The
following article is based on a presentation made during the Second International
Conference on Integral Psychology, held at Pondicherry (India), 4-7 January
2001. The text has been published in:
Cornelissen, Matthijs (Ed.) (2001) Consciousness and Its Transformation,
Pondicherry: SAICE
The
probabilistic orientation of personality
S.Narayanan and
N. Annalakshmi
Personality as the
distinctive pattern of behaviour including temperament, emotion, and thought
that characterize an individual’s adaptations to his or her life has always
attracted the attention of researchers in behavioral and social sciences
(Brody, 1988; Hall and Lindzey, 1970). As a relatively long enduring pattern
of behaviour and consciousness personality seems to influence the cognition,
conation and affection in an individual. It is the embodiment of the physique,
the mind, the vital, the level of individual consciousness and the spiritual
consciousness one has imbibed into one’s style of life (Dalal, 1987; 1992;
2000).
The elegance of the
pattern of personality of an individual is contingent upon the pieces
of the mosaic of individual traits that were selected and the organization
that has gone into making the pattern. Traits remain the building blocks
of personality and the edifice we see is the result of the architecture
that has gone into its construction. The choice of the blocks and the
organization forced on them succinctly constitute the type of personality
manifest in an individual. G.W. Allport (1937; 1961) has elucidated the
ordinal and cardinal traits that make up the personality. Later psychologists
like Guilford (1959), H.J. Eysenck (1953; 1985) and R.B. Cattell (1946;
1957; 1966; 1990) have elaborated on the factors constituting personality
types. Kelly (1955) has elaborated the significance of the constructs
adopted by an individual in cognizing his environment which provide the
pivot around which the personality of an individual revolves. Alfred Adler’s
original German term Gemeinshafts–gefuhl emphasizes social interest—a
striving for perfection in reaching the ideal self in terms of caring
and sharing for and with other human beings (Adler, 1929). The Adlerian
concept of social interest is akin to the concept of transcendence of
Carl G. Jung(1934) and may be considered a fiat of the concept of self-actualization.
Carl Rogers (1980) has built his concept of personality around self-concepts.
Abraham Maslow (1968; 1970) has shown the role played by security enjoyed
by the self in constituting the motivational pyramid of personality. Thus
orientation of personality circles around the seminal concepts adopted
in the constructs used by the individual in his relationship with the
psycho-socio environment. Learning theorists have shown that once a pattern
is set in, it is likely that it will be further reinforced through learning
principles. This gives rise to the relatively long enduring nature of
personality of individuals and thus continues the teleonomy of self.
Classical psychologists
have also attempted to identify the nature of personalities in terms of
their typical orientations which revolve around the stages of development.
(Erick Erikson, 1963; 1968). Fromm (1947; 1959; 1962), furthering the
thinking of Sigmund Freud (1925; 1966), has discovered the existence of
personality orientation in terms of mode of reacting to the environment
(Stagner and Karwoski, 1952). Carl G. Jung (1923) has identified personality
orientation in terms of thinking-intuition and outgoing-inner directedness.
The Jungian classification of personality orientation still finds its
use in the applied field (Myers-Briggs, 1962). The attempt to identify
the orientation of individuals in terms of Internal and External Locus
of Control has also gained wide acceptance among psychologists (Rotter,
1966; Lefcourt, 1982). Personality orientations are also interpretable
in terms of operant learning (Skinner, 1938; 1953). That there is a selective
central inhibitory mechanism which might operate to filter sensory impulses
has been emphasized by such theorists as Tolman (1948), Lewin (1936) and
Hebb (1952). And, as may be seen below, information processing by the
organism might explain the teleonomy of personality in terms of self.
The teleonomy of the
self
The developing human
organism tries to establish autonomy from genetically determined instructions
by evolving the system of self. The function of the self is to mediate
between genetic instructions or instinctual drives and cultural instructions
or norms and rules. To achieve this function the organism needs to develop
another system of consciousness. Consciousness compasses three functional
subsystems: attention, awareness and memory. The content of consciousness
is the sum of all the information that enters it, and its interpretation
by awareness.
At a certain point in
development the organism learns to direct attention, thinking, feeling,
willing and remembrance. At that point of time the self evolves within
awareness. The self becomes an epiphenomenon of conscious processes as
a result of consciousness becoming aware of itself. Eventually the scope
of self extends to cover the entirety of consciousness, and the self ultimately
transforms itself into the symbol that stands for the full range of individual
conscious processes.
In order to survive,
the self established in consciousness directs attention, awareness and
memory towards those states which are congruent with itself and eliminates
all those that are incongruent or thwarting. When harmony is achieved
by the self within itself there is the condition of optimal experience
or flow (Csikszenth–mihalyi and Csikszenthmihalyi, 1993). Such an experience
connotes to the subjective conditions of pleasure, happiness, satisfaction,
and enjoyment.
The construct of the
probabilistic orientation
An attempt is found
in ancient literature to describe personality by invoking an indigenous
construct, the Probabilistic Orientation. A poet by the name of Kanian
Poonkundranar, who lived in Tamil Nadu during 4000 BC, has rendered an
account of this description in his poem and the poem is found included
in an anthology of four hundred poems in Tamil titled Purananooru
(Four Hundred Poems on Non-Subjective Aspects of Life).
The construct used to
differentiate people in their personality is labelled, for want of a better
term, the probabilistic orientation. The term connotes a set of beliefs
and convictions regarding the probable nature of events. The probability
characteristics of events owe their origin to an ever evolving Nature
which is set in evolution. The reality one can experience is of a transient
fleet of events unfolding themselves as programmed by the evolutionary
nature of Nature. Evolution determines the probability distribution of
events through stochastic principles.
An individual has neither
absolute freedom nor is bound by an holistic bondage. A dynamic friction
is exerted by forces within and forces without in every action of men.
Individual efforts can motivate one’s action. But, the limitation of its
effect is determined by the probability of success stemming from the stochastic
process governing the forces involved in the action.
Poetic expression of
the construct
Given the perspective
just above described, an individual is bound to develop in himself a set
of behavioural consequences which shapes the perspectives that ultimately
lead to the typical orientation of his personality. The poem attempts
to present this orientation as follows:
All places are my abodes
dear,
And every one is my kith
and kin;
Good and bad are caused
by none,
Sickness and convalescence
are just but natural;
Nothing is new in death,
Rejoice life as sweet
we do not,
Nor despise it as sour;
Since,
Convinced are we through
the serene vision of the seers,
That,
Along with lightening
pour down cold drops;
The Mighty river rolls
down the stone
Into pebbles with constant
noise, lo!
The Boat sails in the
river.
Likewise precious life
has it’s course
In the course of Nature.
Hence, We do not wonder
at the great
Nor look down upon the
small.
The
poem purports to place on record the water mark of the life style of the
saints and seers of ancient Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu is one of the sites
of ancient civilization in India. It was part of a vast continent, called
Lemuria where the Dravidian Civilization flourished. The major part of
Lemuria has submerged into the Pacific ocean due to a great flood that
occurred several centuries ago. The saints and savants of Tamil Nadu thus
represent a sample of highly evolved people who lived in a highly civilized
society. Purananooru belongs to the collection of literature evolved during the Sangam Age.
Sangam stands for Society or Association and the Associations of Tamil
Poets mark the age of Sangam. The poem provides a description of the personality
orientation of the perspective personalities who represent a population
of highly evolved individuals in an ancient civilization of the world.
Simple paraphrasing
of the poem brings out the profound wisdom contained in it. The poem states
that we are all convinced through the serene vision of the seers and saints,
that in the process of evolution the big bang occurred and the fire globe
started to cool off, ultimately giving rise to the geography of seasons
and climate. The rain started pouring down and the rocks were turned into
pieces and pebbles giving way to the courses of rivers. The power of the
water current of the river constantly changes responding to the geographical
state set in by the evolution at a particular point of time. The freedom
and bondage available to the sailor at one point of time is dynamically
determined by internal and external forces—internal contingent on physical
and subjective resources of the sailor and external based on the velocity
of the wind, the power of the water currents, etc. Such a balancing of
forces within and without occurs constantly due to the ongoing process
of evolution and such frictions are never inimical to anyone in particular
at any point of time.
The poem further adds
that since the truth of the above is adopted in our basic perspective
as a basic stance of our thinking, willing and feeling, we could derive
the following inferences. And, these inferences reinforce our perspective,
installing in us the probabilistic orientation.
We believe that all
places are our dear abodes and are as good as our native place. We regard
every one as our kith and kin.
We are convinced that
no one can do good or inflict harm to us since every event is but a derivation
from a random phenomenon conceived in the process of evolution.
We do believe that natural
processes mediate the sources of sickness and the capacity for convalescence
from the sickness. These processes are just but natural phenomena and
are not inimical to any one in particular.
We do not consider death
as anything strange or new. There is nothing new in death which is again
a natural event.
Since we are given to
the above convictions, we do not rejoice life as sweet nor despise life
as sour due to stress and strain.
We do not wonder at
any one for achieving greatness nor would we look down upon the small
who are weak and meek. Since each one rises to his station due to natural
processes over which no one has any simple and direct control or mastery.
The phenomenological
orientation
The oriental thinking
on personality outlined above has been developed on an ideographic phenomenological
premise. This approach appreciates the phenomena of personality as based
on rigorous appreciation of experiential facts teased out by the application
of logic and dissection by intuition. The module of personality developed
seems to have effectively put forth a valid conception of personality
orientation.
The probabilistic orientation
refers to the typical orientation of personality of an individual. Under
this orientation the individual has an unique orientation of his consciousness.
The consciousness of the individual is focused on an idiosyncratic perspective.
This perspective has its deep roots in an extended awareness. Such an
awareness transcends ordinary sensory experience. Under the probabilistic
orientation an individual has a keen awareness about the nature of Nature.
He is aware that Nature is given to constant evolution. He understands
that Nature acts as a dynamic system at a given point of time. Any event
in Nature at a particular point of time is a random occurrence subject
to its stochastic framework. Hence every outcome in Nature is unbiased
to any individual.
The evolution of Nature
adheres to a stochastic process. The occurrence of events and their outcomes
assume different probability distributions as a function of time. Each
set of probability distribution is derived from the probability distribution
of its previous set of events. Hence, a system contingent upon the existence
of an earlier system from which it evolved prevails at every point of
time. The nature of the probability governing various networks of events
defining and governing such a system also adhere to the probabilistic
nature of the distribution it has derived from its predecessor. An individual
can not induce any change all of a sudden in a system, since it has already
been set within definite probability distributions. But, it is still possible
to introduce a subtle change in the course of the system so that when
the change thus introduced has gained momentum, the subsequent probability
distribution characteristic of the system also may change.
This is exemplified
by the metaphor of “sailing through”. When a person sails in a boat the
freedom available to the man sailing the boat is completely under the
control of the ecosystem governing the currents of the river. Yet, a sailor
may actuate the boat to go against cross currents by his efforts. The
sailor is both under the limitations placed on him by the ecosystem and
at the same time he can sail through, oaring with all his might. Thus
the bondage and freedom hangs on the hinges of probabilities. There is
a dynamic interrelationship between his limitations and assets. This interpretation
of the scope and limitation of a sailor has been lucidly discussed by
Acharya Vinoba Bhave in his discourse on the Bhagavad
Gita.
The summum bonum of
the probabilistic orientation is the appreciation of the fact that the
dynamic system of the universe is constantly unfolding itself adhering
to stochastic principles and consequently, the individual events and contingencies
of events remain unbiased and are not prejudiced in favour of or against
any individual at any point of time. There is unbiasedness of individual
events and contingencies. An individual who is given to the probabilistic
orientation looks at all outcomes with equanimity. He does not resist
or instantly accept anything based on any compulsion or obsession due
to his complexes resulting from what he already believes and trusts. He
does not attach any value-judgments regarding the outcome. The probabilistic
orientation may be regarded as the sine qua non in the personality orientation
of highly evolved individuals.
Often belief in fate
is confused with probabilistic orientation. It should be noted at the
outset that a probabilistic orientation does not reflect fatalistic belief.
The latter suggests that one’s life is sealed by fate and has no scope
for personal freedom while the former perceives the constraints placed
on an individual as not cast in a sealed rigid frame, but spinning in
a dynamic and constantly evolving framework. Perhaps, it is the stochastic
principles that are duly taken into account in perceiving the constraints,
that distinguishes probabilistic orientation from fatalistic orientation.
A single intervention at one point of time might not be adequate enough
to bring any visibly impressive effect in the system; but, nonetheless,
the system is responding to every attack on it in subtle terms. Every
attempt will initiate a stochastic process and tilt the system and thereby
ultimately lead to perceptible change in the system itself in the long
run.
Probabilistic orientation
can also be distinguished from Internal/External orientation (Lefcourt,
1983). While internal and –external locus of control locates one’s control
inside and outside the person involved, the probabilistic orientation
locates the locus of control on the basis of the dynamic balance resulting
from both the inner and outer forces at a given point of time. Neither
the internal nor the external locus can be valid in deciding the effectiveness
of functioning. Sometimes the internal forces may be powerful enough to
overcome the external forces standing barrier for a course of action,
and vice versa. The probabilities attached to the stakes involved ultimately
decide the success or otherwise of a course of action. The proponents
of internal and external locus of control argue that the man is either
free or bound in a bondage. The advocates of the probabilistic orientation
contend that man is neither free nor bound; he is free to a certain degree
and bound to environmental forces to a certain degree and the exact degree
of freedom and bondage depends upon the system characteristics evolved
through a dynamic perpetually stochastic process. Probabilistic orientation
and Internal and External Locus of control have an interesting and complex
relationship as found among adolescent boys and girls (Narayanan and Venkatapathy,
1984).
Factors constituting
the probabilistic orientation
Narayanan (1977) finding
the probabilistic orientation to be a seminal construct orienting personality
of individuals in the Indian culture has attempted to empirically verify
the existence of the orientation among individuals and to validate the
hypotheses that could be derived with regard to the probabilistic orientation
among people. Narayanan and his coworkers have been endeavouring to map
the features of probabilistic orientation by undertaking research for
more than two decades in the past and a considerable literature has thus
evolved on the probabilistic orientation.
Appreciating probabilistic orientation as one of the dominant
features of Indian Culture, Narayanan developed a questionnaire purporting
to obtain a measure of probabilistic orientation. The questionnaire contains
thirty items in the form of general statements which can be endorsed or
rejected by the respondent answering the questionnaire as applicable to
him or not. A factor analysis of the responses of a large group of elders
to the Probabilistic Orientation Questionnaire has yielded seven factors
to constitute probabilistic orientation (Narayanan, 1977;1993).
Factor-I is labelled
Unbounded Expectancy. This factor stresses that goodness or meanness of
thought by itself cannot influence the course of action: predictions are
not influenced by stature of a person; status is not a permanent state;
stature of a judge need not assure soundness of his judgment; failure
and success are not consistent in time; and nature does not have any bias.
Factor-II is recognised
as Sensing Unlimited Possibilities. This factor emphasizes that it is
not possible to enumerate all the possibilities and predict. Experience
of the past like success or failure, or even the behavior pattern reviewed
from research shall not lead to certainty in prediction and solutions
may emerge spontaneously themselves.
Factor-III is found
to refer Insight into Bias. This emphasizes chance, spontaneity and unbiasedness
of nature.
Factor-IV is distinguished
as pertaining to “Healthy Skepticism” and this suggests that an attitude
for scientific invention tempered with skepticism is a healthy attitude.
Factor-V is regarded
as Unconditional Acceptance which stresses acceptance of happenings without
prejudice and not labelling anything as good or bad.
Factor-VI is Appreciation
of Chance and this highlights the role of chance and an appreciation of
the fact that chance works more than human effort but chances of achievement
can be improved by better efforts.
Factor-VII is identified
as Awareness of Predictability which emphasizes the awareness of the possibility
of prediction even in cases where it is difficult to make any.
The pattern of factors
identified seems to be connoting a simple parsimonious and elegant structure
of the probabilistic orientation. Succinctly, when an individual does
not himself restrict his range of expectancy, is given to sensing unlimited
possibilities available to him in the world, has insight into his sources
of biases and prejudices, shows a tendency for unconditional acceptance
of events and happenings, can appreciate chances and serendipity, and
is aware of the scope for predictability of events within limits, then
he is given to a probabilistic orientation.
Probabilistic orientation
being an elegant way of making adjustment might be expected to contribute
to fostering mental health positively and also by avoiding negative symptoms.
The probabilistic orientation is also found to influence attitude and
values in applied situations as well.
Probabilistic orientation
and mental health
Mental health may
be conceived as the quality of adjustment an individual consistently exercises
and maintains on the basis of plans of his life space—that is self, others,
environment and life—in order to achieve certain outcomes. Acceptance
of oneself, self-insight, self-identity, self-responsibility and confidence
and trust in one’s self connote the self dimension of mental health. Acceptance
of others, warm and genuine relating to others, absence of manipulation
of others, ability to give and receive, and the ability to experience
affection and love constitute another dimension of mental health as relating
to others. Having an objective perception of reality, personal freedom,
healthy nonconformity, openness to all experience and autonomous functioning
refer to yet another dimension of mental health relating to environment.
Spontaneous, free and natural living, living in the here and now, living
for meaning with refined values, creativity & revelation of one’s
potential and life-satisfaction constitutes the last dimension of mental
health.
Priya (1997) studied
the mental health of a large sample of women college students using the
Probabilistic Orientation Questionnaire and the Mental Health Questionnaire
(Augustine, 1978) and related it to probabilistic orientation. The findings
of her study reveal that subjects with a high degree of probabilistic
orientation have a greater degree of mental health.
Security and probabilistic
orientation
Abraham Maslow, the
celebrated humanistic psychologist attempted to underpin mental health
and self-actualization in terms of satisfaction of needs and found that
the need for security connotes the need to have mastery over one’s environment.
The security/insecurity of an individual is a potent dimension of the
self.
Probabilistic orientation
is found to be positively related to security (Maslow, 1962) as revealed
in a study involving a moderately large sample of adult drivers in a transport
corporation (Narayanan & Govindarasu, 1986b).
Probabilistic orientation
and death anxiety
Death anxiety (Templer,
1970) connotes to the fear of one’s own death in a physically healthy
individual. It implies the effective component of experienced anxiety
and signifies intense feeling of anxiety. Orientation to life and death
may shape the content and quality of daily conduct. A moderately large
study involving adults and elders shows that probabilistic orientation
and death anxiety are related to one another in the case of elders but
not in the case of adults (Narayanan, 1983). It is plausible that death
anxiety assumes significance in reality only when someone is advanced
in age and this plausibility might explain the differential findings obtained
in the case of adults and elders.
Probabilistic orientation
and alienation
In contemporary literature,
alienation is used to connote a wide range of types of disharmony and
dissatisfaction deriving from or involving a feeling of alienation of
some sort (Schacht, 1971). Alienation seems to be having five facets,
viz. powerlessness, self-estrangement, normlessness, isolation (or cultural
estrangement) and meaninglessness (Seeman, 1959). A good measure of alienation
traits has been evolved by culling out appropriate items from the Minnesota
Muti-Phasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) (Hathaway and Mikinley, 1967)
by an educational sociologist (Vendal, 1982). Trait alienation is reported
to be negatively correlated with probabilistic orientation in the case
of sport coaches (Govindarasu, 1988). The state of alienation is also
reported to be negatively correlated with probabilistic orientation in
the case of sport coaches (Govindarasu, 1988).
Probabilistic orientation
and social desirability
Since the pioneering
investigations by Edwards (1957) social desirability has assumed significance
as an important social psychological variable. Social desirability is
conceptualized as a facade effect or the unawareness of the individual’s
tendency to “put up a good front”. This tendency may reveal lack of insight
into the individual’s own characteristics, self-description or an unwillingness
to face up to his or her limitations (Ananstasi, 1982). The strength of
social desirability is closely associated with the individual’s more general
need for self-protection, avoidance of criticism, social conformity and
social approval (Crowne & Marlowe, 1964). Social desirability is not
found to be negatively correlated with probabilistic orientation among
sport coaches (Govindarasu, 1988).
Probabilistic orientation
and attitudes
As a learned relatively
long enduring predisposition to respond in consistently favourable or
unfavourable ways to certain people, groups, ideas and situations, attitudes
seem to be connected with probabilistic orientation. Interesting instances
of the link between the two are reported in literature.
Probabilistic orientation
is significantly correlated with the business attitude of innovation only
and not with business attitudes of personal control, achievement, self-confidence,
opportunities among entrepreneurs (Stimpson, 1990; Balakrishnan, 1985).
Probabilistic orientation is significantly correlated with the Protestant
ethic (Mirels and Garrett, 1971; Balakrishnan, 1985).
High and low probabilistically
oriented unemployed differ from one another in the way they attribute
meanings to the concepts of self-employment, availability of money, primary
group concern, social support, and expectation-achievement discrepancy.
The highly probabilistically oriented unemployed perceives all these concepts
in a more positive manner attributing greater significance compared to
the less probabilistically oriented unemployed. Attitude to employment
and probabilistic orientation interact significantly with regard to attributing
meanings to the concept expectation-achievement congruence. The unemployed
having low attitude to employment and high probabilistic orientation perceives
the concept expectation-achievement congruence most positively compared
to the group having high attitude to employment and low probabilistic
orientation (Osgood, 1957; Gopukumar, 1998).
Another study on a sample
of 200 teachers equally divided into both the sexes reveals that perceived
support for innovation (Siegel & Kolmmerer, 1976) has no significant
effect on probabilistic orientation (Jayaraj, 1984). The findings further
show that female subjects are more probabilistically oriented than male
subjects.
Probabilistic orientation
and values
Highly probabilistically
oriented entrepreneurs and less probabilistically oriented entrepreneurs
do not differ in their values. Both high and low criterion groups on probabilistic
orientation hold the same levels of theoretical, economic, aesthetic,
social, political, and religious values (Allport et al., 1931; Sellakumar,
1999).
A study of transport
drivers (Narayanan, 1986) reveals that probabilistic orientation is significantly
related to certain personal values (Gorden, 1967). Probabilistic orientation
is found to be significantly and positively related to Variety and Practical
Mindedness and negatively to Orderliness and Decisiveness.
Probabilistic orientation
and climate perception
Perception, the process
of interpreting, organising, and often elaborating on sensation seem to
be influenced by probabilistic orientation. Studies on organizational
climate have brought interesting results in this regard.
As organizational psychologists
have often shown, different patterns of management exist and are associated
with different behaviour outcomes in the organizations studied (Likert,
1961). It is plausible that if all the different management systems could
be ordered along a continuum involving the kinds of controls and motivational
forces used and the kinds of attitudinal responses evoked under such circumstances,
it could be seen that all the many operating procedures and the performance
characteristics of different management systems form an orderly pattern
along this horizontal dimension.
A fairly large study
on organizational climate reveals that perception of organizational climate
seems to be related to having a probabilistic orientation.
Clerks in a textile
mill having a high degree of probabilistic orientation, are more sensitive
to perceived organizational climate dimensions of structure, responsibility,
reward, risk, warmth, support, standard, conflict and identity when compared
to individuals having a lesser degree of probabilistic orientation.
Another large study
of supervisors in textile mills reveals that probabilistic orientation
sensitizes one’s perception of the social processes of communication,
interaction and decision making but seems not to be sensitizing one’s
perception with regard to motivational and allied processes. In the study
just cited probabilistic orientation is found to correlate with perception
of communication process, interaction influence and decision making process,
but not with leadership process, motivational process, goal setting or
ordering, control process and performance of goals and training. Role
conflict is correlated with communication process and interaction influence
process. Probabilistic orientation could be predicted from scores of the
subjects on Likert’s Profile of Organizational Climate:
Probabilistic Orientation
= 13.834
+ 0.348 Interaction
Influence Process
+ 0.174 Communication
Process
+ 0.225 Decision Making
Process
+ 0.006 Leadership Process
+ 0.009 Performance
of Goal Setting Process
+ 0.008 Motivational
Process
– 0.424 Goal Setting
or Ordering
– 0.341 Control Process
(Indumathi, 1989).
Probabilistic orientation
and role conflict
The conflict an individual
undergoes when he is faced with demands incompatible with the role subjectively
defined by him is called role conflict. A direct measure of role conflict
exclusively adopted to a role in any organization may be obtained using
the technique of Role Conflict Differential developed by Narayanan (1982).
The measure purports to assess the oscillation or dilemma experienced
by an individual to accept or reject a task assigned to him or her at
any point of time in course of his or her job. The dilemma reflects the
state of readiness or attitudinal set an individual has with regard to
his role expectations and demands. When an individual is clear in his
or her understanding of his or her role expectations and demands, he or
she will experience least dilemma in accepting or rejecting the assignment
or a task. It is easy for any individual to express his or her readiness
to discharge a task assigned using a rating scale. When the tasks attributed
to the role by a set of persons knowledgeable about the job are enumerated
and listed and the individual expresses his or her readiness to discharge
the individual tasks on a ten point rating scale, the Statistics Q provides
a valid measure of such role conflict. Role Conflict Differential has
been developed for bank officers and clerks (Devi, 1982), clerks and supervisors
in textile organizations by Indumathi (1986), sports coaches by Govindarasu
(1988) and sex role stereotype, role conflict, social support and satisfaction
by Manoranjitham (1993).
Probabilistic orientation
does not have significant effect on role conflict (Devi, 1982) as revealed
in a study involving a large sample of bank employees, consisting of officers
and clerks. Another large study of textile supervisors also revealed that
probabilistic orientation does not have a correlation with role conflict
(Indumathi, 1989). However, probabilistic orientation is reported to have
a significantly negative correlation with Role Conflict among sports coaches
(Govindarasu, 1988).
Job burnout and probabilistic
orientation
As charcoal is slowly
but steadily burnt out turning into ashes, an individual who works beyond
the limits of his psychological resources also succumbs to emotional and
mental exhaustion in the long run. Burnout is experienced by individuals
engaged in helping professions as a chronic prolonged form of stress.
Burnout involves uncomfortable physical and emotional symptoms and has
attracted the attention of researchers (Maslach, 1978; 1982; Maslach and
Jackson 1981; 1984; 1986). Inability to handle continued stress on the
job and the feeling of psychological exhaustion mark the experience of
burnout (Cherrington, 1989). Burnout stands as a type of prolonged response
to chronic emotional and interpersonal stressors on the job (Maslach and
Ozer, 1995). It is a resultant of the nature of human service work and
a function of the organizational context in which professionals provide
human service (Leiter, 1992). Burnout seems to be a factor that might
help determine whether ongoing worldwide changes will tear asunder people
and relationships or whether a higher order stability will emerge (Golembiewski,
1996).
Individual stress experience
constituting burnout is embedded in a context of social relationships
and this involves the person’s conception of both self and others (Maslach
and Ozer, 1995). Unrealistic expectations or ambitions of candidates for
a job burnout combine with organizational pressures and create stress,
fatigue, frustration and feelings of helplessness and guilt (Robbins,
1995). Detached concern and dehumanization in self-defence contribute
to controlling burnout: blending compassion with emotional distance and
responding to other people more as objects than as persons provide a control
on experiencing burnout.
Govindarasu (1988) attempted
a motivational analysis of burnout among sport coaches. He administered
the Probabilistic Orientation Questionnaire and the Burnout Inventory
which he developed. His findings reveal an interesting relationship between
probabilistic orientation and burnout. Sports coaches who constitute the
high scores having a score higher than the 90th percentile report a significantly
greater level of job burnout than those who constitute the low scores
having a score less than the 10th percentile on job burnout. When the
whole range of scores of these coaches was taken into account and correlated
with their scores on probabilistic orientation, the resulting correlation
was significantly negative.
Brindha (1997) studied
burnout among physicians who are –engaged in private practice. She administered
both the Probabilistic Orientation Questionnaire and Burnout Inventory
to a large sample of subjects. The results of the study reveal that physicians
with a high degree of probabilistic orientation distinguish themselves
from physicians with a low degree of probabilistic orientation. The former
were having less burnout than the latter. Physicians who are less probabilistically
oriented were given to depleted energy reserves, acute anger, lack of
creativity, cynical attitude, job dissatisfaction, sleep disturbances,
pessimism, avoiding decisions, obsession with problems, escape activities,
physical illness, chronic exhaustion and psychological fatigue.
Probabilistic orientation
and sleep and fatigue
Sleep as a state of
temporary loss of consciousness and fatigue as a temporary impairment
of consciousness still remain an enigma. The relationship between creativity
and sleep add to the complexity of the problem. Narayanan et.al. (1992)
attempted to ascertain the relationship among probabilistic orientation,
sleep, fatigue and creativity. Their large scale study used the Probabilistic
Orientation Questionnaire, The Clinical Scales of Sleep (Domino et.al.,
1984), The Fatigue Inventory (Narayanan, 1977), and the Remote Association
Test (Narayanan & Paramesh, 1978). The findings of their study reveal
that probabilistic orientation is not significantly associated with dimensions
of sleep or behavioural fatigue, but is significantly associated with
forming remote association as found in a correlational study involving
a large sample representing the general population (Domino et al, 1984;
Narayanan, 1975; Narayanan and Paramesh, 1976). Quality of sleep, sleep
latency, depth of sleep, positive waking up, dream affect, physical surround,
love of sleep, dream recall, length of sleep, sleep regularity and femininity
are not correlated with probabilistic orientation. A negative correlation
exists between probabilistic orientation and the ability to form Remote
Association on Mednick and Mednick’s (1964) RAT type of test.
Probabilistic orientation
and vocational personality
High, moderate and
low probabilistically oriented adolescent groups differ among themselves
on their vocational personality traits (Holland, 1966, 1975; Balakrishnan,
1979; Narayanan and Govindarasu, 1986). The group scoring high on probabilistic
orientation consistently and significantly surpasses its counterparts
on realistic, artistic, scientific, enterprising and conventional traits.
The trend of the findings with regard to acquiescence is the same.
Another study comparing
potential entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs and managers of small scale industries
with one another reports that potential entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs
are more probabilistically oriented compared to the managers (Balakrishnan,
1985).
A large study of women
entrepreneurs reveal that women entrepreneurs as a whole distinguish themselves
from the general population and are having a significantly higher degree
of probabilistic orientation (Devi, 1995).
Probabilistic orientation
and other aspects of personality
Curiously probabilistic
orientation seems to transcend the basic personality types of gunas identified
in the ancient text of the Bhagavad Gita. Using the Q-sort technique Mathew
(1988) developed a test to assess the personality of individuals in terms
of tamas, rajas, and sattva. A study of a large sample of postgraduate
adults show that there is no relationship between probabilistic orientation
and the gunas. The high and low groups on tamas, rajas and sattva do not
distinguish themselves on probabilistic orientation.
Interesting findings
have been adduced regarding the personality aspects of the probabilistic
orientation. A study involving one hundred Rorshach Protocols (Rorschach,
1921) of male adults reveals that individuals having a high probabilistic
orientation have high ego or thinking operation, emotional control, intelligence,
interest, control impairment, aggressive acts, sexual interest, perception
of reality and the ability to perceive the commonplace. The findings of
the study also show that individuals having a low probabilistic orientation
are higher in denial, detachment from the real and fantasy (Ganesan, 1986).
Another investigation
involving one hundred TAT protocols of adults (Murray, 1943; Choudry,
1967, 1979; Natarajan, 1983) reveals that highly probabilistically oriented
individuals are having high achievement, aggression and passivity when
compared to the low probabilistically oriented individuals. On the other
hand low probabilistically oriented individuals have high abasement, dominance,
intragression, nurturance, sex and succorance compared to high probabilistically
oriented individuals.
A large study of adolescents
including both boys and girls reveals that a probabilistic orientation
is significantly and positively related with intelligence, creativity,
extroversion and neuroticism among girls. The relationship is not sustained
in the case of boys (Natarajan, 1983).
A study of probabilistic
orientation using a sample of male graduates using the MMPI reveals that
probabilistic orientation is significantly and positively related to hypochondriasis
and psychopathic deviation and significantly and negatively related to
masculinity/femininity, schizophrenia and social introversion (Narayanan,
1985b).
An investigation involving
one hundred male transport drivers reveals that accident free drivers,
low accident drivers and high accident drivers do not differ among themselves
with regard to their probabilistic orientation (Govindarasu, 1984).
Egocentric and probabilistic
perspectives
The epitome of maturity
could be identified with undistorted acceptance of events and reality
as the natural outcome of an unbiased Nature which is never inimical to
anyone at any point of time. The uninitiated gets frustrated at every
turn of events that deviates from his expectation, blames everything around
and enters into a labyrinth of defensive pursuits contracting agony and
pain. The perspective personality—the mature personality that is given
to viewing everything with multifarious perspectives—appreciates reality
as a phenomenon of Nature, the Mother, and accepts it with a spirit of
spectatorship. This situation could not be better described than by reading
the poem of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. In his poem “The Paper Boat”
the spirit of the probabilistic orientation perspective is cast in its
indelible foot print:
I floated a paper boat on the stream
It was a wet day of July:
I was alone and happy ever over my play.
I floated my paper boat on the stream.
Suddenly the storm-clouds thickened, the wind
Came in gusts, the rain poured in torrents:
Rills of muddy water rushed and swelled the stream and sank
my boat.
Bitterly I thought that the storm had come on
Purpose to spoil my happiness; all its anger was against me.
All this long cloudy day of July I have been musing
Over those games in life in which I was the loser.
Just now I am blaming my fate for the many tricks it
Has played on me,
When suddenly I remembered
The paper boat that sank in the stream.
The poem succinctly
suggests that an adult reacting to natural events by cursing them as meant
to have purposely occurred to spoil his peace and joy could be best matched
with the childish act of cursing rain for having come purposely to spoil
its delight due to an egocentric stance in perspective. A mature adult
should refrain from cherishing his own world of phantasy and be keenly
aware that every event happens as it should in the scheme of Nature.
Probabilistic orientation
The tone and tenor
of one’s quality of being are construed through one’s own personality.
A mature personality stands for an ever-learning person who constantly
integrates his experiences within and moves forward. An immature personality
signifies getting stuck up with a particular stage or phase in the course
of development resulting in stagnation in growth at one point of time.
The modern learning society necessitates inculcating those behaviour patterns
that contribute to having multivariate perspectives and achieving a balance
among them.
What constitutes the
perspective personality? Which set of cardinal traits would contribute
to serene perception and learning, keen observation and thinking, appropriate
motivation and control over action and maturity and development? What
is the tap root of the perspective personality which is given to constant
awareness and eternal vigilance?
We believe the question
raised above has immense significance for life and work of men and women
that decide their place of worth in this world. Perhaps the probabilistic
orientation might offer a clue to the answer for which we are searching
and seeking. But, as we all are fully aware, this question does not have
a single answer. Truth being a pathless land (J. Krishnamurti) many a
path might exist and lead us towards realising the truth. Today, we, following
the ancient Tamil scholars, have traced a plausible path and the journey
we have hitherto undertaken, we assure you, has been quite satisfying.
We have no pretence that we have answered the question completely and
successfully. The more we probe on, the more we become conscious of the
gaps and distortions in our thinking which give rise to more and more
disappointment and frustration. Yet we feel we have been filling in the
time not without any reward. I invite every one of you to join us to dig
deep to discover the perspective personality that might enlighten the
individual in his personality and elevate the society at large, and perhaps,
the elusive enigma we are confronted with might be solved to some satisfaction
at a distant future.
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