Psychological Perspectives of Education

Psychology is derived from Greek words psyche meaning soul and logia
meaning study of. Basically Psychology is the scientific study of mind and
Psychologists
behavior. try to understand the role of mental functions in individual and
social behavior. They also investigate physiological and biological processes that
lie beneath the cognitive functions and behaviors.

EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

This branch of psychology is concerned with the scientific study of human

learning. The study of learning processes, from both cognitive and behavioral
perspectives, allows researchers to understand individual differences in
intelligence, cognitive development, affect, motivation, self-regulation, and self
concept, as well as their role in learning.

IMPORTANCE OF PSYCHOLOGY IN EDUCATION

Educational psychology deals only with experiences and behavior of human

beings in response to educational situations. It selects from the total field of
psychology those facts and principles that are of general significance to living and
social functioning, and of special significance to learning and teaching.
The psychologists working in the field of education focus on identifying and
studying learning methods to gain a better understanding of;

a. How people absorb information?

b. How people retain information?

PSYCHOLOGIAL PERSPECTIVES OF EDUCATION

1. BEHAVIOURAL PERSPECTIVE

The behavioral approach emerged in the early 20th century. This approach
suggests that individual learns from the incidents taking place in the environment.
Behaviorists rejected the notion that mind or cognition plays any significant role in
learning. They focused on how we are conditioned to respond to events or stimuli
and how an individual’s experience determines his/her behavior. According to
them the keys to understanding development are;

a. Observable behavior.

b. External stimuli in the environment.

The main protagonists of this school of thought are; John B. Watson, B. F.

Skinner and Ivan Pavlov.

CRITISICM:
The critics of the behavioral approach maintain that praise or other rewards
damage the intrinsic or internal motivation in specific situations when the student
is already internally motivated to perform better. But on the other hand, there is
also evidence to suggest that when rewards are given for attaining a gradually
increasing standard of performance, rewards enhance intrinsic motivation.

2. COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE

Cognitive approach is the area of psychology that focuses on studying

cognitions, or thoughts, and their relationship to our experiences and our actions.
This approach has gained more acceptability among current educational
psychologists as compared to the Behavioral Perspective. Cognitive theorists claim
that the way information is perceived, processed, stored, retrieved and forgotten is
determined by memory structure. The most prominent names in the field are Ulric
Neisser, Jean Piaget and Noam Chomsky. The research interests of the Cognitive
psychologists cover a wide range of areas from attention to problem solving to
language to memory. In the field of education, the Spaced Learning Effect, a
cognitive phenomenon has broad applicability.

CRITISCM:
The main criticism of Cognitive approach is that it’s not directly observable.
Majority of studies involving the brain is by the use of inference. For example,
memories can’t be directly observed. Another criticism is that this approach
ignores other reasons for behavior and takes into consideration only the cognitive
aspect.

3. CONSTRUCTIVIST PERSPECTIVE

Constructivism recognizes the learners’ understanding and knowledge based on

their own experiences. The origin of this theory is also linked to Jean Piaget’s
theory of Cognitive Development. The difference is that Piaget focuses on
individual constructivism while this approach is more about Social Constructivism.
This perspective views the context in which learning occurs as central to learning
itself. Constructivism places emphasis on the mental models involved in
establishing meaning. It regards learning as a process of enculturation. People
observe and practice the behavior of cultural practitioners and gradually start to
behave in accordance with the norms of the practice. In order to learn a specific
domain of knowledge it is not enough for the students to learn the concepts of
domain. They should also be exposed to the use of the concepts in authentic
activities.
CRITICISM:
The theory is criticized on the ground that the learner may not be able to form
abstractions and transfer knowledge and skills in new situations. In initial stages
there could often be confusion and even frustration. Learners might enjoy this
technique but they don’t always actively construct meaning and build an
appropriate knowledge.

CONCLUSION
Psychological Perspectives of Education, we find numerous theories that try to
study and explain the process of learning. Educational psychologists try to
understand individual learning process in the light of theories of human
development. Individuals learn not only in educational institutions but also at
work, in social situations and even at home. Psychologists working in this subfield
examine how people learn in a variety of settings to identify approaches and
strategies to make learning more effective.