Personality, Mental Health, Adjustment and Counselling

What to remember

• Personality is the unique, organised pattern of a person's thoughts, feelings and behaviour. Types (Hippocrates, Sheldon, Jung) place people in groups; trait theories (Allport, Cattell, Eysenck, Big Five) describe them by traits; Freud explains it by id, ego and superego.
• Mental health means a well-adjusted mind that copes with stress. Defence mechanisms are unconscious tricks the ego uses to reduce anxiety; they are normal in small amounts but harmful when overused.
• Guidance helps a pupil choose and plan; counselling is a face-to-face helping process. Rogers' non-directive approach is learner-centred.

Personality

The word comes from the Latin *persona*, a mask used by actors. G. W. Allport defined personality as the dynamic organisation within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his unique adjustment to his environment. It includes physical, mental, emotional and social qualities, and it is both inherited and shaped by the environment.

Type theories

Sheldon's matching temperaments: viscerotonia (endomorph), somatotonia (mesomorph), cerebrotonia (ectomorph). Type theories are simple but they over-classify, because most people are in between.

Trait theories

• Allport: traits are the units of personality: cardinal, central and secondary traits.
• Cattell: 16 source traits; the test is the 16 PF.
• Eysenck: three dimensions: extraversion-introversion, neuroticism (emotional stability) and psychoticism.
• Big Five (OCEAN): Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism.

Freud's psychoanalytic view

Sigmund Freud described a mind with conscious, preconscious and unconscious levels, and three parts of personality:

Psychosexual stages: oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital. Fixation at a stage shapes adult personality. (Erikson later gave psychosocial stages.)

Assessment of personality

• Self-report inventories: questionnaires such as MMPI and 16 PF.
• Projective techniques: an unclear stimulus makes the person "project" hidden feelings: Rorschach inkblot test (Hermann Rorschach), Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) (Murray and Morgan), word association test (Jung is linked with it), sentence completion, draw-a-person test.
• Other methods: observation, interview, rating scales, case study, sociometry.

Mental health

The World Health Organization says health is complete physical, mental and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease. A mentally healthy person has self-acceptance, realistic goals, emotional balance, good relations with others, the ability to face problems and a sense of purpose.

Hygiene for a school: a warm teacher, fair discipline, freedom to express, success experiences for every child, play and hobby time, and early help for stress.

Adjustment

Adjustment is the process of balancing one's needs with the demands of the environment. A well-adjusted person meets needs in socially accepted ways. Signs of maladjustment include aggression, withdrawal, truancy, lying and nervous habits. Causes: unmet needs, conflicts, a harsh home, poor teaching, or physical defects. Teacher help: understand the cause, show affection, and refer serious cases to a counsellor.

Frustration and conflict

Frustration is the feeling when a goal is blocked. Sources: outside (people, rules, poverty) and inside (weak ability, fear). Reactions: aggression, withdrawal, fixation (repeating a useless act), regression (going back to childish behaviour), resignation, or a constructive path such as sublimation.

Conflict (Lewin's types):

Approach-avoidance is the most difficult and long-lasting.

Stress and anxiety

Stress is the body's and mind's response to a demand. Hans Selye described the General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) in three stages: alarm, resistance, exhaustion. Eustress is helpful stress; distress is harmful stress. Exam stress can be reduced by planning, relaxation, sleep, exercise and talking to a trusted person.

Anxiety is a vague fear without a clear object; fear has a known object. Test anxiety is common in students; mild anxiety may help performance, severe anxiety harms it (an inverted-U link, the Yerkes-Dodson idea).

Defence mechanisms

Introduced by Freud and developed by Anna Freud. They work unconsciously and they distort reality.

Sublimation is considered the healthiest mechanism.

Guidance

Guidance is help given to a person to understand himself, solve problems and plan his life. Frank Parsons is the "father of the guidance movement" (his work on vocational guidance, 1909). Types: educational (courses, study habits), vocational (career choice) and personal (emotional, social, health). Principles: guidance is for all, continuous, based on the needs of the individual, and the person has the right to choose.

Services in a school: orientation, information, individual inventory, counselling, placement and follow-up.

Counselling

Counselling is a one-to-one, face-to-face helping relation in which a trained counsellor helps a client to understand and solve his own problem.

Qualities of a good counsellor: empathy, patience, confidentiality, a non-judging attitude and good listening. Guidance is wider than counselling; counselling is one of the main tools of guidance.

Role of the teacher in mental health and adjustment

The teacher is the most important adult for a child after the parents. A teacher can help in many small ways: greet pupils warmly, listen without hurry, treat all children fairly, and avoid sarcasm and labels. Notice changes such as sudden silence, falling marks, repeated absence, fights or signs of fear. Talk with the child privately, speak with parents and, where needed, refer to a school counsellor. Group activities, games, art, music and clubs give children healthy ways to release feeling, which is a form of sublimation. A class where mistakes are allowed lowers test anxiety.

Teachers should also manage their own stress, because a calm teacher is a good model. Simple habits are regular routine, rest, exercise and sharing worries with a colleague or friend. Remember that personality is shaped by both heredity and environment, so a teacher cannot change a child's nature, but can create experiences that help the child grow in a positive direction.

Exam traps

• Introvert and extrovert are Jung's types; endomorph, mesomorph and ectomorph are Sheldon's.
• Rorschach uses inkblots; TAT uses pictures that invite stories.
• Id works on the pleasure principle, ego on reality and superego on morality.
• Projection blames others; rationalisation gives excuses; denial refuses the fact.
• Displacement shifts the target; sublimation changes the urge into useful work.
• GAS order is alarm, resistance, exhaustion.
• Directive counselling is counsellor-centred; non-directive is client-centred.
• Fear has a clear object; anxiety has no clear object.

One-liners

• 1. Personality comes from the Latin word persona, meaning mask.
• 2. Allport defined personality as a dynamic organisation within the individual.
• 3. Sheldon gave endomorph, mesomorph and ectomorph.
• 4. Cattell's test is the 16 PF.
• 5. The Big Five traits spell OCEAN.
• 6. The Rorschach test is a projective test using inkblots.
• 7. Murray and Morgan developed the Thematic Apperception Test.
• 8. Freud's three parts of personality are id, ego and superego.
• 9. Selye's GAS has alarm, resistance and exhaustion stages.
• 10. Sublimation is regarded as the healthiest defence mechanism.
• 11. Frank Parsons is known as the father of the guidance movement.
• 12. Carl Rogers is the main name in non-directive counselling.

Practice questions

1. The word 'personality' comes from the Latin word persona, meaning

   1. mask
   2. mind
   3. body
   4. habit
   Answer

   A. mask

   Persona was the mask worn by actors.

2. Endomorph, mesomorph and ectomorph are types given by

   1. Kretschmer
   2. Jung
   3. Sheldon
   4. Hippocrates
   Answer

   C. Sheldon

   Sheldon's somatotypes.

3. Introvert and extrovert types were given by

   1. Cattell
   2. Allport
   3. Sheldon
   4. Jung
   Answer

   D. Jung

   Jung classified by direction of energy.

4. The Rorschach test is a

   1. projective test using inkblots
   2. questionnaire on interests
   3. test of intelligence
   4. test of memory
   Answer

   A. projective test using inkblots

   Hermann Rorschach designed the inkblot cards.

5. The Thematic Apperception Test was developed by

   1. Cattell and Eysenck
   2. Murray and Morgan
   3. Rorschach and Jung
   4. Binet and Simon
   Answer

   B. Murray and Morgan

   TAT uses pictures about which the person tells stories.

6. In Freud's theory, the part of personality guided by the reality principle is the

   1. libido
   2. id
   3. ego
   4. superego
   Answer

   C. ego

   The ego is the practical decision-maker.

7. The conscience and moral ideals form the

   1. superego
   2. id
   3. persona
   4. ego
   Answer

   A. superego

   Superego works on the morality principle.

8. Hans Selye's General Adaptation Syndrome has the stages

   1. resistance, alarm, denial
   2. fear, anger, calm
   3. alarm, exhaustion, resistance
   4. alarm, resistance, exhaustion
   Answer

   D. alarm, resistance, exhaustion

   This is the order of stress response.

9. The father of the guidance movement is

   1. Frank Parsons
   2. Sigmund Freud
   3. E. G. Williamson
   4. Carl Rogers
   Answer

   A. Frank Parsons

   Parsons founded vocational guidance.

10. Client-centred (non-directive) counselling was developed by

    1. E. G. Williamson
    2. F. C. Thorne
    3. Frank Parsons
    4. Carl Rogers
    Answer

    D. Carl Rogers

    The client leads the process.

11. Directive counselling is associated with

    1. Maslow
    2. E. G. Williamson
    3. Carl Rogers
    4. Jung
    Answer

    B. E. G. Williamson

    It is counsellor-centred.

12. The Big Five trait model is abbreviated as

    1. MMPI
    2. TAT
    3. OCEAN
    4. 16 PF
    Answer

    C. OCEAN

    Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism.

13. Cattell's personality test is the

    1. TAT
    2. Binet scale
    3. 16 PF
    4. Rorschach
    Answer

    C. 16 PF

    It measures 16 source traits.

14. A student who failed blames the examiner for being unfair. This defence mechanism is

    1. repression
    2. projection
    3. sublimation
    4. regression
    Answer

    B. projection

    He puts his own fault on another.

15. A student who scored low says 'the exam did not matter anyway'. This is

    1. rationalisation
    2. displacement
    3. identification
    4. denial
    Answer

    A. rationalisation

    A false but acceptable reason is given.

16. A boy scolded by his teacher beats his younger brother. This is

    1. regression
    2. sublimation
    3. projection
    4. displacement
    Answer

    D. displacement

    The emotion is shifted to a safer target.

17. A grown child begins to suck his thumb after the birth of a sibling. This is

    1. reaction formation
    2. compensation
    3. fixation
    4. regression
    Answer

    D. regression

    He returns to an earlier stage of behaviour.

18. A physically weak boy becomes an excellent scholar. This is

    1. compensation
    2. displacement
    3. projection
    4. denial
    Answer

    A. compensation

    Success in one field makes up for a weakness.

19. Turning aggressive urges into sports or art is

    1. regression
    2. sublimation
    3. repression
    4. denial
    Answer

    B. sublimation

    Sublimation is the healthiest defence mechanism.

20. Showing extreme politeness to a person one dislikes is

    1. identification
    2. fixation
    3. reaction formation
    4. compensation
    Answer

    C. reaction formation

    The opposite of the true feeling is shown.

21. Choosing between two equally attractive scholarships is an example of

    1. avoidance-avoidance conflict
    2. approach-avoidance conflict
    3. approach-approach conflict
    4. double-avoidance conflict
    Answer

    C. approach-approach conflict

    Both goals are desirable.

22. Having to choose between a punishment and failing is

    1. no conflict
    2. avoidance-avoidance conflict
    3. approach-approach conflict
    4. approach-avoidance conflict
    Answer

    B. avoidance-avoidance conflict

    Both options are unpleasant.

23. The most difficult and lasting type of conflict is generally

    1. approach-approach
    2. double approach
    3. avoidance-avoidance
    4. approach-avoidance
    Answer

    D. approach-avoidance

    One goal attracts and repels at once.

24. Blocking of a goal that causes tension is called

    1. frustration
    2. adjustment
    3. fixation
    4. motivation
    Answer

    A. frustration

    Frustration results from a blocked need.

25. Fixed repetition of a useless act in a frustrating situation is

    1. projection
    2. sublimation
    3. fixation
    4. adjustment
    Answer

    C. fixation

    The person repeats the act even when it fails.

26. A vague fear without a clear object is

    1. frustration
    2. anxiety
    3. fixation
    4. regression
    Answer

    B. anxiety

    Fear has a known object; anxiety does not.

27. Helpful, motivating stress is called

    1. distress
    2. anxiety
    3. repression
    4. eustress
    Answer

    D. eustress

    Eustress is positive stress.

28. Guidance about courses, study habits and school problems is

    1. vocational guidance
    2. educational guidance
    3. personal guidance
    4. placement only
    Answer

    B. educational guidance

    Educational guidance helps with school-related choices.

29. Which is a feature of a mentally healthy person?

    1. Realistic goals and emotional balance
    2. Blaming others
    3. Avoiding all contact
    4. Constant denial of problems
    Answer

    A. Realistic goals and emotional balance

    Healthy minds face problems realistically.

30. The inventory used to assess personality traits through questions is the

    1. TAT
    2. Rorschach
    3. Sentence completion
    4. MMPI
    Answer

    D. MMPI

    It is a self-report inventory; the others are projective.

31. Statements: 1. Id works on the pleasure principle. 2. Superego works on the reality principle.

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    A. 1 only

    Superego follows morality; ego follows reality.

32. Statements: 1. Anxiety has a vague object. 2. Fear has a clear object.

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    C. Both 1 and 2

    Both are correct.

33. Statements: 1. Guidance is wider than counselling. 2. Counselling is a one-to-one relation.

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    C. Both 1 and 2

    Counselling is one tool of guidance.

34. Statements: 1. Defence mechanisms work consciously. 2. They reduce anxiety but distort reality.

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    B. 2 only

    They work unconsciously.

35. Statements: 1. Rorschach uses pictures that make the person tell stories. 2. TAT uses inkblots.

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    D. Neither 1 nor 2

    The two are the other way round.

36. Statements: 1. Eysenck described extraversion and neuroticism. 2. Cattell described 16 source traits.

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    C. Both 1 and 2

    Both are correct.

37. Statements: 1. Sublimation is the healthiest defence mechanism. 2. Repression is pushing painful thoughts out of awareness.

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    C. Both 1 and 2

    Both are correct.

38. Statements: 1. Non-directive counselling is counsellor-centred. 2. Eclectic counselling is linked with Thorne.

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    B. 2 only

    Non-directive counselling is client-centred.

39. Match the theorist with the types: 1. Hippocrates 2. Sheldon 3. Jung

    1. 1 sanguine, 2 mesomorph, 3 introvert
    2. 1 sanguine, 2 introvert, 3 mesomorph
    3. 1 mesomorph, 2 sanguine, 3 introvert
    4. 1 introvert, 2 mesomorph, 3 sanguine
    Answer

    A. 1 sanguine, 2 mesomorph, 3 introvert

    Humours, somatotypes and attitude types.

40. Match the defence mechanism with the example: 1. Denial 2. Projection 3. Displacement

    1. 1 'I did not fail', 2 'the examiner is unfair', 3 hitting a sibling after a scolding
    2. 1 hitting a sibling after a scolding, 2 'the examiner is unfair', 3 'I did not fail'
    3. 1 'the examiner is unfair', 2 'I did not fail', 3 hitting a sibling after a scolding
    4. 1 'I did not fail', 2 hitting a sibling after a scolding, 3 'the examiner is unfair'
    Answer

    A. 1 'I did not fail', 2 'the examiner is unfair', 3 hitting a sibling after a scolding

    Each example fits the named mechanism.

41. Match the test with its type: 1. Rorschach 2. MMPI 3. TAT

    1. 1 questionnaire, 2 inkblots, 3 picture stories
    2. 1 picture stories, 2 questionnaire, 3 inkblots
    3. 1 inkblots, 2 picture stories, 3 questionnaire
    4. 1 inkblots, 2 questionnaire, 3 picture stories
    Answer

    D. 1 inkblots, 2 questionnaire, 3 picture stories

    Rorschach and TAT are projective; MMPI is an inventory.

42. Match the counselling approach with the person: 1. Directive 2. Non-directive 3. Eclectic

    1. 1 Williamson, 2 Rogers, 3 Thorne
    2. 1 Williamson, 2 Thorne, 3 Rogers
    3. 1 Thorne, 2 Rogers, 3 Williamson
    4. 1 Rogers, 2 Williamson, 3 Thorne
    Answer

    A. 1 Williamson, 2 Rogers, 3 Thorne

    Each approach has a leading name.

43. Match Freud's psychosexual stage with its order: 1. First 2. Second 3. Third

    1. 1 phallic, 2 anal, 3 oral
    2. 1 anal, 2 oral, 3 phallic
    3. 1 oral, 2 phallic, 3 anal
    4. 1 oral, 2 anal, 3 phallic
    Answer

    D. 1 oral, 2 anal, 3 phallic

    Order: oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital.

44. A teacher notices a pupil who has become withdrawn and aggressive. The best first step is to

    1. punish him in public
    2. understand the cause and offer support
    3. ignore him
    4. remove him from the class
    Answer

    B. understand the cause and offer support

    Understanding the cause is the core of adjustment help.

45. A child fails often, then starts to say 'I do not want to study'. A teacher should see this as possible

    1. proof of laziness only
    2. withdrawal reaction to frustration
    3. a sign of intelligence
    4. a case of sublimation
    Answer

    B. withdrawal reaction to frustration

    Withdrawal is a common reaction to repeated failure.