(b) The viewpoint recognizes that the individual can think, reflect, and
decide.
(c) Maslow asserted that human beings have a great capacity for , the power
to control and direct one’s own life.
Answers: (a) proactive; (b) humanistic; (c) autonomy.
Rogers placed an emphasis on the self-concept,the way in which one per-
ceives one’s own personality. The self-concept exists in contrast to the ideal self,
the way one would like to be. If the self-concept and the ideal self are far apart,
then a state ofincongruenceexists. Incongruence tends to induce depression
and anxiety. Like Maslow, Rogers believed that the individual has some control
over the status of the self. Rogers employed these concepts as important aspects of
his approach to psychotherapy (see client-centered therapy in chapter 15).
The humanistic viewpoint attempts to put the individual in the psychological
driver’s seat. It asserts that a human being’s personality doesn’t just happen. The
individual, to some extent, creates his or her own personality.
(a) Rogers placed an emphasis on the , the way in which one perceives one’s
own personality.
(b) The self-concept exists in contrast to the , the way one would like to be.
(c) If the self-concept and the ideal self are far apart, then a state of exists.
Answers: (a) self-concept; (b) ideal self; (c) incongruence.
Personality Tests: “Can That Silly Inkblot Test Really Tell You
Anything about People?”
Personality testsare measuring instruments used primarily for two purposes: to
conduct research on the nature of personality and to make evaluations of person-
ality useful in counseling and clinical settings.
Three specific personality tests will be described in this section: (1) the
Rorschach test, (2) the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), and (3) the Min-
nesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI).
The Rorschach testconsists of ten inkblots with bilateral symmetry (i.e., the
right half of each inkblot is the mirror image of the left half ). There are ten cards,
five in black and white and five with some color. The cards are always shown in
the same order. The key instruction is, “Tell me what you see, or are able to imag-
ine to be there, in each card.” First published in 1921, the test was developed by
the Swiss psychoanalyst Hermann Rorschach.
The Rorschach test is called a projective test,a test in which it is assumed
Personality: Psychological Factors That Make You an Individual 205
