Spranger's classification of personality is related to which approach of…

2022

Spranger's classification of personality is related to which approach of personality assessment?

  1. A.

    Trait Approach

  2. B.

    Type Approach

  3. C.

    Instinct Approach

  4. D.

    Psychoanalytic Approach

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Correct answer: B

Approaches to personality assessment are broadly grouped by how they capture individual differences: a trait approach measures personality along continuous, quantifiable dimensions using psychometric scales; a type approach sorts individuals into a small number of discrete, qualitatively distinct categories based on a dominant characteristic; an instinct approach explains behaviour as the expression of a fixed set of innate, biologically-rooted drives; and a psychoanalytic approach explains personality through unconscious conflict among mental structures such as the id, ego, and superego.

Eduard Spranger described personality using six ideal value-types — Theoretical, Economic, Aesthetic, Social, Political, and Religious — and characterized each individual by whichever of these orientations is dominant in their outlook, rather than by a score along a continuous trait dimension. Classifying individuals by their dominant orientation among a fixed set of qualitative types is precisely how a type approach operates, so Spranger's classification belongs to the Type Approach.

  • Trait approach quantifies personality along continuous psychometric dimensions (a person can score anywhere between low and high on a given trait) — this item's classification involves no such continuous scoring, so this description does not fit.

  • Instinct approach roots personality in a fixed set of innate biological drives (such as hunger, fear, or curiosity) — this item's classification is not built on any such innate drive, so this description does not fit.

  • Psychoanalytic approach explains personality through unconscious conflict among the id, ego, and superego shaped by early experience — this item's classification involves no unconscious-conflict mechanism, so this description does not fit.

Spranger's classification is therefore correctly identified with the Type Approach to personality assessment.

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