SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY AND SOCIOLOGY

UNIT-2

MOTIVATION:

 Motivation is the reason for people's actions, willingness and goals.

 Motivation is derived from the word motive which is defined as a need that requires
satisfaction.
 Motivation -one of the most important reasons that inspires a person to move forward.
 Motivation is an internal process that makes a person move toward a goal.
 Motive is a goal, an aim, ambition, a need, a want , an interest, or a desire that motivates an
individual towards the action.

MEANING OF MOTIVATION:

 a set of facts and arguments used in support of a proposal.(or)

 the need or reason for doing something.

DEFINITION OF MOTIVATION:

Internal and external factors that stimulate desire and energy in people to be continually
interested and committed to a job, role or subject, or to make an effort to attain a goal.

(OR)

Motivational is driving force which stimulates an individual to initiate and sustain behavior.

TYPES OF MOTIVATION:

There are two major types of motivation:

1. Intrinsic motivation
2. Extrinsic motivation

INTRINSIC MORIVATION:
 Its refers to be behavior that is driven by internal rewards.
 Intrinsic motivation occurs when we eat? Without any obvious external rewards.
 When doing something for inner desire…
EX:
a) Reading a book because you enjoy the story telling.
b) Exercising because you wants to relieve stress.

 It includes all biological drives such as hunger ,thirst, sleep, relief from pain, temperature,
regulation, need for oxygen and soon.
 EXTRINSIC MOTIVATION:

 The motives originates from outside the human body.

 Though these motives are external to the human body but they have a
rewarding (or) punishing impact for the individual.
 Example:
1. Incentives
2. Bonuses
3. Rewards and punishments.

METHOD OF MEASURING ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION:

 Motivation drives and directs behavior ( “motivate”, which means “to stimulate toward action”,
and is used in psychology from 1904, meaning “inner or social stimulus for an action”);

Achievement (the word “achievement” comes from French “achievement”, “a finishing”, and
means “act of completing something”) motivation governs behavior .
 A number of different tests exist to measure this kind of motivation, which differs in their
administration, scoring, and interpretation procedure.

 Work and Family Orientation Questionnaire is a multidimensional measure of achievement

motivation and attitudes toward family and career.

The scale, which was first developed in

1978 by Helmreich and Spence

 The scale consists of three factors of achievement motivation:

(a) Mastery-> The Mastery factor contains items reflecting a “preference for difficult,
challenging tasks and for meeting internally prescribed standards of performance
excellence”.

(b) Work Orientation->. The Work Orientation factor contains items reflecting “the
desire to work hard and to do a good job of what one does”.

(c) Competitiveness-> The Competitiveness factor describes “the desire to win and be
better than others in interpersonal situations”.

ANXIETY

What is anxiety?

Anxiety is the body’s physical response to fear. The symptoms might include:

 racing heart
 rapid breathing
 sweaty palms
 butterflies in your stomach
 ‘burst’ of energy.
Everyone feels anxious at times, and a certain level of anxiety is both normal and even helpful in some
situations. Anxiety is our body’s way of keeping us safe.

MEANING OF ANXIETY:

 A feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease about something with an uncertain outcome.(or)

 An uncomfortable feeling of nervousness.

DEFINITION OF ANXIETY:

 Anxiety is an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts and

physical changes like increased blood pressure.
 The constant feelings of worry and unease can be overwhelming and interfere with the
ability to function in everyday life.

ANXIETY DISORDER:
Anxiety disorders are a group of mental disorderscharacterized by significant feelings
of anxiety and fear. Anxiety is a worry about future events, and fear is a reaction to current events.
These feelings may cause physical symptoms, such as a fast heart rate and shakiness.
There are a number of anxiety disorders including generalized anxiety disorder, specific
phobia, social anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder, agoraphobia, panic disorder, and selective
mutism.

NATURE OF ANXIETY DISORDER:

 The essential feature of social anxiety disorder (social phobia) is a fear of scrutiny by
other people in social or performance situations.
 anxiety is one of the three main emotions that can cause a lot of problems when it gets
out of hand. Many people who have trouble in social situations struggle with it to one
degree or another. It's a facet of shyness, and of course it's the main ingredient in social
anxiety.
 It causes physical, mental, and behavioral symptoms. Physically someone may get a
rapid heartbeat, become shaky, start sweating, feel pukey, or develop a dry mouth.
Mentally they may feel fearful, worried, and distracted. Behaviorally the emotion makes
people want to escape from whatever it is that's making them feel that way.

Ex: "When you're in certain situations I'll appear, and you'll feel terrible. If you don't get
into those situations I won't rear my head, and you'll feel fine."
 . While anxiety and panic, by their nature, are unpleasant, they are not in the least bit
dangerous.
CAUSES OF ANXIETY:

Anxiety may be caused by a mental condition, a physical condition, the effects of drugs, or a
combination of these.

Common causes of anxiety include these mental conditions:

 Panic disorder: In addition to anxiety, common symptoms of panic disorders are palpitations
(feeling your heart beat), dizziness, and shortness of breath. These same symptoms also can
be caused by coffee (caffeine), an overactive thyroid, abnormal heart rhythms, and other
heart abnormalities (such as mitral valve prolapse).
 Generalized anxiety disorder
 Phobic disorders-> the term "phobia" refers to a group of anxiety symptoms brought on
by certain objects or situations. A specific phobia, formerly called a simple phobia, is a
lasting and unreasonable fear caused by the presence or thought of a specific object or
situation that usually poses little or no actual danger.
 Stress disorders

These common external factors can cause anxiety:

o Stress at work
o Stress from school
o Stress in a personal relationship such as marriage
o Financial stress
o Stress from an emotional trauma such as the death of a loved one
 o Stress from a serious medical illness
o Side effect of medication
o Use of an illicit drug, such as cocaine

COMPETITIVE ANXIETY AND SPORTS PERFORMANCE:

 The main objective of this particular study was to know about effect of anxiety on players
regarding physiological, psychological and behavioral perspective.
 Burton (1990) stated, “stress has been defined as stimulus, intervening and response to
variables.
 There are two ways these are demonstrated:

 Competitive anxiety is a multidimensional state that arises as a result of the cognitive evaluation
of a competitive situation.
 There is a tendency to perceive competitive situations as threatening and to respond to them
with feelings of apprehension and tension.
1. Situational factors (such as type of sport or the complexity of the task) and
 2. personal factors (such as expectations, achievement of goals, skill level, experience,
age) .
 Anxiety symptoms can occur before, during or after the event:
I. which can be cognitive (confusion, negative thoughts, irritability, fear, feelings
of weakness, poor concentration)
II. somatic (increase in blood pressure and heart rate, sweating, muscle tension,
nausea, vomit)
III. behavior (repetitive movement, aggressive outbursts, inhibited posture, biting
nails).

 Anxiety affects directly or indirectly different functions of the body in various ways which
include muscles shake, fast heartbeat, sweating fast breathing.
 Anxiety can cause weakness of muscles; the heart can race or the feeling of skipped heartbeats;
feelings of weakness over the entire body; lethargy; lack of strength; sometimes feeling like one
will pass out (faint); lack of sleep or motivation; lack of appetite or eating too often and
depression.

STRESS

Stress is a feeling of emotional or physical tension. It can come from any event or thought that makes
you feel frustrated, angry, or nervous.

Stress is your body's reaction to a challenge or demand. In short bursts, stress can be positive, such as
when it helps you avoid danger or meet a deadline. But when stress lasts for a long time, it may harm
your health.

There are two main types of stress:

 Acute stress. This is short-term stress that goes away quickly. You feel it when you slam
on the brakes, have a fight with your partner, or ski down a steep slope. It helps you
manage dangerous situations. It also occurs when you do something new or exciting. All
people have acute stress at one time or another.
 Chronic stress. This is stress that lasts for a longer period of time. You may have chronic
stress if you have money problems, an unhappy marriage, or trouble at work. Any type
of stress that goes on for weeks or months is chronic stress. You can become so used to
chronic stress that you don't realize it is a problem. If you don't find ways to manage
stress, it may lead to health problems.
What is stress?

Stress is the body's reaction to any change that requires an adjustment or response. The body reacts to
these changes with physical, mental, and emotional responses. Stress is a normal part of life. You can
experience stress from your environment, your body, and your thoughts. Even positive life changes such
as a promotion, a mortgage, or the birth of a child produce stress.

Meaning of stress:

A state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding

circumstances. மனந ோய் அல் லது உணர்ச்சித் திணறல் அல் லது பதற் றம் அல் லது
தீங் கு விளைவிக்கும் சூழ் ிளலகைோல் ஏற் படும் பதட்டம் .

Definition of stress:
stress is a physical, mental, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension. Stresses
can be external (from the environment, psychological, or social situations) or internal (illness, or from a
medical procedure).

General causes
Threat

A perceived threat will lead a person to feel stressed. This can include physical threats, social threats,
financial threat, and so on. In particular it will be worse when the person feels they have no response
that can reduce the threat, as this affects the need for a sense of control.
Fear

Threat can lead to fear, which again leads to stress. Fear leads to imagined outcomes, which are the
real source of stress.
Uncertainty

When we are not certain, we are unable to predict, and hence feel we are not in control, and hence
may feel fear or feel threatened by that which is causing the uncertainty.
Cognitive dissonance

When there is a gap between what we do and what we think, then we experience cognitive
dissonance, which is felt as stress. Thus, if I think I am a nice person then do something that hurts
someone else, I will experience dissonance and stress.
Life causes

There are many causes of stress in life including:

 Death: of spouse, family, friend

 Health: injury, illness, pregnancy
 Crime: Sexual molestation, mugging, burglary, pick-pocketed
 Self-abuse: drug abuse, alcoholism, self-harm
 Family change: separation, divorce, new baby, marriage
 Sexual problems: getting partner, with partner
  Argument: with spouse, family, friends, co-workers, boss
 Physical changes: lack of sleep, new work hours
 New location: vacation, moving house
 Money: lack of it, owing it, investing it
 Environment change: in school, job, house, town, jail
 Responsibility increase: new dependent, new job
Stress at work
1. The demands of the job
2. The control staff have over how they do their work
3. The support they receive from colleagues and superiors
4. Their relationships with colleagues
5. Whether they understand their roles and responsibilities
6. How far the company consults staff over workplace changes.

Other stress indicators at work include:

 Sickness absence
 High staff turnover
 Poor communication between teams
 Bullying
 Lack of feedback on performance
 Value and contribution
 Technological change
 Lack of clarity of roles and responsibilities
 Dissatisfaction with non-monetary benefits
 Working long hours
 Boring and mundane work
 One-off incidents
 Uncomfortable workplace
 Lack of training

STRESS AND SPORTS PERFORMANCE

 Too much stress can contribute to health problems. Stress can also reduce your ability to
perform at the highest levels. The negative effects of stress can impact profitability and quality
of life.
 The Physical response:
The Stress Response will->Increase heart rate, speed breathing or you might hold your breath,
tightens muscle to prepare to fight or to flee, directs blood to brain and major muscles (away
from digestion, hands/feet, Reproductive organs), releases stress hormones like cortisol and
adrenaline, slows or stops digestion, causes the brain to be more reactive/less thoughtful,
increases perspiration, reduces immune system response.
 Symptoms of Stress can include: Tension headaches, neck/back/shoulder pain, tight jaw, TMJ
problems, sleeping problems, fatigue, loss of concentration, learning problems can increase,
irregular or rapid heartrate, migraine headaches, poor circulation, Raynaud Syndrome, high
blood pressure, sexual dysfunction (in men and women), digestive problems, upset stomach,
ulcers, colitis, hormone imbalances, reduction of immune system function, over reaction by
immune system (allergies or autoimmune diseases worse), increased asthma activity, increased
aging rate, anxiety, depression, substance abuse, poor habit control, over-eating, low energy,
prone to accidents or mistakes, can impair communication, poor performance, etc…

 Competitive athletes have been aware of the negative effects of stress on their performance.
Tight muscles can drop their time in a track and field sprint by fractions of a second. This can
be the difference between winning or losing an event. Since the Eastern European athletes
began their mental training in the 1970'sa, world class athletes have begun spending as much
as 70% of their training time in mental preparation for controlling stress during competition.

 Stress and injuries->“one of the most common physical symptoms of stress is increased muscle
tension, which can obviously interfere with motor functions.”Additionally “recovery from
injuries, including minor muscle tears, can be slowed by stress’ negative impact on the body,”
according to the article.

 Stress helps you prepare, focus, and perform at your optimal level.

 Conversely, too much stress, or bad stress, can cause performance anxiety, which hurts your
health and does not allow you to play relaxed, confident, and focused in competition.

 When athletes experience an imbalance of training and rest, however, vigor and fatigue shift
inversely, with fatigue rising and vigor decreasing.

 When athletes feel good, their minds are clear, and they are better able to focus on the task
at hand.

AGGRESSION

Aggression is overt, often harmful, social interaction with the intention of inflicting damage or
other unpleasantness upon another individual. It may occur either in retaliation or without
provocation. In humans, frustration due to blocked goals can cause aggression. Human
aggression can be classified into direct and indirect aggression; whilst the former is
characterized by physical or verbal behavior intended to cause harm to someone, the latter is
characterized by behavior intended to harm the social relations of an individual or group.

Defn:
 Feelings of anger or antipathy resulting in hostile or violent behaviour; readiness to
attack or confront.(or)
 The action of attacking without provocation.(or)
 Forcefulness.
In psychology, the term aggression refers to a range of behaviors that can result in both physical and
psychological harm to yourself, others, or objects in the environment. This type of behavior centers on
harming another person either physically or mentally. It can be a sign of an underlying mental health
disorder, a substance use disorder, or a medical disorder.

Forms

Aggression can take a variety of forms, including:

 Physical
 Verbal
 Mental
 Emotional

While we often think of aggression as purely in physical forms such as hitting or pushing, psychological
aggression can also be very damaging. Intimidating or verbally berating another person, for example, are
examples of verbal, mental, and emotional aggression.

Purposes

Aggression can serve a number of different purposes, including:

 To express anger or hostility

 To assert dominance
 To intimidate or threaten
 To achieve a goal
 To express possession
 A response to fear
 A reaction to pain
 To compete with others

Types

Psychologists distinguish between two different types of aggression:

 Impulsive aggression: Also known as affective aggression, impulsive aggression is characterized

by strong emotions, usually anger. This form of aggression is not planned and often takes place
in the heat of the moment. When another car cuts you off in traffic and you begin yelling and
berating the other driver, you're experiencing impulsive aggression. Research suggests that
impulsive aggression, especially when it's caused by anger, triggers the acute threat response
system in the brain, involving the amygdala, hypothalamus, and periaqueductal gray (PAG).
 Instrumental aggression: Also known as predatory aggression, instrumental aggression is
marked by behaviors that are intended to achieve a larger goal. Instrumental aggression is often
carefully planned and usually exists as a means to an end. Hurting another person in a robbery
or car-jacking is an example of this type of aggression. The aggressor's goal is to obtain money or
a vehicle, and harming another individual is the means to achieve that aim.

Factors That Can Influence Aggression

A number of different factors can influence the expression of aggression, including:

 Biological factors: Men are more likely than women to engage in physical aggression. While
researchers have found that women are less likely to engage in physical aggression, they also
 suggest that women do use non-physical forms, such as verbal aggression, relational aggression,
and social rejection.
 Environmental factors: How you were raised may play a role. People who grow up witnessing
more forms of aggression are more likely to believe that such violence and hostility are socially
acceptable. Bandura's famous Bobo doll experiment demonstrated that observation can also
play a role in how aggression is learned. Children who watched a video clip where an adult
model behaved aggressively toward a Bobo doll were more likely to imitate those actions when
given the opportunity.
 Physical factors: Epilepsy, dementia, psychosis, alcohol abuse, drug use, and brain injuries or
abnormalities can also influence aggression.

Top 3 Theories of Aggression

This article throws light upon the top three theories of aggression. The theories are: 1. Instinct Theory
of Aggression 2. Frustration Aggression Hypothesis 3. Social Learning Theory.
1. Instinct Theory of Aggression:
The instinct theory of aggression was advanced by Sigmund Freud (1927) the great psychoanalyst of
yester years. In his earlier writings, Freud was of view that all human behaviour originates either directly
or indirectly from ‘EROS’, the life instinct, which helps in reproduction of life.

In this back ground aggression was considered simply as a reaction to the blocking of libidinal impulses.
Thus, it was neither an automatic nor an inevitable part of life.

But in course of psychoanalysis and particularly after the second world war Freud gradually came to
know the presence of two basic urges such as Eros and Thantos or life instinct and death instinct instead
of one instinct (Life instinct) held earlier.

ADVERTISEMENTS:

Thus revising his earlier view on instincts he wrote. After long doubts and vacillations we have decided
to assume the existence of only two basic urges Eros or the Life instinct and Thantos or the Destructive
instinct.

Thus Freud with experience and analysis gradually came to adopt the nature of human aggression, and
proposed a second major instinct named the Thantos, the force of death or destruction whose energy in
directed towards the destruction or termination of life, towards hatred, anger and violence and towards
all sorts of aggressive feelings, actions, dealings and behaviours.

He thus held that all human behaviour including aggressive behaviour stems from the complex
interaction between the instinct of Eros and Thantos and the constant tension between them.

Freud held that the death instinct is unrestrained and results in self destruction. So he indicated that
through other mechanisms like displacement, the energy of Thantos i.e. aggression is redirected out
ward so that it serves as the basis for aggression against others instead of destructing the self.
Thus in Freud’s view aggression originates primarily from the redirection of self destructive death
instinct away from the person towards others. The instinct theory of aggression was not much
developed by Freud in the beginning. But later on, he and his associates worked on it and attempted to
explain it in detail.

The instinct theory of aggression originates from the instinct of death or destruction. Physiologically the
death instinct represents the force which tend to destroy the organic life and to lead organic matter
back to the inorganic state.

Psychologically the death instinct gives rise to hostile and aggressive behaviour, to aggressive sexual
activity or to self and race destruction. Thus love and hatred, pleasure and pain, life and death instincts
go side by side. The death instinct otherwise known as the instinct of aggression is also expressed in
destructive and aggressive intellectual activities such as criticism, satire and taunts.

According to the instinct theory of aggression, aggression is a global instinctive, steam boiler like force
which Freud and his associates argue is urgently required and basically inevitable for self preservation as
well as reproduction. McDougall has also denoted the phenomenon of aggression in the instinct of
combat on the basis of the instinct theory of aggression first postulated by Freud, Miller, Dollard and
others.

According to Freud when we analyze the desire for love we also find some desire for aggression. Thus
the best loved friend becomes the bitterest enemy when both fall out. In our hence attitude towards
every stimulus there is the desire for love as well as aggression.

The instinct theory of aggression holds that aggression is inherited and biological in nature and is
expressed overtly and covertly i.e., outwardly and internally. Subsequently Freud had decided there is
no use in trying to get rid of man’s aggressive inclinations.

His positive social proposals were to break up human societies in to small communities through which
the aggressive instinct can find an outlet in enmity towards those outside the group in a conveniently
and relatively harmless form.

Freud holds that life and death instincts are primary instincts and all other instincts are derived from
these. But recently Freud’s concept of aggressive instinct or death instinct, which he said is the basis for
conflict between human groups, has been discarded.

The instinct theory of Freud (1927) is said to be the starting point but not the corner stone of
psychoanalysis. Psychologists working in the area of frustration and aggression have in fact found that
aggression in not instinctive, but it develops as a reaction to frustration of basic urges experienced
during early childhood period.
According to Alexander “Fear of the consequences of losing love because of jealousy gives rise to
aggression. No matter whether love or hate are instinctual or early acquired, they are always with us.
The facts of love and hate are psychological data independent of the theory.”
The two instincts advanced by Freud are not mutually opposed to each other. Behaviour originated by
life instinct may have strong components of death instinct and behaviour mainly motivated by death
instinct may have strong components of life instinct. Same psychologists object to the death instinct
advanced by Freud.

They say death instinct is a part of life instinct and hence it not justified to introduce it as a separate
instinct. Some biologists also go against the aggressive instinct advanced by Freud. They argue that life
instinct motivates an organism to live and to do whatever is possible for the sake of living. It is due to
this that we are organisms. If we wish death, how could we be called organisms?

Recent by Freud’s conception of aggressive instinct (death or destructive instinct) which he said is the
basis for conflict between human groups has been discarded. Research findings earlier mentioned
indicate that the view about innate drive for aggression or destruction is not correct since in most of the
instances aggression is found to be due to frustration arising out of early childhood experiences.

Social learning and imitation also induce aggression. Aggression may occur due to some hormonal and
biological factors, but it is not instinctive as Freud held.

According to Berkowitz (1962) Research findings offer little support for Freud’s reasoning. He held that
the view of an innate drive for destruction can be attacked both factually and logically.

The group for advancement of psychiatry (1964) formally rejected the instinct theory of aggression
advanced by Freud and held “war is a social institution; it is not inevitably rooted in the nature of
man.” These conclusions are supported by studies during Second World War.
The great majority of soldiers reported that their reason for fighting was to get the job done or the
desire not to let their outfits down. Only 2 percent said that they fought out of anger, revenge or
fighting spirit. Another 3percent gave replies that might be interpreted as aggressive such as crushing or
cutting the aggressor piece by piece.

The men in the front or boarder where expression of aggression would have been maximum and in
accordance with their actions expressed very few aggressive feelings. But it was however noticed that
soldiers in the training camps where aggression, hostility and combat is part of the training, most
frequently expressed hatred and aggressive feelings for the enemy.

Though some critics of Freud hold that the instinct theory of aggression is now considered a matter of
historical importance and though recent psychologists have discarded the term instinct from the
glossary of psychology the instinct theory has its importance in view of the fact that all researches on
theories of aggression have been reinforced by Freud’s theory of aggression.
Freud and his followers did not believe that aggression can be completely uprooted. They however
viewed that the intensity of aggression can be reduced by the promotion of positive emotional
attachment among people with the help of substitute out lets such as engagement in adventure works
like sports, swimming, athletics, mountaineering, space travel, Karate, Judo etc.

Lornez’s View:
Observations of animals in their natural habitats led some psychologists to view that aggressive drive
has an innate, biological or instinctive basis. In the opinion of Konrad Lorenz, aggression which causes
physical harm to others starts from a fighting instinct that human beings share with other organisms.
The energy associated with this instinct is spontaneously produced in individuals at a more or less
constant rate.

The probability of aggression increases as a function of the amount of stored energy and the presence
and strength of aggression releasing stimuli. According to him aggression is inevitable and at times
spontaneous outbursts of powerful feelings occur like volcanic irruption.

Lorenz considers aggression as a “true, primarily species preserving instinct”, in humans as well as in
animals. Though observation of animal behaviour suggests that the innate instinct of aggression drives
animals to aggressive behaviour, the same should not be generalized in case of human beings, and such
generalization if made by anybody is highly questionable.
There are in fact major differences between human aggression and animal aggression. While animal
aggression can be controlled and regulated by immediate changes in the stimulus, human aggression
can be maintained by mediating cognitive structures and to a much smaller degree stimulus bound.
(Feshbach)

Thus the issue of biological basis of aggression is a controversial one and needs further debate. But
according to Mussen, Conger & Kagan there is strong possibility that constitutional factors play a
significant role in human aggression. They further view that sex differences in aggressive behaviour most
likely have a biological basis.

It is found that experimental administration of hormone of male monkeys, pigs to female rat’s pigs and
monkey makes them much more aggressive in their approaches to others. Further it is seen that activity
level of a person is connected with his constitution. An active child is more found to be involved in
aggressive encounters.

2. Frustration Aggression Hypothesis:

Miller and Dollard in their stimulating yet no less illuminating book “Frustration and Aggression” define
frustration as “that condition which exists when a goal response suffers interference.” Frustrating
events are those which block the individual’s goal oriented behaviour, threaten his sell’ esteem or
deprive him of the opportunity to gratify his important motives and immediate goals.
When an event or situation disturbs or upsets the child or the adult, it is considered frustrating. But a
situation which is considered frustrating for one person may not be frustrating for another person. Here
parental training, social class, economic status and early childhood training for frustration tolerance play
their role.

Freud probably for the first time gave the term frustration a scientific basis. Frustration in simple terms
may be defined as that state in the organism which exists as a consequence of interference in the goal
oriented behaviour and gives rise to a number of maladaptive or substituted reactions.

A person who fails to marry his sweet heart because of parental rejection and social restrictions is said
to be suffering from severe frustration.

Frustration during childhood may arise from several sources because of his helplessness at birth. The
famous German psycholosist Ottorank held that birth cry indicates the greatest frustration in human
life. The pangs of separation from the mother acts as a tremendous source of frustration.

Minor interferences however may bring mild and brief reactions of aggression. The view of Freud and
his followers that aggression is an instinct and innate drive has been rejected by later psychologists like
Miller; Bollard and many others. They have proposed that it is a frustration instigated drive.

The Frustration-Aggression hypothesis proposed by Miller Bollard and others (1939) is a significant
contribution is tracing the causes of aggression. This hypothesis states that aggression is always a
consequence of frustration. Miller applied this hypothesis to the Negroes of U.S.A. to study their
reaction as a consequence to the frustration imposed by the white groups.

Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis postulates the following:

1. A thwarting person’s efforts to reach a goal induces an aggressive drive in him which in turn triggers
off a behaviour to injure or destroy the person or object which has caused the frustration.

2. The expression of aggression reduces the desire for it.

The key aspect of the hypothesis is that aggression is the measure and fundamental reaction to
frustration though other responses like regression, withdrawal, reaction formation and displacement
etc. may occur.

According to this hypothesis aggression is not inborn but is a learned behaviour. Since frustration is
found universally aggression is also found universally, they say, and hence frustration may be considered
as a drive.

Marke and Ervin (1970) further view that even though the presence of some genetic or biological factors
in aggression cannot be ruled out in case of human beings, these mechanism are under the cognitive
control of man. A person with a particular brain injury may react aggressively to situations which may
not give rise to any aggressive response in case of a normal person without brain injury.

This indicates that a normal person has cognitive control capacity where as a brain injured person lacks
this. In normal persons the frequency with which the aggressive behaviour is expressed, the form it
takes and the situations in which it is displayed are determined greatly by learning and socio-cultural
factors.

The proponents of the Frustration Aggression hypothesis advocate that aggression is always a
consequence of frustration of some sort. They further say “although these reactions may be temporarily
compressed, delayed, disguised, displaced and otherwise deflected from their immediate and logical
goals, they are not destroyed. It is therefore inevitable that aggression follows frustration.”

This hypothesis by far is said to be most influential model for intergroup prejudice and aggression. This
theory briefly holds that frustration produces aggression which acts as a drive or motive to react,
combat or make attacks.

Supporting the frustration—aggression hypothesis or drive theory of aggression, Newcomb

opines “Frustration always induces motivation of some kind of aggression and if no aggression occurs,
it has been inhibited.”
If the frustration is produced by a powerful person like the employer, or the boss, the teacher, the
husband or in laws, the parents, the aggressive reaction is inhibited. My grandson Anuraag when wants
to view cartoon net work in television his father objects strongly.

Anuraag inhibits his aggression towards his father and withdraws from the Television. But when the
maid servant asks him not to see cartoon net work, immediately he shouts at her and sometimes gives
her a kick. Thus members of the out group who are considered less powerful become suitable targets of
aggression and hence become the scapegoats for the frustrated members of the more powerful groups.

Hence, in line with Freudian energy model, (Instinct theory), the aggression is stored and compounded
with each new frustration ready to be released on a powerless or less powerful stimulus. According to
Freudians the expression of aggression is desirable as it would drain off the accumulation of aggressive
urges.

Inhibition of aggressive urges on the other hand will lead to psychological complications during the
subsequent stages of personality development. At least the child should be allowed to vent his
aggression on his toys and dolls or in painting and drawings. He should be allowed to play and run to
release the suppressed energy.

Another theory based on Freudian theory postulates that repeated frustrations and severe harsh
treatment in early child hood produce subsequently an authoritarian personality which is rigid,
unfriendly, undemocratic and prejudiced towards the out groups and hence prone to violence. Such
frustrated persons lack good social relationship and fail to undertake successful social interactions.

They are moody, irritative and get excited all of a sudden on some very trivial or minor issues. With
slightest provocation they start quarrelling, combating and make counter arguments in an agitated
manner as if aggression is deep rooted in their personality. Such people are not liked by the society.

From these two theories which are interred related the following conclusions can be made:
1. Aggression is not an inevitable response to frustration. In both animal and human studies frustration
has produced different other reactions like submission, regression, repression, projection, displacement,
withdrawal reaction and other defence mechanisms or forgetting about the episode.

2. Many aggressive acts are not instigated by frustration. Ber Kowitz’s research (1962) led to the
undisputed conclusion that there are some aggressive acts that are not necessarily instigated by
frustration. For example, killing and destruction during an operation or war is a policy decision and this
need not be considered as reactions of frustrated individuals.

3. The most frustrated people are not necessarily the most aggressive. Women are highly frustrated in
societies throughout the world, but they are relatively less aggressive than males perhaps because of
biological reasons and social learning.

Sherif (1953) in this connection holds “with a society divided by hatred and violence among its groups,
the direction of prejudice and hostility is typically from the dominants and mighty groups downward
to the down trodden and deprived.”
Comparison between different societies and cultures do not prove that the most frustrated are
necessarily the most aggressive.

As Klinberg rightly points out at the time when lynching negroes’ was not uncommon in the southern
United States, White Brazilians were by and large much more frustrated in their attempts to maintain a
subsistence level of life and were similarly subjected to the ups and downs of economic conditions.

But they were not lynching the Brazilian Negroes. The Indian soldiers in the Jammu and Kasmir border
and near the P.O.K are being killed mercilessly and subjected to terrorists attack daily. But they are not
lynching the enemies or making henius terrorist attacks.

4. The scape goat theory does not explain the targets of aggression. This theory holds that the most
likely targets would be the people most helpless and most likely to retaliate. BerKowitz (1962) found
that the most helpless groups are not always the objects of hatred and not the only ones.

He therefore reached at the conclusion that the scape goat theory as usually formulated is incomplete.
In studying juvenile gangs of Chicago in 1927 Thraser observed that the height of solidarity and mutual
trust among members frequently accompanied their most intense conflicts with other groups.
Considering the limitations of the famous frustration-aggression hypotheses, later psychologists
challenged it and tried to bring modifications. They hold that aggression is a consequence of frustration
but it is not the only or sole reaction to frustration. G.K Morton, in “A note on the Frustration—
Aggression theory of Dollard and his associates” criticised as follows.
“The view of Miller, Dollard that frustration leads to some sort of aggression is equal to the falacy which
was popular 20 years back i.e., if you suppress your sexual urges a complex will set in and therefore
people let themselves go…perhaps the frustration aggression is roughly equivalent in validity to this
view on sex.”

When exposed to severe frustration many people become depressed rather than aggressive. Aggression
does not always originate from frustration.

In-spite of the controversies the Frustration— Aggression hypothesis advanced by Dollard et.al.(1939)
still stands the test of time. That aggression is the fundamental reaction to frustration, though not the
only one, nobody can deny.

This theory is still considered as an excellent theory which explains how frustration produces aggression
and if frustration is minimized aggression, violence and crime can be minimized in the society if not
totally uprooted. In-spite of the criticisms that this hypothesis had to face and in-spite of its limitations it
is undoubtedly the starting point of all researches in the area of frustration, aggression and its probable
reactions.

3. Social Learning Theory:

Subsequent research works in the area of frustration and aggression give the impression that
Frustration— Aggression hypothesis should be modified. From such researches originate the Social
Learning Theory.

Bandura, Berkowitz and others, the proponents of social learning theory view that an arousal which
results from frustration does not necessarily lead to aggression, but only creates a condition for a
readiness to cope with a threatening situation.

It can elicit different kinds of responses depending upon the kind of responses an individual has learned
to cope with the frustrating situations in the earlier period of life.

Thus, he may become aggressive, may become regressive and cry or may withdraw from the situation,
may remain silent, may displace his aggression on others or may seek the help of others. That response
which has been most successful in the past in relieving his frustration will be repeated.

Bandura (1965) has demonstrated that aggressive responses can be learned by reinforcement or by
imitation or by modeling which come under social learning theory. In a study on nursery school children
it was observed that when an adult showed various forms of aggressive responses towards a large doll,
the children showed similar aggressive responses through imitation.
There after they were shown film versions of aggressive modeling using dolls as cartoons. Results
showed that the children who had observed life cartoon characters exhibited greater aggressive
behaviour. It was also noticed from follow up studies that children remembered these aggressive
reactions even after eight months.

Crime and violence shown in television and films now a day’s help increase of aggressive behaviour,
crime and hostility to enormous extent. This proves that aggressive behaviour in mostly learnt and
imitated from the environment is which the child lives.

Julian Rotter (1954, 1982) another, contributor to Social Learning Theory suggests that the likelihood
that a given behaviour will occur in a specific situation depends upon the learning and imitation of the
organism in a social situation, the expectancies concerning the outcome of a behaviour will produce and
the reinforcement value they attach to such out conies i.e. the degree to which they prefer one
reinforce to another.

Social learning theory relies on the role of modeling, identification and human interactions. According to
Bandura a person can learn by imitating and observing the behaviour of another person. But at the same
time personal factors also play a role in determining one’s identification with and imitation of other
persons.

If the model is not liked, appreciated or respected by the person, then his behaviour may not be
imitated only when a person identifies with another person and likes him, he accepts him as a model
and imitates him.

A child imitates his parents because he likes and respects them as they take care of him, provide him
security, confidence, love and affection. In course of parenting he observes their behaviour and imitates
them. Social learning through observation is also called imitation learning. Social learning theorists
combine operant and classical conditioning theories.

How? Although observation of models is a major factor in the learning process of social learning theory,
it is important that-imitation of model must be rewarded and reinforced if the person has to identify
with the person and accept his qualities as his own quality. He not only accepts the qualities of his
model, he also learns to behave like them under similar situation.

Alfred Bandura is a major proponent of Social Learning School; According to him behaviour occurs as a
result of the interplay between cognitive and environmental factors, a concept known as reciprocal
determinism. When children or other persons learn by observing others either incidentally or
intentionally, this process is called Modeling or Learning through imitation.

But choice of a model depends upon so many factors like age, sex, status, similarity to oneself, whether
he likes or dislikes him, whether he respects or dis-respects him etc. usually it is found that that because
of sex role identification a son accepts his father as his model and a daughter usually accepts her mother
as a model and they imitate their parents accordingly.

But suppose due to some reasons the boy does not like his father but loves his mother most then he
may accept his mother as a model and imitate her behaviour, likes and dislikes dress, emotion etc.

If the mother shows aggressive reaction towards the cook, the child will learn to show the same
reaction. If the mother does not like a particular food, the child will not like the same. Sometimes
children are found to accept their teachers as model and imitate their behaviour.

If the model selected by the child is normal, less aggressive, reflects healthy values and norms the child
develops socially acceptable qualities. On the other-hand an aggressive model helps in the development
of aggressive reactions. Normal and socially acceptable behaviour of the model develops the capacity to
adapt to normal everyday life and various threatening, dangerous situations in day to day life.

Even abnormal and maladaptive behaviour learnt from un-favourable role models can be eliminated
through behaviour modification technique (operant conditioning).

Through behaviour therapy a person can learn alternate behaviour from other role models who show
normal and society acceptable models. It is true that an aggressive and maladaptive model helps in the
development of aggressive and maladaptive behaviour. As children grow older they acquire the
knowledge of sex category through social learning.

Social learning theory emphasizes the impact of modeling and operant conditioning learning on
acquisition of different behaviors. According to social learning theory children are rewarded with verbal
praise when they behave in accordance with gender roles and gender stereotypes i.e., when they show
the behaviour as boys or girls sanctioned and expected by the society.

For example a boy learns to be dressed like his father or brother and he plays games decided for the
boys or the games which other boys play.

If a boy is dressed like a girl he is ridiculed by the society and this activity is not reinforced or rewarded.
So he gives up being dressed like a girl and starts wearing the dresses meant for boys. Similarly a girl
learns to help her mother in house hold works as society expects a girl to do so.

Here the approval of parents and sanction of society acts as rein-forcer for the child, so he imitates such
activities. On the contrary, punishment eliminates certain learning and behaviour not approved by the
society and culture. When a boy imitates the male members of his family and a girl imitates the female
members of the family they tend to adopt the behaviour shown by their same sex models.
Bandura’s social learning theory suggests that people can learn by observing others and events in the
environment as well as by participating them. In several recent studies Bandura, Bandura and Walters
et.al, demonstrated the usefulness of observational learning in children.

They have also provided great deal of information regarding factors that influence the likelihood of a
subject’s subsequently imitating responses acquired through observation. In a typical experiment a child
is exposed to a real life or filmed model who is either a child or an adult.

The model then performs various activities and the child observes them. There after it is examined how
far the child has imitated the actions displayed by the models. Changes that occur in the behaviour of
the child after observing models and imitating them are not always positive in nature. Very often people
are likely to acquire bad habits as good ones.

A child of 3 years Atul went to a neighbor’s place to play with his friend Babloo. When he reached there
he saw Babloo was rolling on the floor, crying and crying and showing tantrums as his mother did not
give him money to buy ice-cream. Atul observed this vividly and next day he was found showing the
same tantrums and aggressive actions when his mother refused to give him money to buy chocolates.

In another incident a boy named Raju saw his friend Bittoo spitting on his maid servant as she did not
allow her to go out and play with his friend in the absence of his mother who was a working woman.
Next day Raju was found spitting on his servant boy’s face as he broke his Spiderman. These are all
learned aggressive behaviour coming under social learning.

Social learning theory suggests that through observation and imitation of models a lot of behaviour is
learnt. Even by observing“Saktiman”, “Spiderman” and other serials, in television many children learn to
show similar kinds of aggressive actions. Due to hero-worship many boys are found to run, jump, kick
and beat.
However, in case of girls such actions are less found probably because of discouragement by parents
and lack of reinforcement by society. Many experiments on children prove the concept of social learning
theory through observational learning and imitation.

A very famous study on learning to show aggression was conducted by Bandura and Ross and Ross
(1963). The study indicates how children learn to be aggressive by observing an adult aggressive model.

In this study they took two groups of nursery school children as samples. The control group was exposed
to a quiet non-aggressive amiable adult model. But the experimental group was exposed to an
aggressive adult model that kicked a big inflated Bobo Doll, scolded and insulted it.

The adult model in the experimental group knocked the doll down, sat on it, pushed it, insulted verbally
and threw it several times in the air, punched it repeatedly in the nose.
Later the children of both the groups were allowed to play in a room with several toys including a Bobo
Doll. Careful observation of their behaviour revealed that those who had seen the aggressive adult
model often imitated his behaviour. They too punched the toy, sat on it and often uttered verbal
comments similar to those of the model.

On the contrary children of the control group rarely if ever demonstrated such actions of violence and
aggression. The findings of this study prove that children acquire new ways of aggressing through
exposure to violent television programmes, movies and aggressive behaviour of his parents, grand-
parents and teachers.

Social scientists explain the in-disciplined aggressive and ruthless behaviour of many modern youths as a
consequence of imitating the same from the above agencies. All learned aggressive behaviour come
under social learning.

The ability to learn by observing the activities of others in the family or society is due to the cognitive
influence of learning. Even Tolman’s experiment on rats learning to run mazes substantiates the fact
that simple creatures can learn from experience to form internal models to guide later behaviour.

Social learning theory emphasizes the role of learning, especially impact of modeling and operant
conditioning techniques of learning. According to this theory children are rewarded for behaving in
accordance with gender stereotypes and gender roles.

“I act like my Papa so I am a boy” “I act like my Mummy so I am a girl”, they say. In this manner their
ideas about sex role and sex stereotypes develop. Children usually identify with their own sex models.

Rotter who has also contributed to social learning theory is of view that those individuals who strongly
believe that they can make and change their own personalities, own destinies they are known as
Internals. On the other hand those who believe that their destiny and personality is an outcome of the
forces in their outside or external environment and they have no control upon them, they are known as
Externals.

Internals are often happy people and are better adjusted because they try to shape their career and
future. The externals throw all the responsibilities on the outside environment and hardly make any
attempt to build their character, personality and future.

According to Rotter, “internal factors such as subjective estimates concerning the likelihood of various
outcomes, subjective reactions to those out comes and generalized expectancies of personal control
all combine to influence behaviour”.
These suggestions of Rotter definitely contrast very sharply with the view stated in early learning
approach to personality that only external reinforcement contingencies should be taken in the account.
Internals:
In Rotters Social Learning theory “Internals” are those individuals who believe that they exert sufficient
control over the outcomes they experiences.

Externals:
Externals are those individuals who believe that they have little control over the outcomes they
experience. The social learning theory advocates that people benefit from the exposures to others.
Many people who came to psychologists for help appear to have inadequate basic social skills of
communication and social relations.

They do not know how interact with others in an effective manner. They do not know how to make a
request without sounding pusliy or how to refuse one request without annoying the requester.

To-day, I went to a bank in some personal work. There I found that one customer was angrily arguing
with one bank employee and they were having very heated discussion over a very small issue i.e.,
updating the pass book of the customer. Both the customer and the bank employee I feel lacked
minimum sense of courtesy, patience and the skill to interact successfully.

Such people don’t know how to expose their feelings clearly and how to hold their temper in check.
They lack in emotional intelligence and even how to start, continue and hold an ordinary conversation.
Such individuals experience difficulties in forming friendships and intimate relationships, they also face
difficulties every-where for getting things done. In short, they don’t know how to behave properly.

They feel helpless, depressed, aggressive and anxious because of their difficulties. Presence of such
qualities makes life hail.

Behaviour therapists have developed techniques to modify such aggressive, undesirable, socially
unacceptable qualities and help people improve their social skills through observational learning.

There techniques of therapy often involve modeling, i.e., showing these people live demonstrations or
video tapes of how people with good social skills behave in different situations. Modeling as a very
successful technique in social learning is often used in “Assertive training” which helps clients to learn
how to express their feeling and desires more clearly.
Women who learn to be unassertive, shy, obedient, submissive and tolerant by observing women
models from the childhood with these qualities, can be made assertive, confident, self supportive and
protective by proper assertive training through alternate models. But assertiveness is not
aggressiveness.

Assertiveness means being able to state one’s preferences, wishes, desires and needs rather than simply
surrendering to others wishes and desires. Pushy persons can be checked through assertiveness.
Sometime we wish to avoid a person or refuse something which we don’t want.
But we cannot do it because of our unassertiveness. This can be achieved by assertiveness training,
women in India and other developing, under developed countries should be given this assertiveness
training.

Appropriate good social models in the view of Bandura can irradiate many aggressive behaviour. It can
also be controlled through social learning of desirable and unaggressive models. Thus the crux of social
learning theory is learning through models.

What Is Aggressive Behavior?

Aggressive behavior can cause physical or emotional harm to others. It may range from verbal abuse to
physical abuse. It can also involve harming personal property.

Aggressive behavior violates social boundaries. It can lead to breakdowns in your relationships. It can be
obvious or secretive. Occasional aggressive outbursts are common and even normal in the right
circumstances. However, you should speak to your doctor if you experience aggressive behavior
frequently or in patterns.

When you engage in aggressive behavior, you may feel irritable and restless. You may feel impulsive.
You may find it hard to control your behavior. You might not know which behaviors are socially
appropriate. In other cases, you might act aggressively on purpose. For example, you may use aggressive
behavior to get revenge or provoke someone. You may also direct aggressive behavior towards yourself.

It’s important to understand the causes of your aggressive behavior. This can help you address it.

What Causes Aggressive Behavior?

Many things can shape your behavior. These can include your:

 physical health

 mental health

 family structure

 relationships with others

 work or school environment

 societal or socioeconomic factors

 individual traits

 life experiences

As an adult, you might act aggressively in response to negative experiences. For example, you might get
aggressive when you feel frustrated. Your aggressive behavior may also be linked to depression, anxiety,
PTSD, or other mental health conditions.

Health Causes of Aggressive Behavior

Many mental health conditions can contribute to aggressive behavior. For example, these conditions
include:

 autism spectrum disorder

 attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

 bipolar disorder

 schizophrenia

 conduct disorder

 intermittent explosive disorder

 post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Brain damage can also limit your ability to control aggression. You may experience brain damage as the
result of:

 stroke

 head injury

 certain infections

 certain illnesses

Different health conditions contribute to aggression in different ways. For example, if you have autism
or bipolar disorder, you might act aggressively when you feel frustrated or unable to speak about your
feelings. If you have conduct disorder, you will act aggressively on purpose.

Causes in Children
Aggression in children can be caused by several factors. These can include:

 poor relationship skills

 underlying health conditions

 stress or frustration

Your child might imitate aggressive or violent behavior that they see in their daily life. They may receive
attention for it from family members, teachers, or peers. You can accidentally encourage it by ignoring
or rewarding their aggressive behavior.

Sometimes, children lash out due to fear or suspicion. This is more common if your child has
schizophrenia, paranoia, or other forms of psychoses. If they have bipolar disorder, they might act
aggressively during the manic phase of their condition. If they have depression, they might act
aggressively when they feel irritated.

Your child might also act aggressively when they have trouble coping with their emotions. They might
find it especially hard to deal with frustration. This is common in children who have autism spectrum
disorder or cognitive impairments. If they become frustrated, they may be unable to fix or describe the
situation causing their frustration. This can lead them to act out.

Children with ADHD or other disruptive disorders may show a lack of attention or understanding. They
may also appear impulsive. In some cases, these behaviors may be considered aggressive. This is
especially true in situations when their behaviors are socially unacceptable.

Causes in Teens

Aggressive behavior in teenagers is common. For example, many teens act rudely or get into arguments
sometimes. However, your teen might have a problem with aggressive behavior if they regularly:

 yell during arguments

 get into fights

 bully others

In some cases, they may act aggressively in response to:

 stress

 peer pressure

 substance abuse

 unhealthy relationships with family members or others

Puberty can also be a stressful time for many teens. If they don’t understand or know how to cope with
changes during puberty, your teen may act aggressively. If they have a mental health condition, it can
also contribute to aggressive behavior.

How Is Aggressive Behavior Treated?

To work through aggressive behavior, you need to identify its underlying causes.

It may help to talk to someone about experiences that make you feel aggressive. In some cases, you can
learn how to avoid frustrating situations by making changes to your lifestyle or career. You can also
develop strategies for coping with frustrating situations. For example, you can learn how to
communicate more openly and honestly, without becoming aggressive.

Your doctor may recommend psychotherapy to help treat aggressive behavior. For example, cognitive
behavioral therapy (CBT) can help you learn how to control your behavior. It can help you develop
coping mechanisms. It can also help you understand the consequences of your actions. Talk therapy is
another option. It can help you understand the causes of your aggression. It can also help you work
through negative feelings.

In some cases, your doctor may prescribe medications to treat your aggressive behavior. For example,
they may prescribe antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), such as phenytoin and carbamazepine. If you have
schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s, or bipolar disorder, they may prescribe mood stabilizers. They may also
encourage you to take omega-3 fatty acid supplements.

Your treatment plan will vary, depending on the underlying causes of your aggressive behavior. Speak
with your doctor to learn more about your condition and treatment options.

What Is the Outlook for Aggressive Behavior?

If you don’t deal with your aggression, it can lead to more aggressive and violent behavior. However,
there are treatment options available for aggressive behavior. Following your doctor’s recommended
treatment plan may help you gain control, before you cause harm to yourself or others.

Aggressive behavior rarely happens without a reason. Identifying the root causes of aggressive behavior
can help you avoid situations that trigger it. Speak with your doctor to learn how to identify and treat
the underlying causes of your aggressive behavior.

Q:

What’s the best way to determine when a loved one’s aggressive behavior is abusive, rather than a
normal emotional reaction?

A:

Unfortunately, there is not an easy answer to this one. In the cycle of abuse, the abuser often states “I
didn’t mean it” or asks for forgiveness, apologizes, etc. Generally, abusive behaviors occur with little to
no provocation. However, if aggressiveness is seen within the confines of what one would expect in a
situation where aggression may be normal, that can be an excellent indicator. For instance, if somebody
is being physically threatened by someone else, it makes sense that the individual would respond
aggressively. Also, the frequency of the aggressive behavior needs to be considered. If aggression is
consistently and frequently being displayed toward an intimate partner with minimal to no provocation,
then it is most likely abuse, as opposed to a normal emotional reaction.

Aggressioninsport
Written by BelievePerform 2 minute read 0 Comments

In sport, aggression is a characteristic that can have many negative as well as positive effects on
performance. Aggression is defined as “any form of behaviour directed toward the goal of harming of
injuring another live being who is motivated to avoid such treatment” (Baron & Richardson, 1994). Most
people view aggression as a negative psychological characteristic, however some sport psychologists
agree that aggression can improve performance (Widmeyer & Birch, 1984). This is called an assertive
behaviour (Bredemeier, 1994), where a player will play within the rules of the sport at a very high
intensity, but will have no intention to harm an opponent. In sport, aggression has been defined into
two categories: hostile aggression and instrumental aggression (Silva, 1983). Hostile aggression is when
the main aim is to cause harm or injury to your opponent. Instrumental aggression is when the main aim
is achieve a goal by using aggression. For example a rugby player using aggression to tackle his opponent
to win the ball. The player is not using his aggression to hurt the opponent but rather to win the ball
back. Coulomb and Pfister (1998) conducted a study looking at aggression in high-level sport. They
found that experienced athletes used more instrumental aggression in which they used to their
advantage and that hostile aggression was less frequently used. Experienced athletes used self-control
to help them with their aggression.
A question that can be asked is where does this aggression come from? The frustration aggression
theory (Dollard, Doob, Miller, Mowrer, & Sears, 1939) states that aggression occurs because frustration
arises due to a goal blockage. However this theory states that every time a player becomes frustrated
this will always cause aggression. This theory does not take into account any other intrinsic or extrinsic
factors.

On the other hand the general aggression model (Anderson & Bushman, 2002) argues that situational
and personal factors play a role in causing a person to behave aggressively. Therefore, a player’s
personality will play a large role in determining whether they are aggressive or not in certain situations.
This model also takes into account socially learnt cues and therefore if a player has been taught not to
be aggressive in certain situation then he will not use aggression.

It can be seen that aggression comes from a variety of sources and it is important to understand where
these sources stem from. Sport stressors allow us to understand what causes an athlete to become
frustrated which can lead to aggression and a decline in performance.

In a player’s career they will come across a number of high-pressured situations where they will have to
deal with many stressors. These can range from personal stressors such as worry and anxiety, to
situational stressors such as team-related problems. Much research on stress in sport has been focused
on golf and figure skaters, therefore identifying stressors in a team environment is very important
(Gould, Jackson & Finch, 1993). Stress can have a negative impact on performance and has been shown
to even increase the likelihood of injury (Blackwell & McCullagh, 1990). Noblet and Gifford (2002)
studied Australian football players, looking at the different stressors that they experience. They found
that the pressure to perform constantly, poor form and high expectations were all key stressors that
affected the players. As well as this, players also found it hard to balance their sport and other
commitments. This research can prove very important for psychologists and how they help these players
deal with these stressors. In elite sport the main type of stress that has been studied is organisational
stress. Shirom (1982) defined organisational stress as “work related social psychological stress”.
Woodman and Hardy (2001) investigated organisational stress in elite athletes and they found that
there were four main stress issues, which were personal, team, leadership and environmental. Within
team issues a large factor that caused stress was tension among athletes. Fletcher and Hanton (2003)
conducted a similar study looking at organisational stress and they found that the coach athlete tension
was a large contributing factor. Therefore strict coaching and negative feedback can affect performance
in many ways.

Learning how to deal with stresss is key as players must find ways to overcome these problems. In sport
psychology, little research has been focused on the coping processes of elite players. It has only just
recently been of interest to sport psychologists and is something which needs to be addressed in more
detail to improve our understanding (Hardy, Jones & Gould, 1996). Looking at the coping processes of
young elite players will allow us to understand how the players deal with stressful situations.

Aggression and its effect on Sports Performance

sp1keeps / November 28, 2013

“Aggression is behaviour with a goal of harming of injuring another being motivated to avoid such
treatment” (BTEC textbook (4)). There are three types of aggressive behaviour, hostile and instrumental
aggression, plus assertion. We have Gills criteria for aggression, plus the causes of aggression; instinct
theory, frustration-aggression theory and social learning theory.
Firstly aggression falls into three categories, hostile and instrumental aggression and assertion. To
determine which behaviour we are talking about Gills Criteria (1980s) comes into place. Gills criteria is a
list of four point which determine whether we are talking about aggression, or assertion. If one of these
criteria is not met, assertion is happening, however if all four are met, you can then decide whether the
behaviour in mind, is indeed hostile or instrumental. The four points are:

1. It is a form of behaviour: aggression can be either physical or verbal behaviour

2. It involves causing harm or injury: aggression is designed to cause either physical or
physiological harm.
3. The injury or harm is directed towards another being.
4. The aggression must be intentional: an accident cannot be classed as aggression. (4)
So these four criteria (cited in textbook (4)) will help us determine between hostile and instrumental
aggression and assertion. Now aggressive behaviour is all about the intention, not the outcome. Hostile
aggression is “inflicting harm whether it is physical or psychological, on someone else. It is sometimes
referred to as reactive aggression and can be accompanied by anger” (BTEC sport textbook (4)) a good
example of this type of aggression is Roy Keane (3). “Keane admitted in his book that he set out to
injure Haaland that day: ‘I’d waited long enough. I f****** hit him hard. The ball was there (I think).
Take that you c***.” (Daily Mail (1)). This shows that he set out to harm the player, Haaland, and he
wasn’t aiming for the ball at all. This suggests hostile aggression as it was a reaction to their feud that
had been going on for a while and Keane reacted and intended harm.

Opposite to this type of aggression we have instrumental. “This is displaying aggressive behaviour in the
pursuit of a non-aggressive goal, sometimes referred to as channelled aggression” (4). Now this type of
aggression comes about mostly in contact sports. My illustration is of Ryan Shawcross’s tackle on Aaron
Ramsey. When you watch the video of the tackle back (see reference list number 2) Shawcross is 100%
going for the ball! He isn’t aiming to harm or injure Ramsey, as you watch Ryan leave the pith, he is
wiping away tears in his eyes and looks distraught at the fact that he has done this to another player.
The players aren’t holding grudges and they both shake hands when playing against each other. The
tackle wasn’t a personal attack by Shawcross; it was just two plays on separate teams going for the ball,
and one coming out with a leg broken in two places. That tackle was pretty rash, I must admit, but he
wasn’t going for the player out of anger, so it isn’t hostile aggression.

Assertive behaviour is different from aggression/aggressive behaviour because the play is playing within
the rules of the game. Assertive behaviour links to four main criteria:

 Is goal directed
 Not intended to harm or injure
 Uses only legitimate force (even if this amount could be classed as aggression in a non-sport or
non-game situation)
 Does not break any rules of the game
Behaviour in sport will come down to hostile, instrumental or assertive. When Gills criteria are not
matched 4/4 assertive behaviour is most likely. My example to help me to understand this type of
behaviour more is myself as a goalkeeper. There are moments in the game when I come off my line to
collect the ball, this is purely goal directed and I have no intention to harm or injure the striker. When I
collect the ball, I may collide with the player or unintentionally hurt them if my leg is up. However, I do
not mean to, my goal is to get that football away from my goal; I don’t want to hurt them in the process.

So far we’ve seen the types of aggression and aggressive behaviour, along with how to differentiate
between these behaviours. Now we can see the causes of aggression, the three theories’ we are
learning about are the instinct theory, the social learning theory and the frustration-aggression theory.
Firstly the instinct theory, this suggests “we have an instinct to be aggressive that builds until we can
release that aggression in some way” (4). Mostly this aggression is released in sport, or socially
acceptable means…however there can be times when you let it out on another being. For example you
may be playing in the centre midfield in football; they were beating you to the ball every single time,
occasionally nicking your ankles in the process….the next time an opportunity arises. You will snap, you
will beat them to the ball even if it means you clatter them in the process, teaching them to not do it
again. A lot of coaches say it’s all in the first tackle, or in the first cross. If you win that first one, you set
yourself up for the rest of the game, you are a foot in front of the other, have shown them where you
stand.

Secondly, the social learning theory, this states that “aggression is a behaviour that we learn from
observing others and experiencing reinforcement for such behaviours” (4). For example a 10 year old
could be sat watching his favourite player on television with his friends and parents. If this player then
makes an awful challenge, taking out the opposition off the ball and doesn’t get a yellow/red card, and
his parents and friends cheer at this, he will be more likely to re-enact this behaviour when playing with
his own friends in the park. So the social learning theory, states that the reason for us acting in an
aggressive manner whilst playing sports or otherwise, is because we have seen our idols and sporting
heroes do the same, which has been applauded by friends, family and others, making us think that it is
acceptable and correct to do such a thing

The third theory is the frustration-aggression theory. This says that “aggression comes from you being
frustrated by not achieving goals or having progress towards a goal blocked” (4). Now this theory
doesn’t have a lot of support or evidence to back up the theory, as when you begin to become
frustrated, there are ways to control it, before it gets to the aggression stage. There is a revised version
which states the same, but combines it with the social learning theory, saying that aggression occurs in
certain situations where you may become frustrated. If you cannot control this frustration and what
comes along with it (anger and arousal) it is then when you are likely to become aggressive. “This theory
states that you are only more likely to become aggressive if the aggressive acts are supported” (4)

Now that we have an insight to what causes aggression, what the different types of aggression are and
how to clarify the aggression, we now need to see how it influences the performance of the team and
individual. As a team, when Shawcross and Keane were sent off, their teams were now a player down,
and were having to fight the game with a player less than the other team. This has an influence
especially if the team were struggling in the process. Also the player, who initiates the foul of aggressive
behaviour, resulting in the opposition getting hurt, will cause a lot of psychological problems too. Their
players may think that they were stupid to lash out, making them resent their teammate. The fans may
boo him, and the media will have a field day. The lashing out doesn’t just effect the injured player, but it
also has an impact on the player committing the challenge, once he’s cooled down they may regret their
behaviour then have to face the comments and thoughts from commentators, fans and other players.

SELF COCEPT:

1.an idea of the self constructed from the beliefs one holds about oneself and the responses of others.

One's self-concept (also called self-construction, self-identity, self-perspective or self-structure) is a

collection of beliefs about oneself.[1][2] Generally, self-concept embodies the answer to "Who am I?".[3]
One's self-concept is made up of self-schemas, and their past, present, and future selves.

Self-concept is distinguishable from self-awareness, which refers to the extent to which self-
knowledge is defined, consistent, and currently applicable to one's attitudes and dispositions.[4]Self-
concept also differs from self-esteem: self-concept is a cognitive or descriptive component of one's self
(e.g. "I am a fast runner"), while self-esteem is evaluative and opinionated (e.g. "I feel good about being
a fast runner").
Self-concept is made up of one's self-schemas, and interacts with self-esteem, self-knowledge, and the
social self to form the self as whole. It includes the past, present, and future selves, where future selves
(or possible selves) represent individuals' ideas of what they might become, what they would like to
become, or what they are afraid of becoming. Possible selves may function as incentives for certain
behavior.[3][5]
Meaning :
Self-concept is generally thought of as our individual perceptions of our behavior, abilities, and unique
characteristics. It is essentially a mental picture of who you areas a person. For example, beliefs such as
"I am a good friend" or "I am a kind person" are part of an overall self-concept.

What is Self-Concept Theory? A Psychologist Explains.

07 JUN 2018

POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY STUDIES

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Last Updated on February 14, 2019

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Who are you? What makes you

“you”?
You may not have given much thought to these questions before, but you probably have a good idea of
how to answer them. You might say “I’m a mother,” “I’m a therapist,” “I’m a believer,” or “I’m a great
friend.”

You might answer “I am excellent at my job” or “I’m an accomplished musician,” or “I’m a successful
athlete.”

Other common responses might fall into the category of traits: “I’m a kind-hearted person,” “I’m
intelligent and hard-working,” or “I’m laid-back and easy-going.”

These responses come from your internal sense of who you are. This sense is developed early in life, but
it goes through constant evaluation and adjustment throughout the lifespan.

In psychology, this sense of self has a specific term: self-concept.

This article contains:

 What is a Self-Concept? A Definition

 The Meaning of Self-Concept Theory
 The Components and Elements of the Self-Concept Model
 The Development Stages of Self-Concept
 10 Examples of Self-Concept
 Research on Self-Concept
 Measuring Self-Concept with Scales, Tests, and Inventories
 Self-Concept Activities and Lesson Plans for Preschoolers and Older Students (PDF)
 Self-Concept Worksheets (PDF)
 8 Quotes on Self-Concept
 A Take Home Message
 References
The Science of Self-Acceptance Masterclass©

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The Science of Self-Acceptance© is an online, self-paced masterclass that will teach you how to best
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What is a Self-Concept? A Definition

Self-concept is an overarching idea we have about who we are—physically, emotionally, socially,
spiritually, and in terms of any other aspects that make up who we are (Neill, 2005). We form
and regulate our self-concept as we grow, based on the knowledge we have about ourselves. It is
multidimensional, and can be broken down into these individual aspects; for example, you may have a
very different idea of who you are in terms of your physical body and who you are in terms of your spirit
or soul.
The influential self-efficacy researcher Roy Baumeister (1999) defines self-concept as follows:

“The individual’s belief about himself or herself, including the person’s attributes and who and what the
self is.”
A similar definition comes from Rosenberg’s 1979 book on the topic; he says self-concept is:

“…the totality of an individual’s thoughts and feelings having reference to himself as an object.”
Self-concept is related to several other “self” constructs, such as self-esteem, self-image, self-efficacy,
and self-awareness.

Self-Concept vs. Self-Esteem

Self-concept is not self-esteem, although self-esteem may be a part of self-concept. Self-concept is the
perception that we have of ourselves, our answer when we ask ourselves the question “Who am I?” It is
knowing about one’s own tendencies, thoughts, preferences and habits, hobbies, skills, and areas of
weakness. According to Carl Rogers, founder of client-centered therapy, self-concept is an overarching
construct that self-esteem is one of the components of it (McLeod, 2008).

Self-Concept vs. Self-Image

Self-image is related to self-concept, but is generally less broad. Self-image is how an individual sees
him- or herself, and it does not necessarily have to align with reality! A person’s self-image is based only
on how they see themselves, while self-concept is a more comprehensive evaluation of the self based
on how a person sees herself, values herself, thinks about herself, and feels about herself. Carl Rogers
posited that self-image is a component of self-concept, along with self-esteem or self-worth and one’s
“ideal self” (McLeod, 2008).

Self-Concept vs. Self-Efficacy

Self-concept is a more complex construct than self-efficacy; while self-efficacy refers to an individual’s
judgments of their own abilities, self-concept is more general and includes both cognitive (thoughts
about) and affective (feelings about) judgments about oneself (Bong & Clark, 1999).

Self-Concept vs. Self-Awareness

Self-awareness may also be considered a component of or factor influencing self-concept. It is the
quality or trait that involves conscious awareness of one’s own thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and traits
(Cherry, 2018A). To have a fully developed self-concept (and one that is based in reality), a person must
have at least some level of self-awareness.
We explore this further in The Science of Self-Acceptance Masterclass©

The Meaning of Self-Concept Theory

There are many theories about what exactly self-concept is and how it develops, but generally, theorists
agree on these points:

 On the broadest level, self-concept is the overall idea we have about who we are and includes
cognitive and affective judgments about ourselves.
 Self-concept is multi-dimensional, incorporating our views of ourselves in terms of several different
aspects (e.g., social, religious, spiritual, physical, emotional).
 It is learned, not inherent.
 It is influenced by biological and environmental factors, but social interaction plays a big role as well.
 Self-concept develops through childhood and early adulthood when it is more easily changed or
updated.
 It can be changed in later years, but it is more of an uphill battle since people have established ideas
about who they are.
 Self-concept does not always align with reality. When it does, our self-concept is “congruent.” When
it doesn’t, our self-concept is “incongruent.” (Cherry, 2018B; Gecas, 1982).

Identity and Self-Concept Theory in Psychology vs. Self-Concept in Sociology

While both psychology and sociology have had an interest in self-concept over the last 50 years or so,
they often take slightly different tacks to exploring it. Individual researchers vary, of course, but
generally, the divide can be thought of in these terms:

 Sociology/social psychology focuses on how self-concept develops, specifically within the context of
the individual’s social environment.
 Psychology focuses on how self-concept impacts people (Gecas, 1982).

There are other differences between the two, including psychology’s general focus on the individual
versus sociology’s focus on the group, community, or society; however, this difference in focus has led
to two diverse research streams. Both have resulted in great insights and interesting findings, and they
sometimes overlap, but this divide can still be seen in the literature today.

Carl Rogers and the Self-Concept Theory of Personality

Famed psychologist, theorist, and clinician Carl Rogers posited a theory of how self-concept influences
and, indeed, acts as the framework for, one’s personality.
The image we have of who we are necessarily contributes to our personality, as the actions we take in
alignment with our personality feed back into our image of ourselves. Rogers believed that our
personality is driven by our desire for self-actualization or the condition that emerges when we reach
our full potential and our self-concept, self-worth, and ideal self all overlap (Journal Psyche Authors,
n.d.).
The ways in which we develop our personalities and self-concepts varies, resulting in the unique
individuals we are. According to Rogers, we are always striving for self-actualization—some with more
success than others.
You might be wondering how people go about striving for self-actualization and congruence; read on to
learn about the ways in which we maintain our self-concept.

Self-Concept Maintenance Theory

Self-concept maintenance refers to the efforts people make to maintain or enhance their sense of self.
Although self-concept is relatively fixed after a person reaches adulthood, it can—and does—change
based on the person’s experiences.

The theory of self-concept maintenance posits that we do not simply sit idly by while our self-concept
develops and shifts, but take an active role in shaping our self-concept at all ages (whether we are aware
of this or not). Although there are several different theories about the processes that make up self-
concept maintenance, it is generally thought of as concerning:

1. Our evaluations of ourselves

2. Our comparison of our actual selves with our ideal selves
3. Our actions taken to move closer to our ideal selves (Munoz, 2012).

However, although this may seem like a pretty logical and straightforward process, we tend to give
ourselves room for moral ambiguity.

For example, a study by Mazar, Amir, and Ariely (2007) showed that people will generally engage in
beneficial dishonesty when given the opportunity, but will also generally not revise their self-concept to
incorporate this dishonesty. If participants in the study were prompted to be more aware of their own
internal standards for honesty, they were less likely to engage in beneficial dishonesty; on the other
hand, if they were given “degrees of freedom” (greater separation between their actions and the
rewards they would receive for dishonesty), they were more likely to engage in dishonesty with no
impact to their self-concept.
This is but one example of the work on self-concept maintenance, but it offers a convincing case of how
people actively manage their own self-concept based on the context.

Self-Concept Clarity and Differentiation

Self-concept clarity and self-concept differentiation are two important concepts in the literature.

Self-concept clarity (SCC) refers to how clear, confident, and consistent an individual’s definitions of his-
or herself are (Diehl & Hay, 2011).

On the other hand, self-concept differentiation (SCD) refers to the degree to which an individual’s self-
representations vary across contexts or social roles (e.g., self as a spouse, self as a parent, self as a
student).

SCC and SCD have been hot topics in psychology, in part due to the implications they have on thought
patterns and behavior. We have gained some insights through research, but there is still much to be
learned.

As you can probably guess, higher SCC indicates a firmer and more stable self-concept, while low SCC
indicates that an individual is unclear or vague about who she really is. Those with low SCC generally
struggle with low self-esteem, self-consciousness, and neuroticism.

SCD is not as clear-cut; although having a high SCD may be viewed as a bad thing, it could also be an
effective coping mechanism for succeeding in the modern world where much is demanded of an
individual in each of their different roles. If SCD is extremely high, it might mean that the individual does
not have a stable self-concept and “wears a different mask” for each of their roles. A very low level of
SCD may indicate that the individual is authentically “them” across all of their roles—although it may
also indicate that he cannot effectively switch from one role to another (Diehl & Hay, 2011).

The Components and Elements of the Self-Concept Model

As noted earlier, there are different ideas about exactly what makes up self-concept and how it should
be defined; however, there are some characteristics and dimensions that apply to the basic, agreed-
upon conceptualization of self-concept.

Characteristics of Self-Concept
Self-concept is the overarching perspective we have on who we are. Each of us has our own unique self-
concept, different from the self-concept of others and from their concept of us. However, there are
some characteristics that all of our self-concepts have in common.

Self-concept:

1. Is unique to the individual.

2. Can vary from very positive to very negative.
3. Has emotional, intellectual, and functional dimensions.
4. Changes with the context.
5. Changes over time.
6. Has a powerful influence on the individual’s life (Delmar Learning, n.d.)

Dimensions of Self-Concept
As a broad and holistic construct, there are many dimensions or components of self-concept. Further,
different dimensions may make up different kinds of self-concept; for example, the dimensions that
make up academic self-efficacy will likely not have much overlap with social self-efficacy.

However, there are some overarching dimensions that many researchers agree on as pieces of the self-
concept puzzle. These dimensions include:

 Self-esteem
 Self-worth
 Self-image (physical)
 Ideal self
 Identities or roles (social)
 Personal traits and qualities (Elliot, 1984; Gecas, 1982)

The Development Stages of Self-Concept

Self-concept develops and changes throughout the lifespan, but it is most in flux during the early years.

The Formation of Self-Concept During Early Childhood

There are three general stages of self-concept development during early childhood:

1. Stage 1 – 0 to 2 years old

a. Babies need consistent, loving relationships to develop a positive sense of self.
b. Babies form preferences that align with their innate sense of self.
c. Toddlers feel secure with gentle but firm limits
d. At two-year old, language skill is developing and toddlers have a sense of “me.”
2. Stage 2 – 3 to 4 years old
a. Three and four year-olds begin to see themselves as separate and unique individuals.
b. Their self-images tend to be descriptive rather than prescriptive or judgmental.
c. Preschoolers are increasingly independent and curious about what they can do.
3. Stage 3 – 5 to 6 years old
a. They are transitioning from the “me” stage to the “us” stage, in which they are aware of the
needs and interests of the group.
b. Kindergarteners can use their words to communicate their wants, needs, and feelings.
c. Five and six year-olds can use even more advanced language to help define themselves within the
context of the group (Miller, Church, & Poole, n.d.).

Self-Concept in Middle Childhood

During middle childhood (about 7 to 11 years old), children are beginning to develop a sense of their
social selves and figuring out how they fit in with everyone else. They reference social groups and make
social comparisons more often, and begin to think about how others see them.

Other characteristics of their self-concept at this stage include:

 More balanced, less all-or-none descriptions

 Development of the ideal and real self
 Descriptions of the self by competencies instead of specific behaviors
 Development of a personal sense of self (Berk, 2004)

Culture begins to play a big role at this stage, but we’ll talk more about that later.
The Development of Self-Concept in Adolescence
Adolescence is where the development of one’s self-concept really takes off. This is the stage in which
individuals play with their sense of self, experimenting and comparing, and begin developing the basis of
the self-concept that will likely stay with them throughout the rest of their life.

During this period, adolescents are prone to greater self-consciousness and susceptibility to the
influence of their peers, in part due to the changes happening in the brain (Sebastian, Burnett, &
Blakemore, 2008). They enjoy greater freedom and independence, engage in increasingly competitive
activities, and are more able to take the perspective of others (Manning, 2007).

In adolescence, there are two important factors that influence self-concept and self-worth:

1. Success in areas in which the adolescent desires success

2. Approval from significant people in the adolescent’s life (Manning, 2007).

When students have a healthy sense of self-worth and self-esteem, they contribute to a greater self-
concept.

10 Examples of Self-Concept

You likely have a good handle on what self-concept is by now, but some examples are always helpful.

Although self-concepts are rarely all positive or all negative, it’s easiest to think of them in one of the
two categories. An individual likely has some positive and some negative self-concepts in different
domains (e.g., a man thinks of himself as a good father but sees his physical self as out-of-shape and
unhealthy).

Some examples of positive self-concepts include:

 A person sees herself as an intelligent person.

 A man perceives himself as an important member of his community.
 A woman sees herself as an excellent spouse and friend.
 A person thinks of himself as a nurturing and caring person.
 A person views herself as a hard-working and competent employee.
On the flip side, these people could have negative self-concepts like:

 A person sees herself as stupid and slow.

 A man perceives himself as expendable and a burden on his community.
 A woman sees herself as a terrible spouse and friend.
 A person thinks of himself as a cold and unapproachable person.
 A person views herself as a lazy and incompetent employee.

We all have many of these mini or domain-specific self-concepts that make up our overarching self-
concept. Some may be more positive or negative than others, but each is an important piece of what
makes us who we are.

Research on Self-Concept
Given the marked interest in this topic within sociology and psychology, there is quite a bit of research
out there on the subject. Here are a few of the most interesting and impactful findings on self-concept.

Self-Concept in Marketing and How it Influences Consumer Behavior

It probably won’t shock you that the idea of self-concept has made its way into marketing—after all,
what hasn’t?

Our self-concept influences our wants and needs and can shape our behavior as consumers. Whether it
is necessarily true or not, we tend to believe that our purchases help establish our identity. This idea has
a name: self-concept attachment.

Self-Concept Attachment
Self-concept attachment refers to the attachment we form to a product based on its contribution to our
identity. For example, a wealthy man who loves his Lamborghini and considers it a status symbol and
representation of his wealth has a very strong self-concept attachment; in his eyes, the Lamborghini is
an important feature of who he is.

Research has shown that when brands market themselves to match their target consumers’ actual
selves rather than their ideal selves, consumers become more attached to the brand (Malär, Krohmer,
Hoyer, & Nyffenegger, 2011). In other words, we tend to identify more with brands that “meet us where
we are” rather than trying to connect with our higher, ideal selves.

Companies understand this and work to (1) get to know their target consumers better, and (2) mold
their brand identity to match the self-concept of their consumers. The more they can get consumers to
identify with their brand, the more they will buy that brand.

How Does Self-Concept Affect Interpersonal Communication?

As you can probably imagine, self-concept also plays an important role in interpersonal communication.
Think about a cycle in which we continually develop, maintain, and revise our self-concept: we have an
idea of who we are, we act in accordance with that self-concept, others form an idea about who we are,
and they react in accordance with their idea of who we are, which impacts our idea of who we are, and
on and on it goes. Clearly, interpersonal communication has a big role to play in this cycle.
Our self-concept drives our motivations, methods, and experiences in communicating with others. For
example, if you see yourself as someone who is always right (or who must always be right), you will
likely struggle in communicating with others if disagreements arise. If that need is accompanied by an
acceptance of aggression, you may use hostility, assertiveness, and argumentativeness to attack the
self-concepts of the people you are debating instead of discussing their positions (Infante & Wigley,
1986).
Further, communication on social media may be both a determinant and an outcome of an individual’s
self-concept; a study by Sponcil and Gitimu (2012) suggested that, in general, the more friends an
individual has on social networking sites, the more positively they feel about themselves as a whole.

Self-Concept and Academic Achievement

Self-concept and academic achievement is another bidirectional relationship: one’s self-concept can
contribute to greater academic achievement, and academic achievement can feed back into one’s self-
concept.

In a longitudinal study, Marsh (1990) found that students with more positive academic self-concept
generally achieved greater academic success in the following year. Later studies confirmed the
relationship between the two but indicated that the relationship between achievement and self-concept
in which the former impacts the latter is stronger than the relationship in the other direction (Muijs,
2011).

Further, research by Byrne (1986) provided evidence that self-concept and academic self-concept can be
considered two separate constructs; academic achievement may impact one’s overall self-concept, but
it is most directly related to academic self-concept.

Self-Concept and Career Development

Self-concept continues to develop throughout the lifespan, including during an individual’s career
(although self-concept is generally fairly well-developed by the time an individual is establishing a
career). According to researcher Donald Super, there are five life and career development stages:

1. Growth (Ages 0 to 14)

2. Exploration (Ages 15 to 24)
3. Establishment (Age 25 to 44)
4. Maintenance (Age 45 to 64)
5. Decline (Age 65+)

The first stage is marked by the development of one’s basic self-concept. In the second stage, individuals
experiment and try out new classes, experiences, and jobs. Stage 3 sees individuals establishing their
career and building their skills, likely starting in an entry-level position. In the fourth stage, individuals
engage in a continuous management and adjustment process to both their self-concept and their
career. Finally, the fifth stage is characterized by reduced output and preparations for retirement,
activities which can have a huge impact on one’s self-concept (Super, Starishevsky, Matlin, & Jordaan,
1963).

Essentially, Super posited that self-concept drives career development; an individual’s vocational
abilities, talents, skills, and inherent capabilities are implemented to establish a career and develop the
individual’s sense of self. Super’s original work acted as a framework and inspiration for much future
research in this area, including Rogers’ theory on self-actualization, Bandura’s work on self-efficacy,
research on role salience, and the idea of multiple identities in career development (Betz, 1994).
Culture and Self-Concept
Unsurprisingly, culture can have a big impact on self-concept. How children are treated in early
childhood influences how their sense of self develops.

Western parents may be more concerned with emotions and satisfying the wants of their children, while
others may be more firm and controlling of their child’s behavior, worrying only about their needs
rather than fulfilling their desires. This is a generalization, but one that holds up under scrutiny.

Research on culture and self-concept has also revealed that those from more collectivist cultures
produced significantly more group self-descriptions and fewer idiocentric self-descriptions than those
from individualistic cultures (Bochner, 1994). Further research has also indicated that some cultures,
such as East Asian cultures, are more accepting of contradictory beliefs about the self; this indicates that
one’s self-concept may be more flexible or more rigid depending on where the individual is from (Choi &
Choi, 2002).

Findings like these are fascinating, but they do have an unfortunate side effect: making it even more
difficult to measure self-concept!

Measuring Self-Concept with Scales, Tests, and Inventories

As with any other self-related construct, measurement can be difficult. With several definitions of self-
concept floating around the literature, each with its own slight (or not-so-slight) variation, it can be
difficult to know exactly what self-concept is, never mind measure it!

It is also vulnerable to the usual measurement issues with such constructs, including self-report bias; as
noted in the definitions section, our self-concept does not always align with reality!

However, there are some tools available to measure self-concept. If you are interested in using a self-
concept measure for research purposes, be sure to look carefully at the development of the instrument,
the definition it is based on, and the dimensions or components it measures. It’s important that you
choose a tool that aligns with the idea of self-concept that your research uses.

Some of the most prominent tools to measure self-concept include:

 The Robson Self-Concept Questionnaire (SCQ; Robson, 1989)

 The Social Self-Concept Questionnaire (SSC; Fernández-Zabala, Rodríguez-Fernández, & Goñi, 2016)
 The Academic Self-Concept Questionnaire (ASCQ; Liu & Wang, 2005)
Self-Concept Questionnaire by Dr. Saraswat
The self-Concept Questionnaire from Dr. Saraswat (1984) has become a popular choice for measuring
self-concept.

It consists of 48 items measuring self-concept across six dimensions:

 Physical
 Social
 Temperamental
 Educational
 Moral
 Intellectual

For each item, the respondent is instructed to rate how well each item describes his ideas about himself
on a 5-point scale. Higher scores indicate high self-concept, while low scores indicate low self-concept.

This questionnaire is generally thought to be adequately reliable and valid by researchers, although it
may be a bit out-of-date at this point.

Self-Concept Activities and Lesson Plans for Preschoolers and Older Students (PDF)
If you’re looking for a great resource with 10 simple but effective activities for cultivating self-concept in
young children, look no further! Glori Chaika’s article “Ten Activities to Improve Students’ Self-
Concepts” (which you can find here) has exactly what you’re looking for. Some may be a bit advanced
for preschoolers, but they can be adapted to fit the context for several age ranges.

1 – The Interview
This activity is a good one for the beginning of the year since it can be helpful for students to get to
know their peers as well as themselves.

Break the group into pairs, and make sure each student is paired with someone they don’t very well.
Give them ten minutes to interview each other (five minutes per interview) and get to know one
another.

When all of the interviews have been completed, have each pair come to the front of the class and
introduce their partner to the other children.

2 – The Journal
Journals can be beneficial in many ways, but one definite advantage of keeping a journal is that it allows
you to get to know yourself better. Help your students get a head start on developing their sense of self
by assigning journal entries.
Tell your students that they can put whatever they want in their journal—they can write a poem,
describe a dream they had, write about what they hope for, something they are happy about,
something they are sad about, etc.—and that they must make at least three entries (or however many
you decide is appropriate) per week. Make sure to tell them that you will only read the entry if they give
you permission, but that you will check to ensure they made at least three dated entries per week.

3 – Designing Self-Collages
Self-collages are a great activity for young children, especially those who enjoy arts and crafts. Tell the
students they are going to create a collage that represents who they are, using pictures, words, and/or
symbols. They can cut things from magazines, print them out from the internet, or draw pictures
themselves.

The topic is simply the student himself. He can create his collage, however, he thinks best represents
who he is, but you may want to help him by suggesting he focus on things he enjoys or is good at, places
he’s been, people he loves or admires, the career they want, or their goals for the future.

When everyone’s collage is complete, you can do an extra activity in which students try to guess which
collage belongs to which student.

4 – Ranking Traits
This activity is best for older students, given the need for writing skills. Have the students rip a piece of
paper into ten strips and write a word or phrase on each strip that they feel describe them. Tell them
that no one will see the things they write down, so they can be completely honest.

Once the students have written down their ten traits, have them arrange them in order from those they
most like about themselves to those they least like about themselves.

Encourage them to reflect on their traits by asking questions like:

 Do you like what you see?

 Do you want to keep it?
 Now give up one trait. How does the lack of that affect you?
 Now give up another. Give up three. Now what kind of person are you?

After the students have given up six traits, have them add them back one by one. This exercise can be a
great way for students to learn about what makes them “them” and how each piece of them contributes
to the whole.

For an extra boost to this activity, you could have the students journal about their experience at the
end.

5 – Accentuate the Positive

Accentuating the positive is all about noticing and sharing the positive things about others (and
themselves).

To try this activity, break the students up into groups of four to six. Instruct the groups to pick one
person (to start with) and tell that person all the positive things about them. Encourage the students to
focus on traits and skills that can be altered (e.g., work ethic, skill in soccer), rather than permanent
features (e.g., eyes, skin).
One student in each group will act as a recorder, writing down all the positive things that are said about
someone. Each member of the group takes a turn, and the recorder gives the individual the list of all the
positive things said about them at the end of the activity.

This exercise can also make a great focus for a journal entry.

6 – Thumbprints
This activity requires an ink pad and the willingness to get a bit messy!

Have each of your students place his or her thumb on the inkpad and then on a piece of paper to get a
thumbprint. Show them the five major fingerprint patterns and have them identify their print type.
Explain how fingerprints are unique—both across their own fingers and from person to person.

Next, have each student create an animal out of their thumbprint. Bonus points if the animal is one the
student feels represents him or her! Encourage them to write about this in their journal, or to add the
thumbprint drawing to their journal.

7 – Create a “Me” Commercial

This activity can be especially fun for the drama-loving students. Tell them that they are each going to
make a two or three-minute commercial on why you should hire them.

The commercial should focus on their special skills, talents, and positive qualities. It should highlight
what is great about them and what they would bring to the fictional position they are auditioning for.

Give the students some time to write their commercial, then have them present their commercials to
the class. An alternative method for this activity is to have small groups create commercials for each
group member.

8 – Shared Learning
This is a simple activity if you’ve been having your students write in their journal for the whole term.

Tell the students to look through their journal entries and reflect. Have them choose one thing they
have learned about themselves during this term.

When each student has chosen something they would like to share, sit in a circle and have each student
share out on what they learned over the past three months (or four months, or six months, etc.).

9 – Write Yourself a Letter

This is another activity that is appropriate for older children since it requires somewhat advanced
writing skills.

Tell the students that they will be writing a letter to themselves, and to be totally honest since no one
else will be able to read it. They can write whatever they’d like in this letter to their future selves, but
they may want to add in things that describe them today (e.g., height and weight, current friends,
favorite music and movies, special things that happened to them this year).

On another piece of paper or on the back of this letter, tell students to write down ten goals they would
like to accomplish by this time next year. Have your students seal the letter and their goals in an
envelope, address the envelope to themselves, and give it to you. In one year, mail the letters out to the
students.

This is a far-reaching activity that will encourage your students to think about how they change over
time, and how they stay the same.

10 – Drawing Self Portraits

Make sure that each student has access to a mirror for this activity. If there isn’t one handy in your
classroom, bring some small mirrors in for the students to use.

Tell your students to use the mirror to draw a picture of themselves. It doesn’t have to look exactly like
them, but it should be a good representation of them. This simple activity can promote self-reflection in
students (beyond the kind that involves a mirror).

To take this activity a bit further, have them divide the drawing in half—on the left side, each student
should draw herself as she sees herself, and on the right side, she should draw herself as she thinks
others see her. Along with this drawing, the students can make an entry in their journal on the
differences between how they see themselves and how they think others see them.

Self-Concept Activities for Preschoolers

If you’re looking for activities specifically for preschoolers, this helpful website lists two dozen great
ideas.
For example, a few of the activities that can help preschoolers develop a self-concept include:

 Record each child’s voice during an activity period. Have the children listen to the voices and guess
which voice goes with each child.
 Have several children stand in a line in front of the class. Name the child who is first, second, third
and so on. Ask the children to change positions. Then have each child in line name his or her new
position. To vary the activity, have the children at their seats name each child in line and describe his
or her position.
 Make a friendship quilt. Cut several squares of brightly colored construction paper. Give each child
one of the squares. Have them decorate the square or even glue a picture of himself, glitter, beads,
sequins, or yarn to the square. Staple the squares, side by side, to the bulletin board. If extra squares
are needed to fill in empty spaces, print the school’s name or teacher’s name on additional squares
and intermingle them with the student’s squares.
 Have the children think of some things they can’t do now, but can do when they grow older. What
are some things they can do now that they couldn’t do when they were younger?
 Role play the growth process from baby to father or mother to grandparent. The child can interpret
the process as he or she goes along. Children can also develop a short play about the family.
Any of these activities can be adapted to fit your children’s context, whether that is a classroom, at
home, in a playgroup, in a therapy session, etc.

Lesson Plan on Self-Concept

If you’re looking for a good lesson plan on teaching self-concept, this plan from the Utah Education
Network is a great choice.

It starts with a description of self-concept as “the person I think I am” and contrasts it with “the person
others think I am” and “the person others think I think I am.”

A diagram on the first page shows a cycle with four “stops”:

 As I see myself
 My actions
 As others see me
 Other’s reactions to me

This diagram shows how each stop on the cycle feeds into the next, influencing each aspect and
eventually coming back to the original stop. For example, how we see ourselves influences our actions.
Our actions drive how others see us, and their image of us drives their reactions or behavior toward us.
This feedback on ourselves contributes to our overall image of ourselves, and the cycle continues.

Next, it describes several case studies to help drive the point home.

There is the case of a 35-year old mother who looks in the mirror and thinks about the wrinkle she just
found, the gray hairs she plucked, the weight she would like to lose, her desire to be a stay-at-home
mom, her messy and unorganized house, and a commitment she made that has overextended her.

There is also a case of a middle-aged father who thought about his miserable day at work, the last
decade or so of overtime at work and weight gain, his struggles to pay the bills and have a little money
left for himself, and all the things he has on his to-do list.

A third case focuses on a teenage girl who is concerned about her skin, her haircut, whether her friends
truly care about her, and an upcoming chemistry test that she has not studied for.

The final case concerns a teenage guy who was struggling to understand calculus and thinking back to
the counselor that encouraged him to take it. He is also comparing himself to his straight-A brother and
thinking about how he wished he could be the athlete his father wanted him to be. He is worrying about
tryouts and doubting his ability to even make the team.

For each of these cases, the questions are:

 How will the individual see him- or herself?

 How will the individual act toward others?
 How will the individual think others see him or her?
 How will others act toward the individual?
 What effect does this have on how the individual sees him- or herself?
 Where is the spiral headed and how can its motion be reversed?
This is a great lesson for children to learn, whether you introduce it in elementary school (with some
extra time and patience set aside!) or in high school. Follow this link and click on “Self Concept
Transparency” to see the lesson plan for yourself.

Self-Concept Worksheets (PDF)

Although activities and exercises can be extremely effective in helping young people develop and
understand their self-concept, worksheets can also lend a hand in this endeavor. Three of the most
useful worksheets on self-concept are described below.

Self-Concept Worksheet
This worksheet is a good choice for older children and young adults, although older adults can certainly
benefit from completing it as well. It consists of four pages with various prompts to complete and
questions to answer.

The first page poses a question on who you are overall: “How do you perceive yourself? Who are you?”
The individual completing the worksheet is instructed to write about herself in the space below,
spending at least five minutes on “free writing” about who she thinks she is.

If she gets a bit lost or needs a better explanation, she can refer to the description of self-concept at the
bottom of the page. It reads:

“Self-concept is based on belief rather than on fact. Your self-concept does not necessarily correspond
with external reality – others may “see” you differently. What you believe about yourself is true for you.
It will be a powerful factor in determining your behavior. For example, if you believe you are inferior to
others, you will probably act in a self-defeating fashion. If you believe you are strong and resilient, you
will likely succeed, even against great odds. Your self-concept can help or hinder you.”
The second page asks the individual to review his self-description and identify three qualities he sees as
his greatest strengths and two qualities he sees as his most serious weaknesses.

Next, the worksheet asks: “Which self-concept beliefs do you cling to despite feedback to the contrary?
Think of one of your self-concept beliefs that may be out of date and write it down.”

Once the individual has his out-of-date belief identified, the worksheet asks him to write about how and
why he has revised (or should revise) this belief.

The next section focuses on how the individual’s self-beliefs may be holding her back. It asks the
individual to “List a self-belief that may be keeping you from reaching your potential and explain how it
limits you.”

The fifth section is an exercise that will require a full day before the results can be written down. Once
the individual has paid attention to his self-talk for a day, he should come back to the worksheet and
identify three examples of negative self-talk, along with three positive affirmations he could use to
replace the negative self-talk.

Next, the worksheet asks: “What one person has had the greatest impact on the way you are today?
Explain.”

In the seventh section, the questions focus on career:

 How did you choose your career or area of study?
 When did you realize you had talent or ability in this area?
 What do you think influenced your decision?

In a similar vein, the next questions posed are on the individual’s strengths as others see them: “What
do people tell you that you are good at? Do you agree? Why or why not?”

The ninth question is on self-awareness: “Are there areas of your life in which you “play a victim” by
blaming someone or something else for what is happening in your life? Why or why not?”

The next section focuses on appearance, asking:

 What do you like about your appearance?

 Is there anything you would change if you could?

Finally, the worksheet closes with a question about the “Mosquito Principle;” this principle posits that,
like a hungry mosquito at a picnic, your life is only as good as the worst thing in it. A picnic can be lovely,
but if there is a mosquito pestering you, you won’t be able to truly enjoy the food and companionship.
So you are too distracted from the best things in your life by the worst thing (i.e., the mosquito).

The question is this: “Briefly explain a mosquito—i.e., the worst thing—in your life. How might you get
rid of this mosquito?”

Completing this entire worksheet will take time and effort, and the results will only be useful if the
individual is truly dedicated to learning about his or her own self-concept and answers the questions
honestly and with a great deal of thought.

You can find this worksheet from Joseph S. Miller’s website at this link.

All About Me
This worksheet from the Utah Education Network is a good option for children of all ages.

It is only one page with 15 prompts to complete. These prompts are:

 I feel good about…

 I feel successful when…
 My favorite person is…
 My favorite activity is…
 I wish I could…
 I want to…
 If I could have three wishes, they would be:
a.
b.
c.
 I feel depressed when…
 A character trait I need to improve is…
 I am good at…
 I wish I did not…
 My family is…
 I would like to be…
 The most important thing to me is…
 The thing I like best about myself…

You can find this worksheet and other worksheets and lesson plans on the Utah Education Network’s
website here.

Who Am I?
This worksheet comes from Australia’s Beyond Blue organization and is perfect for young children. It’s
actually a 10-page PDF that includes several fillable worksheets, all of which can contribute to a greater
sense of self.

In Part 1, the child will complete the following prompts:

 My favorite food
 My favorite song/music
 My favorite place
 An important person in my life
 My favorite possession
 A group I belong to
 My favorite pastime
 A dream for the future
 Something I dislike
 Something I’m good at

In Part 2, the child will take this one step further by completing six “I am…” statements. They can fill
them in with anything that describes them: skills, characteristics or traits, likes or dislikes, and groups or
teams they belong to. The examples given include:

 “I am a brother/sister.”
 “I am a good listener.”
 “I am against nuclear weapons.”
 “I am a member of the soccer team.”
 “I am a chocoholic.”

On the fourth page, there is an activity that may appeal to the more artistically-minded children. They
are instructed to think of a symbol that represents them—something like an object, animal, or some
other representation—and draw it, then list some of the qualities or characteristics that the symbol
represents.
Further activities in this PDF involve self-esteem, strengths, and reflection. You can find this PDF here.

8 Quotes on Self-Concept
Learning about how others perceive a construct can be helpful in furthering our own understanding of
that construct. Use the quotes below to see how your idea of self-concept compares to the ideas of
others.

Paul Valéry:
“What others think of us would of little moment did it not, when known, so deeply tinge what we think of
ourselves.”
Epictetus:
“Know, first, who you are; and then adorn yourself accordingly.”
William James:
“Seek out that particular mental attribute which makes you feel most deeply and vitally alive, along with
which comes the inner voice which says, ‘This is the real me’, and when you have found that attitude,
follow it.” –
Dr. Seuss:
“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.”
Bernie Siegel:
“Act as if you are the person you want to be.”
Thomas Szasz:
“The self is not something that one finds. It is something that one creates.”
William James:
“There is but one cause of human failure. And that is man’s lack of faith in his true Self.”
Joyce Brothers:
“An individual’s self-concept is the core of his personality. It affects every aspect of human behavior: the
ability to learn, the capacity to grow and change. A strong, positive self-image is the best possible
preparation for success in life.”

A Take Home Message

In this piece, we learned about what self-concept is (an overarching idea about who we are), how it
comes about (it develops throughout the lifespan, and is most flexible in the early years), what it is
related to and affected by (just about everything, but namely consumer behavior, academic
achievement, career development, and culture), and whether you can do anything to change it—you
can!

Our self-concept is affected by how we feel about ourselves and how we judge our abilities,
competencies, and worth as a person. When we put some effort into boosting these self-evaluations,
our self-concept will adjust to accommodate these changes.

In simple terms, we have the ability to change how we think about ourselves by working to become
more like our ideal selves. The take-home message should be one of motivation and inspiration—it’s not
as hard as it seems to become the person you want to be.

It might seem daunting to put in the effort required to revise your self-esteem and self-image, but like
most tasks, getting started is the hardest part! Refer to some of the quotes above to get a dose of
inspiration, or find some quotes on the subject that inspire you and keep them nearby whenever you’re
in need of some motivation.

Self Concept
Saul McLeod, published 2008

The term self-concept is a general term used to refer to how someone thinks about, evaluates or
perceives themselves. To be aware of oneself is to have a concept of oneself.

Baumeister (1999) provides the following self-concept definition:

"The individual's belief about himself or herself, including the person's attributes and who and what the
self is".
The self-concept is an important term for both social and humanistic psychology. Lewis (1990) suggests
that development of a concept of self has two aspects:

(1) The Existential Self

This is 'the most basic part of the self-scheme or self-concept; the sense of being separate and distinct
from others and the awareness of the constancy of the self' (Bee, 1992).
The child realizes that they exist as a separate entity from others and that they continue to exist over
time and space.

According to Lewis awareness of the existential self begins as young as two to three months old and
arises in part due to the relation the child has with the world. For example, the child smiles and
someone smiles back, or the child touches a mobile and sees it move.

(2) The Categorical Self

Having realized that he or she exists as a separate experiencing being, the child next becomes aware
that he or she is also an object in the world.

Just as other objects including people have properties that can be experienced (big, small, red, smooth
and so on) so the child is becoming aware of him or her self as an object which can be experienced and
which has properties.

The self too can be put into categories such as age, gender, size or skill. Two of the first categories to be
applied are age (“I am 3”) and gender (“I am a girl”).

In early childhood. the categories children apply to themselves are very concrete (e.g., hair color, height
and favorite things). Later, self-description also begins to include reference to internal psychological
traits, comparative evaluations and to how others see them.

Carl Rogers (1959) believes that the self-concept has three different components:

• The view you have of yourself (self-image)

• How much value you place on yourself (self-esteem or self-worth)

• What you wish you were really like (ideal-self)

Self-image (how you see yourself)

This does not necessarily have to reflect reality. Indeed a person with anorexia who is thin may have a
self image in which the person believes they are fat. A person's self image is affected by many factors,
such as parental influences, friends, the media etc.

Kuhn (1960) investigated the self-image by using The Twenty Statements Test.

He asked people to answer the question 'Who am I?' in 20 different ways. He found that the responses
could be divided into two major groups. These were social roles (external or objective aspects of oneself
such as son, teacher, friend) and personality traits (internal or affective aspects of oneself such as
gregarious, impatient, humorous).

The list of answers to the question “Who Am I?” probably include examples of each of the following four
types of responses:

1) Physical Description: I’m tall, have blue eyes...etc.

2) Social Roles: We are all social beings whose behavior is shaped to some extent by the roles we play.
Such roles as student, housewife, or member of the football team not only help others to recognize us
but also help us to know what is expected of us in various situations.

3) Personal Traits: These are the third dimension of our self-descriptions. “I’m impulsive...I’m
generous...I tend to worry a lot”...etc.

4) Existential Statements (abstract ones): These can range from "I’m a child of the universe" to "I’m a
human being" to "I’m a spiritual being"...etc.
Typically young people describe themselves more in terms of personal traits, whereas older people feel
defined to a greater extent by their social roles.

Self-esteem (the extent to which you value yourself)

Self-esteem (also known as self-worth) refers to the extent to which we like accept or approve of
ourselves, or how much we value ourselves. Self-esteem always involves a degree of evaluation and we
may have either a positive or a negative view of ourselves.

High self-esteem (we have a positive view of ourselves)

This tends to lead to

 Confidence in our own abilities

 Self-acceptance
 Not worrying about what others think
 Optimism

Low self-esteem (we have a negative view of ourselves)

This tends to lead to

 Lack of confidence
 Want to be/look like someone else
 Always worrying what others might think
 Pessimism

There are several ways of measuring self-esteem. For example, Harrill Self Esteem Inventory is a
questionnaire comprising 15 statements about a range of interest. Another example is the Thematic
Apperception Test(TAT), which is a neutral cartoon given to the participant who then has to devise a
story about what's going on.

Morse and Gergen (1970) showed that in uncertain or anxiety-arousing situations our self-esteem may
change rapidly. Participants were waiting for a job interview in a waiting room. They were sat with
another candidate (a confederate of the experimenter) in one of two conditions:

A) Mr. Clean - dressed in a smart suit, carrying a briefcase opened to reveal a slide rule and books.

B) Mr. Dirty - dressed in an old T-shirt and jeans, slouched over a cheap sex novel.
Self-esteem of participants with Mr. Dirty increased whilst those with Mr. Clean decreased! No mention
made of how this affected subjects’ performance in interview. Level of self-esteem affects performance
at numerous tasks though (Coopersmith, 1967) so could expect Mr. Dirty subjects to perform better
than Mr. Clean.

Even though self-esteem might fluctuate, there are times when we continue to believe good things
about ourselves even when evidence to the contrary exists. This is known as the perseverance effect.

Miller and Ross (1975) showed that people who believed they had socially desirable characteristics
continued in this belief even when the experimenters tried to get them to believe the opposite. Does
the same thing happen with bad things if we have low self-esteem? Maybe not, perhaps with very low
self-esteem, all we believe about ourselves might be bad.

Argyle (2008) believes there are 4 major factors that influence self-esteem.

1. The Reaction of Others

If people admire us, flatter us, seek out our company, listen attentively and agree with us we tend to
develop a positive self-image. If they avoid us, neglect us, tell us things about ourselves that we don’t
want to hear we develop a negative self-image.

2. Comparison with of Others

If the people we compare ourselves with (our reference group) appear to be more successful, happier,
richer, better looking than ourselves we tend to develop a negative self-image BUT if they are less
successful than us our image will be positive.

3. Social Roles
Some social roles carry prestige e.g., doctor, airline pilot, TV. presenter, premiership footballer and this
promotes self-esteem. Other roles carry stigma. E.g., a prisoner, mental hospital patient, refuse collector
or unemployed person.

4. Identification

Roles aren’t just “out there.” They also become part of our personality i.e. we identity with the positions
we occupy, the roles we play and the groups we belong to.

But just as important as all these factors, are the influence of our parents! (See Coopersmith’s research.)

Ideal Self (what you'd like to be)

If there is a mismatch between how you see yourself (e.g., your self-image) and what you’d like to be
(e.g., your ideal-self ) then this is likely to affect how much you value yourself.

Therefore, there is an intimate relationship between self-image, ego-ideal and self-esteem. Humanistic
psychologists study this using the Q-Sort Method.

A person’s ideal self may not be consistent with what actually happens in life and experiences of the
person. Hence, a difference may exist between a person’s ideal self and actual experience. This is called
incongruence.

Where a person’s ideal self and actual experience are consistent or very similar, a state of congruence
exists. Rarely, if ever does a total state of congruence exist; all people experience a certain amount of
incongruence. The development of congruence is dependent on unconditional positive regard. Roger’s
believed that for a person to achieve self-actualization they must be in a state of congruence.

Michael Argyle (2008) says there are four major factors which influence its development:

1. The ways in which others (particularly significant others) react to us.

2. How we think we compare to others
 3. Our social roles
4. The extent to which we identify with other people

Development and Characteristics of the Self-Concept

15 February, 2016 - 10:55

Available under Creative Commons-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Part of what is developing in children as they grow is the fundamental cognitive part of the self, known
as the self-concept. The self-concept is a knowledge representation that contains knowledge about us,
including our beliefs about our personality traits, physical characteristics, abilities, values, goals, and
roles, as well as the knowledge that we exist as individuals. Throughout childhood and adolescence, the
self-concept becomes more abstract and complex and is organized into a variety of different cognitive
aspects of the self, known as self-schemas. Children have self-schemas about their progress in school,
their appearance, their skills at sports and other activities, and many other aspects. In turn, these self-
schemas direct and inform their processing of self-relevant information (Harter, 1999), much as we saw
schemas in general affecting our social cognition.
These self-schemas can be studied using the methods that we would use to study any other schema.
One approach is to use neuroimaging to directly study the self in the brain. As you can see in Figure 3.3,
neuroimaging studies have shown that information about the self is stored in the prefrontal cortex, the
same place that other information about people is stored (Barrios et al., 2008).
 Figure 3.3 Areas of the brain the process information about the self

This figure shows the areas of the human brain that are known to be important in processing
information about the self. They include primarily areas of the prefrontal cortex (areas 1, 2, 4, and 5).
Data are from Lieberman (2010)

Another approach to studying the self is to investigate how we attend to and remember things that
relate to the self. Indeed, because the self-concept is the most important of all our schemas, it has an
extraordinary degree of influence on our thoughts, feelings, and behavior. Have you ever been at a party
where there was a lot of noise and bustle, and yet you were surprised to discover that you could easily
hear your own name being mentioned in the background? Because our own name is such an important
part of our self-concept, and because we value it highly, it is highly accessible. We are very alert for, and
react quickly to, the mention of our own name.
Other research has found that information related to the self-schema is better remembered than
information that is unrelated to it, and that information related to the self can also be processed very
quickly (Lieberman, Jarcho, & Satpute, 2004). In one classic study that demonstrated the importance of
 the self-schema, Rogers, Kuiper, and Kirker (1977) conducted an experiment to assess how college
students recalled information that they had learned under different processing conditions. All the
participants were presented with the same list of 40 adjectives to process, but through the use of
random assignment, the participants were given one of four different sets of instructions about how to
process the adjectives.
Participants assigned to the structural task condition were asked to judge whether the word was printed
in uppercase or lowercase letters. Participants in the phonemic task condition were asked whether the
word rhymed with another given word. In the semantic task condition, the participants were asked if the
word was a synonym of another word. And in the self-reference task condition, participants indicated
whether the given adjective was or was not true of themselves. After completing the specified task,
each participant was asked to recall as many adjectives as he or she could remember. Rogers and his
colleagues hypothesized that different types of processing would have different effects on memory. As
you can see in Figure 3.4, the students in the self-reference task condition recalled significantly more
adjectives than did students in any other condition.

Figure 3.4 The Self-Reference Effect

The chart shows the proportion of adjectives that students were able to recall under each of four
learning conditions. The same words were recalled significantly better when they were processed in
relation to the self than when they were processed in other ways. Data from Rogers et al. (1977).
The finding that information that is processed in relationship to the self is particularly well remembered,
known as the self-reference effect, is powerful evidence that the self-concept helps us organize and
remember information. The next time you are studying, you might try relating the material to your own
experiences—the self-reference effect suggests that doing so will help you better remember the
information.
The specific content of our self-concept powerfully affects the way that we process information relating
to ourselves. But how can we measure that specific content? One way is by using self-report tests. One
of these is a deceptively simple fill-in-the-blank measure that has been widely used by many scientists to
get a picture of the self-concept (Rees & Nicholson, 1994). All of the 20 items in the measure are exactly
the same, but the person is asked to fill in a different response for each statement. This self-report
measure, known as the Twenty Statements Test (TST), can reveal a lot about a person because it is
designed to measure the most accessible—and thus the most important—parts of a person’s self-
concept. Try it for yourself, at least five times:

 I am (please fill in the blank) __________________________________

 I am (please fill in the blank) __________________________________
 I am (please fill in the blank) __________________________________
 I am (please fill in the blank) __________________________________
 I am (please fill in the blank) __________________________________

Although each person has a unique self-concept, we can identify some characteristics that are common
across the responses given by different people on the measure. Physical characteristics are an important
component of the self-concept, and they are mentioned by many people when they describe
themselves. If you’ve been concerned lately that you’ve been gaining weight, you might write, “I
am overweight.” If you think you’re particularly good looking (“I am attractive”), or if you think you’re
too short (“I am too short”), those things might have been reflected in your responses. Our physical
characteristics are important to our self-concept because we realize that other people use them to
judge us. People often list the physical characteristics that make them different from others in either
positive or negative ways (“I am blond,” “I am short”), in part because they understand that these
characteristics are salient and thus likely to be used by others when judging them (McGuire, McGuire,
Child, & Fujioka, 1978).
A second aspect of the self-concept relating to personal characteristics is made up of personality
traits—the specific and stable personality characteristics that describe an individual (“I am friendly,” “I
am shy,” “I am persistent”). These individual differences are important determinants of behavior, and
this aspect of the self-concept varies among people.
The remainder of the self-concept reflects its more external, social components; for example,
memberships in the social groups that we belong to and care about. Common responses for this
component may include “I am an artist,” “I am Jewish,” and “I am a mother, sister, daughter.” As we will
see later in this chapter, group memberships form an important part of the self-concept because they
provide us with our social identity—the sense of our self that involves our memberships in social groups.
Although we all define ourselves in relation to these three broad categories of characteristics—physical,
personality, and social – some interesting cultural differences in the relative importance of these
categories have been shown in people’s responses to the TST. For example, Ip and Bond (1995) found
that the responses from Asian participants included significantly more references to themselves as
occupants of social roles (e.g., “I am Joyce’s friend”) or social groups (e.g., “I am a member of the Cheng
family”) than those of American participants. Similarly, Markus and Kitayama (1991) reported that Asian
participants were more than twice as likely to include references to other people in their self-concept
than did their Western counterparts. This greater emphasis on either external and social aspects of the
self-concept reflects the relative importance that collectivistic and individualistic cultures place on an
interdependence versus independence (Nisbett, 2003).
Interestingly, bicultural individuals who report acculturation to both collectivist and individualist cultures
show shifts in their self-concept depending on which culture they are primed to think about when
completing the TST. For example, Ross, Xun, & Wilson (2002) found that students born in China but
living in Canada reported more interdependent aspects of themselves on the TST when asked to write
their responses in Chinese, as opposed to English. These culturally different responses to the TST are
also related to a broader distinction in self-concept, with people from individualistic cultures often
describing themselves using internal characteristics that emphasize their uniqueness, compared with
those from collectivistic backgrounds who tend to stress shared social group memberships and roles. In
turn, this distinction can lead to important differences in social behavior.
One simple yet powerful demonstration of cultural differences in self-concept affecting social behavior
is shown in a study that was conducted by Kim and Markus (1999). In this study, participants were
contacted in the waiting area of the San Francisco airport and asked to fill out a short questionnaire for
the researcher. The participants were selected according to their cultural background: about one-half of
them indicated they were European Americans whose parents were born in the United States, and the
other half indicated they were Asian Americans whose parents were born in China and who spoke
Chinese at home. After completing the questionnaires (which were not used in the data analysis except
to determine the cultural backgrounds), participants were asked if they would like to take a pen with
them as a token of appreciation. The experimenter extended his or her hand, which contained five pens.
The pens offered to the participants were either three or four of one color and one or two of another
color (the ink in the pens was always black). As shown in Figure 3.5, and consistent with the
hypothesized preference for uniqueness in Western, but not Eastern, cultures, the European Americans
preferred to take a pen with the more unusual color, whereas the Asian American participants preferred
one with the more common color.

Figure 3.5 Cultural Differences in Desire for Uniqueness

In this study, participants from European American and East Asian cultures were asked to choose a pen
as a token of appreciation for completing a questionnaire. There were either four pens of one color and
one of another color, or three pens of one color and two of another. European Americans were
significantly more likely to choose the more uncommon pen color in both cases. Data are from Kim and
Markus (1999, Experiment 3).
Cultural differences in self-concept have even been found in people’s self-descriptions on social
networking sites. DeAndrea, Shaw, and Levine (2010) examined individuals’ free-text self-descriptions in
the About Me section in their Facebook profiles. Consistent with the researchers’ hypotheses, and with
previous research using the TST, African American participants had the most the most independently
(internally) described self-concepts, and Asian Americans had the most interdependent (external) self-
descriptions, with European Americans in the middle.
As well as indications of cultural diversity in the content of the self-concept, there is also evidence of
parallel gender diversity between males and females from various cultures, with females, on average,
giving more external and social responses to the TST than males (Kashima et al., 1995). Interestingly,
these gender differences have been found to be more apparent in individualistic nations than in
collectivistic nations (Watkins et al., 1998).
The Importance Of Self Concept Clarity
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It is widely acknowledged within psychology that the self is multi-faceted and composed of many
different dimensions. Therefore, it seems inapt that the study of the self has, until recently, largely been
dominated by just one dimension; self-esteem (Linville & Carlston, 1994, p. 13). Self-esteem is a very
important aspect of the self. It affects a person’s choices, mood, social relationships, and psychological
well-being. However, psychology must strive for a complete, comprehensive understanding of the self
and as such, must place greater emphasis on other equally important properties of the self. Some such
properties include self-awareness, self-complexity, self-reflection, and self-regulation. This paper will
focus specifically on one dimension; self-concept clarity (SCC).

Self-concept clarity can be defined as the degree to which an individual feels that the content of their
self-concept (i.e. their self-knowledge) is well-defined, comprehensible, “consistent, and temporally
stable” (Campbell et al, 1996, p.1). It is argued that self-concept clarity is as important as self-esteem in
understanding the self-concept, influencing human thought, feelings and behaviour in its own unique
way.

SCC is valuable in that it provides a structural analysis of the self. It also correlates with self-esteem and
both influence some similar outcomes. However, SCC is also important in that it is a unique and separate
property of the self: It has benefits which self-esteem does not and influences certain outcomes which
self-esteem cannot. The correlations between self-esteem and SCC, along with their distinctive,
individual elements, are best viewed when examining literature on psychological well-being. High SCC
also offers a wider range of behavioural resources amid aversive situations. This is best observed when
examining coping styles. In addition, SCC has theoretical utility, and can account for the seeming
paradox of the self, where the self-concept is both stable and changeable. Each merit of SCC listed
above will be discussed throughout this paper in an attempt to highlight the importance of SCC in the
study of the self-concept.

The first significant contribution SCC research makes to the study of the self is its recognition of the self
as multidimensional. It offers a structural analysis of the self-concept as opposed to the evaluative
analysis provided by self-esteem research. Self-concept clarity is one of several structural features of
self-organisation. It helps organise individuals’ self-evaluations and self-beliefs. Low self-concept clarity
arises when people experience a mixture of positive and negative self-beliefs, leading to self-concept
confusion, which in turn has several negative consequences (Leary & Tangney, 2003, p. 54-56). While
one form of analysis is not better than another, the structural analysis offered by SCC literature,
combined with the evaluative analysis of self-esteem, improves one’s overall understanding of the self-
concept.

SCC has consistently been show to correlate strongly with self-esteem. Campbell (1990) found that
individuals with low self esteem generally have lower self-concept clarity than those with high self-
esteem (Campbell, 1990, p. 1). To illustrate this point, one study demonstrated how low-self esteem
participants showed a longer reaction time than high self-esteem participants on lexical decision tests,
where word pairs containing one self-relevant word and one non-self-relevant word were presented
(Campbell, 1990, p. 6).

In addition, it has been shown that those of high self-esteem hold stable, clear, positive self-beliefs.
However, contrary to expectations, those with low self-esteem do not hold fixed, clear negative self-
beliefs. Instead, they take a neutral stance on the self and are uncertain how to regard the various
dimensions of their self-concept (Campbell & Lavallee, 1993). As self-esteem and self-concept clarity are
strongly correlated and interact in important ways, it would be deficient to focus only on self-esteem.
Self-concept clarity is clearly important.

Self-esteem also influences the relationship between self-concept clarity and other constructs. Neslek
and Plesko (2001) showed that self-concept clarity is sensitive to daily life events, but that this
relationship is mediated by both self-esteem and mood (Neslek & Plesko, 2001, p. 9). For example, if a
college student found out they passed their end-of-year exams they are likely to be in a good mood and
to experience an increase in self-esteem. Their self-concept clarity would be altered as a result. Here,
self-esteem acts only as one of two mediators. The key outcome is a change in self-concept clarity.
The importance of self-concept clarity as a property of the self becomes increasingly evident when one
examines its implications removed from self-esteem. SCC has much to offer the self, independent of
self-esteem. Most self-concept clarity research to date has emphasised SCC’s independent contribution
to the self-concept by focusing on psychological well-being. Research on social phobia demonstrates
that those who suffer from social phobia hold neither a positive nor negative perception of the self.
Instead, they generally hold more neutral self-perceptions and demonstrate low certainty and
consistency in these perceptions. It is this uncertainty regarding the self which leads to self-concept
confusion and, in turn, social phobia (Moscovitch et al, 2009, p. 4).

Wilson and Rapee (2006) found that, compared to non-clinical participants, those with social phobias
demonstrated slower reaction time patterns in choosing self-descriptive traits from a list of adjectives
than when they were engaged in a self-irrelevant task involving trait words. Thus, low SCC is a
precondition for the development of social phobia (Wilson & Rapee, 2006, p. 18).

Low self-concept clarity has also been found to correlate with numerous psychological attributes which
indicate poor functioning and are a potential threat to psychological well-being. Campbell and
colleagues (1996) showed SCC to be correlated positively with constructs such as chronic self-analysis
and ruminative self-focused attention, and negatively correlated with neuroticism (Campbell et al, 1996,
p. 1). Therefore, someone with self-concept confusion may suffer from high neuroticism, chronic self-
analysis, and a tendency to ruminate on aspects of the self, all of which have been shown to negatively
impact psychological well-being. Thus, SCC is an essential self-property.

Smith and colleagues (1996) emphasise the value of self-concept clarity through the exploration of
coping styles. Self-esteem has been linked to coping styles in that low self-esteem individuals employ a
narrow range of fixed, inflexible coping behaviours when faced with negative situations. However, Smith
and colleagues argue that self-concept clarity is a more important component of the self-concept in this
regard, as it can help explain the link between self-esteem and coping styles. More importantly,
however, self-concept clarity influences both active and passive coping styles in its own unique way,
independent of self-esteem. Those with high SCC engage in more active coping styles while those with
low SCC prefer passive coping methods (Smith et al, 1996, p. 21). Take, for example, an obese man who
is told he has diabetes and is at risk of heart disease. If he has high SCC he may make an effort to alter
his circumstances through diet changes and increased exercise. In contrast, someone with self-concept
confusion may continue their bad habits and deny the potential risks.

Thus, it is clear that self-concept clarity is important not only because of its independent contributions
to the self-concept. It is also valuable in that it offers a wider range of behavioural resources to those of
high self-concept clarity when faced with aversive situations. This occurs because those with high SCC
process self-relevant information more readily than those with self-concept confusion, and this
information provides more behavioural options from which to choose (Smith et al, 1996, p. 3-4).

The importance of self-concept clarity in offering a wider expanse of behavioural options has also been
demonstrated in relation to decision-making behaviour. One study by Setterlund and Niedenthal (1993)
used the concept of prototype matching to explore the impact of self-concept confusion on decision-
making strategies (Setterlund and Niedenthal, 1993, p. 2). Prototype matching involves comparing one’s
own self-attributes with those of the typical individual connected with a given situation. This enables
people to choose what they believe to be the best situation in which to express their own identity
(Setterlund & Niedenthal, 1993, p. 9). For example, in deciding which school to send their children too, a
parent may ask themselves where their friends, family members, or other potentially similar others
would send their children.

It was found that those with low-self esteem were poor at predicting how likely they were to fit into a
given situation (i.e. their prototypicality). This occurs because their uncertainty and lack of confidence in
their self-knowledge makes social comparison difficult (Setterlund & Niedenthal, 1993, p. 9). Thus, those
with low SCC have less choice available when making a decision as they ignore strategies related to the
self such as prototype matching (Campbell et al, 1996, p. 13). Taking the above example, a parent with
low SCC may find their decision harder than someone with high SCC as they would be unsure which
individuals in their lives they most resemble.

Research on the self-concept has indeed come a long way from the time when it centred almost solely
on self-esteem. Self-concept clarity research has undoubtedly added to the store of knowledge on the
self. However, as this research is relatively new, it has some improvements to make. The main downfall
of SCC research is that assumptions are often made about SCC based on self-esteem research. This
occurs simply because a strong correlation between self-esteem and self-concept clarity has consistently
been demonstrated. For example, Smith and colleagues assume that self-concept clarity and social
support are related “given the powerful relationship between self-esteem and self-concept clarity”
(Smith et al, 1996, p. 6). Original studies designed specifically to measure the relationship between self-
concept clarity and social support are necessary in order to lend more credibility to the evidence
promoting the value of self-concept clarity.

One must also consider self-concept clarity research in terms of cultural relativity and its power to
generalise to various cultures. Self-concept clarity research to date has mainly been carried out in the
Western world, a predominantly individualistic culture which emphasises the self, independence, and
the importance of being unique and differentiating oneself from others (Markus & Kitayama, 1991, p. 1).
Collectivist cultures may differ in terms of the importance of self-concept clarity as such cultures place
less importance on the self and more importance on the social group and an individual’s ability to blend
in with their group (Markus & Kitayama, 1991, p. 1). Campbell and colleagues found that Japanese
students (i.e. a collectivist culture) have lower self-concept clarity than Canadian students. Japanese
student scores also demonstrated less correlation between self-esteem and self-concept clarity.
(Campbell et al, 1996, p. 10). Further research should be done to determine the extent to which one can
generalise from self-concept clarity research, and indeed research on most properties of the self-
concept.

Despite such limitations, it is evident from the aforementioned research that self-concept clarity has
immense theoretical utility (Campbell et al, 1996, p. 13). It can help explain many relationships between
psychological constructs and behaviours, such as self-concept clarity and coping styles. SCC provides
strong support for the idea of the self-concept as multidimensional and offers a structural explanation of
the self-concept. Self-concept clarity is just as important as self-esteem in terms of understanding the
self-concept, as it correlates with self-esteem, mediates the relationship between self-esteem and
certain behaviours, and is in turn mediated by self-esteem in other ways, such as SCC change due to
daily experiences. Most notably however, self-concept clarity influences human thoughts, feelings and
behaviour independent of self-esteem. One such method is the expansion of one’s range of behavioural
options in a given situation, such as coping strategies in aversive circumstances.

Future research on the self-concept will benefit from SCC research which expands from a focus on
clinical matters such as social phobia to more typical, everyday behaviours such as reasoning, planning,
judgements, and other cognitive topics. Finally, the entire field of research on the self-concept will
benefit from a view of the self as a network of interconnected properties, rather than focusing the
majority of attention on self-esteem. This account of self-concept clarity highlights the importance of
just one of a wide range of self-properties which need to be brought to the fore in self-concept research.

PERSONALITY:

Personality psychology is a branch of psychology that studies personality and its variation
among individuals. It is a scientific study which aims to show how people are individually different due
to psychological forces.[1] Its areas of focus include:

 construction of a coherent picture of the individual and their major psychological processes
 investigation of individual psychological differences
 investigation of human nature and psychological similarities between individuals
"Personality" is a dynamic[clarification needed] and organized set of characteristics possessed by a person that
uniquely[clarification needed] influences their environment, cognitions, emotions, motivations, and behaviors in
various situations. The word personality originates from the Latin persona, which means "mask".
Personality also refers to the pattern of thoughts, feelings, social adjustments,
and behaviors consistently exhibited over time that strongly influences one's expectations, self-
perceptions, values, and attitudes. Personality also predicts human reactions to other people, problems,
and stress.[2][3] Gordon Allport (1937) described two major ways to study personality: the nomothetic
and the idiographic. Nomothetic psychology seeks general laws that can be applied to many different
people, such as the principle of self-actualization or the trait of extraversion. Idiographic psychology is
an attempt to understand the unique aspects of a particular individual.
The study of personality has a broad and varied history in psychology with an abundance of theoretical
trad. The major theories include dispositional (trait) perspective, psychodynamic, humanistic, biological,
behaviorist, evolutionary, and social learning perspective. However, many researchers and psychologists
do not explicitly identify themselves with a certain perspective and instead take an eclectic approach.
Research in this area is empirically driven, such as dimensional models, based on multivariate statistics,
such as factor analysis, or emphasizes theory development, such as that of the psychodynamic theory.
There is also a substantial emphasis on the applied field of personality testing. In psychological
education and training, the study of the nature of personality and its psychological development is
usually reviewed as a prerequisite to courses in abnormal psychology or clinical psychology
What is Personality Psychology?

FEATURED PROGRAMS

SPONSORED LISTINGS

Definition of Personality

Personality is such a complex concept that there really is no one specific definition within the field of
psychology. In general, personality is a unique set of characteristics within a person that work to
influence their beliefs, motivations, emotions, behaviors and even their environment. Personality can
also refer to the ingrained patterns of thoughts, behaviors and motivators that develop throughout their
life cycle to influence the way they perceive the world around them, as well as their beliefs, self-
perception and attitude. The study of personality, with regard to psychology, has been taken on over the
years through numerous theories. These theories shape and influence individual practitioner and
researcher views on the subject of personality psychology. While one particular theory may guide an
expert’s practice, most psychology professionals combine theories to make sense of personality and to
help people to move toward psychological wellness.
Personality Theories

Psychological theories regarding personality are numerous, however, they all fall within an overall
framework of theory types. These types include trait theories, type theories, psychoanalytic theories,
behaviorist theories and humanistic theories. There are others, but these are the most common.

Trait theories focus on the psychological traits that are generally stable over time. These traits are an
individual’s patterns of understanding and dealing with the world around them. Traits are different for
all people, and they tend to influence an individual’s behavior. Type theories analyze personality type or
how people are classified. Type theory tends to look at personality based on absolutes, rather than in
varying degrees on a continuum as trait theory does.
Psychoanalytic theory was founded by Signmund Freud. These personality theories explain human
behavior through interactions between the different components of personality. Psychoanalytic theories
observe and analyze psychological conflict and resolution. Behaviorist theory, on the other hand, looks
from outside a person and examines the way outside events and interactions influence behavior.

In social cognitive theories, behavior is guided through expectations or cognitions. These cognitions are
in regard to the expectations and beliefs one has about the world around them, particularly the people
in their lives. These theories place emphasis on the cognitive processes of thinking or judging.
Humanistic theories revolve around the idea that people have free will. These theorists believe that the
subjective nature of each individual’s experience influences their behavior and relies on the individual to
come to their own conclusions regarding this behavior.

This is an overview of the numerous approaches to personality psychology. If you are considering
a specialty area in psychology, it is worth understanding personality psychology as it is a fascinating field
of study that can be practically applied to a variety of fields, industries and careers.

MEANING:
the combination of characteristics or qualities that form an individual's distinctive character.(OR
)
the special combination of qualities in a person that makes that persondifferent from others,
as shown by the way the person behaves, feels, andthinks.

What is Personality - Definition, Meaning and Types of Personality

Fri, 08/12/2011 - 12:11 -- Umar Farooq

What is Personality & Its Meaning

Personality is the product of social interaction in group life. In society every person has different traits
such as skin, color, height and weight. They have different types of personalities because individuals are
not alike. It refers to the habits, attitudes as well as physical traits of a person which are not same but
have vary from group to group and society to society, everyone has personality, which may be good or
bad, impressive or unimpressive. It develops during the process of socialization in a culture of a specific
group or society. One cannot determine it of an individual exactly because it varies from culture to
culture and time to time. For example, a killer is considered criminal in peace time and hero in war. The
feeling and actions of an individual during interaction moulds the personality. It is the sum of total
behaviors of the individual and covers both overt and covert behaviors, interests, mentality and
intelligence. It is the sum of physical and mental abilities and capabilities.
Personality has been derived from the Latin word “persona” which means “mask” used by the actors to
change their appearance. It is the combination of an individual thoughts, characteristics, behaviors,
attitude, idea and habits.
Definition of Personality
Macionis define as “It is the constant pattern of thinking, feeling and acting.”

Ogburn and Nimkoff define it as the totality of sentiments, attitudes, idea, habits, skills and behaviors of
an individual.”

Types of Personality
Following are the three types of personality
1. Extrovert Personality
This type has the tendency to live mostly outside the like to live with others. Those individuals are highly
socialized and have contact with outside people in the society. They want to join other groups who are
more in number. These type of people are drivers, excessive drinkers, smokers, robbers, thieves, wicked
persons etc.

2. Introvert Personality
Introvert is opposite to extrovert. Those people are always live alone in their rooms and do not want to
go outside. They have their own imaginary world. They are teachers, scientists, thinkers and
philosophers.

3. Ambivert Personality
Between extrovert and introvert personalities there is a third one type called ambivert. People
belonging to this type enjoy both the groups and attend them. They have middle mind and want to live
in both parties. Sometimes they join outside people but sometimes they live in their own rooms.

Personality Development Tips

1. Should be a better listener
2. Good conversation
3. Be positive in outlook and attitude
4. More reading and building interest
5. Should be a good courteous
6. Interaction with new people
7. Helpful to other people
8. Give respect if you want respect
9. Confident about yourself
Five Personality Traits
1. Openness to experience
2. Conscientiousness
3. Extraversion
4. Agreeableness
5. Neuroticism

Personality Traits & Personality Types: What is Personality?

Five major traits underlie personality, according to psychologists. They are introversion/extroversion,
openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism.

Credit: carlosgardel | Shutterstock

What makes someone who they are? Each person has an idea of their own personality type — if they
are bubbly or reserved, sensitive or thick-skinned. Psychologists who try to tease out the science of who
we are define personality as individual differences in the way people tend to think, feel and behave.

There are many ways to measure personality, but psychologists have mostly given up on trying to divide
humanity neatly into types. Instead, they focus on personality traits.

The most widely accepted of these traits are the Big Five:

 Openness
 Conscientiousness
 Extraversion
 Agreeableness
 Neuroticism

Conveniently, you can remember these traits with the handy OCEAN mnemonic (or, if you prefer,
CANOE works, too).

The Big Five were developed in the 1970s by two research teams. These teams were led by Paul Costa
and Robert R. McCrae of the National Institutes of Health and Warren Norman and Lewis Goldberg of
the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and the University of Oregon, according to Scientific American.

The Big Five are the ingredients that make up each individual's personality. A person might have a dash
of openness, a lot of conscientiousness, an average amount of extraversion, plenty of agreeableness and
almost no neuroticism at all. Or someone could be disagreeable, neurotic, introverted, conscientious
and hardly open at all. Here's what each trait entails:

Openness

Openness is shorthand for "openness to experience." People who are high in openness enjoy adventure.
They're curious and appreciate art, imagination and new things. The motto of the open individual might
be "Variety is the spice of life."

People low in openness are just the opposite: They prefer to stick to their habits, avoid new experiences
and probably aren't the most adventurous eaters. Changing personality is usually considered a tough
process, but openness is a personality trait that's been shown to be subject to change in adulthood. In a
2011 study, people who took psilocybin, or hallucinogenic "magic mushrooms," became more open
after the experience. The effect lasted at least a year, suggesting that it might be permanent.
Speaking of experimental drug use, California's try-anything culture is no myth. A study of personality
traits across the United States released in 2013 found that openness is most prevalent on the West
Coast.

Conscientiousness

People who are conscientious are organized and have a strong sense of duty. They're dependable,
disciplined and achievement-focused. You won't find conscientious types jetting off on round-the-world
journeys with only a backpack; they're planners.

People low in conscientiousness are more spontaneous and freewheeling. They may tend toward
carelessness. Conscientiousness is a helpful trait to have, as it has been linked to achievement in school
and on the job.
Extraversion

Extraversion versus introversion is possibly the most recognizable personality trait of the Big Five. The
more of an extravert someone is, the more of a social butterfly they are. Extraverts are chatty, sociable
and draw energy from crowds. They tend to be assertive and cheerful in their social interactions.
Introverts, on the other hand, need plenty of alone time, perhaps because their brains process social
interaction differently. Introversion is often confused with shyness, but the two aren't the same.
Shyness implies a fear of social interactions or an inability to function socially. Introverts can be perfectly
charming at parties — they just prefer solo or small-group activities.

Agreeableness

Agreeableness measures the extent of a person's warmth and kindness. The more agreeable someone
is, the more likely they are to be trusting, helpful and compassionate. Disagreeable people are cold and
suspicious of others, and they're less likely to cooperate.

Men who are high in agreeableness are judged to be better dancers by women, suggesting that body
movement can signal personality. (Conscientiousness also makes for good dancers, according to the
same 2011 study.) But in the workplace, disagreeable men actually earn morethan agreeable guys.
Disagreeable women didn't show the same salary advantage, suggesting that a no-nonsense demeanor
is uniquely beneficial to men.
Being envious, which can lead to people being perceived as not agreeable, was found to be the most
common personality type out of the four studies by a report published in August 2016 in the
journal Science Advances. Envious people feel threatened when someone else is more successful than
they are.

Neuroticism

To understand neuroticism, look no further than George Costanza of the long-running sitcom "Seinfeld."
George is famous for his neuroses, which the show blames on his dysfunctional parents. He worries
about everything, obsesses over germs and disease and once quits a job because his anxiety over not
having access to a private bathroom is too overwhelming.

George may be high on the neuroticism scale, but the personality trait is real. People high in neuroticism
worry frequently and easily slip into anxiety and depression. If all is going well, neurotic people tend to
find things to worry about. One 2012 study found that when neurotic people with good salaries earned
raises, the extra income actually made them less happy.

In contrast, people who are low in neuroticism tend to be emotionally stable and even-keeled.

Unsurprisingly, neuroticism is linked with plenty of bad health outcomes. Neurotic people die younger
than the emotionally stable, possibly because they turn to tobacco and alcohol to ease their nerves.
Possibly the creepiest fact about neuroticism, though, is that parasites can make you feel that way. And
we're not talking about the natural anxiety that might come with knowing that a tapeworm has made a
home in your gut. Undetected infection by the parasite Toxoplasma gondii may make people more
prone to neuroticism, a 2006 study found.

Other personality measures

Though personality types have fallen out of favor in modern psychological research as too reductive,
they're still used by career counselors and in the corporate world to help crystallize people's
understanding of themselves. Perhaps the most famous of these is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. A
questionnaire based on the work of early psychologist Carl Jung sorts people into categories based on
four areas: sensation (S), intuition (N), feeling (F) and thinking (T), as well as extraversion (E) and
introversion (I).

Sensing and intuition refer to how people prefer to gather information about the world, whether
through concrete information (sensing) or emotional feelings (intuition). Thinking and feeling refer to
how people make decisions. Thinking types go with logic, while feeling types follow their hearts.

The Myers-Briggs system is rounded out with the judging/perception dichotomy, which describes how
people choose to interact with the world. Judging types like decisive action, while perceiving types
prefer open options. The system further identifies 16 personality types based on a combination of four
of the categories, leading to descriptions such as ISTP, ENFP, ESFJ, etc.

The use of the Myers-Briggs is controversial, as research suggests that types don't correlate well with job
satisfaction or abilities.

Can personality change?

Maybe. A study published in the January 2017 journal Psychological Bulletin synthesized 207 published
research papers and found that personality may be altered through therapy. "For the people who want
to change their spouse tomorrow, which a lot of people want to do, I don't hold out much hope for
them," said study researcher Brent Roberts, a social and personality psychologist at the University of
Illinois. However, he continued, "if you're willing to focus on one aspect of yourself, and you're willing to
go at it systematically, there's now increased optimism that you can affect change in that domain."

Type Theory in Psychology: Definition & Theorists

Type theory in psychology has to do with the personality and how it is constructed in each individual.
This lesson defines type theory and then looks at the different theories that have been developed from
ancient times to the present.

Understanding Personality
Where does personality come from? Some theorists would say that is an individual's reaction to their
environment; others would lean on some hereditary characteristic theory in which the mother, father,
and relatives going back to Adam are to blame. No matter what theory of genesis an individual ascribes
to though, the greater interest to psychologists is how to distinguish between personalities.
Without a doubt, every person has a distinct personality. That cannot be debated. The argument is how
different personalities can be distinguished. Scientists have come up with two basic means of codifying
personality: by trait or by type. Personality traits are broad categories that are enduring, stable, and can
be observed. Personality types are groups of traits that are thought to always occur together. Type
theory then is the belief that an individual's personality can be quantified into a few unique categories.
It is a theory that has been around a long time and continues to have a great many followers today.

The Ancient History of Type Theory

Type theory places people into categories. Due to answers given to the questions on an instrument, you
are given a 'type.' A box into which you neatly fit.
The ancient Greeks were among the first to determine personality in this manner. Hippocrates and,
later, Galen, broke personalities into types that they called the four humors.

 Sanguine: in modern language, the optimistic personality.

  Choleric: the angry, moody or irritable type.
 Melancholic: the depressed type.
 Phlegmatic: a calm personality.

Each of these categories was also associated with a bodily fluid (respectively: blood, yellow bile, black
bile, and phlegm). The type was thought to represent the type of fluid most predominant in the
individual. The actual personality type was determined by the percentage of each fluid the person
contained. For example, an individual may be mostly sanguine, but also somewhat melancholy and
phlegmatic. Of course, this was all based on philosophy; neither Hippocrates nor Galen actually opened
anyone up to measure the quantities of these supposed fluids.
In ancient Indian culture, the Charaka Samhita is a text outlining Ayurveda, which is Hindu research and
beliefs regarding holistic healing. The text is thought to be more than three thousand years old.
The Charaka Samhita discusses personality types in relation to natural energies and lists them as vata
(space/air), pitta (fire/water), and kapha (water/earth). Every person is said to contain some measure of
all these elements and that distribution determines a person's overall, unique personality.

Modern Theories
Body type theory

Many different theorists believed that body type determined personality. Two such theorists, William
Sheldon and Ernst Kretschmer, each came up with three types:

 endomorph (Sheldon)/pyknic (Kretschmer) - heavy and lethargic

 mesomorph/athletic - fit and aggressive
 ectomorph/asthenic - thin and creative

These have never been accepted by the scientific community. But this kind of theory demonstrates how
typology is often developed. The theorist associates the personality type with something more tangible,
such as a bodily fluid or physical characteristics.
Type A/Type B theory

Meyer Friedman and Ray Rosenman were two cardiologists who took personality typology from the
ancient four down to two. They were the originators of the Type A/Type B theory of personality. Type A
individuals are driven, organized, and impatient. They are also much more likely to succumb to heart
attack. Those with a Type B personality, in contrast, live a much more stress-free, passive life.
Carl Jung and the Myers-Brigg Type Inventory

Carl Jung, a student of Sigmund Freud (a neurologist who, like Jung, was known for work concerning
dreams), suggested eight personality types.
………………………………………………………………………………………..

Notes on Types and Traits Theories of Personality

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Notes on Types and Traits Theories of Personality!

The earliest attempt to categories personality was made by Hippocrates (400 BC).

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He categorised people on the basis of four body humours and prominent personality characteristics
associated with them such as:

Recently, psychologists have attempted to study personality in their own way. They have formulated
various theories to explain personality.

These are divided into two types, viz., types and traits theories. Both these theories of personality focus
on people’s personal characteristics. However, ‘type’ theorists and ‘trait’ theorists differ in the ways
they use characteristics to describe people.

Type Theories:
Type theorists have explained personality on the basis of physique and temperament. Temperament
refers to emotional aspect of the personality like changes in mood, tensions, excitement, etc. A ‘type’ is
simply a class of individuals said to share a common collection of characteristics.

Three important ‘Type theories’ of personality are explained here:

CG Jung’s Classification:
CG Jung has classified personality on the basis of sociability character as Introverts and Extraverts.

Introverts are described as people who share characteristics such as shyness, social withdrawal, and
tendency to talk less. Because of these characteristics these people appear to be self-centered, unable
to adjust easily in social situations. They are not easily suggestible. They are future oriented, very
sensible and rigid in ideas.

Extraverts share a tendency to be outgoing, friendly, talkative, and social in nature. They prefer social
contacts, generous, sportive, and courageous.

They are happy-go-lucky persons and show interest in present reality than future. They express their
feelings openly. Take decisions quickly and act upon quickly. They are not affected easily by difficulties.

Ambiverts:
There are only few people who are pure introverts or pure extraverts. The remaining majority of people
possess both the qualities of introverts and extraverts.

Such people are called as Ambiverts. This classification was made by psychologists who came after Jung.
Ernest Kretschmer’s Classification:
German psychologist Kretschmer has attempted to correlate physique and character. From his studies
on mental patients, he found that certain body types are associated with particular types of mental
disorders. He has classified personalities into four types:

a. Pyknic type:
These are people who are short and having round body. They will have personality traits of extraverts.
These people are more prone to suffer from a mental disorder called Manic Depressive Psychosis (MDP).

b. Asthenic type:
These people will have a slender or slim body. They will have the personality traits of introverts. These
people are more prone to suffer from a serious mental disorder called Schizophrenia.

c. Athletic type:
These people will have strong body. They are more energetic and aggressive. They will be strong
enough, determined, adventurous and balanced. They are comparable with ambiverts. They are more
prone to suffer from MDP.

d. Dysplastic type:
These people will have unproportionate body and do not belong to any of the three types mentioned
above. This disproportion is due to hormonal imbalancement. Their behaviour and personality are also
imbalanced.

William Sheldon’s Classification:

Sheldon has proposed a theory of personality correlating temperament and body type. He has divided
people into three types:

a. Endomorph:
These people will have soft, fat and round body, having predominance of abdominal region. They are
sociable and relaxed (can be compared to pyknic type).

b. Ectomorph:
These are the people who are tall, thin and flat chested, having the skin, bones and neural structure
predominantly. They are shy, reserved and self-conscious (can be compared with asthenic type).

c. Mesomorph:
These people are well built with heavy and strong muscles appear predominantly. They are physically
active, noisy, adventurous by nature (can be compared to athletic type).

Traits of Personality and Trait Theories:

Traits are tendencies to behave in relatively consistent and distinctive ways across situations. These are
the measurable aspects of personality. The most common way to describe people is to list these traits or
qualities possessed by them. For example, friendliness, social, honesty, perseverance, submissiveness,
dominance, etc.

The groups of personality traits are known as personality factors or dimensions of personality. Allport
and RB Cattell are famous for their work on personality studies using traits.

GW Allport was the first person to adopt the trait approach against the type approach for the
description of personalities. According to him the traits are the basic units of personality. Every person
develops a unique set of organised tendencies called traits.

Allport has identified three types of traits—cardinal, central and secondary. Cardinal traits are primary
and they cover all aspects of an individual’s behaviour and attributes.

Central traits represent few characteristics which can be used to describe a person such as kindness,
honesty, etc. Secondary traits appear in only a relatively small range of situations. These are not strong
enough like cardinal traits and hence they are not regarded as integral parts of one’s personality.

RB Cattell has identified two types of traits. They are source traits and surface traits. Source traits are
the underlying structures or sources that determine our behaviour. Surface traits are influenced by
source traits and are manifested in our behaviour.

Cattell, by adopting a method called factor analysis has recognised 16 ‘Source traits’ as building blocks of
our personality. The ‘Sixteen personality factor test’ developed by him includes these factors. This test is
widely used, because these personality characteristics can be measured and described more objectively.

Development and Organisation of Personality:

As defined—the personality is a dynamic organisation of various qualities including physical and
psychological aspects. Personality is something that grows and develops as a result of interplay of
biological, sociocultural and psychological factors. Because of the developmental process, the
personality is subjected to change. That is why there are individual differences. What causes these
differences? The answer to this question lies in the factors influencing the development of personality.
These factors are classified into three categories:

Biological Factors:
These are also called as physiological factors which include endocrine glands, blood sugar and other
externally imposed biological conditions. There are many endocrine glands which are situated in
different parts of the body.

These glands produce different hormones. Normal secretion of these hormones promotes healthy and
normal personality. Abnormalities in secretion like over or under secretions lead to im-balancement.
In addition to the biological factors drug dependence, alcoholism also affects personality. Dietary
problems like—semi- starvation, vitamin deficiencies, diseases which are acute as well as chronic—like
toxic and bacterial infection due to syphilis, encephalitis or such other diseases cause very severe
damage to the personality development and functioning.

Sociocultural Factors:
The society and culture play important role in the development of personality. Among the factors which
influence the personality— the influence of home atmosphere is very crucial. Parental behaviour will
have greater impact on children.

Parental attitude towards children, pattern of care like over protection, over indulgence, rejection,
negligence, encouragement, discouragement, their attitude towards life, relationship with friends and
relatives all will affect the development. Number of children in a family, order of birth, peer group,
school atmosphere also influences personality development.

Psychological Factors:
The psychological factors like intelligence level, motives, different interests acquired by the person,
attitudes developed, will and character, thinking and reasoning abilities, perceptual ability, emotional
development and such other psychological factors also influence the formation, development and
organisation of personality.

Theories of Personality:
There are number of theories developed by psychologists to explain personality and its development.
Each theory is unique and explains personality development and functioning in its own way. Some of the
prominent theories are explained here under:

Psychoanalytical Theory:
This theory was developed by famous psychologist Sigmund Freud. This theory has three major parts: (a)
The personality structure which includes Id, Ego and Super ego (b) Topography of mind and (c)
Psychosocial stages of development,

a. Personality structure:
Freud constructed a model of personality with three interlocking parts: the Id, the Ego and the Super
ego.

The Id:
This is the most primitive part, develops with the birth of the child. It can be thought of as a sort of store
house of biologically based urges: the urge to eat, drink, eliminate and especially, to be sexually
stimulated.
The sexual energy underlies these urges is called the libido. According to Freud the Id operates on a
‘pleasure principle’. That is-left to itself, the id would satisfy its fundamental urges immediately and
reflexively as they arose without regard to rules, the realities of life or morals of any kind.

The Ego:
This part usually develops from the school year of life of the child—as a result of social contacts. The ego
consists of elaborate ways of behaving and thinking which constitute the executive function of the
person.

The ego delays motives of Id and channels behaviour into more socially acceptable outlets. It keeps a
person working for a living, getting along with people and generally adjusting to the realities of life.
Freud characterised the ego as working in the service on the ‘reality principle’.

That is, the ego tries to satisfy the id’s urge for pleasure, but only in realistic ways. The ongoing tension
between insistent urges of the id and the constraints of reality helps the ego develop certain skills to
safeguard the self-image. These skills are called ego defence mechanisms

The Super ego:

This part of personality corresponds closely to what we commonly call the conscience. It consists mainly
of prohibitions learned from parents and other authorities. The super ego may condemn as ‘wrong’
certain things which the ego would otherwise do to satisfy the id.

However, super ego is guided by ‘ego ideal’- a set of values and moral ideals that are pursued because
they are perceived to be worthy. In other words the super ego operates on the ‘moral principal’.

Freud believed that because of the diverse nature of these three parts, there will be constant conflicts
between one another, which leads to three types of anxiety, viz.

(1) Reality anxiety-arising when the individual is confronted by dangers or threats in the external world.

(2) Neurotic anxiety-arising when the individual’s Id impulses threaten to break through his ego controls
and result in behaviour that will lead to his punishment and

(3) Moral anxiety- arising when the individual does something or even contemplates doing something in
conflict with his super ego or moral values and arouses guilt feelings.

b. Topography:
It is understood that there will be constant conflicts going on between id, ego and super ego. These
conflicts may occur in the conscious, subconscious and unconscious levels of human psyche. Freud
refers to the unconscious, the subconscious and the conscious as the ‘topographical’ aspects of the self,
also called as the level of consciousness. The functioning of these levels is as follows:
The conscious:
According to Freud the conscious part of mind is that part which is ready to receive the stimuli from the
external world. It helps to perform the functions like eating, drinking, reading, writing, talking, thinking
and such other activities and also helps us to behave in an appropriate way.

It will be functioning only when the individual is in a wake up state. At the conscious level we will be
aware of certain things around us and of certain thoughts.

The preconscious:
This is also known as subconscious. At this level are memories or thoughts that are easily available with
a moment’s reflection. For example, what we had for breakfast or what class was held today morning.

Preconscious will be functioning between conscious and unconscious parts. In character it resembles
conscious to greater extent and will have better adjustment with it. Its contents can be recalled easily. It
prevents the suppressed thoughts and other prohibited motives in the unconscious from entering the
conscious part. Hence, it is also called as ‘Censor’.

The unconscious:
This part of mind contains memories, thoughts and motives which we cannot easily call up. It is the
largest and also the powerful part of mind. It contains the natural instincts, thoughts inappropriate
desires, irrational motives and painful experiences. All the experiences suppressed by conscious part will
remain here. These forces will be trying to come to conscious part for satisfaction. But their entry is
prevented by preconscious.

Hence, they try to come out when preconscious part is at rest. They appear in the form of dreams, or in
the form of slip of tongue, slip of pen, automatic writing, amnesia, etc.

Freud has developed certain techniques such as free association, dream analysis, analysis of
transference, analysis of resistance, hypnosis and such other techniques in order to bring out the
contents of unconscious which cause mental illness.

Freud has compared these three levels to an ‘Ice berg’ in water. The conscious part will be like tip of ice
berg which is above the surface level. Although that is the part we can see, it is only a small part.

The subconscious part, as a thin layer is separating the conscious and unconscious. The major part of the
mind that is unconscious will be like a submerged big part of ice berg. The Figure 5.1 shows the
topography of mind.
c. Psychosexual stages of development:
In his theory of child development, Freud described a succession of stages around body zones. In his
opinion, every child will have an innate tendency to seek pleasure especially through physical
stimulation and particularly through stimulation of parts of the body that are sensitive to touch: the
mouth, the anus and the genitals. Such a pleasure includes many psychological issues also. Hence, these
stages are called as psychosexual stages. These are:

i. Oral stage (birth to age one):

According to Freud’s theory, the infant obtains sensual pleasure first by sucking and later by biting. A
baby given too little or too much opportunity to suck, or made anxious about it may acquire oral
fixations, leading to abnormal behaviour like over talkativeness, dependency, chain smoking, etc.

ii. Anal stage (age one to age three):

This is a period of toilet training by parents. The anus becomes highly sensitive area. The child finds
pleasure in holding on and letting go of feces. Parents try to teach to avoid such prohibited behaviour
connected with excretion.

This leads to fixation causing abnormal characteristics during adulthood such as messiness and disorders
such as excessive compulsiveness, over conformity and exaggerated self-control.

iii. Phallic stage (age three to age five):

During this stage the child’s interest shifts toward genitals. The child enjoys stimulating the genital
organs. Freud believed that it is at this time the children develop sensual feelings toward the parent of
the opposite sex.

Boys develop ‘Oedipus complex’, i.e. develop affection towards mother and in turn develop castration
anxiety. On the other side, girls develop affection towards father which is called as ‘Electra complex’.

iv. Latency stage (age six through puberty):

During this period the child’s interest is shifted towards learning more about the world, sexuality is
largely repressed and the ego expands.
v. Genital stage (adolescence and beyond):
Mature heterosexual interests develop during this phase. The stage is set for responsible enjoyment of
adult sexuality. During this stage the sexual interests will lie outside the family circle.

Adler’s Theory of Striving for Superiority:

Alfred Adler was the follower of Freud, but opposed his views and established his own school of thought
called Individual Psychology. Adler stressed on the social, rather than biological determinants of
personality and on the upward drive of the self. In his view the prime source of man’s motivation is the
innate striving for superiority by attaining perfection.

According to Adler, every child will suffer from some weakness which results in development of
inferiority. But every child will try to compensate one weakness through some other ability. For
example, a bodily handicapped child may work hard and get a rank in the examination.

An ugly looking girl may gain social recognition by becoming a famous singer. Inferiority feelings are thus
essential requirements of psychological growth. Adler thought that under optimal circumstances of
development, striving for superiority take socially constructive forms having to do with co-operative
relationships with people, identification with the group and efforts to bring about the ideal society.

Jung’s Theory of Personality:

C.G.Jung was the follower of Freud, but due to difference of opinion established his own school of
thought called ‘Analytical Psychology’. Jung opposed the views of Freud about psychosexual
development during childhood.

On the other hand, he stressed ‘adult adjustment’ aspect. Jung felt that the libido is not only sexual
energy but it is ‘continuous life energy’, a striving to live and insure the survival of one’s species. He
called unconscious as ‘Collective unconscious’ and divided it as ‘personal unconscious’ and ‘racial
unconscious’.

The personal unconscious is developed out of any of the individual’s conscious experiences that had
been repressed.

Collective unconscious grows out of the past experiences of the human race. He said, collective
unconscious will be stored with primitive fundamental images, impressions or predispositions that were
common to earlier members of the human race. He called these images, impressions or predispositions
as ‘archetypes’. He said these archetypes will cause emotion generated, behaviour.

According to Jung, the self develops as a result of harmonisation of conscious and unconscious and leads
to unique patterns of behaviour. He called this process as individuation, i.e. every individual is distinct
from others.
Jung has also proposed two concepts to explain nature of personality, viz., extraversion and
introversion. He has also introduced a concept called ‘complexes’ which he defined as a ‘network of
ideas bound together by a common emotion or a set of feelings’.

Karen Horney and Basic Anxiety:

Karen Horney concentrates mainly on ‘Basic anxiety’ as a prime concept to understand human
personality. Basic anxiety according to Horney—stems from anything that causes insecurity in the child,
especially in relation to his/her parents.

That is being dominated by parents, being inconsistently treated, being given too much or too little
responsibility, being treated with coldness or indifferences, being involved in parental conflicts and so
on.

The child tries to cope with this anxiety by various adjective and largely irrational acts. But if the
anxieties are intense and prolonged, it develops neurotic behaviour and requires treatment. Horney
stresses that the main cause of basic anxiety and other personality problems is the social and culturally
induced disturbances in the child’s developmental experiences.

Sullivan and Interpersonal Relations:

Harry Stack Sullivan describes personality as the relatively enduring pattern of recurrent interpersonal
situations which characterise a human life. According to him there is no personality apart from its
relations with other people; all that is distinctly human is a product of social interactions from birth
onwards and every individual is motivated towards achieving social and interpersonal security.

Therefore, according to Sullivan the study of personality is really the study of the whole interpersonal
situation and not an isolated individual.

Erickson and Psychosocial Crisis:

Erik Erickson’s theory is known as Ego psychology. According to Erickson, as the individual progresses
through his developmental stages, meets with psychosocial crises peculiar to each stage. It is
psychosocial because, society has developed social institutions specific to each stage in an attempt to
mould and socialise the individual as he progresses through these stages.

In Erickson’s scheme, there are eight psychosocial stages extending through the life span from infancy to
old age. Each stage will experience certain conflicts called crises.

Among all the crises the ‘search for identity’ during adolescence is most powerful motive. Erickson also
states that the individual develops a healthy personality by mastering inner and outer crises with
positive solutions to life’s problems.
 Theory of Learning and Personality Development:
Learning and conditioning in classical, instrumental and cognitive forms are highly relevant to
personality and its development. Dollard and Miller used animal experiments to test human conflicts
and repressions thus advancing social learning theory.

Albert Bandura and Walters extended social learning theory into the domain of observational learning.
They said that observational learning or imitation generally takes place in a social situation involving a
model and an imitator.

The imitator observes the model and experiences the model’s behaviour and its consequences
vicariously (observational learning).

This process is called vicarious learning. For example, seeing that one child is punished by teacher for
talking in the class, other child may stop talking. The observer himself will not experience rewards or
punishments that are imposed on the model, but vicariously experienced them.

Skinner developed a method called ‘Learning by conditioning’ in which the individuals as a result of their
experiences establish an association or linkage between two events. He used Instrumental conditioning
principles to explain the ways in which environmental conditions as reinforcements influence people’s
behaviour.

Humanistic Theories:
These theories are developed by two psychologists—Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow. Humanistic
theories emphasise the importance of people’s subjective attitudes, feelings and beliefs especially with
regard to self. Roger’s theory focuses on the impact of disparity between a person’s perceived real self
and his ideal self that is, ‘how I am and how I would like to be’. Maslow focuses on the significance of
self-actualization.

Humanistic theories believe that each person is potential enough to be creative and responsible, he is
free to choose his destiny and every individual strives to fulfill his need for self-actualization or realizing
his/her fullest potential.

The effects of personality on sports performance Essay

Personality

Personality is all of our characteristics added together to make each person unique. The effect
personality has on sports performance has interested sports psychologists since the 1800’s, however
conclusive evidence on whether personality directly affects personality has not been found. Athletes
show their own unique patterns of behaviour whilst participating in sports performance. Many
psychologists believe that the quality of performance and sport participation are determined by
personality. A psychologist called Allport said personality is, ‘What a man really is!’;Whiting later added,
‘Not what he appears to be.’ Among recent definitions, two are important to us:
‘Personality is the sum total of an individual’s characteristics which make a human unique.’ (Hollander)
‘Personality represents those characteristics of the person that account for consistent patterns of
behaviour.’ (Pervin, 1993)

The psychological core is ‘the real you’, its what contains your beliefs, attitudes, interests and values.
These are seen to be relatively stable. A typical response would be the usual ways you respond to your
environment, the world around you and the way you handle certain situations. E.g. you might get angry
and shout after being fouled in football, as you feel it was unfair and unsportsman-like, on the other
hand, you may be really quiet and shy when you find yourself meeting new people.

These are typical of the situation and give a good insight into your psychological core. Role related
behaviour is determined entirely by the circumstance you find yourself in. It is the most changeable part
of your personality. Your personality will change as your perception of the environment changes. E.g. In
the morning you are captaining a team and have to show leadership skills, in the evening, you work a
part time job and need to follow instructions.

Interactional View

Most psychologists accept the interactionist view when explaining behaviour, it says that you need to
consider how situation and personality traits link together. It suggests when situational factors are
strong, like in a penalty shoot-out in football, they are more likely to predict behaviour rather than
personality. An athlete may be very quiet in everyday life, but will scream and behave erratically if they
scored a winning goal.

Psychodynamic Theory

This approach to personality suggests that personality is made up of the conscious and the unconscious.
The first part is called the ‘id’ which stands for the instinctive drive. This is the part of your personality
that is unconscious, and makes you do things without thinking. E.g. a sprinter at the starting line in an
Olympic final may unconsciously start to feel threatened by all of the expectations riding on them,
causing their muscles to freeze through high anxiety. The second part of your personality is the ego, the
conscious part. Then the final part is your super ego, which is the moral conscience you have.

The effects of the ego and super ego can be seen when a football player wont take a penalty in a shoot-
out because they are worried about letting their team down. The psychodynamic view tries to
understand the individual as a whole rather thana looking at different parts of their personality. This
approach isn’t used very often in sport as it focuses on the reasons why we behave a certain way, it
focuses on behaviour that comes from an individual and ignores the athlete’s environment. This theory,
however, is useful when psychologists are trying to explain behaviour because it does help you to
understand that not all behaviour is consciously under the athlete’s control.

How personality affects sports performance.

P1 - Describe personality and then how personality affects sports performance.

Personality is the sum of those characteristics that make a person unique. Personality and the potential
effects it can have on sports participation and sports performance has been of interest to sport
psychologists and researches as far back as the late 1800s.

Personality types
In sports psychology the narrowband approach can be personality characterised and grouped into Type
A and Type B.

Type A individuals can be described as people who are impatient, lack tolerance of others and have high
levels of personal anxiety. Also have a strong urge for competition, have high desire to achieve goals,
always rush to complete activities, will happily multi-task when placed under heavy time
constraints. Also Type B individuals can be described as people who are more relaxed; they are also
tolerant towards others and have low levels of personal anxiety and display higher levels of imagination
and creativity.

Effects of sports performance on Type A and Type B

There is no direct link between personality type and successful sporting performance. Some research
has suggested that certain personality types may be more attracted to certain sports, but little says that
your personality will make you a better athlete. Although the type A and Type B approach to personality
does have some application to sports settings, its greater use has come in the exercise and health
psychology through its uses in predicting coronary heart disease. In sport, type A individuals are more
likely than type B people to continue participating in a sporting setting when the situation becomes
unfavorable or when they are not particularly motivated to take part.

Personality theories

There are different types of personality theories they are: Trait, social learning, situational approach and
interactional approach.

Trait theory – This personality is based on the assumption that a person’s personality can be captured in
a series of different oppositions. A trait is what we also call a characteristic way in which an individual
perceives feels, believes, or acts. When you casually describe someone you are likely to use trait terms
e.g. a person could be, for example, somewhat of an introvert, a pretty nervous person, strongly
attached to their family, frequently depressed and very intelligent. Have a good sense of humor, fond of
languages, very fond of good food, not at all fond of exercise, and a little obsessive. The conclusion is
that personality alone cannot predict athletic success but it can be used to help to explain some of the
reasons why people choose some of the sports they do.

Social learning theory – This personality characterized our learning and is not genetically
predetermined. In it other people influence a person’s behavior. We also observe and imitate role
models significant to us. When a sports performer’s behavior is reinforced through positive feedback,
behavior is likely to be repeated. Situation is an important influence, perhaps illustrating why
performers change their behavior instead of showing stable traits. Also in reactions to situations often
based on how others have reacted in similar situation. Sports stars personalities and behaviors are often
copied as they are seen us ideals. This theory suggests that individuals learn in sporting situations
through two distinct processes: modeling and reinforcement. Modeling suggests that individuals are
more likely to model themselves on people they feel they can relate to such, as individuals in the same
sport or of the same gender, and that as they observe their behavior, they attempt to copy it.
Reinforcement is important because if an individual’s behavior is reinforced or rewarded in some way, it
is likely that the behavior will be repeated.

Situational Approach theory – Situational approach theory attempts to provide a perspective on

organizations and management based on the integration of prior theories. Situational approach theory
starts with the theme of "it depends," arguing that the solution to any one managerial problem is
contingent on the factors that are impinging on the situation. This is also when the environment
influences sports performers behavior. E.g. Aggression is needed on the field in many contact sports but
off the field the performer could be introverted or non aggressive. E.g. Ricky Hatton is aggressive in the
ring but calm, nice, friendly off it (judging by TV. Interviews).

Effects on sports performance

Previous research suggests that there is no such thing as an athletic personality. This means that when
you look at athletes versus non-athletes, there is little difference between personality types. However, if
you look closer, some differences start to appear.

There are different effects on sports performance in singles tennis than in football team. E.g. a football
player would be mainly extroversion as the player works as a team with his other players. E.g. the player
may consist of being active, energetic, social little concern for possible consequences, lacks
concentration, likes excitement and variety is the spice of life. Also the football player would mainly be
in Type B category, which consists of people who are more relaxed; they are also tolerant towards
others and have low levels of personal anxiety.

While a singles tennis player would be mainly introversion as they wouldn’t have a team to perform with
so they would usually be working with themselves. The tennis players may consist of being inactive,
lethargic, likes peace and quiet, good concentration, self-conscious, safety and security and ruled by
fears. Also the tennis player would mainly be in Type A category, which consists of people who are
impatient, lack tolerance of others and have high levels of personal anxiety.

P2 – Describe motivation and how it affects sports performance.

Motivation is desire to achieve a goal, combined with the energy to work towards that goal. Students
who are motivated have a desire to undertake their study and complete the requirements of their
course.

Motivation affects sports performance

Positive effects of motivation are straightforward. Someone who is motivated to play, perform and train
at an optimal level will experience increases in performance. It is the role of athletes, coaches, managers
and support staff to make sure the athlete is at optimal levels of motivation, without experiencing any
negative side effects.

Negative is being too motivated so that you cannot stop training can be a big problem for athletes. Elite-
level athletes are now under so much pressure to perform constantly at a high level, it is easy to see why
they feel the need to train more and more. However, over-motivation and a constant grueling schedule
can lead to three things: over training, staleness and burnout.

This is the tendency to strive for success, persist in the fear of failure, and experience pride in
accomplishments. In the contest of an athlete it is an athletes overcoming barriers and obstacles,
performing better than others and taking pride in participation. E.g. (Special Olympics) Elle Simons –
Dwarfism – swimming. (Special Olympics) Oscar Pistorius – no legs – track events 100m, 200m, 400m.
Also widely recognised as deriving from personality trait characteristics. Traits are innate characteristics
we are born with. Athletes can be grouped into two dimensions:

- Nach – those that have high need to achieve.

- Naf – those who have a high need to avoid failure.

We are all likely to have both types of personality characterises. Some have more Nach that Naf traits
and vice-versa. If performer and coach recognise what motivation affects the performers drive, they can
then devise strategies to improve performance.

D1 – Evaluate the effects of personality and motivation on sports performance.

Personality and motivation both have different effects on sports performance. One of the similarities is
they have the same crucial balance of sports performance which is control anxiety and psychologically
ready for action (psyched up). Personality theories would be different to motivation theories as Trait
theory is the personality is based on the assumption that a person’s personality can be captured in a
series of different oppositions. Social learning theory is the personality characterised our learning and is
not genetically predetermined. Situational Approach theory is the situational approach theory attempts
to provide a perspective on organizations and management based on the integration of prior theories.
Interactional Approach theory is when both the situation and the person determine their behaviour.
Motivation theories would differ to these, which are: Intrinsic motivation is the internal drive that
encourages people to participant, perform well or succeed in sport. Extrinsic motivation this involves
external influences, which may affect the performer. Achievement motivation is your personality type,
which may determine how motivated you are. There would also be different performance in athletes in
each one e.g. in personality the athlete would be either a extroversion or a introversion depending if
their in Type A or Type B category. The athletes would also

consist of being active, energetic, social little concern for possible consequences, lacks concentration,
likes excitement and variety is the spice of life. Also they would be more relaxed; they are also tolerant
towards others and have low levels of personal anxiety. While the effects of performance in motivation
would mean the athlete would be the tendency to strive for success, persist in the fear of failure, and
experience pride in accomplishments. In the contest of an athlete it is an athletes overcoming barriers
and obstacles, performing better than others and taking pride in participation. Also the athletes would
be in either Nach or Naf category, which is those that have high need to achieve or those who have a
high need to avoid failure.

Presentation on theme: "Personality and Sports Performance Gobinder Singh Gill."— Presentation

transcript:

1 Personality and Sports Performance Gobinder Singh Gill

2 Aims and Objectives All students attempt to define personality and motivation?All students attempt
to define personality and motivation? Most students will appreciate the importance of personality and
its link to motivation?Most students will appreciate the importance of personality and its link to
motivation? Most students will discuss major approaches to understanding personality and
motivationMost students will discuss major approaches to understanding personality and motivation All
students will identify how personality and motivation can be measuredAll students will identify how
personality and motivation can be measured Some students will be able to examine the relationship
between personality, motivation and behaviourSome students will be able to examine the relationship
between personality, motivation and behaviour

3 What is personality? Psychological corePsychological core Typical responsesTypical responses Role

related behaviourRole related behaviour

4 Approaches to Personality Psycho dynamic approachPsycho dynamic approach Trait approachTrait

approach Situation approachSituation approach Interactional approachInteractional approach

5 Measuring personality and motivation QuestionnairesQuestionnaires InterviewsInterviews

ObservationsObservations

6 PersonalityModel ExtrovertIntrovert Type A Type B Hardiness

7 Extroverts Extreme extroverts: oshow great confidence oare socially outgoing oprefer team sports
olike whole body activities oenjoy activity and uncertainty

8 Introverts Extreme introverts: lack confidencelack confidence reservedreserved prefer individual

sportsprefer individual sports limited movement activitieslimited movement activities fine skills,
repetitive movementsfine skills, repetitive movements

9 TYPE A Extreme Type A personalities are more likely to be: –impatient –intolerant –have higher
personal levels of stress. They are more likely to succeed in competitive sport.

10 TYPE B Extreme Type B personalities are more likely to be: –relaxed –tolerant –have lower personal
levels of stress. They are less likely to succeed in competitive sport.

11 HARDINESS Hardiness is an ability trait which enables you to: –meet challenges –cope with
difficulties. It is linked to mental toughness and people who have it: –refuse to give up –have an
advantage in competitive sport

12 Using psychological and motivation measures Principles of testing and measurement errorPrinciples
of testing and measurement error LimitationsLimitations Psychological tests for team
selectionPsychological tests for team selection Explanation and feedbackExplanation and feedback
Assure confidentialityAssure confidentiality Understand and assess specific personality
componentsUnderstand and assess specific personality components

13 Personality research in sport and exercise Athletes and non athletesAthletes and non athletes
Female athletesFemale athletes Positive mental health and the iceberg profilePositive mental health
and the iceberg profile Predicting performancePredicting performance Exercise and personalityExercise
and personality
The Big Five Personality Traits

5 Major Factors of Personality

Many contemporary personality psychologists believe that there are five basic dimensions of
personality, often referred to as the "Big 5" personality traits. The five broad personality traits described
by the theory are extraversion (also often spelled extroversion), agreeableness, openness,
conscientiousness, and neuroticism.

Trait theories of personality have long attempted to pin down exactly how many personality traits exist.
Earlier theories have suggested a various number of possible traits, including Gordon Allport's list of
4,000 personality traits, Raymond Cattell's 16 personality factors, and Hans Eysenck's three-factor
theory.

However, many researchers felt that Cattell's theory was too complicated and Eysenck's was too limited
in scope. As a result, the five-factor theory emerged to describe the essential traits that serve as the
building blocks of personality.

What Are the Big Five Dimensions of Personality?

Today, many researchers believe that they are five core personality traits. Evidence of this theory has
been growing for many years, beginning with the research of D. W. Fiske (1949) and later expanded
upon by other researchers including Norman (1967), Smith (1967), Goldberg (1981), and McCrae &
Costa (1987).

The "big five" are broad categories of personality traits. While there is a significant body of literature
supporting this five-factor model of personality, researchers don't always agree on the exact labels for
each dimension.

You might find it helpful to use the acronym OCEAN (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion,
agreeableness, and neuroticism) when trying to remember the big five traits. CANOE (for
concienciousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness, and extraversion) is another commonly used
acronym.

It is important to note that each of the five personality factors represents a range between two
extremes. For example, extraversion represents a continuum between extreme extraversion and
extreme introversion. In the real world, most people lie somewhere in between the two polar ends of
each dimension.

These five categories are usually described as follows.

Openness

This trait features characteristics such as imagination and insight. People who are high in this trait also
tend to have a broad range of interests. They are curious about the world and other people and eager to
learn new things and enjoy new experiences.
People who are high in this trait tend to be more adventurous and creative. People low in this trait are
often much more traditional and may struggle with abstract thinking.

High
 Very creative
 Open to trying new things
 Focused on tackling new challenges

 Happy to think about abstract concepts

Low
 Dislikes change
 Does not enjoy new things
 Resists new ideas
 Not very imaginative
 Dislikes abstract or theoretical concepts

Conscientiousness

Standard features of this dimension include high levels of thoughtfulness, good impulse control, and
goal-directed behaviors. Highly conscientious people tend to be organized and mindful of details. They
plan ahead, think about how their behavior affects others, and are mindful of deadlines.

High
 Spends time preparing
 Finishes important tasks right away
 Pays attention to detail
 Enjoys having a set schedule

Low
 Dislikes structure and schedules
 Makes messes and doesn't take care of things
 Fails to return things or put them back where they belong
 Procrastinates important tasks
 Fails to complete necessary or assigned tasks
Extraversion

Extraversion (or extroversion) is characterized by excitability, sociability, talkativeness, assertiveness,

and high amounts of emotional expressiveness. People who are high in extraversion are outgoing and
tend to gain energy in social situations. Being around other people helps them feel energized and
excited.

People who are low in extraversion (or introverted) tend to be more reserved and have to expend
energy in social settings. Social events can feel draining and introverts often require a period of solitude
and quiet in order to "recharge."

High
 Enjoys being the center of attention
 Likes to start conversations
 Enjoys meeting new people
 Has a wide social circle of friends and acquaintances
 Finds it easy to make new friends
 Feels energized when around other people
 Say things before thinking about them

Low
 Prefers solitude
 Feels exhausted when having to socialize a lot
 Finds it difficult to start conversations
 Dislikes making small talk
 Carefully thinks things through before speaking
 Dislikes being the center of attention
Extroversion and How It Influences Behavior

Agreeableness

This personality dimension includes attributes such as trust, altruism, kindness, affection, and
other prosocial behaviors. People who are high in agreeableness tend to be more cooperative while
those low in this trait tend to be more competitive and sometimes even manipulative.

High
 Has a great deal of interest in other people
 Cares about others
 Feels empathy and concern for other people
 Enjoys helping and contributing to the happiness of other people
  Assists others who are in need of help

Low
 Takes little interest in others
 Doesn't care about how other people feel
 Has little interest in other people's problems
 Insults and belittles others
 Manipulates others to get what they want

Neuroticism

Neuroticism is a trait characterized by sadness, moodiness, and emotional instability. Individuals who
are high in this trait tend to experience mood swings, anxiety, irritability, and sadness. Those low in this
trait tend to be more stable and emotionally resilient.

High
 Experiences a lot of stress
 Worries about many different things
 Gets upset easily
 Experiences dramatic shifts in mood
 Feels anxious
 Struggles to bounce back after stressful events

Low
 Emotionally stable
 Deals well with stress
 Rarely feels sad or depressed
 Doesn't worry much
 Is very relaxed

Are the Big Five Traits Universal?

McCrae and his colleagues have also found that the big five traits are also remarkably universal. One
study that looked at people from more than 50 different cultures found that the five dimensions could
be accurately used to describe personality.

Based on this research, many psychologists now believe that the five personality dimensions are not
only universal; they also have biological origins. Psychologist David Buss has proposed that an
evolutionary explanation for these five core personality traits, suggesting that these personality traits
represent the most important qualities that shape our social landscape.
What Factors Influence the Big Five Traits?

Research suggests that both biological and environmental influences play a role in shaping our
personalities. Twin studies suggest that both nature and nurture play a role in the development of each
of the five personality factors.

One study of the genetic and environmental underpinnings of the five traits looked at 123 pairs of
identical twins and 127 pairs of fraternal twins. The findings suggested that the heritability of each trait
was 53 percent for extraversion, 41 percent for agreeableness, 44 percent for conscientiousness, 41
percent for neuroticism, and 61 for openness.

Longitudinal studies also suggest that these big five personality traits tend to be relatively stable over
the course of adulthood. One study of working-age adults found that personality tended to be stable
over a four-year period and displayed little change as a result of adverse life events.

Studies have shown that maturation may have an impact on the five traits. As people age, they tend to
become less extraverted, less neurotic, and less open to experience. Agreeableness and
conscientiousness, on the other hand, tend to increase as people grow older.

A Word From Verywell

Always remember that behavior involves an interaction between a person's underlying personality and
situational variables. The situation that a person finds himself or herself in plays a major role in how the
person reacts. However, in most cases, people offer responses that are consistent with their underlying
personality traits.

These dimensions represent broad areas of personality. Research has demonstrated that these
groupings of characteristics tend to occur together in many people. For example, individuals who are
sociable tend to be talkative. However, these traits do not always occur together. Personality is a
complex and varied and each person may display behaviors across several of these dimensions.