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Characteristics of A Well-Adjusted Person: I. Direct Methods

The document discusses the concept of adjustment and how it is necessary for living peacefully with others. It defines adjustment as finding a balanced state between individual needs and their satisfaction. Well-adjusted individuals are aware of their strengths/limitations, respect themselves and others, and are flexible. Methods of adjustment include direct approaches using reason/intellect, and indirect defense mechanisms like repression, rationalization, and projection that help reduce tensions unconsciously. Adjustment allows maintaining equilibrium between needs and environmental obstacles.

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6K views3 pages

Characteristics of A Well-Adjusted Person: I. Direct Methods

The document discusses the concept of adjustment and how it is necessary for living peacefully with others. It defines adjustment as finding a balanced state between individual needs and their satisfaction. Well-adjusted individuals are aware of their strengths/limitations, respect themselves and others, and are flexible. Methods of adjustment include direct approaches using reason/intellect, and indirect defense mechanisms like repression, rationalization, and projection that help reduce tensions unconsciously. Adjustment allows maintaining equilibrium between needs and environmental obstacles.

Uploaded by

Shiwani
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The dictionary meaning of the word “adjustment” is, to fit, make suitable, adapt, arrange,

modify, harmonize or make correspondent.


Adjustment is a necessary characteristic to be able to live peacefully in this world.
Adjustment problem starts right from the birth and continues till death, various situations
arise at home. School, college, and workplace where we need to give up a little of our
demands and accept what is present.
Adjustment is the process of arriving at a balanced state between the need of individual and
their satisfaction.
For example: wearing of cloth according to the season.  As we can’t change the season so
we have to modify our cloths.

Characteristics of a Well-adjusted Person


1. Awareness of his own strengths and limitations.
2. An adjusted individual has respect for himself as well as for others.
3.  An adequate level of aspiration.
4. Satisfaction of basic needs.
5. Absence of critical or fault-finding attitude.
6. Flexibility in behaviour.
7. The capacity to deal with adverse circumstances.
8. A feeling of ease with his surroundings.

Methods of Adjustment

Man is a social creature. He wants to remain in the society till the end of time. He appears
happier at the same time, while he attains self-interest, likes and beliefs group. Therefore
ways and methods used by the individual in his adjustment process is necessary. The methods
used for keeping and restoring harmony between the individual ad his environment can be
grouped into two categories direct methods and indirect methods.

I. Direct Methods

 When the person tries to establish adjustment by living in consciousness, then the efforts are
considered under the direct methods. In implementing these measures, he uses his discretion,
rationality and intellectual capacity etc.

I. Indirect methods

Indirect methods are those by which a person tries to seek temporary adjustment to
protect himself for the time being against a psychological danger. These are purely
psychic or mental devices- ways of perceiving situation as he wants to see them and
imagining that things would happen according to his wishes. That is why these are called
defence or mental mechanisms employed in the process of one’s adjustment to one’s self
and the environment.
Defence mechanism:- An adjustment mechanism is a device used by the individual to
achieve satisfaction of the need indirectly. This helps reducing tensions and assists him in
maintaining self-respect.

Indirect remedies are used to avoid stressful situations and grief. This is referred to as
psychological 'safety procedures' because they defend the self-esteem of the person and
defend it at the time when it is concerned due to despair

Methods

Repression:- Repression is a mechanism in which painful experience, conflicts and


unfulfilled desires are pushed down into our unconscious.
Generally the phobias encountered are termed under this category. Spider bite in child
develops intense phobia of spiders later in life without recollection of the experience as child.
Regression:-  This seen when one goes back to the initial forms of behavior due to anxiety
caused by frustration.
An elder child may regress and start behaving like an infant when a new sibling is born and
he feels neglected.

Compression:- This is a mechanism by which an individual tries to balance or cover up his


deficiency in one field by exhibiting his strengths in another field.
Rationalization:- rationalization  is a defense mechanism in which controversial behaviors or
feelings are justified and explained in a seemingly rational or logical manner in the absence
of a true explanation.
A student might blame a poor exam score on the instructor rather than their own lack of
preparation.
Projection:-  Projection involves individuals attributing their own unacceptable thoughts,
feeling and motives to another person.
Another example can be a student who has been caught cheating in the examination may
satisfy himself by saying that others have also cheated.
Identification:- Identification is a psychological process whereby the individual assimilates
an aspect, property, or attribute of the other and is transformed wholly or partially by the
model that other provides.
Withdrawal:- In using this mechanism an individual tends to withdraw himself from the
situation that causes frustration or failure. Day dreaming or fantasy is also a sort of
withdrawing behaviour in which one withdraws oneself into a world of fantasy. Thus instead
of feeling threatened by the realities one may become satisfied with unreal, imaginary success
in the world fantasy and imagination.
A child may refuse to participate in games for fear of failure and deceive himself by believing
that he could have done well if he had participated.

Sympathism:- Sympathism is a defence mechanism in which an individual tries to get


satisfaction by seeking sympathy and pity for his own failures and inadequacies. Such
persons always magnify the difficulties or obstacles in the path of their success.

Conclusion

Adjustment is not a simple term like adaptation or accommodation. It actually a behavioural


process by which humans and other animals maintain an equilibrium among their various
needs or between their needs and the obstacles of their environments.
Adjustments made from the conscious mind are categorised under direct methods and those
made unconsciously to avoid pain and grief are categorised under indirect methods.
All the forgoing defence mechanism are used unconsciously by a person to protect himself
against psychological dangers.

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