Pannaga K. Murthy, SDM College, Ujire
&
S.K. Kiran Kumar, University of Mysore

A study was conducted on the concepts ahamkara and ego-functions, which are rooted in the Indian and the Western traditions, to examine their similarities and differences empirically. A sample of 89 males and 114 females in the age range 20-70 years from the general population participated in the study. Ahamkara Questionnaire and Ego-Functions Questionnaire developed by's.K. Kiran Kumar, Archana Raj and Pannaga K. Murthy were used. Pearson's Product Moment Correlation was computed for the scores on the two questionnaires. Though no significant relationship between the total scores on the two questionnaires was noticed, significant relationships were found between the component scales of the two questionnaires. Mastery--Competence and Synthetic--Integrative ego-functions correlated significantly with Individuality scale and the total score of Ahamkara Questionnaire. Separation scale of Ahamkara Questionnaire significantly correlated with Autonomous Functioning, Defensive Functioning, Reality Testing and the total scores of Ego-Functions Questionnaire. Defensive Functioning negatively correlated with Identification and Agency scales of Ahamkara Questionnaire. The implications of these findings will be discussed.

Email the author: "Ms. Pannaga. K. Murthy" <pannaga10@yahoo.co.in>