suffered from epileptic seizures believed to be caused by a bicycle accident that occurred in his childhood. The seizures started out as minor at age ten, but they developed in severity when H.M. was a teenager.

Continuing to worsen in severity throughout his young adulthood, H.M. was eventually too disabled to work. Throughout this period, treatments continued to turn out unsuccessful, and epilepsy proved a major handicap and strain on H.M.’s quality of life.

And so, at age 27, H.M. agreed to undergo a radical surgery that would involve removing a part of his brain called the hippocampus — the region believed to be the source of his epileptic seizures (Squire, 2009).

For epilepsy patients, brain resection surgery refers to removing small portions of brain tissue responsible for causing seizures. Although resection is still a surgical procedure used today to treat epilepsy, the use of lasers and detailed brain scans help ensure valuable brain regions are not impacted.

In 1953, H.M.’s neurosurgeon did not have these tools, nor was he or the rest of the scientific or medical community fully aware of the true function of the hippocampus and its specific role in memory. In one regard, the surgery was successful, as H.M. did, in fact, experience fewer seizures.

However, family and doctors soon noticed he also suffered from severe amnesia, which persisted well past when he should have recovered. In addition to struggling to remember the years leading up to his surgery, H.M. also had gaps in his memory of the 11 years prior.

Furthermore, he lacked the ability to form new memories — causing him to perpetually live an existence of moment-to-moment forgetfulness for decades to come.

In one famous quote, he famously and somberly described his state as “like waking from a dream…. every day is alone in itself” (Squire et al., 2009).

H.M. soon became a major case study of interest for psychologists and neuroscientists who studied his memory deficits and cognitive abilities to better understand the hippocampus and its function.

When H.M. died on December 2, 2008, at the age of 82, he left behind a lifelong legacy of scientific contribution.

Surgical Procedure

Neurosurgeon William Beecher Scoville performed H.M.’s surgery in Hartford, Connecticut, in August 1953 when H.M. was 27 years old.

During the procedure, Scoville removed parts of H.M.’s temporal lobe which refers to the portion of the brain that sits behind both ears and is associated with auditory and memory processing.

More specifically, the surgery involved what was called a “partial medial temporal lobe resection” (Scoville & Milner, 1957). In this resection, Scoville removed 8 cm of brain tissue from the hippocampus — a seahorse-shaped structure located deep in the temporal lobe .

Bilateral resection of the anterior temporal lobe in patient HM.

Further research conducted after this removal showed Scoville also probably destroyed the brain structures known as the “uncus” (theorized to play a role in the sense of smell and forming new memories) and the “amygdala” (theorized to play a crucial role in controlling our emotional responses such as fear and sadness).

As previously mentioned, the removal surgery partially reduced H.M.’s seizures; however, he also lost the ability to form new memories.

At the time, Scoville’s experimental procedure had previously only been performed on patients with psychosis, so H.M. was the first epileptic patient and showed no sign of mental illness. In the original case study of H.M., which is discussed in further detail below, nine of Scoville’s patients from this experimental surgery were described.

However, because these patients had disorders such as schizophrenia, their symptoms were not removed after surgery. In this regard, H.M. was the only patient with “clean” amnesia along with no other apparent mental problems.

H.M’s Amnesia

H.M.’s apparent amnesia after waking from surgery presented in multiple forms. For starters, H.M. suffered from retrograde amnesia for the 11-year period prior to his surgery.

Retrograde describes amnesia, where you can’t recall memories that were formed before the event that caused the amnesia. Important to note, current research theorizes that H.M.’s retrograde amnesia was not actually caused by the loss of his hippocampus, but rather from a combination of antiepileptic drugs and frequent seizures prior to his surgery (Shrader 2012).

In contrast, H.M.’s inability to form new memories after his operation, known as anterograde amnesia, was the result of the loss of the hippocampus.

This meant that H.M. could not learn new words, facts, or faces after his surgery, and he would even forget who he was talking to the moment he walked away.

However, H.M. could perform tasks, and he could even perform those tasks easier after practice. This important finding represented a major scientific discovery when it comes to memory and the hippocampus. The memory that H.M. was missing in his life included the recall of facts, life events, and other experiences.

This type of long-term memory is referred to as “explicit” or “ declarative ” memories and they require conscious thinking.

In contrast, H.M.’s ability to improve in tasks after practice (even if he didn’t recall that practice) showed his “implicit” or “ procedural ” memory remained intact (Scoville & Milner, 1957). This type of long-term memory is unconscious, and examples include riding a bike, brushing your teeth, or typing on a keyboard.

Most importantly, after removing his hippocampus, H.M. lost his explicit memory but not his implicit memory — establishing that implicit memory must be controlled by some other area of the brain and not the hippocampus.

After the severity of the side effects of H.M.’s operation became clear, H.M. was referred to neurosurgeon Dr. Wilder Penfield and neuropsychologist Dr. Brenda Milner of Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) for further testing.

As discussed, H.M. was not the only patient who underwent this experimental surgery, but he was the only non-psychotic patient with such a degree of memory impairment. As a result, he became a major study and interest for Milner and the rest of the scientific community.

Since Penfield and Milner had already been conducting memory experiments on other patients at the time, they quickly realized H.M.’s “dense amnesia, intact intelligence, and precise neurosurgical lesions made him a perfect experimental subject” (Shrader 2012).

Milner continued to conduct cognitive testing on H.M. for the next fifty years, primarily at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Her longitudinal case study of H.M.’s amnesia quickly became a sensation and is still one of the most widely-cited psychology studies.

In publishing her work, she protected Henry’s identity by first referring to him as the patient H.M. (Shrader 2012).

In the famous “star tracing task,” Milner tested if H.M.’s procedural memory was affected by the removal of the hippocampus during surgery.

In this task, H.M. had to trace an outline of a star, but he could only trace the star based on the mirrored reflection. H.M. then repeated this task once a day over a period of multiple days.

Over the course of these multiple days, Milner observed that H.M. performed the test faster and with fewer errors after continued practice. Although each time he performed the task, he had no memory of having participated in the task before, his performance improved immensely (Shrader 2012).

As this task showed, H.M. had lost his declarative/explicit memory, but his unconscious procedural/implicit memory remained intact. Given the damage to his hippocampus in surgery, researchers concluded from tasks such as these that the hippocampus must play a role in declarative but not procedural memory.

Therefore, procedural memory must be localized somewhere else in the brain and not in the hippocampus.

H.M’s Legacy

Milner’s and hundreds of other researchers’ work with H.M. established fundamental principles about how memory functions and is organized in the brain.

Without the contribution of H.M. in volunteering the study of his mind to science, our knowledge today regarding the separation of memory function in the brain would certainly not be as strong.

Until H.M.’s watershed surgery, it was not known that the hippocampus was essential for making memories and that if we lost this valuable part of our brain, we would be forced to live only in the moment-to-moment constraints of our short-term memory .

Once this was realized, the findings regarding H.M. were widely publicized so that this operation to remove the hippocampus would never be done again (Shrader 2012).

H.M.’s case study represents a historical time period for neuroscience in which most brain research and findings were the result of brain dissections, lesioning certain sections, and seeing how different experimental procedures impacted different patients.

Therefore, it is paramount we recognize the contribution of patients like H.M., who underwent these dangerous operations in the mid-twentieth century and then went on to allow researchers to study them for the rest of their lives.

Even after his death, H.M. donated his brain to science. Researchers then took his unique brain, froze it, and then in a 53-hour procedure, sliced it into 2,401 slices which were then individually photographed and digitized as a three-dimensional map.

Through this map, H.M.’s brain could be preserved for posterity (Wb et al., 2014). As neuroscience researcher Suzanne Corkin once said it best, “H.M. was a pleasant, engaging, docile man with a keen sense of humor, who knew he had a poor memory but accepted his fate.

There was a man behind the data. Henry often told me that he hoped that research into his condition would help others live better lives. He would have been proud to know how much his tragedy has benefitted science and medicine” (Corkin, 2014).

Corkin, S. (2014). Permanent present tense: The man with no memory and what he taught the world. Penguin Books.

Hardt, O., Einarsson, E. Ö., & Nader, K. (2010). A bridge over troubled water: Reconsolidation as a link between cognitive and neuroscientific memory research traditions. Annual Review of Psychology, 61, 141–167.

Scoville, W. B., & Milner, B. (1957). Loss of recent memory after bilateral hippocampal lesions . Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry, 20 (1), 11.

Shrader, J. (2012, January). HM, the man with no memory | Psychology Today. Retrieved from, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/trouble-in-mind/201201/hm-the-man-no-memory

Squire, L. R. (2009). The legacy of patient H. M. for neuroscience . Neuron, 61 , 6–9.

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Methodology

• What Is a Case Study? | Definition, Examples & Methods

What Is a Case Study? | Definition, Examples & Methods

Published on May 8, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on November 20, 2023.

A case study is a detailed study of a specific subject, such as a person, group, place, event, organization, or phenomenon. Case studies are commonly used in social, educational, clinical, and business research.

A case study research design usually involves qualitative methods , but quantitative methods are sometimes also used. Case studies are good for describing , comparing, evaluating and understanding different aspects of a research problem .

Table of contents

When to do a case study, step 1: select a case, step 2: build a theoretical framework, step 3: collect your data, step 4: describe and analyze the case, other interesting articles.

A case study is an appropriate research design when you want to gain concrete, contextual, in-depth knowledge about a specific real-world subject. It allows you to explore the key characteristics, meanings, and implications of the case.

Case studies are often a good choice in a thesis or dissertation . They keep your project focused and manageable when you don’t have the time or resources to do large-scale research.

You might use just one complex case study where you explore a single subject in depth, or conduct multiple case studies to compare and illuminate different aspects of your research problem.

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Once you have developed your problem statement and research questions , you should be ready to choose the specific case that you want to focus on. A good case study should have the potential to:

• Provide new or unexpected insights into the subject
• Challenge or complicate existing assumptions and theories
• Propose practical courses of action to resolve a problem
• Open up new directions for future research

TipIf your research is more practical in nature and aims to simultaneously investigate an issue as you solve it, consider conducting action research instead.

Unlike quantitative or experimental research , a strong case study does not require a random or representative sample. In fact, case studies often deliberately focus on unusual, neglected, or outlying cases which may shed new light on the research problem.

Example of an outlying case studyIn the 1960s the town of Roseto, Pennsylvania was discovered to have extremely low rates of heart disease compared to the US average. It became an important case study for understanding previously neglected causes of heart disease.

However, you can also choose a more common or representative case to exemplify a particular category, experience or phenomenon.

Example of a representative case studyIn the 1920s, two sociologists used Muncie, Indiana as a case study of a typical American city that supposedly exemplified the changing culture of the US at the time.

While case studies focus more on concrete details than general theories, they should usually have some connection with theory in the field. This way the case study is not just an isolated description, but is integrated into existing knowledge about the topic. It might aim to:

• Exemplify a theory by showing how it explains the case under investigation
• Expand on a theory by uncovering new concepts and ideas that need to be incorporated
• Challenge a theory by exploring an outlier case that doesn’t fit with established assumptions

To ensure that your analysis of the case has a solid academic grounding, you should conduct a literature review of sources related to the topic and develop a theoretical framework . This means identifying key concepts and theories to guide your analysis and interpretation.

There are many different research methods you can use to collect data on your subject. Case studies tend to focus on qualitative data using methods such as interviews , observations , and analysis of primary and secondary sources (e.g., newspaper articles, photographs, official records). Sometimes a case study will also collect quantitative data.

Example of a mixed methods case studyFor a case study of a wind farm development in a rural area, you could collect quantitative data on employment rates and business revenue, collect qualitative data on local people’s perceptions and experiences, and analyze local and national media coverage of the development.

The aim is to gain as thorough an understanding as possible of the case and its context.

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In writing up the case study, you need to bring together all the relevant aspects to give as complete a picture as possible of the subject.

How you report your findings depends on the type of research you are doing. Some case studies are structured like a standard scientific paper or thesis , with separate sections or chapters for the methods , results and discussion .

Others are written in a more narrative style, aiming to explore the case from various angles and analyze its meanings and implications (for example, by using textual analysis or discourse analysis ).

In all cases, though, make sure to give contextual details about the case, connect it back to the literature and theory, and discuss how it fits into wider patterns or debates.

If you want to know more about statistics , methodology , or research bias , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• Normal distribution
• Degrees of freedom
• Null hypothesis
• Discourse analysis
• Control groups
• Mixed methods research
• Non-probability sampling
• Quantitative research
• Ecological validity

Research bias

• Rosenthal effect
• Implicit bias
• Cognitive bias
• Selection bias
• Negativity bias
• Status quo bias

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Topics for Psychology Case Studies

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Cara Lustik is a fact-checker and copywriter.

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In one of your psychology classes, you might be asked to write a  case study  of an individual. What exactly is a case study? A case study is an in-depth psychological investigation of a single person or a group of people.

Case studies are commonly used in medicine and psychology. For example, these studies often focus on people with an illness (for example, one that is rare) or people with experiences that cannot be replicated in a lab.

Here are some ideas and inspiration to help you come up with a fascinating psychological case study.

What Should Your Case Study Be About?

Your instructor will give you directions and guidelines for your case study project. Make sure you have their permission to go ahead with your subject before you get started.

The format of your case study may vary depending on the class requirements and your instructor's expectations. Most psychological case studies include a detailed background of the person, a description of the problem the person is facing, a diagnosis, and a description of an intervention using one or more therapeutic approaches.

The first step in writing a case study is to select a subject. You might be allowed to conduct a case study on a volunteer or someone you know in real life, such as a friend or family member.

However, your instructor may prefer that you select a less personal subject, such as an individual from history, a famous literary figure, or even a fictional character.

Psychology Case Study Ideas

Want to find an interesting subject for your case study? Here are just a few ideas that might inspire you.

A Pioneering Psychologist

Famous or exceptional people can make great case study topics. There are plenty of fascinating figures in the history of psychology who would be interesting subjects for a case study.

Here are some of the most well-known thinkers in psychology whose interesting lives could make a great case study:

• Sigmund Freud
• Harry Harlow
• Mary Ainsworth
• Erik Erikson
• Ivan Pavlov
• Jean Piaget
• Abraham Maslow
• William James
• B. F. Skinner

Examining these individuals’ upbringings, experiences, and lives can provide insight into how they developed their theories and approached the study of psychology.

A Famous Patient in Psychology

The best-known people in psychology aren’t always professionals. The people that psychologists have worked with are among some of the most fascinating people in the history of psychology.

Here are a few examples of famous psychology patients who would make great case studies:

• Anna O.  (Bertha Pappenheim)
• Phineas Gage
• Genie (Susan Wiley)
• Kitty Genovese
• Little Albert
• David Reimer
• Chris Costner Sizemore (Eve White/Eve Black)
• Dora (Ida Bauer)
• Patient H.M. (Henry Molaison)

By taking a closer look at the lives of these psychology patients, you can gain greater insight into their experiences. You’ll also get to see how diagnosis and treatment were different in the past compared to today.

A Historical Figure

Historical figures—famous and infamous—can be excellent subjects for case studies. Here are just a few influential people from history that you might consider doing a case study on:

• Eleanor Roosevelt
• George Washington
• Abraham Lincoln
• Elizabeth I
• Margaret Thatcher
• Walt Disney
• Benjamin Franklin
• Charles Darwin
• Howard Hughes
• Catherine the Great
• Pablo Picasso
• Vincent van Gogh
• Edvard Munch
• Marilyn Monroe
• Andy Warhol
• Salvador Dali

You’ll need to do a lot of reading and research on your chosen subject's life to figure out why they became influential forces in history. When thinking about their psychology, you’ll also want to consider what life was like in the times that they lived.

A Fictional Character or a Literary Figure

Your instructor might allow you to take a more fun approach to a case study by doing a deep dive into the psychology of a fictional character.

Here are a few examples of fictional characters who could make great case studies:

• Macbeth/Lady Macbeth
• Romeo/Juliet
• Sherlock Holmes
• Norman Bates
• Elizabeth Bennet/Fitzwilliam Darcy
• Katniss Everdeen
• Harry Potter/Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley/Severus Snape
• Batman/The Joker
• Atticus Finch
• Mrs. Dalloway
• Dexter Morgan
• Hannibal Lecter/Clarice Starling
• Fox Mulder/Dana Scully
• Forrest Gump
• Patrick Bateman
• Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader
• Ellen Ripley
• Michael Corleone
• Randle McMurphy/Nurse Ratched
• Miss Havisham

The people who bring characters to life on the page can also be fascinating. Here are some literary figures who could be interesting case studies:

• Shakespeare
• Virginia Woolf
• Jane Austen
• Stephen King
• Emily Dickinson
• Sylvia Plath
• JRR Tolkien
• Louisa May Alcott
• Edgar Allan Poe
• Charles Dickens
• Ernest Hemingway
• F. Scott Fitzgerald
• George Orwell
• Maya Angelou
• Kurt Vonnegut
• Agatha Christie
• Toni Morrison
• Daphne du Maurier
• Franz Kafka
• Herman Melville

Can I Write About Someone I Know?

Your instructor may allow you to write your case study on a person that you know. However, you might need to get special permission from your school's Institutional Review Board to do a psychological case study on a real person.

You might not be able to use the person’s real name, though. Even if it’s not required, you may want to use a pseudonym for them to make sure that their identity and privacy are protected.

To do a case study on a real person you know, you’ll need to interview them and possibly talk to other people who know them well, like friends and family.

If you choose to do a case study on a real person, make sure that you fully understand the ethics and best practices, especially informed consent. Work closely with your instructor throughout your project to ensure that you’re following all the rules and handling the project professionally.

APA. Guidelines for submitting case reports .

American Psychological Association.  Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct, including 2010 and 2016 amendments .

Rolls, G. (2019). Classic Case Studies in Psychology: Fourth Edition . United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis.

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

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• Class 12th /

Self and Personality Class 12 Notes

• Updated on  
• Nov 25, 2023

Have you ever wondered why are some people calm in tough situations while some are jittery? What makes our thought processes and way of thinking different from others? The answer is simple; we are all different human beings and have our own personalities. However, there are some things in common but always a kind of uniqueness in every human. Chapter – 2 of Psychology in CBSE unravels behaviourism, personality assessment, and more. Read this blog on Self and Personality Class 12 Notes.

This Blog Includes:

Self and personality, concept of self, cognitive and behavioral aspects of self, concept of personality, important terms related to personality, trait  approach, allport’s trait theory, eysenck’s factor theory, cattell: personality factors, five-factor model of personality, sheldon’s body type theory, carl jung theory, type theory, psychodynamic approach, key takeaways from the psychodynamic approach, structure of personality, ego defense mechanism, stages of psychosexual development, demerits of the psychodynamic approach, carl jung: aims and aspirations, alfred adler: lifestyle and social interest, erich fromm: the human concerns, behavioural approach, humanistic approach, cultural approach, personality assessment, limitations of self-report measures, projective techniques, limitations of projective techniques, self and personality class 12 ncert pdf, self and personality class 12 notes ppt.

Self and personality refer to the characteristic ways in which human beings define themselves. Self and personality class 12 notes will help us to study and understand the behaviourism of ourselves and others. 

Also Read: Best Countries to Study Psychology

• Self refers to the totality of an individual’s conscious experiences, ideas, thoughts, and feelings with regard to herself or himself
• Personal Identity refers to the attributes that make us different from others. For example, I am hardworking, I am Kartikeya
• Social Identity refers to those aspects that link us to a social or cultural unit. For Example, I am a Hindu
• Self as a subject does something. For Example, I am a psychologist
• Self as an object gets observed and comes to be known. For example, I am impacted by his speech
• It can further be classified into two categories –  Personal and Social Self
• The personal Self is primarily concerned with oneself and emphasis is laid on aspects like personal freedom, personal responsibility, etc
• The social self emerges in relation to others and the focus is laid on aspects like cooperation, unity, affiliation, etc

• Self -Concept is defined as the way we perceive ourselves and the ideas we hold about our competencies and abilities
• Self-esteem is defined as the value judgment about our own worth and value. High self-esteem helps in performing well and low self-esteem leads to depression and anxiety. Positive Parenting is a prerequisite for instilling high self-esteem in children
• Self-efficacy is defined as the belief that we hold about ourselves with respect to controlling and influencing our life outcomes. A strong sense of self-efficacy helps us to select and construct situations in our lives and vice-versa
• Self-regulation is defined as the ability to organize and monitor our own behaviour
• Self-control refers to deferring gratification needs and wants which plays an important role in the fulfillment of long-term goals.
• Various techniques of self-control are explained as follows: Self-instruction refers to instructing our own selves in order to perform a particular task
• Observation of our own behaviour provides us with relevant information needed to modify, and change our own Behaviour
• Self-reinforcement refers to rewarding our goal-oriented behaviors

Personality refers to our characteristic ways of responding to individuals and situations in our lives. Some of the main features of personality are as follows

• It has both physical and psychological components
• It is the main features do not change easily with time
• It is the expression In terms of Behaviour that is fairly unique in a given individual
• Temperament refers to the biologically based characteristic way of reacting to people and situations
• Trait refers to the stable and persistent way of behaving
• Disposition is defined as the tendency of a person to react to a given situation in a particular manner
• Character is defined as the overall pattern of a regularly occurring Behaviour
• Habit is a learned way of behaving
• Values refer to the goals and ideas considered important to be followed in life

Also Read: Learning Class 11 Psychology Notes

Major Approaches to Study Personality

There are different approaches used to study human personality. Every approach has its merits, demerits and limitations. Let us explore major approaches to studying personality:

It focuses on specific psychological Attributes along which individuals differ in a consistent and stable way. Its main focus is on dominant traits. Some of the theories based on the trait approach are listed below:

Allport came up with 3 types of traits to understand human personality and those traits are Cardinal Traits, Central Traits, and secondary traits.

• Cardinal Traits are very generalized in nature and a person becomes known for these traits throughout their life for example Mahatma Gandhi was known for his Honesty And Non-violence.
• Central Traits are less generalized in nature, form the foundation of a person’s personality and can be used in the job profile of a person
• Secondary traits appear in certain situations only and are least generalized. For example, Raj likes to watch movies.

There are three dimensions under this theory which comprise a number of traits. Here is a detailed description of all three dimensions:

• Neuroticism vs Emotional Stability refers to the degree to which people have control over their feelings. People high on neuroticism are Emotionally unstable and are Moody and anxious. People high on Emotional stability are calm, patient
• Extraversion vs Introversion refers to the degree to which people are socially active or reserved and withdrawn
• Psychoticism vs Sociability refers to the degree to which people are sociable or anti-social. People who score high on psychoticism are antisocial and egoistic whereas people who score on Sociability are cooperative and friendly. Eysenck Personality Questionnaire is used for studying and assessing the above-mentioned dimensions of personality

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Cattell found 16 primary or source traits. Source traits are stable in nature and are defined as building blocks of our personality. Surface traits result from the interaction of source traits. Cattell developed a sixteen personality factor questionnaire (16PF) for the purpose of personality assessment.

It was given by Paul Costa and Robert McCrae and included 5 factors. Look at the model of personality factors:

• Openness to Experience – Those who score high on this factor are curious, imaginative, and open to new experiences and those who score low on this factor are rigid and inflexible
• Extraversion – Those who score high on this factor are sociable, and those who score low on this factor are reserved and prefer to stay alone
• Agreeableness – Those who score high on this factor are kind, cooperative, and friendly and those who score low on this factor are self-centred and egoistic
• Neuroticism – Those who score high on this factor are emotionally unstable, anxious, and moody and those who score low on this factor are calm, patient, and emotionally stable
• Conscientiousness – Those who score high on this factor are goal-oriented and diligent and those who score low on this factor are carefree and impulsive

Also Read: Diploma in Psychology

Type Approach

It tries to comprehend the personality by understanding the broad patterns in the Behaviour. It focuses on a broad set of characteristics in a person’s Behaviour. Various theories based on type approach are explained as follows

As per this theory, there exists a strong correlation between the body type of a person and their personality. Sheldon came up with Endomorphic, Mesomorphic and Ectomorphic typology. Endomorphs have around, chubby body types and they are sociable, outgoing, and friendly. Ectomorphs have an athletic body type and they are courageous, strong, and assertive. Mesomorphs have a lean and delicate body type and they are brainy and sensitive.

Carl Jung is classified into two major categories – Extroverts and Introverts. Here are both the categories :

• Introverts are reserved and prefer to stay alone. They withdraw themselves when they face an emotional problem in their life
• Extroverts are sociable and outgoing. They completely enjoy their social life and prefer those jobs which involve dealing with people directly like teaching , Psychology, etc

It was proposed by Friedman and Rosenman and classified into four categories. To understand it better, here is a detailed description of each type:

• Type A personalities who have a high motivation level and are Workaholics. They lack patience and are prone to hypertension.
• Type B people are the opposite of Type A personalities and are easy-going and chilled out.
• Type C personality people are cooperative and suppress their Emotions. They are prone to Cancer
• Type D personality people are prone to depression and have a pessimistic outlook in their life

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The psychodynamic approach was given by Dr. Sigmund Freud in his clinical practice where he used hypnosis to treat his patients. He observed that when patients shared their problems they felt easy and relaxed. From here he came up with a technique called free association in which people used to share their problems in an open and unfiltered manner. He also used dream analysis to understand the functioning of the mind. As per the psychodynamic approach, there are three levels of consciousness

• Conscious Mind – People are aware of their thoughts, feelings, and mental activity
• Preconscious Mind –  It includes those thoughts, feelings, actions, and mental activity if attended closely can be brought to the awareness of people
• Unconscious Mind – It includes those feelings and actions of which people are completely unaware

Also Read: Methods of Enquiry in Psychology

• People usually suppress their sexual desires, aggression  and they are concealed from people’s conscious awareness to avoid conflicts
• Analysis of jokes, dreams, and mispronunciations, was used by Dr. Sigmund Freud to understand the unconscious mind
• He came up with a therapeutic procedure called psychoanalysis to understand the unconditional mind and as per psychoanalysis, human behaviour is a dynamic manifestation of unconscious desires and conflicts of which we aren’t aware at present

Also Read 100 Psychology Facts You Must Know!

The relative strength of identity, ego, and superego determines a person’s personality. The conflict between identity and superego leads to a Freudian Slip. The structure of Personality is explained as follows:

• It is based on the pleasure principle and focuses on the instant gratification of needs
• The ego is based on the reality principle and Focuses on the satisfaction of needs as per the reality
• The superego focuses on moral principles and needs are gratified only if they are ethical

The ego defence Mechanism is a way of reducing anxiety by distorting reality and some of the main defence Mechanisms are mentioned below:

• Repression – Anxiety-provoking thoughts are dismissed by the unconscious and people become unaware of them
• Projection – People tend to attribute their traits to others
• Denial – People don’t accept reality and deny it completely
• Reaction Formation- People defend against anxiety by behaving opposite to their true feelings
• Rationalization – People try to make unreasonable feelings rational and reasonable.

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According to Freudian psychology, there are 5 stages of psychological development. Below mentioned are the in-detail various stages of psychosexual development:

• Oral Stage – A newborn’s instincts are focused on the mouth and the mouth is the primary pleasure-seeking center for the baby. Baby achieves oral gratification through the mouth by breastfeeding, thumb sucking, and biting
• Anal Stage – By the age of 2 or 3 children learn to respond to some demands of society and one such demand of Society is to control the bodily function of urination and defecation
• Phallic Stage – The main focus is on the genitals during this stage. Children around 4-5 years of age become aware of sexuality, differences between males and females, and sexual relationships between parents. Male children experience the Oedipus Complex in which the child falls in love with his mother and considers the father as his enemy. Female child experience Electra complex in which girl child falls in love with the father plans to raise the family and becomes hostile towards mother
• Latency Stage – It lasts from 7 years of age to puberty and sexual urges become dormant and latent
• Genital Stage – Maturity is attained in this stage and people deal with opposite-sex members in socially and sexually mature ways

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It is majorly based on case studies and lacks a proper scientific basis. Atypical individuals are used as samples for advancing generalizations. Lastly, the Concepts were not properly defined in the psychodynamic approach.

Post-Freudian Approaches

Post psychoanalysis, various psychologists who were earlier disciples of Freud came up with their own theories. Here are all the Post-Freudian approaches you should know of in self and personality class 12 notes:

• Carl Jung’s theory also called analytical psychology focused on archetypes 
• Archetypes are inherited images in the collective unconscious that shape our perception of the external world and express themselves when we are distracted(Dreams and Fantasies).For Example- Sun, God, Mother Earth

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• The main assumption of Alfred Adler’s theory is that human behavior is purposeful and goal-oriented
• Every individual does suffer from an inferiority complex at times which can be overcome by striving for superiority and achieving one’s purpose in life and that is crucial for optimal personality development
• Fromm viewed humans as social creatures and they could be comprehended from their relationships with others
• Thus, psychological attributes arose from a desire for freedom, justice, and truth.

This approach gives importance to the here and now instead of the past or future and all the behaviors can be learned as well as unlearnt. This approach was completely different from the psychodynamic approach. It mainly focused on the interaction between stimulus and the environment. The structural unit of personality is called response and it lays emphasis on stimulus-response reinforcement. Key theories under the Behavioural Approach are mentioned below:

• Ivan Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning Theory
• B.F. Skinner’s Operant Conditioning Theory
• Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory
• Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow viewed human nature in a positive light and according to the human beings had the potential for love, joy, and cooperation
• Abraham Maslow was of the point of view that humans are free to shape their lives, give direction to them, and self-actualize
• Carl Rogers believed that personality development is a continuous process and he spoke of a fully functioning person
• Human beings try to merge their ideal self with their real self and that leads to genuine happiness and vice-versa would leads to unhappiness
• Rogers believed that people have a tendency to maximize self-concept through self-actualization
• Positive social conditions give rise to high self-esteem and high self-concept and vice-versa

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• It tries to comprehend personality in relation to features of the ecological and cultural environment
• Climatic Conditions, the nature of the terrain, availability of food determine economic conditions, lifestyle, social structures, settlement patterns
• The cultural approach considers personality as an adaptation of individuals and groups to the demands of their ecology and culture
• People modify their personalities and develop various qualities in order to adapt to their culture

Also Read: CBSE Makes Big Announcement on Changes in Evaluation For New Academic Session

Personality Assessment is a formal attempt aimed at understanding the personality of the individual. There are various techniques used for personality assessment. Some of them are mentioned below:

Self-report Measures- It is the method in which the person provides factual information about oneself and the beliefs and opinions they hold. Various self-report measures used for personality assessment are :

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory(MMPI) – It was developed by Hathaway and McKinley for psychiatric diagnosis. It consists of 567 statements and the subject has to judge each statement as true or false. The test is divided into ten subscales

• Hypochondriasis
• Psychopathic Deviate
• Masculinity-Femininity
• Psychasthenia
• Schizophrenia
• Social Introversion

Eysenck Personality Questionnaire(EPQ) – It assesses two dimensions of personality termed Introversion-Extraversion and Emotionalstable and emotionally unstable. Later on, a third dimension called Psychoticism vs Sociability was added and the ones who scored high on Psychoticism were egoistic and antisocial, and on the other hand, the ones who scored high on sociability were cooperative and friendly. This test is widely used.

Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire(16 PF) – It was developed by Raymond Cattell and his colleagues. The technique of factor analysis was used to discover and measure the fundamental personality traits. The test provides declarative statements, and the subject responds to a specific situation by choosing from a set of given alternatives it is used with high school students and for purposes like career counselling, occupational testing, etc. 

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Social Desirability is the tendency of the respondent to respond to the test items in a socially desirable manner. Acquiescence is the tendency to agree with the questions irrespective of what is being asked.

The next topic of self and personality class 12 notes is Projective techniques. These techniques were developed to assess unconscious motives and feelings and the main assumption behind these techniques is that less structured or unstructured stimuli will allow the individual to project one’s feelings and desires on the situation. Several projective techniques were as follows:

Thematic Apperception Test(TAT) – It is a projective technique that aims to evaluate a person’s patterns of thought, attitudes, and emotional responses to ambiguous test materials. These ambiguous materials comprise a set of cards that portray human beings in various kinds of situations. The subject is asked to tell the therapist the story they can frame about each card.

• Sentence Completion Test – The test comprises a number of incomplete sentences and the subject is asked to provide an appropriate ending to the sentence. The ending which the subject makes reveals their attitude and motivation.
• Draw a person Test – The subject is asked to draw a person on a sheet of paper and then he/she is asked to draw the drawing of an opposite-sex person. Then the subject is asked to frame the story involving the sketches of people drawn
• Interpretation and understanding of responses require sophisticated skills and specialized training
• Reliability, validity, and scoring of projective tests are a bit problematic in nature

Also Read: Deleted Syllabus of CBSE Class 12

Behavioural Analysis

The last topic of Self and Personality Class 12 Notes is behavioural analysis. A person’s Behaviour in a variety of circumstances provides us with meaningful and substantial information about their personality. Here is the list of a few Behavioural analysis techniques mentioned in the self and personality class 12 notes:

• Interview – It involves talking to the person being assessed and asking specific questions about the problem the client wants to discuss. Interviews can be structured or unstructured and in a structured interview a specific set of questions are asked whereas in an unstructured interview, open-ended questions are asked.
• Observation – It is a powerful and effective method of analyzing Behaviour as it helps in understanding phenomena in real time. Some of its limitations are that it is time-consuming and professional training and skills are required for observation to happen in a proper and systematic manner.
• Nomination – Each person is asked to select one or two persons in a group with whom they would like to work or for any other activity. The choice of subject and the reasons for the same reveal a lot about their personality.

Related Articles

Personality refers to our characteristic ways of responding to individuals and situations in our lives and two main Approaches used for studying personality are the type Approach and Trait Approach.

The trait Approach Focuses on specific psychological Attributes along which individuals differ in a consistent and stable way whereas the Type Approach tries to comprehend the personality by understanding the broad patterns in the Behaviour.

Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow viewed human nature in a positive light and according to the human beings had the potential for love, joy, and cooperation. Abraham Maslow was of the point of view that humans are free to shape their lives, give direction to them, and self-actualize. Self-actualisation means unleashing one’s potential to the fullest.

This was all about Self and Personality class 12 notes. We hope you found this to be useful in preparing for your exams.  For more information on such informative notes for your school, visit our school education page and follow Leverage Edu .

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CBSE Class 12 Psychology Syllabus and Mark Distribution

Author : Akash Kumar Singh

Updated On : February 12, 2024

Summary:  CBSE Class 12 Psychology syllabus explores deep into the human psyche, exploring emotions, behaviours, and therapies. Understand the wonders of the mind through academic understanding and hands-on learning.  

During their senior secondary school education, students can choose from various disciplines offered by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) . Psychology is one such fascinating subject. This discipline explores deeply into human experiences, behaviours, and cognitive processes, all within a sociocultural and historical context. 

This article talks about various topics covered under the c|lass 12 psychology CBSE syllabus.

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Understanding the CBSE Class 12 Psychology Syllabus 

The CBSE Class 12 Psychology syllabus has been developed with the goal of increasing students' awareness of fundamental principles, ideas, and methodological intrinsic in this discipline. The CBSE class 12 psychology syllabus is intended to create an internal understanding of how diverse circumstances influence human behaviour as well as to transmit theoretical knowledge. CBSE prepares students to understand the intricacies of human behaviour by providing a contextual perspective on psychological knowledge and practises. 

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CBSE Class 12 Psychology Syllabus Course Structure 

The syllabus of psychology CBSE Class 12 is divided into various unit which are as follows:

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CBSE Class 12 Psychology Syllabus Course Content 

 Students can check the CBSE syllabus for class 12 psychology below:

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CBSE Class 12 Psychology Distribution of Marks 

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Best Books CBSE Class 12 Psychology Exam Preparation 

The NCERT textbooks are essential to developing the fundamental concepts needed to prepare for the CBSE Class 12 Psychology exam . There are also specialized guidelines that are helpful for practical exams. Supplementary guides can be helpful for in-depth understanding even though the NCERTs are the major resource. 

Check:   CBSE Class 12 English Preparation Tips

The updated Class 12 Psychology syllabus CBSE provides students with a comprehensive guide to the huge landscape of human behaviour, emotions, and cognition. Students will gain an in-depth understanding of human experiences in varied circumstances as they progress through each lesson.

Students can read the detailed CBSE psychology class 12 syllabus and download the PDF version directly from the CBSE website. This course will surely extend students' views and promote a more in-depth understanding of the human psyche. 

Also check:   CBSE Class 12 Psychology Important Questions

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February 12, 2024

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Chapter 2 :Self and Personality

• CBSE Class 12
• Chapter 2 :Self and Personality Notes

Concept of Self

• Psychology Book Class-12
• Publication
• PathSet Publications

Self and Personality

Concept of Self :-

The Idea of Self

• A newly born child has no idea of its self. As a child grows older, the idea of self emerges and its formation begins.
• Parents, friends, teachers and other significant persons play a vital role in shaping a child’s ideas about self.
• Our interaction with other people, our experiences, and the meaning we give to them, serve as the basis of our self.

Personal Identity

• It refers to those attributes of a person that make her/him different from others.
• When a person describes herself/himself by telling her/his:
• Name (I am Shweta)
• Qualities or characteristics (I am honest and kind)
• Potentialities or capabilities (I am a singer)
• Beliefs (I believe in destiny)

Social Identity

• Social identity refers to those aspects of a person that link her/him to a social or cultural group or are derived from it. For example, I am a Hindu.
• Self refers to the totality of an individual’s conscious experiences, ideas, thoughts and feelings with regard to herself or himself.
• These experiences and ideas define the existence of an individual both at the personal and at social levels.

Self as Subject and Self as Object

• An individual describes himself/herself either as:
• an entity that does something (e.g., I am a baker). In this case, the self is described as a ‘subject’ (who does something), or as;
• an entity on which something is done (e.g., I am one who easily gets hurt). In this case, the self is described as an ‘object’ (which gets affected).

Kinds of Self

• There are several kinds of self. They get formed as a result of our interactions with our physical and socio-cultural environments.
• There are two kinds of ‘self’:

Cognitive and Behavioural Aspects of Self

• The way we perceive ourselves and the ideas we hold about our competencies and attributes is also called self-concept .
• At a very general level, this view of oneself is, overall, either positive or negative.
• The most frequently used method for finding out an individual’s self-concept involves asking the person about herself/ himself.

Self-esteem

• The value judgment of a person about herself/himself is called self-esteem.
• Studies indicate that by the age of 6 to 7 years, children seem to have formed self-esteem at least in four areas (mentioned below) which become more refined with age.
• academic competence
• social competence
• physical/ athletic competence
• physical appearance,
• Our capacity to view ourselves in terms of stable dispositions permits us to combine separate self-evaluations into a general psychological image of ourselves. This is known as an overall sense of selfesteem.
• Self-esteem shows a strong relationship with our everyday behaviour. For instance, children with high academic self-esteem perform better in schools than those with low academic self-esteem, and children with high social self-esteem are more liked by their peers than those with low social self-esteem.
• Children with low self-esteem are often found to display anxiety, depression, and increasing antisocial behaviour.
• Children with high self-esteem are often found to display confidence, is self-dependent and a social person.
• Warm and positive parenting helps in the 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.

Self-efficacy

• People differ in the extent to which they believe they themselves control their life outcomes or the outcomes are controlled by luck or fate or other situational factors, e.g. passing an examination.
• A person who believes that s/he has the ability or behaviours required by a particular situation demonstrates high self-efficacy.
• The notion of self-efficacy is based on Bandura’s social learning theory. Bandura’s initial studies showed that children and adults learned behaviour by observing and imitating others.
• People’s expectations of mastery or achievement and their convictions about their own effectiveness also determine the types of behaviour in which they would engage, as also the amount of risk they would undertake.
• A strong sense of self-efficacy allows people to:

the circumstances of their own life,

• and feel less fearful.
• Our society, our parents and our own positive experiences can help in the development of a strong sense of selfefficacy by presenting positive models during the formative years of children.

Self-regulation

• Self-regulation refers to our ability to organise and monitor our own behaviour.
• People, who are able to change their behaviour according to the demands of the external environment, are high on self-monitoring.
• Many situations of life require resistance to situational pressures and control over ourselves. This becomes possible through ‘will power’.
• Learning to delay or defer the gratification of needs is called self-control. Self-control plays a key role in the fulfilment of long-term goals.
• Psychological techniques of self-control are:

a) Observation of own behaviour

This provides us with necessary information that may be used to change, modify, or strengthen certain aspects of self.

b)Self-instruction

We often instruct ourselves to do something and behave the way we want to. Such instructions are quite effective in self-regulation.

c) Self-reinforcement

This involves rewarding behaviours that have pleasant outcomes.

Culture and Self

Several aspects of self seem to be linked to the characteristic features of the culture in which an individual lives.

Concept of Personality

• 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.
• Personality refers to our characteristic ways of responding to individuals and situations.
• Personality refers to unique and relatively stable qualities that characterise an individual’s behaviour across different situations over a period of time.
• Consistency in behaviour, thought and emotion of an individual across situations and across time periods characterises her/his personality.
• However, situational variations in behaviour do occur as they help individuals in adapting to their environmental circumstances.
• Once we are able to characterise someone’s personality, we can predict how that person will probably behave in a variety of circumstances.
• An understanding of personality allows us to deal with people in realistic and acceptable ways.

Characteristics of Personality

• It has both physical and psychological components.
• Its expression in terms of behaviour is fairly unique in a given individual.
• Its main features do not easily change with time.
• It is dynamic in the sense that some of its features may change due to internal or external situational demands. Thus, personality is adaptive to situations.

Major Approaches to the Study of Personality

Type Approach

• The type approaches attempts to comprehend human personality by examining certain broad patterns in the observed behavioural characteristics of individuals.
• Each behavioural pattern refers to one type in which individuals are placed in terms of the similarity of their behavioural characteristics with that pattern.
• Personality types are used to represent and communicate a set of expected behaviours based on similarities.

1) Typology of Personality based on fluid or humour by Hippocrates

• He classified people into four types:
• Melancholic
• Each characterised by specific behavioural features.

2) Charak Samhita (famous treatise on Ayurveda)

• On the basis of three humoural elements called tridosha, it classifies people into the categories of:
• Each refers to a type of temperament, called prakriti (basic nature) of a person.

Typology of Personality based on the Trigunas

All the three gunas are present in each and every person in different degrees.

• The dominance of one or the other guna may lead to a particular type of behaviour.

• Typology using Body Build and Temperament by Sheldon
• Typology – Type A, Type B, Type C and Type D
• Friedman and Rosenman classified individuals into Type A and Type B.
• This typology was further extended by Morris who suggested Type C personality.
• More recently, a Type D personality has been suggested.

Trait Approach

• The trait approach focuses on the specific psychological attributes along which individuals tend to differ in consistent and stable ways.
• An approach to personality that seeks to identify the basic traits necessary to describe personality.
• It tries to discover the ‘building blocks’ of personality.
• It attempts to identify primary characteristics of people.
• Traits are:
• relatively stable over time
• generally consistent across situations
• their strengths and combinations vary across individuals leading to individual differences in personality

1) Cattell: Personality Factors

• Raymond Cattell believed that there is a common structure on which people differ from each other.
• This structure could be determined empirically.
• He tried to identify the primary traits from a huge array of descriptive adjectives found in language.
• He applied a statistical technique, called factor analysis, to discover the common structures.
• He found 16 primary or source traits which are stable, and are considered as the building blocks of personality. Cattell described the source traits in terms of opposing tendencies.
• There are also a number of surface traits that result out of the interaction of source traits.
• He developed a test, called Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF), for the assessment of personality which is widely used by psychologists.

2) Allport’s Trait Theory

• Gordon Allport is considered the pioneer of trait approach.
• He proposed that individuals possess a number of traits that:
• are dynamic in nature
• determine behaviour in such a manner that an individual approaches different situations with similar plans
• integrate stimuli and responses which otherwise look dissimilar
• Allport argued that the words people use to describe themselves and others provide a basis for understanding human personality. Therefore, he analysed the words of English language to look for traits which describe a person.
• Allport categorised traits into:

• Allport believed that the way a person reacts to given situations depends on her/his traits, although people sharing the same traits might express them in different ways.
• He considered traits more like intervening variables that occur between the stimulus situation and response of the person. This meant that any variation in traits would elicit a different response to the same situation.

3) Eysenck’s Theory

• H.J. Eysenck proposed that personality could be reduced into two broad dimensions that are biologically and genetically based.

• Eysenck Personality Questionnaire is the test which is used for studying these dimensions of personality.

Interactional Approach

• It believes 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.
• The crosssituational consistency of traits is found to be quite low.
• The compelling influence of situations can be noted by observing people’s behaviour in places like a market, a courtroom, or a place of worship.

Five-Factor Model of Personality

• Paul Costa and Robert McCrae formulated a Big Five Factor Model of Personality indicating a set of five personality traits. They are often called Big Five Factors, also abbreviated as ‘OCEAN’. These factors include:

• Significance of Five-Factor Model of Personality
• an important theoretical development in the field of personality.
• useful in understanding the personality profile of people across cultures.
• considered to be the most promising empirical approach to the study of personality.
• consistent with the analysis of personality traits found in different languages.
• supported by the studies of personality carried out through different methods.

Psychodynamic Approach

• Proposed by Sigmund Freud, a physician, who developed this theory in the course of his clinical practice.
• Early in his career he used hypnosis to treat people with physical and emotional problems.
• He noted that many of his patients needed to talk about their problems, and having talked about them, they often felt better.
• Freud used:
• Free association , a method in which a person is asked to openly share all the thoughts, feelings and ideas that come to her/his mind
• Dream analysis
• Analysis of errors to understand the internal functioning of the mind

1) Levels of Consciousness

• Freud’s theory considers the sources and consequences of emotional conflicts and the way people deal with these.
• And it visualises the human mind in terms of three levels of consciousness:
• includes the thoughts, feelings and actions of which people are aware.

Preconscious

• includes mental activity of which people may become aware only if they attend to it closely.

Unconscious

a) includes mental activity that people are unaware of.

b) reservoir of instinctive or animal drives.

c) stores all ideas and wishes that are concealed from conscious awareness, perhaps, because they lead to psychological conflicts. And most of these arise from sexual desires which cannot be expressed openly and therefore are repressed.

• People constantly struggle to find either some socially acceptable ways to express 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.
• Freud developed a therapeutic procedure, called psychoanalysis.
• The basic goal of psychoanalytic therapy is to bring the repressed unconscious materials to consciousness, thereby helping people to live in a more self-aware and integrated manner.

2) Structure of Personality

• According to Freud’s theory, the primary structural elements of personality are three, i.e. id, ego, and superego.
• They reside in the unconscious as forces, and they can be inferred from the ways people behave.

Structure of Personality in Freudian Theory

a) the source of a person’s instinctual energy

b) deals with immediate gratification of primitive needs, sexual desires and aggressive impulses

c) works on the pleasure principle (based on the assumption that people seek pleasure and try to avoid pain)

d) Freud considered much of a person’s instinctual energy to be sexual, and the rest as aggressive

e) does not care for moral values, society, or other individuals

f) demanding

g) unrealistic

a) grows out of id

b) seeks to satisfy an individual’s instinctual needs in accordance with reality

c) works by the reality principle

d) directs the id towards more appropriate ways of behaving

f) reasonable

Superego  

a) moral branch of mental functioning

b) tells the id and the ego whether gratification in a particular instance is ethical

c) helps control the id by internalising the parental authority through the process of socialisation

d) does not create guilt, fear or anxiety

• The relative strength of the id, ego and superego determines each person’s stability.
• Freud also assumed that id is energised by two instinctual forces, called life instinct (also called sexual instinct) and death instinct.
• He paid less attention to the death instinct and focused more on the life (or sexual) instinct.
• The instinctual life force that energises the id is called libido . It works on the pleasure principle, and seeks immediate gratification.

Ego Defence Mechanisms

• According to Freud, much of human behaviour reflects an attempt to deal with or escape from anxiety.
• Thus, how the ego deals with anxiety largely determines how people behave.
• Freud believed that people avoid anxiety mainly by developing defence mechanisms that try to defend the ego against the awareness of the instinctual needs.
• Thus, defence mechanism is a way of reducing anxiety by distorting reality.
• People who use these mechanisms to such an extent that reality is truly distorted develop various forms of maladjustment.
• People who use defence mechanisms are often unaware of doing so.
• Each defence mechanism is a way for the ego to deal with the uncomfortable feelings produced by anxiety.
• Various kinds of defence mechanisms are:

Stages of Personality Development

• Freud proposed a five-stage theory of personality (also called psychosexual) development.
• Problems encountered at any stage may arrest development, and have long-term effect on a person’s life.
• The stages of psychosexual development are:
• A newborn’s instincts are focused on the mouth i.e. infant’s primary pleasure seeking centre.
• It is through the mouth that the baby obtains food that reduces hunger.
• The infant achieves oral gratification through feeding, thumb sucking, biting and babbling.
• People’s basic feelings about the world are established.

Anal Stage (around ages two and three)

• Child learns to respond to some of the demands of the society.
• One of the principal demands made by parents is that the child learns to control the bodily functions of urination and defecation.
• Children experience pleasure in moving their bowels.
• The anal area of the body becomes the focus of certain pleasurable feelings.
• Establishes the basis for conflict between the id and the ego, and between the desire for babyish pleasure and demand for adult, controlled behaviour.

Phallic Stage (around ages four and five)

• Focuses on the genitals.
• Children begin to realise the differences between males and females.
• They become aware of sexuality and the sexual relationship between their parents.
• In this stage, the male child experiences Oedipus Complex, which involves:
• love for the mother
• hostility towards the father
• consequent fear of punishment or castration by the father

A major developmental achievement of this stage is the resolution of the Oedipus complex which takes place by:

• accepting his father’s relationship with his mother
• modelling his own behaviour after his father
• give up sexual feelings for their mothers
• begin to see their fathers as role models rather than as rivals
• In this stage, the female child experiences Electra Complex, which involves:
• attaching her love to the father
• trying to symbolically marry him and raise a family

When she realises that this is unlikely, she begins to:

• identify with her mother
• copy her behaviour as a means of getting her father’s affection

Resolution of the Electra complex takes place by:

• giving up their sexual feelings or desires for their fathers
• identifying with their mother
• The critical component in resolving the Oedipus complex is the development of identification with the same sex parents.

Latency Stage (lasts from about 7 years until puberty)

• The child continues to grow physically.
• Sexual urges are relatively inactive.
• Much of a child’s energy is channelled into social or achievement-related activities.

Genital Stage

• The person attains maturity in psychosexual development.
• The sexuality, fears and repressed feelings of earlier stages are once again exhibited.
• People learn to deal with members of the opposite sex in a socially and sexually mature way.
• However, if the journey towards this stage is marked by excessive stress or over-indulgence, it may cause fixation to an earlier stage of development.
• Failure of a child to pass successfully through a stage leads to fixation to that stage.
• It takes a person back to an earlier stage.
• It 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.

Criticisms of Psychodynamic theories:

• The theories are largely based on case studies; they lack a rigorous scientific basis.
• They use small and atypical individuals as samples for advancing generalisations.
• The concepts are not properly defined, and it is difficult to submit them to scientific testing.
• Freud has used males as the prototype of all human personality development. He overlooked female experiences and perspectives.

Post-Freudian Approaches/ Neo Analytic

• Characterised by less prominent roles to sexual and aggressive tendencies of the id
• Expansion of the concept of ego
• Emphasis on the human qualities of creativity, competence, and problem solving abilities

Carl Jung: Aims and Aspirations

• Humans are guided as much by aims and aspirations as by sex and aggression.
• Developed his own theory of personality, called analytical psychology.

The basic assumption of his theory is that personality consists of competing forces and structures within the individual (that must be balanced) rather than between the individual and the demands of society, or between the individual and reality.

• Jung claimed that there was a collective unconscious consisting of archetypes or primordial images, which are not individually acquired, but are inherited. Example - The God or the Mother Earth. They are found in myths, dreams and arts of all mankind.
• Jung held that the self strives for unity and oneness. According to him, for achieving unity and wholeness, a person must become increasingly aware of the wisdom available in one’s personal and collective unconscious, and must learn to live in harmony with it.

Karen Horney: Optimism

• Adopted a more optimistic view of human life with emphasis on human growth and self-actualisation.
• Major contribution lies in her challenge to Freud’s treatment of women as inferior.
• According to her, each sex has attributes to be admired by the other, and neither sex can be viewed as superior or inferior.
• She countered that women were more likely to be affected by social and cultural factors than by biological factors.
• She argued that psychological disorders were caused by disturbed interpersonal relationship during childhood.
• When parents’ behaviour toward a child is indifferent, discouraging, and erratic, the child feels insecure and a feeling called basic anxiety results.
• Deep resentment toward parents or basic hostility occurs due to this anxiety.
• By showing excessive dominance or indifference, or by providing too much or too little approval, parents can generate among children feelings of isolation and helplessness which interfere with their healthy development.

Alfred Adler: Lifestyle and Social Interest

• Adler’s theory is known as individual psychology.
• His basic assumption is that human behaviour is purposeful and goal-directed.
• Each one of us has the capacity to choose and create.
• Our personal goals are the sources of our motivation.
• The goals that provide us with security and help us in overcoming the feelings of inadequacy are important in our personality development.
• In Adler’s view, every individual suffers from the feelings of inadequacy and guilt, i.e. inferiority complex, which arise from childhood.
• Overcoming this complex is essential for optimal personality development.

Erich Fromm: The Human Concerns

• Developed his theory from a social orientation.
• Viewed human beings as basically social beings who could be understood in terms of their relationship with others.
• Psychological qualities such as growth and realisation of potentials resulted from a desire for freedom, and striving for justice and truth.
• Character traits (personality) develop from our experiences with other individuals .
• While culture is shaped by the mode of existence of a given society, people’s dominant character traits in a given society work as forces in shaping the social processes and the culture itself.
• His work recognises the value of positive qualities, such as tenderness and love in personality development.

Erik Erikson: Search for Identity

• Emphasises on rational, conscious ego processes in personality development.
• Development is viewed as a lifelong process, and ego identity is granted a central place in this process.
• His concept of identity crisis of adolescent age has drawn considerable attention.
• Erikson argues that young people must generate for themselves a central perspective and a direction that can give them a meaningful sense of unity and purpose.

Behavioural Approach

• This approach does not give importance to the internal dynamics of behaviour.
• The behaviourists believe in data, which they feel are definable, observable, and measurable.
• They focus on learning of stimulus-response connections and their reinforcement.
• According to them, personality can be best understood as the response of an individual to the environment.
• They see the development simply as a change in response characteristics, i.e. a person learns new behaviours in response to new environments and stimuli.
• The structural unit of personality is the response.
• Each response is a behaviour, which is emitted to satisfy a specific need.
• The core tendency that organises behaviour is the reduction of biological or social needs that energise behaviour.

This is accomplished through responses (behaviours) that are reinforced.

• The principles of theories of learning (classical conditioning, instrumental conditioning, and observational learning) have been widely used in developing personality theories.

For example:

• Observational learning theory considers thought processes extremely important in learning, but these find almost no place in classical or instrumental conditioning theories.
• Observational learning theory also emphasises social learning (based on observation and imitation of others) and self-regulation, which again is missed out in other theories.

Cultural Approach

• Attempts to understand personality in relation to the features of ecological and cultural environment.
• Proposes that a group’s ‘economic maintenance system’ plays a vital role in the origin of cultural and behavioural variations.
• People’s skills, abilities, behavioural styles, and value priorities are viewed as strongly linked to the features such as settlement patterns, social structures, division of labour, child rearing practices, etc.
• Rituals, ceremonies, religious practices, arts, recreational activities, games and play are the means through which people’s personality gets projected in a culture.
• People develop various personality (behavioural) qualities in an attempt to adapt to the ecological and cultural features of a group’s life.
• The cultural approach considers personality as an adaptation of individuals or groups to the demands of their ecology and culture.

Humanistic Approach (in response to Freud’s theory)

Carl Rogers’ Contribution to the Development of Humanistic Perspective on Personality:

• The most important idea proposed by Rogers is that of a fully functioning person.

He believes that fulfilment is the motivating force for personality development.

People try to express their capabilities, potentials and talents to the fullest extent possible.

There is an inborn tendency among persons that directs them to actualise their inherited nature.

• Rogers makes two basic assumptions about human behaviour .
• Behaviour is goal-directed and worthwhile.
• People (who are innately good) will almost always choose adaptive, self-actualising behaviour.
• His theory is structured around the concept of self.

The theory assumes that people are constantly engaged in the process of actualising their true self.

Rogers suggests that each person also has a concept of ideal self i.e. the self that a person would like to be.

When there is a correspondence between the real self and ideal self, a person is generally happy. Discrepancy between the real self and ideal self often results in unhappiness and dissatisfaction. Rogers’ basic principle is that people have a tendency to maximise self-concept through self-actualisation.

In this process, the self grows, expands and becomes more social.

• Rogers views personality development as a continuous process which 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.

• This situation warrants that an atmosphere of unconditional positive regard must be created in order to ensure enhancement of people’s self-concept.

The client-centred therapy that Rogers developed basically attempts to create this condition.

Abraham Maslow’s Contribution to the Development of Humanistic Perspective on Personality:

• 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.
• He 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.
• An individual’s sole concern with the satisfaction of survival needs (biological, security, and belongingness needs) reduces her/ him to the level of animals.
• The real journey of human life begins with the pursuit of self-esteem and selfactualisation needs.
• The humanistic approach emphasises the significance of positive aspects of life.

Characteristics of a healthy person according to humanistic theorists:

• They become aware of themselves, their feelings, and their limits; accept themselves, and what they make of their lives as their own responsibility; have ‘the courage to be’.
• They experience the “here-and-now”; are not trapped.
• They do not live in the past or dwell in the future through anxious expectations and distorted defences.

Assessment of Personality

• It is a formal effort aimed at understanding personality of an individual.
• Assessment refers to the procedures used to evaluate or differentiate people on the basis of certain characteristics.
• The goal of assessment is to understand and predict behaviour with minimum error and maximum accuracy.
• Assessment is used to study what a person generally does, or how s/he behaves, in a given situation.
• Assessment is also useful for diagnosis, training, placement, counselling, and other purposes.

Self-report Measures (direct method)

• Suggested by Allport
• A method to assess a person by asking her/him about herself/himself.
• Fairly structured measures, often based on theory, that require subjects to give verbal responses using some kind of rating scale.
• Requires the subject to objectively report her/his own feelings with respect to various items.
• The responses are accepted at their face value.
• They are scored in quantitative terms and interpreted on the basis of norms developed for the test.

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

• Widely used as a test in personality assessment.
• Developed by Hathaway and McKinley as helping tool for psychiatric diagnosis.
• Very effective in identifying varieties of psychopathology.
• Its revised version is available as MMPI-2.
• Consists of 567 statements to be judged as ‘true’ or ‘false’ by the subject for her/ him.
• The test is divided into 10 subscales, which seek to diagnose:
• Hypochondriasis
• Psychopathic deviate
• Masculinity-femininity
• Psychasthenia
• Schizophrenia
• Social introversion
• In India, Mallick and Joshi have developed the Jodhpur Multiphasic Personality Inventory (JMPI) along the lines of MMPI.

Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ)

• Developed by Eysenck.
• This test is also widely used.
• This test initially assessed two dimensions of personality, called introverted-extraverted and emotionally stable-emotionally unstable.
• These dimensions are characterised by 32 personality traits.
• Later on, Eysenck added a third dimension, called psychoticism i.e. linked to psychopathology that represents:
• a lack of feeling for others
• a tough manner of interacting with people
• a tendency to defy social conventions.

A person scoring high on this dimension tends to be hostile, egocentric, and antisocial.

Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16 PF)

• Developed by Cattell.
• He identified a large set of personality descriptors, which were subjected to factor analysis to identify the basic personality structure.
• Provides with declarative statements, and the subject responds to a specific situation by choosing from a set of given alternatives.
• Can be used with high school level students as well as with adults.
• Extremely useful in career guidance, vocational exploration, and occupational testing.

Limitations of Self-Report Measures

• Social Desirability is a tendency on the part of the respondent to endorse items in a socially desirable manner.
• Acquiescence is a tendency of the subject to agree with items/questions irrespective of their contents. It often appears in the form of saying ‘yes’ to items.

These tendencies render the assessment of personality less reliable.

Projective Techniques (indirect method)

• Developed to assess unconscious motives and feelings.
• Based on the assumption that a less structured or unstructured stimulus or situation will allow the individual to project her/his feelings, desires and needs on to that situation.
• These projections are interpreted by experts.
• Various kinds of stimulus materials and situations for assessing personality are used. Some of them require reporting associations with stimuli (e.g., words, inkblots), some involve story writing around pictures, some require sentence completions, some require expression through drawings, and some require choice of stimuli from a large set of stimuli.
• The nature of stimuli and responses in these techniques share the following features:
• The stimuli are relatively or fully unstructured and poorly defined.
• The person being assessed is usually not told about the purpose of assessment and the method of scoring and interpretation.
• The person is informed that there are no correct or incorrect responses.
• Each response is considered to reveal a significant aspect of personality.
• Scoring and interpretation are lengthy and sometimes subjective.
• Projective techniques cannot be scored in any objective manner.
• They generally require qualitative analyses for which a rigorous training is needed.

The Rorschach Inkblot Test

• Developed by Hermann Rorschach.
• Consists of 10 inkblots:
• 5 of them are in black and white
• 2 with some red ink
• 3 in some pastel colours
• The blots are symmetrical in design with a specific shape or form.
• Each blot is printed in the centre of a white cardboard of about 7”´10” size.
• The blots were originally made by dropping ink on a piece of paper and then folding the paper in half (hence called inkblot test).
• The cards are administered individually in two phases:
• In the first phase, called performance proper, the subjects are shown the cards and are asked to tell what they see in each of them.
• In the second phase, called inquiry, a detailed report of the response is prepared by asking the subject to tell where, how, and on what basis was a particular response made.
• Fine judgment is necessary to place the subject’s responses in a meaningful context.
• The use and interpretation of this test requires extensive training.
• Computer techniques too have been developed for analysis of data.

The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

• Developed by Morgan and Murray.
• A little more structured than the Inkblot test.
• Consists of 30 black and white picture cards and one blank card.
• Each picture card depicts one or more people in a variety of situations.
• Each picture is printed on a card.
• Some cards are used with adult males or females. Others are used with boys or girls. Still others are used in some combinations.
• 20 cards are appropriate for a subject, although a lesser number of cards (even five) have also been successfully used.
• 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?
• What the characters are feeling and thinking?
• A standard procedure is available for scoring TAT responses.
• The test has been modified for children and for the aged.
• Uma Chaudhury’s Indian adaptation of TAT is also available.

Rosenzweig’s Picture-Frustration Study (P-F Study)

• Developed by Rosenzweig
• To assess how people express aggression in the face of a frustrating situation.
• The test presents with the help of cartoon like pictures a series of situations in which one person frustrates another, or calls attention to a frustrating condition.
• The subject is asked to tell what the other (frustrated) person will say or do.
• The analysis of responses is based on the type and direction of aggression.
• An attempt is made to examine whether the focus is on the frustrating object, or on protection of the frustrated person, or on constructive solution of the problem.
• The direction of aggression may be towards the environment, towards oneself, or it may be tuned off in an attempt to gloss over or evade the situation.
• Pareek has adapted this test for use with the Indian population.

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.
• The type of endings used by the subjects reflect their attitudes, motivation and conflicts.
• The test provides subjects with several opportunities to reveal their underlying unconscious motivations.
• A few sample items of a sentence completion test are given below:
• My father_________________.
• My greatest fear is_________________.
• The best thing about my mother is _______________.
• I am proud of ___________________.

Draw-a-Person Test

• It is a simple test in which the subject is asked to draw a person on a sheet of paper. A pencil and eraser is provided to facilitate drawing.
• After the completion of the drawing, the subject is generally asked to draw the figure of an opposite sex person.
• Finally, 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 as follows:
• Omission of facial features suggests that the person tries to evade a highly conflict-ridden interpersonal relationship.
• Graphic emphasis on the neck suggests lack of control over impulses.
• Disproportionately large head suggests organic brain disease and pre-occupation with headaches.

Advantages of Projective Techniques

• Helps to understand unconscious motives, deep-rooted conflicts, and emotional complexes of an individual.
• The analysis of personality with the help of projective techniques appears fairly interesting.

Limitations of Projective Techniques

• The interpretation of the responses requires sophisticated skills and specialised training.
• There are problems associated with the reliability of scoring and validity of interpretations.

Behavioural Analysis

• A person’s behaviour in a variety of situations can provide us with meaningful information about her/his personality.
• Observation of behaviour serves as the basis of behavioural analysis.
• Commonly used method for assessing personality.
• Involves talking to the person being assessed and asking specific questions.
• Diagnostic interviewing generally involves in-depth interviewing which seeks to go beyond the replies given by the person.
• Interviews may be structured or unstructured depending on the purpose or goals of assessment:
• In unstructured interviews , the interviewer seeks to develop an impression about a person by asking a number of questions. The way a person presents her/ himself and answers the questions carries enough potential to reveal her/his personality.
• The structured interviews address very specific questions and follow a set procedure. This is often done to make objective comparison of persons being interviewed.

Observation

• Commonly used for the assessment of personality.
• Sophisticated procedure that cannot be carried out by untrained people.
• Requires careful training of the observer.
• Requires a fairly detailed guideline about analysis of behaviours in order to assess the personality of a given person.

Limitations of Observation and Interview methods:

• Professional training required for collection of useful data through these methods is quite demanding and timeconsuming.
• Maturity of the psychologist is a precondition for obtaining valid data through these techniques.
• Mere presence of the observer may contaminate the results. As a stranger, the observer may influence the behaviour of the person being observed and thus not obtain good data.

Behavioural Ratings

• Used for assessment of personality in educational and industrial settings.
• Taken from people who know the assessee intimately and have interacted with her/him over a period of time or have had a chance to observe her/him.
• Attempts to put individuals into certain categories in terms of their behavioural qualities.
• The categories may involve different numbers or descriptive terms.
• Use of numbers or general descriptive adjectives in rating scales always creates confusion for the rater.
• In order to use ratings effectively, the traits should be clearly defined in terms of carefully stated behavioural anchors.

Limitations of Behavioural Ratings:

Halo Effect

• Raters often display certain biases that colour their judgments of different traits. For eg, most of us are greatly influenced by a single favourable or unfavourable trait. This often forms the basis of a rater’s overall judgment of a person.
• Raters have a tendency to place individuals either in the middle of the scale (called middle category bias) by avoiding extreme positions, or in the extreme positions (called extreme response bias) by avoiding middle categories on the scale.
• Used in obtaining peer assessment.
• Can be used with persons who have been in long-term interaction and who know each other very well.
• In nomination, each person is asked to choose one or more persons of the group with whom s/he would like to work, study, play/participate in any other activity.
• The person may also be asked to specify the reason for her/his choices.
• Analysed to understand the personality and behavioural qualities of the person.
• Found to be highly dependable, although it may also be affected by personal biases.

Situational Tests

• Commonly used test of this kind is the situational stress test.
• Provides us with information about how a person behaves under stressful situations.
• The test requires a person to perform a given task with other persons who are instructed to be non-cooperative and interfering.
• The test involves a kind of role playing.
• The person is instructed to play a role for which s/he is observed.
• A verbal report is also obtained on what s/he was asked to do.
• The situation may be realistic one, or it may be created through a video play.

Related Chapter Name

Chapter 1: variations in psychological attributes.

• Individual Differences in Human Functioning
• Assessment of Psychological Attributes
• Intelligence and Theories of Intelligence
• Intelligence: Interplay of Nature and Nurture
• Assessment of Intelligence
• Variations of Intelligence
• Types of Intelligence Tests
• Intelligence Testing in India
• Culture and Intelligence
• Intelligence in the Indian Tradition
• Emotional Intelligence
• Aptitude : Nature and Measurement
• Creativity and Intelligence

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