Development and standardization of Mysore Tridosha scale

Summary of article contents:

The authors have developed a personality scale to assess Tridoshas i.e. Vata, Pitta, and Kapha from psychological perspective in human beings. The Tridoshas are composed of the Pancha Mahabhutas, but one or the other Dosha is dominant singularly or in combination. There can never be a state when one or the other Pancha Mahabhutas and consequently the Tridoshas are absent totally. All five are essential to sustain life. Vata Dosha is composed of Akasa and Vayu Mahabhuta. Pitta Dosha is composed of Tejas or Agni and Ap Mahabhuta. Kapha Dosha is composed of Ap and Prithvi Mahabhuta. Although Tridosha is studied, understood, and applied in Ayurveda, the present authors have tried to validate the same from the domain of psychology. Since the authors are not from the domain of Ayurveda but of Psychology, there are some constructs that are not amenable for psychological testing which have been ignored. Only those constructs that can be used by psychologists to assess the psychological aspects of the Dosha Prakriti have been used to build items for the assessment of personality. In this process, the psychometric properties of the scale are established. The scale assesses the psychological manifestation of the Tridoshas, which was the basic objective. The standardization procedure involved in the development of the Mysore Psychological Tridosha Scale is herewith delineated. Keywords: Ayurveda, Kapha, Pitta, personality assessment, psychometric scale, Tridosha, Vata