Psychology Test - 3

The correct answer is All of the above.

Key Points

Concept of 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.
• The structure of self is modifiable in the light of our own experiences and the experiences we have of other people.

The correct answer is Object .

Key Points

Self as Subject and Self as Object.

• If someone described themselves either as an entity that does something (e.g., I am a dancer) or as an entity on which something is done (e.g., I am one who easily gets hurt).
• In the former case, the self is described as a ‘subject’ (who does something); in the latter case, the self is described as an ‘object’ (which gets affected).
• This means that self can be understood as a subject as well as an object.
• When you say, “I know who I am”, the self is being described as a ‘knower’ as well as something that can be ‘known’.
• As a subject (actor) the self actively engages in the process of knowing itself.
• As an object (consequence) the self gets observed and comes to be known.
• This dual status of self should always be kept in mind.

The correct answer is Social self.

Key Points

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
• A distinction is made between ‘personal’ and ‘social’ self.

The personal self leads to an orientation in which one feels primarily concerned with oneself.

• The biological needs lead to the development of a ‘biological self’.
• But, soon a child’s psychological and social needs in the context of her/his environment lead other components of personal self to emerge.
• Emphasis comes to be laid on those aspects of life that relate only to the concerned person, such as personal freedom, personal responsibility, personal achievement, or personal comforts.

The social self emerges in relation with others and emphasises such aspects of life as cooperation, unity, affiliation, sacrifice, support or sharing.

• This self values family and social relationships.
• Hence, it is also referred to as familial or relational self.

The correct answer is 6 to 7. 

Key Points

Self-esteem.

• Self-esteem is an important aspect of our self.
• As persons we always make some judgment about our own value or worth.
• This value judgment of a person about herself/himself is called self-esteem. 

By the age of 6 to 7 years, children seem to have formed selfesteem at least in four areas:

• Academic competence,
• Social competence,
• Physical/ athletic competence, and
• Physical appearance. 
• which become more refined with age.

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.

The correct answer is Self efficacy.

Key Points

 Self-efficacy

• Self-efficacy is another important aspect of our self.
• 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 select, influence, and even construct the circumstances of their own life.
• People with a strong sense of selfefficacy also feel less fearful.

The correct answer is Indian Culture.

Key Points

Culture and self

• Several aspects of self seem to be linked to the characteristic features of the culture in which an individual lives.
• Analysis of self carried out in the Indian cultural context reveals a number of important features that are distinct from those found in the Western cultural context.
• The most important distinction between the Indian and the Western views is the way the boundary is drawn between the self and the other.
• In the Western view, this boundary appears to be relatively fixed.
• The Indian view of self, on the other hand, is characterised by the shifting nature of this boundary. 
• In the Western culture, the self and the group exist as two different entities with clearly defined boundaries.
  • Individual members of the group maintain their individuality.
• In the Indian culture, the self is generally not separated from one’s own group; rather both remain in a state of harmonious co-existence.
• In the Western culture, on the other hand, they often remain at a distance. 
• That is why many Western cultures are characterised as individualistic, whereas many Asian cultures are characterised as collectivistic.

The correct answer is Trait approaches.

Key Points

Trait Approaches ​

• Psychologists interested in the study of personality, try to answer certain questions about the nature and origin of individual differences in personality.
• Trait Approaches, These theories are mainly concerned with the description or characterisation of basic components of personality.
• They try to discover the ‘building blocks’ of personality.
• Human beings display a wide range of variations in psychological attributes, yet it is possible to club them into smaller number of personality traits.

The trait approach is very similar to our common experience in everyday life.

• For example, when we come to know that a person is sociable, we assume that s/he will not only be cooperative, friendly and helping, but also engage in behaviours that involve other social components.
• Thus, trait approach attempts to identify primary characteristics of people.
• A trait is considered as a relatively enduring attribute or quality on which one individual differs from another.
• They include a range of possible behaviours that are activated according to the demands of the situation

The correct answer is ​Behavioural Approach.

Key Points

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.
• Thus, 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.
• 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 theories of classical conditioning (Pavlov), instrumental conditioning (Skinner), and observational learning (Bandura) view learning and maintenance of behaviour from different angles.
• The principles of these theories 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,

The correct answer is None of the above.

Key Points

Self-report Measures.

• It was Allport who suggested that the best method to assess a person is by asking her/him about herself/himself.
• This led to the use of self-report measures.
• These are fairly structured measures, often based on theory, that require subjects to give verbal responses using some kind of rating scale. The method 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.

Some of the wellknown self-report measures are briefly described below.

1. Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16 PF)
2. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
3. Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ)

The correct answer is Thematic Apperception Tests.

Key Points

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.

An observer’s report may contain data obtained from,

• Interview,
• Observation,
• Ratings,
• Nomination, and
• Situational tests.