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Enhancing Well-Being with Psychology451“True” whether the item is true for them or not. And some tests, such as the MMPIand CPI, include hundreds of items. Taking these tests can become quite tedious,and people may lose interest in carefully choosing the most appropriate response.Third, people are not always accurate judges of their own behavior, attitudes, orattributes. And some people defensively deny their true feelings, needs, and attitudes,even to themselves (Cousineau & Shedler, 2006; Shedler & others, 1993).For example, a person might indicate that she enjoys parties, even though she actuallyavoids social gatherings whenever possible.To sum up, personality tests are generally useful strategies that can provideinsights about the psychological makeup of people. But no personality test, by itself,is likely to provide a definitive description of a given individual. In practice, psychologistsand other mental health professionals usually combine personality test resultswith behavioral observations and background information, including interviews withfamily members, co-workers, or other significant people in the person’s life.Finally, people can and often do change over time, especially when their life circumstancesundergo a significant change. Hence, projective tests and self-reportinventories provide a barometer of personality and psychological functioning onlyat the time of the test.possible selvesThe aspect of the self-concept that includesimages of the selves that you hope, fear, orexpect to become in the future.>> Closing ThoughtsOver the course of this chapter, you’ve encountered firsthand some of the most influentialcontributors to modern psychological thought. As you’ll see in Chapter 14, themajor personality perspectives provide the basis for many forms of psychotherapy.Clearly, the psychoanalytic, humanistic, social cognitive, and trait perspectives eachprovide a fundamentally different way of conceptualizing personality. That each perspectivehas strengths and limitations underscores the point that no single perspectivecan explain all aspects of human personality. Indeed, no one personality theory couldexplain why Kenneth and Julian were so different. And, given the complex factors involvedin human personality, it’s doubtful that any single theory ever will capture theessence of human personality in its entirety. Even so, each perspective has madeimportant and lasting contributions to the understanding of human personality.ENHANCING WELL-BEING WITH PSYCHOLOGYPossible Selves: Imagine the PossibilitiesSome psychologists believe that a person’s self-concept is not asingular mental self-image, as Carl Rogers proposed, but a multifacetedsystem of related images and ideas (Hermans, 1996;Markus & Kunda, 1986). This collection of related images aboutyourself reflects your goals, values, emotions, and relationships(Markus & Cross, 1990; Markus & Wurf, 1987; Unemori &others, 2004).According to psychologist Hazel Markus and her colleagues,an important aspect of your self-concept has to do with yourimages of the selves that you might become—your possibleselves. Possible selves are highly personalized, vivid, futuristicimages of the self that reflect hopes, fears, and fantasies. AsMarkus and co-researcher Paula Nurius (1986) wrote, “The possibleselves that are hoped for might include the successful self,the creative self, the rich self, the thin self, or the loved andadmired self, whereas the dreaded possible selves could be thealone self, the depressed self, the incompetent self, the alcoholicself, the unemployed self, or the bag lady self.”The Influence of Hoped-For andDreaded Possible SelvesPossible selves are more than just idle daydreams or wishful fantasies.In fact, possible selves influence our behavior in importantways (Markus & Nurius, 1986; Oyserman & others, 1995). We’reoften not aware of the possible selves that we have incorporatedinto our self-concepts. Nevertheless, they can serve as powerfulforces that either activate or stall our efforts to reach importantgoals. Your incentive, drive, and motivation are greatly influencedby your possible selves, and so are your decisions and choices aboutfuture behavior (Hoyle & Sherrill, 2006; Robinson & others, 2003).