Theories Of Personality

Personality is the quality of being a person, an individual. It is defined as a dynamic and organized set of characteristics that uniquely influences his or her cognitions, motivations and behaviors in various situations (Rykman, 2004). The word ‘personality’ derives from the Greek word ‘persona’ meaning a mask. In ancient Latin theatre, masks were used to typify the personality of a person rather than hide it.

There are several theories on the relationship of personality with other psychological constructs and also on how a personality develops. They are better known as ‘Theories of Personality.’ But none of them is comprehensive. Each has its flaws. Hence, analysis of personality, to date, remains an inherently complex process.

Two major theories of personality are often cited, compared and contrasted.

Trait theory explains personality in terms of traits. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association defines a trait as ‘enduring pattern of perceiving, relating to and thinking about the environment and oneself that is exhibited in a wide range of social and personal contexts.’ The theory generally assumes that traits are relatively stable over time, traits differ amongst individuals and traits influence behavior. Most modern theorists agree with the OCEAN of human personality or the ‘Big Five,’ the five traits under which all other aspects of personality fall.

The major advantages of the trait theory are that it is objective and hence easy to use and understand. The major disadvantages of the theory are that it does not address development, it is a poor predictor of future behavior and it provides little or no guidance in changing the negative aspects of a trait. Eyesenck’s theory proposes biological mechanisms as the basis of traits and most modern behavioral geneticists agree.

Behavioral theory explains personality in terms of reactions to external stimuli. It works on a ‘stimulus-response-consequence’ model. It was mainly developed by B.F. Skinner. According to this theory, behavior is formed by two types of processes: classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Classical conditioning was explained by the Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov. His experiments with dogs revealed that we develop responses to certain stimuli that are not naturally occurring. We make associations which make us to generalize our response to one stimulus onto a neutral stimulus it is paired with. In our daily lives, we almost continuously make associations and generalizations and hence are classically conditioned. Operant conditioning explains the learning due to natural consequences of our actions. We learn to act differently based on these consequences of previous actions.

The Social Cognitive theory of personality is based on the premise that human behavior is as much a product of internal aspects of human nature as it is of external aspects. Both these aspects can be called the reciprocal determinants of human behavior since they can not be separated from each other. Notable Social Cognitivist Albert Bandura called this the principle of ‘Reciprocal Determinism’. He also proposed the phenomenon of ‘Observational Learning’. He argued that learning does not necessarily lead to a change in behavior, as assumed by the theory of Operant Conditioning. We learn from observing others, reading books and hearing stories and store this information in our minds for future use, without exhibiting any obviously discernible change in behavior. Despite not performing the activity that we learnt, we form beliefs about the activity, both internal and external. If we see the consequence of the activity as negative, we are less likely to engage in the activity.

Analysis Of The Complex Nature Of Personality Using Various Personality Theories

2.1 Wade Whitehouse
Wade Whitehouse lives a cold life; both physically and mentally. He is a police constable in the town of Lawford, New Hampshire. He and his brother have been brought up by an alcoholic, abusive father, Glen Whitehouse. Glen abuses the children and probably their mother both physically and mentally. His cruelty is the lifeline of the film: it keeps on feeding the monster in Wade. It is the ‘affliction’ that Wade battles bitterly and in the end is consumed by.

Wade could have gone either way; he has shades of both good and bad in him. He struggles hard to win the affection of his daughter Jill and be a good father. He does want to start a new, decent life with Margie, whom he has known since childhood. On the other hand, he has his father’s temper and alcohol. He takes dope. His toothache is the metaphor for the constant ache he has, gnawing away at him from within. It is the ache of the battle within. He badly wants to be good, to overcome the all pervading bads in his life, to get a semblance of hold over his tattered life. His intense efforts to label an innocent accident into a murder conspiracy are a way of getting some self-esteem, self-belief back, to get something on which he can begin the new good life that he so wants to live. But the ‘affliction’ strikes again, and this time proves to be the turning point. Wade takes Margie home to find his mother dead, due to his father’s neglect. This breaks to pieces all of Wade’s efforts to slay his inner demons and seals the victory of his darker side; the good finally loses the battle to the bad. Wade becomes exactly like the father he so despises. He is finally transformed by his ‘affliction’ into one.

2.2 The Personality Of Wade Whitehouse
It is interesting to note the contrast between the two brothers. Wade has a younger brother William, who is also the narrator of the film. We see the film through William’s eyes. It is likely that his perceptions cloud the reality, but then that is true of any narrator. William is subjected to the same childhood as Wade is, but he develops into a different person. Somehow he escapes the ‘affliction’. And this contrast provides ground for application of both the theories of personality in the analysis of Wade Whitehouse.

Applying the trait theory, we can see that Wade is low on Openness; falls somewhere in the middle on Conscientiousness, is low on Extroversion, low on Agreeableness and high on Neuroticism. These are his traits. We might speculate a genetic component to these traits, and see them as being passed to him from his father. But these traits fail to explain some aspects of Wade’s personality. For example, when he tries to be a good father or the tenderness he shares with his girl-friend Margie. These examples bring into play the behavior theory of personality. Wade is not the sum-total of his traits. He is also shaped by his thoughts. His experiences and genes are responsible for his traits, but he is also influenced by his thoughts. He wants to be good. He wants to beat the traits, conquer them enough to live a normal life, a life of happiness. This is the perennial battle of his life, the constant ache that is represented by his toothache. He nearly missed living a normal life. The trigger event that hurls him into a continuously downward spiral is the death of his mother due to his father’s neglect. This seems to be the final straw. It snaps the spirit of Wade or rather kills it. And the traits then totally possess him and he has no choice but to become like his father.

The behavior theory can explain why William did not go Wade’s way. How he managed to escape the ‘affliction’ and became a relatively normal man. He had the same experiences as Wade. But somehow his perception of his experiences caused him to react differently to them. He did not live with the constant battle that his brother lived with. Probably, his experiences got paired with different stimuli and so he was conditioned differently as compared with his brother. He also learnt a way to react differently to the same stimulus that is his father. So, we can say that William was conditioned differently by his experiences (both classical conditioning and operant conditioning) and hence his personality is different compared to Wade. Only the behavior theory explains the development of Wade’s personality predicts his behavior in individual circumstances and also potentially suggests how it could have been different (like William’s personality).

The change in Wade’s personality during the course of the movie can be explained by the Social Cognitive Theory of Albert Bandura. Wade believed his father to be wrong. And hence he tried hard to avoid being like him. This led to the perennial battle of his life, the battle between what he thought and what he felt. He tried hard to implement what he thought as good; like his trying to become a good father and his efforts of having a relationship with Margie. His beliefs governed his action to some extent. But then in response to the overwhelming stress of seeing his mother dead, Wade’s beliefs are overcome by the negative traits of his personality.

So, in conclusion, Wade Whitehouse’s personality cannot be fully explained by any one theory of personality. Trait theory does explain the similarity between Wade and his father Glen, and the eventual pervasion of the traits that he was born with or grew up with. But it fails to explain why William developed a different personality. The deficiencies of the trait theory are ably addressed by the behavior theory of personality and the Social Cognitive Theory. Behavior theory explains the differential conditioning of the two brothers in response to similar experiences in childhood, while the Social Cognitive Theory explains the change that Wade undergoes in response to both external events and internal beliefs.

Synthesis Of The Personality Theories

 3.1 Structure
The structure of Wade Whitehouse’s personality is the traits that he is born with. So, structure is explained by the trait theory of personality. Wade is born to an alcoholic and abusive father. He is born under and lives in constant shadow of negative traits. Hence, he himself manages to develop some of these negative traits. He does have some positive traits but they are eventually overcome by the negative ones.
If we apply the OCEAN of trait theory

Openness is a dimension that ranges from being outgoing, willing to talk about oneself, imaginative, open to new experiences to being reserved, unwilling to talk about one self, conservative and conforming.

Wade is not very outgoing, he does not willingly talk about his inner conflicts to anyone, he is stuck in a routine that he does not appreciate but does not use his imagination to escape the routine; he seems to be moderately open to new experiences. Hence, Wade would fall somewhere between low and very low on the scale of openness.

It ranges from being organized, strong-willed and methodical to being disorganized, weak-minded and careless.
From the movie, it appears that Wade lives a disorganized life. He is apparently strong but yet weak enough to eventually succumb to his father’s influence. So, he falls low on the scale of conscientiousness.

It ranges from someone who prefers group activities, social gatherings, and group play, has lots of friends and acquaintances to someone who prefers to be on his own, or in small groups, plays individual sports and has fewer numbers of friends and acquaintances.

Wade has fewer friends and seems to prefer being on his own. He does seek out the company of his girl-friend Margie and to be good to his daughter, but he seems to have problems maintaining the same relationships that he wants to improve. So, he falls somewhere between middle and low on the scale of Extroversion.

It ranges from being argumentative, stubborn, suspicious and skeptical to accepting, easy-going, trusting and understanding.
Wade is low on the scale of agreeableness also

Neuroticism ranges from someone emotionally highly stable, capable of having stable relationships and calm to someone who is emotionally highly unstable, has wide mood swings, incapable of having steady relationships, difficult to understand and easily disturbed by the daily stressors of life.

Wade is unable to have steady relationship with anyone in life. He is also emotionally unstable and does have mood swings, although, alcohol has a role to play in that. He is also difficult to understand. Hence, he falls very low on the scale of neuroticism.

3.2 Process, Growth and Development
The trait theory fails to explain the Process, Growth and Development of Wade’s personality. We have to apply the behavior theory to understand that.  We might allow some of Wade’s behavior to be the result of the genes that he received from his father. But apart from that, he just perceived his experiences differently. He reacted differently to circumstances that did his brother and hence succumbed to the ‘Affliction’. He was strong enough to stand up to his negative traits but he also eventually let outside circumstances push him into being the same person he was fighting hard not to become. He did not learn to master his circumstances or avoid them. While on the other hand, we see that his own brother, who had similar experiences in his childhood, did manage to escape the ‘affliction’ and become a professor with a relatively normal life. In fact, Wade too has almost learnt to have a semblance of control over his life, but his mother’s death due to his father’s neglect proves to be the catalyst that converts him into the monster that his father was. Structure is what we are born with but Process, Growth and Development depend on our individual experiences and how we relate to them. The same stimulus can trigger a different response in different individuals. It depends on what conditioned stimulus is paired with the unconditioned stimulus, or how quickly one learns to respond to reward, punishment and extinction. In short how quickly one learns to modify one’s behavior in response to adverse circumstances determines the development of personality of an individual.

3.3 Psychopathology And Change
Wade does have some abnormal traits but no obvious psychopathology is seen. But he does tend to become more and more schizophrenic when he pursues a simple accident as a murder conspiracy. He narrates some event from their childhood to his brother, which he does not seem to remember. This also shows Wade’s tendency to wander away from reality. After his mother’s death, Wade seems to become more and more violent, more and more detached from reality. The alcoholism that he inherited from his father and his habit of taking drugs might also have contributed to the psychopathological changes he shows later in the film. This Change of Wade’s slightly abnormal personality to obvious Psychopathology can be explained by the behavior theory of personality. He was conditioned adversely by his circumstances while his brother William was conditioned in a different and less adverse manner, and hence managed to become a relatively normal person. Wade’s intense desire to live a normal life did not materialize in face of constant exposure to his father. All his efforts to be normal crumbled in face of his mother’s death and he was sucked into the vortex of traits that made him just like his father.

Evaluation Of Wade’s Character From A Clinical Perspective Using Behavioral Theory Of Personality

Behavioral psychology studies the effect of both environment and internal stimuli on our behavior. it describes the effect the environment has on us, how we learn new behaviors and what are the motivations for us to change or to resist change. Social learning is also a phenomenon supported by the behavior theory of personality. According to it, the society plays a huge role in what we think of ourselves and of the world and hence determines our behavior by and large.
Behavior psychology rests on two learning theories, classical conditioning and operant conditioning.

Classical conditioning was accidentally discovered by the Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov during his studies on the digestive process of dogs. He would feed meat to dogs and measure changes in their digestive system via tubes inserted in various organs. He observed that gradually dogs began to salivate even before meat was presented to them. Eventually, the dogs would salivate even at the sight of the dog-feeder.
He proved that we make generalizations by associating an unconditioned stimulus with a neutral stimulus that evokes a response similar to the unconditioned response. Probably because of the information over-load to our brains, we learn by classical conditioning.

The term ‘operant’ comes from how we operate when faced with a particular circumstance. It defines learning as a natural consequence of our actions. That is why different people learn differently from the same set of actions. In a famous experiment, a cat was placed in a box with only one door that would open by pressing a liver pressed in a specific area of the box. The cat would initially struggle to go out, but would eventually discover that the door opens by pressing the lever. The next time the cat is placed in the same box, it would struggle less and find out the lever faster. Thus the cat would gradually learn to press the lever as quickly as possible to gain freedom which here acts as the reinforcer. In daily lives, we learn similarly from our mistakes.

 4.3       Reinforcement
Reinforcement is something which strengthens learning. There are four types of reinforcements.

4.4       Reinforcement Schedules

4.5       Social Learning Theory
Classical and operant conditioning are not sufficient in explaining all the human behaviors. It has been observed that internal thoughts at times overcome the influence of external reinforcers. A person’s behavior is also determined by his beliefs, attitudes and mode of thinking. Thus, human behavior is more complex as compared to lower animals and can’t be determined just by external influences. According to Julian Rotter, our behavior is determined both by the expectancy to be rewarded and by the value we assign to the potential reward. If both are high then we indulge in a particular behavior. We tend to apply our knowledge of our previous experiences with similar events in determining the reward expectancy and its value.

4.6       Shaping
Incremental changes towards a desired behavior in response to incremental changes in a reinforcement. Successive approximations of a reinforcement result in a person getting closer and closer to a desired behavior. This technique is used for the treatment of phobias and anxiety related disorders.

4.7       Systemic Desensitization
The response to reinforcement is gradually altered, in response to reinforcement. The individual is taught to relax in the face of a feared object, while treating phobia with systemic desensitization.

4.8       Learned Helplessness
Previous learning can drastically change a person’s behavior. if a person has previously been presented with a situation that allows him no control, the next time he wont try to control his situation even when he is allowed to do so. Because of prior experiences we can learn to be helpless in situations which actually can be modified. Those who have experienced depression in past are more likely to feel helpless in a situation in future and hence are less likely to change.

4.9       Analysis Of Wade’s Character According To Behavioral Theory Of Personality:
We can observe classical conditioning in Wade’s personality. He pairs his father’s abusive behavior with his inability to achieve anything in life and a low self-esteem. He also sees winning his daughter’s affection as a way of establishing the belief that he can be a good father. But his mother’s death also shatters the associations he has made with his classical conditioning. This is where his thoughts of helplessness overcome his learned behavior and he succumbs to his traits.

We can also see operant conditioning in Wade’s personality. He faces abuse from his father. And he tried hard to avoid being like him. In fact, this is the battle he faces in the movie, ably portrayed by the toothache; the battle between the good and the evil. He is an alcoholic and a drug addict. But his still badly wants to live a normal life. He wants to be good. He wants to believe that he can be good. His frantic and schizophrenic efforts of proving a harmless accident into a case of murder are to break the vicious cycle of depression that he has fallen into. They are to establish his self-belief and self-confidence that he can do something worthwhile in life and win the respect and affection of people around him. He in fact learns to live a near normal life when he takes his long-time girl friend Margie home in a symbolic act of victory over his traits. But he sees his mother dead due to his father’s negligence and again this external circumstance proves to be the extinction for all the good that Wade has tried to muster so far, or all good that Wade sees. He sees all his efforts go in vain, and we can see learned helplessness creeping in. He somehow stops the battle that he had been waging and gives into the evil that has always been lurking but has been kept at bay. Hence we see the transformation of Wade into someone whom he detested but still could not help becoming.

In comparing Wade’s personality with William’s personality, we can see the theory of Social learning. Somehow, William learns socially to escape the adverse consequence of his father’s abusive behavior. He finds a way to live a nearly normal life and becomes a professor. His thoughts, attitudes and beliefs were different from that of Wade and hence he responded differently to the same ‘affliction’. Wade’s efforts of trying to be good are also explained by his social conditioning. But his social conditioning is shattered by the incident of his mother’s death due to his father’s neglect.

Hence, Wade’s character cannot be explained purely by any theory of personality. But it does seem that behavior theory better explains the development, growth and psychopathology of Wade’s personality while the structure of his personality is defined by the trait theory. How different thoughts, beliefs and attitudes or different learning could have altered the events of his life remains an interesting speculation and hence an important source of study of personality modification for personality psychologists.

Chapter 5 Evaluation of Wade Whitehouse using the Social Cognitive Theory of Personality.
As explained above, Social Cognitive Theory revolves around the premise that individuals can learn through observing others and that learning doesn’t necessary lead to a change in behavior. an individual can be affected by observation in two ways:

when a person observes a particular action resulting in punishment, he or she is less likely to engage in that particular activity.

when a person observes a particular action resulting in reward, he or she is more likely to engage in that activity.
The Social Cognitive Theory also works on the principle of vicarious reinforcement or outcome expectancies. it means that a person gives into a particular behavior even when he or she does not expect actual reward or punishment. But they expect a reward or punishment from having observed similar behaviors in the past, and this expectation affects behavior. further research has shown that ‘the chances of learning are more if the observer has a feeling of identification with the model and the observer has a good deal of self-efficacy.’

The perennial battle that Wade faces can be explained by the Social Cognitive Theory. He observes his father in his childhood. He learns that the actions of his father are not good and hence tried to avoid them, despite his father’s constant presence in his life and despite his traits. He also expects that if he acts like his father, he will not be able to live a happy, fulfilling life. Here he exhibits the phenomenon of vicarious reinforcement. Even though he has been brought up by a cruel father, he himself tries to be a good father. Here also, we can see social learning, disinhibition and vicarious reinforcement influencing the behavior of Wade. Thus Wade’s behavior is more a product of his own thoughts and beliefs and outcome expectancies rather than the environment. But, his mother’s death due to his father’s neglect somehow ends the battle. It seems the disinhibitory effect that he anticipated from wanting to be good is transformed into an inhibitory effect. He no longer sees being good as a rewarding state and hence stops trying to be good, leaving his negative traits unopposed.

William, on the other hand, is not under the constant influence of his father. So, he does not model his father in alcohol and drug abuse and also in behavioral traits like Wade. He socially learns more from people other than his father. And this is how he escapes the battle that Wade constantly faces. Also, he does not have to face the triggering event of watching his mother dead due to his father’s neglect. Wade not only faces that but is forced by his father to take care of his dead mother. This event affects Wade deeply and sort of changes the way he sees things or believes in them. Wade loses the faith in his own thoughts of being good. Wade subconsciously models his father and consciously exhibits an inhibitory effect with regards to his father’s behavior. but with his mother’s death the inhibitory effect is lost and Wade ends up completely modeling his father. The absence of such a triggering event in William’s life also plays a role in his escaping the ‘affliction’.

Hence, the Social Cognitive Theory best explains the Change in Wade’s personality and Patho-physiology. It also explains why William developed a different personality.

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360 Degree Feedback and Psychology Theories

Abstract
Performance development takes place only when an individual has an understanding of how he behaves and acts in diverse circumstances. Personality acts as a driver for the behavior of a person. Hence, several business houses and individuals try to administer performance and team communications, taking personality as the base. Moreover, it is clearly pointed out by several researches that personality cannot be changed; rather behaviors and actions based on personality can be changed. 360 degree appraisal is a tool based on the above research results. It takes the base of personality to evaluate an individual’s present actions and behavior with an aim to bring it to the expected conduct.

The 360-degree feedback practice offers an opportunity to have an opinion on the performance of an individual as viewed by the peers, senior, colleagues and clients. This rating method acts as an influential tool for bringing out the strengths of an individual and highlighting the areas where changes can be made.
This technique was initially constructed as a developmental tool but later it gained popularity as a performance appraisal technique. In the last few years, the 360 degree feedback technique has become very popular appraisal instrument used by numerous well established companies.

It consists of two sets of questionnaires. One is a self evaluation questionnaire and the other evaluates the views and opinions from many different stakeholders like an employee’s peers, coworkers, supervisors, subordinates, clients, suppliers and so on. This type of feedback provides a complete understanding of an employee’s performance as perceived by significant others in the organization. Feedback result is obtained by comparing the responses generated by self evaluation and responses by others. Based on the results, a discussion with the concerned employee is carried out by the management in order to bring about positive functional and attitudinal changes. The technique is surrounded by a lot of controversies. These arise because many organizations implement the program without a clear understanding of its goals and vision. But, experts in the field believe that with the right administration and follow up this tool brings about overall organizational growth.

360 degree feedback holds its roots in psychology theories and is based on various concepts of learning theory, behavior theory, cognitive theory and social cognitive theory.

(Customized 360-Degree Performance Appraisal / Evaluation)

Chapter 1. Conceptual Framework for 360 Degree Feedback

360 degree feedback is a novel concept that has come up in management. Earlier, appraisal was a report prepared annually by the manager about his/her employee’s performance. The ratings were usually given on scales related to attitude and personality. These days the term appraisal has evolved into a general heading for a variety of activities including a system for managing organizational performance, a system for managing the performance of the individual and a system for integrating the two (Williams, 1998).

360 degree feedback is a very familiar appraisal method which is used by almost all the fortune 500 companies of the world. Some of the companies are AT&T, GE, IBM, Levi Strauss etc. Compared to other techniques of performance appraisal, 360 degree feedback method does not rely only on the feedback given by the superiors but also depends on information given by an employee’s coworkers, colleagues, bosses, subordinates, authority, customers etc. This method requires the concerned employee to evaluate himself/herself on a set of behavioral dimensions. The self evaluation of the employee is then compared with the feedback given by others in an effort to improve his performance and make notable contributions in the organization. The feedback given by others is usually anonymous. This encourages honest and true opinion of the team members.

It is not essential to involve all the sources (peers, supervisors, subordinates etc) in a specific performance appraisal program. Who is to be involved, is a decision that depends on the goals and mission of the organization to a large extent. The objectives are required to be stated in a clear manner before selecting the sources for appraisal.

Feed back through this technique helps an employee to perceive how his/her performance is viewed by other members of the organization. 360 degree feedback gives an understanding of the skills, attitude and behavior expected by a company to achieve its goals and values. The response from the feedback is deeply ingrained in the attitude needed to succeed in the organization. This feedback helps each employee to comprehend his negative and positive qualities, which would help him in improving his competency in the company. 360 degree feedback/appraisal is also known as multi rater feedback, multi level feedback, multi source feedback, upward appraisal or peer review.

Various researches have shown that 360 degree feedback is usually administered on mangers. Research indicates that 360 degree feedback is more effective when:

(360 Degree Feedback and Developmental outcomes: The role of feedback characteristics, self-efficacy and importance of feedback dimensions to focal managers’ current role)

1.2. Basis of 360 degree Feedback System Design
The 360 degree feedback survey instrument was first developed by Clark Wilson, PhD in 1973 at university of Bridgeport (Connecticut) Graduate School of Business. It was initially called Survey of Management Practices (SMP). It was conceptualized as teaching equipment for his management class.
It was based on two concepts.

Slowly besides students, various companies started using it. In 1973, DuPont was the first company to use Survey of Management Practices. Currently the Survey of Management Practices has more than two million researches. (360 Degree Feedback History, Clark Wilson Group)

1.2.1 The Task Cycle
Dr. Wilson’s approach is based on learning theory which he termed as Task Cycle. The Task Cycle model is based on Cognitive learning theory. One of the basic principles related to learning theory is that it is not as difficult to learn series of events compared to independent events. It is based on clustered learning rather than independent learning. As mentioned earlier, task cycle is a step by step series. It links core competencies with operations and inter personal relationships. It is based on the manager and the subordinates of a particular task. (The task cycle, basis for Clark Wilson Group’s 360 Feedback Surveys)

It contains 6 step approaches for improving various management skills. These include:

1.3. Dimensions of the Questionnaire
A multi rater questionnaire measures answers on the following dimensions

To summarize, we can say that that the Multi rater feedback is a comprehensive tool which results in analysing several aspects of behavior as well as action of an individual. It lets an individual have self awareness and in turn results in higher probability of corrective measures on the aspects of behavior, attitude, personality as well as action for the person who undergoes this feedback.

1.4. Implementation of Multi Rater Feedback and the Learning Aspect
Earlier in the discussion, we have observed that multi rater feedback leads to difficulties if it is not executed rightly. Here, this point is taken into consideration in order to have a clear understanding that a correct implementation matters a lot to derive the benefits of this new-fangled and well-accepted concept. The fact is that, the aim of the organization to administer this tool should be achieved.

It is necessary to note that the tool is designed with a base of the learning theory. As highlighted earlier, it takes into consideration the learning aspect with the help of clustered knowledge rather than independent one. In essence, the tool aims at having results which can be used to have a direction as to which aspects of action, behavior and attitude need correction.
The following factors should be kept in mind while implementing the program in any organization

1.4.1. Ambiguous Objective: Multi rater feedback is being widely used by several well-established business houses worldwide. As a result, it has become a fad and is being now implemented by many others without a clear definition of the scope of the program. Before administering the feedback questionnaire the organization should be clear of it objectives. It should know how the result will be beneficial for the growth and development of the organization as well the employees. If the management is not clear about the gains of this tool, it would eventually be disappointed with the result.

1.4.2. Unclear Message: Usually organizations only focus on problem areas. Organizations do not feel the need to implement such programs for overall development and growth. In such circumstances the assessment can be viewed as a punishment, if it is carried out only on employees who are showing low performance. Instead, this assessment should be available for all the concerned employees of the organization.

The actual use of this tool is to have a holistic view of the performance of the employees so as to evaluate their contribution to the organization and to analyze their achievements and actions as against the expectations from them.

1.4.3. Poor Positioning: People are usually anxious about assessment. This can be eliminated if the employees are educated about the tool so that employees know what they are expected to do. Also employees are uncomfortable about the idea of others viewing their reports, so such thoughts should be put at rest and there should be clarification regarding the same. In many cases, assessments usually reflect on the salary and designation of the employee. This leads to positive ratings which might not be the honest opinion. Instead, if this instrument is used for developmental purpose then the participants would feel free to give candid opinion. Once the program is initiated, the ground rules should not be changed. This practice would damage scope of future participations and create mistrust.

1.4.4. Incorrect Choice of Instrument: Numerous multi rater feedback questionnaires with different price ranges are available in the market. Most implementers think that the costliest is the best of the lot. But, before deciding on certain package, the HR department of the organization should clearly understand its objectives and needs because not all the available programs fit a particular organization. Moreover, this instrument should be availed from a genuine source so that one can have a standard tool.

1.4.5. Failure to Take Action after the Assessment: It is often observed that feedback report is not followed by a good discussion. In most cases, the manager goes on to the next task and the feedback report is not consulted thereafter. In such cases, no matter how well the entire program was carried out, it would still not yield any result and thus render the whole program useless.
(Managing five paradoxes of 360-degree feedback)

Chapter 2. Advantages and Disadvantages in Management Development

2.1. Benefits of 360 Degree Appraisal
It acts as a booster for Employee involvement. Employee’s feel their views matter and feel involved. 360 degree appraisal leads to honest feedback from a number of employees. As discussed earlier, feedback is collected form peers, coworkers, subordinates, supervisors. Thus, feedback from different employees is better than that from a single manager. It facilitates in comprehending how others view their performance. This method saves time as many employees participate in providing feedback rather than just one manager.

It helps in team development. Through the views provided by the different members of the group, the concerned employee is aware of others expectations and opinions regarding him. It improves the communication among the employees of the organization, which positively influences the productivity. It also leads to increased response from the management’s side.

It facilitates self awareness. Employees get to know about opinion and judgment of others, which leads to self consciousness. Experts believe that multi raters feedback provide superior knowledge to a particular employee in terms of how he/she should improve their career.

It helps in avoiding bias and discrimination. As many employees give their opinion, the risk of discrimination due to race, gender, etc is minimized.
It provides in depth knowledge about the training needs. This helps the organization to plan for courses, classes etc. Moreover, the employee himself understands the areas of improvement and can concentrate on the same.

Usually professional agencies who specialize in the administration and successful execution of 360 degree feedback program, administer it in the company. This enables them to recognize and overcome performance issues. The 360 degree feedback has a positive impact on the sales figures too. It has higher ‘face’ validity as well as depth compared to other techniques. Used as a developmental tool, this technique helps in understanding the changing perceptions by administering this assessment questionnaire over a period of time.

2.2. Flip Side of Multi Rater
Even though, the 360 degree feedback method is very popular and is used widely, it is very contradictory in terms of validity and producing the desired result. A valid tool is one which gives the same result consistently. The 360 degree feedback method was initially developed as a developmental tool rather than an appraisal technique. But, over the time it has been adopted as an appraisal tool thus giving rise to a lot of confusion and disillusionment. In the recent years, many companies have chosen 360 degree feedback as their appraisal method. But in most instances it is done without a clear idea about the mission or aim. In such circumstances, the employees are left on their own to understand and comprehend the feedback report and so they are unable to bring about the needful changes. Research regarding the effectiveness of 360 degree appraisal has either shown minor improvement, negative or no change in performance. High score in 360 does not necessarily mean high performance. Adopting this method without understanding the paradoxes leads to a worthless exercise.

There aren’t many studies which state that managers listen to their subordinates in reality. If an employee realizes that this is the case, it might actually reduce productivity and lead to frustrations. This method is controversial as it is more subjective rather than objective. It relies on others opinions rather than performance data. Evidence suggests that it is difficult for an employee to review soft skills. Outsourcing the 360 degree appraisal program enables outsiders to view company’s confidential data.

The essence of the above discussion is that the actual worth of this tool is “development” rather than “appraisal” because the multi rater feedback is actually carried out to evaluate each individual from all the angels and from the view point of all stake holders. For the organization, it serves advantageous since it results in having information about the performance as against the expectation and helps to probe further into where the improvements are needed. If the feedback is used by both- the individual and the organization, as an instrument that fosters development in terms of abilities, skills, actions, and mind-set, conduct etc, it could bring better results. Such results would not only affect a individual favorably but also boost his performance due to the improvements and awareness of areas to be plugged.
(360 Degree Feedback: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly)

Chapter 3. Psychological Theories-The Base of Multi Rater Feedback

3.1. Learning Theory
Learning is a process by which behavior changes as a result of experience (Maples and Webster, 1980). Psychologists have also defined learning as a relatively permanent change in behavior as a result of experiences.
Saljo (1979) divided learning into the following five categories

Here we shall have a view of the different aspects of the learning theory brought out by different psychologists.

Four Orientations to Learning (Merriam and Caffarella 1991)

3.1.1. Learning Theory and 360 Degree Feedback
360 degree feedback is based on the assumption of learning theory known as “knowledge of results”, feedback is a key element in the processes of skill acquisition, goal achievement and behavior alteration (Anderson, 1982, 1983; Locke, 1996).
 We will have a step by step view of how 360 degree appraisal is related to learning theory.

3.2. Behaviorist Theory

The field of behaviorism was developed by Descartes in France. J.B. Watson (1878-1958) and there has been an immense contribution by him in the field of behaviorism. He insisted that psychology is related to behavior not based on human consciousness. He emphasized on observable behavior.

Watson’s theory is based on Ivan Pavlov’s experiments on Classical Conditioning. Pavlov experiment involved conditioning his dogs to salivate at the sound of a bell. At first, he rang a bell (conditioned stimulus) each time he fed the dog. Initially the dog would salivate (unconditioned response) when food (unconditioned stimulus) is brought to it. At the sound of the bell the dogs would start salivating due to anticipation of the meal. Later Pavlov made the sound of the bell without proving food but still the dogs salivated (conditioned response). In this way they were ‘conditioned’ to salivate at the bell ringing. In this experiment, a neutral stimulus which does not cause any response is linked with an unconditioned stimulus which leads to response. This association leads to transfer of the unconditioned response of the unconditioned stimulus to the conditioned or neutral stimulus. The response can occur even in the absence of the unconditioned stimulus. Thus, the response becomes conditioned response and the neutral stimulus transforms to conditioned stimulus.

The evidence obtained from Pavlov’s classical conditioning was not convincing enough for some theorists. One was them was E.L. Thorndike who’s experiments showed that behavior is influenced by expectation of the result rather than the stimulus as suggested by Pavlov. This result was the base for Skinners Operant conditioning.

B.F. Skinner tested Watson’s proposition in the laboratory. On the basis of his experiments, Skinner argued that ‘people respond to their environment but they also operate on the environment to produce certain consequences’. He developed ‘operant conditioning’ theory which stated that ‘we behave the way we do because this kind of behavior has had certain consequences in the past’. He stressed that behavior is determined by the expectation of positive reinforcements.
Operant conditioning comprises of the two elements namely response and consequence. If the consequence of a behavior is favorable, then there is a higher chance of repetition than when the consequence is negative.
Following points were highlighted in Skinner’s research:

(Behaviorism as a Theory of Personality: A Critical Look)

Another important factor highlighted by the behaviorist theory is that behavior is also shaped by lack of reinforcement. When behavior is not recognized or acknowledged people usually change their behavior to a favorable one till they receive reinforcement. It has been observed that learning takes place when there is a proper mix of stimuli, positive and negative reinforcements.

3.2.1. Behaviorist Theory and 360 Degree Feedback
The 360 degree finds its link to the operant conditioning rather than the classical conditioning. The evaluation done in this system is used as a yardstick to decide upon the monetary and nonmonetary rewards to the employees. These can be in the form of promotion, rewards, appreciation, additional authority, bonuses etc for the employees. The system is designed with an aim that the employees when aware of the system, will prove fruitful results with the aim of rewards that they expect. Hence, a positive behavior comes as a consequence of the expectation.

Besides this, as per Skinners theory of continuous reward, the 360 degree feedback being an iterative process as feedback comes from not just one source is aimed to bring better and improved learning as compared to other appraisal systems. Moreover, backed by the theory of behaviorism, the tool is based on the assumption of a positive reinforcement coming from the employees till the time the acknowledgement or recognition is received for the behavior or attitude of the individual. (Behaviorist theory of learning [Skinner])
The multi rater feedback system links to the following fundamentals of behaviorist theory:

3.3. Social Cognitive Theory
The social cognitive theory explains how people acquire and maintain certain behavioral patterns while also providing the basis for intervention strategies (Bandura, 1997). It provides a model for comprehension, projection and changing individual behavior. (Overview of social cognitive theory and of self-efficacy)

Determining change in behavior is based on environment, the individuals present and behavior. Environment is the combination of factors which influences an individual’s behavior. Environment is divided as social and physical. Social environment consists of family, friends, acquaintances and so on. Physical environment includes place, temperature etc. Environment and situations provide the framework for understanding behavior (Parraga, 1990). Situation is an individual’s perception of time, place etc. Behavior is not just the result of the environment and the person, just as the environment is not simply the result of the person and behavior (Glanz, 2002). Social Cognitive theory combines behaviorist theory as well as social learning theory and thus can be called cognitive-behavioral in nature. This theory is beneficial in comprehending and predicting behavior and determining methods for changing behavior. (Acquisition of cognitive skill)

3.3.1 Application of Social Cognitive Theory to Multi Rater Feedback
Social Cognitive Theory probes into the causes which govern the behaviour of the individual. This becomes a very crucial point while administering the Multi rater feedback as these factors are taken into consideration while taking decision of the factors that should contribute to the feedback on performance, behavior and attitude.

3.4. Observation (Social Learning) Theory and Concepts of Bandura
Bandura in 1997 stated that observational learning occurred when a person watched the action of another and the rewards received by that person. This theory is beneficial in comprehending and predicting behavior and determining methods for changing behavior.

Bandura believed that learning is possible without a visible change in behavior. Behaviorists firmly state that learning does not take place without a visible change in behavior. Bandura felt that an individual can learn by interacting with others, reading, and observation. This type of learning was called observational learning or social learning theory. (Albert Bandura)

Even if a learned activity is not performed, an individual has an understanding about the negative or positive result of the doings. If an individual knows that the outcome is negative, he would think twice before taking it up. Based on his various experiments Bandura established a series of steps for the modeling process.

The theory also talks about an important dimension of Self-concept or self-esteem. If an individual is successful in meeting the standards or goals that he has set for himself, his self esteem would be high. The opposite would hold true if the case is contradictory

3.4.1. Social Learning Theory and 360 Degree Feedback
The 360 degree feedback design and use find the application of following principles of Bandura’s theory. This takes into consideration the three steps of self-regulation.

Conclusion
The paper provides a well organized approach giving an in depth understanding of not only the meaning and application of 360 degree feedback, but also of cautions that are to be taken in its application. The methodical discussion also showcases the pros and cons of the Multi rater appraisal mechanism. This conceptual understanding of the tool further facilitates to have a better insight of the psychology theories and their application to this tool, thus clarifying the actual base of its design and use.

Bibliography